the official Deckmaster magazine

An interview with
Richard Garfield,
creator of Magic:
The Gathering™

A look at the first

Magic expansion,
Arabian Nights

Five Player Magic

Wild versus
structured
Magic
Up
environments

..
Upcoming
Deckmaster
Releases

Duelist :ij
invocation '
News /
I
by Mitch Gitelman

'I'M A '—
.Wit PERSON This must-have sourcebc
contains 128 pages on
guns, gear, and ammo
use with Underground7
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Underground™ is sc
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 C O N T
The Duelist: An Inaugural Address A History of the Arabian (Sights
Beverly Marshall Saling explores the, introduction of
One Friday afternoon in August 1991, I had the privilege of these famous tales to the Western imagination.
meeting Richard Garfield. When he described to me his idea
for a collectable trading card game, I was filled with an awe I
hadn’t felt since I was introduced to Dungeons & Drag¬ The Expanding Universe
ons™ in 1978. Here was a truly new concept for the fantasy
industry, a game of limitless potential. Since then,Wizards of
6 Richard Garfield offers a look at the idea behind
expansion sets and the origins of Arabian Nights.
the Coast has devoted a tremendous amount of time and
energy to developing and marketing Magic: The Gathering
We feel strongly that Magic defines a whole new gaming A Conversation With Richard Garfield
genre that we are eager to jee explored. We plan on design¬
ing several more calrd games that use the Deckmaster 8 The Duelist talks with the creator of Magic about the
mismatched socks that inspired a new game genre.
paradigm, and we understand that the success of Magic has
encouraged other companies to develop similar products.
Five Player Magic
To support the growth of this new genre, Wizards of the The five, colors of magic form uneasy alliances in this
Coast hasiestablished The Duelist, the official Deckmaster 16 multi-player version of Magic., presented by Omni
Group’s Mose Wingert.
magazinejWithin these pages you will find information not
only on our own trading card games, but also on related
products that our peers in the gaming industry introduce.
We will preview upcoming releases and introduce the artists Circles of Protection
and designers who have contributed so much to the field. While they can be an extremely powerful addition to a
Readers will have the chanfe to ask those burning rules 18 deck. Magic play tester fchris Page reveals that there
questions, discuss problem cards and “killer” decks, and post are a few tricks to using them successfully.
notices on gaming and collecting to other members of the
Duelists5 Convocation, the Deckmaster gaming organiza¬
tion. On the lighter side, you’ll find short fiction, a comic An Interview With Anson
strip based in the world of Dominia, and, naturally, gossip. In the first in The Duelist's series of featured artists,
We hope the magazine will prove to be a valuable reference 21 Anson Maddocks shares his thoughts on life as an
for players and collectors of trading card games, both ours illustrator and Deckmaster artist.
and others in the industry.

I'd like to thank you all for making the dreams of a small Lost In The Shuffle
game publisher come true. We at Wizards of the Coast got Richard Garfield weighs the merits of the wild and the
into game publishing because we love games, and it was our
30 structured Magic playing environments.
dream that someday we would be able to give something
back to an industry that has played such an important role
in our lives. We hope that with Magic: The Gathering we are Magic Conundrums
on the right track. Dave Howell tackles some of the most troublesome
—Peter D. Adkison 32 cards to appear on Magic: The Gathering s Frequently
President Asked Questions list.
Wizards of the Coast

The Duelist (ISSN pending) is a magazine published quarterly by Wizards of the Coast, Inc,, P.O. Box 707 Renton WA 98057-0707, United States of America. The
magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. Material published in The Duelist does not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Wizards of the Coast or its editorial staff, who are not liable for opinions expressed therein. ® denotes a registered trademark and ™ denotes a
trademark, owned either by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., or others. Most product names are trademarks owned by the companies publishing those products. Use of the
name of any product without mention of trademark status should not be construed as a challenge to such status. © 1994 Wizards of the Coast. Inc. AH rights reserved.
ENTS
According To Mr. Pling Murmurs From Dominia

35 Magic: The Gathering was only the first: rumor has it

the most popular fantasy worlds may soon become Magic: The Gathering. Why should a simple collectable
Deckmaster games. trading card game make such a large impact on the gaming
industry? The answer lies, I think, in Magic's ability to fire
the imaginations of such a variety of people. A basic principle
Mezlok’s Challenge of marketing is that to sell a product to a certain group of
Magic artist Mark Poole introduces a graphic story that
36 will become a regular feature in The Duelist.
people, you have to cater to what they like. Unfortunately for
most marketers, peoples tastes differ so much that when you
appeal to one market you often turn off another. The most
popular products break this rule by attracting people of
What’s New? widely divergent tastes and backgrounds.
In the return of Phil Foglio’s popular comic, Phil and
37 Dixie offer their history of Magic’s success. Thankfully, Magic: The Gathering's in this category. After
talking to fans of the game from all over the country, I have
concluded that people’s reasons for liking Magic are as
Upcoming Releases different as their tastes in movies. Some are collectors, excited
New cards, new rules, and a guide to them both: here is
38 a glimpse at some soon to be released Magic products.
by the art and the polished look of the cards: Others are
competitors, bent on devisng potent card combinations
building power decks. And some are simply explorers,
intrigued by Dominias ever-expanding universe.
Ask Toad
R.ick Sating Marshall offers Magic players advice on For me, the fun in playing Magic: The Gathering isn’t in the
40 soundly squashing their opponents. winning—though I hate to lose. Instead, the fun is learning
to adapt to the cards that have been dealt me. I play with a
deck that has over two hundred cards and all five colors of
Duel For Dominia magic. I enjoy the fact that no two games I have ever played
Duelists’ Convocation director Steve Bishop presents with this deck have gone exactly the same way. Finding a
42 the final game of the Gen Con ’93 Magic tour nament. strategy that suits the cards and the occasion is much more
interesting than playing with a small, predictable deck that
will whip the socks off an opponent. Of course, many players
Duelists Convocation ^ disagree with me, prefering a deck built of one or two colors
This issue s highlights include a list of upcoming Magic and some killer card combinations—hut pitting different
46 tournaments and information on becoming an official deck-building strategies against each other is part of whaj
tournament coordinator. makes Magic so entertaining So if you ever see me at a
convention, Fd love to play you with my monstrous rainbow
not be much of a power deck, but it holds its
Collector’s Corner And The Classifk all comers and, perhaps more importantly, holds
As well as offering tips oh collecting Deckmaster in this fascinating game over and over again.
47 releases, this section gives readers of The Duelist
place to make their own announcements about buying
trading, and playing Magic.

Advertising. Advertising information is available by writing or calling Wizards of the Coast, All advertising submissions are subject to approval by Wizards of the
Coast Inc., which reserves the right to refuse any advertising for any reason. Advertisers and/or agencies of advertisers agree not to hold Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
liable for any loss or expense from any alleged wrongdoing that may arise out of the publication of such advertisements. Subscription Information. Subscriptions to
The Duelist may be obtained with a membership in the Duelists’ Convocation. The annual membership fee is $15; an application is available on page 46 of this issue of
The Duelist. The Duelist can also be purshased for $3.50 an issue at game and hobby stores nationwide.
f W w ff ff f
A History of The Arabian Nights
Flying carpets. Djinns. Aladdin’s lamp. Thanks to The Arabian Nights,
these bits of Eastern folklore sound as familiar to Western ears as fairies,
leprechauns, and lack’s beanstalk. Like Western stories, The Arabian
Nights tales bring alive a timeless world of wondrous magic and fantastic
beings, where a wandering merchant may be a long-lost relative and a
good tale well told can save a life.

Like King Shahriyar, who cannot kill his new bride until he hears the end of
her story, readers cannot stop in the middle of one of Shahrazad’s “lovely
little tales.” Readers can find something to suit every taste somewhere in
the tales, which range from moral fables and etiquette lessons to ro¬
mances, farces, and even a few racy comedies. The form of the tales is as
intriguing as their content; instead of ending one tale before beginning the
next, Shahrazad inserts another story to illustrate a point or explain a
metaphor, then another to provide background on one of the characters,
and perhaps- yet another just to make a joke. When she does manage to
work through all the layers and finish a tale, she immediately starts in on
another one, telling Shahriyar~and the reader “that this new story is even
more strange and fantastic than all the ones before it.

The variety of the tales included in The Arabian Nights reflects the differ¬
ing imaginations of the many “authors” who first created them. Originally,
the tales came from many different cultures, growing out of the rich
storytelling traditions of India, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Babylonia, Israel,
Greece, North Africa, and possibly even China. They were first recorded
as a distinct group sometime in or before the ninth century c.e., according
to a text fragment that mentions the Alf Laylah Wa Laylah, literally the
Thousand Nights and a Night. Though this title suggests that there were a
thousand and one stories, there were actually far fewer, perhaps little
more than two hundred; the “thousand” in the title intended only to indicate
a large number, and the extra night was added to alleviate the possible bad
luck associated with even numbers. Though they received little attention
from Arabic scholars, published versions of the tales continued to flourish,
especially in Cairo in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries.
The Arabian Nights made its Western debut in 1704-1717, when I. Antoine
Galland first translated it into French. Galland, primarily interested in the
literary value of the tales, based his text on a variety of sources and chose
to include a few tales that had not previously been considered part of The
Arabian Nights. Many other translations of this era were based on Galland’s,
including one or two Arabic versions that were later held up as “original”
Arabic texts.

E. W. Lane first introduced parts of The Arabian Nights to English-speaking

audiences in 1839-1841, but his version was incomplete. A full English
version wasn’t available until lohn Payne’s 1882-1884 edition. Payne’s
translation, written in the Gothic style popular at the time, appealed strongly
to the Romantic, longing for exotic fantasy, popularizing The Arabian Nights
and becoming the standard English version of the tales. The rather florid
1885-1888 translation by explorer Sir Richard Burton eventually became
more widely distributed than Payne’s, but Burton relied so heavily on
Payne’s version that many scholars consider his footnotes on Arabic cus¬
toms his only real contribution to his own book. Many modern translations
of the tales still owe some of their phrasing to Payne; one exception to this
is the 1990 translation by Husain Haddawy, who based his version on a
fourteenth-century Arabic manuscript.

Though modern readers are less interested in magic and fantasy than those
of Payne and Burton’s day, the main attraction of The Arabian Nights is the
same as it has always been; the chance to visit the fabled Golden Age of
Baghdad, when Marun al-Rashid was Commander of the Faithful and even
the most unlearned villager could spin tales of wonder. Their inherent
magical flavor and exotic feel provide the perfect setting for the first Magic:
The Gathering expansion set.

■Beverly Marshall Sating

 The Expanding Universe
The Philosophy of Expansion Sets

Magic: The Gathering—Arabian Nights is the first of Magic expansion sets, additional cards for use with Magic: The Gathering
decks. These expansion cards are meant to add new color to your game. A regular infusion of new cards will constantly change
the dynamic of the duel, preserving the challenge of trading and deck building. Ideally, the pool of cards upon which players
can draw will be so large that there will always be unknown and surprising elements. Expansion sets are also an opportunity to
develop the character of Dominia. The multiverse is immense; expansion sets allow game designers and players to explore new
parts of it, and discover aspects of the “old” world which new cards can uncover.

To preserve the collecting value of the cards, each expansion will be a limited release. To distin¬
guish expansion cards from the cards in the original limited release of Magic: The Gathering\
each expansion will have its own identifying mark. (In the case of Arabian Nights, this is a
scimitar that appears just below the right hand corner of the art.) Some of the expansion cards
may then be incorporated into later editions of Magic: The Gathering decks, so that the environ
ment in the game is always being refreshed. No new card will be added to the Gathering scries
without first appearing in an expansion; this way, players and collectors are not forced to
purchase a whole set of Magic: The Gathering cards to obtain a few new additions.

The Story Behind Arabian Nights

One of the biggest inspirations for Magic: The Gathering—Arabian Nights was The Sandman number 50, Ramadan, by Neil
Gaiman and P. Craig Russell. There is even one card that is directly inspired by that story. From the outset of Magic, I was
interested in the possibility of thematic additions to the game, releases in which the designers and artists would share a com¬
mon ground. Reading Ramadan sparked my enthusiasm for a Magic expansion set in the captivating world of the Arabian
Nights. I had always been a fan of the Arabian Nights stories, but this book reminded what an intriguing, dynamic environment
the tales offer. The literature is rich with people, monsters, magical devices, and places. Correspondingly the expansion cards
have many creatures, artifacts, and lands. There are Deserts, which provide colorless mana or damage attacking creatures. There
are also a host of rare lands, each which has a special power. Other exciting elements of the expansion include the Djinni and
Efreet cards. Each one is a fairly powerful creature that can be as troublesome to you as it is damaging to your opponent. Even
while in your service, the Djinni and Efreet are struggling to get out of it in their own special way.

Features To Watch Out For

While there are no additional rules for Arabian Nights; there are some new and potential confusing new card features,

Special Lands. There are a number of lands which do things other than provide mana. If these
lands do not explicitly say they produce mana, then they don’t. If these lands are changed to a
basic land type, as with Phatasmal Terrain, they produce the appropriate mana, but lose their

0 special abilities.

Controlling Cards. When control of a card in play changes from one player to another, the
card, if tapped, remains tapped until the new owner can untap it. If the card is a creature, it
cannot be tapped to attack or to use a special ability until it starts a turn on the new control
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ff;,ff

Problem Cards. Finally, there are a couple of cards which require a bit of clarification. The first
is Rukh Egg. While the text c n the card says that a Rukh is generated “if the Rukh Egg goes to
I; If Rukh Egg goes to the graveyard, the graveyard,” the Rukh Egg may iply be discarded from your hand into the graveyard
§ a Rukh—a 4/4 red flying creature.
f comes into play on your side at the
end of that turn. Use a counter to
and then brought into play 4/4 flying creature. The card should read “if the Rukh Egg is destroyed,”
represent Rukh. Rukh is treated ex¬
actly like a normal creature except and players are encouraged to interpret the card this way. Alladin’s Lamp is also a bit confusing. The
ijfe that if it leaves play it is removed
% from the game entirely. casting cost reads 5 + 5. While it appears to be a mistake, it ’t. The casting cost really is ten mana of
Christopher Rush
any color; TO’ simply wouldn’t fit into the circle indicating casting costs.

-Richard Garfield
 iAn

Production

erly Marshall Saling

n and Graphic Design: Iesper Myrfors
Dave Howell
Assistant: Sandra Everingham
nerous to mention: jesper Myrfors, DaveTlowell,
Victor K. Wertz

>ns by CMYK, Seattle,

kim by Carta Mundi
: Luc Merlons

ies to

Tara Nelson
Chris Page
Dave Pettey
Mark Rhaedrus
Idn Sari
William Shi[)ley
im|^^By;.iMajor»’ Mose Wingert
Ken Martin Tim Wood
Bob McSwain Bob ZangOf ,
x Beth Moursund Elizabeth Zanger
Dave Nelson Thorin Zanger

RqbAtexander Anson Maddocks Douglas Shuler

IdlroBaroh leff Menges Brian S noddy
j^iMpn Bishop Ken Meyer Ir. Mark Tedin
$Mhdra Everingham Iesper Myrfors Drew Tucker
l&ija Foglio Mark Poole Susan Van Camp
Dan Frazier Christopher Rush
 Richard Garfield graduatedfrom the University of
a degree in computer mathematics. After mo
years with Bell Labs, Richard returned to his alma mater to obtain
a Ph.D. in combinatorial mathematics. Since 1992, Richard has
taught at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In
June he plans to leave teaching for a while to concentrate on game
design with Wizards of the Coast.

What is a professor of mathematics doing variety and range of quality was huge, but you
designing adventure games? could almost always find something that
would suffice. After all, my objective in de¬
Well, I’ve been designing games for—let’s see. signing games has always been to supply the
I’m thirty—for fifteen years, so it’s been a long sort of games I wanted to see and which
time hobby of mine. I never really expected to weren’t available.
make a career out of it; I stuck to more tradi¬
tional careers, more reliable income. It was Had you ever had any of your games
more my interest in games which brought me published prior to Magic?
to mathematics than the reverse, probably.
The sort of thought you use in my field, combi¬ No. Although I’ve got maybe fifty games in my
natorics, is often the sort of thought you use in closet designed to the point where I’ve actu¬
playing games, solving puzzles, and the like. ally played them with friends, RoboRaliy is
the closest to being published. In fact it was
Do you have any roleplaying experience in purchased from me for publication by FASA,
particular, or is it mostly with board games? who gave it back after sitting on it for two
years. RoboRaliy is what connected me with
Well, I haven’t designed roleplaying games Wizards of the Coast in the first place.
since I was, oh, twenty. Back then I concen¬
trated on homemade systems for Chivalry and I understand that Roborally played a large
Sorcery™, and before that Dungeons and part in Magic’s beginnings. How exactly did
Dragons™. I’ve played a lot of different Magic become connected with Wizards of the
roleplaying games in my life. Many people who Coast?
run roleplaying games design roleplaying
material as well. I haven’t roleplayed for a long Well, Mike Davis (my partner in RoboRaliy)
time, other than small episodic games—no full and I had just met with Peter Atkison and Jay
scale campaigns. I have a lot of respect for Hayes to discuss the game, in another ulti¬
roleplaying as a hobby, but almost everything mately failed attempt to see RoboRaliy pub¬
I’ve designed recently has been a board game. lished. Well, not really failed: they were going
It seemed there was an abundance of to publish it last year, and now it is on sched¬
roleplaying material already available. The ule again for spring 1994. I’d asked Peter if

"On cl. isv

8
there were any other games he was interested handle the requirements which were set upon
in seeing made, and he suggested something it. For example, there was the requirement
which required very little equipment and very that everyone should be able to play with any
little time to play, say between fifteen and selection of cards they liked from the avail¬
twenty minutes. So that’s what set me to able cards. And that required a lot of decks to
thinking. The whole concept came together play around with. Actually, when we got to the
very quickly, because I had a lot of the basic next step, when it was actually good enough to
pieces already lying around. For example, I make cards and give them to my friends, it
had a game for which the deck would change was a lot of fun. It was an exciting environ¬
every time you played it. When a card got ment, something we had never seen before.
destroyed in the deck, you ripped it up, and if Throughout the playtest period the sophistica¬
a card got added, you made a new one and put tion of the play environment kept growing. It
it in. It wasn’t exactly the kind of game you acquired a lot of depth; I had hoped for that,
could publish without seeming like you were but hadn’t counted on it.
out to get the public. But the basics were
there; I combined that idea with a bunch of Was it in the playtest process that the seem¬
others I had lying around. ingly infinite number of Magic variants devel¬
oped? The game hasn't been around very long,
What happened after the initial idea? I under¬ but there are numerous versions of the game
stand this game took two years to playtest; that were not originally captured in the rules.
what are the steps, generally, that go into That seems to be part of its addiction, the fact
developing a dinner conversation into a game that there is so much variety within a given set
like this? of parameters.

Well, it’s impossible to generalize. I’ve never The variations have certainly been more
been involved—I don’t think anybody has— prevalent since it hit the market, because in
with a game like Magic or with a playtest playtesting I was usually around to make sure
process like Magic. All the other board games that people were playing the same game.
and card games which I designed were vastly People were taught how to play verbally. The
easier to playtest. The hardest part was the idea was that eventually there would be rules
initial three months of thought, coming up printed up so that eveyone would be playing
with a chassis for the game which would the same game. But there was always some
 experimentation, because after all, every time the rulebook, play a part in MagicThe Gather¬
you played a game it was a new deck and ing? After all, you can play the game without
every time you played against somebody new engaging in Dominia conceptually. Why is
it was a new game. In many ways varying the Dominia part of the collectable trading card
rules is simply an extension of the premise of game?
the game.
The concept for Dominia naturally extends
You have said that Magic isn’t really about two from the concept of the game itself. In the
people dueling; it’s more about the participa¬ game, players are given a piece of an unknown
tion of everyone who plays Magic in one world. They will learn about the game uni¬
gigantic collective game. What do you mean verse by playing in it, talking about it, by
by that? trading, experimenting with cards. The natural
evolution of the game involves the release of
There is a foundation game where two people more cards so the game doesn’t remain finite,
sit down and play a game of Magic, to have but is always growing and changing. This
this duel or that duel. But anybody who plays extends to the concept of a multiverse, where
Magic for any length of time knows that this there is endless possibility—not one world but
sort of fades in importance, or at least in the many worlds. In Magic, the way the cards mix
amount of time spent, before trading, barter¬ and match is wierd; why, for example, would
ing, discussing strategy, and so forth. This for Arabian Nights cards be mixed in with the Ice
me is a very important part of the game. The Age cards? One way to understand this is
associations you and I make can greatly affect through a multiverse of planes*, the cards
our interactions in our play group. If I can describe some small collection of planes,
convince you that your Force of Nature is which expands and becomes more compre¬
being wasted in your deck, and should actu¬ hensible as more cards are encountered.
ally be in my deck, and can trade you some¬
thing in return to make your deck work much Do you think that, with the release of other
better, then the next time we play with every¬ Deckcnaster products, Dominia will become a
body else the game has changed. You might larger part of the way people play the game?
say that the duel is to Magic what combat is to
a roleplaying game. In a lot of ways, a big part People will always be able to play Magic as a
of the game is storytelling, talking about the card game. For those who want a world to
cards. Even in playtesting, there were rumors hang their fantasies on, I think Dominia will be
of cards that weren’t out there, or which were developed a little bit more. There are certainly
out there but someone had put in a closet and efforts in that direction. The more I think
couldn’t find anymore. Stories would evolve about it, the less the multiverse becomes a
about the world itself. I consider that part of mere aside to the game.
the game.
How do you think the collectability of the
cards affects the game, particularly the
roleplaying experience? Is card collecting an
integral part of the play process in some way?

There are several meanings to the term

How does the multiverse of Dominia, which collectable. For a gamer it means that many of
you describe briefly in your introduction to the cards are hard to get. If there is a card I

'DuctisC
10
want, then unless I’m rich I have to negotiate hard for a player of Magic to realize the
for it. That adds a social aspect to the game, impact of going from handmade card-stoch
and yes I think it is a very important part of cards, with black-and-white art xeroxed from
the game. It irritates some players that some comic boohs, to the cards which Jesper’s put
kid can walk in and get a booster pack and the together, which of course looh stunning. I
kid will have a card in that deck that they knew that they would be collectable because
don’t have, and can’t simply buy. It’s part of people were already collecting those little
the game, and players have to deal with that. pieces of card stock—of course they were
They can deal with that either by trading with going to collect the final product! In them¬
the kid before the card is covered with choco¬ selves, they are ten times, a hundred times
late stains, or by finding some friend who will much more collectable—orders of magnitude
trade with them, or by taking solace in all the better. And they still have all the things which
cards they have that others don’t. That’s part made them collectable before: in particular,
of the game, just as the constant development their effect on the metagame, which I keep
of characters is essential to roleplaying. coming back to.
Would you enjoy roleplaying a character with
all the equipment and abilities in the game? I think there are a lot of aspects of the game
Your limitations define your character as which conspire to make it so addicting. Short
much as the character’s abilities do. play time, generally— its colorfulness. Also,
oftentimes two-person games are much too
confrontational. Chess— I think chess is a
great game, but a lot of people don’t like
playing it because if the other person is better
than they are they get crushed. At least that is
their perspective; their loss seems like a fault,
Were you surprised at how addictive, how as if they didn’t think hard enough or some¬
popular Magic has become? Are there thing. But in Magic people can disassociate
elements that playtesting and marketing the themselves from losing. There is the great
game generated which weren’t part of the equalizer, luck, but this game has something
original design? more. People’s decks are losing, but the
people themselves aren’t. I mean, people play
Every time more people joined the playtest with what is fun to play with, and they build
crowd, the environment got all the more their deck however they like. Somehow the
interesting. It wasn’t like another game—like a responsibility for the game, personally, is
board game, say, like RoboRaffy. The more lessened. Yet there is a lot of skill to deck
people were in contact with RoboRally, the assembly and play. It allows very competitive
more people were interested in RoboRally— people to play with those who aren’t so com¬
that’s it. People would bring some kind of petitive without either person getting hurt, or
personality to the game, but really it was a feeling they lost out on something. These
very one-dimentional thing compared to types of games are my favorite, because
Magic. The more people got involved with sometimes I like to kick back, relax, play a
Magic, the more the game developed: the game, and not be threatened by it. Other times
world size grew, more cards were around, I want to go for the throat and play as cleverly
more varieties of play experience developed, as I can.
and more perspectives on the game were
available. It was natural. I think it must be One other thing I think lends to its popularity
 is the fact that, really, there aren’t that many have something to model themselves on. That
new game ideas out there, I know that I go to a was really the hard thing about Magic: there
game store three times a year. I've got my were so many things for which there weren’t
money in my pocket and I’m ready to buy any precedents. There wasn’t anybody we
whatever games I want; maybe I can’t afford it, could call and say ‘what should we do here—
but I’m going to treat myself. A lot of times this doesn’t work’ or ‘how are we going to
when I go to a game store I wall? away without handle this problem’ because nobody had
anything; the reason is because when I go solved any of those problems before. We’ve
there, there is often nothing new, just the solved a lot of those problems in Magic. But
same old stuff dressed up differently. This was our competitors are still going to have a hard
illustrated repeatedly by the rejection of time, I believe. I think that designing a trading
RoboBally, on the grounds of it not fitting into card game is much harder than designing a
any of the game companies’ “universes.” It is a board game or a card game. I know. That’s a
credit to Wizards of the Coast that they al¬ fact— nobody would argue that. There were
lowed Magic to be published as I presented it problems in there that people setting out to
rather than cramming it into a Primal Order or design will not know exist until they run into
Talislanta framework. It would have weak¬ them. And I’m sure many people will make it
ened the game. I think that there are people through, and we’ll get a lot more really good
out there who like playing games, who like games. I’d like to see that. I’d like to see this
getting into something new, and Magic ap¬ field evolve.
peals to them.
Do you have an idea where the Deckmaster
I did actually think that it was going to be very products will go—how they will be indebted
successful, as of course so many people who to Magic, and what challenges they will face
backed it from the start did also. But as that are different than those Magic encoun¬
sucessful as it has been? I don’t know. I do tered? Will it be inventing an entirely different
remember calling Peter many times and game?
saying how nervous I was because the whole
idea seemed extremely viral. People liked I have no clue. I know that in my second
talking about the idea of the game enough that game. I’m having a lot of difficulty getting all
it seemed like it was spreading on its own. the pieces right; Magic doesn’t seem to have
There was always that fear that it would fall provided so much help for me there. I really
whole-heartedly into somebody else’s hands have no clue what form the others’ trading
before we got a chance, with our small card games will have.
company’s resources, to put something to¬
gether. Do you have a general direction you want to
see the Deckmaster products go in?
Are you worried about what’s happening now
—all these Magic-inspired collectable trading Yes, I would like to see it go into simpler
card games bubbling up here and there? games. Magic was never a massmarket game. I
was hoping that it would be popular with
Umm, no. No, I’m excited by it. Now that my game hobbyists; otherwise, it would need to
ideas have been realised, and we have gotten be simpler. I expect the Deckmaster line to
released first. I’m interested in seeing what develop simpler and simpler games, hopefully
comes out. People following Magic will have without sacrificing the kaleidescope of colors
an easier time of it than we had, because they that has generated so much enthusiasm.

TXielteC
12
Do you have any feel for how Magic-. The of how the game begins, but the structured
Gathering, separate from other Deckmaster environment is not as easy to find. A lot of
games, will evolve—how play will change? In serious people play and think ‘oh, this is a
your editorial for this issue of The Duelist, you great game to play, but after a while, with all
mention the difference between the wild play these decks that are so powerful and boring to
environment and the structured play environ¬ play, why should we bother?’ The structured
ment, and suggest that the general movement environment allows you to deal with that.
is away from everybody getting very excited Players have an enormous amount of control
and trying to build these unbeatable decks over the sorts of games they are playing.
towards using the tools that you have on hand,
and posing that as the challenge. Working Are you disturbed by any of the directions
within a structure—the difference between Magic has gone: certain destructive tenden¬
duplicate and contract bridge, that sort of cies, things that bother you about the way the
development. Do you think Magic is headed in game has taken off? Or does it have its own
that direction? life now, separate from the designer’s inten¬
tions?
I think that with what we have right now.
Magic, it’s necessary that people take the It’s certainly had its own life, separate from
deckbuilding only so seriously. I think the the designer’s intentions, ever since its early
wild free-for-all and the more structured playtest days. Am I displeased with any of
environments will both exist. The less com¬ those things? No, no, not really. It’s exciting to
petitive and the less resourced players will me to see the variety of people who have been
always be able to really compete and build brought together by the game. I’ve no real
whatever decks they want. The more competi¬ complaints yet. It hasn’t been out there long,
tive players may find that building more and so I don’t know its longrange effects. If the
more powerful decks in an unstructured and market becomes flooded with trading card
card-rich environment makes the game less games of various and sundry quality as a
fun. In the future, it’s possible that our card result of Magic, I’ll be disappointed.
mix will be such that even the well-resourced
players, the very competitive ones, will be
able to build decks without boring themselves.
Other people will take it upon themselves to
restrict themselves and others in various
ways, limiting the development of decks that
are not much fun to play or play against. They Has developing Magic affected your life in any
may be fun to develop; that was certainly a unexpected ways; has it directed you along
conscious decision on my part. At the begin¬ paths you never thought you’d follow?
ning we were thinking ‘oh, we shouldn’t have
these card combinations available because Yes, absolutely. Next year I’ll be leaving
they’re too powerful.’ But after a while I teaching for a year, perhaps a couple years, to
realized that everyone was having a blast enter the game industry. I never would have
finding these powerful combinations, “killer felt confident enough in the game industry to
decks” as they’re often called, and so I do that without Magic’s success. Certainly, no
stopped being really careful about it. So yes, I matter how successful RoboRally is, it would
think both environments will exist. It’s easy to never have led to that. The game has had very
find the wild environment because that is sort major affects on my life in general. The friend-
 ships that have been forged designing this We were also interested in your sources of
game and putting it together are very strong; inspiration. Outside of developing Magic, and
they probably wouldn’t have developed your work as a professor, what kinds of things
without the game. Spending so much time on do you do, what do you find inspirational? Not
something over such a long period of time is that you necessarily have a life outside Magic
bound to affect you. and teaching; it seems like those things would
take an awful lot of time.
How about on your students—has it had any
effect on the classroom at all? Recently it hasn’t felt like I’ve had much of a
life outside of Magic. Well, certainly all forms
The game was fully developed by the time I of literature; fiction is one thing I stick to,
became faculty at Whitman. My teaching has even in the depths of my darkest time-con-
been full-time. Now there is a growing aware¬ sumption nightmares. I read before I go to
ness of Magic among the students. I get ques¬ sleep, and often in the morning; I try to alter¬
tions, about equal parts cards questions and nate between science fiction/fantasy books
‘where can I get decks’ questions. But its effect and other forms of fiction. Movies—I love
on my students has been very small. movies. I’m a movie glutton. I haven’t seen any
for a long while, but when I was at Penn, I
Do you think you’ll go back to teaching even¬ averaged probably a movie a week. And I
tually, after a few years in the gaming indus¬ would see dreadful films and amazing films,
try? and I would enjoy them all. I had the capabil¬
ity of criticizing each of them, but that didn’t
It all depends. I enjoy teaching; there is a mean I didn’t still enjoy them, both main¬
good chance I will return. stream and alternative. I enjoy cross-country
skiing, and crayfish-hunting—those are when
I’m in the Northwest. Family: visiting family
and friends is very inspiring. And certainly—I
meant to mention this before—playing games.
I haven’t done much of that either, recently.
Certainly I couldn’t design games without
Do you have a favorite game designer, some¬ enjoying playing them. I know some designers
one who in your mind has made a significant that I think would disagree; they prefer just to
contribution to the gaming industry? design them. I couldn’t do that. I like to have a
game group that meets once or twice a week—
Well, I’ve already given my undying praise of to play anything, from card games to board
Cosmic Encounter, both the original from games to roleplaying games.
Eon and Mayfair’s excellent reprint. Certainly
Tom Jolly, Wiz War. Oh, Francis Tresham, the What kinds of card games do you play?
fellow who made 1830 and Civilization: any
two games that are so different shows talent Any kind of card game. I think it’s easier to
to me. Those are some games off the top of my name the card games that I don’t play. I mean,
head. I’ll probably kick myself later for forget¬ I even play war. Although with war you have
ting my all time favorite game or something. to make it interesting. Last time I played war
Oh, and an amazing book came out last year we played that every time you won a war, you
by Schmittberger, New Rules for Classic got to add a new rule to the game. The rules
Games. It is a must for a game enthusiast. began with something like if you played an

TDueLisC
14
 f

eight, it would automatically win, and evolved a little while, when I got back to graduate
into if you played the Queen of Spades you school, I thought ‘ok, let’s match all my socks.’
had to run around the room shrieking. And So I tried to match all my socks, and I came
then there was the sort of global rule that said up with seventeen socks with no mates. I had
if you forgot a rule then you lost a card. So, no clue where the others had gone, whether
any kind of game. I play bridge, I play hearts— perhaps I had just worn one without the other
several games from the Far East I won’t men¬ for enough times that they looked different,
tion because they probably won't be recog¬ or whether they legitimately didn’t have a
nized. Poker. Poker is an amazing game, often mate. It seemed like a waste to throw them all
under-recognized for its strategic game value. away, so I said ‘forget it; it saves me time
And in all of these games, I play the original anyway.’ So now I have a sock box, a very
forms and respect them (except for war, large box in my closet filled with socks, and I
where I don’t respect the original) but I also reach in and grab two. I’m beginning to take
play mutant forms. more care these days. Sometimes I go for
particular types of contrast, like matching my
I have played so many bizarre forms of hearts left sock with my pants and my right with my
that I’ve considered writing an entire book of shirt. Also, I get such a hard time when I
hearts. I’m probably regarded, by some of the actually do draw a matching pair that
faculty members at Penn, as having set back oftentimes I’ll throw one back in, which I used
mathematical progress by some number of to not do. My friends have encouraged me in
years. Part of that was the fact that I would this; I was recently visited by a friend from
constantly distract people, and one of the the East Coast, who brought me six, eight
things I would distract them with was a hearts different socks, one from each of her friends.
ladder. The game was sort of a blend of My family has fought it, of course, with the
English-American hearts and Chinese hearts, traditional tactic of giving me all socks the
which I called Turbo hearts. We had this same color. So I have a large number of these
Turbo hearts ladder for several years, and it gray socks, one of which is on my left foot
was a lot of fun. Many people were weaned on right now. But my family is hopelessly out¬
this and consider regular hearts boring and numbered, because my sock box is way too
vanilla. big for them to make a significant impact.
They’ve given up.
Well, I wouldn’t want to leave out this last,
very important question, which has to do with Well, is there potential for another collect¬
your socks, Richard. I understand that you able trading game here, collectable trading
don’t often wear the same kind of sock on socks?
both feet. Our project coordinator, Vic Wertz,
was interested in a detailed explanation of this Maybe this was the inspiration for the cards.
phenomenon, and what it perhaps expresses But I’ve never traded anybody my socks.
about you.

Well, I would expect Vic to get right to the

heart of things. I’m glad he asked such an
insightful question. When I was at Bell Labs—
I worked at Bell Labs for a couple years—
I stopped matching my socks for a while
because it was just too time-consuming. After

TXieUsr
15
 Five Player Magic
I looked to my left at Blue and he shook his head in powerless sympathy; he could not help me against Red. Red's
divisive tactics had caused tension early on. First he brought out the Ankh ofMishra, then laid a web ofManabarbs
across the lands. Enemy and ally alike wouldfall to his erosive design unless he were taken out ofthe picturey and
quickly. My power was not great, but he had used his strength early; and while Green and Black would not help me,
they could not find reason to hinder me either. It was not long before the Red mage hadfallen, and the real battle
began.
back of the Magic cards: white, blue,
I needed to stop Blue, who was workingfuriously against black, red, green. Each player has his
Green, my only partner against Black. But did I dare risk own deck, composed of creatures
angering my Blue ally? I pretended to unknowingly and spells of a single color, land
permit Green to take the upper hand in his battle for that color, and any desired
against Blue. I could easily have finished offBlue artifacts. The “enemies” of
then, but I wanted to use his power to my advantage. any given player are the two
I offered to protect him ifhe would expend some ofhi: people across from him, and
power against Blacky his ally against Green. He his “allies” are the people
agreed. But he had a way out that I hadnt foreseen. I sitting just to either side. Each
used my remaining strength to hold offthe blow of color, therefore, is pitted
Green. Blue could now strike against Blacky and be directly against its two tradi¬
protectedfrom Greeny as we had agreed. I was shocked to see tional enemies. Play rotates to the
his creatures move on the offensive against me. Stunned and left in a star-shaped pattern, skipping every other
drained ofpower, I could do nothing but watch, helplessly, as I player: white, black, green, blue, red.
was destroyed. Not surprisingly, Black solidified his unspoken
alliance with Blue the next round with defense and a stun¬ Offense and Defense. Each game turn follows the
ning blow to Green. I would have commiserated with Greens pattern established in the original version of Magic.
position, but a deadface holds no pity. I have no doubt that While the casting of spells and tapping and
he was not left to suffer long. untapping of creatures is the same as in the two
player version, other aspects of game play have been
The game depicted here is one of the several multi-player modified. First, since each player has more than one
versions of Magic: the Gathering which we have designed opponent, each player may attack more than one
and played at Omni Group. Magic is a game remarkable person during his attack phase. If more than one
in its versatility, and it lends itself well to variations. The person is to be attacked in a game turn, the attacker
five player duel in particular seems a natural extension of must specify which creatures are attacking each
the five color game, and is interesting both because of the player. Secondly, a spell that normally affects the
variety of spells that are “opponent” will affect either of the two people
played, and the opposite the caster, not both. The player should
complexity of the state at which opponent any given spell or artifact is
interactions aimed when it is first cast. If the spell or effect
that occur. remains for more than a single round (such as with
an enchantment like Lifetap or an artifact like Black
Beginning Vise), its object may be changed during the
Play. controller’s upkeep. Likewise, spells or effects that
The five normally affect just the caster (Stream of Life,
players, Forcefield, etc.) may affect either the caster or one
each repre¬ of his two allies. Again, the subject must be chosen
senting one at casting time, and may be altered during upkeep.
color of magic,
sit in a circle in the Sharing Resources. The rules governing this aspect
order depicted on the of the game are extraordinarily flexible, and help

x> icUsr
16
can keep the five player is. It is possible for there to be more than one winner
variation interesting. in a game; one player’s victory does not stop game play.
However, whatever A player that has won a game while others are still
rules you use competing may either choose to quit the game,
should be leaving his creatures, artifacts, and land to act in the
discussed and way that a deceased player’s would, or may con¬
decided upon tinue playing—to honor an agreement, for ex¬
before the game ample, or to act as a spoiler—until the game is
starts, or you concluded.
may have some
unhappy players. Strategy. When Magic play to a five person game,
No player has the there are some basic strategies you should consider.
right to look at another First, know your opponents: does the person playing
players hand, even if they are allies, nor are they allowed Red have a penchant for Lightning Bolts? Also, be
to discuss cards they currently have. While allies may careful to balance your deck: a White deck full of
discuss general strategy with their allies, it must be done Benalish Heroes and Mesa Pegasai, for example, won’t
openly. Only the active player may attack during his be much good if Black gets a Pestilence out. Don’t
turn, and he may not use any of his allies’ creatures or ignore the complex interactions in this variation: you
other resources to assist him. One exception to this is might just want to ask which of his two enemies your
mana. The active player may “borrow” mana from a
consenting ally, though the ally may set any conditions
that he desires. Mana that is borrowed does not move in
front of the borrower, but rather taps in front of the
owner, untapping as normal during the owner’s untap
phase. Non-active players may also choose to assist
another player by using instants and interrupts. For
example, a player may reduce the damage suffered by an
ally being attacked by using a Healing Salve on the
defending player rather than on himself.

Eliminating Players. When a player loses all his life

points, he is eliminated from the game. All of the player’s
cards remain in play, but they are no longer under that
player’s control. Lands may be borrowed for mana freely
by the deceased player’s allies; however, since the player ally is going to attack before you lend him your mana,
no longer has an untap phase, this mana may only be since one of his enemies is your other ally! Of course,
used once. Artifacts, unless continuous, cannot be used, there is no way to enforce a treaty or agreement, so
because there is no one around to use them. However, don’t ever leave yourself too open to betrayal. Then
any artifact may be copied, stolen, shattered, or disen¬ again, it’s easy to get too cautious. Remember that
chanted, as usual. Similarly, creatures may be cloned or you’re not the only one that has two opponents—be
stolen, but cannot be controlled by other players. Ail willing to seize the advantage when you have the
enchantments or spells remain in opportunity. And finally, load your deck with some
on the player’s defense: if you’re lucky, smart, and tough enough, you
cards, including spells can let your allies do most of the dirty work against
cast after a player your opponents.
leaves the game. —Mose Wingert

The preceding multi-player version of Magic was developed by

Winning. A player
Mose Wingert and the other members of Omni Development, Inc., a
wins if his two firm that provides contract software programming in the NEXTSTEP
enemies are eliminated environment for Wizards of the Coast and other clients.
TXieUsr
from the game before he
17
The basic concept behind Circles of Protection is simple. For each mana spent, a Circle of Protection will
prevent all damage to you from a single source of that color. Circles should not be confused with
Wards, which protect a given creature from damage inflicted by any source of a given color. While
a Ward does not require additional mana to be spent to counter multiple attacks, it only
protects one of your creatures, not you. Conversely, Circles of Protection only prevent
damage to you. They won’t stop your land from being destroyed, or your creatures
from being removed from play. Also, a single Circle of Protection can avert
damage from multiple sources, but only if you spend one mana per attacking
source. A Circle can defend against seven creatures as easily as one, as long
as you spend seven mana. Similarly, additional mana must be spent to
counter multiple attacks from the same source. Thus, if your oppo¬
nent uses Pestilence three times for one point of damage each time
during the same turn, you have to pay three mana to stop all the
damage, though the attack comes from a single source.

You can’t rely on Circles of Protection for a complete

defense. With a Circle of Protection, you may be tempo¬
rarily invulnerable to damage of a certain color, but if all
of your creatures are dead, your offensive capabilities
are limited. Moreover, Circles require a significant
reserve of mana to be effective. In order to avert
damage, you have to have one free mana per
opponent’s attacking spell or creature. That’s one
less land you can use, which can significantly slow
your development. You’ll often be faced with a
choice between casting a spell and taking damage
when your opponent attacks, or saving your mana
for your Circles, doing nothing while your oppo¬
nent uses his or her mana freely to make the
situation worse. Too much reliance on Circles of
Protection can cripple you. However, with a
mixture of creatures and Circles of Protection you
have a very good defense: your creatures can bear
the brunt of the attack while your Circle can be
held in reserve for that one-too-many creature
your opponent has, or the Fireball or
swampwalking creature you can’t block.

Not all Circles of Protection are created equal. The

green Circle is best against crea tures, just because
diere are so many green creatures. The red one is
equally effective against that color’s high damage-
dealing power. Even when you don’t know your
opponent’s strengths, these Circles are good insurance. If
you can’t stop large waves of creatures, or if you struggle to
counter double-digit Fireballs and Disintegrates, incorporating
green and red Circles into your deck is a good idea. Circle of
Protection: Black is less useful, since black has fewer damage spells,
while white and blue are the least likely to be necessary. However, if
you’re going to be facing a deck with six Karmas or a half-dozen Ser¬
pents, a Circle of Protection in die corresponding color is a very wise
investment.

Circles of Protection can thwart more than creatures and direct damage spells,
however. They also prevent damage from any source of that color. So they are one of the
few ways to defend against insidious spells like Wanderlust, Warp Artifact, Feedback, Cursed

18
 Land, and such. One very overlooked use of Circles of Protection is protecting yourself from your own spells.
Instead of casting Hurricane and doing 15 points of damage to both players, why not do 14 points of
damage to your opponent, saving the last mana to fuel your Circle of Protection: Green. Skip
paying the Force of Nature or the Lord of the Pit, and absorb die damage in a Circle of
Protection. There are a number of cards that damage the caster, almost all of which can
be negated by Circles of Protection. One exception is Channel, which explicitly says
that effects like Circles cannot prevent the required loss of life.

While it may sound simple, using Circles of Protection well takes a good
deal of skill. When you have several Circles of Protection out, you
should be very careful about your mana management. Simply leaving
mi tapped a number of mana equal to the number of your
opponent's attacking creatures is bound to get you clobbered.
Unless you have other mana~generating artifacts or spells in
your hand, such as Sacrifice or Dark Ritual, setting aside just
enough land to prevent damage from your opponent’s
creatures will leave you vulnerable to a Fireball or other
spell. With extra mana in your hand, however, the one
mana to one creature ratio can be an effective ploy:
p% tapping all your exposed mana to thwart creature
attacks may lure your opponent into attacking with a
damage spell that your hidden mana can counter.

Of course, your use of Circles should be influenced

by what you know of your opponent. If you’re
fighting an unknown deck, Circles of Protection
can actually be a liability. Usually in games that
are nasty enough to matter, your opponent will be
playing with three or fewer colors, so most of the
Circles of Protection you draw will be useless.
Each such draw represents a lost turn, which is a
significan t handicap. But if you do know the
colors in an opponent’s deck, then Circles can be
the key to victory. It can be useful to stock your
deck with several Circles of the same color.
Multiple Circles of Protection are good for making
J sure you get that defense in play immediately. It’s
no help to have your only protection against red
Q j X spells sitting at the bottom of your deck, waiting
* for you to draw it it on turn thirty-one when you die
on turn eight. If you’re playing someone who just uses
one color, you can paralyze his or her play by incorpo¬
rating four or five Circles of that color into your deck,
one of which you are likely to get into play in the second

dr turn or so. Even if your opponent has two colors, two

or three Circles in each color are a wise investment. Look at it
this way. If you put three Circles of Protection in your deck, the
second and third Circles will be useless cards, or 5% of your deck.
This investment often ensures, though, that your opponent will be

Ho^ sitting with a deck in which 50% of the cards are useless. When your
opponent has three colors, you probably want one of each color, with
maybe a second for his or her strongest color. But. if your opponent is
playing five colors, you may not even want to bother because the Circle
is going to have such limited usage

Often the game revolves around protecting your Circles of Protection. The best way to
protect them is by studying how to defeat them. Here are a few suggestions.

'Ducllsr
19
 1. Tranquility and Gloom. Since Tranquility removes You might also consider using Power Leak. It costs two
all enchantments from play, you can use it to get past a mana to prevent damage from this card, so if you play a
minefield of Circles in one fell swoop. If you have any Power Leak on each of his enchantments, your opponent
green cards in your deck, it’s probably worth having will be forced to use his land to prevent the damage, and he
Tranquility just to counter Circles. However, the problem won’t be able to power his Circles.
with this strategy is that Tranquility also wipes out your
own Circles. A similar ploy is Gloom, which makes all Alternatively, you can wait until your opponent has exactly
Circles of Protection, including your own, cost three enough mana to cover all your attacks, and then Twiddle
mana to use. one of her lands. If your opponent lets you Twiddle her
land, she has one less land than she needs to counter your
2. Disenchant. This card is useful as a point defense, attack. If, however, your opponent chooses to tap her land,
taking out just that one Circle that’s holding back all interruptingyour Twiddle, and then you don’t attack, she
eight of your creatures. suffers a point of damage for the mana that remains unused
in her mana pool. Twiddle actually works better than Icy
3. Artifact Creatures. Juggernauts, Obsianus Golems, Manipulator in this case, because Twiddle is a surprise
and such are perfect for getting around Circles because maneuver, whereas your opponent always knows Icy
they do colorless damage. Manipulator is out there.

4. Swarming. Ifyou have more creatures than your 7. Manabarbs. This card does one point of damage for
opponent has land, then attack. Not everything will each land that is tapped. So, even if your opponent has
get through, but your opponent won’t be able to stop a Circle, tapping a land to power it just causes another
everything, either. A lot of little creatures that are hard point of damage. Of course, it’s still worth the one point
to block work best here. Even if you don’t have more of damage from Manabarbs to protect against anything
creatures than your opponent has lands, you’ll still do that is doing more than one point of damage.
well. If you have seven creatures, your opponent will
have to choose between taking damage from those he 8. Laces and Sleight of Mind. Laces change the color of a
or she can’t block and not being able to use seven card; with the right type of Lace, you can change creatures
lands. A variant on swarming is Pestilence. Since you or spells to a color for which your opponent has no
can Pestilence several times during your turn, you can Circle of Protection. Again there is a counter-strategy:
use it in combination with creature attacks to force Sleight of Mind, which allows your opponent to change
your opponent to run out of mana. However, this only the color of her Circle of Protection, making her
works well when your opponent is very low in life. Circles far more versatile. For example, you might use
Lifelace to change your red giant into a green Giant,
5. Land Destruction. One playtester, Dave Pettey, getting it past your opponent’s Circle of Protection:
approached the Circle problem by reasoning that if Red, but your Sleight of Mind-carrying opponent can
you have no mana to power the Circles, then the respond by changing her Circle of Protection: Red to
Circles are useless. Enough land destruction cards, Circle of Protection: Green. Of course, you could also
such as Sinkholes or Stone Rains, will stop any deck use a Sleight of Mind to your advantage, changing the
relying on Circles of Protection for defense. color of you opponent’s Circle to one she has no use at
all for at the moment.
6. Land-Tapping Strategies. If you can force your
opponent to tap his land, he won’t be able to power his 9. Multiple colors. This final suggestion may seem
Circles. For example, you could Power Sink one of obvious, but a five-color deck is far less vulnerable to
your opponent’s spells. This forces him to tap his land, Circles than a three-color deck. And a one-color deck is
rendering his Circles useless. Of course, there is a dead meat against a Circle of Protection.
counter to this strategy. Make sure you have at least
one land in your hand, then cast your spell. If your There are certainly other sly combinations out there
opponent does use Power Sink, you can still play the that will get around Circles of Protection, as well as
one land at the end of your main phase to power your strategies for protecting them. The basic approach,
Circle of Protection. Another counter to this Power though, is to develop more prudent ways to manage
Sink strategy is to use sources of mana other than land. your mana so you’ll be able to defend yourself while still
Power Sink forces you to tap your land in order to casting spells. If you strike the right balance, Circles of
counter the spell. However, Power Sink does not affect Protection can be an extremely valuable addition to
creatures or artifacts that provide mana unless their your deck.
mana has already been added to your mana pool. —Chris Page

TXielisc
20
 As a child in Sitka, Alaska, Anson Maddocks haunts were
woods, ocean shores, and Russian graveyards. In 1988, Anson
moved to Seattle, where he attended the design program at
Cornish College of the Arts. He later left Cornish to pursue
illustration full-time.

Anson’s many art credits include numerous gallery shows and

installations in the Seattle area, as well as illustrations for
several Seattle based magazines. His fantasy work has
appeared in products from Garfield Games, Mayfair Games,
Pagan Publishing, and Wizards of the Coast.

How did you get involved with Magic in die first place?

I got hooked up with Wizards of the Coast about two years

ago. I knew their art director, Jesper Myrfors, from school,
Cornish College of the Arts. He asked to see some of my
work at one point. He had seen a book that I had done a
while ago, called Darkdreamen which I was really not that
happy with, but which he thought was interesting. So I
showed him that, and some of the recent work Id been
doing, which is more surreal than fantasy or science fiction.
He gave me some tasks from the Talisknta bestiary,
Thystmms Collectanea* To begin with, he just had me do a
couple pieces to see how l would do. He liked them, so he
dumped a whole load of them on me, and as the deadline
for the book drew closer, he kept piling more and more on
me. Actually, Magic was the same way. I ended up taking a
lot of work that other people cduldnt get done in time. I
did four in one day, at one point,, just to meet the. deadline.

I did thirty-one; thirty were used. ./ :

Photo © 1993 Chereys Humphries

How is Magic art assigned? Has Jasper always just given artists the card name
and let them do anything they want with the design?

Yes, that’s how it was originally, and it was n

really exciting to him, I think. He
likes to let the artists interpret the titles of the cards the way they see them. That
way he’s completely surprised when he sees their work, and it probably produces
more variety throughout the deck. With Magic; The Gathering; the designers had
a general idea of what the text was going to be, but when they saw the artwork
they tried to tailor the text to the art. But I cant decide whether its good or bad
to know more about the card or not. Now that I know about Magic, I
might try to suit the work to the game, and I don t know if that’s such 4
a good idea. I try to get as diverse as possible in the cards that I do.

How is collectable card game an dilicreiu from book illustrations ,

paintings? What makes it different, other than its smaller size? SBIS

That’s actually a major factor right there. Since books and paintings
are larger, you have to put a bit into them. (Don’t tell jesper
that.) What I mean is that the Magic card is going to be reduced so
much from the original. You kind of have a sense of what s going to be
lost in the reduction, so you know where you can take liberties, where
you can leave spaces a little rougher than you would on something
that you know is going to be seen at actual size. That’s why I am a
little hesitant to sell the originals for Magic; some of them I just don’t
like the looks of at actual size.

is fantasy your genre, generally? What other types of things do you work on?

I prefer surrealism. I don’t have a strong interest in fantasy; I like to do it, but I
don’t like traditional fantasy. Elves and dwarves and things like that. Its not
really my cup of tea in general. But if 1 do them, 1 like to do them in a new way.
I like my own sort of homemade fantasy. That’s a good challenge: to fake
something traditional like that and reformat it, so that it still has its core, but it
has my feel to it.

I know a lot of roleplaying is based on myth, archetypes that have been in the
fantasy w < ver. You like to take the traditional and do something else with
it; where does chat something else come from?

The world that I like to pull my images from is really my own creation. When
I’m taking a traditional idea, I’m just marrying it with my own,..formula. Its a
little bit darker; a little more sensual, maybe; a little theatrical.

I’ve heard people say about the Hurloon Minotaur,"'What did Anson do? Did he
give the niinotaur a mirror There is a sort’ old,hyper-
realism to the things that you do, as if they were modeled on something that
actual * existed anatomically, biftiibforeign to this world. Where doev
that tome from? I

I studied anatomy a lot, and I took courses in college specifically for my art. 1
was in courses with medical students. Actually, for a long time I wanted to he a
surgeon. Eve always been fascinated by anatomical functions, the skeletal and Art from Magic: The Gathering.
muscular systems. To me it’s really important to animate my figures and make Above: Shanodin Dryads. Facing
them believable. Actually, I gave a lecture on Alien Anatomy at a local conven¬ page: three early sketches and the
tion, where I led discussions on believable anatomy. final version of Hurloon Minotaur.
Do you do research for your work?

I do a lot of visual research. I keep encyclopedias on hand at all times, just in

case. I try to pull resources from all different areas; that way it has a
fresh feeling for me, and it’s always exciting for me to do it. For the
Magic card Sengir Vampire, I went out of my way not to do a
traditional vampire. That’s what makes it fun. My vampire isn’t going
to be Bela Lugosi with a medallion around his neck.

Human models,

Sometimes. Human, inhuman...Sometimes I use a model to do a

piece for which I’ve specifically had an atmospheric or photographic
idea in mind. Or, if I have a person that I think would be particularly
appealing in a piece, and I’d like to capture their essence, so to speak.
(Do you ever use yourself as a mode!?) 1 think its something that just happens in.
my work. My features pop up in characters. My anatomy, my proportions...I’ll be
drawing something and I’ll realize it looks an awful lot like me. Sometimes that’s
good, sometimes that’s bad; sometimes I’ll let it go, and sometimes its com¬
pletely inappropriate for what I’m working on.

What media do you use when you are doing Magic cards, or your other work?

I use just about everything: from watercolor to marker to colored pencil, acrylic,
gouache, oils...

Currently I think one of my favorite fantasy artists is Brom, I like the

way he blends graphic style in with his images, so they hold up
graphically but they look convincing at the same time, which is rather
difficult. I like Norman Rockwell a lot; he’s one of my heros, (An
there’s Salvadore Dali, who I also
like quite a bit. H.R. Giger. Let’s see: Klimt, Moebius, BilaL.oh, also
Milo Manara, and Aubrey Beardsley,

§|jjgj| eiactSyf |l |lf|§ i.I;ijgjg1|1:§|f||J11|f g|

I just mean that because they are still, and because I. m trying to
convey, so much, they can be extremely gestural, or sensual—its. like
they are struggling to gesticulate something that they’re thinking. My
art is almost mimelike in its poses—stressed. Not very subtle. Also,
you are working on something you think of as sensual and you put
sensual elements into it, its really; enjoyable to work on. Certain
things, like organic matter of any kind, are very sensual When 1 am
-.is very soft, or just visually dynamic, that has
a lot of curving shapes or weight to it, gravity, or motion, or stream-
lined t hings—al t of those things I think of as sensual l may unnatu¬
rally streamline the body just to give it a more dynamic.'feel I sometimes go, to
extremes on facial features: fuller lips, flared nostrils, larger eyes, accentuated
cheekbones, just because I find all of those features intriguing, and when I
emphasize them I’m sort of making a statement on what l find attractive about
them. Long, spiderlike fingers sometimes. That’s where the theatrical thing comes
in, too, you know: all the features are extremely high-contrast. Its almost as if
everybody’s always wearing make-up or always wearing rich clothing. Everything
is emphasized. If s hard for me to knock things back into subtlety. I always have a
tendency to want to bring it to the front, what it is that I like about an object. Its
really hard to put a hierarchy on an image, and say T want to focus on this and
drop everything else back.’ I want to glorify everything about it.

Does that afwayrl^ork?; k

No, it never works. It ends up flattening out the entire

piece if you have everything on a pedestal. It brings
everything to the front, so your eye is completely con¬
fused; it doesn’t know where to pay most of its attention.

I usually notice it in a sketch. Because I look at a sketch

as just that; 1 never try to refine it, or make it more than it
was to begin with. So usually I’ll make a sketch and then
look at it and say wow, I got the idea across that I wanted
to, I focused on what I wanted to.’ That’s the beauty of a
sketch; it’s very raw, and it defines what it needs to define.
If I work on a piece for too long, then I tend to flatten it
out by excess.

I think I work very fast, but that might be because J lose

track of time while I’m doing it. As I said, with Magic I was doing a couple cards
a day when I did them. With Thystrams I did five in one day, at the most. It
depends on my mood. If I’m having a good, what my friends and I call art day,’ I
can crank out a good number of them in a short period of time. But if I’m
uninspired or having a down day then I can’t work fast at all; in fact, I end up
throwing out everything that I do.

I’m addicted to momentum. If 1 start accomplishing things, I just keep with it.
In the Roleplaying World. Above:
If I start getting things done early in the day I’ll just go with it, accomplish
An example of Anson's work for
everything all at once that should usually take a week. Do you get up early?) No,
Wizards of the Coast s The Primal
I don’t. Do 1 go to bed early? No. I get to sleep around 4:30 and get up around
Order 1 ine. Anson's covers and
noon. (The most creative hours of the day being a; ig;o :h Yeah...I think that’s
interior illustration have been
because there is no interference, nothing to distract you. In the early morning
featured in numerous industry
nobody is calling me, there’s nothing good on television...all there is is a light and
publications.
a table and a piece of work that needs to be done.

Previous pages: Jester was displayed

vo u work here or van work m cot
at the traveling rock concert
aowb m
Lolapalusa 1992.
 Yes, I do. That $ the great th ing
about coffee shops, Mark Tedin,

Mixed Media. Thirteen feet long

r 'W^"' c*own at a table, and you really with a ten foot arm span, Grendel
have nothing else to do there (left) was part of a 1992 installation
! mk except focus on what you Ye called The Tragedy of Obsolescence.
Hkj|‘ brought with you. You cant Pictured below is Lamp, another
d-L.'} K1/ y. B wander around. Well, you could detail from the same installation.
k |J)|h[ wander around and chat with
mrn ^HnS9| people, bur you cam turn on the
• mggmm television or anything. Once
you’ve paid rent on your drink,
you re rooted to the spot for a
while. You have to produce something,
shops than most people have. They don. t think of getting work done there; they
go to participate in the mystique of the artist.) Well I do that too.

What kind opi%A;doy0u do other than illustrating?

I have a lot of different areas that 1 try to keep going at the same time, I work as
an illustrator for the Seattle Weekly and various publishers: Wizards of the Coast,
White Wolf, Pagan. And I like doing large paintings. But I have to hang them in
places because I cant keep them around. This is a very small place, f have to take
the paintings apart to get them down the stairs,

Mark Tedin and I both worked at a nightclub called the Down Under; we
completely overhauled the place, and reworked it into a large installation. It
involved murals, sculpture, lighting, mechanical things...We got grossly under¬
paid for it, but it was fun to do. I also do a lot of sculpture. Not so much
anymore, because I cant stand having the materials around me—it
creates incredible clutter, and I just dont have the room to do it.

What is !ln jike as a freelance artist? What: did you do before?

I was selling vintage clothing at a retail store; 1 had done some house
painting before that. Then, when 1 quit a regular job to do this
exclusively, ? mBk
through periods of starvation. And then when I got even a meager IMF
sum of money ibc* : ■ '' wi

Has your art shaped your lifestyle at all? BH

Art is my main form of expression, so I rely on it heavily to vent— ||H

and to absorb, actually When you create a lot, you have to have good EB&j
internal library to draw from, and not everything can come from [Bp
resources or from photographs. So Fm constantly absorbing things. 1 mm
can justify spending ridiculous amounts of money on films and Bv
books, because that’s sort of a creative write-off I will throw myself anj
into things I normally wouldn’t be interested in just because they are
different, and I know they can provide a new perspective on things, J&A

As far as how it affects my lifestyle, well, I do a lot of work for

subcultural events. Parties, clubs, industrial shows, et cetera. People ask me on
 the spur of the moment to borrow work for some event and I just loan them a
few paintings or sculptures for the evening*

Whats the strangest thing youVe ever done—well, no, let me rephrase that—the
: strangest assignment you Veever had? | I||l i|i|l|||||i|||SM

Maybe the Unspeakable Oath cover for Pagan Publishing,

Why is it strange, other than .if$...strange..?

Well, I guess, chats the most blatantly strange piece IVe ever done, just because
it looks like flesh sewn together and bound to a book cover. I don t know...that
ranks at the top.

It reminds me of some Magic cards youVe done,

They requested I do this based on what they saw in one of the

Magic cards.

Really? Living Wall, or Lure?

Living Wall. Which was censored. You knew that, didn’t you?

No. What happened to it?

There was an esophagus which they thought looked too much

like it could be a sphincter in another part of the body. That
was the only one that got censored

Jesper was responsible for censorship?

I take the Fifth on that.

Is artistic integrity a big issue for you?

Yes. Making artistic or moralistic sacrifices—! think about that a lot. A lot of
artists will not do something because they feel like they’re compromising the
way they view their art for somebody else s ideas. But I find it extremely chal¬
lenging. Whether I’m making something under my specifications or somebody
elses specifications, its a challenge that I put myself to. And I love challenges; I
love to challenge myself, and I love to be challenged by others. And when I’m
working with another person, who has verbal or written descriptions of some¬
thing, and it’s up to me to come up with the visual translation of that—I love
that. Its sort of like communicating with somebody: they say something, you
say something back to them, and you try to agree on something. That to me is
great—to interact with writers and art directors.

What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to your art? (Groan.) Have people
taken your work and done dastardly deeds?

1 had a piece in Lolapalusa (Jester, pictured on the center spread of the magazine)
which someone climbed up to get on top of a fence. So there are black shoe
marks on it which I had to paint over it because they wouldn’t come out. I had a
piece stolen from The Center On Contemporary Arts; that was sort of a back-
handed compliment, I guess. Actually I’d like it back. There are some

TWUsc
28
pieces...the people who bought them were so strange I don’t know that I’d want
to know what happened to them.

Do you keep a lot of your art for yourself?

No, I try to get rid of it as soon as possible. (Because you want to sell
it, or because...) No, because I want it out of my sight, actually. I
dont want to be too influenced by the last thing I did. I want to be
influenced by new ideas constantly. And also I dont want to feel that mk
I’ve accomplished a lot in a given time, because that might cause me
to get lazy. That may or may not be true, but I project that on j
myself i like to have fresh, clean walls, so I can keep a clear head; I M\
dont like to be cluttered, mentally. And that happens when I have
too much to look at. p§j—-.i 1PB w *

Let me ask you about the effects of Magic. Do you think that its
popularity in circles other than fantasy ones is going to have some
sort of impact on the way fantasy art is perceived by the world at large? I know a
lot of people tend to look down on the genre as being light/ /illustrations’ rather
than good art, whatever that means. Have you had that experience?

My stuff being taken for less than fine art? Yes. Actually I think I view it that
way To answer the first part of your question, thodpl I think if people get
interested in Magic, and they haven’t had a lot of fantasy exposure before, it Upcoming Magic Releases. A
might draw people into the market. They will see other things that are available preview of Anson's latest Magic
and it may spark their interest. work: Urza's Mine, from Magic:
The Gathering—Antiquities, and
Has that happened with you, personally? I know that some artists have had a lot Spinal Villain from Legends.
more interest taken in them now that they’ve done Magic cards. Have you
gotten more work as a result of Magic? Do you want more work than Magic?. ff|

With fantasy work, yes, its helping me. If s definitely good exposure. And you
can make a great miniature portfolio out of the cards; you dont have to carry
huge things around. Nice and compact, like slides.

Are there places that you want to go with your art that you haven’t.
been yet?

I love motion pictures; I would, love to do special .effects make-up,

or computer work. Fve done some video in the past; I think, that’s
probably the grandest art form, because you can incorporate any¬
thing into it. That’s the only way you can get an idea completely
across, by coming at it from, all directions. Also, lot of people have
urged me to do graphic novels, but 1 don’t know if they would be as
rewarding. They seem like a lot more work than reward to me. Time
is a huge factor. Thanks to Jesper.

So we cin look forward to a lot of other -Deckmaster work from

Yes, I’m working on all the expansions. I look forward to Jesp*

dark expansion set in particular.
 The musings of Richard Garfield

Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, my friends and tiresome. You can hunt down the weak decks for
I used to play a game called The Hunt. The easy victories, or try and defeat a local Goliath.
hunters attempted to “damage” the pursued
player by taking his flags or shooting him with a The wild environment is usually favored by
dart gun. The unique thing about this game was those who delight in deckbuilding. New Magic
the disparity between the sides: anywhere from players in particular love to fiddle with their
three to ten people would join forces to hunt a decks, learning the fine art (or cold science) of
single player. I loved being the hunted; I knew I deck construction. After all, one joy of the game
wasn’t going to win, so I tried to put up the best is getting that first deck to work well. After
fight I could. I also enjoyed the hunter’s role, playing in this sort of environment for a while,
laying traps and trying to out-think the oppo¬ however, you may find that you’ll want to
nent. Aside from the dubious implications this reduce the emphasis on designing decks merely
childhood pursuit has for my psychological to win. Otherwise the play will grow stagnant, as
makeup, it shows that I have never been particu¬ players invent powerful decks that are boring
larly interested in “fair” games. While I don’t to play.
mind being in a position of gross power in
games, I also enjoy fighting from an incredible This does not mean you have to refrain from
disadvantage. In these cases, it isn’t winning or being competitive. Rather, the object of the
losing that matters, but the play itself. And when competition changes, shifting away from the
a win does go an unexpected way, it is something construction of a monster deck toward winning
to be remembered. I am not suggesting that with the tools you allow yourself. Most play
fairness doesn’t have its place;it is simply groups I know have lots of decks floating
overrated. around: the retired superdecks, the weird decks,
the medium-power decks. These decks all have
Magic lends itself to a huge variety of competi¬ some sort of vague ranking, and players tinker
tions, and the players have a lot of control over with them and compete them against each other
how fair the environment is in which they play. to get the duels that they most enjoy. Some
Arenas of Magic play can be roughly divided players are not trying to get a particular deck to
into two categories: the wild environment and win often, but rather to keep it from losing quite
the structured environment. In the wild envi¬ so often. Sure, the heavyweights can trounce the
ronment, players can draw on any source of featherweights, but that doesn’t mean the
cards. Players can trade and duel with whomever featherweights have no place. A featherweight is
they choose, with whatever decks they choose. fun to play and tinker with. And it may take out
This glorious anarchy attracts many people. You a lightweight, or even a mediumweight, from
can play with deck concepts and ideas for a time to time.
while, and trade the decks away when they grow

TXiclisr
30
If you still want to maintain the challenge of for their decks. In a simpler form of the draft,
building a power deck, there are some rules you the card set is shuffled and one card is turned up
can impose on yourself and other willing for each player. Each player selects a card; first
playgroup members without greatly restricting pick then rotates to another player, and more
your play environment. One option is to main¬ cards are turned up. To speed up the draft, the
tain a single random deck that you keep separate cards can be grouped in twos or threes. While
from your card pool. You can use this deck to some players prefer to keep land out of the
duel or trade with other people, but you cannot draft, others like to make land a limited re¬
simply add cards to it. Such a low-power deck source, something that rarely happens in the
may eventually grow in strength, and it is inter¬ wild environment.
esting to watch its progress or decline. I main¬
tained such a deck for about six weeks, and Another game element that may be restricted is
through trade and play the deck eventually had the trade. Trading can be a terribly influential
120 cards to draw on, including several more factor in the game, and can dominate the com¬
rare cards than it started with. petition if it isn’t controlled. While some players
prefer the free-for-all, others may choose to
You might also consider raising the minimum restrict trading to some time period before or
number of cards required for a duel, since it is between games, or forbid it all together. You
much harder to make a predictable sixty-card may also decide that all trades must be made
deck than a predictable forty-card deck. It is also public within the playgroup.
a challenge to construct a good deck while
limiting yourself to two or three cards of any Dueling can be structured in a variety of ways.
particular type (excluding land, of course). If you The competition may remain a random set of
enjoy this challenge, you might go further: try duels between individuals or teams, or it may
building a winning deck with no duplicate cards! build toward a single winner. You may elect to
hold a round robin, where each player competes
Once you have developed your deck-tuning with every other player a certain number of
strategies, however, you may find that the wild times. While some players prefer not to risk
environment loses its charm. Power playing their important cards in an ante, requiring an
considerably narrows the field of viable oppo¬ ante is a good way to even the stakes in games
nents. Also, there may be such an unequal between a strong and a weak deck. It can be fun
distribution of cards in your playgroup that to compete two decks until ante losses make one
dueling against certain decks becomes frustrat- of them unplayable.
ingly predictable. This is where the structured
environment can add depth to the game. Struc¬ A structured environment does not make a wild
tured environments vary, but they are all de¬ environment impossible; the playgroup merely
signed to keep the game fairer by controlling has to keep the cards for each type of play
the players’ access to cards. The simplest way to separate. To preserve the integrity of structured
develop a structured environment within the play decks, you may choose to mark the cards,
playgroup is to give each player a random or to store the decks in the care of a single
starting deck. This deck could be a factory deck, player. Serious playgroups have even been
or one assembled using cards provided by one or known to record the contents of all the decks.
more of the players. In this case, decks are built
by trading between members of the playgroup Future versions of Magic may cater more to
rather than by purchasing cards. A more com¬ keeping the wild environment under control by
plex method, but one which better satisfies the keeping the cards more uniform in strength.
player who enjoys the competition of deck Regardless of the card mix, however, players can
construction, is the draft. All the cards are laid improve their game by creating the play envi¬
on the table and players take turns picking cards ronment that best suits their interests.

‘DticUsc
31
Most of the cards in Magic are fairly ing the effects. If you use Icy Ma-
straightforward. Few questions arise nipulator to tap your opponent’s
over the use of Lightning Bolt, for Basalt Monolith, for example, you
instance, or creatures without have made the three mana that your
special abilities. But there are some opponent could have gotten from it
cards that continue to confound inaccessible until the card is un¬
players, particularly those involving tapped. You haven’t taken control of
complex tapping and timing maneu- the Monolith, or generated three
vers. In an effort to clear up some of mana for yourself; you have only
the confusion, here’s a discussion of prevented your opponent from using
a few of these troublesome cards it. On the other hand, if your use
and how they work. Twiddle to untap your own Basalt
Monolith, you have made the card
.The available for use, even though you
most common problem cards are didn’t spend the three mana required
Twiddle and its cousin Icy Manipula¬ to untap it. The only exceptions to
tor. Icy Manipulator allows its con¬ this “availability without the effects”
troller to tap any land, creature, or rule are cards with enchantments on
artifact in play, while Twiddle allows them that are activated when the
the caster to either tap or untap a enchanted card is tapped. In these
card. The confusion surrounding cases, the effects of these enchant¬
these cards stems from differing ments still happen, even though the
ideas of what “tapping” is. When a card being tapped is not generating
land card says “Tap to produce any of its own effects. For land
mana,” players assume that turning enchanted with Psychic Venom or
the card sideways is what releases Wild Growth, for example, Twiddling
the mana. Unfortunately, that isn’t the land will cause the controller of
quite accurate. “Tapped” and the land to get bitten by the Venom
“uptapped” refer to the position of or gifted by the Growth, though the
the card, not to the generation of land’s mana remains unavailable.
effects. A player frees mana into the
mana pool and then turns the land . The ambiguous identity
card sideways to remind everybody of the lade Statue constantly causes
that this card has had its mana problems. The only one of the origi-
drained this turn. Creatures work nal Magic: The Gathering cards that
the same way; the controller em- called just “Artifact,”, the lade Statue
ploys the creature in an attack or acts rather lik e an artifact creature
defense, and taps the card to indi- but isn’t one. It can be a creature on
cate that it has been used. A change the turn it comes into play as long as
in position indicates a change in the the mana cost is met. The statement
status of the card: the resources of “can be a creature only during an
an untapped card are potentially attack or defense” means either
available to the controller this turn, attack or defense, not both, since
while the resources of a tapped card making it a creature during the
are not. Cards like Twiddle allow you attack phase taps it. It’s ver y difficult
to change the availability of a card’s to put creature enchantments on this
resources without actually generat- object, since you can’t cast enchant-
ments during a battle, and that’s the equal to or less than the amount of
only time the Statue is a creature. If mana spent, so guess the cost and
you manage to cast Holy Strength cast your spell. Your opponent will
on the artifact, then that enchant¬ tell you, once you’ve cast the spell,
ment takes effect only when the whether or not it was enough to
artifact is brought to life. There is a actually stop the summoning. Look
way around these difficulties, how¬ on the bright side. If the spell fails,
ever. Since the Statue is a non¬ you know for sure that the creature
creature artifact, casting an Ani¬ is bigger than you thought.You can
mate Artifact spell on it would make also try color-specific anti-spell
it a 4/4 creature full time. cards like Deathgrip or Blue El¬
emental Blast to stop the summon¬
Perhaps the most ing, even though you aren’t sure of
mysterious Magic card is Illusionary the masked card’s color. Remember,
Mask. This card allows a player to however, that Red Elemental Blast
bring a creature into play face down, and other anti-spells require a valid
and spend extra mana to disguise target to be cast. The kind of land
the casting cost. As soon as the tapped in the summoning will tell you
creature gives or receives damage, whether or not a card could be of a
or is tapped, then it must be turned certain color: if an Island is tapped, it
face up. Illusionary Mask doesn’t might be blue. In a slightly odd quirk
suppress any potentially revealing of the Illusionary Mask, you may
features of the card being Masked. If play a Blue Elemental Blast on a
you cast Clockwork Beast or Rock concealed card even if no Islands
Hydra through the Mask, for ex¬ were tapped. Y ou know ahead of
ample, you still have to put counters time that the spell will fail, but
on the card, which sort of gives the you might want to cast a spell that
surprise away. accomplishes nothing; the Black
Vise and the Iron Star would be two
The secondary effects of Illusionary reasons for doing so. Because
Mask can be complicated. Consider you don’t know for certain what the
what happens if you have a Throne color is, you may attempt to cast
of Bone, which gives you I life for any spell for which the card might
every black spell cast. How can you be a valid target.
tell if you should get a life point for
the casting of the Masked card? If Power Sink is more effective. Your
your opponent brings a creature into opponent has spent some mana on
play behind the Illusionary Mask, the summoning, and some on the
then you may put a point of mana Mask. A Power Sink forces him or
into the Throne of Bone, and your her to spend more on the summon¬
opponent must infor m you if you’ve ing, and it’s too late to decide to use
received a point of life or not. This less with the Mask to make up for
the extra drain. And of course, there
is the straightforward approach: you
can use Counterspell.
Trying to stop the Illusionary Mask
can also be a bit tricky. You can’t use Perhaps the most wildly
Spell Blast on the Mask because it’s interpreted card is Chaos Orb. Many
a fast effect from an artifact, but you players feel that when the Orb is in
can Spell Blast the summoning. Y ou play, anything goes. Unfortunately,
know the cost of the creature is there are some rules that apply to
the Orb’s use. It has to rotate 360 degrees, number of cards you can keep in play. This
and your opponent isn’t allowed to physi¬ enchantment can help keep you in the game
cally interfere with the spell. This means when you have a lot of cards out, but it can’t
your opponent can’t blow on it when you directly harm your opponent. Specifically,
play it, and he or she can’t change the posi¬ you can’t use Lich to kill your opponent by
tion of his cards once the Orb is in play. playing it on him or her and then Disen¬
There are no rules against setting up your chanting it. You can only play Lich on your¬
playing area at the outset of the duel in a self, in your own ter ritory; unlike “Enchant
way that makes using the Orb difficult, like Creature” spells, blanket “Enchantments”
taping your cards to the wall or placing cannot be played in your opponent’s
them around the room. Of course, such territory.
strategies can greatly inhibit game play. If
your opponent does not know you are
playing with an Orb, you have the advantage
of surprise. Because artifacts can be used
the turn they are summoned, you can stun
your opponent with the Orb by spending
two mana to put it into play and using a
third immediately to drop it.The simplest
strategy when playing against someone
who is known to use the Orb effectively is
to keep an anti-artifact spell in your hand.
Usually, though, there isn’t much to worry
about when the Orb comes in play because
few people can drop it with any accuracy.

There are a few other

cards that appear confusing only because
players don’t actually believe the card text.
When Kudzu says “the player whose land it Those are the most confusing cards,
just destroyed may place it on another land though there are many others that that have
of his or her choice,” the new target land caused players problems. Magic is such a
could be any land in play. Kudzu will usually dynamic game that the interactions be¬
cross back and forth between opponents, tween the cards can get extremely intricate.
but it doesn’t have to: you could play Kudzu After all, one of the most enjoyable aspects
on your own land and choose to destroy of the game is figuring out how cards can
more of your own land. work together. Usually the rules can guide
you through any difficulties: if you pay
Lich is another spell that is strange enough careful attention to the precise effects of
that many people think there has been a the cards and the order in which they occur,
mistake somewhere.With Lich, you lose all you can usually sort out any conflicts or
the life points you have at the moment but seeming paradoxes that may arise. But if
you aren’t dead. The damage you receive is you do get stuck, we re here. You can
measured not in life points but in cards. If always e-mail your questions to
you gain more life, you draw more cards, questions wizards.com, or call W izards of
however, if you take a point of damage, you the Coast, and we ll do our best to help you.
cannot simply discard a card, but must
send one of your cards in play to the Dave Nowell
graveyard. Your life now depends upon the
 there are some new Deckmaster games in the works.

Vampire: The Masquerade™

At the Comicfest convention in Philadelphia, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and

White Wolf, Inc. finalized their agreement to produce a Dechmaster game
based on White Wolfs popular Vampire: The Masquerade roleplaying game..
Wizards of the Coast announced that Richard Garfield, designer of Magic: The
Gathering, will be the chief designer for the game. The game is scheduled for
release in summer of 1994 to coincide with the release of the Interview with a
Vampire movie based on the book by Anne Rice. Set in White Wolfs World of
Darkness, this new Deckmaster game, tentatively entitled Jyhad, enacts the
struggle of two ancient vampires. The mechanics of the game will be radically
different from those in Magic: The Gathering, but will use the same collectable
trading card format that was established with Magic. Both current Magic
illustrators and top artists in the vampire genre have expressed interest in
working on the series.

Netrunner™

At the GenCon Game Faire in Milwaukee, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and
R. Talsorian Games signed a letter of intent to develop a Netrunner Deckmaster
game based on the popular Cyberpunk 2020 roleplaying game produced by R.
Talsorian. Tentatively announced as a Richard Garfield design, no release date
has been set for the Netrunner Deckmaster game.

Middle-earth

Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and Iron Crown Enterprises have agreed to produce a
Middle-earth Deckmaster game to be released late 1994 or early 1995. Under this
sublicensing agreement, Wizards of the Coast will develop a collectable trading
card game set in Middle-earth, the fantasy world of I.R.R. Tolkien's classic novels,
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The design team for the game will be
headed by Magic: The Gathering developer Skaff Elias.
 Coming next issue
TXicUsc
36
WHATS NEW? -WITH PHIL AND DIXIE!
GO Amt I DON'T VO WHATS NEW? besides - Role playing
ANYMORE. X'VE DEVOTED MY games are passe' . BUT WE'D BE TALKING
LITE TO ART* ABOUT A TRADING
'Wilding bat . CARS) GAMS.
skeletons in bottles A IMHAT?-' THERE
V (S NOT ART. ^ IS NO SUCH THING.
AU-Bur EACH ONE
REPRESENTS ft DIFFERENT )
ELEMENT ON THE PeRmhcA.--
TABLE? 0KAY,
■■t ( THAT'S
PvJ9^«M1aA art. a

HAT THAT'S
BECAUSE magic™
IS THE VERY FIRST
ONE. EVER!

IT WAS CREATED. ALMOST BY ACCIDENT. BY A To play the AND THEN You USE THE SPELLS,
MATHEMATICIAN NAMED RICHARD GARFIELD. GAME, YOU MONSTERS AND ARTIFACTS ON
START WITH THE CARPS TO WHITTLE YOU Pi
WOW/. EVER SINCE RICH STARTED \ 20 LIVES. OPPONENT Down To ZjEftO
HANGING around the office, rX GOT it/
figuring out who owes HEY RICH,
WHAT To the PI2ZA GUY (S DEVELOP USA
A snap/ KEEP Him AROUND . COMPLETELY ORIGINAL
AND UNIQUE CONCEPT
[BUT HOW?, \(N GATING BEFORE
VoU GO. OKAY? J

since THEN, THEY'VE BEEN KIND OF

SCARED To ASK HIM To pfl ANYTHING ELSE.

BEFORE THEY WHITTLE YOU. IT GETS AS DEVIOUS AS YOU MRS

(mammoths/ fHA. X BLOCK YouR rS0„. THAT'S

PITIFUL MAMMOTHS OH, DIPT MEHTlOH THE GAME. .
WITH MY VjAtL OF THAT THEY'RE
^ /MICE. howling. Flying,
RIGHTEOUS, FIRE
breathing-
\ BERSERK
\ MAMMOTHS?)

SIMPLE? YES,
/BUT DON'T (GET COCKY.
Magic: The Gathering—Antiquities
WOTC6502, SI.45
Scheduled for release in February

Long ago, when magic had no color, two wizards battled for con¬
trol of Dominia. Now Antiquities unearths the relics of this ancient
rivalry, over seventy-five artifacts and spells for use with your
Magic: The Gathering deck. So stash a few Antiquities in your
Magic deck, and unleash the power of the past.

Magic: The Gathering—Revised Edition

Decks WOTC16100, $7.95; boosters WOTC16700, $2.45
Scheduled for release in March

In mid-March these gray-bordered cards will take the place of the

white-bordered Unlimited Edition Magic cards. Offering corrected
cards and clarified rules, the Revised Edition releases will feature a
constantly changing card mix. The first version contains thirty
cards from the first two Magic expansions, including these from
Arabian Sights:

Mijae Djinn Kird Ape Flying Carpet

Serendib Efreet Jandors Ring- Ma gnetic Mountain
Desert Twister Brass Man Erg Raiders
Aladdin's Lamp El Hajajj Aladdin’s Ring
Eye for an Eye Dancing Scimitar Island Fish Jasconius
Shatterstorm M a gi c S a d d l e ba gs Unstable Mutation
Bottle of Solomon Ebony Horse Sorceress Queen
The Magic: The Gathering Pocket Players' Guide
WOTC6200, $7.95
Scheduled for release in March

At last comes the much-demanded players’ handbook for Magic.

The Pocket Players' Guide offers the clarified and expanded Revised
Edition rules for standard, multi-player, and tournament play. The
volume also includes an official list of the original Magic: The Gath¬
ering cards, as well as tips on collecting, deck-building strategies,
and Richard Garfield’s notes on the design of Magic and the nature
of Dominia.

Magic: The Gathering—Legends

WOTC16503, $2.45
Scheduled for release in April

From across the multiverse, the

Legends have assembled. Introduc¬
ing a new expansion of over 300
cards exploring Dominia’s heroes:
Johan, Gabriel Angelfire, Sivitri
Scarzam, Hunding, and many
more. Beware the Red magician with her hordes of Kobolds, and
the Necromancer who dares to unleash the Horror of Horrors on
the world. In the company of mythic figures you’ll discover new
spells and potent artifacts, creatures with the venom of Killer Bees
and sorcery7 with the power to Defy Death. Share in the struggle of
heroes, and embrace the possibilities which Legends bring to life.
 Sweet are the uses of adversity.
,
Which like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.

William Shakespeare
As You Like It

Come, let me squat close by your ear and whisper secrets learned from the tooth points of a
harrowing life. Put aside your pitchfork. You did not stagger all this way down Cemetery
Road only to peer in fear at my rumpled hide, eh? Though I am a bunch-backed brute, you
cannot earn this old toads wit with curses.

1 mark your scars and books; you’ve been at the Game, haven’t you? Not even a half-century
old, but there you go playing ante with the Masters and wondering why you lose. Perhaps
this once I will guide you past the claws of your dilemma, and save my cookpots for more
mature fare. Sit closer, my tasty7 friend; 1 will not bite tonight.

You’re a brave one, presenting your quandary in person. In the future you may send letters
rather than yourself. Only the great wizards do I gleefully insist visit me in person, all the
better to see how well they have aged.

What’s this you offer? Ah, a letter, but not from you. Are you nothing more than a messen¬
ger, child? Well hand it here; don’t keep an old toad waiting. Let me slit this thing’s paper
throat and see what’s inside. This is a rich one. Listen and learn, my brave young pilgrim:

Dearest Toad,

Its time for me to collect on one of the many favors you owe me. Im up against a pathetic, coattail-riding,
hackstabbmg parasite of a wizard, and I need you to cough up some ideas on how to make my Backyard
Barbecue deck take his Walk Into This deck. The BBQ uses fast mana, Lightning Bolts, Disintegrates, and
Fireballs—a deadly combination, if I do say so myself—while the all-blue WIT uses fast mana, Psychic
Venoms, Power Sinks, and Black Vises—cowardly defenses all. The problem is that he starts poisoning my
land and countering my spells before my mana pool grows large enough to let my X-spells triumph.

Help me get the jump on him, and Til bring you some of those little butterflies you like so much next time
Im in the area.

—Snark

What a fool this one is, and you twice the fool for bringing me this! This, child, is a petty
wizard trying to pass himself off as one of the Masters. But I’ll go along with his little game,
to show what to expect when you grow the spine to write your own letters. Take a reply:
Dear Snark,

Nou\ now! Surely you don't expect me to feed your curiosity unless I can have you over for dinnerf One
would think you had quite forgotten you manners. Today; then, I shall answer your letter hut Monday I
shall expect you over for Java beans and a nice Chianti—and butterflies.

So, this masked adversary pesters you with an infinitely frustrating deck? How well I know that ap¬
proach! But there are some weaknesses upon which you can prey.

Haste makes waste, friend. Poor thing, you cannot outrace his fast man a, so why not slow him down
instead? Load up with Stone Rains to raze the lands and Shatters to ruin the mana-producing artifacts.
As early in the game as you can, start using the Stone Rains to destroy his land and the Shatters to
destroy any mana. This will cripple his development, and give you the development advantage you seek.

The Shatters will also defang those nasty Black Vises. Destroy the Black Vises whenever he plays them,
and you will suffer comparatively little damage from them.

Why be so contrary, thought Perhaps you should help your opponent bite off more than he can chew by
feeding him mana. A Mana Flare will make his Psychic Venoms cheaper, which will present a problem
to your wretched victim when you play a Power Surge. The Mana Flare will cause each land in the
game to produce two mana whenever tapped rather than one, so your opponent will tap fewer lands
when playing Black Vises and Psychic Venoms. The Power Surge will turn that apparent advantage into
a disadvantage by causing your opponent damage during upkeep for every land not tapped. Together, the
cards will put your opponent in a double-bind. At the same time, your barbecue should produce quite
the burn. Your X-spells will be more powerful, and can easily use up all of the extra mana you produce,
so the Power Surge will hurt your opponent more than you.

Mind your manners, and don't forget to use a Fork when eating this delicate meal. The Fork card
duplicates your spells, effectively doubling the power of all your attacks.

In closing, I find both your decks guilty of the original sin: one color. As soon as the two of you start
playing with Elemental Blasts, your duels will become quite amusing. Your Red Elemental Blasts will
cheaply counter or destroy his spells, but his Blue Elemental Blasts will do the same to you. By playing
with single-color decks, you both leave yourselves wide open to this efficient defense. I suggest you start
using a two-color deck, though you might want to load up with Red Elemental Blasts and play a match
against your opponent first. Wont he be surprised!

Your hungry friend.

Toad

I see you scribble well, young wizard—an admirable trait for one of your profession.
Should you devote such skill to corresponding with me, 1 will guide you away from some
of the graver mistakes of your kin. In time, perhaps, we can train you to take your place
among the other Masters I have had at my supper table.

Send your tactical and strategic questions to:

Ask Toad
P.O. Box 707
Renton, WA
98057-0707

Duelisr
4!
 Duel for Dominia
The duel depicted in this story has a bit of history behind
it. This was the last game in a two-out-of-three duel during
the final round of the tournament held at GemCon 93, the
first officially sanctioned Magic: The Gathering tournament.

© Tom Wanerstrand
The participants were Rick Townsend, playing the part of
Anton in the tale below, and Alex Parrish, known here as
Karshan. And the winner was -well, read on and see.

I know you are still out there somewhere. I can feel your presence.
Though I drove you back to your desolate mountain haven, I know
that you are not yet defeated, not yet ready to yield. Now I alone
stand in your way, the last obstacle on your path of domination.
Though you are powerful, Karshan, you now know that I too am not
without my influences. I can only hope that you have not sensed
my weariness since our last battle; that you also must pause to
regain your magical potence. I am tired. Yet I would give my last
breath before I would stand by and watch you rule over Dominia.

Anton’s eyes shot open, awake. A feeling crept through his body; a
feeling very familiar and very unwanted. A sense that magical
energies were gathering near his domain had invaded the tranquil¬
ity of Anton’s sleep, clinging to his awareness, he rose abruptly
from the thatched cot and crossed the main floor of his cottage to
the door. Me threw it open, nearly ripping it from its hinges as he
heard the first clap of thunder echo down the valley before him. It
was as he had feared; the centermost peak of the Ki-Tirn moun-
la Alex puts a mountain in tainS ,00min§ aboVe him had taken °n an eerie’ red §'OW (la)’ Per"
play. ceivable only by a wizard.

So soon. We shall see if your youthful energies betray you to

foolishness, Karshan.

Anton stepped out into the clearing in front of his home and began
to clear his mind, preparing for the duel. At that moment, a stream
of red light arced down from the top of the glowing mountain,
striking the ground just in front of the Sharnward Swamp at the
base of the Ki-Tirn range. Showers of ghostly sparks rose from
the terminus, slowly taking the shape of a Goblin raiding band
lb. Alex taps a mountain, advancing upon the valley floor (lb). The clanking of their light
and summons Mons’s Goblin
Raiders.
armor was barely audible above the hiss of the rain that had begun
to fall. Anton stretched out with his consciousness, trying to ac¬
cess the magical energies from the nearest section of the Grand
”DueLtsc
42
Plains behind him. A field of faint, white light acknowledged his 2. Rick puts a plains in
play.
contact (2).

The Goblins march broke into a run. The swampland behind them 3a. Alex puls a swamp in
play.
lit up in an almost ultraviolet glow (3a) as they raised the standard
of their master, the Great Crest of Karshan, etched magically into a 3k Alex taps a mountain
banner from ores of Tullor (3b). When the attack came, the Goblins and a swamp, and casts
Orcish Oriflamme.
fighting with extra zeal, knowing that their lord supported them
directly (3c). Anton recoiled; Karshan had drawn first blood. Me 3c. Alex attacks with
Goblins. Score: Alex 20,
immediately drew upon the power of the forest around him (4a) Rick 18.
and the plains behind, tracing a Circle of Protection (4b) to ward
off the Goblins and the other mountain-born creatures that 4a Rick puts a forest in play.

Karshan might bring to his aid. The pattern completed, his mana 4k Rick taps a plains and a
temporarily gone, he waited for his opponent s next move. forest, and casts Circle of
Protection: Red.

Readying for their next attack, Karshan’s Goblins began to move,

then paused suddenly. The ultraviolet glow emanating from the
swamp reached out to meet them, bathing each in an unearthly
light. Anton watched their metamorphosis with horror. Eyes on fire,
tendons tensing, a renewed hatred coursed through them (5a).
They turned to look in Anton s direction, then came alive, attacking Sa. Alex taps a swamp, and
with doubled effect (5b). They were willing to die for their casts Unholy Strength, on
Goblins.
summoner-yet they met with no resistance.
<5k Alex attacks with
Goblins. Score: Alex 20,
What is this? Where are my creatures? If only I had more time to
Rick 14.
rest

Anton responded with a spell of his own. Extending his control

across to the next section of forest, (6a), he joined its greenish 6a Rick puts a forest in
play-
glow with that of the plains, and out shot a bolt of white light, strik¬
ing the Goblins. With a blast of energy, the white spell mingled with 6k Rick taps a plains and a
the ultraviolet, dissolving the fibers of Karshan’s spell (6b). The forest, and casts Disenchant
on the Unholy Strength.
Goblins newfound strength waned. The ultraviolet light was now
gone. Anton waited, not using the energy from the last parcel of
forest available to him. Me knew that he would need it to activate
the protective Circle.

The red glow extended to the next mountain peak (7a). Anton 7a. Alex puts a mountain
in play.
wiped the rain from his brow, anticipating the Goblins’ next assault,
waiting with mana in reserve.

The rain-something wrong with the rain. It doesn’t have the right
scent, the right-color! Move!

lust as Anton bolted from his position, the heavy drops of rain
began to alter. First forming small pebbles, then growing to nearly
the size of large fists, they pelted the trees, the ground, his home
(7b). The stones fell for only a few moments, but they destroyed all 7k Alex taps both a moun¬
tains and a swamp, and casts
that they struck. The land where Anton had made his home was Stone Rain on Rick s
gone, as was the power it would have produced. Anton’s heart untapped forest.

TXicltsr
43
 7c. Alex at
attacks
lucks with Goblins. ached with the loss, which made the sting of the Goblins’ next
Score: Alex 20, Rick,
Rick 12.
attack all the worse (7c). All that he could do for the moment was to
8. Rick puts a plains in reach out toward more vital lands (8), and hope that the tables
play. would soon turn.

Mow many more tricks do you hold, Karshan? Mow much longer
can you keep this up? You may think that 1 am beaten,. But 1 still
hold some secrets of which even you are unaware.

9a. Alex puts a swamp in The swamp’s area of radiance doubled (9a), casting a ghastly aura
play. of dark violet light against the base of the Ki-Tirn.

It’s almost beautiful, Karshan.

9b. Alex taps both a Anton chuckled to himself. The chuckle turned into a choke as he
mountains and both a
swamps, and summons
saw a huge figure appearing through the haze of the rain, a great
Juggernaut construct of stone and wood rising from the valley, making its way
directly for him (9b). The Juggernaut would be here soon, but for
9c. Alex attacks with
Goblins. the moment he would must tend to the ever-present harassment
of the Goblins (9c). With a thought, he transferred the mana from
9d. Rick taps plains into one parcel of plains into his Circle of Protection (9d). The Goblins’
Circle of Protection: Red,
and take! no damage. fell short, halted in their tracks by the mystical powers of the
Circle.

10a. Rick puts a forest in With the Goblins cowed for the moment, Anton saw his chance.
play. Reaching out to the next section of forest (10a), he dredged up all
10b, Rick taps both forests of his energies. Tapping deeply into his subconscious, he called out
and both plains, and to the creatures of the forest. Mis answer came, materializing
summons Giant Spider.
before him in the form of a colossal Spider (10b), its legs the size
of tree trunks; it could knock the birds from the air if it wished.

1 must have more time. The Spider may hold off Karshan’s Jug¬
gernaut for a while, but even it will fall to the machine’s power soon.
If only 1 can hold on just a little longer

Somewhere through the storm, a light buzzing noise had begun. It

reached Anton’s ears, slowly gaining volume, becoming more
recognizable. Me strained against the sound of the falling rain,
trying to identify the sound. Voices! Voices that were not quite
lla. Alex taps a swamp, human, yet not of the animal world. They rose in a dischordant
and easts Dark Ritual choir, chanting, vibrating, seeming to warp the bounds of reality, so
llb. Alex taps a mountain that the violet glow of the swamp intensified threefold (11a). A
to cast Bisintigrate on
streak of red light, razor thin and sharp, slashed out from the
Giant Spider, and taps a
swamp, plus uses mama mountaintop, targeting the great arachnid with pinpoint accuracy
from the Dark Ritual, for (lib). For just a second, Anton thought he heard the thing scream,
four points of damage to
the Spider, killing it but the beast was replaced by a thin cloud of fine dust quickly
dispersed by the rainfall. The Juggernaut and the Goblins were then
llc. Alex attacks with upon him (11c), the magical banner still inspiring them.
Goblins and Juggernaut
Score: Alex 20, Rick 4,
1 must not lose consciousness

TXieUsc —
44
Anton let loose a desperate call for help, releasing mana from the
forest. Coming to his aid were the Scryb Sprites (12), normally the 12 Rick taps a forest, and
summons Scribe Sprites,
pranksters of the woods, yet often its protectors. The Sprites
knew the gravity of their position; they must stop the great lugger-
naut or allow Dominia to fall into the hands of Karshan. They were
prepared to die for Anton, and for the land. They flew between
Anton and his enemies and waited for the attack.

Karshan’s army advanced, slowly this time. The Goblins bore

wicked grins painted across their faces as if they carried some
terrible secret hidden behind their grisly visages. The Juggernaut,
unrelenting in its attack, seemed aware of its own unstoppable
nature. Anton waited, sensing the fate of Dominia slipping from his
control. The Sprites were all he had left.

The Goblins’ horrible secret made itself known. Anton could do

nothing as he watched a field of shimmering, flashing energy en¬ 13a, Alex taps a swamp
gulf the Sprites, filling them with a fatal fear (13a). Their screams of and a mountain, and casts
Terror on Scribe Sprites,
terror were the last thing Anton heard before the legions of
Karshan descended upon him (13b) and the mighty wizard fell.
13b, Alex attacks with
Goblins and Juggernaut
You have defeated me, Karshan. But know this; my spirit lives still. Score: Alex 20, Rick 0,
I will return one day to reclaim that which is mine. In the meantime,
others will come to take from you what you have usurped, and one
day another will be stronger than you. Power has its price, and I
have measured yours. So live looking over your shoulder,
Karshan. I will be back.

From all of us at Wizards of the Coast and the Duelists’

Convocation, congratulations to Alex Parrish, the 1993
GenCon Magic tournament champion, and to all of the
players in that first, historic tournament.

“Steve Bishop
TDtieLtsr
45
Convocation
Upcoming Conventions

There are numerous conventions in the next

few months that will be holding officially
Tournament Coordinators Needed sanctioned Magic tournaments. The asterisks
indicate conventions at which I won’t be
Things are going well for the Duelists’ Convo¬ present, but Duelists’ Convocation Tourna¬
cation. The response and enthusiasm has been ment Coordinators will.
nothing short of amazing. A bit shocking,
considering it’s associated with Ma^ic The
Gathering. Currently, we’re working very hard Ghengis Con
to build up the tournament circuit on a Denver Colorado
national level, and I’ve been talking to quite a February 18-20
few people across the country that are inter¬
ested in becoming Duelists’ Convocation RadCon
Tournament Coordinators. The Coordinators Richland, Washington
are essential to national tournament play:
February 25-27
these are the people that arrange and run the
tournaments for you in your local area. Of
OrcCon
course, there are benefits associated with being
Los Angeles, California
a Coordinator, as well as a certain amount of
February 18-21
prestige in Magic circles. If you are interested
in becoming the Tournament Coordinator for
*Simcon
your area, write to me at Wizards of the Coast.
Rochester, New York
There aren’t a lot of time constraints, and it’s a
March 24-27
lot of fun.

The Duelists’ Forum *TwisterCon

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Duelists’ Convocation members should be March 25-27
excited to learn that they will soon be receiv¬
ing two Deckmaster publications rather than Norwescon 17
one. Since The Duelist is becoming a quarterly SeaTac, Washington
magazine, we thought we should circulate a March 31-April 3
monthly newsletter to keep members in¬
formed of current Convocation events. Like
The Duelist, the newsletter will offer gaming We will add to this list in future issues, and
and collecting information, tournament hopefully this list will continue to get longer
results, and Magic news of all kinds. This and longer as more Tournament Coordina¬
publication, tentatively called The Duelists tors get signed up. Hope to see you at a
Forum, is only available to members of the tournament soon!
Duelists’ Convocation. So look for the first
issue of The Duelists’ Forum in March, and the —Steve Bishop
next issue of The Duelist in April. Director
"Ductile Duelists’ Convocation
46
The Collectors Corner
and The Classifieds
These regular features of the The Duelist give isn’t going to mind being contacted. Remember,
readers the chance to exchange trading and this is not a personals section; we can’t print an¬
gaming information with other Magic enthusi¬ nouncements like “Serra Angel seeks Veteran
asts. Hunting for that last elusive card to fill out Bodyguard for some Island Enchantment,” so don’t
your Magic set? Have a few too many Shivan send them. Here is our first announcement, a good
Dragons in your deck? Send a note to example of what to send:
The Collector’s Corner, a section for readers
wanting to buy, sell, or trade Magic or other Limited edition Magic: The Gathering cards for trade.
Cards wanted: Balance, Blaze of Glory, Chaos Orb,
collectable trading card game items. The
Cockatrice, Island Sancturary, and Purelace. Contact
Collector’s Corner will also contains tips on Howard Dawson, 938 Hampton Rd, Grosse Pointe
acquiring and appraising the latest Deckmaster Woods, MI 48236. (313) 885-0705.
releases. The Classifieds offer you the opportu¬
nity to announce Magic events in your area, If you submit an announcement for a month in
including local conventions, trading sessions, which The Duelist is not published, we will include
informal tournaments, league play, and artists’ it in the closest preceding issue. (We apologize to
signings. It is also an opportunity to contact those people who submitted announcements for
other Magic players in your area, organize gaming events prior to the release of the first issue.) We will
groups, and publicize the activities of local also include your announcement in the closest issue
chapters of The Duelists’ Convocation. of The Duelists’ Forum, the monthly Duelists’
Convocation newsletter. If you are interested in
Announcements should be short, no more than receiving this newsletter, as well as a yearly sub¬
forty words long, and should include specific and scription to The Duelist, we encourage you to
accurate information about the trade or event. become a member of the Duelists’ Convocation,
You should also provide the street address and the the official Deckmaster players' organization. A
phone number or e-mail address of someone who membership application is provided below.

Duelists’ Convocation™ Membership

Annual Membership Fee : $15 US
or money order payable to Wizards of the Coast

Name: Date of Birth:

Address: Phone:

Your Signature Parent/Guardian Signature (if you are under eighteen years of age)

Date filed: Membership #:

Received by: Payment method:

photocopy of this form to: Wizards of the Coast P.O. Box 707 Renton WA 98057
 iff l Kfip-lf! ?l
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Managing Editor: Art Direction:

Lisa Stevens Jesper Myrfors

Associate Editor: Design:

Kathryn Haines Kathryn Haines, Jesper Myrfors,
and Tom Wanerstrand
Additional editing by:
Beverly Marshall-Saling Cover art:
and Victor K. Wertz Anson Maddocks

With Logos by:

Jesper Myrfors and Christopher Rush

And illustrations by:

Kristin Bishop, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Anson Maddocks, Jesper Myrfors,
Mark Poole, Christopher Rush, Audi Rusu,Tom Wanerstrand, and Amy Weber

Production notes:
The Duelist was created on a Macintosh Centris 650 using Aldus Pagemaker 5.0,
Adobe Photoshop 2.5, HSC Software’s Kai’s Power Tools 2.0, and Aldus il
Freehand 3.1. Films were generated by CMYK Digital PrePress, Seattle Image
Setting, and Wizywig in Seattle, Washington. The magazine was printed by
Moebius Printing Service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Debits and Credits

This magazine would not have been possible without the contributions of countless i
people. Our thanks to Richard Gaifield and Anson Maddocks for being so generous
with their talent and their time; Sandra Everingham, Christopher Rush, Tom
Wanerstrand, and Amy Weber for suffering through long hours and short deadlines;
Karen, SandfPaul, Todd, Michael, Perry, Dave, and everyone else at CMYKfor
continually thwarting impossibility; Darlene Miller, Dave Carlson, and Dave Haas for
their professionalism and infinite patience; Dave Howell for all his answers to all our
questions (now we understand, Dave!); Victor K. Wertz and Lisa Stevens for their
unfailing commitment to a quality magazine; Peter and Cathy Adkison for their
kindness and encouragement; Tom Des Brisay and John Jordan for chivalry and
sanity; Michelle Brazier and Kristin Bishop for living The Duelist with us; Lars and
Anita Myrfors for good food and good cheer; Daniel Gelon for showing up at the last
minute; Joanne White for her constant commiseration; Faurefor his Requiem; the
WotC stafffor surviving the siege; the authors, artists, and playtesters who have make
a Deckmaster magazine worth doing; and eveiyone who believed in Magic. Finally, we
would like to thank the flu, for proving that things can always get worse.

A
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—I——...-.I...

An Art Gallery
Celebrating Fantasy & Science Fiction

When WIZARDS opened its doors in Inly 1993, we had no idea what the summer
had in store. Since our move to Seattle in 1987, we had dreamed of starting a
gallery catering to fantasy art collectors. Roleplayers and avid science fiction
fans ourselves, we wanted to encourage what we feel is a fascinating and often
overlooked genre. We never expected that, only a few months after we got going,
we would be approached by Wizards of the Coast, the creators of the most
popular fantasy game of the year, and asked to display Magic: The Gathering art.

Since then, we have been overwhelmed with calls and e-mail from gamers and
collectors looking for the originals of their favorite card art. The gallery curently
displays over 140 pieces by these Magic artists:

Rob Alexander Jeff Menges

lulie Baroh Jesper Myrfors
Kev Brockschmidt Mark Poole
Melissa Benson Christopher Rush
Cornelius Brudi Andi Rusu
Sandra Everingham Brian Snoddy
Phil Foglio R.on Spencer
Kaja Foglio Mark Tedin
Dan Frazier Richard Thomas
Daniel Gelon Drew Tucker
Quinton Hoover Tom Wanerstrand
Nichola Leonard Dameon Willich
Anson Maddocks Susan Van Camp

The gallery is located at 117 Main Street in Kirkland, Washington. If you are
interested in viewing or finding our more about Magic: The Gathering or the
other fine fantasy and science fiction pieces we carry, we invite you to stop by!

Marcus Rieck
WIZARDS Gallery

117 Main St. Kirkland, WA 98033 Phone: (206) 828-0237 CompuServe ID: 72172, 2227
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Coming Next Issue

A look at three new Deckmaster™ releases . ''
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Over eighty artifacts and spells from Dominia's past

Plus, a look at Magic: The Gathering-The Revised Edition, a

history of the five colors of Magic, stories from The Gatherings
playtesting days, the musings of Richard Garfield, and more.

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