The Flasher's Journey

The Historian’s Origin

Written by: Vincent Xavier Del Rosario

        “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” These were the words from the movie Forrest Gump (1994) that I never knew would be the spice I needed in my life. The excitement and anxiety of facing the unknown future, and finding the means of conquering them to create a better version of who you once were. The balance of both learning from failures and rejoicing from miraculous victories are the very moments that I Yearn to experience within my youthful life as a teenager and for the years to come. These feelings are what peeked my interest, as I glanced by my school’s study area, watching my fellow college students play Magic: The Gathering (MTG), specifically in the “Commander” format of the game.


MTG Commander Logo
Taken from: mtg.gamepedia.com

         I highly respect MTG for its identity as the “granddaddy of all card games”, both before and after I started playing the game. With its simple game mechanics that are inviting enough for anyone to play, it helps sharpen the mind with numerous mechanics that are scattered and available in the wide variety of cards that the game could offer… depending on which “format” you would be playing in.

         “Formats” are what keep the game balanced and appealing to its wide playerbase. I started out playing in the Standard format of the game (which I thought was beginner friendly). Back then I was buying recent booster packs to boost my pre-constructed Teferi Planeswalker deck, until I saw my friend pull out a 100-card deck and asked me to play “Commander”. Interested by it, I asked about what it was. But after a game with four people, I saw its beauty. The challenge of creating a deck with a ratio that caters to a certain playstyle, and understanding the significance of every card inside your deck, … those were the things I was looking for; a slice of life and interaction that feels just like the “spice” I yearn for.


MTG Players
Taken from: http://www.mtg-proxies-cards.com

         Overall, the format is appealing to players who casually want to play the game and make every card relevant. Although most players would say that it is one of the most “expensive” and “complex” formats, I would say otherwise since you can make a cheap deck for it, given that you are wise enough to look for the cheap (or cheap-enough) cards to go for such a build. This idea was how I made a current Historic deck with Raff Capashen, the Ship’s Mage as its commander. The moment I realized I can make a build around this Legendary Creature as my commander, that was where I began my exploration in the Commander format, and it will be a journey worthwhile, filled with numerous failures and miraculous victories.

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 23, 2019 at 8:25 PM

    What a great, intellectual review! I bet the author is very handsome as well ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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