Thursday, June 9, 2011

When the game was real

Editor’s note(alright fine this is still Dave): Right now I am quite frustrated with WOTC and I know a lot of you are out there as well but I felt like I should still write about the current times in magic, and how one day we will all look back.

It was a cold dreary day in smoggy New York. The pollution nearly clouded the skies and the sun was a mere memory. However, this time period was not filled with sorrow for many, rather there was joy to be had. A young lad was meeting his Grandpa for lunch at a cheap Galilean Moon take out spot. The boy had just as his ancestor’s did many years ago learned the great skill of tapping cards and slinging spells, just like grandpa years ago.

“GRANDPA!” – The boy shrieked.

“Hey kids”-the old wrinkled man muttered. “How is my lil guy doing?”

“Good, good. Dad told me I could look through your old stuff. I can’t believe this one only has four abilities

Out came familiar picture of young hooded man, he was gazing right into the the old man's eyes. The memories of the past battles surfaced, each one more painful than the last.

“You remember this one gramps?”

“Aye, I do, he kicked my butt more times than the Scandinavians did back in WWIII. Still I long for those days.”

A puzzled look came across the young man’s face, “But why pops?”

The old man reached into his pocket and grabbed two cards and set in on the table. A jolly green giant and a small, silly goblin that let the other player draw cards were placed on the table.

“I used to face that man over and over again with these guys. A few times I got there, most of the time I fell short, real short. Although I think I won more then I let on. ”

“How do you miss him then?”

“It brings me back to the old days, life was hard back then, Americanada didn’t have the jobs it has now, my life was uncertain back then, in many ways I had the game as an outlet for the challenges I sought in my time. Reminds me of my youth, he reminds me of what stood in my way.”

“What was that?”

Money, control, and uniformity. In my twenties, a lot of those issues were brought up; I had to overcome them at some point. I remember Jace’s old buddy, she was a fair woman, who was anything but fair. Still I miss that pair ”

“You really thought about this in a card game when you were 24? Dad was right, you were a nerd”

“Son, we all have revisionist history about our lives. Looking at him now reminds me of all of those faces back then. You know old man Greene wasn’t always a Cyborg?”

“Strange, but if it was your enemy, than how can you miss it?”

“Ah life is about the journey, and rivalries were real to me back then. Your dad ever tell you about my love of football?”

“The game of light sabers and nun-chucks?”

“This was before they allowed lethal weapons. I remember my team constantly losing to this number 12 character, I forget his name now, but I still remember cheering every time we hit him and messing up his perfect hair.”

“You miss him too?”

“Of course I do, don’t you kids listen these days? Fantasies and dreams were real back then, Jace stood in my way, the New Zealand Patriots were the enemy, I hoped and prayed that I’d get there ahead of them. They made those things as special as the things I loved.”

“Well what happened?”

“I got old son, little by litte, it began phazing out. Sure I sat down and played on the side, but the rush wasn’t there, the imagination that I had couldn’t last. It came time that it wasn’t my time around anymore, I was the old guy, and the new crowd stepped and it was there game. Later, I got a good job, and other responsibilities I put ahead of magic. The fire died down, but my love of the game was still there. Life becomes real as time goes on, but you sure do miss the dreams. I’d play some more in the future but I was mostly happy to be there rather than be there to win.”

“What about this guy? He seems to lack something”

A red background and a green face jumped out. The eyes and grin that could bring even the most crotchety of old men to smile.

“I miss the days when nothing would misstep in front of him, still I miss him being summoned and all of those disconcerting faces when he crept foreword.” The old man reminisced.

“He was your favorite?”

“Aye, but in weird way all of magic was my favorite. One deck formats, greed, bad luck, mullagining down to four, and losing to a bomb rare. Sure they were problems with the game but you can’t help but laugh at all of those things now.”

“Any good stories?”

“Well mullagining down to four isn’t always bad…”

With some luck the poor kid was spared from the old man’s boring stories about some lil bear, dressing up in muppet gear, and how many people didn't know how the jolly green giant worked. The zero g chili arrived. Eating outweighed even the most important of life's lessons. The old man smiled, as he thought of all of those faces back in the universe that lived between 2nd and the 4th….

No comments:

Post a Comment