Games from the Crypt #8 - Magic the Gathering, the Once and Future King

OK, I know what you are thinking readers – “why is MB doing a Games from the Crypt about a game that is not only very much alive, but is also pretty much keeping Hasbro from insolvency?” But hear me out. Magic: The Gathering today is not really the same game it was three decades ago. Somewhere between 1993 and 2026 that game became something else entirely, despite the core rules and concept being mostly the same. As someone who has been playing since ’93, I often rhapsodize about those Good Old Days and how the MTG I initially fell in love died a long, long time ago.

Flashback to 1993. I’m in my college English class. This guy is excitedly telling a friend about a game he’s gotten into. He describes it as a card game where players have their own decks made of unique spells and monsters and you use land to cast them. I thought hey that sounds pretty cool, maybe something like Wiz-War without the board. A few days later I’m in my local comics and games shop (Titan Games and Comics, IFYKYK). I’m picking up a couple of Gundam comic, these things where an American publisher took stills from 0080 and 0083 and made a comic out of them. On the counter when I check out is a display box of what would have been most likely Unlimited or possibly even Alpha/Beta starter decks. “Oh cool, that game that guy was talking about. I’ll pick these up next time.”

And of course “next time” they weren’t there. And thus began a mad quest to find starter decks and boosters, quite literally culminating in buying up-charged packs from a rogue Hobbytown USA employee at a Denny’s. For a couple of years on- at least until Settlers of Catan hit my games gang- it was all we played from that point on. And yeah, it was magical.

When Richard Garfield started drafting up the ideas for “Mana Flash”, as it was unfortunately titled early on, the concept was already a million bucks in the bank, check cleared. The initial business plan from Garfield Games, drawn up by Garfield and Peter Adkinson, is fascinating to read- these guys were literally coming up with something entirely new. Drawing from designs like the aforementioned Wiz-War and Cosmic Encounter, the whole idea of a dueling card game where players build custom decks was positively groundbreaking. Packaging it in a trading card format was a genius-level masterstroke. But there were some things that made it different- things that didn’t survive.

One, is of course, the whole notion of ante. Both players are supposed to cut their decks and put up a card as stakes, winner takes all. This had a couple of effects. One is that you would be less likely to stack your deck with your most valuable cards. Another is that you would want to play with cards like Demonic Attorney that affected the ante. But more negatively, it could mean that your Mox Jet was wagered against a Benalish Hero. This all died out once cards started to get assigned aftermarket values- nobody wanted that third scenario in their games, and the concept of gambling exited the game quietly.

Which is kind of unfortunate, because it sort of played into another of Magic’s long dead concepts. Garfield originally conceived that decks would be organic and changing, yet you would still be collecting one deck. So you would buy a starter deck and some boosters, build it out, and play to win new cards. What an awesome concept that was- but I don’t think anyone was expecting the whole “Mr. Suitcase” phenomenon or players buying multiple booster boxes to make ultra-optimized decks.

Back then, there was no “meta”. Especially through the first few sets. Sure, someone would work out that Icy Manipulator plus Royal Assassin was a great combo and then everyone would be out looking for those cards. But it was nowhere near this scientific, crowdsourced meta nightmare that it is today. We didn’t even really have “netdecks” at first and in my circles when they did appear, they were actually frowned upon. It was all so frontier, so new. Arabian Nights, The Dark, Antiquities, Legends…these sets would come out be so full of mystery and wonder rather than “preview” cards and spoilers six months in advance. And man, do I miss that. I miss the Magic that was buying a starter deck and playing it straight from the box, not knowing what the two rares were. Then maybe picking up a couple of boosters and being thrilled to get a card that seemed really rare but was actually uncommon and sticking it in your deck simply because you liked the picture. Heck, I still remember when we realized, “hey wait…you don’t have to play with all five colors”.

I’ve found that Commander is the modern Magic format that is most like that, especially playing with the great precons that WOTC puts out periodically. I love shuffling up one and seeing what’s going to happen and figuring out combos or wincons on the fly. It really does capture the vibe of old fashioned starter deck Magic, and it’s ironic that it is the game’s most popular format today.

It’s funny too because Commander is a multiplayer format, and back in the mid-90s we were playing tons of multiplayer Magic without any special rules. I recall scoffing at my friend Dan’s giant, 100 card deck of all singletons – he basically just made a deck of cards he liked – and now here we are with 100 card decks of all singletons.

I’ve recently just fallen off the wagon again so yes, Magic has been put back in the Games Crypt again. I think for a lot of players across the game's history, we go through cycle of Magic's death and resurrection almost like a dark ritual. It emerges, consumes, and then something mortally wounds it again. The current forced march of set after set peppered with Universes Beyond releases that I have varying degrees of disinterest in has kind of pushed me away again and although by all accounts (including corporate bank accounts) the game is thriving it feels like the Magic I love doesn’t exist anymore. And this despite official vintage formats and old school players keeping the Old Ways alive. WotC even periodically reprints classic cards- I was thrilled to get a reprint Lord of the Pit with new art from a Secret Lair drop.

It many ways, the dead Magic of the past was a better, more alive, and more compelling game. It wasn’t run over by tryhard TCG sweats, speculator bros, and “competitive” scenes. I am trying really hard not to come across as a cane-shaking oldhead but it’s just true. I’ve done my time in the shark tank that is Standard format on Arena. I used to host Friday Night Magic and sanctioned WOTC events at my store. I’ve been in and out of the game many times over the years. And every time I wind up at an impasse where I simply miss how it felt to play the game 30 years ago versus what it’s like to play today. Rest in peace, again, Magic. I’ll see you soon.

Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don't forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.

Tags: history | Magic the Gahtering | tcg | games from the crypt | old