Magic The Gathering – Dragon’s Maze
I don’t purport to fully understand Magic: The Gathering, and what I do know about it has been gleaned entirely from playing Duels of the Planeswalkers, but I’m not a stranger to trading card games. When I was given the opportunity to take a look at the last set from the “Return To Ravnica” block, Dragon’s Maze, I couldn’t contain my inner nerd.
Dragon’s Maze is a small expansion that complements the larger “Return To Ravnica” and “Gatecrash” expansions that comprise the “Return To Ravnica” block. In MTG a “block” is a set of expansions given a common theme and these generally have two small expansions and one large. “Return To Ravnica” bucks this trend, and “Dragon’s Maze” is the smaller, but by no means the lesser, of the three.
Dragon’s Maze incorporates a new mechanic for split cards; Fuse. Fuse allows a player to optionally cast both halves of a split card; paying their combined cost in mana. In the deck I received, Gruul Siege, this means casting both halves of “Armed/Dangerous” on different creatures, one to eat up your opponent’s blocks and another to do the damage.
Dragon’s Maze seems to bring some worthwhile things to the mix, and Gruul Siege, plus its counterparts Azorius Authority, Orzhov Power, Rakdos Revelry, Simic Domination could bring indispensable additions to your custom decks.
As a beginner, I found the comprehensive starter-kit presentation of the deck extremely helpful. However, the iPad version of the game had already given me enough of an understanding to begin playing.
With summer rolling in, and screens not faring well in the bright sunshine, I recommend any fans of the digital versions of MTG take the plunge and pick up some cards to play with their spouse, sibling or friend. There’s something to be said for playing with a real set of cards, and if you find yourself getting into the hobby then a Dragon’s Maze starter pack will provide a good foundation to build upon.