I used to be like you.  Approaching the game of Magic from a strictly analytical, almost sterile perspective with absolutely no personal connection to the game's mythos.  From time to time I would find myself wondering how a character like Nicol Bolas or Ink Eyes, Servant of Oni could exist in the same, twisted universe but for the most part, my love for Magic was purely functional rather than flavorful.  Until one day when I happened to win a copy of "Agents of Artifice" as a local tournament prize.  On the bus ride home, I read the first few pages.  The characters I had previously only maintained a functional relationship with, suddenly came to life.  Liliana's abilities and flavor all started to make sense.  Jace's attitude was relatable and it suddenly seemed criminal to keep my foil Tezzeret, the Seeker locked away in my trade binder.  For anyone who's experienced something similar and to all of those people who've never spent an evening with an archmage Dragon, I contend that flavor will always enhance not only your overall enjoyment of Magic, but your gameplay as well.

[caption id="attachment_5925" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Pokemoners love Pokemon"][/caption]

Magic is different from other CCGs in that, with a game like Pokemon, literally everyone who plays Pokemon, is familiar with, and loves the Pokemon universe.  The intellectual property brings players to the card game, with Magic, it is the other way around.   With Magic, there's a large number of players (dare I say the majority) who play the game for the game itself.  They simply do not care (or think they do not care) about Liliana and her demonic dealings.  This is a problem for everyone because flavor and story add stickiness to the game.  Flavor and context add value to cards that are otherwise not playable in competitive magic.  Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is a good example of a card that, while very powerful, wasn't really worth the $30 dollars it was going for when it came out because it isn't used by most hardcore circles.  Flavor was the reason that card was coveted.  And even the most hardcore Spike would have a big smile on their face if they cracked the Elder Dragon in a booster pack.

Flavor can also enhance your game in subtle ways.  To this day I remember things about Star Wars (learned through the card game) that I couldn't have possibly committed to memory any other way.  These conscious and subconscious connections are helpful when mentally perusing through tens of thousands of cards in search of a new combo or diamond in the rough.  Often times I feel myself looking for a card with the same "feeling" as another card from the past.  Flavor helps categorize, and commit to memory the endless amount of information you're taking in while playing with and building Magic the Gathering decks.  Malcom Gladwell's Blink goes into great detail about how our minds take in millions of bits of information a second and only subconsciously can we organize and make subconscious sense of it all.

[caption id="attachment_5928" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="Stickiness is key to keeping them coming back for more."][/caption]

Stickiness is a word that both webmasters and game designers throw around a lot.  Stickiness is a product's ability to "stick" to a customer resulting in return visits to the same product.  Flavor is one of the easiest yet most effective ways to keep players in the game.  Back when Star Wars CCG was still kicking, everyone was hanging on the edge of their seat when a new set released wondering: "What will the new Leia do?"  Speculation was especially fun because you could take educated guesses about the cards based on the storyline we all know and love.  We're only now starting to factor Magical flavor into our speculation on future cards.  Will the new Garruk have an evil tinge to him as he is possessed in the comics?  These sorts of questions are crucial to building stickiness.  It also gets people excited about otherwise mundane cards.  Would an outside observer be excited about "Phyrexia vs. The Coalition"?  No.  It excites us because of the the flavor it carries with it.  Which card intrigues you more?  A Magic card with the name "Magic Staff" or "Staff of Beleren"?  All sexual connotations aside, I'll be looking forward to the unique artifact much more than the generic one.

Which leads me to my major complaint about the current state of Magical flavor- Why aren't the novels, comics, and other flavor items released closer to the actual release of the cards?  At this point, I have owned a few copies of Sorin Markov for over two months and while he is very attractive (for a Vampire) I still have no idea what his story is.  Is he good?  Evil?  Is he Edward 500 years in the future?  These questions need answering and it looks as though we won't know those answers until (wait for it) April 2010.  So, six months later (if I still care about Zendikar flavor at that point) I'll be graced with an explanation of everything I'd done half a year prior.  Wouldn't it make more sense to release the book just before, or concurrent with the block they're supposed to be flavoring?

[caption id="attachment_5933" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="If Markov's origins are not explained soon I'm going to have to make something up..                    (Original Image from Power9Pro.com)"][/caption]

The only explanations I can think of for releasing crucial content so far away from the set's release is that they do not want to compete with their own products.  I find this argument faulty for several reasons.  Do you really think players who both play the game and actually take time to read the books will stop doing either?  These people are obviously your most loyal customers.  No one says to themselves "Well, I've already read the books so I guess I don't need the cards.."  And it's not like I won't be buying Rise of the Eldrazi at the same time this book is released anyhow.  You'll always be competing with something.  I understand the urge to want to keep the cards in the spotlight but I would argue that spotlight is that much brighter when the cards have weight and meaning to them.   Perhaps they're just behind schedule with their signed authors?  Either way, pushing up the release date for flavor installments is essential to the game.

The stories in the latest novels are so compelling that they have the potential to bring random fantasy readers into the Magic the Gathering family.  Regardless of how you feel about MTG flavor, that's something all of us should hope for.  The game is at it's strongest (and we'll see more product) when a diverse, large number of people are interested in it.  Mainstreaming of the game is a tough pill for some of us to swallow but it's completely necessary.  The game is dead when it's just a bunch of Spikes waiting to see if Lightning Bolt +1 is ever printed.  Fantasy novels aren't for everyone and 1000 page tomes are not something many modern adults have time for.  But take the time to blow through one or two of the 300 page planeswalker novels.  Your personal enjoyment of Magic the Gathering will never be the same and you might just improve your game.

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