Magic: The Gathering Tenth Edition

And now for something completely different.

When I was back in college (which feels like a million years ago now), the card game "Magic: The Gathering" was very popular among my friends. Looking back, it's pretty easy to see why: the cost to start was pretty low, the game was fairly easy to get into, and the fantasy art on the cards was really pretty. The basic goal of the game was to defeat your opponent using various spells/card combinations.

I graduated and got into online games; my friend Maury graduated and (eventually) went to work for the people who make the Magic: The Gathering games. He contacted me recently, and asked if he could plug the tenth edition of Magic in the Gamesville blog. Since I have a soft spot for the game, and I know at least a few of you miss our own stab at the genre METAROK, I told him he could drop by and say a few words. With that, take it away Maury…

Hi, everyone. Maury here. I'm not sure how much you all know about Magic's tenth edition so I'll try to be quick and informative.

Magic: The Gathering® Trading Card Game's Tenth Edition is the "greatest hits" of Magic™, featuring some of the best and most popular cards of all time. As with each core set, Tenth Edition is an excellent entry point for imaginative strategy gamers who want to give Magic a try, while offering the classic cards and depth of strategy that long-time players have come to expect. Fans will also be excited to see that every card in the set is black bordered — a first for a core set since Beta's release in 1993. With powerful cycles, incredible combo cards, and a few surprise reprints, Tenth Edition is the most exciting core set since Alpha.

Product Features

• The set contains 383 cards (121 rare, 121 uncommon, 121 common, 20 basic lands
• All cards are black bordered
• Legendary creatures are included for the first time in a core set
• The set will debut Tips and Tricks cards, a 16th card in booster packs which will feature gameplay rules, card combos, organized play information and even creature tokens
• Several aspects of 10th Edition were selected by players voting on magicthegathering.com including cards, art, flavor text and the expansion symbol
• Old favorites such as Incinerate, Lord of the Pit and Howling Mine will feature incredible new artwork from some of the best fantasy artists in the business
• Many other cards, such as Glorious Anthem, will also include updated flavor text
• The redesigned Two Player Starter featuring Tenth Edition booster packs was designed to introduce new players to Magic: The Gathering and includes previews of land cards from the upcoming Lorwyn set which releases in October

Worldwide Magic Game Day

Along side the release of Magic: The Gathering's 10th Edition Core Set, Wizards of the Coast invites Magic players to participate in Worldwide Magic Game Day on July 14; a celebration of Magic: The Gathering for its fans, both old and new.

Magic Game Day will have something for everyone, including learn to play demos, league play, tournaments, contests, prizes and promo cards for those in attendance. Bring a friend and come hang out with other Magic fans to be among the first to play Magic: The Gathering Tenth Edition.

More than 1,000 hobby shops across the country will be participating in the celebration. Check out where Magic Game Day will be celebrated in your area at: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/events/07gameday-na

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Developer: Wizards of the Coast
Format: Trading Card Strategy Game Price: Theme Decks: $8.99; Booster Pack: $3.99 Release Date: July 13, 2007
Release Event: Magic Game Day celebrated at local retail stores and hobby shops July 14

That's it. Thanks for your time. I hope you check it out. Back to you, Chris.

Thanks, Maury. Best of luck with the tenth edition. I can't wait to check it out.

Coming up tomorrow: A parrot eating an ice cream cone!