how did you get introduced to mtg?

[TerraFrost]

so...  how were you first introduced to mtg?

i was first introduced to it at a summer camp i worked at in '95.  the other counselors would play it in their free time.  sadly, though, i didn't start playing / collecting, myself, until '97, when a close friend started playing it, themselves.

[mintcollector]

Great question to ask.  I had been an avid gamer since 1979...kind of dropping off a bit while I was in the service from early 88 to late 93, doing a few RPGs here and there, Axis and Allies, etc.  While going back to school I was driving down the street and happened upon an interesting shop called Legends and Lohr.  I decided to stop in and inside it was your typical small game store.  In back were some guys playing what I soon found out to be M:TG.  I had played my brother while on leave (don't recall when exactly..but I do remember playing a Beta deck of his).  I decided to get into collecting the cards at first getting in about Oct/Nov 1995 myself collecting at first.  I clearly remember my first card purchase, buying 10 packs each of 4Ed, Homelands, Chronicles, and Ice Age.  I also bought my first Scrye magazine to use as a checklist.  I went back the next day and bought some more packs, but more than that I started to also shop for singles in mint condition.  I had collected for almost a full year, not even building my first deck until right before Mirage came out under pressure from M:TG friends I had made who played avidly.  I came to hang out always trading for set completion, so I usually got "raped" on trades until I started to better learn card value and not rely on Scrye as much.  Well as time marched on I worked on my sets, never being more than a casual player, but ALWAYS a collector.

[jamesbond]

Some of my roleplaying gamers friends introduce beta cards in my school  ;D , rapidly, i beging to play, and to collect cards, unfortunatly, i was young (9 years old) and cards was expensive for me  :'( , so i was concentrate on big creatures like leviathan..... :P

[bigfatkitty]

I agree...good question.

I started in the summer of 1994.  My next door neighbor knew I enjoyed any and all card games so he told me about it.  

The next weekend he had a party and invited my wife and I over to play in a huge group game of about 20 people.  Noone knew the real rules and we all played off a giant deck in the center of the table.  It was new and fresh and there was plenty of beer.  I had a great time except for the part when a really drunk guy threw up all over himself.

I was instantly hooked and went to all the stores in my town to find cards.  I still remember thinking Ironroot Treefolk was the coolest card ever.  (Read the flavor text and you'll know why.)  

I've since learned the proper rules, but still like it best with a cold brew in my hand.   ;D

[Celebrindor]

My cousin was into D&D when magic came out, and started playing with Alpha.  He taught me how to play, but I didn't buy any cards of my own until Revised.  Both of us were 9 at the time, and we had no money for cards (which is why Alpha and Beta complete sets are still at 0)  :(

[dry cereal]

I didn't think it was that interesting, but my sister said it was cool, and she's my idol, so I started back with dark.  She promptly quit but I was hooked.

[Mr.C]

Well, i started in 1996, although i didn´t buy cards until, oh, 2001 or so... i was 10 years old back then, and had no money to spend on trading cards...

[flatmatt]

Well, I started because quite a few other people in my 4th/5th grade class were playing.  This was around the time of 5th Edition, if I remember correctly.

[Vilan]

My brother started playing Magic soon after it came out. I saw him playing a few times but never bothered checking it out, except a couple times when he dragged me into a game... I remember one deck had Force of Nature and Wooden Sphere, and another time was a multiplayer game where he was strongly suggesting I should Terror that Serra Angel someone had out but I didn't since it didn't seem so impressive to me. :P I remember getting him Ice Age packs for Christmas one time since that was the latest set... "Cool, Flow of Maggots!" ;D A little while later, I picked up the bug, got the Rivals box set for myself for Christmas '97, and been playing ever since.

[themike314]

I started playing around the tail end of Revised.  I bought a booster box worth of packs from a mail order company that dealt mostly in comics.  I played a lot of games in high school during lunch, at friends' houses and at a local shop (where, as an ignorant newbie, i was taken in many one-sided trades).

(The Dark was not easily accessable at that time, but Fallen Empires could be had for less than a dollar a pack.  Needless to say, I had plenty of Thallids for quite a while.   :) )

I don't remember what it was that drew me to the game, but it was something new.  I've been playing ever since (although I wasn't able to buy much of Tempest block or Onslaught block).

[fvzappa]

My girlfriend at the time played. She got me hooked, & I got good at it quickly (beating my friends at it anyways). She & I have parted ways many years ago, but I still see her brother at my local shop.

This was back in 95? 94? when I was first introduced. The first pack I remember purchasing was 4th edition. I played a lot more back then, but over the years the collector in me has shined through... I have a few T1 decks, but concentrate more on the collecting. And owning nearly everything has led me to the world of rarities, where you never have "everything".

[silver.paladin]

Oh God am I starting to feel old, reading all these people starting the game while in grade or junior school   ;D

As per giediprime41 below me, Class of '88.

[TerraFrost]

to add to your pain, hehe, i was a sophomore in high school in '97 (when i started) :P

[Giediprime41]

to add to your pain, hehe, i was a sophomore in high school in '97 (when i started) :P

MAN!!, :o
'97 is almost my 10th year reunion. Class of '89!!
Yep!!, old. >:(
Darren

[Giediprime41]

This question is a story question. ;D
Like others i first got the "fantasy bug" back in '79-'80.
I lived in Milwaukee, Wis. and was introduced to D&D and AD&D by a classmate/friend.  His brother was a playtester for Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, later he gave me his brown pamphlets.(another story) ;D
He (my friends brother) got me hooked on GenCon.  I went to GenCon for years, them i moved away.
I lost interest in RPGs for awhile.  You know, music, girls, peer pressure, etc... ;)
Well, i got hooked again when i met a guy that owned a comic shop here in Tampa.  This was in '93, he and i went to a DragonCon here in FL. and we saw Beta and A.N. being played and traded. We also saw Unlimited, beta packs. So we bought a couple of each. (not many left) :(  
I was hooked big-time!! Later that year i bought as many cards as i could get.  Back in those days Magic was hard to come by!
At first i never traded my cards, i was scared of getting "raped". :-[(as Mike "Mintcollector" puts it)
So i also "went by the guide" but it was Duelist magazine, not Scrye.  
Then right around Revised a friend sold me his collection for $100.00 dollars. He was more interested in drugs than cards. :'(  So i bought them.
There was hundreds of dollars worth of cards there!! :o (today, thousands worth)
That's when i started collecting, and i've been collecting ever since. :)
Darren