Late last year, I stumbled across a tournament report of Grand Prix New Jersey 2014. I always love reading tournament reports from tournaments I had also attended. It’s interesting to see a common experience and also fun to look for any shared experiences in that tournament report. But what was also interesting about this particular tournament report was that it was posted many months after the Grand Prix, which is peculiar since usually people post tournament reports days after the event.
As I read on, it was clear that it wasn’t really a tournament report at all – while the report had mentions of his rounds, the real focus of it was what he had learned from the tournament. Oftentimes you see the player reflect on how the deck was, or how the tournament was ran, but this guy had more of an internal reflection that struck a chord with me. That was what differentiated this report from the rest of the reports. However, like I do with most pieces of online content these days, I quickly clicked onto the next page and forgot about it.
Fast forward to about two months ago, and I see a post about a guy’s experiences playing Magic in China on the r/mtglegacy subreddit, and the writing seems very familiar. After a little bit of digging, I find out that it was the same person that wrote the Grand Prix New Jersey 2014 experience. Intrigued, I post the China piece over on the AZMagicPlayers.com Blog and shoot the author a message, just informing him what I did. We end up exchanging information, chatting, and eventually I find myself in possession of his book, Magic: the Addiction, with a request to read the a draft of the book and provide feedback.
I was a little hesitant at first. Sure, I liked the little pieces I read online – the New Jersey and China stories were taken directly out of the book – but I wasn’t sure how those pieces would translate into a book.
Eventually I open up the book, then the next moment I knew, I was already halfway through.
What you will not find in this book is a player grinding his way to the Pro Tour, then somehow managing to find himself in the Top 8, then kicking off an illustrious career in the Magic. You’re not even gonna find a guy going from PTQ to PTQ each week, trying to live the Magic dream. What you will find, however, is a little bit of yourself in at least one of his stories. Most of us aren’t on the Pro Tour gravy train, nor do we spend most of our weekends on planes, hotels, and convention centers. But we do have stories of late nights at the card shop with friends playing Magic, long road trips to the closest Grand Prix in the region, or using Magic as a way to bond with people in a new community. And that’s what Magic: the Addiction is all about.
But it’s not just a story of ripping the perfect card, double drawing into Top 8, or opening a foil Tarmogoyf. In fact, it wouldn’t be a Magic story without the mulligans to five, the perfect topdeck on the other side of the table, or opening Search the City for the umpteenth time. The drive to compete sometimes comes with a darker side, and James is forced to confront it as a serious wake up call.
Magic: the Addiction is an entertaining book about the realities of competitive Magic both good and bad. As competitive players, it’s easy to get lost in the different metagaming strategies, countless hours behind the computer screen drafting on Magic: the Gathering Online, or finding the pieces for your deck at 1:30 AM before a big event. James reflects on how Magic has impacted his life, and in turn, it will make you do so about your own experiences. Why are we doing this? What is “the grind” really about? It might make you question your goals, but it can even enrich it.
Magic: the Addiction is a pretty easy read. I didn’t finish it in one sitting, but I easily could have.I recommend giving this book a try, especially if you find yourself between rounds with time to spare or looking for something to do on a road trip (to a Grand Prix, perhaps?).
How do I buy the book?
There are two avenues to buy the book, Amazon and CreateSpace:
Special Deal
If you use the CreateSpace (paperback) link above with discount code S9HGRMHE, you can get 40% off the paperback edition.
As a bonus, if you email your Amazon or CreateSpace sales receipt to [email protected] with subject line “PDF,” he will send you a full copy of the book in PDF. This is a convenient backup plan if you choose to go with the paperback edition.
As a final note
I’m not receiving any royalties or anything for this review – I’m just writing my thoughts on the book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!