Fast-forward to the Mirrodin block. I'm walking around my local pharmacy and see a magazine called The Mage. Again, the artwork got me as Etched Oracle stared at me from the cover page so I brought that thing home with me. I was obsessed with that thing as I read it front to back hundreds of times. I was hooked. I started visiting the Magic website daily, fascinated by the lore and eagerly following Pro Tour coverage. There was only one problem - I had nobody to play with! My brother was not interested in the game and my parents didn't want me to frequent card shops.
I had a 7th Edition starter kit that came with a CD that taught new players how to play. There was a short section where I could play against the computer. Very basic, but I played that thing to death. Enter Magic: The Gathering Online. It was the perfect way to get my fix of MTG.
The catch was that I didn't want to put any money into the game. I was a kid with not much money, not to mention I was am incredibly cheap. I'm proud to say that other than the initial cost of opening and account, I haven't put a cent into the game. I used the initial store credits that came with the account to buy my first cards. Luckily, I came across the Pauper Deck Challenge (PDC), an all common format and got really into it. PDC was were I put all of my competitive efforts and back then it was all community supported with prizes being donated.
Although I won a handful of these tournaments, PDC wasn't the way to fund my hobby. A lot of it early on was funded through the auction. Back in the day (maybe even now) there was a room where players would be able to auction off their cards to the highest bidder. This would turn out to be my part-time job. Drafters would dump their rares in bulk lots to fund their next drafts. I would pick these up and sell them individually and make a profit. In the beginning this was a very slow process but once I have more tickets I was able to generate a profit quicker. Along with being a bidder, I worked as an auctioneer. The auctioneer moderated the room and auctioned off the lots. There was no pay but many of the buyers & sellers would give tips for volunteering to run the auction room. I even ran a tournament sponsored by a major seller at every weekend, getting paid with credits at the store.
I ended up going to university and eventually lost interest in the game with the conclusion of the Zendikar block. For some reason I started to pick it up again during Innistrad block. This time around I started to run a bot to help fund my drafts which I started to dabble in since Lorwyn block (I didn't have the time to flip cards while I was in university).
Again, I stopped playing, this time right before Gatecrash released. In 2014, I finished school, landed a full time job and earlier this year I got married and bought a condo. I can't remember exactly what reignited my interest in the game. I either saw a video on the internet or the game was mentioned to me. So I had a look to see what was going on with Magic. Then I started watching videos of pros drafting the current set (Shadows Over Innistrad). Game over - I got reeled back in. I sold a lot of the cards I worked so hard to get over the years to fund drafts. A bit ironic since I built the majority of my collection on the backs of drafters back in the day.
I ended up selling about 200 tickets (tix) worth. Then I drafted. A lot. Sometimes 3-4 times a day. Eldritch Moon came out and I was still going. I started doing Swiss drafts so that I could get more games in. I'm finally burning through the last of those tickets.
For those of you who don't know, prizes for winning matches in drafts are more booster packs. Theoretically you can play forever - if you're skilled enough to win the majority of these drafts. On average I say I go 2-1 which earns me 2 booster packs, resulting in me losing a pack every draft. Maybe I should play in the 4-3-2-2 queues if I consistently go 2-1. The thing is I don't have the confidence to play in those queues yet. I may eventually. Besides, these new draft leagues are more flexible so I can sneak a game in whenever I can.
This brings me to this blog. The idea is to see if I can go for longer than the ~ 2-3 months I went with 200 tix. The goal is to be able to have fun and do whatever I would normally do on MTGO without having to spend any extra money. Can I do it? Probably not. The bigger question is how long can I last? All I know is that I have to pace myself or this blog is going to be real short. Follow me on my journey as I try to go infinite on MTGO.
- ThePaperboy
Again, I stopped playing, this time right before Gatecrash released. In 2014, I finished school, landed a full time job and earlier this year I got married and bought a condo. I can't remember exactly what reignited my interest in the game. I either saw a video on the internet or the game was mentioned to me. So I had a look to see what was going on with Magic. Then I started watching videos of pros drafting the current set (Shadows Over Innistrad). Game over - I got reeled back in. I sold a lot of the cards I worked so hard to get over the years to fund drafts. A bit ironic since I built the majority of my collection on the backs of drafters back in the day.
I ended up selling about 200 tickets (tix) worth. Then I drafted. A lot. Sometimes 3-4 times a day. Eldritch Moon came out and I was still going. I started doing Swiss drafts so that I could get more games in. I'm finally burning through the last of those tickets.
For those of you who don't know, prizes for winning matches in drafts are more booster packs. Theoretically you can play forever - if you're skilled enough to win the majority of these drafts. On average I say I go 2-1 which earns me 2 booster packs, resulting in me losing a pack every draft. Maybe I should play in the 4-3-2-2 queues if I consistently go 2-1. The thing is I don't have the confidence to play in those queues yet. I may eventually. Besides, these new draft leagues are more flexible so I can sneak a game in whenever I can.
This brings me to this blog. The idea is to see if I can go for longer than the ~ 2-3 months I went with 200 tix. The goal is to be able to have fun and do whatever I would normally do on MTGO without having to spend any extra money. Can I do it? Probably not. The bigger question is how long can I last? All I know is that I have to pace myself or this blog is going to be real short. Follow me on my journey as I try to go infinite on MTGO.
- ThePaperboy
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