Hey hey hey, I'm kinda new to the forum, I looked around and this seemed like the right place to post this.

I've recently gotten myself a job at long last, and thus I have too much money...never thought I'd say that...anyway, once I've saved up and bought a Wii I was thinking about playing one of the battle card games around, although not YuGiOh (sorry but the anime destroyed any potential fun in the game). A mate of mine recommended Magic (I think it's full name is Magic The Gathering), now I've hered some good reviews of it and some bad ones, so I thought I'd seek the opinion of some more people before ploughing too much money into it.

So, Magic The Gathering, Good, Bad, or Just Plane Crappy?

I've been considering getting into Magic for some time, but there's no one to play it with, so I don't buy it. I would if there was someone who actually played TCGs around, but... meh.

So, naturally, I have no idea how to answer your question.

Magic is good as long as you have other people to play with.

The problem, though, is that, since the game has been around for so long, you're going to have to learn a mountain of side-rules. Certain cards can only be played at certain times, some cards can't be played at all (well, in tournament play), and there are terms that aren't rightly explained all that well. New "abilities" come out with each set, and after its been around for so long they stop feeling the need to explain those abilities on the cards themselves (I guess it saves money on printing runs).

Still, as far as card games go, it's one of the most dynamic and has been around long enough to clear out most of the major kinks in the system. There's no "all-powerful" card or combination you have to look out for (though there are a few that should really have you worried), but as long as you have friends willing to play along it's top notch, as far as card games are concerned.

Anch0vy
So, Magic The Gathering, Good, Bad, or Just Plane Crappy?

SOMEONE ELSE PLAYS THIS GAME OTHER THAN ME ON THIS FORUM?! AWESOME!!! YOU EVER HEARD OF APPRENTICE, THE FREE ONLINE PLAY VERSION OF MTG?!

Seriously, though... that's awesome... I didn't think anyone other than me and my high school buds played it.

I really liked MTG until they started with all that "OOOH I ARE INVINCIBLE!!!!" shit, then it just went downhill.
I still have a elf deck here and ready to go, assuming I find people that play, everyone here seems to play yugioh...which I also play, but I only have like, the first released cards from that.

The mediocre one
I really liked MTG until they started with all that "OOOH I ARE INVINCIBLE!!!!" shit, then it just went downhill.

The only cards that I think fit the "MWA-HA-HA-HA I AM THE ULTIMATE INDESTRUCTIBLE CREATURE" description were in two specific blocks.

I really like some of the recent stuff they've done, encouraging dual colored decks... including colors that normally don't work well together such as Blue and Red. They also did a re-release on a bunch of the Ice Age block... which frankly, is one of the coolest things they've done in a LONG time.

I just did a quick skim of the new stuff... "Time Spiral"... which is bringing back my favorite ability:

Shadow.

Dang... I'm going to be poor this month...

I used to buy Magic Cards. Never much good at the game. Someone gave me a whole bunch when I first started playing through. I think they're in the attic. Hm...

The art in the cards is fantastic, though.

Thanks for all the opinions. This has gotten me torn now. I know two people locally who play, that's a good thing, but lots and lots of side rules to learn, obviously a bad thing...hmmm...can anyone recommend any other card games? I always wanted to pick up a Tetra Master Set, only problem is you can't buy booster packs or anything, only the one box set with a pre-set collection of cards...ah I miss Tetra Master Online that came with Play Online :-( oops sorry, I'm rambling.

Really, most long-running card games end up the same; lots of arbitrary rules pop up, lots of little numbers to keep track of, eventually very few people playing them. If you're just looking for a little something to pass the time at lunch you could always try the smaller, self-contained series' like Seventh Sea and... well, I never really got into those, so Seventh Sea is the only one that comes to mind.

maaaaan I remeber when I used to really get into it a long time ago...I liked the paintings they have on the card. this was before the massive expansion packs and complicated rules...