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Thread: "Magic: The Addiction" -- my 20-year gaming journey. Book now available on Amazon.

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    Psycho Crusher
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    "Magic: The Addiction" -- my 20-year gaming journey. Book now available on Amazon.



    UPDATE MAY 5, 2016: Book is now available on Amazon!

    Kindle edition
    https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Addicti.../dp/B01F55014Y

    Paperback edition
    http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Addictio.../dp/1532963874


    Web site: http://writtenbyjames.com/books/

    What does it mean to be competitive, and to put all of yourself into a competitive activity?

    I have played Magic: The Gathering for twenty years. I have traveled around the world to play all over North America, Europe, and China. I have had lots of fun, and made incredible friends, along the way. But I have also experienced feelings of anguish, frustrations, and self-doubt.

    Many years later, I have come to be at peace with myself. I have developed a framework for controlling my emotions in the heat of competition. I wrote MY story so that it can be shared with YOU.

    Playing Magic is not a requirement for enjoying this book. Struggle is universal, and can apply to any activity you are passionate about.

    I welcome you to take the journey with me, and learn more about yourself in the process.

    - James
    Last edited by Plague Sliver; 05-07-2016 at 06:31 AM.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Psycho Crusher
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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Reserved for future updates.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    In case you're wondering whether this is worth you time — it is.

    Easily some of the best Magic-related writing I have ever read. If you like brutal honesty not only with others but especially with yourself, this is for you. You will find a lot of parts you can relate to not only as a competitive player but also as someone who's life was heavily influenced by card gaming.

    Enjoy.
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    5. Think that Gaea's Blessing will make you Solidarity-proof.
    6. Pass priority after playing Infernal Tutor.
    7. Fail to playtest against Nourishing Lich (coZ iT wIlL gEt U!).

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Fantastic read. I've never been able to so vividly put into words the nostalgia of my first childhood encounter with magic as you did. Thank you for that.
    Looking forward to the next part.

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    "Magic was addictive. The more we played, the more we became hooked". That's it.

    Many thanks for the pleasant lecture; recommended.
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    The green Ancestral
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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Hey. I didn't know we were the same age! I identify with a lot of what you've written so far. I think a lot of us who were playing Magic in the mid-'90s also played other CCGs, and we probably would've liked to know that they were pathways to financial regret. Maybe that should've been my post in the Remorse thread, since it cost me way more than losing my Bazaars. Part 2: Decipher pulls the plug and you switch back to Magic?

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Great piece, eagerly awaiting pt. 2!

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    Psycho Crusher
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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Part 2 is up:
    https://medium.com/@james_hsu/on-mag...y-4a84c4f089c5

    Please "like" the Facebook page to get the latest updates:
    https://www.facebook.com/OnMagic2015

    Thanks,
    James
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    OK, I got 2 paragraphs in and I'm just loving the picture with what I'm assuming is you playing against a guy with TWO Sengir Vampires out, plus a pair of Woolly Spiders and a Terror in the bin. And he's playing "lands-in-front". Reminds me of when I first entered the LGS tournament scene. The alternate CCG that brought me to the game store with my friends was WWE Raw Deal, and they had their weekly tournaments the same time as the weekly Sunday Magic tournament that rotated formats. I played WWE the first time I was there, but the next time I went it was Vintage, so I knew my deck was legal and I played MTG instead. I had my casual Rakdos deck, capable of dumping T1 Hypnotic Specters/Sengir Vampires with the help of Dark Ritual, and actually went 2-2 against a field that contained a few powered Mana Drain/Morphling decks.

    It was awe-inspiring to my 14/15-yr old eyes to play against these decks that I had some of the most legendary cards I'd ever heard of, but it didn't falter. I picked up my first Badlands after that, and started making my deck a little more serious. Sengir Vampire and Shivan Dragon were my bombs, and I picked up Diabolic Edicts to deal with Morphlings, Duress/Hymn (in addition to the Hyppies) for protection, and a couple Nantuko Shades, which were a hot Standard bomb at the time. Drain Life was one of my favorite cards. Like, what else could you do with all the mana from Dark Rits and a Lotus Petal after recasting your whole graveyard with Yawg Will?I think at one point I even started pimping it and traded for a Beta Drain Life. Cabal Coffers was awesome here too.

    I'm looking back and there were actually a lot of powerful synergies in the deck (i.e. Wasteland/Fetchland worked with Yawg Will), but the fact that I ran creatures like Sengir and Shivan (which I think I eventually realized were bad and replaced with Nantuko Shades) makes me think that the deck was bad.

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Quote Originally Posted by jrsthethird View Post
    Awesome recollection
    Raw Deal! I remember that game, it was in Inquest Magazine a lot.

    I am also a black Mage. I used to love playing Ritual-Hypnotic Specter to death. And Nantuko Shade. Drain Life was great. And after coming back to the game, I discovered "budget Juzam" aka Plague Sliver.

    Yes, that's me in the photo with the white weenie deck. It was fun times.

    ---

    By the way, I just submitted Part 1 of my retrospective to Reddit. If you could vote for it, I would be highly appreciative :)

    https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/co...out_my_20year/

    Thanks,
    James
    Last edited by Plague Sliver; 08-03-2015 at 10:37 PM.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Part 3 is up:
    https://medium.com/@james_hsu/on-mag...e-6b7b8755fc80

    Probably the most personal part of the story. It's about the competitive drive, obsession, failed relationships, nostalgia...and the Mental Misstep heyday of Grand Prix Providence.

    Hope you like it.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Part 4 - "Chinese Ascendancy":
    https://medium.com/@james_hsu/on-mag...y-a2190921a8d3

    This is where Magic starts to intersect with my new life in China. Playing Magic in the Beijing Legacy scene is pretty cool, and I've included some of my experiences here.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    The green Ancestral
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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Quote Originally Posted by Plague Sliver View Post
    In places like New York, Amsterdam and Munich, I’ve sat down with strangers to play Magic, armed with only our mutual love of the game as a shared language. Some of these strangers have, over time, become life-long friends.
    I think it's important to emphasize this part, because the game has yielded great benefits like these to many people, and they tend to go unnoticed. You can play, or not play, as you please, but at this point I'm curious whether you've noticed your competitive drive take over in a negative way in other areas of your life. Do other games have the same meaning for you, or the same emotional investment, with similar trappings? I'm wondering what lies at the root of this competitive drive, which you've painted as an addiction of sorts. Reading between the lines, I feel like you're building up to selling all your cards and leaving the game, which may or may not be the case. If you've determined that Magic has unacceptable consequences for you on an emotional level, then that sucks, man. But I think it's worth considering whether you are reacting to Magic or whether you're reacting to something farther below the surface.

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    How is your chinese girlfriend reacting to the fact that you are going back into magic in china? :)

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Quote Originally Posted by ESG View Post
    Reading between the lines, I feel like you're building up to selling all your cards and leaving the game, which may or may not be the case. If you've determined that Magic has unacceptable consequences for you on an emotional level, then that sucks, man. But I think it's worth considering whether you are reacting to Magic or whether you're reacting to something farther below the surface.
    PM'd you :)

    @Tylert -- she's been totally fine with it actually, even with me going to Jersey to play in the GP (coming up in Part 5).
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Thanks for a good read.

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Oh man, I would like to say 'nah, it's just you', but to some parts of your story I could relate.

    Good read, thanks for sharing.
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    Psycho Crusher
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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm *really* close to releasing the final parts 5 and 6 this week. It's not that I haven't been writing nearly every day. But I keep writing, erasing, and then going back to the drawing board.

    The last part of the retrospective is pretty direct/honest/bittersweet, and I just hope words can do my feelings justice.

    On another note, I'm thinking about self-publishing this thing in e-book format, with a nice cover and more in-depth digressions into Magic/Star Wars/competitive pursuits. Maybe some in-depth profiles of expert Legacy players here too. We could go real deep on Legacy too, since it's near and dear to my heart. I might even throw in some rants about how the community handles hot topics that are Legacy related. My article/book IS called "On Magic," after all.

    If anybody is interested in the final product or has suggestions for content based on what you've read so far, let me know.
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Wow man, this read is incredible. You've just explained to me and made me realise how I was thinking towards the game. Well at least for a period. I feel just like you on the matter still, but I've turned my "obsession" towards collectioning now, so the competitive drive is a little gone. But I understand the feeling, and that's why I've begun to be kinda upset at my old LGS where they only play casualy and not competitively.

    Thanks for a really awesome read and I'm looking forward to more!

    -French Alters
    Last edited by French Alters; 09-19-2015 at 07:36 AM.
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  20. #20
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    Re: "On Magic" -- a retrospective in multiple parts.

    Part 5 is up! I call this one..."Viva...New Jersey?"
    https://medium.com/@james_hsu/on-mag...y-7194a91de1ad

    Again, sorry it took so damn long. I kept writing, re-writing, editing, agonizing over it, and so forth. I think I'm fairly satisfied with how this one turned out.

    I was going to do a massive Part 5 as a conclusion but it just grew too long to keep as one article. So I've separated my final words on this matter into a separate Part 6 (COMING REAL SOON). Thanks for your continued support of this writing project!

    James
    A book about the dark side of Legacy: "Magic: The Addiction" // Conversations with Magic players: "Humans of Magic"

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