by Angela Hartwick
THE BASICS OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Even if you’ve never personally tapped a land for mana, there’s a good
chance you’ve at least heard of the card game “Magic: the Gathering”. First
released in 1994, Magic has stood the test of time as both a fun and strategic
game that continues to attract players with its high level of customization and
widespread network of both casual and competitive gameplay opportunities.
While you’ll certainly want to spend some time practicing at the kitchen
table, joining in an organized event can be a lot of fun! My first foray into
organized tournament play was four years ago when I attended a “Friday Night
Magic” event at the Place d’Orleans mall. There were only about eight other
players and they were roughly the age group of Doogie Howser...which did a lot
to calm my nerves. Over the years I’ve attended many more local Magic
events (usually with a mostly adult crowd) and, sadly, I’ve yet to see more
than four women at any event (with the exception of those run by the Ottawa
Ladies’ MTG Society).
Magic is certainly a complex game, but like most good games the fundamentals
are actually pretty simple. Here is a summary of how the game works:
Each player has a deck of cards and 20 life points. Your mission is to
use your cards to bring your opponent to 0 life (or in rare cases, to run them
out of cards).
At the beginning of your turn, you draw a card and may play one land
card:
The five basic land types |
Lands provide “mana” - which is what you need to cast spells - and come
in five colours: red, green, black, blue, white.
The most common thing you will use your mana for is to play creatures,
which can be used to attack your opponent or to protect you from their
creatures by “blocking”. The two numbers in the bottom right hand corner
indicate the creature’s power (how much damage it deals) and toughness (how
much damage it can take before it dies).
Lovisa Coldeyes is one of the fiercest-looking (and most fully clad) female characters |
Other types of spells include artifacts, enchantments, instants, and
sorceries, which can do things like directly injure your opponent, kill
opposing creatures, and increase the power of your own creatures.
And that’s basically it! You take turns drawing cards, playing lands,
and casting spells until one of you deals the final blow and declares victory.
Would you like to learn more? “Duels of the Planeswalkers” is a decent online version of the game with easy-to-use tutorials and is available on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, iPad, or your Android tablet. If you prefer to play face to face, contact the Comic Book Shoppe or check the event schedules of our local comic book stores as many offer several M:tG events per week.
Angela is a 30-something year old mom of three kids
- a baby, a school-aged kid and a teenager – and a furbaby, living in
Orleans with her geek soul mate husband. She studied English Literature and
Social Work but took an unexpected turn somewhere and ended up working as a
policy analyst for the feds. Hobbies include reading, playing boardgames and
Magic: the Gathering, cooking healthy foods, blogging, and discussing favourite
tv shows and movies. She is the proud organizer of the Ottawa Geek Social Club,
which strives to provide meetup opportunities that reflect the many facets of
geekdom and beyond! www.ogsc.ca.
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