Was it not because of the "Wayback Machine" the following entry would have to be started from 0. I originally wrote this article back in January 2019. I thought that time was most likely the end of MTG for me overall, but alas! I ended up playing a bit more during that year that had just begun (despite the fact that whenever I started playing my blood pressue would go to around 160/100, or at least until I got hospitalised in May of that year) And so I deleted the blog entry ;)
2019 was the end of many things. Thanos got defeated and Stage 3 of Marvel ended, we had the disappointing end of "Game of Thrones", Heisei era finished and Reiwa started... and last but not least, the world as we knew it came to an end. Even now with the pandemic ending, what we have upon us is an entirely new thing. A new thing waiting for us to fill it with the best!
Place where I met so many friends circa 2003-2006, many Magic moments!
Anyway, during those days of 2019 MTG came to its end for me physically speaking. La Libreria Francesa disappeared, at least it did on how I knew it from back my teenage days. The only way to play Magic was going far from home by cab, something I wasn't willing to do during a Friday or Saturday. In general, most of the people I had loved playing with, were no longer living here, and those that were, were simply doing other things. It was clear to me that Magic had come to its end.
Still, there were some MTG "leftovers" in my interior. Enough to reach #1 world place in MTG Arena during one week. Enough to make around $500 in MTGO by opening Okos just a week before my transplant. Enough to play a little bit.
Keeping for memory some of my last times playing MTG - April or May 2019
During 2020 with all the chaos around the world, I decided not to play. I just wanted to witness "live" the things that were happening in our world. This year, I played a little bit upon the release of Modern Horizons 2, trying to do with Ragavan the same I had done with Oko... with mix results.
Finally, some weeks ago I decided to sell my remaining MTG collection. I know I'm not going to play in person any time, and it was simply best to make some money (even if it wasn't much) than to keep those cards collecting dust. Also,with how life is now, my age and my interests... I don't see myself playing online either.
Well Ladies & Gentlemen, that's all regarding the "UPDATE" here is the original blog entry:
Well, 2019 is finally here. With it come new ambitions, new goals, new dreams, and a solid resolution on achieving every single part of them. I firmly believe that in order to receive in your life new things, you have to leave behind others. It is in my case, that I consider it's time to leave behind Magic, at the very least in its pseudo pro-ish way I was intending to play it. True, it has been in its bigger portion a positive experience, however, it has consumed a lot of my time, impending me other things.
I first started playing Magic: The Gathering back at High School, somewhere around February or March 2003. Back then, initiated by my friends from the school bus. Until that moment I had been a kid solely focused on playing video games of the Pokemon franchise and real life football (soccer) . Eventually since all people around my age had started playing Magic, and they had been insisting on me playing for at least a year, I decided to give it a try; What a wonderful experience it turned out to be! At first, I fell in love for its fantasy theme illustrations. Works by Rebecca Guay, Wayne England, Kev Walker, Terese Nielsen. Really beautiful works of art that transported to me to a realm similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Precisely, I have to mention the Lord of the Rings here. If it had not been because of this massive pop culture phenomenon that was this cinematographic masterpiece, probably I wouldn't have started Magic. I guess such is the case for many people of my generation that were young teens back then. As validation of this I have the fact that the following generation didn't have at all an interest in this card game. It seems to me that now everyone playing the game are adults.
I was transported to a fantasy realm along my friends that gave me another source of entertainment and communication at school. It coincided with some times in my life where I was experiencing a healing from some trauma, and from bullying by a psycopath that had lasted over a year (until he got kicked out of this school). But it was when I started going to the game center that my whole relation with Magic evolved into something unique and new in my life; I discovered there were dozens of not only kids around my age devoted to the game, but also what seemed to be like young normal adults. All dedicating from Saturday morning till evening exchanging cards, building decks, participating in tournaments, making new friends. People going along their group of friends to the nearest Pizzeria to get some lunch while discussing about not only Magic, but life in general! It was truly like the game land of Pinocchio without the downside of becoming a donkey.
Let's not even mention when I discovered that the game store not only had tournaments held Saturday, but also during Friday night, and that these tournaments delivered special foil cards with the "FNM" (Friday Night Magic) symbol on them. It was truly all what I could imagine a perfect life was at that point of my 13 years.
My school Magic success began upon buying the pre-constructed Sliver deck from Legions. Finally started comprehending deeper the concept of sinergy, finding myself beating my friends regularly. Soon after I expanded the deck to the whole variety of colors and bought a Planeshift rare card "Draco" which not only it had a fantastic illustration
, but in general it was relatively easy to play it cheap enough in my sliver deck thanks to Rampant Growth and Explosive Vegetation. The deck included a couple of Armadillo Cloak as well, so you can imagine enchanting the artifact creature with them; good old times.
Eventually I found out that the Sliver deck wasn't good enough either after entering a Standard tournament one Saturday and being beaten by the very powerful
Mirari's Wake that at the time ruled over old T2.
The "competitive field"
Tempted by the idea of earning boosters and tasting the flavor of victory, I started delving online, checking up for possible standard decks to build. Being 14 years old at the time, I knew I didn't count with such a big budget (just what was given by my mom) and so I built a zombies deck. It was the first deck with which I won FNM'S and Saturday tournaments. Later followed by a Ponza deck, which was even stronger. In a question of months I had passed from being a very casual player, to someone with big hunger to perform well, someone that disliked profoundly losing. Expanding my format frontiers as well, and finding an amazing source of challenge in the limited format. Pre-releases became my thing: back then there wasn't anything more thrilling than participating in one of these events here. More than 200 players used to participate in those pre-releases, they were tournaments that would last a whole day, with fantastic premiation.
Tempted by the idea of earning boosters and tasting the flavor of victory, I started delving online, checking up for possible standard decks to build. Being 14 years old at the time, I knew I didn't count with such a big budget (just what was given by my mom) and so I built a zombies deck. It was the first deck with which I won FNM'S and Saturday tournaments. Later followed by a Ponza deck, which was even stronger. In a question of months I had passed from being a very casual player, to someone with big hunger to perform well, someone that disliked profoundly losing. Expanding my format frontiers as well, and finding an amazing source of challenge in the limited format. Pre-releases became my thing: back then there wasn't anything more thrilling than participating in one of these events here. More than 200 players used to participate in those pre-releases, they were tournaments that would last a whole day, with fantastic premiation.
I wasn't the only one that became interested in the game; like me there were hundreds of other kids, teens and adults participating regularly. Around middle 2004 things became serious and even further chimerical by the arrival of Pro Tour Qualifiers. First being a Mirrodin block constructed one, in which 66 players participated and I ended up in 3rd place! I was the youngest player in that t8, reaching for me that position made me feel as if I had become something else with the game, I had achieved a union that was going to last. On the contrary, other people around my age, and some older, commenced to leave the game at the same time. The fantasy theme fever had passed, the hormones of many people were kicking hard, college duties appeared, and so many friends and people I knew abandoned the thrill.
But not me, of course not me. I was a real fan of the game in the whole sense. Having Magic during Friday and Saturday wasn't enough for me, I needed more. I played all formats in an unofficial web server called Magic-League. T1. T1.5, Drafts, Sealed, T2, Extended, Block Constructed, whatever else they came with in mind. It was a free option to the very expensive Magic Online at the time, it had tournaments called Masters during Sunday, in which the winner would get around $100 dollars in store credit (I won a couple of times and achieved t8 many others) There were players there that are at the highest level of the game in general (like Paulo Vitor and Javier Dominguez, known back there
as PV and Thalai respectively) . There were many good players! participating in tournaments with them regularly through Apprentice and Magic Workstation (now defunct software) made me a much better player, made me one of the top ones in my country.
Just one day after my 17th Birthday I won the best thing during my Magic time: A Pro Tour Qualifier comprised of
Ravnica block sealed and
Coldsnap draft, earned me an invitation to
Pro Tour Kobe, which was to be hold in Japan just two months later. I was stunned, marvelled, couldn't believe what I had just achieved! I thought I was going to finally make the jump to the big stage! not only that, but I also was going to my favorite country in the world: Japan.
My honeymoon with Magic wasn't meant to be. Soon after winning the Pro Tour Qualifier, I received an email in which I was informed that I wouldn't be given the flying ticket to Japan because of internal policies of WOTC concerning underage foreign players. Instead, if I went to Japan and participate in the event, they would later return me part of the money. Despite my efforts to assist, I couldn't do so; a ticket from Colombia to Japan simply cost an amount of money that I didn't have by any means, nor my family had available for that moment in time. No rich sponsor around, nor anyone else could help. I had to breath deeply and let the tournament go away. Which is a shame, as I had been practicing Time Spiral sealed, and I really liked the format.
Perhaps it was at that moment in time that my relationship with Magic changed for bad. A bit later, after receiving a constant negative feedback by most of the community (people that simply thought I didn't want to go to Japan) as also beginning my filmmaking studies, I sold most of my collection... This was in early 2007.
My "retirement from Magic" didn't last long though. Once after becoming 18 years old, I decided to try my luck once again as this time around there was no excuse to not be given a ticket in case of winning. Prepared along a group of very good players for the 2007 Nationals. Played a Jeskai momentary blink deck, probably the best deck that season. Unfortunately I missed t8 because of my Magic Worlds in New York. It didn't seem that difficult; I was already in the top 100 and in the t10 of my country. Played a lot of standard tournaments with the Jeskai blink as also with a Rakdos Satanic Sligh, did relatively in one or two sealed ptqs at the time of Lorwyn's release. This is when my bad luck with Magic stroke once again: One week before they closed the t50 and invited the players, I was in the 53th Position. Along the whole community, they decided to create a Saturday tournament for helping the players that needed some DCI points to achieve this. Of course I went to this tournament and had a good performance, it was a sure thing that I would qualify to the Worlds now. However, the freaking game store decided not to report the tournament for three long weeks! incredibly I had missed on the Worlds simply because of the lazyness of a stupid Hobby Center. Needless to say, my frustration with the game grew even longer after experiencing this.
mediocre draft record that time. However my win ratio in standard with this deck was very good, and so I focused myself on being in the top 50 of whole Latin America before November 2007, if I achieved that, I would be invited to
Early 2008, I had left the film making studies and entered to proper college for studying Political Science. I was now full of work, essays I had to delve myself in, many authors to read, and a passionate crush to live with a Caribbean girl, there wasn't definitely any time for Magic. Later in July 2008, a day that I remember Spain played Italy at the football Euro 2008, I ended up playing a Lorwyn block constructed PTQ. A friend had lent me the cards to play a mono black Rogue aggro deck. Something like 17 or 18 players participated only. Lost the first two rounds, but given that the tournament was so small, I decided to keep on playing and see what happened. Won the next three rounds and entered the T8 with the last spot. My attitude at this point was a bit sarcastic, completely relaxed, as I thought I was living extra time, and whatever would happen would be good.
Quarter finals in which I would play the player with the best record of the tournament: The older of two brothers (that were good players, I knew them well, but that they had always been whiny bitches at the time of losing, perhaps the most unbearable in whole community) He was playing UB Fairy control. He felt reassured he would win, but ended losing this match to me 0-2. Shouting and insulting before leaving the place. Typical story
Semi finals: Another very solid player also with UB Fairy... The Rogues were too quick for him, and I beat him 2-0 as well.
The final match I was going to play an old friend. He was a good player that had been getting 2nd positions for more than 3 years. Always second place, and of course, he was frustrated with that. This time around he was playing his favorite archetype, BG Rock, centered around Doran, The Siege Tower.
After shaking hands and wishing each other luck we began playing; First game I mulligan to 4 and somehow ended up winning. Second game he beats me. Third game I mulligan to 4 once again, this time around I manage to set a very aggresive early position, one turn more and I would win (he had no cards in hand and just a mana elf in play) but he topdecks a removal that kills my three creatures (it was a spell that put one -1-1 counter in one creature, two -2-2 in two, and three in 3) I failed to draw a single creature in the next 3 turns, while he immediately drew a Doran and other things. The Berlin dream that was once turn away from materializing, escaped!
Of course this experienced suck, as I had been so close. But I wasn't really sad, since at that point in life, I wasn't playing the game regularly, as also, I knew my swiss record sucked that day and I only got into the t8 simply because of lack of assistance. This friend ended up achieving the best MTG record up to date for any Colombian as he got into the Top 16 in Berlin, nearly missing an epic T8 spot.
This time I'm definitely out of the game....
I returned the deck to my friend, and considering I didn't have almost any card left as I had sold most of my collection, I continued with my life. I kept studying political science, having a social life that had got nothing to do with Magic, and planting the seed of my dream of living and studying in Europe. Didn't read anything about the game for the rest of 2008 or 2009, and in 2010 months before departing to Europe I got rid of my remaining cards; the FNM and DCI collection I had been getting since 2003. Actually, I sold it for a very cheap price. Practically felt no need about keeping those cards, didnt want to have anything to do with the game. My life now was going to be Europe, studies, culture, girls... Everything different.
Every once in a while walking in Prague I noticed Hobby stores selling Magic. Not even once I felt the craving of coming back to the game. Between esotericism, and fantasies with Anna my free time was occupied.
And then, it was that disease stroke. That the Bohemian dream was finished, and that I returned to Colombia in a hurry...
The post-Kidney times
2011 was a tough year. and honestly speaking I wish none other comes with such problems. Most of the year was full of tension, that's at least how I remember it now. Despite this, the months seemed to pass quickly. I remember Innistrad was about to be released, and an old friend from school (the same guy that introduced me originally to the game) started talking to me about the game. About how I should come back to it, how cool the community was at that point, and in general how entertaining it was. I guess it was a coincidence or better to say a synchronicity, that Innistrad was a block precisely set in a Germanish/Middle European kind of place. Its folk and illustrations certainly seemed in tune with Prague. Without anything to lose and much to win, I decided to give it a try. Afterall, my life was a complete mess at that time in almost every single sense, Magic at the very least would bring some entertainment.
Certainly Magic brought entertainment back to my life, along with it came old friendships recovered and new ones. Innistrad block passed and eventually other blocks. The modern format was created, which at that point in time and for many years was really the best I have seen of Magic since the good ol' times. Additionally, somewhen around 2012 I tried Magic Online for the first time. It immediately became an almost addiction for me. Being able to play drafts at almost any time, daily tournaments, all kind of formats! Pauper was something new, something amazing! Years passed by in which I had a lot of fun both offline and online thanks to Magic, even leaving decent profits thanks to good records in the latter part. It helped to focus my mind, but perhaps focus it too much on something that in the end is not worth it.
The final cut
I don't want to be ungrateful in life towards a game that has brought friendships, many nice moments, challenges, and overall experiences that will be kept in my memory. However, it is that maybe I have grown old, maybe conservative in some sense, simply maybe different. What the game was for me, it no longer is. The times have changed, the game has changed, situations have changed, I have changed.
The hobby center where I mostly played since the very beginning, no longer exists. This was a place that used to be situated close to home, it was quite quickly to get there. It had its up and downs, actually it had been in decline for many years, but at least it was close. Instead now there's a place that is well administered with devotion towards the game, but it's much more distant. Devoid too of the stories written for so many years in the other. Sadly, it is like a blank space for me.
The community is very different to the ones I had been with in my different spells. Most of my old friends no longer play the game. They have moved on with their lives, relocated in another countries, some married, even having kids now. I don't have anything against the people playing the game now, but simply speaking, we don't really have much in common. I don't laugh along them as I used to with those in the past. Outside of the game there really isn't much to speak about.
But most importantly, the game has been taking a dramatic shift. In its corporate desire for profit (who can really blame them) they have moved away from the aspects that made the game Magic. The new illustrations lack that love that those made with pincel had. The game has become something else, something that isn't worth for me to delve too much into, nor to analysis that much. Finally now concentrated on converting it into a eSport (a notion which I abhor) Magic Arena comes with a complete transformation on what drafts are (you don't even draft against other players) and it seems very focused on bringing flashy animations and distracting sounds, things I perceive as needless. But this is just my humble opinion, of someone that finds the old Apprentice game with nostalgia. I'm sure Magic in its new era will be much more popular that it has ever been. It has everything to succeed. quietly not the game I loved.
I also would like to mention that even if the game had paralyzed in time, or it had taken a different direction, more akin to what I like; I would still probably choose to leave it at this point in time. Just some days ago there was an article in Channelfireball about "what your goals within the game are". It was a honest take on what people are striving for with it. I find it sensational and amusing how most people start with the game as hobby, and somewhere along the road they develop this notion that they are in a sort of professional career. I respect this in people that actually achieve success in the game soon after, those that start performing well at the big stage in Europe and North America. However, there's many that have this attitude in my country, the same way of thinking I was once had, and I sincerely believe they are losing their time. Investing tons of time into the game, wasting away a lot of money in cards that soon after fall in price. And they never get to perform decently at the international field. Their effort would deserve more respect if they at least were enjoying the game this way, but I know them, and most of the time they're not enjoying anything. Quite the contrary, they're on a mix of constant stress and cold arrogance. The game has taken over their heads too much, up to the point that freely enjoying a pre-release has become impossible.
Magic is a difficult game once you begin climbing the ladder and thirsty of reaching the top. There will always be people investing more time and more money into the game. How can you deal with that? Besides this of course, you need luck as that's an evident part of the game. The fact that new expansions come every three months means that the strategy is always on constant evolution, always needing to be refined, analyzed on and on forever. It truly can become like some nightmarish mini Samsara. I choose to gratefuly leave it behind, choose to have a positive sleep at night after playing my piano instead of thinking within my sleep time how to defeat the Niv Mizzet Parun of my opponent. Choose to drink the sunlight while horseback riding or hiking in the mountains than having a white light above me while playing cards at noon, and choose to hang with my friends and my girlfriend instead of sitting down wasting my life away in Magic Arena.
I will keep the best memories in my head for sure, perhaps even keep some basic foil lands from old expansions. As for the rest, the sooner it leaves the better.
If by any chance a Magic player ends up reading this article, I don't intend to discourage you from continue playing it. Each one has different experiences, a different take on life, and of course, a different life to live. Maybe in your fate you can write to become a champion of the game, or whatever floats your boat.
I don't discount the possibility that maybe at some point I will enter to play a holiday cube. Though, it looks improbable.
Having said it all, till the last drop it is time to say.....
AU REVOIR MAGIC: THE GATHERING!
