The “Gifts that Keep on Giving” Holiday Contest!
Another holiday season is upon us, and in between all of the “Black Friday” shopping, holiday travel, cooking plans and everything else, we’re willing to bet you might enjoy the gift of Magic: the Gathering!
We’ve had a momentous year here at Ertai’s Lament, with an ever-growing readership, tons more deck reviews, and even a wee bit of a revenue stream all thanks to you, the readers. As in seasons past, we’re excited to offer our annual present to the Ertai’s Lament community.
Dear Santa…
We have a massive prize package for one lucky reader which consists of the following:
- A Magic: the Gathering Holiday Gift Box, which contains all sorts of goodies
- Six brand new, sealed Theme Decks from Magic’s past, including some of our very favourites! Which decks? Why ruin the surprise!
- All four issues of the first IDW Magic: the Gathering comic book, each sealed with an alternate art promo card
- All four issues of the latest IDW Magic: the Gathering comic book, The Spell Thief, each also sealed with a promo card
- A few Magic stocking stuffers, such as a Tempest Storybook and some Fat Pack deck boxes
- Best of all… NO coal!
So what do you have to do to win? We’re glad you asked! It’s easy.
Since this is the “Gifts that Keep on Giving” contest, we want you to… ready?… give them away. That’s right, we want you to regift these wonderful presents, each of which will be festively wrapped by Jimi before we send them to you. To enter, just leave us a comment telling us who you’d like to give them to, and why.
Maybe you want to give them to that someone special, or maybe to your kids or friends or cat. And you know, maybe- just maybe- you’d just like to give them to yourself, for a bit of festive cheer!
On 14 December, we’ll pick three entries at random, and put their names into a hat. After that, Jimi, Sam and I will each pick one entry that we like. Maybe it’s one that moves us, maybe it’s one that makes us laugh- it’s whatever catches our eye. Those go into the hat too, then we’ll get Liam to pick one at random and there’s our winner!
Again, we thank you for reading and supporting Ertai’s Lament, and wish you and yours the very best holiday season ahead!
Ertai's Lament 
Hmm, I think my brother might enjoy the holiday gift box. I could spread the precons around my family. I’m not sure what I’d do with the stocking stuffers–I don’t normally stuff stockings. I expect I’d read the comic books, then blog a review of them, thus giving them to all my readers by proxy. And the no coal would be handy to not build a fire–I could give that to my dad and save him some work.
I would give them to my little brother in my fraternity. Before magic, he would always play Yu Gi Oh… After I showed him magic he fell in love with the game and continued to annoy me with his monowhite weenies / angels deck. I would probably give him something along the lines of a couple of intro decks and some of the comic books so that he could get even more into the game and branch out a bit… (seriously, his deck is annoying ._. )
I myself got introduced to magic by a couple friends and really started getting into it. Couple weeks in my 12 Year old nephew saw me making a deck and it peaked his interest so I made him his first deck and tought him how to play and he really got into it. This would be the perfect Christmas gift for him. I resent lost my job so my collection barley fills my original deck builder toolkit box so I can’t really help his collection. If you pick me you will definitely help a kid that’s excited about magic get more into the hobby.
Whether this would actually fly, I don’t know. My family usually gathers at my wife’s grandmother’s house on Christmas Eve for a long night of binge eating, movies, presents, etc. Nothing formal…it’s all about comfort food. Deep fried turkey (no explosions yet), pizza, home made egg rolls, chips and all sorts of bacon-related dishes (nom). I think it would be a blast to break out some of these unopened precons, if I can pry loose a few people from the food long enough to try playing.
I would give some to my best friend and also some to me! I probably would do a massive sealed battle as well!!!
I would like to give these to my buddy who just joined the National Guard. He gets back from basic right before Christmas and this would be a great present for any Magic Starved Guardsman!!!!
I got into Magic about a year ago and it has affected me greatly; not only has it allowed me to meet all kinds of amazing people, but it has also allowed me to strengthen bonds with people I already knew and introduce the experience of the game to several people. I would love nothing more than to share these gifts amongst all the friends I’ve shared my MTG experience with.
My wife and two of my friends want to learn how to play. I’d give them the theme decks to learn with. I’d use the other items to give out at FNM to my opponents when I beat them 😉
Twas a drawing on Ertai’s, and all through the ‘net
Clever readers were pondering, spiffy prizes to get.
“Regifting” plans were each framed with great care,
In hopes that they’d soon have some precons to share.
I batted around some ideas in my head,
It’s the holiday season, so here’s what I said,
“I’ll offer my brothers any deck they would name,
In hopes together we’d try out this game.
This poem is done, creativity’s spent,
Whatever you choose, I will have no lament.
I can still read your columns, though I don’t the win prize.
“Happy Christmas to all, to you all at Ertai’s!”
I’d love to give this to my best friend for Christmas. Not only is he a hard core Magic lover like I am, but he deserves something cool for Christmas. Last year in December a friend I was working for fired me while I was in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks being treated for a life-threatening infection, and kicked me out of my trailer at the same time. Instead of letting me be homeless and broke, my best friend took me into his home without asking for a thing in return. He and his family took care of me for over 6 months until I was approved for disability payments and was able to get back to being on my own. Since, like i said, I am on disability I really can’t afford to buy him anything really cool but I think this little gift package would really blow his mind. So I hope I win so I can regift it to him for helping me through the roughest patch in my life.
I’d gift it to my best friend who’s the reason I got back into Magic after a long break. He loves the game (almost as much as me!) and Magic is one of the reasons we’re such good friends. And then we could share the prize! 😀
I would have to give it to my girlfriend. She lost her job yesterday and she’s trying really, admirably hard to keep it all together – she got me into magic in the first place so I’d love to be able to give her something back, and a nice surprise for Christmas. She always complains about her misfortune with mythics so I’m looking forward to her getting rotten luck in this bundle as well!
I know immediately who I’d gift these to: my kid cousin.
He’s always been a bit of a quiet kid, and I only ever see him during major holidays or family gatherings. I’ve never seen him so alive as when my brother and I slapped a game controller in his hand, and he’s a natural at fighting games.
Just last Christmas we showed him a little bit of Magic for a change after our annual Christmas. He fell in love with the game immediately, so I gave him two decks I hardly use anymore from my collection (a white weenie and an old Attrition deck). Every other family gathering since, he’s been talking about how he’s improved them after some decks he’s seen online, or discussing new strategies he’s been working on since our last play.
Anyway, he’s just finished primary school with epic grades, so I wanted this year’s gift to be special. I was planning on getting him his first Fat Pack (since the Holiday Gift Box isn’t available here in Singapore), but giving him something like this would totally rock his Christmas.
I would read the comics, then give the whole bundle to my mtg friends because I don’t play. Well to be honest I might keep the comics.
The friend I first taught magic to, leading to many sleepless nights through college as we hurled spells at each other. My first deck was Izzet, his was Azorius, so RtR has been very exciting.
I think my best friend would like to get this gift pack! I taught him to play magic and we’ve been enjoying playing ever since.
I’ll give the gift to my girlfriend. We have had a bit of a rough year, as each of us lost a parent, and we have been struggling a bit to recover. However, we also discovered Magic this year, and have been having so much fun together playing this wonderful game. I have been using Ertais Lament to find interesting precons, and have a growing collection. Magic has really helped us having something fun to escape into, and the game has given us several memorable evenings dueling. Therefore, I would really like to give her this gorgeous gift pack 🙂
If I won this contest, I would split the prizes between the leaders of the Democratic & Republican parties. There is such a division between the two parties right now that they need something to bring them together, to promote harmony and inject some fun into their rather contentious dealings. If they were to play Magic together, that would give them a united interest, and lead to more fun and cooperation. Maybe they could decide on policy dependent on who wins a series of Magic matches. They could trade cards together and learn how to negotiate and compromise. They could learn how to appreciate beauty, from the artwork on the Magic cards. They could learn how to work together by seeing how different Magic cards work in harmony for a greater purpose. And that would be only the start. From there, maybe they could even spread the use of Magic cards worldwide.
I would gift all of this to my friend Michael. He’s been my best friend for going on ten years now, and he’s been having a terrible time of it since he moved to Portland fir thw winter (some shocks he ordered actually got stolen off his front porch.) We got into magic together, and it’d just be nice to continue our Christmas tradition of getting each other something Magic related.
I wouldgive them to my friend Ben as a victory prize for winning NaNoWriMo, writing 50,000 words in a month!
I would donate these to Gamers Unite, the gaming organization at my local community college. I have made a lot of good through them,and would like to support new players.
some time ago my friends started liking magic, i was super exited because for the longest time i would just build and play decks with myself, the sad part is that at the same time i started studying in another part of my country. but each vacation i find any excuse to play like crazy, and i started playing between studies, is not the same witout my friends, but i need to scratch the itch. i would give them to my friends, to make a excuse to build them weird decks and formats and keep them playing, i have the fear that if a dont push them to keep playing, they would just wander off of the came, losing my opportunity to have my 3 hours long multliplayers duel that i love, i know is not as touching as other stories, but it would help me to keep my friends in the great game that is magic, and stop them of falling in the darkness of CoD and yugioh, god keep they souls safe of that monsters
So, I’ll start with the clichèd, “I REALLY LIKE MAGIC” statement. I started playing a couple years back, and have never thought about stopping. I’m an FNM ‘regular’ and it’s led me to meet so many great people.
However, what makes me stand out is that I went and made a Youtube Channel (*cough shameless plug youtube.com/user/mrlubufu *cough*) about Magic. Whether it be simple pack opening videos or spoiler announcements, I’ve loved every minute of it.
Part of the fun is being able to trade with other members in the community. I’ve met some of the coolest people (and some of my closest friends) online and I really want to be able to give something to them.
I can already name most what I’d give out, too. For Milo (MilodaGreat1) the Holiday Gift box to hold his cube. For Mike (Roxaboxen90) some of the theme decks, since he plays EDH and having more stable cards in that format would be great. For Drew (MisterAnonymityTrade) he would get the comics, since he LOVES Magic storylines. For MTGMcQuacks, he would get 2 of the theme decks, one for him, and one for his sister. For Manashark, the Fat Pack bozes to store the large amount of cards I know he has.
I’d also give away anything else to some of my random subscribers (coming up on 900 of them!) just for showing support in me and my favorite hobby: Magic.
Thank you for the contest. It’s a great idea, and no matter who wins (hopefully me :P) it’s a great way to give back to the community!
-Lucas B.
“MrLuBuFu”
I only have one or two MtG players on my shopping list, so I’m pretty sure I know who would be interested in these gifts. One friend in particular got me obsessed with Magic, and has always been very generous with trading – if she’s not using it, and I can give it a good home in my deck, then it’s mine. I think she definitely deserves something nice and Magic-themed.
Though… That Holiday Gift Box might look nice under my tree, too.
The Holiday Gift box I will probably give to my GF, as I think it would be a nice gift and she would really appreciate that large box to hold her cards.
I would keep a few and give them to a friend of mine who also likes the older procons. Everyone else I know only uses standard legal cards pretty much.
I would probably keep the comics for myself, as I never have gotten one before. Same with the Tempest Storybook
The Fat Pack deck boxes I would divy up between my GF and me. We both need extra boxes, so it depends on what the boxes are(IE if one of them was an Inistrad box I would keep it, but if it was a RTR or M13 box my GF would get it)
The comic books and a pair of theme decks will go to my dear friend Mike, who started graduate school this fall. I taught him to play Magic this summer, and he’s just started seriously collecting comic books as well. The MTG comics will be perfect for him, and he can use the promo cards to start tinkering with the theme decks.
The Holiday Gift box will be a graduation present for my friend Paul, who is finishing college early at the end of December.
My two hardcore Johnny roommates will each receive a theme deck and fat pack boxes. They’re voluminous card collection is currently covering our apartment, so they could desperately use the boxes for storage!
The final two theme decks will be presents for my girlfriend. I got her hooked on Magic with Innistrad block, and I’d love to introduce her to other worlds in the Multiverse.
And as a dedicated Vorthos, I’ll hold on to the Tempest Storybook.
Happy Holidays!
Magic The Gathering is a really special game to me that has created a strong bond with a lot of different people, and I would share these gifts with a few in particular. I’m not exactly sure how in particular I would divvy up the presents, but here is who I would share with: Three close friends of mine introduced the game to me when I was in elementary school, and to thank them for introducing such a great game into my life that has made such a lasting impact on me I would share a piece of the package with them. I would then give some to my two neighbors, and best friends, who I introduced the game to and have been playing Magic with ever since. Finally I would split some of it with my fiance, her brother, and her brother-in-law. They have made my holidays a lot more fun and bright by getting around a table and celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas by playing a boatload of games together. Also both her brother and brother-in-law are marginally older then me (They have been playing Magic ever since it came out) and I embarrassed them in front of everybody during Thanksgiving by whooping them a good 70% of the games we’ve played, so I would love to make up for it by giving them an awesome gift like this! I am incredibly thankful for all of these people in my life who play Magic and support each other with this game and I would love to give back to them all by sharing this gift with them! Thanks for the consideration and Happy Holidays!
I would use them as prizes for a no entry fee tourney specifically promoted for the newer players in my area. The Local Card shop has only recently been able to galvanize the local players and we could use the prizes to get people in the door, help a local business, and promote the game.
I don’t want to make this a contest entry since I don’t have anyone to gift it to who’d really appreciate such a gift.
I just like reading these posts and only want to see them get more verbose and elaborate as time goes on.
I have some friends who would love to have some of these. Always referencing card names and still playing semi-regularly. Would be a great surprise!
I’d go for the random surprise decks and give them to my wife. Then if she doesn’t like the colors (she loves green/white is just starting to like blue .. a bit), I’ll keep ‘m myself and build another one for her 🙂
Or I can just give it to my colleague who is starting to learn Magic. Would be nice since he went to France and bought me a set of French boosters (even got me a nice Sunpetal Grove).
I would gift these to my girlfriend. She’s going through a really stressful time right now. She tries so hard to keep a positive attitude, and these would help her take her mind off of things.
I think i would keep the holiday box for me instead of giving it to the VaroBOT-3000, he doesn’t deserve it after all that bugs he keeps bringing home for “research purposes”.
The decks would probably go to my gf and friends, although i could keep one or two if they were tasty (Simic mutology, Izzet Gizmometry,… >:D). I think i would share the comics with a friend which is very interested on the lore around magic.
About the last gift… it depends on its contents 😉
Having said that, Merry Christmas to Jay, Jimi, Sam, Liam and all Ertai’s Lament readers! I hope we get at least one more year as this one!
I’d love to give some to my 7 year old for the holidays, as he just got into Magic. Some, but not all. The rest would go to CT Children’s Hospital. Those kids need a little extra cheer this time of the year.
Would give them to a student who hangs around wanting to play Magic with all the Game Club where I work, but has no cards to play.
Last Christmas my two sons and I exchanged several packs of 2012 and Innistrad and had a blast playing some constructed but mostly booster pack draft games. I would divide these cards between them so we could continue our new family MtG tradition!
I would give the stuff to my three nephews I have been wanting to show them how to play and im sure they would really enjoy the game.
Back in college, my classmate Jeff taught me how to play Magic around 6 years ago when I saw him reading the Guildpact novel. He’s always been a real Vorthos, loving the game for the story and the flavor, and that has rubbed off in how I’ve approached our favorite game. Jeff and I then taught a bunch of our friends how to play, and we had such a fun time.
Halfway through our time in college, he and the other guys stopped playing (Jeff got into comics, the other guys to video games and anime), leaving me as the only one who continued with Magic. Lately, though, one of the guys we taught has come back into the game, and now he and I are convincing Jeff to play again.
I think the IDW comics would be the perfect way to bring Jeff back into Magic, and hopefully once we could get our group together back again. 🙂
I’d give most of it to my stepdaughter. One of the few ways we have of connecting is through magic and her having cards and books that are “hers” (we currently share cards, money has been tight) would really inspire her i think. So yeah, hope its me but good luck to all!
I would give them to my 11 year old daughter who recently got into playing Magic during the Innistraad block and has now found a fondness for playing EDH. Although giving them to her is almost the same as gifting them to myself because we play MTG together nearly every weekend.
I would love to give these away to random friends to try to get them into the game…
I would give 100% of the items in this contest to Chewie Slate, Jack LaCroix, and Chris Lansdell. They have brought the Magic community entertainment, information, and overall just a good attitude for several years now through their respective podcasting efforts on MTGCast. They deserve to receive this gift.
Furthermore, we would all benefit from them receiving the items here because we’d get to hear about what they’re doing with the cards.
In the interest of full disclosure I do not know any of the above mentioned persons personally, nor have I met any of them. I have listened to MTGCast for over four years now and they have been a constant reminder to not just continue playing the game, but also continue ENJOYING it.
Please consider them to be your winners. Thanks.
I would love to share the gift with my wife. We started playing magic this year and it has become a great shared interest; going so far as to have a “date-day” at the 2013 pre-release event at our local shop. My son would receive the comics- he loves watching us play magic and is starting to learn to play the game.
My neighbor needs the holiday giftbox because his cards are in a complete stage of choas. My brothers would have a great time dueling at the Christmas feast with the 4 decks….and empty fat pack boxes would be lovely in the fireplace (just kiding).
I’d distribute the precons, boosters and deck boxes amongst a gaming club at the university near my house (I’m not a student but I crash there for D&D games). Many members there are just starting to play magic, their decks consisting of of ‘two of the 30 card learn to play decks smashed together’ plus whatever odds and ends they get from boosters or particularly generous members; therefore the majority of the club is playing a sort of low power pauper league. Some theme decks would be a nice shot in the arm to their decks and the diversity of ‘6 randomly selected from magic’s history’ would really shake up the club’s meta.
The comics and holiday gift box itself however, I’d probably keep for myself because promo cards and an extra box with dividers is always useful.
Um, I’d want to keep it all because Christmas is also my birthday and I’m selfish like that LOL. What? I’m not in the running? Shoot.
I’d have to split them up, probably giving the gift box to my brother, as he needs card storage and doesn’t get out to buy the new sets as much. The comics I’d give to my friend Dave, as he likes comics and MTG but hasn’t picked up the series yet. The theme decks I’d give to the three new MTG players I know as they haven’t really played before and could use the structure of the decks as a starting point for their own.
The stocking stuffers would go into their stockings. 🙂
The Hoday Gift Box (which is an awesome product btw) I would give to my friend Eric, as he is the one who pointed me to this giveaway. The comics I would give to my cousin Gerard since he likes comics. The intro packs I would give to my cousin Steven since he just got back into MTG and it would help him boost his collection with some older cards and might give him some new cards for E.D.H.—>I mean, Commander 🙂 The stocking stuffers I would split up among the group at random.
I would re gift to my daughter who is coming home from Afghanistan. She hasn’t played in a year and she turned me on to MTG. After what she has seen and done there, she needs an extended break from reality.
I would give it to my son. He is really interesting in play Magic. He just started, so he doesn’t have any cards. I played Magic when I was his age and I would like to help him make a deck. I sure he would love to get these cards Christmas morning and I would love playing Magic with him.
I’d gift the Holiday Gift Box and any especially exciting intro packs, along with at least some of the stocking stuffers, to my friend Holly. We met through Magic, and she’s brought so much happiness to my life.
The rest of the intro packs would go to kids at my summer camp. I learned to play largely from older kids there, and I’d like to pass the torch to a younger generation.
Finally, I’d probably keep the comics and a deckbox or two for myself. I’m a huge comics fan, and I need card storage.
Inspired by Ertai’s very own Precon Championships, I would use the precons (in addition to some of the theme decks I’ve been hoarding) to stage my own tournament amongst my friends. With each one wrapped, they would choose their decks randomly to battle it out and keep their selections afterwards. I, meanwhile, would cackle maniacally as they duke it out for my entertainment. Conveniently, we are planning a 24-hour MTG marathon over the holidays and this theme deck tournament would provide us with a welcome change of format.
The comic books would definitely be a gift for my girlfriend. I just introduced her to Magic and she, being a huge fantasy fan, loves that element of it (for example, she gets super excited about Loxodons and Rhoxes because, you know, elephant and rhino people!). She also loves reading. This all makes her the easy candidate for the comic books.
The gift box is a gift I could give to my older brother. He was the one who got me into Magic so many years ago, building me my first deck. I remember the Thorn Elemental, Crashing Boars, 4th Edition Grizzly Bears (Mmm, flavor text) I had in my deck and the fun I managed to have despite by brother’s fondness of Terror effects. Recently, he paid me a visit and I rekindled his spark in Magic after we played some sealed deck and I introduced him to the Commander format. When he visits me again for Christmas, I want to surprise him with some new cards (he hasn’t bought cards since Onslaught), games, and memories.
I would definitely give the holiday gift pack to my friend that got me into Magic! That way he would have some boosters lying around and and we could try out a booster draft, we’ve always wanted to give that a shot! I’d probably keep the comics for myself- I’m the only person in my friend group who plays Magic and collects comics. As for the decks and stocking stuffers, I would just distribute them around my group of friend who plays magic, with a little extra going to friends who don’t have a lot of $ to spend on cards at the moment. I might keep one in reserve though, so if I meet someone wants to give MtG a try I can just give them deck to get them hooked! Always good to bring new players into the fold!
Thanks so much for all the great content on this site! I’ve really benefited from and enjoyed reading your reviews!
There are a bunch of young players coming at the store where I play once or twice a week. They’ve bought their first cards maybe 6 months ago, at best. They play for fun and not for keeps, a rare thing indeed. And they always like to hear when my friends and I share stories from our past, either as players (we’re a group of late Antiquities players, all of us in our forties or not so far from it) or from the various storylines and characters from the history of Magic. We sometimes supply them with old cards we never play and sets of Common/Uncommons from more recent sets.
I would gift them with all that, making a good and clean repartition so each of them would end with at least a deck, a box and a promo card. I would keep the comics for myself, but would give them the promos. I would open the Holiday Box (I really don’t know what’s inside) and make a repartition between them of what’s inside.
Young players, especially kids, don’t have the money to buy as much cards and stuff as us, adults with a job.When we started playing, there weren’t any older gamers to help us with rule, making deckss and finding cards, so I think that it’s a kind of ‘duty’ for us, older players, to keep the new generation coming to the game.
And I’ll still be happy doing it as long as I’ll play this funny little card game that hooked me 18 years ago 🙂
When asked such a question, you have to ponder. Unfortunately, I am no longer allowed to do that, so i will think twice instead. I would give the Holiday gift box to my 15 year old brother. He is the one who got me into magic two years ago, and Is the reason I now enjoy this game so much. You see he moved to another state last july, and has no one to play the game with. This gift box would allow him to store his cards in protection and might catch one of his friends’ eye when they walk into his room. Then he would be able to give one of the theme decks (which I would also give to him) to them, and teach them how to play. The comics would go to my friend, who is an avid comic book reader, and a new father, so he is kind of in a money pinch ATM, and he would enjoy something to wind down and read to relive stress. The stocking stuffers would be the only thing I would keep for myself, and even then some of them might find their way into friends possessions depending on what they are. Thanks for the great contest, and i hope to be able to bring smiles to many of my friends and family members!
I would give the holiday gift box to Jack LaCroix so he can store all of his commander decks in the box so that he can store all of the EDH decks he has as he has them all over the place right now and has had some stolen because they are not all in the same box.
I would give them to my cousin. He wants to start playing mtg because I play it. He looks up to me and wants to do what I do. So I would give it to him so he could have cards of his own to build from. Love that kid.
I’d distribute the Theme Decks, Comic Books and Storybook with my original play group in Finland. They never get treats like this from the US.
The Holiday Gift Box is too heavy and Deck Boxes too big to be shipped to Europe. So I’d gift those to my wonderful 4 sons. I think it’s a perfect time for them to start playing the best game of the world.
To my girlfriend. I’m trying to get her into magic just to stop her from being jealous of not spending time with her while I play magic. So, you see.. win win? And then, if I lose a game, or if she loses a game, one more reason for some sexy time!
I would give them to my almost two year old son, Tucker. He seems to appreciate magic cards more than the rest of my family. At least that is the feeling I get when he is flipping through my trade binder and saying “monster.” As an extra bonus, I plan to keep them safe for him (if I must).
I would probably give these to the new guy in our playgroup who always gets very discouraged because he doesn’t have very much of a carpool to choose from. I hate to see a new magic player get discouraged because of the power level of decks of people that have been playing for many years. And this would be a very good boost to his collection.
I’m strongly tempted to give this prize to my friend, Gaddie, who recently had to sell most of his magic/comic collection to assist with some unexpected family expenses. Would be a fun mix of sets to rebuild his collection from and it’d be a great gift for him this season.
But if he should turn down the offer, I would regift them to myself; It would be my Christmas gift to me.
Happy holidays,
Jonathan
I would give these to my daughter who is just getting into Magic and she loves reading. I would also spread the love and give the event decks to my podcast buddies who play as well. These would be awesome things to hand out to them and to my daughter.
Happy Holidays!
I have put off writing this until the last min, I have been out of magic for 10 years and just got back in. My wife and I have a small collection just for fun. My 12 year old daughter has been begging to start her own collection for weeks, after losing her grandfather whom she collected slot cars with, If I recieve these items I would give the holiday box and comics to my daughter and let her keep 1 deck and give the others as gifts to her friends that play magic. Thanks for your time, and happy holidays to all of the gamers out there!
I got into this game as a way to hang with friends and family. I have been able to teach my wife and daughter to play. I enjoy this game as a way to gwt out of the everyday run.
Earlier this year, a friend of mine named Harris sent me one of these Magic comic books in the mail. It touched me very much that he was thinking of me, even though we almost never hang out.
Harris is always good about things like this. He makes sure to buy a pie for “Pi Day” (March 14th) every year for the people he is spending time with that day. He’s thoughtful, unselfish, and such a super nice guy. There isn’t a single ounce of black mana in this guy.
He loves playing Magic, and I usually only see him when he travels out to my area to play at the card shop when it’s prerelease time. He always makes sure to go to each prerelease to try to get the promo card. He cares about those more than winning (and is excited about door prizes and whatnot). He’s not a competitive player, but that doesn’t lessen his love for the game. He would appreciate this prize most of the people I know unlike some of my other friends who are more interested in building Standard competitive decks and whatnot.
If I won this contest, I’m going to repay him back for that thoughtful Magic comic book gift and give him this mighty awesome prize. Thanks in advance for this amazing opportunity to do so, Ertai’s Lament. =)
This would make a wonderful “Night before Christmas” gift for me and my family to dig into. What could be better than having my oldest home from college, my youngest just getting into the game, along with me and the wife, sitting around waiting for Santa to arrive. Of coarse, he would be late and the odd man out…so, he would end up with the bye.
I’d give the gift box to my brother.
I’d give the theme decks with friends to hold a tournament, for which the extra goodies would make prizes.
I’d give the comics to my friend Mixmaster, since he’s a comic fiend.
My brother-in-law is my regular opponent across the kitchen table, so I’d give him some of the prize… The rest would go to an older family friend who’s just getting into MtG, and could really use more cards.
Thanks a lot for all you do, Jay and everyone! And happy holidays! 🙂
I would very much like to give these to my husband who has come in to Magic, not under his own volition, but to support me in doing so. He’s been fantastic: taking me to late night drafts, listening to my endless prattle on and on about this card and that card and that deck build and what not, hooking the TV up to a laptop so we could received GP coverage in HD, letting my friends and I play well into the night over and over again, never once complaining, schlepping my overladen backpack after FNMs when I was too tired to lift it, or cuddling me when on weeks of losing streaks or when someone at the game shop said something nasty about women players, cutting out proxies, sleeving and re-sleeving stuff – always supportive. Along the way he himself got interested in the game and has learned to play and I really think enjoy it himself. The challenge now is that the boxes of Magic cards held he refers to as “my wife’s cards” – if I were to win this, the box would clearly be for HIS Magic cards, with Boosters just intended for him. The comics (he loves them) would be distinctly for him. The deckboxes, just for him. Re-gifting this on would absolutely allow me to set him up so that Magic could be something we truly play together, not simply something he does because he supports me and my love of the game.
Thank you for your consideration 🙂
To be honest? I’d like to give the comics to myself. The intro box? I’d need to think about someone I know who is just getting into magic though. To name a person? I’d have issues, but I think the intro box is a good place to start someone for magic (along with an intro deck of course)
The comics I want for me because I like Magic story.
It is a little late, but I will hope for the best and still post. I was very busy with exams so that is why I had delayed this. Anyways, for this holiday gift there are many ways I can spread the love around. The holiday gift box I can easily give to my friend Benjamin, I got him to play magic in 2011 and he has loved it ever since. The box would be nice for him to store his cards and I bet the RTR packs will be very nice too. He is the newest MTG player in my casual playgroup so it is a good candidate.
As for the fat pack deckboxes and other stocking gifts I can spread them to other people in my playgroup. I will be seeing them all for these holidays as I am lucky to be going back home and it would be a nice gift to give to them.
The comics will be given to a friend that is partly responsible for me being currently in MTG. He is a very special friend,I have known him since we were five and we started playing magic at almost the same time. He has been so far the only person to consistently play and love magic at the same periods as I have. Many of our friends who started playing back in 2003 when Onslaught block was at its fullest quit playing at some point. Even I stopped playing after mirrodin when our local cardshop closed. It wasn’t until around Kamigawa block that my friend and I began to play magic again and found a new playgroup. This time we did not buy new cards, strictly playing from what we had. One of the friends in this new group started going to a local cardstore and he was responsible for trading and getting new cards for our decks like Umezawa’s Jitte, Horobi Death’s Wail, and even some zombies for my deck. However something bad happened with this friend and we stopped talking to him after he stole a lot of things from everyone in our group. Then our friend Gabriel ended up moving and rarely ever returns, and our other friend Mauricio also quit permanently due to other interests. This friend is the only one that survived all those quittings after we returned to playing during Scars of Mirrodin. He is responsible for re-introducing me to SOM block and MTG, as I had completely forgotten about it. He deserves the comics with promos and much more, so at least half of the precon theme decks will go to him. We have played with several intro-packs and theme decks in the past, the few times of the year I get to see him(he lives in the states and I live in Canada, but we both go back home for summer and holidays). As a longtime friend and one of my best friends, I would be very proud to give him that.
The other half of the theme decks I would keep to myself as I collect and play them. Really, Magic would not be what it is to me if it wasn’t for all the friends that I have played with and all the fun memories we have had at the kitchen tables.
Well, it’s been a busy month and I’m going to have to catch up on my Ertai’s Lament reading. I was able to read the Pre-Con Championships, but Portal couldn’t keep my attention very well with so much going on. Anyhow, I have plenty of ideas for gifting these packages, but I guess I’ll start with my oldest daughter. When I started playing Magic again over a year ago Ellie and I would play our own version of magic where she would just try and get cards out while I would test my deck. We still play our own version and her deck is based around which cards visually appeal the most to her so she has lots of unicorns, pegasi, and angels (thank goodness for Avacyn Restored!). In thanks to her, I’d like to give her the gift of Magic!
Another one that comes to my mind is my wife. She actually doesn’t understand what it is I do for hours on end with the rectangular pieces of cardboard with pictures on them. No matter how much I try and explain to her what Magic is, she just doesn’t seem to get it. But, perhaps if she read one of those books and had a deck that was more introductory, she would be at least willing to TRY and play. As it is, I’m only able to truly feel free going to an FNM if I make sure to stop at Trader Joe’s and pick up groceries on the way home. Wouldn’t the real X-mas gift be if I could get my wife to start playing Magic? I think I’m going to write a letter to Santa…
Like I said, catching up on my favorite website one day and review at a time. Giving this to my youngest daughter, Evelyn, who is not even a year old would be hilarious and terrifying. Were I to hand this to her, each item would be eaten and torn up within moments. However, what I would do instead, is wait to allow her to play with the item once she is old enough to have seen her big sister and I play Magic enough to appreciate the game. My oldest was 5 when we started playing so that’s not too far in the future. Giving Magic to babies is the best. I seem to remember an image of Liam gifting Magic cards to his parents around this time last year or the year before. Merry X-mas!