"Why playing Magic is like Anime..."

"Why playing Magic is like Anime..."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

So I like Anime and I love playing Magic:The Gathering...I would also love to write for those guys if I can. As I was riding the bus after a very satisfying tournament I realized that there are things that seem to be very similar between these two things...let me expound on that.

#1 Know your enemy by drawing swords...

How many times have we seen a Samurai drawing his Katana and attacking at will? In a flash a hit with another Katana and the dance of swords that follow...they say that to truly know a warrior one must cross swords with that warrior for only in battle will his true character be revealed. Magic is a lot like that , you pair off with an opponent , he is totally unknown to you at the beginning , they either smile politely , draw a blank expression or look really smug at the onset. Then you begin to play , then as turns continue you would realize that they don't talk , reveal way too much with their body language or speech , people can be very honest with their expressions especially when they draw a bad card when they need a removal card instead. As plays go you begin to admire how they approach certain problems and surprise you with techniques that you haven-t seen before , battle tactics , even projecting an aura of calm or in some other cases an overwhelming aura of power most likely from their confidence that they cannot be beat. And when the game ends after one of you emerges the victor you get some sense of what that other player was like , you see their potential , you remember them by the way they play , you talk about them and want to battle them again and they in turn talk about how you beat them or how they won over you. Thus knowing what that warrior truly was about...

#2 Your Enemies become your friends...

Its a fairly common plot really , all you have to remember is that Vegeta and Son Goku in Dragonball Z never started off on the right foot. They were enemies who beat each other almost to the death , Picolo when he was introduced was a baddie who eventually trained Goku's son. In Slamdunk , Miyagi was a badass gangster who caused so much trouble for Shohoku before cutting his hair and turning out to be a 3 point and defense specialist , a real help , a friend. People you meet in Magic are much like that as well. Everyone is an opponent at the beginning but as they turn out they can also become your most potent allies , some warm up to you pretty fast while some take a lot of time to be impressed. These people eventually teach you secret tech , ground you on basics, point out weaknesses in your deck , teach you mental toughness , they loan you cards or even sell cards way lower than you would get anywhere else all because they know they can make you stronger and in turn they can earn a couple of bucks and enjoy greater games with you in the future. Magic as a community has that sense of pride, even territorial at times , pride in arming those in your community or even in your team for like in any other sport or game there will always be people aiming to be the best and in tournaments that means getting a 5-0. Its amazing how even people from other teams help you , even your biggest rivals in certain quests help you out. So don't be daunted if you have no allies at first , keep battling and they will be there...

#3 Only the strong will live...

In Flame of Recca , Recca faced his older brother , Kurenai at the beginning of the season only to be unmercilessly beaten and then let go. Countless Animes have this theme of the insanely strong letting the weak go because they are not worthy of their time, Even Sasuke (from Naruto)  in his search for his brother Itachi , "if you become strong come and seek me." In Magic there will always be a strong player with a very strong deck that seems really unbeatable , even god-like when you first encounter them. You feel like they have ripped your whole deck concept to pieces and shown you how many "openings" you actually have. You encounter decks that are so strong that you just scratch your head later and ask yourself what the hell was that? A player that seemed to have every answer to any of your threats and the answer was always NO. No you will not win and after beating you are let go. You seriously question why you entered the tournament in the first place when all you face are monsters who unrelentingly destroy you at every turn. Like Ippo ( the boxer) said if you never know defeat , you will never improve and Magic is just like that. No one comes into a tourney expecting to come out on top on their first try , that simply doesn't happen , there will always be that one guy who is years beyond your reach and he will stop you.

And if you follow the plot , the main protagonist does not quit , continue to battle and train , prepare to battle that superior villains technique only to be met by another opponent who has something that they have no answer to.

Eventually as your experience grows you won't even notice that you are the one some other players are seeking revenge from , in time you become that one player who stops others from winning and teaching them a valuable lesson. Improvement comes only when you are beaten for only then can your sword be sharpened. You become the test of fire that eventually separates the casual gamers from the rest. You become the test of fire for those who would eventually surpass you.

I kinda enjoy it when things fall into place.Anime and Magic cards. Both worthy of my time.