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Complexity and depth are terms that game designers seem to throw around quite a bit. At first glance, the words seem to be interchangeable but within the context of game design they are far from it. A complex game is one which has a lot of rules and factors to consider in order to make "correct" decisions. A game with depth on the other hand offers several "correct" choices to the player. Take the game of Monopoly as an example. One look at the game board and you can hardly think of a better adjective than "complex". But while it may have complex rules, several moving parts and a "community chest" - the game is ultimately a shallow experience. Every move you make, every decision is in some way dictated by a six sided die. There are only right moves and wrong moves. Monopoly, like checkers and tic-tac-toe can be effectively "solved" by a computer or calculator. Magic is far deeper than Monopoly. Magic cannot be "solved."
That's what's so great about this game. It is what you want it to be. The fact that you are creating your own deck gives you the freedom to play your game. If you love the control and cadence of blue, that can be your weapon of choice. If you love the natural feel and weight of mega-creatures, try your hand at green. A little of both? There's a solution for that too! It's a smorgasbord of opportunity and sheer, unmatched depth.
I suppose that's why many of us get so personally offended by broken cards or decks that dominate the standard landscape for years on end. When one deck is clearly better than all others we are left with only one or two "correct choices". Without a healthy number of these choices the game becomes more shallow. That is the challenge for the R & D team at Wizards of the Coast. To create cards and sets that offer something new but also keep as many "valid choices" floating around the format as possible. To lose those choices is to lose what makes Magic great.
So to answer the original question: Why do you play Magic? Of course nostalgia, childhood memories and my kithkin fetish come in to play.. But the real reason I play Magic over any of the countless other games out there is because it's depth and breadth are unmatched by anything else I have ever encountered as a lifelong gamer. One day I could be summoning Marit Lage with my vampire army and the next I could be milling your Jund Aggro deck with a Zendikar-ian crab. So long as magic continues to offer an infinite amount of depth and possibility, I'm willing to dedicate an infinite amount of time and energy to this game. If that's not love, I don't know what is.
Reinhart is the webmaster and co-founder of GatheringMagic.com
His spark was triggered 10 years ago, he has been planeswalking off and on since that time.
He currently resides in Seattle, WA with his fiance and two (non-magical) cats.
Special thanks to kyoryu and his article on Game Design and Complexity Vs Depth
