I stated playing trading card games back in the late 90s. First starting with Pokémon and then Traveling to yugioh till I finally gave up the stuff. I have no memory of this time I don’t think I even heard about magic in that time. I must have seen a booster pack near where I was going but my blinders were on. I was quite fond time of the tv shows and toys and magic didn’t have any of that. There weren’t any plushies or pencils or stickers in those days like there were for other games. I could play my gameboy of pokemon in the morning, slam a few episodes of the show before I shove the binder in my bag to to go Pokémon club. I remember it too. That feeling during school when you have yourbinder fill of cards it in your bag. You could feel the power of it. Just waiting there for you. The cards calling from behind a thin layer of backpack. Suffice it to say magic didn’t have any of those goodies, so I probably never bought a pack. But I did buy pokemon cards as any good millennial boy should. Okay hot take on pokemon, don’t get me wrong I love it. BUT Thete is something about pokemon that never caught my bug. I would arrive in the pokemon club which took place in the catholic school library which was a big curving open rooo. With sunlight and joy and we would all meet and sit on the steps as it was and only two level lines Ty. But no one played. This wasn’t about the game. It was about cards. Collecting, holding in a binder to trade for other cards that are deemed more valuably for some other reason. I didn’t last long here. I was never a devout fan but can understand and see the love people have for it. From here it’s all somewhat vague. Until one day in the local Kroger, which was always a treat cause while my mom would shop for groceries I got to go to the massive books and magazines sections. I’ve always been a book junkie- but as a kid video game magazines and comic books would be devoured at an ungodly speed. And one day I picked up the very first issue (possibly a reprinting of the first issues it was in?) shogun jump. Which features a comic called yugioh about a world of wonder and cards and monsters. All things little Moro ate up. So of course I begged my mother to buy it, she would usually have zero problems buying the books I asked for so it was a win win cause she got me sitting in my rook reading. And soon after it was all things yugioh. It was more sophisticated, not as childish even the comics were dark as hell! They show ligtheed it quite a bit but this was an edgier game. And that’s the most important part it was a game. People played it. Next thing you know it’s the new fire across the school and there is a club full of people playing the game. I most likely buying a blue eyes white dragon starter feel excited and fueled by anime rose tinted glasses of beating my toughest opponents with the heart of the cards. But that isn’t what happened. All I remember is sitting across from the 45 year old computer teacher as he completely houses me. And I mean a throughouh whooponybwirew not only is he winning he’s also like calling out things I did wrong in and effort to reach but woof it dwlt bad. I liked the show, the comics were good, but i realized this wasn’t for me. And I stood above my garage can in my kitchens and I threw away every single card I owned. -Side note- 8 have no idea where the pokemon cards went but I hope we sold them. I was cracking the good good. I remember trying to design my Own cards game but ultimately it was an off clone of yugioh called Whoopie, cause there was a component somewhat like uno where you verbally had to call something out and it was whoopie. I know, I was like 12 and this is why I’m not in game design. And that was trashed too. The year is 2020. I recieve in the mail before Covid and the lock down a gift I. The mail. It’s a kaldhein booster bundle- 10 premium booster packs of a game called magic the gathering. I was very intrigued. It was something that inside I knew what complicated but what treasures did it hold what wonder. On it was high fantasy artwork something I feel warm and close to. I already play dungeons and dragon this feels right. I crack open these boosters and honestly wow what incredible art but I have no idea what’s happening with these things and then they sat. I thanked my friend Mathew for this lovely gift and he told me to download arena to learn to play magic the gathering and it was when I saw it was a game, that I have access to now as an adult. It was truly the most wonderful thing to come out of the pandemic. So all in all i adore card games. I always have. But I do feel that they come and go in my life. And the relevance and importance we put to them is different for all of us. Why we play, how we play it makes us who we are. Cause at the core we are all spellslingers wandering from duel to duel reading for some magic.