Fun Friday # 7 – Magic the Gathering, and the many ways to play

Hi there everyone! 

Happy Friday! 

So for today's Fun Friday, I decided I wanted to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart... Magic the Gathering.  

I have been playing magic for only about 5 years now, but I really took to it quickly. I have built a solid friend base that plays with me on a fairly regular basis, as does my beautiful wife. Now, For this Fun Friday, I decided that I am going to talk about the different formats of magic. There are several different formats, each with a different feel and flow to them.  

The first format I want to cover is Modern. The Modern Format covers all cards from 8th edition on, and as a general rule is the most casual of the formats. There are banned cards, but those only really matter in a tournament setting. I really like playing this format because the majority of my decks fit within this range. The modern format deck building limitations are pretty forgiving, you can have up to 4 of the same card in the deck (Playsets), and the deck minimum is 60 cards. The max is actually as many cards as you can shuffle unassisted. These same guidelines apply to Standard.  

The next format to talk about is the Standard Format. Standard is much more competitive because it forces the deck building to be at the forefront of your mind... you can only use the last two blocks of cards to build your decks. I have built standard decks that I really liked, but because the blocks rotate every 9 months or so they quickly step out of standard into modern. As it currently stands, I have no standard format decks. And frankly, I am ok with that. I am a casual gamer, I play for fun with my friends. If I ever move to a competitive setting (Friday Night Magic, Tournaments, Release day events) Then I will have to move into Standard. But I will never move to competitive. It sucks the fun out of the game, and for me, I would much rather enjoy the game and lose than stress out and win.  

The last format I am going to talk about is the Commander Format. Commander is a system where you have a 100 card deck, with no duplicates in your deck other than basic lands. These games are much slower, and much more unpredictable. This is also the best game format for multiplayer games, because there are many cards which affect all other players. Commander is, without a doubt, my favorite way to play Magic. The games take so much longer, but it really opens up different ways to play cards together.  

Just a little note as I close up this segment. If you are a Magic player, and looking to improve your skills, there are a few things you can do. Firstly, the Duels of the Planeswalkers games that Wizards of the Coast made are actually really great for learning all the core mechanics. Secondly, Wizards of the Coast posts all the Magic Pro Tour coverage on YouTube. Want to see some good magic? Check that out. Watching how those guys and gals play magic is.... scary. The deck combinations they discover and utilize are really something else. It will make you a better player just to observe and listen to the commentary.  

Thank you! 

-Rob-