Last FNM, counting me and my wife and the owner (who played while one of his employees ran the tourney), we had a total of sixteen players and six who were 40 or older. Of the six, only one (the owner) has been playing for more than a couple of years.
I started playing when I was 27. I am 46 now. My wife who just started playing last year is 48. This past weekend I played against my nephew who is 11. He has been playing for the last 5 years and is pretty good.
I am 57. I started playing when I was about 34, in June of 1994, when Legends packs were going for an exorbitant $5 each.
My son John is 22 and has been playing since he was 6. He's pretty darned good, but prefers multiplayer Commander.
My friend Pat is 60. He and I play Commander at the local every Thursday, and sometimes pickup games at other shops. Pat's son is about 26, and plays Commander while assigned to an Army post in Germany with his wife.
I make life counters on the side, sell them on Etsy. There's nothing quite like them there, so I do okay. I am currently making three digital Steampunk Life Counters with Pat, intended for Commander. The idea is to enjoy all aspect of the game, not just the card-flopping. I have a custom playing mat, I have custom-made deck boxes, a carrying case, life counters, etc. Quality of life, if you will.
I don't know. Maybe that 'quality of life' thing is a concern only to old guys like me. The younger guys seem content with backpacks and binders, pencil and pad of paper. The playing of the game is the only thing that seems to occupy their attention.
Me, I've slowed down a tad and I'll be honest - I love the look of a foil island when it hits the table. It's beautiful. Even when I lose, which is common, I still get so much pleasure from the look and feel of a smooth spalted birch deck box. I read the pithy sayings on my playmat, and contemplate the beautiful art and gleam of gold and silver metal beads on my life counter (the promo 'Servo Exhibition', a subject dear to the toymaker in me).
My tokens are mostly pretty little glass counters: yellow, blue, green and red, they've served me faithfully as every token type you can imagine since 1996. I flip a silver dollar minted in 1900 to determine who gets the boot.
I don't meet too many players my age, but we are out there. And we have our fun. My son, who learned to play Magic from Dad, now helps Dad with the finer points of Pre-Release deck construction and the playing thereof. The circle is complete, and the game is what it always was - an excuse to hang out with people you like.
I'm 33 and going to be going on to 34 years old soon. Honestly, I'm less worried about how old people are that are playing as much as how to handle the masses of paper cards that keep accumulating.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Magic is 20 year old game, so you can expect a fair deal of 30+ old players, that started way back in the days.
A lot of players in our parts are ~20 and the long term players are in their 30s or 40s.
A small amount is older, but if you ask me, they dont look that old (and behave not that old) , they are literally part of us and fit very nicely.
Very young players usually come with their parents , as our FNM starts late at 7pm and ends usually at around 12pm.
But its great to see players that you know since 20 years with their children to enjoy the game today.
Yeah I think a lot of people started young and then returned to the game after they entered the work force. That is the story for how I'm playing right now (whenever I actually play, since the game for me is more about picking up cards and then sort of messing around with online deck building tools). I think the biggest sealed purchase I've made since coming back has been the one I just made for pre-order. Going for two boxes of Masters 25 since I've got a strong feeling this will be the make or break set for MtG and will set the mood going forward into Return to Dominaria.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'm 39, and could've been an early adopter in high school when a handful of kids were playing at lunch in 94/95. I didn't start till about 98, but didn't have a job, so I relied on hand-me-downs. I suspect a lot of people who could have been vintage players now if they had the foresight are about the same. I'm just a commander guy. I'm not the oldest in my area of players, but the majority are highschool or college age for sure.
20? Go to my shop, no teens there. Just me, and I'm 12.
That's interesting, so are the players basically all 20+ or 12 and younger? I've been feeling for a long time that the player base for the game has generally just kept going up with time and that there really isn't a lot of new blood coming into the game. In the shop I go to locally it seems like most players are in their community college years, and the ones who were in high school basically stopped coming / attending except possibly on pre-release weekend. That seems to bring people out of the wood works.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
My flgs is largely university aged, with a few high schoolers and a sizable postgrad contingent.
A couple of the young adult set are teaching their kids to play, and I think the youngest semi-regular player is probably like 10, but she actually plays unlike the younger kids who mainly just exist in proximity while their parents play prereleases and drafts. The oldest couple who show up regularly are like 60-70, and they used to own the store before they retired.
So we've got a big range, but it's mainly late teens to thirty somethings. I'm 28, been playing off and on for around ten years.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are.” Esmeralda Santiago Art is life itself.
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this
U Soramaro, First to Dream U (decklist)
W Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite W (decklist)
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf (decklist)
Glissa, The Traitor (decklist)
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Borborygmos, Enraged (decklist)
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores WBG
WRG Uril, the Miststalker WRG (decklist)
My son John is 22 and has been playing since he was 6. He's pretty darned good, but prefers multiplayer Commander.
My friend Pat is 60. He and I play Commander at the local every Thursday, and sometimes pickup games at other shops. Pat's son is about 26, and plays Commander while assigned to an Army post in Germany with his wife.
I make life counters on the side, sell them on Etsy. There's nothing quite like them there, so I do okay. I am currently making three digital Steampunk Life Counters with Pat, intended for Commander. The idea is to enjoy all aspect of the game, not just the card-flopping. I have a custom playing mat, I have custom-made deck boxes, a carrying case, life counters, etc. Quality of life, if you will.
I don't know. Maybe that 'quality of life' thing is a concern only to old guys like me. The younger guys seem content with backpacks and binders, pencil and pad of paper. The playing of the game is the only thing that seems to occupy their attention.
Me, I've slowed down a tad and I'll be honest - I love the look of a foil island when it hits the table. It's beautiful. Even when I lose, which is common, I still get so much pleasure from the look and feel of a smooth spalted birch deck box. I read the pithy sayings on my playmat, and contemplate the beautiful art and gleam of gold and silver metal beads on my life counter (the promo 'Servo Exhibition', a subject dear to the toymaker in me).
My tokens are mostly pretty little glass counters: yellow, blue, green and red, they've served me faithfully as every token type you can imagine since 1996. I flip a silver dollar minted in 1900 to determine who gets the boot.
I don't meet too many players my age, but we are out there. And we have our fun. My son, who learned to play Magic from Dad, now helps Dad with the finer points of Pre-Release deck construction and the playing thereof. The circle is complete, and the game is what it always was - an excuse to hang out with people you like.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
UGMefolkGU
GElvesG
Casual
UBPirate ArtifactsBU
A lot of players in our parts are ~20 and the long term players are in their 30s or 40s.
A small amount is older, but if you ask me, they dont look that old (and behave not that old) , they are literally part of us and fit very nicely.
Very young players usually come with their parents , as our FNM starts late at 7pm and ends usually at around 12pm.
But its great to see players that you know since 20 years with their children to enjoy the game today.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
That's interesting, so are the players basically all 20+ or 12 and younger? I've been feeling for a long time that the player base for the game has generally just kept going up with time and that there really isn't a lot of new blood coming into the game. In the shop I go to locally it seems like most players are in their community college years, and the ones who were in high school basically stopped coming / attending except possibly on pre-release weekend. That seems to bring people out of the wood works.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
A couple of the young adult set are teaching their kids to play, and I think the youngest semi-regular player is probably like 10, but she actually plays unlike the younger kids who mainly just exist in proximity while their parents play prereleases and drafts. The oldest couple who show up regularly are like 60-70, and they used to own the store before they retired.
So we've got a big range, but it's mainly late teens to thirty somethings. I'm 28, been playing off and on for around ten years.
Art is life itself.