What is Magic: The Gathering? Magic: The Gathering. History of the map "Omniscience Magic the gathering heroes

Magic the Gathering is card game, which was published in 1993 by the American company Wizards of the Coast. It currently has over 20 million players worldwide. Since the first release, the look of the card back has not changed, allowing players to use cards from any year of publication in their deck. Magic the Gathering (MTG for short) is loved by board game fans for its depth of gameplay, uniqueness, and ability to trade cards. It exists in the world computer games for everyone who wants to play its electronic version.

Mana in Magic The Gathering

Mana is the magical energy required to play a card from your hand. It is provided by the presence in your deck of land cards, which come in 5 types: mountain (red), forest (green), plain (white), island (blue) and swamp (black).

Card cost

According to the rules Magic The Gathering to cast a spell, you must pay the cost in lands shown in the upper right corner. Cards can cost, for example, 2 forests or 1 gray mana and 2 forests. Gray mana means that the cost can be paid with land of any color.

There are land cards that give only gray mana, but they have some unique properties. There are dual land cards for multicolor decks.

Information on the map

What is each MTG map about? For example, let's take the Shivan Dragon, a Magic The Gathering card in Russian.

• The top line contains the name of the card and its value. To play Shivan Dragon, you need to pay 4 gray mana (land of any color) and 2 red mana (Mountain cards). Turn these 6 lands horizontally in your play area and place the card on the table.
• Under the card image is a line describing the type of card (artifact, earth, creature, spell) and a specific subtype of creature (dragon, human, vampire, etc.). A card issue symbol is drawn next to it, which refers it to a specific edition and indicates its rarity (gray symbol - regular card, silver - uncommon, gold - rare, red - legendary). For example, the creature card is dragon, rare, from the ninth edition, which was released in July 2005.
• The text field describing the active and passive abilities of the card has information from the MTG world in italics that does not affect in any way game process. For example, a dragon with flight, which cannot be blocked by creatures without such an ability. He has an active ability: for one red mana, he gains a +1 bonus to attack. Active abilities, according to the rules of Magic The Gathering, are played at the same time as instant spells. The phrase "The undeniable master of the Shivan Mountains" carries only a fantasy load and is not taken into account in any way during the game.

• Under the text field at the very bottom, you can find the name of the artist who painted the image (Donato Giancola) and the collection number of the card (219/350).
• The numbers at the bottom right indicate strength and toughness: the first shows the amount of damage that the creature deals when attacking, the second - the number of lives it has. This dragon deals 5 damage when attacking, and to kill it, it also needs to deal 5 damage. For planeswalker cards, this corner displays a count of the tokens that the card enters the field with.

Card abilities

A large number of cards in Magic The Gathering have a variety of abilities, which are explained either directly on the card or in the glossary. Among them:

• passive ones that last as long as the card remains on the playing field (for example, “Flying”: the card cannot be blocked by non-flying permanents);
• triggers that take effect when the condition described on the card is met (for example, "When the creature next to this permanent dies, draw a card": you will draw new card from the deck every time this condition is met), etc.;
• active, which are performed if the cost indicated on the card is paid (in the example of the Shivan Dragon, this is an attack buff that costs one red earth).

Keywords or card abilities

In addition to passive abilities, Magic The Gathering cards can have special keywords that also determine their behavior on the battlefield.

Using the example of the Avacyn card, consider the keyword "Vigilance": it means that when attacking this map does not turn (when your opponent attacks you next turn, you can still block with this card even if you attack with it on your turn). Among the keywords you can find such interesting abilities as:

• first hit - the card always deals damage first;
• trample - if the card is blocked by several creatures, it continues to deal damage after the first blocking card on all subsequent ones until the attack number ends;
• death touch - if the card attacked the target creature during the battle, then the number of life of the creature that took the damage drops to zero.

Spell Cards MTG

Any card that is not a ground type is a spell type according to the rules of Magic The Gathering. The spell can be cast instantly or certain moment move; may be placed on the board as a permanent, or sent to the graveyard after it has had an effect. Spells are divided like this.

• Creature cards. Played in the main phase of the battle, if they do not have passive ability be played instantly. You can lay out several per turn.
• Artifacts. Gray cards that can be played with lands of any color. Have permanent or instant magical effects. May also refer to a creature card type.
• Instant and sorcery spells. When cards of this type have been played, they are sent to the graveyard. The sorcery card is laid out in the phases of the main stage of the turn. In almost any phase of combat, you can cast instant spells.
• Planeswalker. Hero permanents that fight by your side.

Planeswalker and their function

In Magic The Gathering, the rules for a planeswalker correspond to the rules for casting permanents. Spawned in the main phase, they have a token counter that changes depending on the activation of the abilities they possess. Can be attacked by other players. If a planeswalker has zero tokens after an attack, it goes to the graveyard.

Spell cards, especially magical effects, often have a target, which can be any card on the board. The spell specifies the target type. To play it, the target must be available at the time of its activation. The spell will wait on the stack (see the stack below) for its casting phase. If at this point the target of the spell becomes inactive (for example, leaves the battlefield), then the spell cannot be performed and nothing happens.

Start of the game

How to play Magic The Gathering? At the beginning of the game, each player usually has a pre-made deck of 60 cards and a counter for 20 lives. The deck is shuffled and 7 cards are dealt. If you get less than 2 lands, it is recommended to re-deal the hand. When you re-deal, you already deal 6 cards to yourself, at the next re-deal - 5.

Tip: out of 60 cards in a deck, 24 lands are considered balanced, 15-25 creatures with different costs, the rest are sorcery cards or artifacts.

Location of players

According to the rules of Magic The Gathering, if you are playing heads up, mirror your deck, life counter, graveyard, lands on the table. In the gameplay, you need to monitor not only your cards, but also the number and location of your opponent's cards.

Tip: It is convenient to use a d20 die as a life counter, do not forget about additional counters, which can be used directly on the playing field for convenience. They can also be d6 dice.

Playing field areas

• Hand - cards in your hand that you can play for mana. Their number cannot exceed 7.
• The library is your deck from which you draw a card at the start of your turn (unless it is the first turn of a game session).
• The graveyard is the place where killed creature cards from the battlefield, played spell cards that are not permanent (do not remain on the battlefield) are sent.
• The battlefield is the place where the lands and "armies" of the players are located. Permanents are actively used (tapped) at certain stages of the turn.
• A stack is a place on the battlefield where spell cards are stacked in the order in which they are played. For example, after the attacking phase and the blocking phase are declared, you can play instant spells that stack. In the next phase, this stack is played, starting with last card. After each spell on the stack is cast, it is possible to recast instants or activate abilities. They also go onto the stack, which is played again from the last card.
• Exile - a place on the battlefield where you can go instead of the cemetery. A card can be exiled by a special spell or ability upon its death. In exile, cards are also face down.

Stages of the game

Each player's move according to the rules of the Magic The Gathering game in Russian is described in the following several stages.

1. The initial stage consists of the following steps:

• Reversal step. At the very beginning, all your permanents lying on the battlefield (lands, artifacts, creatures) are untapped to their original vertical position. (If this is the first move, this step is skipped).
• Support step and card draw. You may now draw a card from the deck. During this phase, you can cast instant spells and activate abilities. (If this is the first turn of the game, then the player does not take a card, because he already has an advantage.)

2. Main Step (1) - Play any land, creature, spell, planeswalker cards that you can pay the cost of. In this case, the second player can also cast instant spells and activate card abilities.

Advice! You don't have to play creature cards in the first phase of your turn (unless they give bonuses to other cards when they come out). It is better to attack, see how the opponent responds, and then lay out the creatures. So there is a chance that your spell will not be counterattacked by another player's instant spell.

3. Battle stage. Its stages are as follows:

• Start combat to cast instants and activate abilities.
• Announcement of attackers. Cards that you use to attack your opponent are untwisted horizontally (unless they have the Vigilance special ability, which allows you to attack without untwisting). Instant spells can be cast again. Cards that attacked will remain tapped at the end of your turn (you can't block your opponent's turn with them).
• Declaring blockers. Your opponent announces which attack cards he will block. If one card is blocked by several, then you decide in what order. You can cast instant spells and activate abilities.
• Combat damage. After determining the order of blocking and casting instant spells, combat damage is dealt to all cards simultaneously after casting spells from the stack. If a creature has taken damage that is greater than its toughness, it is sent to the graveyard. Non-blocked creatures deal damage to the opponent, which should be displayed on the counter of his life.
• End of the fight. Playing instant spells and card abilities.

4. Main stage (2) - the same actions as in the main stage (1): you can lay out a land if you have not laid it out (you can only lay out one land per turn), play a creature card, artifact, sorcery.

5. The final stage is the cleaning step, returning and healing cards from the battlefield, casting instant spells and activating the abilities of cards related to the end of the turn, ending effects that last one turn. According to the rules of Magic The Gathering, if at the end of the turn you have more than 7 cards in your hand, you must discard the extra ones.

The golden rule of the MTG game

So, you have passed all the stages of the turn, passed the turn to the opponent ... and all over again! Despite the fact that the rules in Russian Magic The Gathering seem a little complicated and too categorical, the gameplay is endlessly varied. A large number of cards have been published that allow you to vary it and change it. And here we are faced with the golden rule of Magic The Gathering: if the text of the MTG card is contrary to the rules of the game, then the card is preferred.

How to play MTG with three, four, five?

One of the very popular formats of Magic The Gathering games is the Two-Headed Giant. game session two on two, where you and your partner represent a team of two people. They can see each other's cards and discuss the strategy they will use against the enemy team. You have 30 lives, walk, attack and block at the same time. At the same time, each of you has your own deck, your own permanents, for which you pay with your lands. Needless to say, this is a very fun board game format.

Another game mode of Magic The Gathering in Russian is called Commander (Commander): it can be played from 3 to 6 people. Each player has their own deck, which is led by a legendary creature, and the deck is selected taking into account the characteristics of its commander-in-chief.

To the editor game edition site unusual parcel arrived. This is not a press kit for another AAA blockbuster or a new piece of hardware, but sets of the very first collectible card game in the world - Magic: The Gathering!

A Brief History of MTG

Someone spends evenings at a PC, someone hugs with their favorite console, someone even plays exclusively on a phone or a portable console. And there are those who play the collectible card Magic game: The Gathering. This game was invented by American mathematician Richard Garfield already in 1991, and after 2 years Wizards of the Coast acquired the rights to publish it.

It was MTG that laid the foundations for the genre of collectible card games. Yes, all of these and other online TCGs actually came from the same concept: find cards, build decks and fight other players. Of course, over the course of 25 years, the game has acquired a whole host of mechanics and details, becoming the most popular card game in the world.

New editions of "Magic" are released regularly, and the total number of cards has long been measured not even in thousands, but in tens of thousands. Comes out every few months new set. For example, in the second half of January, events began to take place around the world to celebrate the release of the Rivals of Ixalan edition.

Rivals for Ixalan plot

This set is a continuation of the Ixalan block, which took place in the world of the same name. In the center of the story is the search for the mythical city of Orasca. According to ancient legends, an artifact of unprecedented power called the Immortal Sun is hidden in the halls of the ancient city.

The war for possession of it is between 4 factions: the people of the Empire of the Sun, the pirates of the Good Alliance, the vampires of the Legion of Dusk and the River Heralds - merfolk (a cross between fish and people). The first 3 factions are trying to get the Immortal Sun to rule the world, and only the River Heralds are trying to hide the location of the city so as not to disturb the peace of the ancient forces.

In Rivals of Ixalan, the city is finally found, and the fight between the 4 factions flares up with new force. However, this is only one of the many stories that the Multiverse is full of. The plot of MTG takes place in many worlds, so you won't get bored in this game.

How to start playing Magic: The Gathering?

There are many ways to get into the game. You can come to the local club, where each neophyte is given free decks. This is very cool, because you can try the game without buying cards, but such a “beginner” deck is intended specifically for familiarization, it is unlikely that it will succeed in defeating a serious opponent.

Another way to build a deck is to buy boosters. These are mini-sets with random cards. Each of them has 15 cards, of which 3 are uncommon, and one more is rare or even mythical. Buying boosters is great for adding brand new cards to your collection, but building a deck of completely random cards is a bit of a puzzle.

And this is where the so-called Planeswalker sets come into play - this is such a "gentleman's set" for everyone who wants to start playing at a serious level as quickly as possible. This set includes a ready-made and, looking ahead, quite a strong deck of 60 cards, 2 boosters (another 30 cards), a handy deck box with a cool illustration, and a memo with short rules games.

The Rivals of Ixalan set features 2 sets of Planeswalkers - Angrath and Vraska. Next, we will briefly review both sets and try to determine which one is better.

Angrath, Pirate Minotaur Deck Review

As you might guess, this Planeswalker's deck is made up primarily of pirate cards. In this regard, it should be noted that the deck is built on 2 mechanics - Raid and Threat. "Raid" allows creatures to receive various bonuses if they attack every turn. Obviously, in this case, the ideal counter-strategy for the enemy would be to deploy a large number of defender creatures

But not everything is so simple, because many pirates have "Threat", which means that they can only be blocked by 2 creatures, no less. The destruction of "blockers" is the main task of the player who plays this deck. Fortunately, there is everything for these needs. required cards. All spells in the deck are aimed at killing enemy creatures in one way or another, which makes pirates almost always outnumber them.

And, of course, one cannot fail to mention Angrath himself. He's not just some pirate, he's a Planeswalker. So in the world of Magic: The Gathering they call heroes who can travel between worlds. Angrath has 3 abilities: the first deals damage to all enemy creatures and himself, the second resurrects pirates, and the third ... The third wins the game, if you do not go into details.

Vraska, the Sly Gorgon Deck Review

Like the Angrath deck, this set of cards is also represented by members of one of the factions of the Fight for Ixalan - vampires. They also stand out in the deck with 2 main abilities - “Flight” and “Deathtouch”. The first ability allows you to deal damage to an opponent bypassing his defenders. Often, with the help of 2-3 flying creatures, you can "fly" the enemy to death if he does not figure out how to kill the "flyers".

Deathtouch will help in situations where the enemy has a lot of strong creatures. There are plenty of them in the Ixalan block. So, a creature with deathtouch kills another creature no matter how much toughness it has. A single wound is enough to kill anyone.

Vraska is a Planeswalker. Like Angrath, she has 3 abilities. The first strengthens all creatures under the control of the owner, the second destroys the selected creature, the third will become a real headache for the enemy. If, after activating it, at least one creature deals damage to the opponent, then he loses the game. Needless to say, how cool it is to use this “ability” with flying creatures on the field?

The fight for Ixalan begins!

In terms of value for money, Planeswalker sets are a bargain. The composition of the decks is known in advance, so there is no risk of being left with a mountain of “cardboard” that has nowhere to stick. Don't forget about the 2 boosters that come with each set. Something very strong and expensive can get caught in them!

For example, our boosters contained at least 2 very good rares - Jadelight Scout and Galta, Primordial Hunger. The first card plays well in merfolk decks and is valued at around $15 due to its double intelligence property. The second card is a very, very, very "fat" dinosaur with parameters 12/12.

Yes, and Planeswalker cards are also expensive in themselves, because they show themselves well in battle and shimmer very beautifully in the light.

Thanks to the Russian office of Wizards of the Coast for providing Rivals for Ixalan sets!

• We will search among the characters of the fandom

Character groups

Total characters - 32

Avacyn Angel of Hope

1 1 1

Sorin Markov foresaw that the unrestrained and irresponsible massacre carried out by the vampires would lead to the disappearance of people on Innistrad. To prevent this, he created the archangel Avacyn. She protects people who truly believe in her, opposing the dark forces of this world.

0 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields blue and white magic. He is especially strong at magical teleportation and the creation of unique and powerful artifacts. Venser has a brilliant mind and is able to quickly find a way out of any difficult situation. He relies on artifact knowledge and teleportation to blaze his way through the Multiverse to satisfy his boundless interest in all things mechanical.

0 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields a set of deadly spells that best suits her gorgon nature. With the help of her magic, she can kill, become invisible, or turn the enemy to stone.

0 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields green magic. He is incredibly strong in animal magic: spells that can draw mana from the earth in abundance, call wild beasts to help and unleash their ferocity and strength on the enemy.

0 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields white magic. Unlike most planeswalkers, Gideon does not hesitate to engage in fair combat. He is also skilled in hieromancy: the magic of holy justice.

0 0 0

One of the main characters in the book "Tran. The Creator of Monsters". Chief Engineer of the Tranov Empire. The creator of the most advanced mechanisms and artifacts of the empire, including force stones. Glasian was the main opponent and at the same time a step on the path of Yavgmot. He was a latent Planeswalker, but did not reveal his potential, because after death he became an eternal prisoner of power stones implanted in his body by Yavgmot. In the end, it was Glasian's stone that became the castle that locked the dark god in Phyrexia.

It is not known for certain what became of Glacian's mind locked in the stones, but it is possible that when Mishra and Urza, after five thousand years, found the shattered stone, they became carriers of particles of the distraught personality of the ancient inventor.

1 0 0

Planeswalker with blue magic. He is skilled in mind magic: spells to read minds, create illusions, gain knowledge, and deceive.

0 0 0

This character can be found in the books Tran. Creator of monsters”, “Warrior Brothers”, “Planeswalker”. Originally a Tran rebel from the Caves of the Damned. The mastermind behind the first rebel attack on Halcyon. He later became Yavgmoth's henchman and was eventually transformed into a Phyrexian. During the War of the Brothers, he acted as a behind-the-scenes puppeteer, escalating the conflict in order to obtain shards of the Glacian stone. For failure, he was severely punished. The last time Jixx can be seen is in The Planeswalker during the battle with Urza near Kailos' Cave.

0 0 0

Domri Rade was always ready to challenge strong of the world this. But he never had the strength to cope with his oppressors.

Domri was born in Ravnica and grew up as an orphan among the broken streets and slums of the city's backyards. His turbulent youth was spent looking for trouble and trying to get away from patrols. Domri longed to fight in the ranks of the Gruul, but due to his short stature and thin build, none of the clans wanted to accept him. When young Domri tried to find allies, they were wild beasts from the war-torn Ring of Ruins.

0 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields white magic. He is strong in magic that purifies the body and spirit: spells that heal and strengthen his allies, as well as spells that invoke a spiritual essence.

0 0 0

Merfolk Kiora, a native of Zendikar, traveled the worlds to strengthen her connection with the magic of the seas and oceans. Her home was destroyed by the Eldrazi swarm, and she decided that only by summoning ferocious krakens, serpents, and other terrible creatures from the depths of the sea would she be able to defeat the titans who now rule Zendikar.

0 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields red magic. He is skilled in geomancy: spells that can move mountains, shatter rocks, and melt iron. His "earth" magic has a special power - the ability to purify metal, due to which Kos can fulfill his innermost desire: to bring peace and harmony to his people.

1 0 0

Triton created in the fourth sphere of Phyrexia. She, and several hundred others like her, were to become spies in Dominaria. But Xancha, unlike most other newts, was able to think for herself. In the end, the new spy's unreliability was noticed and they tried to dispose of her, but Urza, who happened to be nearby, saved her. They traveled together for some time.

Xancha died saving Planeswalker's life during his fight with Jixx.

1 0 0

Planeswalker, who owns black magic. She is especially strong in necromancy: spells that can resurrect the dead, corrupt the souls of the living, and harness the power of death.

0 0 0

Urza's younger brother who opposed him during the War of the Brothers. Having become the ruler of the fallaji, he subjugated the entire western part of the Teresiera continent in order to defeat Urza. Unlike his brother, Mishra was not a planeswalker (controversial information, since it seems that Urza was not a planeswalker either, but received the ability due to the implantation of two power stones that store the planeswalker spark in themselves).

1 0 0

Planeswalker. Elder Dragon. The oppressor of the worlds. Nicol Bolas is one of the oldest inhabitants of the Multiverse. His life is calculated in many millennia, and incredible malice can only be compared with his boundless intellect.

0 0 0

Owns green magic, uniting his people and strengthening their power. Not so long ago, she began to secretly use black mana, believing that without it the elves would never be able to take their rightful place.

0 0 0

A talented, unpredictable, and daring mage from Ravnica, Ral Zarek, in his youth, liked to test the limits and nerves of those around him. He was attracted by the atmosphere of genius and madness reigning in the League of Izzet, he became literally obsessed with spells that allow him to control storms and lightning.

0 0 0

She was the chief architect of the capital of the Tranov empire, Halcyon, and the wife of the inventor Glasian. The capital owes its beauty and most of the architectural marvels to her. At a time when leprosy was rampant in the empire, and her husband suffered from a split personality caused by the disease, she became Yavgmot's mistress. One of her latest architectural masterpieces was the Temple of Thrans soaring above Halcyon. Before her death, Rebecca fulfilled her husband's last wish by sealing the gates to Phyrexia with a shattered force stone with Glacian's mind.

1 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields both red and green magic. He excelled in the shamanic cult of dragons: spells that call upon dragons for help and ignite dragon-like rage and passion.

2 0 0

A Planeswalker who wields all five colors of magic. It was created to travel through time and serve as the key to the Legacy.

0 0 0

Serra was a female Planeswalker of the human race. Her name comes from the name of an ancient Dominirian goddess. She created her own heavenly plane of being. The "Realm of Serra" is mainly formed from white mana and inhabited by Serra's created Angels and Humans. Her worldview, beliefs and wisdom are captured in the "Song of Everything"

1 0 0

A vampire and an expert in bloodmancy, a dark and rare art that black mana specializes in. With the help of blood magic, he is able to drain the life force of other creatures, cast curses on enemies, and even subjugate someone else's mind.

Creator of Avatsyna

0 0 0

The lunar people of the soratami, who live in the world of Kamigawa, are secretive and inquisitive creatures. No one can compare with them in the field of knowledge of the metaphysical forces of their own world. When Researcher Tamiyo became a planeswalker, everything she ever dreamed of paled in comparison to open doors to any world in the multiverse. Each dimension became for her a treasure trove of new knowledge, which was to take its place in the great towers of the scrolls in Oboro.

0 0 0

Planeswalker with blue magic. He specializes in machine magic: spells that create artifacts, manipulate them, and even infuse them with life.

0 0 0

A planeswalker from the continent of Jamuraa, a student of the Talarean Magic Academy. Due to experiments with time on Talaria, he fell into a bubble of slow time, but was saved by Urza, Jhoira and Karn. Later became Zalfir's royal mage and was reborn as a planeswalker (although he didn't notice it for a while)

0 0 0

An apprentice necromancer from Innistrad, tried to follow in the footsteps of his master, stitching and bringing corpses back to life. But for this dark and painstaking work he lacked neither talent nor zeal. Failure and loneliness fueled a growing hatred within him, and he eventually turned his skills against the world of the living. Tybalt set up experiments to find out to what extent living beings can endure pain.

1 0 0

One of the most popular and most mentioned characters in the Magic: The Gathering setting. The great inventor and magician who devoted 4 thousand years of his immortal life to protecting home world. Urza is a planeswalker (hence his nickname) - a powerful being, more than just a wizard, but less than a deity.

Urza was born on the first day of Year Zero (0 AR) of the Argivian Reckoning to a noble family in Argiv, one of the three coastal kingdoms of Therisier. His younger brother Mishra was born on the last day of the same year. After the death of Urza's mother, his father married a second time. This woman treated Urza and Mishra with indifference at best and contempt at worst. In 10 AR, their father fell ill and so he sent them to his old friend Tokasia to help her in her archaeological dig.

Yavgmot

Yawgmoth

0 0 0

Father of the Machines, the dark god of Phyrexia, the main villain in Magic: the Gathering, from the Antiquities 1994 set to his death in the Apocalypse 2001 set (and the entire series of The Weatherlight Saga books) - however, his work lives on to this day.

Prior to his formation, he was an Aesculapius and a politician in the Thran Empire. Head of the eugenicist faction.

Yavimaya

1 0 0

Dense forest in a mountainous area south coast the continent of Terisiara in the world of Dominaria. The forest acquired a single mind after the ice age caused by the War of the Brothers.

When Urza appeared in the forest to enlist his support against Phyrexia, Yavimaya captured him, with the help of his emissary, the nature spirit Multani, for the inventor's part in the destruction of the island of Argoth. Long time The planeswalker spent time imprisoned in a living prison, but the forest eventually joined the coalition against Phyrexia. The body of the Weatherlight was crafted from living Yavimaya wood.

The Great Forest was one of the first to face the new Phyrexian invasion through the Rath Craftworld. Thanks to his hyper-evolution and the direction of development set by the aggressive elf Lonovar, Yavimaya became a worthy and very unpleasant opponent for the mechanical monsters of an ancient enemy.

Basic mechanics, history, clubs and tournaments - how to take your first steps in the famous collectible card game.

There is such a myth: collectible card games are difficult, expensive and incomprehensible. Like, you need to spend days on end in gaming clubs in order to learn at least something, and at the same time spend tens of thousands of rubles. However, this is far from reality.

DTF spoke with Wizards of the Coast representative Boris Volk and then prepared detailed instructions how to take the first steps in the world of Magic: The Gathering - the most famous card game.

What are we talking about?

If you've never heard of Magic: The Gathering, you've most likely spent the last twenty years in the mountains of Tibet, training to negotiate with Dormammu. Magic is perhaps the most famous collectible card game (CCG), invented back in 1993 by Richard Garfield. Ironically, Richard, who by this point had become a professor of mathematics, was doing something completely different. board game(RoboRally) and with it came to Wizards of the Coast. The company stated that it would simply not financially pull the production, and advised them to come up with something simple and related to cards. It is desirable that it can also be played at various events.

Therefore, Richard took as a basis collectible baseball cards, very popular in America (you probably saw such with football players or superheroes), as well as the mechanics of his other project, Five Magics. Thus, Magic: The Gathering was born.

But why is she so famous?

Everything is simple. Magic: The Gathering is the first collectible card game as we know it now. All subsequent projects, both paper (like or), and electronic (Hearthstone) largely followed in her footsteps and were certainly inspired by her. So Magic actually spawned a whole new genre, which doesn't happen every day, and forever inscribed both its name and the name of the creator in the game.

Interestingly, in 1997, Wizards of the Cost received a patent for "an innovative way to play and game components brought together in the form of trading cards." In other words, the company's patent applies to all games that have a lot of Magic ideas, like having to rotate tiles or cards when they're used, or building your own deck from a large pool of cards.

Hello! I want to try to run a couple of articles on the history of Magic: The Gathering on Tesera as an experiment. The format, of course, is not quite Teserovsky, but firstly, many readers are familiar with the game, and secondly, we will talk about history, and therefore there will be a minimum of "magic" terminology.

It has long been noticed that it is most interesting to read (and write!) About some kind of trouble. In the case of Magic, the biggest annoyance that pro players can face is issuing a game-breaking card. This happens infrequently, but regularly. Fortunately, the developers of the game (Wizards of the Coast or in the common people "Wizards") have a good way to determine whether the game has broken after the release of a new set or not. They look at the variety of decks that players play in tournaments. Usually, five or six decks claim the title of the strongest. When this number drops to two or three, it is a signal that something is wrong. In this case, the Wizards publish a ban list, which lists cards that are prohibited for further use in tournaments. Strong decks are weakened, allowing weak decks to once again compete for a place in the top. Everyone is happy (well, except for those who spent $200 on banned cards).

Today we will look at cards that, for one reason or another, were included in the ban list of the standard. For those unfamiliar with Magic, "standard" is a competition format where you can use cards from the last two or three sets. Unlike "eternal" formats (all maps starting from some release), stardart is rotated. The appearance of a new release "rotates" from the map standard of the old release. The health of the standard is very important for Magic - firstly, beginners come to the standard, and secondly, due to the limited card pool, it is (seemingly!) Easy to control. That is why a card ban in the standard is always perceived very painfully, both by developers and the gaming community.

So let's go.

June 1997. Banned by Zuran Orb

The very idea of ​​dividing Magic into "permanent" and "rotating" formats seems to have been born in time immemorial, but the Wizards took quite some time to settle the details. The date of birth of the standard in the form in which we know it, I will consider July 1997. On this day, new deck building rules were adopted, according to which your standard deck may include cards from the last core set and the last two blocks (currently Core Set 5, Ice Age and Mirage blocks). The first guest of honor on the ban list was an inconspicuous artifact Zuran Orb.

To be honest, Zuran Orb isn't that impressive. Change land for life at a rate of one to two? So-so proposal... On the other hand, Orb led to unreasonably long games, when the player, being on the verge of defeat, "eats" his land and returned to the game again. And again, and again. The land of Thawing Glaciers aggravated the situation, providing a constant flow of land to the field.

December 1998. Banned Tolarian Academy and Windfall

The Zuran Orb ban is a good indication of the state of Magic in 97-98. Having broken firewood with alpha and beta, the developers began to give the most boring and completely ill-conceived sets to the mountain, in which history and flavor were paid more attention than game mechanics. Mark Rosewater, one of Magic's lead designers, rightly called Homelands, and I quote, "a poorly designed set". I'm ready to go further and say that Homelands is the most "poorly designed set" in the history of the game.

Something had to be done about this.

The revolution took place with the release of the Urza block, in which the Wizards finally decided to light up the fire and cheer up the bored players. And, it should be noted, they succeeded! The release of a dozen cards that are completely absurd in their power led to the appearance of incredible combo decks in the standard. Players who were used to butting 3/3 creatures for an hour and a half lost to combos on the third (and the lucky ones already on the second) move...

Take the same Tolarian Academy. Even for an inexperienced Magic player, it should be obvious that something is wrong with her. Do you know how much mana those decks could produce on the first turn? Six! For six mana, you can play all your cards in your hand. And this, let me remind you, before the opponent even started the game.

The idea of ​​playing your hand brings us to the next standard top card - windfall. It says: "players discard all cards and draw cards by the largest number of discarded." But this is the official text. In practice, it works out more like this: "your opponent discards seven cards and draws seven cards, you discard zero cards and draw seven cards." Reloading a hand for three mana is the dream of any combo (and not only) deck.

The last component of the over-deck is mind over matter. The enchantment itself is not impressive, but with Tolarian Academy (producing mana in incredible amounts) and Windfall (recharging the hand), it completely disables the enemy from the game.

The reaction of the players to such a radical change in the metagame was predictable. "Fuck you with your Mind Over Matter!". People sold their collections and left Magic (or rather, they announced that they were leaving Magic. There weren’t many alternatives). The wizards, seeing in their turn a drop in interest in the new rotating format, promptly banned Tolarian Academy and Windfall. The standard was saved...

Unfortunately no...

March 1999. Banned Dream Halls, Earthcraft, Fluctuator, Lotus Petal, Recurring Nightmare and Time Spiral

The December ban forced fans of fast combos to turn their attention to other, very controversial in terms of balance, cards of the standard. And there were surprisingly many of them. By weakening Mind Over Matter, the Wizards opened a deckbuilding Pandora's box.

On the one hand, the task set (to diversify the standard) was achieved. One super deck has been replaced by several. On the other hand, people who want to play "fair" Magic (that is, play creatures and use them to attack) flew past the standard, because they lost the game in the first three turns. The winter of 98-99 rightfully entered the history of Magic under the name "combo winter".

To understand the scale of the disaster, check out the joke of those times. Drawing an analogy with chess, the players said that "tossing a coin is an opening, a set starting hand- middlegame, first move - endgame". As in chess, games could end already in the opening - tournament veterans recall cases when two combo players tossed a coin and signed the protocol sheet.

Let's look at the cards. Ban is easiest to understand Lotus Petal. Note that this is everyone's favorite Black Lotus, weakened three times. And despite this, the Lotus Petal is absurd. Universal mana boost without any drawbacks! It's no surprise that combo decks flourished at the time.

Further, Fluctuator. God knows what the effect is - reduces the cost of scrolling (cycling) cards by two mana. Fortunately or unfortunately, the scroll cost on most cards with this ability was exactly two mana. Fluctuator made these cards free to scroll, allowing players to effectively scroll half a deck looking for the right parts combos.

earthcraft allegedly became a victim of wording. The original text of the card was supposed to be: "all your creatures gain the ability: untap basic land per turn." A static ability that gives creatures an activated ability. I agree, it's complicated. Much more elegant is the card text in the current edition: "tap your creature: tap a basic land". One activated ability that seems to have the same effect? Not really. In the new wording, you can tap creatures that have just entered the game. Throw in a creature generator (Sacred Mesa) and a way to get two mana from the same land (Fertile Ground), and you can easily go into an endless loop.

Time Spiral it is the twin brother of Windfall. We have already seen what cards are capable of forcing players to "draw seven cards". To top it all off, Time Spiral was spinning your lands, essentially giving you one more turn. Very handy, taking into account the newly recruited new hand.

dream halls allows players to play cards for free. Wizards seriously released this card. What could go wrong? Okay, I'm exaggerating. Paying the mana cost of cards is replaced by discarding cards from hand. A small loss, given that Yawgmoth's Will allowed discarded cards to be played directly from the graveyard.

Recurring Nightmare is a normal "revive" card, except that it is returned to the hand and can be used over and over again. Let me remind you that reanimation in Magic refers to bringing a creature out of a graveyard back into play. I dare say that no creature has returned from the dead as many times as Great Whale did. When he returned to the game, he would untap seven lands, three of which went to recurring Nightmare (resurrecting that damn whale again!), And four of which were accumulated in the mana pool, giving an infinite increase in mana.

Armed with a ban-hammer, the Wizards made it clear that the combo winter was over. It cannot be said that the jubilation was universal. Imagine yourself in the place of a player who swelled his salary into buying a competitive deck, which in an instant turned into a pile of unplayable cardboard. My sympathy for them. Most of the players, however, were optimistic - the upcoming tournament in Vienna (March 1999) was supposed to draw a line and be the last for this combo nightmare. However, it was not without embarrassment ... but more on that in the next part.