Back in high school, you either played Yu-Gi-Oh! or Magic: The Gathering. There was no in between...mostly because the fans polarized to different rooms on opposite ends of the campus. At the time, I threw my hat in with Yu-Gi-Oh! and I was very, very happy with my decision. It had a cheesy TV show to go along with it, and the trap cards were fun to use every single time. It just never got old.
One day, my friend invited me to the school's Games Club: an after school thing where a Gamecube was usually set up, a game of D&D was going, and everyone else played Magic. It was sort of like getting invited to defect, only without all the hyperbole. My friend even paid my $5-10 signup fee, so I went and checked it out.
Of course, beyond the signup fee, the price of admission was also a Magic: The Gathering starter deck. I can't remember what it was composed of, or what I had even bought. I don't even remember buying it, but I did use it several times. And honestly, I don't remember liking it. In fact, I think I was back with the Yu-Gi-Oh! gang by the end of the month. What I do remember is why I didn't particularly care for it: I just couldn't get my mind around the lore. It just didn't make sense.
The key to a successful card game is to have a world built around it, almost like the worldbuilding you have to do for a fantasy story. It makes players feel closer to the game. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am, the lore for Magic was limited to the little descriptions on the cards. It just didn't do it for me. Maybe there was some auxiliary leaflets or books sitting around somewhere, but I never saw them.
It seems that's changed dramatically. The lore is now a ready part of the game, to the point where I'm actually starting to pick up on it from my friends, and I don't even play. For the most part, though, I'm still in the dark. But I am willing to change that; this is a Wizards of the Coast property, which means that I'll probably get into it, just like I have with a lot of their other products. And on October 5th, they're giving me the perfect opportunity.
Test of Metal: A Planeswalker Novel by Matthew Stover will be released next week, and I am all for giving this property a shot. I can't even...speculate on what this book will be about, since I know that little about it. My friend immediately told me "OMG, this is gonna be about Tezzerat! Neat!" to which I responded with, "Oh...kay." I have no idea what this is going to be about, but Matthew Stover's writing it, so I'll give it a shot. A fair shot.
The God of War adaptation left a bad taste in my mouth that still yet lingers, but I still have faith. Stover has shown that he can pull off an amazing story in a universe that he hasn't written for before. Traitor was book 13 in a 19 book series. They threw him in the middle of it with a book that had to reference twelve other books and set the stage for seven more. He's more than capable, and the Magic Universe seems like it's right up his alley. Additionally, he won't have to deal with a co-author or Sony.
So, we'll see. I'm keeping an open mind, but we'll see.
Test of Metal: A Planeswalker Novel
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