Magic: The Blathering #4: How Far To Take It
by Andy Clarke
Magic: The Gathering has now quite literally taken over my life. I want to play all the time and when I'm not playing I'm thinking about it. Making notes, pondering deck ideas and strategies, lying awake at night contemplating cool and wacky card combos when I should be sleeping so I'm not half dead at work the next day. I believe the word for such things is "obsessive." (Those who know me well enough know not to be surprised by this as I've always had an obsessive nature.)
Lately there has been much contemplation on how far I want to take my Magic playing "career," if you can call it that. I'm already putting a lot of time into it, which isn't as big a deal as maybe the amount of cash that goes into it. Magic most certainly does have a pay to win element to it, but you can still be competitive on a budget. Plus if I'm getting something from it, I mean I love playing, even when I'm losing, I enjoy playing the game and learning from the decks, cards and players that beat me. When I get this much pleasure out of something I am happy to put my time and money into it, as long I am doing so responsibly.
There is however, only so much time and money you can put in when there's the 9-5 day job and a mortgage to take into account, plus other things that I probably shirk more than I should.
So the question of how far I want to go as a Magic player has been coming up.
As with most things there are pros and cons, and striving to become a pro Magic player is no exception.
I want to play more Magic and working at achieving pro level would certainly give me that. I'd also get to play against some of the best players in the country if not the world, which would not only challenge me as a player, but would also give me chances to learn from them.
It also presents the opportunity to travel and play all over the UK as well as possible opportunities in Europe and beyond.
I think though, the general idea of making money and possibly a living off doing something I love is the main attraction. But I've been here before, trying the same thing with a music career.
I want to play as often as I can but the amount of play it takes to achieve pro status is unreal, the amount of work and play that's required is known as "grinding," and for good reason. Entering every single tournament you can, travelling for miles because they never hold a Grand Prix close to home or any other real high level tournament other that Pro Tour Qaulifiers.
I love travelling and the idea of playing Magic in new locations and even overseas is really appealing, but the level of travel and time required to even stand a chance of succeeding in going pro is daunting to say the least.
When it starts to feel like work is when you start to lose what you love about it and when you're juggling that with a full time day job, it would quickly start to take it's toll.
As much as I love Magic, I'm not sure I'm willing to dedicate that much of myself to it.
You have to be capable in all formats of the game. I'm comfortable playing Standard format, Draft & Sealed on a competitive level. These each have a reasonably level playing field with a limit on what cards are available. When you get into Modern, Vintage & Legacy things start to get ridiculous as more and more cards are available to players. So rather than the 1-2 years worth of cards allowed in Standard you're thrown into fields where cards as far back as 13 years ago are legal in the case of Modern. Vintage & Legacy go right back to the start providing 23 years worth of Magic cards that you can construct your deck from. I've only been playing and collecting for 4 years and I'm not even familiar with all the cards in that time period, let alone anything that came before.
One main key to Magic and deck design is being aware of what cards you could come up against. In Standard this is quite an easy task as a few popular archetypes present themselves within a month or so of a new set being released. Modern, Vintage & Legacy on the other hand make it nigh on impossible, and without knowing all the cards available to you to make a competitive deck you will be quickly humiliated (believe me, I've been there.)
Now I could feasibly win a Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier (PPTQ) and qualify for a Regional Qualifier (RPTQ). The preliminary may have been Standard Format, however that doesn't mean the regional will be, or the Pro Tour you're trying to qualify for. Playing on the Pro Tour means being able to play all the formats which again requires so much time and effort to learn and research ALL the cards, or at least enough to build a deck that will be competitive in Modern, Vintage or Legacy.
Again I'm not sure I'm willing to dedicate that much of myself to it.
All in all, when I weigh it all up, I don't think going pro is for me. If it happened by accident, and I just had a good run of things at a Grand Prix or something, and I earned an invite to the pro tour I certainly wouldn't turn it down. I just don't think I'll actively seek it out. I'll probably still enter the PPTQs when there is one at my local game store in a format I'm comfortable with, because it's another opportunity to play. I just don't want to go down the path of grinding.
I think Game Days are my favourite, a day of competition held after the release of a new set. An exclusive play mat emblazoned with the word "Champion" on offer for the winner. My finest moment was coming 10th out of 26 at the last Game Day, narrowly missing out on the Top 8 and going on to the knockout round and playing for 1st place.
That's pretty much the level I'm going for, competitive play with the chance to take something home that shows my achievements, be it an alternate art promo card or a or a Game Day Champion play mat (all of which would be framed and displayed in may games room if I ever happened to win one.)
Even regular "Friday Night Magic" which are the weekly events at most game stores that cater to Magic players are great with options for casual and competitive play. At my particular store opting for competitive play means earning tokens based on your final standings which can then be exchanged for a free booster pack of cards or a discount off any other Magic related product. You can even opt to save them up as I did and used them to get £40 off a booster box of the latest set; "Aether Revolt."
Each FNM event also provides exclusive promo cards which I've started collecting in a "binder of achievements." Albeit most of them are promo cards given purely for entering and don't really reflect any success, but it provides a nice record of the events I've been entering.
So I think competitive amateur is what I'm looking at doing. Playing as often as I can without pushing myself too much and sucking the enjoyment out of it. Challenging myself to do the best I can against the best players I can get myself paired with whilst keeping it fun.
Magic: The Gathering has now quite literally taken over my life. I want to play all the time and when I'm not playing I'm thinking about it. Making notes, pondering deck ideas and strategies, lying awake at night contemplating cool and wacky card combos when I should be sleeping so I'm not half dead at work the next day. I believe the word for such things is "obsessive." (Those who know me well enough know not to be surprised by this as I've always had an obsessive nature.)
Lately there has been much contemplation on how far I want to take my Magic playing "career," if you can call it that. I'm already putting a lot of time into it, which isn't as big a deal as maybe the amount of cash that goes into it. Magic most certainly does have a pay to win element to it, but you can still be competitive on a budget. Plus if I'm getting something from it, I mean I love playing, even when I'm losing, I enjoy playing the game and learning from the decks, cards and players that beat me. When I get this much pleasure out of something I am happy to put my time and money into it, as long I am doing so responsibly.
There is however, only so much time and money you can put in when there's the 9-5 day job and a mortgage to take into account, plus other things that I probably shirk more than I should.
So the question of how far I want to go as a Magic player has been coming up.
Do I try and go Pro?
I could work at trying to qualify for pro level play. Yes people play this geeky little card game professionally and can live off the earnings if they do well enough. A $40,000 prize for first place at a Pro Tour event is certainly nothing to be sniffed at.As with most things there are pros and cons, and striving to become a pro Magic player is no exception.
The Pros
Well the chance to win a $40,000 first prize at a single event is certainly one, plus cash prizes just for being in the top 32, ranging from $100 or so up to amounts in the area $2,500. (Now I know I'm listing these prizes in dollars and being a Brit I care more about good old fashioned Sterling, but tournament prize structures are always listed in dollars regardless of where in the world the event is being held.)I want to play more Magic and working at achieving pro level would certainly give me that. I'd also get to play against some of the best players in the country if not the world, which would not only challenge me as a player, but would also give me chances to learn from them.
It also presents the opportunity to travel and play all over the UK as well as possible opportunities in Europe and beyond.
I think though, the general idea of making money and possibly a living off doing something I love is the main attraction. But I've been here before, trying the same thing with a music career.
The Cons
Now here is where I do that quirky thing where you take pros and cons and the lists are ironically the same.I want to play as often as I can but the amount of play it takes to achieve pro status is unreal, the amount of work and play that's required is known as "grinding," and for good reason. Entering every single tournament you can, travelling for miles because they never hold a Grand Prix close to home or any other real high level tournament other that Pro Tour Qaulifiers.
I love travelling and the idea of playing Magic in new locations and even overseas is really appealing, but the level of travel and time required to even stand a chance of succeeding in going pro is daunting to say the least.
When it starts to feel like work is when you start to lose what you love about it and when you're juggling that with a full time day job, it would quickly start to take it's toll.
As much as I love Magic, I'm not sure I'm willing to dedicate that much of myself to it.
You have to be capable in all formats of the game. I'm comfortable playing Standard format, Draft & Sealed on a competitive level. These each have a reasonably level playing field with a limit on what cards are available. When you get into Modern, Vintage & Legacy things start to get ridiculous as more and more cards are available to players. So rather than the 1-2 years worth of cards allowed in Standard you're thrown into fields where cards as far back as 13 years ago are legal in the case of Modern. Vintage & Legacy go right back to the start providing 23 years worth of Magic cards that you can construct your deck from. I've only been playing and collecting for 4 years and I'm not even familiar with all the cards in that time period, let alone anything that came before.
One main key to Magic and deck design is being aware of what cards you could come up against. In Standard this is quite an easy task as a few popular archetypes present themselves within a month or so of a new set being released. Modern, Vintage & Legacy on the other hand make it nigh on impossible, and without knowing all the cards available to you to make a competitive deck you will be quickly humiliated (believe me, I've been there.)
Now I could feasibly win a Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier (PPTQ) and qualify for a Regional Qualifier (RPTQ). The preliminary may have been Standard Format, however that doesn't mean the regional will be, or the Pro Tour you're trying to qualify for. Playing on the Pro Tour means being able to play all the formats which again requires so much time and effort to learn and research ALL the cards, or at least enough to build a deck that will be competitive in Modern, Vintage or Legacy.
Again I'm not sure I'm willing to dedicate that much of myself to it.
All in all, when I weigh it all up, I don't think going pro is for me. If it happened by accident, and I just had a good run of things at a Grand Prix or something, and I earned an invite to the pro tour I certainly wouldn't turn it down. I just don't think I'll actively seek it out. I'll probably still enter the PPTQs when there is one at my local game store in a format I'm comfortable with, because it's another opportunity to play. I just don't want to go down the path of grinding.
So what will I do, if not try and go Pro?
As I've said before, I love playing Magic, the only thing I love more is playing competitively. It doesn't matter what the stakes are, but playing when there are prizes to be had and standings to be gained is what I enjoy the most.I think Game Days are my favourite, a day of competition held after the release of a new set. An exclusive play mat emblazoned with the word "Champion" on offer for the winner. My finest moment was coming 10th out of 26 at the last Game Day, narrowly missing out on the Top 8 and going on to the knockout round and playing for 1st place.
That's pretty much the level I'm going for, competitive play with the chance to take something home that shows my achievements, be it an alternate art promo card or a or a Game Day Champion play mat (all of which would be framed and displayed in may games room if I ever happened to win one.)
Even regular "Friday Night Magic" which are the weekly events at most game stores that cater to Magic players are great with options for casual and competitive play. At my particular store opting for competitive play means earning tokens based on your final standings which can then be exchanged for a free booster pack of cards or a discount off any other Magic related product. You can even opt to save them up as I did and used them to get £40 off a booster box of the latest set; "Aether Revolt."
Each FNM event also provides exclusive promo cards which I've started collecting in a "binder of achievements." Albeit most of them are promo cards given purely for entering and don't really reflect any success, but it provides a nice record of the events I've been entering.
Where I'm content
So I think competitive amateur is what I'm looking at doing. Playing as often as I can without pushing myself too much and sucking the enjoyment out of it. Challenging myself to do the best I can against the best players I can get myself paired with whilst keeping it fun.
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