MAGIC: THE GATHERING.

• Author: Shackford, Scott
• Position: GAME - Brief article

Can a competitive card game also be a form of personal expression? Magic: The Gathering, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018, has pioneered a successful gaming concept on the idea.

Magic, for the uninitiated, challenges rivals to defeat each other in a round of eldritch fantasy combat represented by competing decks of cards. What made Magic unusual so many years ago was that players did not all have the same decks and the same cards. They purchased or otherwise obtained packs of randomized cards and built personalized decks.

Do you prefer to beat your opponents with an army of goblins and dragons? Strike them down with fire and lightning magic? Manipulate them with powerful enchanted artifacts? Your carefully curated deck determined the path to victory.

Magic was an instant hit, and new sets of cards have been released every year. There's a robust secondary market for individual cards for collectors, just like with baseball trading cards. Some early ones are worth thousands of dollars.

Magic's success launched an entire card game genre, and it persists...