To continue the common trend, I haven’t really been playing Magic lately. So in lieu of actual content, you’ll have to put up with my long-winded and rambling posts for another few weeks. I apologize in advance.
At the moment, I’m backpacking through Europe with a few friends. Before the trip, I told myself I’d visit a nice game shop in every new city. I could buy a German booster pack, pose in front of the store, and make a pretty good show out of it. One week and two cities later, I’ve only succeeded in finding a lot of roast meat.
Welcome to Germany.
I got to roam the beautiful cities of Venice and Munich and, as expected, staying on top of the Magic scene has been pretty difficult. I thought about bringing a few duel decks and trying to teach my friends, but figured we would be more content to spend train rides staring contemplatively at the passing Alps, or sleeping. And I’m the kind of person that likes to travel to new places and not really do anything. Small cafes and long walks are more than enough to make me happy.
A pretty gorgeous Venice at evening.
I like Venice a lot. Tour buses and public transport disgorge everyone at the mouth of the city. All the main streets are crowded tourist areas, complete with souvenir stands and those people that try to hawk designer handbag knockoffs and plastic toys that splat and reform when they hit the ground. Turn down a few alleyways and find yourself in a new city. Small vendors, families having dinner in outdoor cafes, and a lot of dogs. The streets split and merge and turn according to the city’s own mysterious agenda, and getting lost is a lot more fun when you can’t speak the language or competently read maps.
To get my Magic fix, I’ve been making cards. A few weeks ago, I found reddit’s custom magic subreddit, where users submit and critique new card concepts. I spent the better part of two days browsing people’s contributions, ranging from new sets to really cool card mechanics. It’s been fun. I’m reminded of when I used to scrawl Yu-Gi-Oh card ideas in the margins of notebook paper in fifth grade.
Concept car art in Munich’s BMW museum. Looks like a childhood doodle come to life.
Munich town hall!
My travel notebook is filled with doodles and scraps of paper instead of plans and documents. I guess thats how things work out. After I built my impressive portfolio of well-designed and completely balanced Magic cards, you guys will be the first to know. Until then—
Tony is the Hipsters’ resident scrub. Follow his travels at tonymei.com.