The game can always use good press. I enjoy that they make light of the fact that its thriving in a gaming market where most of the other contenders have gone digital.
Only flaw to that article is that the picture they showed of the 4,500 players at a Magic "convention" was in fact taken at Gand Prix Las Vegas, and it was a tournament. Would've been nice to remind the world that there's a form of competitive "sport" associated with the game. Its not just large-scale Monopoly.
Would also have been nice if they'd mentioned that as well as being a record for the brand, it was a record for all TCGs/CCGs (and probably most other non-poker card games) (although it was mentioned in the comments a couple of times).
Technically, it wasn't a record. Guinness only counts players who actually play in at least one round, and due to the huge numbers of people who dropped with the pools they opened and never played, Yugioh still holds the record.
For McGowan, players like Werbalowsky make up the high-grossing "army of nerds" that helps "Magic" grow year after year. But they can be a blessing and a curse, scaring away casual players who don't have the time or the money to become that involved.
Yeah, the article is as much praising magic as it is mocking the people who play it.
Only flaw to that article is that the picture they showed of the 4,500 players at a Magic "convention" was in fact taken at Gand Prix Las Vegas, and it was a tournament.
I don't think it's inaccurate to call a GP a convention. Convention and tournament aren't mutually exclusive.
Technically, it wasn't a record. Guinness only counts players who actually play in at least one round, and due to the huge numbers of people who dropped with the pools they opened and never played, Yugioh still holds the record.
Source? If I'm interpreting this properly, only 15 players did this.
I'm wondering if the game will be more accepting of older folks in a decade or so. I'd like to keep playing this game, but I probably won't resist if the general demographic pushes me out by the time I'm 35.
I'm wondering if the game will be more accepting of older folks in a decade or so. I'd like to keep playing this game, but I probably won't resist if the general demographic pushes me out by the time I'm 35.
I'm wondering if the game will be more accepting of older folks in a decade or so. I'd like to keep playing this game, but I probably won't resist if the general demographic pushes me out by the time I'm 35.
Huh? This is ridiculous. How is it not "accepting of older folks" now? Does your LGS check IDs at the door and not let people inside if they're older than 35? Jon Finkel, probably the most famous MTG pro of all time, is 35 years old, and he still plays. Mark Rosewater, MTG's current head designer, is 46 years old. The founder of MTG, Richard Garfield, is 50 years old, and I've seen people older than that playing in tournaments at my LGS and having a good time.
Source? If I'm interpreting this properly, only 15 players did this.
Source. That poster is Dan Barrett, former SCG writer and current Guinness employee. I imagine that many people dropped without checking the drop box on their slip, and thus got a round one match loss for not showing up. That would put them on the list in your link without actually playing a round.
Huh? This is ridiculous. How is it not "accepting of older folks" now? Does your LGS check IDs at the door and not let people inside if they're older than 35? Jon Finkel, probably the most famous MTG pro of all time, is 35 years old, and he still plays. Mark Rosewater, MTG's current head designer, is 46 years old. The founder of MTG, Richard Garfield, is 50 years old, and I've seen people older than that playing in tournaments at my LGS and having a good time.
I didn't intend to imply that Magic would or would not be accepting of older folks--I meant that I hope society is accepting of older folks playing this game in 10 years.
Of course the card they use as an example is the one that encourages you to have "devotion" to B and requires you to "sacrifice a creature" every time you start a turn. That will sure convince people that Magic isn't the temptation of Satan.:rolleyes:
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The wedding is over. Now it's time for the honeymoon.
Of course the card they use as an example is the one that encourages you to have "devotion" to B and requires you to "sacrifice a creature" every time you start a turn. That will sure convince people that Magic isn't the temptation of Satan.:rolleyes:
Wait it's not?......What the hell am I going to do with all these slaughtered goats then!?!
"A rich man thinks all other people are rich, and an intelligent man thinks all other people are similarly gifted. Both are always terribly shocked when they discover the truth of the world. You, my dear brother, are a pious man." - Strahd von Zarovich
I'm wondering if the game will be more accepting of older folks in a decade or so. I'd like to keep playing this game, but I probably won't resist if the general demographic pushes me out by the time I'm 35.
lol, I wouldn't sweat it.
In my area there are plenty of us who have been playing for nearly 20 years and are now ~30. We aren't just accepted, but generally looked up to given that we have the skills (thanks experience!) and cards (thanks real jobs!) that many newer players lack.
IMO it will mirror video gaming culture, which has gotten more mature (with an older player base) as the kids who grew up on the original Nintendo in the 80's are now adults and still gaming.
Wait it's not?......What the hell am I going to do with all these slaughtered goats then!?!
Feed them to the human sacrifices?
The article was quite positive. Surprising considering it came from an actual news source. The guy obviously isn't the most knowledgeable fellow on mtg, but I think he got enough right for me to give it the mass consumer OK.
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Lycanthropy Awareness Day.
Hoping for a cure, or at least an outbreak.
I didn't intend to imply that Magic would or would not be accepting of older folks--I meant that I hope society is accepting of older folks playing this game in 10 years.
Honestly, I don't much care. There was a time when I did, but that's long past... I'm a skydiver, a Magic player, a sci-fi nerd, an engineer who quit life in the cubicles to become a nurse, and 31 year old man who is perfectly willing to wear his home-made tie-dye in public. If I were to wait for "society" to accept all that, I'd be waiting a long time.
I'm wondering if the game will be more accepting of older folks in a decade or so. I'd like to keep playing this game, but I probably won't resist if the general demographic pushes me out by the time I'm 35.
This must be a regional thing
When I started playing (1993-1998) I was in my early 20's. 50% of the people I played with were age 20 to 30; 1 was over 50 and the rest were late teens who all continued playing post-high school.
20 years later, most of those guys still play, all of them are now pushing 40 or just over 40 and the old guy is still playing at age 70 something. I'm still in touch with the LGS owner from there, he's nearing 50 and still plays (I know he made it pretty far in the grand prix in atlantic city this past January)
Personally I'm about to turn 40. I had stopped playing until last year when I was reintroduced to the game by a group of 20 and 30 year olds who played in the break room at a job where I was working. I've since gotten back into the game and the LGS I now attend is a huge age spread from 20 to 50, many in the 30 and 40 year old bracket. I fit right in without any hesitation.
But than I've also seen a lot of girls/women that play as well, so I'm just not seeing the stereotypes of this being a "young boys" game any more.
In fact I was sitting in a coffee shop just the other day sorting some cards and the waitress (a reasonably decent looking 30 something year old) mentioned that her and her husband play with friends at parties at home. Based on our conversation I'll admit she had little competitive knowledge of the game, but she had a real grasp of the fun elements and was very proud of her (sort of goofy) deck ideas. I don't think she'll be showing up at an LGS any time soon, but shes having fun with the game and really thats all that matters.
I think it's one of the few games you can play as a child, leave for a few years to get your life straightened out and than come back to later when you start looking for interesting things to do. It has enough strategy and depth to satisfy most (intelligent) adults of any age.
The only ones that shy away from it are either lacking in reading and logic skills or those that avoid all forms of gaming (or latch onto only one game like some people I know who play solitaire 12 hours a day and think all other games are a sin... you know, the crazy ones...)
Honestly, I don't much care. There was a time when I did, but that's long past... I'm a skydiver, a Magic player, a sci-fi nerd, an engineer who quit life in the cubicles to become a nurse, and 31 year old man who is perfectly willing to wear his home-made tie-dye in public. If I were to wait for "society" to accept all that, I'd be waiting a long time.
Of course the card they use as an example is the one that encourages you to have "devotion" to B and requires you to "sacrifice a creature" every time you start a turn. That will sure convince people that Magic isn't the temptation of Satan.:rolleyes:
I'm still annoyed they took the pentagrams off of the unholy strength card
I'm wondering if the game will be more accepting of older folks in a decade or so. I'd like to keep playing this game, but I probably won't resist if the general demographic pushes me out by the time I'm 35.
The issue's probably whether or not MTG can still cater to the school lunchrooms, because as of the moment it isn't. The costs of making a playable deck are too high already, and even event decks aren't so playable.
1. Kid walks into a store, sees old people playing, gets intimidated and leaves.
2. Kid gets interested, buys an intro deck, miserably loses, can't afford the pricey cards to stay competitive, leaves the game and plays something else like Vanguard or Pokemon.
This is the reason why I'm advocating that Wizards make "Silverback" an official format (commons and uncommons). The costs of entering the game are prohibitive, beyond the $15/week allowance of most kids.
The issue's probably whether or not MTG can still cater to the school lunchrooms, because as of the moment it isn't. The costs of making a playable deck are too high already, and even event decks aren't so playable.
1. Kid walks into a store, sees old people playing, gets intimidated and leaves.
2. Kid gets interested, buys an intro deck, miserably loses, can't afford the pricey cards to stay competitive, leaves the game and plays something else like Vanguard or Pokemon.
This is the reason why I'm advocating that Wizards make "Silverback" an official format (commons and uncommons). The costs of entering the game are prohibitive, beyond the $15/week allowance of most kids.
The youngest kids I've seen play with any regularity at our LGS come in a couple times a month and play draft. It eliminates the power curve and they get to keep the cards they drafted.
It only ends up costing an extra $5 (which goes towards prize pool) on top of the cost of 4 packs (and they are keeping roughly 4 packs worth of cards after drafting, or extra since some of us are perfectly willing to donate uncommon/commons or cheap rares after we are done playing draft). So basically if they already saved up enough to buy 4 packs (which is $12), they only need to come up with a total of $17 and they leave with at least $12 worth of cards plus got to play competitively and have a chance to win much more (we only need to get to 20 people and that's at least a box worth of packs going into prize pool if not more, the owner is fairly generous, or you can just take it as store credit and walk out with a lot of singles which he prices fairly)
When I was in junior high I only had a $10/week allowance. Built a $30 deck and I consistently had more losses than wins every day. This was a time when cards were much cheaper. I can't imagine where $30 can take you right now. I remember building a very competitive Pokemon deck for the same price. (Kyogre and Groudon)
One solution I can see is if Wizards will make decent event decks like the Vampire ones. You don't have to put so many junk rares, you just have to put in good uncommons and some good rares in sets.
The game can always use good press. I enjoy that they make light of the fact that its thriving in a gaming market where most of the other contenders have gone digital.
Not all of MTG's contenders have gone digital exclusive, but it is a growing problem with the current advancements in technology these days. You act like there's no longer a market for Paper TCG/CCG's and Physical Table Top Gaming when it's still thriving today.
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America Bless Christ Jesus
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta
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"At 20, 'Magic: The Gathering' still going strong โ and not just in school lunchrooms" by Yannick LeJacq, August 30, 2013, on NBC News
Oh, and before anyone skims through the article and wrongly thinks they have a new spoiler, the Abhorrent Overlord was already spoiled days ago on the Rumor Mill thread "Packaging and five cards".
This thread is about the article, not about Abhorrent Overlord.
Only flaw to that article is that the picture they showed of the 4,500 players at a Magic "convention" was in fact taken at Gand Prix Las Vegas, and it was a tournament. Would've been nice to remind the world that there's a form of competitive "sport" associated with the game. Its not just large-scale Monopoly.
Technically, it wasn't a record. Guinness only counts players who actually play in at least one round, and due to the huge numbers of people who dropped with the pools they opened and never played, Yugioh still holds the record.
Yeah, the article is as much praising magic as it is mocking the people who play it.
I don't think it's inaccurate to call a GP a convention. Convention and tournament aren't mutually exclusive.
Source? If I'm interpreting this properly, only 15 players did this.
Practice for Khans of Tarkir Limited:
Draft: (#1) (#2) (#3) (#4) (#5)
Signature courtesy of Rivenor and Miraculous Recovery
EDH Altered Cards by Galspanic (Seriously, this guy's awesome.)
My Pauper Cube
Tapped-Out Simulator
My Trade Thread
-Decks-
Commander:
GWR Rith, the Awakener RWG
U Kami of the Crescent Moon U (Flagship Deck)
BW Teysa, Orzhov Scion WB
Under Construction:
UBR Crosis, the Purger RBU
Cube:
WUBRGX Pauper XGRBUW
I'm 38, whatcha' talking about Willis?
Huh? This is ridiculous. How is it not "accepting of older folks" now? Does your LGS check IDs at the door and not let people inside if they're older than 35? Jon Finkel, probably the most famous MTG pro of all time, is 35 years old, and he still plays. Mark Rosewater, MTG's current head designer, is 46 years old. The founder of MTG, Richard Garfield, is 50 years old, and I've seen people older than that playing in tournaments at my LGS and having a good time.
Source. That poster is Dan Barrett, former SCG writer and current Guinness employee. I imagine that many people dropped without checking the drop box on their slip, and thus got a round one match loss for not showing up. That would put them on the list in your link without actually playing a round.
I didn't intend to imply that Magic would or would not be accepting of older folks--I meant that I hope society is accepting of older folks playing this game in 10 years.
Signature courtesy of Rivenor and Miraculous Recovery
EDH Altered Cards by Galspanic (Seriously, this guy's awesome.)
My Pauper Cube
Tapped-Out Simulator
My Trade Thread
-Decks-
Commander:
GWR Rith, the Awakener RWG
U Kami of the Crescent Moon U (Flagship Deck)
BW Teysa, Orzhov Scion WB
Under Construction:
UBR Crosis, the Purger RBU
Cube:
WUBRGX Pauper XGRBUW
Thanks to Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery Signatures!
Wait it's not?......What the hell am I going to do with all these slaughtered goats then!?!
When you get older you'll stop caring about what "society" thinks of you.
Barbecue at Jivanmukta's place!
lol, I wouldn't sweat it.
In my area there are plenty of us who have been playing for nearly 20 years and are now ~30. We aren't just accepted, but generally looked up to given that we have the skills (thanks experience!) and cards (thanks real jobs!) that many newer players lack.
IMO it will mirror video gaming culture, which has gotten more mature (with an older player base) as the kids who grew up on the original Nintendo in the 80's are now adults and still gaming.
Feed them to the human sacrifices?
The article was quite positive. Surprising considering it came from an actual news source. The guy obviously isn't the most knowledgeable fellow on mtg, but I think he got enough right for me to give it the mass consumer OK.
Hoping for a cure, or at least an outbreak.
Level 1 Judge (yay)
Honestly, I don't much care. There was a time when I did, but that's long past... I'm a skydiver, a Magic player, a sci-fi nerd, an engineer who quit life in the cubicles to become a nurse, and 31 year old man who is perfectly willing to wear his home-made tie-dye in public. If I were to wait for "society" to accept all that, I'd be waiting a long time.
This must be a regional thing
When I started playing (1993-1998) I was in my early 20's. 50% of the people I played with were age 20 to 30; 1 was over 50 and the rest were late teens who all continued playing post-high school.
20 years later, most of those guys still play, all of them are now pushing 40 or just over 40 and the old guy is still playing at age 70 something. I'm still in touch with the LGS owner from there, he's nearing 50 and still plays (I know he made it pretty far in the grand prix in atlantic city this past January)
Personally I'm about to turn 40. I had stopped playing until last year when I was reintroduced to the game by a group of 20 and 30 year olds who played in the break room at a job where I was working. I've since gotten back into the game and the LGS I now attend is a huge age spread from 20 to 50, many in the 30 and 40 year old bracket. I fit right in without any hesitation.
But than I've also seen a lot of girls/women that play as well, so I'm just not seeing the stereotypes of this being a "young boys" game any more.
In fact I was sitting in a coffee shop just the other day sorting some cards and the waitress (a reasonably decent looking 30 something year old) mentioned that her and her husband play with friends at parties at home. Based on our conversation I'll admit she had little competitive knowledge of the game, but she had a real grasp of the fun elements and was very proud of her (sort of goofy) deck ideas. I don't think she'll be showing up at an LGS any time soon, but shes having fun with the game and really thats all that matters.
I think it's one of the few games you can play as a child, leave for a few years to get your life straightened out and than come back to later when you start looking for interesting things to do. It has enough strategy and depth to satisfy most (intelligent) adults of any age.
The only ones that shy away from it are either lacking in reading and logic skills or those that avoid all forms of gaming (or latch onto only one game like some people I know who play solitaire 12 hours a day and think all other games are a sin... you know, the crazy ones...)
I'm still annoyed they took the pentagrams off of the unholy strength card
alpha http://magiccards.info/al/en/40.html
4th edition http://magiccards.info/4e/en/50.html
I don't worship satan, but I don't like being told that I'm not allowed to.
The issue's probably whether or not MTG can still cater to the school lunchrooms, because as of the moment it isn't. The costs of making a playable deck are too high already, and even event decks aren't so playable.
1. Kid walks into a store, sees old people playing, gets intimidated and leaves.
2. Kid gets interested, buys an intro deck, miserably loses, can't afford the pricey cards to stay competitive, leaves the game and plays something else like Vanguard or Pokemon.
This is the reason why I'm advocating that Wizards make "Silverback" an official format (commons and uncommons). The costs of entering the game are prohibitive, beyond the $15/week allowance of most kids.
The youngest kids I've seen play with any regularity at our LGS come in a couple times a month and play draft. It eliminates the power curve and they get to keep the cards they drafted.
It only ends up costing an extra $5 (which goes towards prize pool) on top of the cost of 4 packs (and they are keeping roughly 4 packs worth of cards after drafting, or extra since some of us are perfectly willing to donate uncommon/commons or cheap rares after we are done playing draft). So basically if they already saved up enough to buy 4 packs (which is $12), they only need to come up with a total of $17 and they leave with at least $12 worth of cards plus got to play competitively and have a chance to win much more (we only need to get to 20 people and that's at least a box worth of packs going into prize pool if not more, the owner is fairly generous, or you can just take it as store credit and walk out with a lot of singles which he prices fairly)
One solution I can see is if Wizards will make decent event decks like the Vampire ones. You don't have to put so many junk rares, you just have to put in good uncommons and some good rares in sets.
Not all of MTG's contenders have gone digital exclusive, but it is a growing problem with the current advancements in technology these days. You act like there's no longer a market for Paper TCG/CCG's and Physical Table Top Gaming when it's still thriving today.
"Restriction breeds creativity." - Sheldon Menery on EDH / Commander in Magic: The Gathering
"Cancel Culture is the real reason why everyone's not allowed to have nice things anymore." - Anonymous
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" - Mark 8:36
"Most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution." - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
"Every life decision is always a risk / reward proposition." - Sanjay Gupta