Hello and welcome back to In General. Last time we were discussing some questions that I am frequently asked by readers. At the time of this writing I am travelling in preparation for my Thanksgiving celebrations, so today's article will be short and sweet. If you missed the previous article scroll and down to read below. Let's get to the questions.
How did you get you start with Magic?
I began playing the game when I was very young. My brothers were given some cards by a friend. It was mostly junk from the early expansions of the game. At the time, Ice Age had just come out. I really had no idea about the bigger game because I was so young at that time. I thought that the cards that were in that box were the only cards that would ever exist.
I became obsessed with Blue early on, mostly because that was the only thing that I could play. One brother had staked off Red and the other Green and White. I remember trying to cram more and more counterspells into my deck until it was about eighty or so cards. There were only two creature cards in the whole deck: a Merfolk of the Pearl Trident and a Leviathan, probably thirty counterspells. This was not a good deck. It was until a few years later before I started to realize why I lost all the time. I thought that the game was one hundred percent luck. It hadn't yet occurred to me that I had choices and those choices could affect the outcome of the game. It was Magic that taught me that skill existed and what it meant.
I started playing and learning about the game more seriously when Mercadian Masques came out and I started to buy boosters and play at the local store much more. That is when things started to really pick up. I began playing MTGO right as 7th Edition came out because they let you play a free trial which was really cool to me since I still had a monthly allowance from my parents of like ten bucks.
What is your favorite draft format of all time?
I am going to assume that we aren't talking about Cube, because we all know that I would say Cube. I loved Rise of the Eldrazi, but so did pretty much everyone else, because it was sweet. I really like Invasion-Planeshift-Apocalypse. I like that old-timey wild west feel that formats used to have. Wizards has really made a lot of progress in simplifying and streamlining the limited experience in the last ten years, but some part of me will always be partial to the old school Magic I used to know. Drafting prior to 8th Edition was a whole different ball game.
What was your favorite set?
Champions of Kamigawa. No further explanation.
Favorite card?
Grandpa Growth. Duh.
Well, what was your favorite constructed environment?
Again, assuming that current Pauper doesn't exist? The last time I played Standard was years ago. The last time that I enjoyed Standard was long before that. Probably, Onslaught-Mirrodin Standard. Everyone remembers how brutal Affinity became, but no one remembers that Affinity had a very bad matchup against Astral Slide. Do you know why? WRATH OF GOD. The last time Wrath was legal was about a full decade ago, and after they took it away Magic went through one of the worst periods in its history. Coincidence? I think not.
Why do you always want to draft five color?
I am not going to tell you what my limited rating is, but it is high. Higher than you'd believe. I play a lot of limited and I understand the game well enough to see the lines that you can draw across formats. When I get tired of playing a format, which happens pretty quickly these days, I just like to play five color. Many modern limited sets are so similar to each other that they often get solved in a matter of weeks. I want to keep playing, but I can't keep myself interested unless I am still learning and trying new things.
Plus, we all know it deep down inside: Five color was the way that the game was meant to be played.
That's all for today Zoners. I hope you enjoyed your turkey and time off. We will be back next week to start off our second annual year-in-review series, starting with the "Hits". I'll see you then.
-GG
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