This might be slightly mushy and silly. However, it's all true.

Magic came into my life in 1994 through a friend of mine. It was actually because of another game, Rage, by White Wolf, and my frustrations with that game that caused me to start playing Magic. The simplicity of one deck, the backing from Wizards of the Coast, whereas Rage always felt like it got no real love from White Wolf. Quickly Rage became something I looked at for art and not much else, and Magic became my game of choice. My sophomore year of high school was concerned with getting as many 4th edition cards as possible, while looking for impossible to find Revised Edition packs and starter decks.

Throughout the rest of high school and college, I played Magic with friends pretty regularly. While I wasn't the most socially awkward guy I knew, it was never a great ice breaker for the ladies. Fast forward to 2001 or so. I had graduated college, and was not doing much except for working at my alma matter (and hating it), smoking too many cigarettes, and playing Magic. There had been this girl at school with the very cool name of Thea, who I had always found attractive (we're talking 2+ years), and I had never gotten the gumption to acknowledge except a shy wave in the hall. Through ways I can't remember, I found out this girl played Magic, and through extremely dorky means (that involved me wanting to show off my new computer) I managed to have her come to my apartment with her cards. She hadn't been playing that long, and I think my Black/Red destruction deck beat her pretty quickly, but by the end of the night there was a kiss, with cards spread in between us. For the next 2 months we played Magic and hung out fairly often.

For various reasons that I will not get into here, we had a falling out, and did not talk for about a year. I also stopped playing Magic at this point, since my main person to play with was gone.

Around 2003, I wound up pulling my head out of my ass, and began talking to Thea again. I had started playing Magic again because of a mutual friend, and the three of us started playing together. Thea had became a much stronger player, and her 5 color decks were amazing.

It's now 2010. I'm 32 years old. I am playing Magic as often as possible, wanting to become a Pro Tour player in the next year or 3. I am happily married. Thea and I are expecting our first child this September, and couldn't be more excited and nervous. While we were playing Magic this morning, and I realized that Magic had been there in every stage of our "non-relationship" to now, she said I should write this up. So that's what I'm doing.

I'm not going to say that Magic made our love last, or that we wouldn't be together without Magic. That would be a lie. I will say though that Magic has been a constant, and is always there. So thank you Wizards. Thank you for making a game that can be the best ice breaker for nervous geeks to hang out with a girl. Thank you for making a game that can be interesting for over a decade. And Thea? I love you with all my heart, and am still amazed at how you can play 5 colors and win with frequency.