Magic the Gathering and the Younger Generation

            Magic the Gathering is a collectible card and trading card game created by Wizards of the Coast that involves a lot of strategy.  You use lands as mana to summon creatures and cast spells.  When this game came out in the early 1990’s, the game was created for teens and adults.  My uncle taught me the game in 1995, and most of the players I saw were adults.  The rules were complex for kids to understand, but that has changed.

            Today, kids are more interested in the game, and that's because the rules are simpler, and there are cards that show the game is less interesting to play.  In the 1990’s, there was the ability, banding.  This ability was too confusing for kids, and even some adults did not grasp the rulings on banding.  Wizards of the Coast condensed words together on cards to show kids the game is easy to understand.  For example, the older cards from the 90’s would say “put this card into play,” and now the cards say, “put it into the battlefield.”  Kids seem to understand this concept better.  In the 1990’s, kids would get beat by experienced players, and would have a tough time enjoying the game because they are losing all the time.

            Today, cards have become too powerful, where kids are beating the experienced players.  Simpler rules and powerful cards have driven players like me to enjoy the game.  I used to go to tournaments, but now there are cocky players and kids who are beating me all the time.  The game is supposed to be fun, and it’s not when these overpowered cards help the younger generation beat good players.  I know this means the good players have to use those cards to get better, but Wizards did not need to keep making overpowered cards to help the younger generation.  Magic is a strategy game, and kids could learn better if people taught them properly without these overpowered cards and simpler rules, which is not happening.