Magic: The Gathering
From M:TG Archive, a library of Magic: The Gathering information
Magic: The Gathering (colloq. "Magic" or "MTG"), is a collectible card game created by Richard Garfield, Ph.D. and introduced by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. Magic inspired an entirely new game genre, and continues to endure with an estimated six million players in over seventy countries worldwide and on the Internet. The game plays as a strategy contest much like chess, but like most standard card games, there is an element of luck due to the random distribution of cards during shuffling.
Magic: The Gathering cards are produced in much the same way as normal playing cards. Each Magic card has a face, which displays the card's name, relevant rules text, and artwork. Over 7000 uniquely different cards have been produced for the game, with 500 – 600 new ones added on a yearly basis. Each player designs a deck of cards chosen from this available pool to be used in competition.
In the primary fictional setting of the game, each player is said to be a planeswalker doing battle against another. In order to win this duel and drive the other 'walker away, each planeswalker draws upon the power of magical spells, items, and creatures to do battle. Though the original concept of the game drew heavily from the motifs of traditional fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic bears little resemblance to those pencil-and-paper campaigns.
The game boasts a thriving official tournament system, in which the game is played for cash and scholarship prizes, but is also known to be very well supported by casual players who only play with friends at schools, clubs, or around kitchen tables. The cards themselves also have value, much like trading cards, but in this case based on both scarcity and game play potential.
External links
- MagicTheGathering.com - Official website
