Magic: The Gathering – New Capenna as an observer

I recently attended a launch event for the latest Magic: The Gathering Commander Decks. The theme of these decks didn’t really appeal to me so I opted to sit out as my friends played a couple of games. As someone who hasn’t played Magic for a good twenty years I was intrigued by how the game had developed and just thought I would capture my thoughts here.

PROS

• The Commander format seems really good for getting a game going, especially just using the sealed boxes
• Although a lot of keywords were new they were, for the most part explained on the cards
• The art on the cards continues to be gorgeous
• The more social, political aspect of Commander games is interesting, but always seems to backfire.

CONS

• Pricing is a bit prohibitive, I was put off by the cost of entry
• The Gangster theme seemed a bit odd to me… that said the new Warhammer 40k decks look very cool

There were a few new players having their first games of Magic and it was encouraging to seem them grasp the basics and have a good time. As complex as the game may seem, it does a good job of putting the rules in front of the players.

After the event was over I was invited to play with a few pre-built commander decks for my first game in twenty years. This may have been a mistake and soured me on the experience. One of my friends was a bit too excited to show off how powerful his deck was and did over 30 damage to all other players. I was only just begining to get a grasp on my own board state, let alone being able to read what everyone else was doing. In the end, I was wiped out before I really did anything – a mana drought and stupid early gambles didn’t really help that along either.

Despite this I am intrigued to check out a few TCGs. Flesh and Blood is apparently quite popular at my local gaming store and I would love to support them by buying a few things from there. Considering they don’t stock plastic crack yet, cardboard might be a good way in.

On another note, I will get the Nighthaunt finished soon. I am aiming for this week as I have a couple of new projects coming that I am keen to start on… more on that later