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So... has anything interesting happened in Magic: The Gathering the last 27 years?
I walked by a game store the other day and saw a new starter kit for sale. I used to play it when I was a kid, maybe a year when it first came out, and then forgot about it around 4th edition.
One thing I remember is going to Mtg nerd meetups and seeing nerd kids there with one or both parents. They were even playing with them, with their own personally designed decks even. My parents didn't do this stuff at all. I was jealous of kids with grown-up money being able to buy rare cards and kick my butt with them.
Back at the game store I decided I wanted to try introducing this cuteness in my own parenting life. The package on the starter kit says 13+ but I thought I'd give it a try with my 6 year old. He can read and do math so... should work?
And... It does! It's a hit. My kid's hooked and we play every day. I'm probably a little hooked too.
So. What else should I do? There's a score tracking app called Lotus that seems perfect. There's a lot more "tokens" involved in modern cards, wtf? Do most people use post-it notes?
I see there's lots of online Mtg options but I don't think I want to open that door since my kid is not at all addicted to screens yet.
Any tips here on what else to look out for? I've heard Commander sucks and I should skip it.
I'm pleasantly amused to have this generational experience of playing a game I loved as a kid with my own kid, 25 years later. Surprised it has held on so long. Also holy shit I'm old.
I'm not entirely sure what happened to my old cards. Hopefully we find a massive cache of them in Grandma's attic soon and have our minds blown.
Completely disagree on commander. 60 card is great for learning with your kid, but for playing with more than one person it's just a way better format. The pre-cons are slow and weak, but extremely understandable for a kid. You can both upgrade them with printed proxies as he gets smarter, or leave them intact and see if you can rope the wife/other kids into playing!
When you buy those pre-cons they come with the tokens you need. People use dice on top of cards, post-it notes, and Infinity Tokens.
Over the past 5 years Magic has gotten worse, in my estimation. More woke, worse print quality, tougher balance. I don't pay for cards anymore, or at least very little. However it's still the best game ever made. I'm seriously considering paying aftermarket prices for the warhammer 40k precon commander deck that I played with recently, it was a blast.
Finally if he wants to get into the social aspect of FNM etc. I'd suggest it, eventually. But the reputation of MTG nerds is well-earned. He will find and meet cheaters and assholes - he'll also potentially find some of his best, lifelong friends. I think it's worth the risk once he's good enough to give it a shot. Be prepared to spend $ to keep up with the meta-game though.
Meaning, like, usual costs of socializing? Cover fees, food, etc? Or something else?
No - when you play 60 card at a game store, you'll generally be playing "Standard". This is a format with cards just in the past two years. As they print new cards, you won't be allowed to play with older ones (in that format). So minimum a couple times a year you'll have to adjust or fully rebuild the deck.
If you want to be competitive, you'll have to build more than one deck and adjust it mid-season.
Remember though, nobody is forcing you or your son to take it very seriously. You can spend $500 on a standard deck or $10. A competitive deck will be something like $50, and if you crack packs and go to pre-releases you can sometimes trade for what you want etc.
If he loves it it's absolutely worth a shot of going to pre-releases first and then diving into FNMs.
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