Magic The Gathering TCG Cards - Show us yours! 3 3

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

One of my favorite decks to play was my dueling deck which consisted of Bats, Rats , and Pestilence. 

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

That deck had many small casting cost creatures and a lot of the goodies associated with them.

[Bronty]

Alpha power 20 completed yesterday

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

Some more of the creatures that lurked in that deck.

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

Ok. Looking at these really brings back memories.  Now let me switch to a few of my favorite cards that went into my destruction and lockdown decks. It is going to be wait for it Legendary..

 

[dikran]

The market for these cards was so stagnant for so long since the early 00's that I had completely given up on them ever having any real value... it's quite the resurgence! Good on you guys for keeping up! I'm glad I kept what I still have but man do I regret selling my Lotus and other power 9 pieces... 

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

[Bronty]

Wonderful cards, congrats!

 

Group shot of a set of alpha rares, just completed! 

[Artboy99]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:02 PM, Bronty said:

Wonderful cards, congrats!

 

Group shot of a set of alpha rares, just completed! 

awesome pic Bronty!

I got into Magic during alpha. A friend of mine owns a local gaming store and he asked me to come try a "new game" he was sent. We each opened an alpha starter deck, he read the rules and we made decks. We had no idea what we were doing, and no clue how to use cards that cost "0" to play so we set them aside in a pile.

I loved the game, played it heavily from 1993 to around the end of 2003. Then I took a break, and returned to try to play in 2004 but something was different: I didn't know every single card. It used to be if my opponent played a card I knew what it did exactly, and I could even surmise what kind of deck they were playing so I could anticipate what cards could be coming. After my break, I was absolutely lost and that is when I officially stopped playing. I had 4 of every card from Alpha until 2004. I have since sold everything. 

There was a period of time where I had taken the pivotal cards from several decks and framed them as a collection of each of my favorite decks. I had 4 frames: Hell's Caretaker deck, Moat deck with 4x Serendib Efreets, a Chaos Orb deck with 4x Argivian Archaeologist ( my record for a single game is dropping my Chaos Orb 21 times), and my Timetwister deck (5 color deck based on taking multiple extra turns with time walk, regrowth, demonic tutor, etc.

Had a great time playing the game, and when I sold off the bulk of my collection I put the money into comics, and I have been back into comics since then.

[Bronty]

On 2/12/2022 at 10:19 PM, Artboy99 said:

awesome pic Bronty!

I got into Magic during alpha. A friend of mine owns a local gaming store and he asked me to come try a "new game" he was sent. We each opened an alpha starter deck, he read the rules and we made decks. We had no idea what we were doing, and no clue how to use cards that cost "0" to play so we set them aside in a pile.

I loved the game, played it heavily from 1993 to around the end of 2003. Then I took a break, and returned to try to play in 2004 but something was different: I didn't know every single card. It used to be if my opponent played a card I knew what it did exactly, and I could even surmise what kind of deck they were playing so I could anticipate what cards could be coming. After my break, I was absolutely lost and that is when I officially stopped playing. I had 4 of every card from Alpha until 2004. I have since sold everything. 

There was a period of time where I had taken the pivotal cards from several decks and framed them as a collection of each of my favorite decks. I had 4 frames: Hell's Caretaker deck, Moat deck with 4x Serendib Efreets, a Chaos Orb deck with 4x Argivian Archaeologist ( my record for a single game is dropping my Chaos Orb 21 times), and my Timetwister deck (5 color deck based on taking multiple extra turns with time walk, regrowth, demonic tutor, etc.

Had a great time playing the game, and when I sold off the bulk of my collection I put the money into comics, and I have been back into comics since then.

Hey Karl,

That decks sound great!    And I know exactly what you mean about the number of cards being out of control.     I took a 25 year break from playing for reasons including  that .    Too many cards, too much time, too much effort, difficulty in finding time with friends I had once played with les to me not caring, and selling what little I had.
 

Playing webcam leagues like Alpha 40 lately has been fun for some of those reasons.    Webcam games mean you can play whenever someone else in league is free.     You have an hour on a Sunday?    You can see if one of your opponents is available.    It’s much easier to fit into life.    And the fact that only the alpha set is used means you’re only playing with the iconic cards you remember and instinctively understand.     And frankly, the fact that the cards aren’t cheap means I’m playing someone my age and not playing against a 15 year old (no disrespect to them, just don’t have much in common with). 
 

I find your story interesting.  Were you living in Alberta at the time?    I had been under the impression that mtg wasn’t sold in Canada until Unlimited or something?   But I’m not an expert in that; just what I’d heard so I’m curious.     

Edited February 13, 2022 by Bronty

[tng123]

Loved this combo for casual play ;) when i were active in the 90s.

[Artboy99]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:53 PM, Bronty said:

Hey Karl,

That decks sound great!    And I know exactly what you mean about the number of cards being out of control.     I took a 25 year break from playing for reasons including  that .    Too many cards, too much time, too much effort, difficulty in finding time with friends I had once played with les to me not caring, and selling what little I had.
 

Playing webcam leagues like Alpha 40 lately has been fun for some of those reasons.    Webcam games mean you can play whenever someone else in league is free.     You have an hour on a Sunday?    You can see if one of your opponents is available.    It’s much easier to fit into life.    And the fact that only the alpha set is used means you’re only playing with the iconic cards you remember and instinctively understand.     And frankly, the fact that the cards aren’t cheap means I’m playing someone my age and not playing against a 15 year old (no disrespect to them, just don’t have much in common with). 
 

I find your story interesting.  Were you living in Alberta at the time?    I had been under the impression that mtg wasn’t sold in Canada until Unlimited or something?   But I’m not an expert in that; just what I’d heard so I’m curious.     

yes I have lived in the Edmonton area all of my life.

My friend sells antiques, collectibles and games. The alpha that he had was a result of something he saw at a game convention he attended in the US. If I recall it was late November or possibly even December of 1993 ( it was around Christmas time) when he asked me to come check the game out and he had a few starter decks and some booster packs but not a lot. 

It is my opinion that Magic didn't really happen here in Edmonton until somewhere after Revised edition. There was a comic/gaming convention in the summer of 1994 and it was at that show that the game was more widely introduced. There was a Wizard's of the Coast booth and they were introducing the game and giving out revised booster packs to people that walked by for free and were asking people to learn how to play the game and later there would be a tournament for fun. I was at the show more for comic art purposes and I did not participate in the Magic the Gathering. I remember seeing a small handful of people playing at some tables when I left.

The following year when Fourth edition came out it had "exploded" and at the Edmonton summer comic convention the tournament had lots of players, more than 50 and I was blown away by the "sudden" popularity. I was not there for Magic the Gathering, I attended to talk to 2 comic artists that were to be in attendance as I was looking for some advice as I was trying to get into the comic art industry. It was a multi-day show and the artists I went to see did not show the first day, one of the comic artists was Tim Townsend, I can't remember who the other guy was. While I was waiting for them I met Nene Thomas who was there at an adjacent table and she had several of her pieces of art for sale including a few of the ones she had done for MTG. I remember holding the original art for Hecatomb ( should have bought it!...but I didn't because to be honest and no offense to her but I didn't think she was that good, she certainly has improved her skills since then ). I bought a magazine she had on her table called Cryptych that she had available because she did the cover art for it. Wish I knew what I did with that. As I was waiting at the comic artist tables I got to chat with her for a long time. My own art became a subject of conversation and I showed her the art pages I had brought with me and she told me to talk to Wizards of the Coast as they were looking for artists, she even offered to introduce me but of course I didn't pursue that. :P

**edited, found a pic online of the Cryptych magazine. I think I added it to the joint comic collection I have with @thehumantorch, honestly I should keep it. 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Artboy99

[Artboy99]

as it turns out the Cryptych magazine was here in a jointly owned box of fanzines. Dave, @thehumantorch I would like to reclaim this, hope it is ok (is not worth much)

Cool magazine that is largely not known about. It came out in Nov 1993, and the contents have a large section on Magic the Gathering which I will share.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Artboy99

[Bronty]

Thanks Karl, that looks like a fun read.   
 

Ok that makes sense about the trip to the US .   You must have had some of the very first cards in Canada then.   Gen Con was August 93, that must have been the con?   As they were all sold out in like a couple weeks or something after the con.    Congrats, and great story

[thehumantorch]

On 2/13/2022 at 7:17 AM, Artboy99 said:

yes I have lived in the Edmonton area all of my life.

My friend sells antiques, collectibles and games. The alpha that he had was a result of something he saw at a game convention he attended in the US. If I recall it was late November or possibly even December of 1993 ( it was around Christmas time) when he asked me to come check the game out and he had a few starter decks and some booster packs but not a lot. 

It is my opinion that Magic didn't really happen here in Edmonton until somewhere after Revised edition. There was a comic/gaming convention in the summer of 1994 and it was at that show that the game was more widely introduced. There was a Wizard's of the Coast booth and they were introducing the game and giving out revised booster packs to people that walked by for free and were asking people to learn how to play the game and later there would be a tournament for fun. I was at the show more for comic art purposes and I did not participate in the Magic the Gathering. I remember seeing a small handful of people playing at some tables when I left.

The following year when Fourth edition came out it had "exploded" and at the Edmonton summer comic convention the tournament had lots of players, more than 50 and I was blown away by the "sudden" popularity. I was not there for Magic the Gathering, I attended to talk to 2 comic artists that were to be in attendance as I was looking for some advice as I was trying to get into the comic art industry. It was a multi-day show and the artists I went to see did not show the first day, one of the comic artists was Tim Townsend, I can't remember who the other guy was. While I was waiting for them I met Nene Thomas who was there at an adjacent table and she had several of her pieces of art for sale including a few of the ones she had done for MTG. I remember holding the original art for Hecatomb ( should have bought it!...but I didn't because to be honest and no offense to her but I didn't think she was that good, she certainly has improved her skills since then ). I bought a magazine she had on her table called Cryptych that she had available because she did the cover art for it. Wish I knew what I did with that. As I was waiting at the comic artist tables I got to chat with her for a long time. My own art became a subject of conversation and I showed her the art pages I had brought with me and she told me to talk to Wizards of the Coast as they were looking for artists, she even offered to introduce me but of course I didn't pursue that. :P

**edited, found a pic online of the Cryptych magazine. I think I added it to the joint comic collection I have with @thehumantorch, honestly I should keep it. 

 

Don't remember ever seeing this magazine.

I first saw MTG at my LCS Beyond Fantasy.  The store set up tables and gave more space to Magic and I wondered what is this game displacing my comic hobby, so after about a year I got curious and bought a few boosters.  This was 4th edition so yes, probably came into Edmonton around 1994.  I played for quite a few years and enjoyed it.  The LCS focused heavily on MTG and started to make mistakes on my comic pull file so I closed my file.  I did a lot of trading, always looking for Alpha and Beta and they were tough to find locally.

[Artboy99]

On 2/13/2022 at 10:12 AM, Bronty said:

Thanks Karl, that looks like a fun read.   
 

Ok that makes sense about the trip to the US .   You must have had some of the very first cards in Canada then.   Gen Con was August 93, that must have been the con?   As they were all sold out in like a couple weeks or something after the con.    Congrats, and great story

yes he confirms he was at Gen Con!

They had limited supply available at the show and he filled out an order form for some packs and received them in late November 1993.

By the time he and I played our initial game, MTG was already into the Unlimited release. 

 

[Artboy99]

On 2/13/2022 at 10:55 AM, thehumantorch said:

Don't remember ever seeing this magazine.

I first saw MTG at my LCS Beyond Fantasy.  The store set up tables and gave more space to Magic and I wondered what is this game displacing my comic hobby, so after about a year I got curious and bought a few boosters.  This was 4th edition so yes, probably came into Edmonton around 1994.  I played for quite a few years and enjoyed it.  The LCS focused heavily on MTG and started to make mistakes on my comic pull file so I closed my file.  I did a lot of trading, always looking for Alpha and Beta and they were tough to find locally.

Beyond Fantasy! Great MTG location with a Queen Donair beside it for some food. 

Beyond Fantasy's involvement in Magic was very slightly behind a few other local game stores but by only a few months. The handful of players of MTG that would routinely show up at Whyte Knight on Saturdays began talking about and going to the "new" gaming location Beyond Fantasy on Fridays. Fridays I was going to a game store in Sherwood Park as a friend of mine lived out there.  That was summer 1994 to the end of 1994. Beyond Fantasy started into MTG in early 1995, like March/April but it was before the summer 1995 Edmonton convention.

Beyond Fantasy really did an amazing job of taking the market by the horns. I cant remember his name but the young guy who managed the store became a Wizards sanctioned MTG judge (he was first in Edmonton). He started organizing Wizards of the Coast sanctioned monthly tournaments that started in fall 1995. The tournament in October 1995 I won and the prize was an unlimited Time Walk.

I know that store manager became a higher level MTG judge over time.

Many other game stores got involved in MTG but in my opinion at that time Beyond Fantasy did it best. What was once a comic store changed dramatically into a MTG location. Well into 1995 I dont remember even seeing comic bins anymore, replaced by play tables for tournaments.