4: Redemption

[g001dfinger]

I’ve played MTG on and off for the past 25 years. I’ve played in national tournaments. Never international tournaments. One of my friends was nationally ranked and played for fairly significant money in tournaments ($50k to the winner). It’s primarily male dominated game, but not exclusively. It actually costs a decent amount for a playable deck (around $1200 for a deck that must be updated every couple months).
My wife once walked into a tournament building I was playing in and just about every judge ran up to her and asked her if she was in the right spot, because a wedding planner was next door.
It’s an extremely mentally involved game and requires lots of commitment and mental stimulation. It’s like a much more multi dimensional chess game with way more pieces and outcomes. As a chemical engineer, I think MTG is highly mentally stimulating and requires immense concentration and endurance to last 2 days of 12 hour matches for a normal tournament. It’s on par with the world championship of poker. Poker only includes 52 cards, while MTG includes 750+.