My 25 years journey into Magic the Gathering

My Magic: The Gathering journey spans 25 years, from clueless teen in a pre-internet era to burnt-out Arena grinder. Now, paper Magic’s budget chaos (think janky decks and pack-cracking weekends) has reignited why I fell for the game. With the Tarkir: Dragonstorm prerelease coming soon, I’m diving into my first ever event. Here’s why analog beats digital.

I got into Magic: The Gathering back in my teens, like 25 years ago. My friend from junior high and I were obsessed with the art and gameplay, but living in a small rural town with no internet at the time made it tough. We had no clue if the cards we bought were any good, and even figuring out the rules felt like solving a puzzle.

Some of my old legacy cards. Top notch art!

Fast forward to a few years ago. I downloaded Magic Arena on a whim. It sucked me right back in. Being able to play endless matches against real people was a dream come true after years of struggling to find opponents for the physical game.

But after a while, it lost its spark. Since you can craft any card digitally if you grind enough, everyone just copies the same top-tier decks from online guides to rank up. The whole creative process of building decks, which I loved, got sidelined. If you try experimenting with off-meta cards? Good luck not wasting your resources and getting steamrolled by optimized decks.

That’s why my friend and I ditched Arena and went back to paper magic. We grabbed some Bloomburrow and Duskmourn boosters, then went full-on cardboard junkies with two 36-booster boxes of Foundations. We spent a weekend cracking packs and doing sealed drafts. It was a blast.

Foundations unpacking party

Now I’ve connected with a local group that plays casual, budget-friendly games. Nobody’s dropping crazy cash on single cards, so it’s all about creativity. Commons and uncommons are dirt cheap, which means you can test wild deck ideas without blowing your budget. It’s brought back that experimental vibe I missed online.

The new Tarkir: Dragonstorm set drops in two weeks, and I’m hyped. I signed up for my first ever prerelease. I’ll get to try fresh cards and face off against strangers, which is totally new for me. Equal parts nervous and excited. Fingers crossed it goes well!

In later posts, I will share some of my favorite decks and strategies.

Prerelease packs are clan specific for this set.