Some Magic: The Gathering Resources

The collectible card game Magic: The Gathering has been around for over 20 years.  One of the strengths of the game is a strong support community, through both official and unofficial channels.  And it needs it- as new cards are routinely released through several new expansions each year, it can be overwhelming for a new player to know where to begin- over 14,000 cards have been made.  This post is intended as a one-stop resource for players of all backgrounds.


Rules & Formats

Both basic and comprehensive rules can be found on the official page here.  One of Magic's appeals is the ways the game can be played- the different formats.  Those are discussed here.


Cards

To search for individual cards (or text on cards), use either the official card database (The Gatherer), Magiccards.info, or magidex.  They all feature the latest card wording for optimal clarity or resolving rule disputes (for example, some cards used to have abilities that trigger when it "comes into play," but now the language is "enters the battlefield."  It's the same for rules purposes, and these online resources help verify that when questions arise).

If you're interested in tournament play, make sure your deck doesn't include cards that will disqualify you.  Some cards have proven so powerful over the years that they have been banned or restricted, and this official page has lists of such.

If you'd rather visually peruse large sets of cards efficiently, MythicSpoiler is great.


Deck Builders/Viewers/Articles

Deck building is a key part of Magic.  This official site has some deck building principles, and my recommendations on it are here.  One way to deck build is to look at what others have already constructed (called 'net-decking'), and the sites in this section have plenty of examples.

Building a deck is most efficiently done virtually.  You can do this in a number of places.  DeckStats is a great site which provides a number of stats about the deck(s) you enter.  It's a great place to spot any big problems during the design phase (rather than discovering them during play).
MTGGoldfish is another place to build your own decks or view others.  It also has articles about cards (or card combos) that are quite helpful when designing.  MTGTop8 lists which decks are winning at the many tournaments and championships all over the world.

MTGSalvation is another site with articles, forums, and other resources, as is StarCityGames.


Card Collections

If you want to store your inventory online, you can do so at DeckStats or DeckBox.  The latter allows you to make your collection public for trading opportunities.

This official website has printable checklists for many expansions, if you're old school and prefer to track these things by hand.


Prices & Purchasing

Of course, if you want to play, you have to pay.  Cards can be obtained from many outlets.  You can get large collections on eBay or elsewhere.  For factory-sealed products (like booster boxes, packs, and starter sets), there are many options.  I've used CoolStuffInc for years and been impressed by their customer service and flexibility.  TrollAndToad is also a great place to buy.  I'm told TCGPlayer is good, too, as it lists private sellers as well as stores, giving you lots of choices.

As Magic is a living game, card prices fluctuate over time.  This is because new card releases can create synergies with older cards that vastly increase value.  MTGStocks is a site to track prices and popularity.

Video Coverage

Yes, Magic is popular enough to have plenty of sites dedicated to steaming videos of tournaments and other events.  MTGCoverage is one; twitch.tv another.

The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Last month, I did a quasi-review of The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  I had to put it down for an odd reason- the book was misprinted and pages were missing (see my post for more details).  But, the publishing company graciously mailed me a new one, and so I was able to continue the story.  This is, therefore, a full review.

The Karamazov brothers are an interesting lot.  Their father is a womanizing, free-spending jerk who had four boys by two wives and an illicit encounter.  He ignored his kids while growing up, and they've dealt with it in different ways.  Dmitri, the oldest, had a short stint in the military and is in many ways like his carousing father; Ivan looked to philosophy and turned against God; Alexei walked with God and lived in a monastery for a time, learning from a venerable elder; Smerdyakov (the illegitimate son) resided with the old man as his servant/cook.  Things are seldom good in this dysfunctional family, but when Dmitri and his father are chasing the same woman, and Dmitri believes his father owes him inheritance money, things get ugly quickly.  The father is murdered, and all signs point to the oldest . . . but is there more than meets the eye?

This book was okay.  The theme was outstanding, looking how our sinful, broken nature can manifest itself differently from person to person.  And many characters in the book showed the ability to both love greatly and fall horribly- a poignant (and accurate) portrayal of reality.  These gems aside, the execution left something to be desired.  Some chapters were good and fast-paced; others were lengthy rants or philosophical treatises that were hard to follow and (in many ways) probably unnecessary to the story.  The latter half of the story picked up and was markedly better than the first, so press on if you're intrigued.  It's clear the author was using the novel to discuss different ideas about God and man, love and hate, moral wrong vs. legal wrong- always good topics.  I just wish it had been done in a more readable, condensed style.

Dostoyevsky excels at painting pictures of human brokenness.  I see it here, in The Idiot, and in Crime & Punishment.  Of the three, the last is by far, in my opinion, the best.

Rating: B

Baltimore

Another travel post today: Baltimore.

Poe's Grave
Edgar Allan Poe, author of The Telltale Heart, The Raven, and other tales of the macabre, lies just outside the Inner Harbor district.  The cemetery is haunting and befitting the man's legacy.

Lexington Market
A nice place to grab a bite to eat.

Camden Yards
Home of baseball's Baltimore Orioles, this is one of the nicest stadiums in America.

Inner Harbor
The highlight of Baltimore is its Inner Harbor.  Shopping, tourism, museums- there's a lot to see and do here.

Aquarium
Perhaps the highlight of the Inner Harbor is the Baltimore Aquarium- well worth a visit.  If you're local, get an annual pass- pays for itself in just two visits.

Fun Buildings
Barnes & Noble is in an old power plant, and is one of the cooler bookstores around.  The clock tower at left is nice, too.

Conclusion
I need to do back to Baltimore and get more pictures.  It's a great place, small (for a city) and surprisingly easy to access.

Rating: A

Washington, D.C.

The route we took, seeing the western half of the Mall

A few weeks ago, we took a day trip to Washington, D.C.  This post recaps that trip.

Most visitors to DC focus on one area: the National Mall, which contains a number of monuments and museums (not to mention the Capitol Building and White House) in a pleasant, park-like setting.  We hoped to do the entire Mall, but time, heat, and children precluded us, so we focused on the western half.  First up: the Washington Monument.  Looking east from there, you can see the Capitol; west, the WWII and Lincoln Memorials.

After Washington's monument, we headed west to the WWII Memorial.  Built in 2004, it's one of the newer monuments in the area.  Note you can see the Reflecting Pool and Lincoln Memorial looking west from there; the Washington Monument is now to the east.

We continued west down a pleasant, tree-lined walk and had lunch.  We were accosted by the super-'friendly' squirrels but escaped without incident.  After that, it was the Vietnam Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial brings us to the western end of the Mall, and offers a nice view east.

Heading back east (on the south side), we saw the Korean War Memorial (also 'new,' it was built in 1995) and the Jefferson Memorial (at a distance, from across the Tidal Basin).

We concluded by a view of the White House (you can't get very close), and saw the Capitol building again from the car on the way home.

DC is a nice day out, and in nice weather, it's a photographer's paradise.  Next time we hope to hit the eastern half of the Mall, with its myriad museums.  It would also be nice to tour the White House and Capitol Buildings, though I believe advanced permission is required.  A good time to visit is in the spring, during the Cherry Blossom Festival (in 2017, late March-late April).

a nice image of the Mall, from here

Rating: A