I was online, browsing a site for roleplaying games - maybe rpg.net, maybe herogames.com, I don't remember. A discussion was going on about some esoteric game rule or roleplaying concept when I noticed a tag line on some guy's autosignature.

Below the person's name, it read: "Help save role playing. Kill a Magic player."

"Hah!" I laughed. (I really do make that sound when I laugh, too.) "I used to say the same thing before I started playing Magic," I thought. Then I started thinking about a number of related things as well.

It's pretty pathetic when the extent of my introspection is questioning my choices in hobbies, but that's what happened. I asked myself, "When did I change my mind about Magic?" and "Why did I hate Magic so much back then?" and "How much of this feeling is still out there?" and "How does this play into the competitive vs. casual Magic dichotomy?" and "Why doesn't Marvel make decent action figures?" and "Why is it that only food that is bad for you is enjoyable?" and "Holy Cow! Why aren't I more embarrassed about admitting that Allison Hannigan being all slutty in the latest FHM magazine is a real turnon?" and... Well, you get the idea. My soul-searching is not exactly Proustian in its depth.

Now, despite my lack of self-awareness, I HAD noticed the various articles about the viability of Magic as a long term staple of the gaming industry. The "Is this simply an extended fad, or is it the next Chess?" type of thing.

I thought some more (not a quick process), and unfortunately I came to the conclusion that I think Magic is dying by itself; the roleplayers don't need any help in killing us off."

I was never a gamer to start with. I loved role playing for all it offered, but I wasn't one to buy - or even try - games just for the fun of it. When I saw a new card game played by fat old men who seemed to enjoy berating twelve-year olds for not knowing the rules; where winning all came down to who had paid $20 for a single card, well... I'm being nice to simply say it wasn't for me. I didn't have the time or money... And the rules arguments I observed gave me headaches.

I also saw the RPG industry and comic industry taking huge hits at the local store level, as shops disenfranchised their long term customers to focus on the cash cow of the moment: First Magic, then Pokemon. This did nothing to help the situation as far as I was concerned.

At the local store level, I saw well run stores struggling to maintain their inventory and variety while trying to accommodate a new and demanding clientele, while battling WottC over some of the most ridiculous and ugly purchasing terms. Roleplayers saw their selection of games drop (and comic readers in the same boat), primarily because stores trying to run on a razor-thin margin were forced to buy all kinds of product that was crap, in order to be guaranteed the order of Magic - and especially Pokemon - that they needed.

Poorly-run stores just dumped their old business for new... And for better or worse, just aren't around anymore. Economic justice doesn't help, though, when the mere existence of a game is clearly linked with the proverbial knife in the gut of the gaming/comics/geek community as a whole.

Strike One: Alienating your core audience. Bad move.

A variety of circumstances, and meeting new folks like Bill Stei... er... uh... Ferrett, reintroduced me to Magic around the time of Stronghold. I got hooked originally because of Magic's "feel." Perhaps I'm unique in this, but I don't think so. (You're not; ask Daniel Crane, Israel Marques, or Deranged Dad - The Ferrett) What made me love the game was the fantasy concept of being a Wizard general leading my soldiers into battle against another mage, while dodging fireballs and lightning bolts. That was really cool. The folks I played with certainly seemed to feel the same.

Unfortunately, it didn't last. Aside from Ferrett, I found most of the others in my gaming group were uninterested in playing Magic with any regularity. They were either turned off by the growing competitive aspects of the game, or simply unable to afford to keep up. I personally was lucky enough to have the resources to expand my collection, and play enough to delve into the depth of the game, the mechanics, and all the possibilities of card interactions, stack effects, timing, et cetera.

For me, the complexity of the game only made it more interesting... but I had little support in this. As soon as I started building decks that actually functioned, most of my friends quit. I couldn't figure it out. I loved playing someone, losing, and then tweaking my deck to win against what had last defeated me. My belief was that this would inspire my opponent to then tweak THEIR deck to counter MY changes, and we'd go back and forth like this. I think that is still the basis of "playtesting" today. It fell apart when it became quite clear that my friends, for the most part, had no desire to work that hard (and we aren't talking Pro Tour testing here, folks) on a game.

It became clear to me, very quickly, that Magic at any level besides extreme casual (theme decks, random decks, preconstructeds) became too time-consuming and intense for most. The 6th edition rule changes (which I really like, mind you), rotating sets, different "Types" of Magic, and the proliferation of Net decks did nothing to help.

Strike two: Alienating more than half of the market of current players through attrition. Nietzche might feel that adversity builds character, but it does nothing for marketshare.

So, here was a game that Richard Garfield claimed he wanted to become a
"standard" in every household - like Monopoly or Scrabble - and certified geeks like me found it nearly impossible to keep up. To top it off, even those who clearly loved the game were at each other's virtual throats over what was the proper way to play - casual vs. competitive, losing the magical feel for a proscribed story line on the cards, etc.

Ask yourself this: Why would ANYONE not already involved in this game come anywhere near it? Do you really expect every household to have a few Magic decks that the family pulls out on Sunday afternoons when Grandma comes over? I don't think so... and believe me, I tried to teach my parents and girlfriend how to play. All of them were accomplished conventional card players, but they were having none of it.

It still cracks me up to think of Grandpa looking to spend an afternoon of games with his grandson, saying, "Okay - I'm going to pull out my white weenie and give you the beatdown, sonny!"

He'd be locked up as a pervert.

Strike three: Absolutely no basis for expanding beyond the specialty geek market.

At this point, two to the back of the head is looking like a relief.

Clearly, I no longer want to kill Magic players (I AM one, after all), but I think we are doing a fine job of killing ourselves. Only recently have I felt that the game has even begun to be inclusive of both casual and competitive players, let alone inviting to new folks.

I've begun to wonder whether the game itself is to blame.

The fantasy aspect of it turns off non-geek types.

If you focus on the mechanics, it becomes a mathematical game of mana curves and probability, which turns off the majority of casual players who originally were drawn to the fantasy aspect.

The massive amount of cards available is intimidating to almost everyone but the most die-hard fans.

The division among Magic players themselves, and the need to specialize in Magic to such an extent that it excludes a lot of other gamers, comic readers, etc., isolates the market even more.

Finally, the constant change in playable cards makes for utter confusion, unless committed to the game 100 percent. Scrabble can and is played competitively, but you can bet its popularity and longevity don't come from that aspect of the game. If the letters you were allowed to play with changed every three months, there is no way that a copy of Scrabble would be found in most American households and many more around the world. No one would have the time or patience to keep up.

When the local game store - a strong provider of comics, games, and the space to enjoy them - can't get regular enthusiasm for Magic in a college town like Ann Arbor...

...and the employees just shake their heads and mutter about Magic being dead...

... and NONE of them play it regularly...

... well, I don't think we need any help from angry RPG folks to eliminate us. It would just be a mercy killing if they did.

Neil Carver