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Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game published by Wizards of the Coast. It’s collectible in the way that cards are released in sets and you can collect and trade the cards to obtain the ones you want or to try and complete a set, which results in a special kind of geeky satisfaction and sense of accomplishment and completion. In addition to the cards’ value to collectors Magic has achieved lasting success by providing an addicting game of strategy and fantasy.

In a game of Magic, each player takes the role of a powerful wizard who casts spells and summons creatures in an effort to destroy his or her opponent (the other player). You create your own deck of cards, and once ready, pit your deck and skill against another player. Despite its simple premise, Magic’s gameplay can become very strategic and deep.

Cards in Magic represent five colors, each which uses its own theme and philosophy of play. Black is based on concepts of death and malice, white emphasizes purity and healing, blue is all about trickery, countermagic, and misdirection, green is nature, growth, and big powerful creatures, and red is based around damage and chaos. In creating your deck you can use one or more of these colors. New cards are obtained by purchasing booster packs, which usually contain 15 cards. Magic cards vary in rarity, either being common, uncommon, or rare. Mythic rare cards were recently introduced as well.

Magic is huge. There are tournaments worldwide, and its following is bigger than ever. My beginnings with the game were when I was in my early teens and played it at my friend Avery’s house. That was in about 1994. Myself, Avery, his two brothers, and two other friends would all play and trade our Magic cards together. We had a fantastic time of it and I have many happy memories from that time. Sometimes we even played group games where 6 or 7 of us all played. We stuck the extra leaves to extend Avery’s dining table and played, quite literally, until the sun came up!

We all took a break from Magic in about 2004 or so. I grew increasingly bored and unhappy with Magic, mainly due to a feeling of staleness and that the newer cards were not as powerful and enjoyable to play as those from the game’s initial sets. Recently, though, I was looking into various geeky hobbies and took a fresh look at Magic. To my surprise, the card formats have been redesigned and now look crisp and attractive. The cards all feature their own art and much of the new art is very impressive. The new cards also are powerful and many of them are even more effective within the game than some of those I liked when I was younger. I also found that Magic has been going strong in all the time I was away and now it’s looking better than ever with the upcoming Magic 2010 core set.

A lot of recent sets have focused on play mechanics, featuring cards that seem more technical than they do… pure, and weren’t as attractive to me. As kids we felt a sense of awe and fear when someone slapped down a Shivan Dragon, and a synergistic combo deck, while technically impressive, just doesn’t have the same emotional magic to it. However, this new core set, Magic 2010, is a throwback to the days of Magic history, when the cards all were based on evocative fantasy concepts and the game was an expression of fantasy and fun. In M10 they’re including some old cards from the Revised Edition we played with as young guys and the design and development of the set has been based around theme, flavor, and fantasy concepts as a guiding principle. It looks fantastic!

To me, Magic lost its magic for a time, but now it’s definitely back. My friend Avery and I decided to get into Magic again and I introduced my wife Candace to the game. She’s already a fan. We play group games with my friend Avery, and I generally lose, just like old times. It’s great!

If you’re unfamiliar with Magic but are interested in giving it a try, there’s a cool New to Magic site site that Wizards of the Coast has, which has a lot of great information. There are even videos on how to play now. I remember reading the little booklet over and over and playing both sides of a game by myself, so the videos look like a big help. If you want to play it and give it a try I would recommend picking up one of the Magic 2010 Intro Packs. These are what we called “Starter Decks” in the old days. These are decks you can buy and play them right out of the box. Grab two different ones and get your spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, or pal to play with you. Alternatively, the check your local gaming shop that stocks Magic products and there will be someone there who will be more than happy to show you the game. The Wizards of the Coast site has a locator that tells you where Magic is sold and played, as well. I find Magic players to be generally social, pretty geeky, and highly enthusiastic about the game. Don’t be afraid to ask if you’d like to learn

There’s also a game that recently came out on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s called Duels of the Planeswalkers and it’s a lot of fun. It features tutorials on how to learn the game and is a nice, gentle introduction to concepts of playing and deckbuilding. I highly recommend it if you’re interested.

If you’re already familiar with the game I would recommend Dave and Adam’s Card World for bulk purchases of booster boxes. I just preordered two booster boxes of Magic 2010 (one for myself and one for Candace) and after a $10 coupon code I found online I’m paying $80.50 apiece, beating the crap out of paying retail price, and even beating out Amazon and Ebay. It’s the lowest price I’ve seen anywhere, and it includes free shipping, 15 packs of 50 card sleeves, and a drawing to win an Unlimited Black Lotus, the most expensive card in Magic’s history. Sweet deal! I haven’t received the cards yet since I’m writing this before M10 is released, but my friend Avery has bought a booster box and highly recommends their store.

Magic, to me, is a game of fantasy flavor that evokes imagination and brings friends together to have a great time, yet has enjoyable solo elements of deck building and card collecting. It’s multidimensional since you can enjoy playing the game as well as collecting your favorite cards. It’s a fun way to have friends gather around a table rather than staring at a screen to enjoy some gaming.

I met my wife Candace on The Internet. She’s from Canada and I’m from the United States. Our connection was very strong right from the start, and it had to be in order to establish and maintain an international relationship.

As time went on I discovered a source of cheap phone cards and was able to call Candace every night before bed (this was before VOIP and other methods of voice communication were as commonplace as they are now) but the two of us generally chatted in text every day, usually for more than 8 hours and often very late into the night. It truly was a magical level of connectedness and we considered our meeting nothing less than fate, or something of the sort. The frequency and depth of communication we shared cemented our bond and taught us many lessons.

As Candace emigrated to the US and we got married our relationship continued to grow. Even in times when one of us had some kind of personal issue to work through we always connected with each other extremely well. Today if anyone asks us how our relationship works so well the answer is always the same: communication. Both of us consider it to be the most important factor in a successful relationship.

I think a lot of problem spots in relationships come from a lack of communication and are things that are easily fixed by learning how to communicate properly. Based on my experience, these principles are the keys to having excellent communication with your partner in a relationship:

Maintain an agreement to sit down together whenever one person wishes.
You both need to be willing, no matter what the circumstances are, to sit down together and listen to each other. It’s important that you make some sort of pact or agreement to this effect. How much do you really care for the other person if you’re not willing to sit down with your partner and make their feelings a priority?  In that case, why are you in a relationship?

This may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Always make time for your partner when they request it, or else you’ll end up alienating them and blocking communication. Propose this mutual sit-down-when-it’s-needed arrangement if you don’t already have it, or have your partner read this article. It doesn’t have to be an attack of any sort; simply cite a desire to communicate better with him or her, which will contribute to happiness for you both.

Listen to and acknowledge what your partner is saying.
Really listen and try to understand what your partner is telling you. Their feelings are as important to them as yours are to you. If your partner cares enough to sit down and discuss something with you, it’s important to them and is crucial that you listen and take their concerns seriously. If you don’t, they may well end up feeling rejected or ignored and the situation will only become worse.

Realize that it can take courage to reveal one’s feelings and there’s often more to it than merely sitting down and letting it out. Some people may be shy or unused to opening up. Your partner may even be fearful of burdening you with something they consider troubling and be afraid of bringing you down. In these cases you may want to acknowledge your partner’s feelings by thanking them for sharing their feelings with you or saying “I understand what you’re saying”. Always be encouraging and supportive.

Take responsibility for your own feelings.
Never say “you make me feel so angry!” or anything of the sort. This comes out as as accusation and will block effective communication by making an attack on the other person. Instead, try expressing your feelings by starting the sentence with “I feel”. No one can argue with the way you feel. “I feel rejected and angry when you don’t take my requests seriously.” This will ensure that the person you’re speaking with will not be as put off by what you’re saying.

Your feelings and emotional responses are your own responsibility and are no one else’s. No one makes you feel anything. You decide to feel and react the way you do. Owning up to this allows you take control and consciously choose the way you want to feel. You can then change your reactions and respond in a healthier way.

Always communicate, even when you’d rather not.
Obviously, if you’re furious over something you need to take a walk and cool down, but barring extreme emotional states I think you should always sit down and talk with your partner about how you feel. Any problems you experience won’t be fixed by pouting or resisting. I’ve found that the best thing to do if I’m upset is to share my feelings and work through them with Candace. In the end the quickest resolution happens when I go to her to help me work through my funks.

Why mope around and feel crappy when you can have another person help you through it and feel better?

You may be concerned that you’re dumping something unpleasant on your partner, but in my experience they may already be bothered by what you’re going through even if you haven’t already told them. I notice that if Candace is in a funk about something it usually affects me (and the reverse is true as well) so be aware that if the two of you are close your emotional state can affect your partner without any conscious action on your part. Think of it as secondhand negativity. For ourselves and those in our lives it’s best to be positive and in a state of emotional well-being.

It can be hard to share, especially if you’re starting as a shy person, but you must overcome timidity or rejection in order to share your feelings effectively. It will make you a more open and understanding individual and improve the level of trust and understanding between you and your partner. Go ahead and open up. It gets easier in time and you’ll be glad that you did!

Communication is a huge factor in resolving emotional situations. It’s okay if you find it challenging or have reservations right now. In time it becomes second nature and leads to happiness and understanding between you and your partner. There is no substitute for open, honest communication. Tempered with patience, understanding, and willingness, it can help you to resolve pretty much anything.