Having said that, I think one of the best things I can do to accelerate my development as a Magic player (and, potentially, designer) is to give it a shot anyway.  I’ll undoubtedly be learning a lot, and I can apply that newfound knowledge to my near-term play.  So, while it’s much too late to get on board in any official capacity, I’m going to chart my progress on (mashedmarket).  My plan is to start with the multiple-choice test and go from there.  Seeing as how the first three questions deal with a specific example, I thought I’d answer those today.

—

Questions 1–3 refer to the following card:

Fast Guy
Creature – Human
3/1
Lifelink, haste

1) Which color is most appropriate for this card?

a) white
b) blue
c) black
d) red
e) green

Yeesh.  So far as I know, lifelink is generally a white ability.  And haste is practically always red.  I’ve seen lifelink on black cards, and haste on at least one green.  Lifelink feels like it could be a green ability; the natural world is full of growth and vitality.  Also, I think one my kitchen table-playin’ buddies said something about green and life gain going hand in hand back in the day.  Green it is.  Final answer.

2) Which rarity is most appropriate for this card?

a) common
b) uncommon
c) rare
d) mythic rare

Being confronted with this question makes me realize that I have only the foggiest of ideas as to what the difference between an uncommon and a rare is.  My gut says this card is FAR too vanilla to be mythic and just that much fancier than a common.  Uncommon.

3) You are changing one of Fast Guy’s keywords to another one. Which of the following combinations would result in a card that could not be monocolored?

a) first strike, haste
b) flying, haste
c) lifelink, shroud
d) lifelink, vigilance

This test is hard!  But breaking it down piece by piece should help.  First strike and haste.  I could see both those abilities on a red card.  Now, flying and haste?  That’s a weird combination, but flying shows up in a lot of places.  Lifelink and shroud.  Shroud’s so blue it’s not even funny.  And lifelink and vigilance has white written all over it.  Got to be #C.

—

Two out of three!  Not bad?  I’d say that, except Mark Rosewater’s commentary indicates that number one was “a pretty easy question.”  Think I’m in for a bumpy ride.

Join me next time as I stumble through another few!

All the best,

Matt Vernon.

On October 22nd, top-notch Magic: The Gathering site ManaNation sponsored a giveaway.  To enter, all you had to do was wish site founder Trick Jarrett a happy birthday in one (or more) of a number of creative ways.  As any good Magic player will tell you, it’s best to maximize your odds, so I proceeded to comment, tweet and e-mail my way to victory.  Long story short, it worked, and I won the aforementioned “mystery grab bag of awesomeness!”  Without further ado, the contents:

At first, we didn’t think it was possible.  Then we got angry.  I figured I’d give her a rest and she’d start up again in the morning, but no dice.  Now, after a solid three days of moping, I’m finally ready to call the hotline and deal with Sony’s customer service folks to see what can be done.

Anyone have tips for dealing with the refurb process?  I’m lucky enough to have never experienced this sort of thing before.

Yours truly,

Matt Vernon.

Inferno Titan.

Take collecting, for instance.  I began playing Magic in mid-March of 2010.  Since that time, I’ve acquired approximately 5,200 cards, not counting those I’ve set aside for trade.  That amounts to roughly twenty-nine plus cards per day.  How did this happen?

The short answer is that I’ve no idea.

Looking back, it seems very, very, very, few of these were individually targeted purchases.  But I believe that those few represent the vast majority of hard-earned dollars spent.  Virtually all the other cards came from pre-constructed decks, booster packs, and surprisingly inexpensive bulk acquisitions.  (Not to mention an extremely generous gift or two.  Thanks, David!)

Anyway.  The point is that I wasn’t making any sort of conscious quantitative effort; my collection began when I got interested in the game and has snowballed ever since.  This, in a nutshell, is what’s so intrinsically powerful about Magic — it taps into two distinctly human characteristics.  Play, which occurs for its own merit, and collecting, which satisfies an undeniable need for order, are endemic to we as a people.  They’re nigh-irresistible forces, and a couple of unbelievably strong holds for Magic: The Gathering to sink its hooks in.

• PROS:  deep psychological pull, naturally satisfying behavior
• CONS:  $, when to stop

Does your experience as a new player sound anything like mine?  If so, watch yourself, spend within limits, and trade wisely!  Have stories or tips?  Share them in the comments!

Best,

Matt.

Now, that said, let’s get something out of the way: I will always be a hardcore gamer.  It’s just…something about my approach to blogging’s never really done it for me.  Maybe that was the never-ending parade of “me too” games I played, maybe it was the relentless weekly schedule, or maybe it was the self-conscious navel-gazing.  Probably it was a combination of those and other reasons.  But, whatever it was, it sure put me off — I haven’t played a video game in weeks.  And may not for ages yet.  Thing is, over the course of this period, I’ve discovered that the type of game isn’t terribly important.  I still feel driven to write about what I’m playing, be it via board, collectible card, or pen and paper.  So, once again, I’m going to do what works when the going gets tough: I’m going to try something a little bit different.

If you’ve been following (mashedmarket) since the beginning, thanks.  My focus has changed a number of times, and your continued support means a lot.  If you’re new to the site, welcome!  I hope you’ll continue to visit.  In either case, what I think you can expect is sort of a gaming diary: I’ll strive to relay what’s currently exciting me, why it’s compelling, and how it informs my ever-evolving design philosophy.  Clearly this will be somewhat personal; we may well not enjoy the very same things.  Nevertheless, I hope you’ll contribute to my understanding of what gives a game that certain positive or negative something, so please let me know what you think!

All the best,

Matt Vernon.

That’s it. I’ve had enough. Time to take a little break.

Even discounting my recent obsession with Magic: The Gathering, the post frequency’s felt like a bit much to handle lately — for a while there, I was struggling to put in significant time with my “game of the week” almost just so I could write something down. Seems a little backward, yeah?

Hence the hiatus.

Good ol’ (mashedmarket) is reasonably established by now…should be okay for me to only come back when there’s something that’s actually worth writing about.