Innistrad was my first set. My first EVER card was Ludevic's Abomination (FOIL), and my first real exposure to the MTG community. I'd never played magic before. I'd seen it around, I'd seen people playing it and couldn't get my mind around a game that played out like epic battles over pieces of cardboard. I went for a stroll in downtown Newcastle, England, and stopped in at a comic-book shop. I hadn't been in one of these in 15 years. I popped in and truly in friendly Canadian fashion just started talking and talking, and talking. Then I talked some more. I wanted to know what the buzz was about. People were being handed shiny packs of something, even shiner pieces of cardboard, and proceeding to the basement where clearly there was palpable excitement. On the spot I paid for discounted packs and was signed up and immediately dropped from a "Innistrad Release Event" (to get packs at a cut rate). I'm usually up for new experiences, but unbeknownst to me, I had literally JUST walked into a brand new world (a plane?) with no concept of how any of this worked. All I wanted to do was figure out what the heck was in these "packs" and come back later when the coast was clear.
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Fast-forward 2 weeks, I'd come back armed with hours of reading up on game mechanics, youtube demonstrations, and most importantly a pre-made "intro deck" that I thought looked pretty cool. In truth I'd been practicing; tapping, hitting for damage, and casting creatures. I had NO IDEA what I was doing. And so 2 weeks into this monster I proceeded down into the basement to see what all the fuss was about.
"DCI number?"
"..um, what?"
"You're new?"
"Yeah, Canadian"
"We'll get you sorted!"
And that's all it took. 30 minutes of waiting later, I was apologizing for not knowing a thing about the game I was so enthusiastically charging head first into. I won my first game (not match) much to my amazement, and never won a single other game for 3 weeks.
Let me walk you through some highlights:
- Everyone knew I was some mysterious traveller (@Ricostravels) with my funny accent and constant apologizing and welcomed me with a smile and stories of their early days
- The second game I ever played, I killed a "Lilliana of the Veil" and at that point it didn't matter what else happened that evening, I felt like I'd already beaten a final boss
- I saw the raw power of a "Tier 1" deck tear my intro stuff to pieces
- I had a great time, in a great culture of people, of all different backgrounds, shapes, sizes, and genders
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A lot has happened since walking into Travelling Man, Newcastle. But Innistrad marks my first foray into Magic the Gathering culture, gameplay, and the sense of community. The game fascinates me, it's easy to get into, and incredibly difficult to master. My personality is obsessed with working on something until I see personal improvement and progression. This game has so many layers, so much history, and so many dimensions, that truly, in a new players position, it's impossible to not get pulled in.
It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years since the Innistrad burst on the scene, but as sets come and go, so do new experiences and the adventures that go with them. Bring on Theros!
@Ricostravels
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