when I was simply beat down repeatedly while playing matches online regardless of which deck and which format I was playing. It was frustrating and I was closing in on the moment when I would just chuck the laptop through the second floor window and let gravity finish what my opponents had started.
Playing live is not much different. Sure there are days when every card is right where it needs to be and every play you make is timed perfectly, but there are also days when you either pull nothing but land, get mana screwed, always draw the wrong card and make ever play a card late and a dollar short. Think about that feeling and how fortunate it is that you don’t carry lighter fluid along to game night since that is the only thing standing between your cards and a MTG bonfire/weenie roast.
I personally find it interesting that something can be at once very enjoyable and horribly frustrating all at the same time. That’s what prompted me to write this first of what will be a series of posts. By series I mean once in a while, when the mood hits me and if there’s not something really good on the DVR.
I might as well start with the things I love and hate most. (Actually I have no idea whether that’s a true statement or not. I’m sure I could start with the things I love and hate least, or even just start at some random spot in the middle and the post would work fine, but for the sake of argument we’ll just pretend its true.)
What do I love most? The same thing as probably every other player across the planet…NEW CARDS! Is there anything better than a new set of unexplored, untested and untried cards? I think not. A new set is full of possibilities. Perhaps the best deck you’ve ever built is waiting in those cards, or maybe some combo will pop out at you and you’ll proceed to open a 60 card can of whoop ass on everybody in sight for the foreseeable future. If nothing else you can almost guarantee that some card will present itself and you’ll say to yourself that that card is exactly what the deck you’ve been slaving over needs to go from good to great.
Okay, so some of the promise fails to hold up in the light of day. Llorwyn. Need I say more? Who did the artwork for those cards…Hannah – Barbera? Opening those boosters was like getting warped into some freaky David The Gnome version of Magic. The only thing I hated about the Llorwyn block was everything. All in all, though, new cards are like cardboard crack and like everyone else in the game every time a new block comes out I’m right there getting my fix and chasing that paper high.
As to what I hate the most? That’s just as easy to answer. I hate that guy. You know the guy I mean. He’s the one that shows up at Friday Night Magic, or your local store’s casual play night. He’s played at a bunch of high profile tournaments and he’s a great player, and most of all he’s a despicable douche bag. They say there’s one in every crowd and he’s the one they’re talking about. He’s rude, condescending and sucks the enjoyment out of every game he plays like a black hole sucking up every last particle of light for a hundred light years.
The worst part about this guy is that he’s the uber-nerd. He’s the guy at the heart of every derisive comment and stereotype regarding gamers. More than likely he has an odor that would clear the most stubborn sinuses, wears clothes that Napoleon Dynamite wouldn’t get caught dead in, and misses any cultural or political reference that doesn’t directly pertain to magic. Sure he has great cards and strong decks, but that’s only because he’s almost thirty and lives in his mom’s basement. Unlike the rest of us who have to waste our money on frivolous items like rent and food he has the ability to spend virtually every dime he makes at Wal-Mart on cards. In one sense it’s lucky that Magic came along so that at least he would have something to occupy all those hours he spends not getting laid.
Do I have issues? Probably. Does that mean that I’m wrong? No.
Next time I’ll pick out a couple more issues that fuel my love hate relationship with the game.
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