Was “Old Magic” a Better Magic?
Magic was published August 5, 1993, and it’s the best and most complex trading card game of all time considering its lore, artwork, gameplay, competitive circuit, and more.
It evolved greatly during the 30 years it’s been around. We can sort that history by dividing it into ages:
- Golden age: Alpha-Fallen Empires (1993-1994)
- Pre-Modern age: Fourth Edition, Scourge (1995-2003)
- Modern age: Eighth Edition, Journey into Nyx (2003-2014)
- Contemporary age: M15, Magic Arena (2015-2019)
- E-sport age: Throne of Eldraine (2019-present)
I made this temporal separation based on the look of the card frame, but it also reflects the different speed of the gameplay and major rules changes. I also believe that with the release of Magic Arena, it was crucial to bring more attention to online tournaments, which gained greater attention during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Which was the better Magic?
They all have their strengths. I played a lot of formats, including Frontier, Innistrad Block, Pauper Cube, Old School, and each format has its own beauty.
Everybody has their own vision of Magic—the way they believe the game should be played. The Magic that best fits your vision is the Magic that’s best for you. It can be a format where your pet deck performs better or that has your favorite gameplay, power level, and speed.
This vision is also connected to our memories of certain cards and games.
The Golden Age
The golden age has lots of iconic cards, artwork, and history that represent the game. The gameplay was more random and slower than nowadays, the power lever on some cards was crazy, and the rules were unclear and cumbersome, but they were meant to be that way so it was easier to break the game with nonsense combos.
The Pre-Modern Age
The premodern age is where the game built its foundations, the archetypes of gameplay found their identity, and the professional circuit developed. I had a chance to play the premodern format, and I enjoyed games with Psychatog and Decree of Justice. The power level was lower, but games were a lot more challenging and skill-based beside meta informations.
The Modern Age
The modern age is where the game that we play today was created—planeswalkers in Lorwyn, no more mana burn and damage in stack with the release of m10, smooth gameplay, and simple rules. The Modern format was introduced, the Extended format ended, and MTGO gained more attention.
This is also the age my favorite deck, Modern Jund, was invented. I worked an entire summer to get three Future Sight Tarmogoyf that cost 330 euros and finally play the deck that I envied watching in feature matches. Turn one Thoughtseize into Tarmogoyf into Liliana of the Veil will forever be the best for me, as well as playing challenging games against UWR Control, Aaffinity, Pod or Twin at my LGS.
The Contemporary Age
In the contemporary age the game focused on low-converted mana cost and efficient spells. The metagame kept getting faster with the card power level growing stronger. Commander became the most popular format. Reserved lists prices started growing, along with the game’s popularity, which reached its peak in the pandemic years.
With the release of Magic Arena, the aesthetics and collectability were implemented and different frame versions of the same card besides just foil were created: extended art, etched foil, and alternate art.
Due to the pandemic, professional play was moved online with changes to the metagame to make it work better virtually. The game rules also became simpler and user-friendly to match Magic Arena gameplay.
In the last few years the Limited format evolved and implemented all expansion cards to fit an archetype in draft, removed cards like Grizzly Bears, and created a proper metagame. This produced a better draft experience, which is one of the more challenging and beautiful ways to play Magic.
The most important feature of Magic is, with every game different from the previous one, that it always gives players something new.
So was old Magic a better Magic?
No, it was just different. Old Magic was harder to play and less user-friendly. Nowadays, Magic is faster and easier to play.
Does this make new Magic better? No, it makes it a different game.
The better Magic for everyone is the Magic that better reflects their personal vision of the game, from the format to the deck they play.
Arrivederci!
Biagio Ruocco
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