So, the guys at my local store are really hounding me about playing Lorcana. Since the game finally started being available to non-Urban areas like mine it is slowly growing. We have a very friendly league environment starting, we host Set Championships, and even hold a draft when there is enough cash in our wallets. The local store owner and I are constantly trying to rope new players in and consequently the MTG loyalists are constantly trying to rope me back to a full time Magic player (a.k.a. Magician??). Today I am standing on a soapbox and trying to explain why I like playing Lorcana more than MTG in the current environment.

First some background for perspective. I started playing Magic: The Gathering around the time of Seventh Edition but didn't really get serious until the Odyssey block. For you players without gray hairs that means I played before there where Planeswalkers and being a legendary was considered a drawback. I continued playing seriously until Core Set 2012 when I shifted over to just being online which didn't last more than a year. During that time, I had multiple Pro Tour Qualifier top 8's but never quite reached the pinnacle. I also wrote for what was then called ManaNation.com and even got to write the preview article for Leyline of Punishment.

Shortly after that high the Summer of Fae hit and corporate started changing everything. They took away the FFL, an internal group that play-tested cards before they were official cards. They changed from Blocks to Sets and the annual predictable calendar of Main set, Expansion, Expansion, and finally a Core set during the summer was destroyed. I really felt that rinse and repeat became encouraged as the basis for deck design instead of creativity. So, I walked away for about a decade. I came back because of a nudge from my buddy Dustin and the Commander format looked fun but still never felt the love for the game that I felt playing on a Metal planet with Five Suns.

Now, with Lorcana I am again feeling that spark. I often ask myself why. My hope is that with this article I can explain my feelings to you. This is not meant to be a debate or an attack on MTG. Just an opinion and my gut instincts.

What has truly made me want to write this article for you is a saying I used to tell Yu-Gi-Oh! players when they would try to compare that game to Magic. I would tell them it's like Chess Vs. Checkers. Both games are played in the same fundamental environment but the complexities of chess just make it a better game. A pal of mine reminded me of that when I was espousing the joy that I was finding in Lorcana. It took me a moment, but I realized what has happened to Magic. It's become a Chess Variant. Those who appreciate the classics know what I mean. Over the ages People have tried to manipulate Chess and make it "better." You can find people playing over boards that are wider and longer, with extra pieces and whole new abilities, and even times when the simple act of taking a piece removes a whole grid of pieces at once. As a lover of Chess, I despise these variants. That is what has happened to Magic. Over time, in hopes of making more money, the game has polluted itself to be almost unrecognizable.

But the real question is why do I fell this way about a game I used to love? My first thought is the rules. Have you ever read the rules for Lorcana? I did. Before my first game I read the rules, designed a deck, and ordered some singles that arrived two days before our Set Championship for Into the Inklands. I didn't even know about Pixelborn for testing, I just went in with my fingers crossed and luckily landed an Enchanted Stitch - Rock Star.

(I am still playing on the store credit earned from trading that one in.)

My reading of the rules took maybe 10 minutes of my prep time. To be honest, the flaws I see now in my first deck were almost all based on my trying to force Lorcana to play like MTG. Meanwhile, there are cards who that have so many rulings in MTG it takes longer to understand that one card than the entirety of Lorcana's rules for the whole game. Imagine the new player learning curve! In Lorcana you can grab a pre-constucted deck and within 10 minutes and maybe one example game you feel ready to full out play. Magic, on the other hand, may be explained that readily but once in game you inevitably run into a card that plays differently and immediately wrecks any comfort level you may have felt.

Second thought, how many things do I need to keep track of. In Magic, when I started playing, you had Land, Creatures, Artifacts, Enchantments, Instants, and Sorceries. Now, MTG has added Planeswalkers, Dungeons, Crowns, Rings, City Blessings, Adventures, Suspended, Mutations, and the list goes on. Not to mentioned Lorcana can be simply played in 3 zones while Magic has easily double that. In Lorcana, you win by Lore or running out of cards (still haven't seen that). While in Magic you have damage, loss life, commander damage, poison, and decking out to contend with as well as various cards that if some trigger is met you win the game.

My next realization is the way you win. It's like Track vs. Boxing. In Track my only goal is to achieve some goal faster than my opponent while in Boxing I want to pummel my opponent until he can no longer function well enough to stand up on his own. It's a lot easier to shake another player's hand and honestly say well played when it's just a Track race. Maybe some MTG players need the satisfaction of beating someone else down, but I'd rather not have any animosity after playing what is ultimately just a game.

Now, I will be fair. Magic is a significantly better multiplayer game in its current state. Also, there are many sets that drafting is more fun and challenging than it is in Lorcana. But the bad sets are out there as well while Lorcana hasn't had one yet. There is nothing worse than shelling out some big cash to draft a set of garbage you'll never play with.

I'll cut off my rant at this point. Sorry, no deck lists this week, but I'll get back to building in the next one. Thanks for your patience!