Magic: The Gathering Online, or MTGO, is a collectible card game played through an Internet service operated by Wizards of the Coast. It debuted online in 2002, and it's estimated it has more than 300,000 registered accounts. That said, it remains little known in many video gaming circles.
Magic: The Gathering Online
Magic: The Gathering Online, or MTGO, is a collectible card game played through an Internet service operated by Wizards of the Coast. In the paper version, there are an estimated six million players in more than 70 countries. An online version was established in 2002, and it is estimated that it has more than 300,000 registered accounts. That said, it remains little known in many video gaming circles.
Magic is a fantasy role-playing game that requires considerable strategy. The game, or duel, in its simplest form, is made up of two players who use magical spells, sorceries and/or attacking creatures to attempt to reduce their opponent’s life total to zero, thus winning the game. Each player comes to battle with a 60-card deck designed with killing in mind. To put this in a proper perspective, let’s try to get into the headspace of what it means to duel in the game of Magic.
The journey begins….
Imagine, for a moment, you are a powerful wizard. Magical knowledge, the primal power of the planeswalker, is your special gift. You travel the planes of the Multiverse moving from one world to the next, expanding your knowledge and power. You have possibly grown to know more than any human being in history.
Only one in a million are born with “the spark,” the deep essence of your being that gives you the ability to become a planeswalker. Once the spark ignites, you begin to utilize the very world around you to cast more and more powerful spells. Your connection with the land is strong, and from that land you are able to draw mana, the energy that fuels magic. You begin to believe you are the most powerful person in history.
Wait! You discover you are not alone. There is at least one other like you, with the magical powers of the planeswalker, and possibly many more. You have been challenged by another powerful wizard. You will duel. Not just a battle, but a fight to the death using magical spells, items and fantastic creatures to assist you. At your command you have all sorts of sorceries you will to use to defeat your enemy. Whatever purpose has drawn you together, one truth remains the same … only one will rule.
The mystical powers of the planeswalker include the ability to call on the specific mana needed for a duel. Will you utilize the sprawling plains and sunlit meadows to wield white magic? White is the color of light, protection, order and healing. Or, perhaps you would prefer green -- the mana obtained from the teaming forests, the pulse of nature. Life, ferocity and instinct are the powers unleashed by green mana. You will summon massive creatures to crash through the undergrowth of the forest in hope of defeating your foe.
Ah, but wait! Red magic -- where the mana flows from rugged mountain ranges, rocky crags and the fiery heart of volcanoes -- may be your choice. Because red magic is about fury and passion, you may prefer shooting bolts of flame, making molten lava erupt from the earth, or causing a mote of plasma-hot stellar matter to engulf your enemy.
Death, darkness and ambition are associated with shadowy wastelands, haunted catacombs and fetid swamps -- the prime sources of black mana. This magic is powerful and you will command the forces of the night: demons, horrors, and the undead. With the power of black, you can destroy creatures, return creatures from the dead and cause others to fear you. You will seek to win at all cost, doing anything to get power.
Or will you choose blue, the magic of the deep sea and endless sky. Islands are the providers of blue mana. Knowledge, illusion and deceit are the powers of blue, causing tidal waves to crash against rocky cliffs, the wind to whip out of stormy skies and an enemy’s spells to fail as their creatures vanish into thin air. Blue magic is about the mind, and knowledge is paramount.
Your opponent, this other powerful wizard, has chosen red as his color. Ah, the color of fiery blaze. He is a very strong opponent. This time, you choose black to cast the spells of death and destruction. You both prepare for battle. He needs mountains for red mana, and you need swamps for black. You cast your spells when you are able to pay the cost. You face each other.
The red wizard begins by casting a lightning bolt to cause direct damage to you. You are hurt, but recover quickly and summon Moonglove Winnower to protect you with the touch of death. He, in return, summons Dragon Whelp, a relatively small dragon, but with the powers of fire breathing and flying. You cast Shriekmaw, which destroys his dragon.
The duel continues until only one wizard is left standing.
This is the mindset in the game of Magic. You duel to the death, using whatever magic you are dealt. You are granted 20 life, and when it is gone, the game is finished. It is turn-based, so you and your opponent both have the chance to cast spells, summon creatures, and deliver damage in any way you can in order to be the sole survivor.
Many people who play MTGO started out in paper. That is to say, they went to the store, bought packs, cracked them, built decks and went back to the store to play others for Friday Night Magic (FNM). Some of these peeps were teenagers at the time and are now playing online because they don’t want to play with kids any more. A few have found their way to 2old2play MTGO and are now clannies and members of the site. It’s a good place to be.
FNM, anyone?
