At least you never have to play 60-card Pickup

Some things never change.

Unfortunately, I sometimes have a hard time remembering that lesson.

Take, for example, the collectible card game, Magic: The Gathering. Back in the early 90s Wizards of the Coast had everyone from elementary school kids to college kids (myself included) hooked on this relatively simple card game in which you try to beat your opponent by knocking down his life (i.e. hit points) from 20 to zero, through "direct damage" spells (i.e. fireball up the ass) or creature attacks.

There are different "colors" of magic to suit your tastes: White for protection and chivalry; Green for nature magic and loads of creatures; Red for goblin hordes and fiery blasts of pain; Black for swamplands, undead and other evil stuff; and Blue for water magic and counter-spells.

You build your deck with 60 (or more) cards of whatever color you want, with the lands to provide mana (magical energy) to back them up. Some of the best decks revolve around a certain theme, such as the "denial deck" that prevents your opponent from doing anything.

Now, the coolest and most powerful cards come in different "rarities". For example, in a booster pack I believe you would find something like 10 common cards, 4 uncommon cards, and 1 rare card.

The idea was that you could trade cards you didn't want or need with someone who wanted those cards.

The game itself is loads of fun, and the concept works, until...

Enter: Mr. Suitcase. He is so named because he brings with him an entire suitcase full of Magic cards that he has purchased by spending every last dime buying up all the cards that have ever been printed, while simultaneously appeasing his girlfriend by "giving" her cards he doesn't need so she can learn how to play herself.

Obviously, if you're just Joe Shmoe who wants to have a few laughs by scrounging and saving every week so you can get together $8 for that Wrath of God spell you so desperately need (my favorite card, by the way), Mr. Suitcase is going to mop the floor with you!

This philosophy allowed Wizards of the Coast to amass a small fortune and buy out TSR, publisher of the Game Wizard's beloved Dungeons and Dragons.

They've hit the jackpot again with the new online version of their game. I was very skeptical at first, but after playing the demo I found myself hooked again.

So, I reasoned that if I spent a few bucks and cobbled together a meager deck, I could still have fun while later on spending a bit more money as I could.

Here's the problem:  $9.99 buys you a "starter pack" that, according to advertisement, is "fully playable out of the [virtual] box." But, when you start to compile your first deck, you realize that the starter pack has only 40 cards, but in able to participate in any of the online games, you need at least 60 cards!!

Well, long story short, I shelled out $25 in the end and still had to trade away some choice cards (that I didn't need, at least) to get together a decent deck.

Now, you're probably wondering why I'm spending so much time gabbing about the prices. What about the game? Is it even any fun?

Well, yes and no. The most fun I've had so far is in the "two-headed giant" game, in which you compete with a partner against two other players. Your chances for survival increase greatly in this game, and you can actually formulate strategies with your buddies.

Sometimes in the one-on-one games you'll run into -- You guessed it! -- Mr. Suitcase, or other variations on this lovely personality, that make the game a smidgeon less fun.

My advise is, if you're even interested by this premise, download the demo and play one of the Theme Decks for awhile to see if you're having any fun. If you are, then keep playing the Demo and just switch decks every so often. Don't spend you're hard-earned (or stolen) money on the full version ($9.99 to start with a fully-unplayable deck!) unless you're really willing to make a serious investment of time and money.