Innistrad

Game: Magic: The Gathering: Innistrad
Released: Wizards of the Coast, September 30, 2011
System: (Wireless) Collectible Trading Card Game
Game started: September 30, 2011
Amount completed: Bought a bunch of cards, played a draft with some friends, currently building decks with Laura.

Chip’s Thoughts:

For me, playing Magic is a rather recent pasttime. Earlier this year, one of my friends (who has been playing for years) decided to teach me how to “play cards,” and even offered to build me a deck using items from his collection. For those of you without a disposable income (or those hoping to keep incomes at their disposal), let me warn you now: this is how it starts. You start by playing with a deck your friends made for you. You play a few games, have some fun, and are content with this experience. Then, you get invited to play a draft.

A draft is where an entire box of booster packs is purchased and split between a group of people. Each of you builds a deck on the spot from the cards provided, and plays against each other to determine who gets first pick at the rare cards. From this experience, you now have plenty of new cards- enough to build a deck (or two) of your own! You start to come up with strategies all your own, decks that are just waiting to be built and played. But sure enough, you lack just a few cards you “really need” to finish your deck. Then, you notice that Target sells Magic cards, conveniently right by the register. “I’ll just buy a pack or two. No big deal, they are only 4 bucks.” A pack with each Target purchase becomes a couple packs a week becomes several packs a week becomes buying fat packs becomes buying entire boxes.

Or maybe not. Maybe you have the strength to say no. I certainly did for a little while. And then, Wizards of the Coast announced Innistrad, and I was lost to the void. Innistrad is the newest set of Magic cards, which is basically if Castlevania and Magic The Gathering had a child together (which they probably named Alucard or Simon). The entire world of Innistrad might as well be every classic horror movie all rolled into one. There are vampires, zombies, spirits, cannibals, demons, invisible men, creepy dolls, murderous birds, even the Necronomicon makes an appearance! But the main addition to the planes of Magic that brought Laura into this card gaming world was werewolves, which are in abundance in Innistrad.

Laura’s thoughts:
Werewolves are kind of a big thing for me. If you ask a young girl of 5 what she wants to be when she grows up, she will likely say “princess”. Well I wanted to be a werewolf. It just seemed more practical.

So it may surprise some of you (or none of you) that the best way to get me to buy something is to put werewolves in it. It doesn’t matter how bad that thing is, I will still love it in some deep, secret way *cough*Twilight*cough*. So this is how Chip was able to drag me reluctantly into a hobby that he once refused to spend money on.

I appreciate the strategy of Magic. It’s like chess with monsters. Unfortunately, like chess, luck is only a small component of a game. My inexperience and lack of skill are obvious, but Chip’s friends are patient with me. Still I lose a lot, even with all the help. But really it so much better than sitting in a corner sulking while Chip plays cards with the boys. At least I have an army of flying werewolves to play with.