Read on Twitter
Today I want to share my personal experience with #MagicTheGathering . How everything began, what meant to me and now that I'm back playing, what I'm looking forward to. Everything began when I was around 12. I was bullied at school for being different and needed an escape...
It was 1995. I had a very small group of friends and I didn't want anyone to notice me or anything I did because that could mean more bullying. That was the state of my mind at that time and obviously wasn't easy. But still, I tried to enjoy myself and my small group of friends.
One day, one of my friends talked to me about a card game called Magic and that we should buy a deck to play with. Tbh, was sceptical because I didn't know wtf he was talking about and being 12 you don't have 20$/€ to spend in a game you don't know. However, we saved some...
money and bought a couple of starter decks. The 4th edition just came out and where I lived, nobody was playing or knew about Magic. At first, we tried to "play" buy honestly we didn't know what we were doing. The starter decks came with a tiny manual with a lot of text...
and I mean, a lot! We had to stop "playing", read the manual and try to understand the game. After a day or two, we were ready to play properly and we both began to acquire a style and preferred colours/types of decks very quickly. I instantly fell in love with some cards...
Control Magic was my favourite and without knowing, I was a control player playing a BU deck. My friend, on the other hand, went for a WB Serra Angel and Knights deck. We had a lot of fun playing sitting on the floor anywhere. Spanish weather helped as we mainly played outside 
When other kids saw us playing so immersed they usually laugh at us, called us names and for me, there was always this word: f****t. It always hurt but somehow, since we started playing I was feeling better, even more confident. Very soon we met more players, more new friends...
Some of those were also outsiders, people who felt in some way different from the rest and the game bring us together. One thing I noticed though is that I didn't meet a single girl playing the game at that time, at least not in my town. That was weird to me because I got along..
with them so much better than with boys but I mean... I instantly knew that it was a boys game at that time and that made me uncomfortable. Sometime later, Mirage came out and at that moment the game was very popular, almost everyone in my class knew or was playing. That meant..
some of the people bullying me were playing too. That was rough because I felt like they were taking from me the only thing that allowed me to escape. Also, some of my friends stopped playing and that's when everything went downhill for me (magic-wise)...
At some point, I stopped playing too. I didn't have people to play with, at least kind people... so, sold the good cards except for those I was attached to and moved on. Thankfully, life treated me better after all the bullying and stuff. Met new friends, had new experiences ...
and was starting to enjoy life as I deserved. However, I kept some of my Magic cards just in case because I knew that at some point in life I would play again. Many years later, this bloody pandemic came and I came across a @covertgoblue youtube video of #MTGArena
My small business was practically shut down because of the pandemic so I found myself with some time to fill with something and I downloaded Arena. Tbh I was truly shocked seeing how the game has evolved from 4th edition times. One of my first games after the tutorial was against
a mono red deck, and that was the moment I experienced how being embercleaved feels like. Then, the following game the opp began to steal all of my stuff with Agent of Treachery/Thassa. I mean... I was like, wtf is going on here! So, game by game, loss after loss and some wins..
I was starting to get some good cards, crafting others and finally brewing some ok decks. But again, I found myself going for blue and white or black and always end up with some sort of control deck. Mass Manipulation reminded me of what Control Magic was like and I was excited.
It's funny because the other day I was watching @h0lydiva and she was talking about why control players are more introvert while agro ones are extrovert and outgoing. Was shocked at the moment because I don't feel like I'm like that now but she's not talking nonsense here...
When I was bullied, did I want to have control over the game because I couldn't control what others were doing to me? Maybe! And now, because I don't feel that need I play different types of decks and don't rely on control all the time? Maybe! But still, control is a big part...
of how I remember and how I like to play Magic. Maybe will always be. Other things that I discovered now that I'm playing again is that there are people playing who might have experienced something like what I did or even more difficult things. The most exciting thing is that ...
some of those people are playing professionally and doing extremely well. Just watching how well @AutumnLilyMTG and @Em_TeeGee did last weekend made me so happy. It was a joy to watch... wow this thread is getting out of "control" (no pun intended!). Just to end, this is what I..
want to see... I want more weirdos, freaks, outsiders and geeks playing and doing well. I'm all of the above and obviously PROUD to be. But I do want to see more. Because when you do... Girl, it feels soooo RIGHT! xx https://twitter.com/i/status/1315424357607518210
