The worst game I ever played

A new player is impressionable and I was lucky to start out with a great group of players at my original gaming store in Newcastle, England (Travelling Man). The store had a warm encouraging attitude towards new players and as a result was experiencing a real boom in player turnout. If they hadn't been so welcoming, I probably would have never starting playing this game in the first place.

I remember the very first time I wanted to take my cards and just throw them in the garbage (UK: rubbish), it was the worst game I had ever played and a great example of the person I never EVER want to be.

When playing magic in a casual scene, you do what you normally do with friends, enjoy each others company and learn a thing or two. Your guard is down because you're in the same nerd-cave as everyone else, playing out your shared interests that you likely don't share with most of the rest of the world.

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I remember introducing myself, excited as ever to see what my opponent was playing, and joking that I was new so "sorry if I take a bit longer than usual, I'm learning". I asked the guy sitting across the table how long he'd been playing and was impressed and interested in hearing a bit more about his experience with the game. There is a mechanic in MTG called "poison" where you win the game if your opponent accumulates 10 poison counters (in place of the 20 damage points a normal player has to defend from going to 0). I didn't understand this mechanic. I was playing a home-brew (my very first attempt at making a deck my own, UW control). I was intimidated with the short impatient answers I was getting. I sucked it up and tried my best.

Then in my second game, after losing the first in about 2 minutes, I played a card.

"That is the worst play I have ever seen....Hey <name>, this guy just played a <the card I just played> come check this out"...*friend comes over, looks at me and laughs*.

I had played a white card, against one of his creatures that I didn't get a chance to read, that I'd never ever seen before, that had protection against white. In MTG lingo, my card fizzled. No take-backs, no explaining why I was being laughed at, nothing.

I could have thrown my cards, I could have told this guy what I really thought of him, I could have pointed out that his Grand Prix and +15 years of experience probably dwarfed my 4th week of playing. Instead I crawled into my own little excited newbie hole and died. After going 0-2 in the shortest match I have ever played, I sat across the table, looking at my cards, while my opponent treated me like I didn't exist watching other games play out.

*Cast reanimate*...and then I got back up and swore to never EVER treat any player, new or experienced, like this as long as I lived.

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New players are fragile, they don't have to play this game, there are thousands of others out there, and even more people to play with. If you're a beginner, listen to those around you and try to go with the flow of things. If you're experienced, do what you can to create a patient and encouraging environment, you never know where new and unique experiences are going to emerge.

@Ricostravels