The History of Magic The Gathering: From Hand-Made Cards to a Billion Dollar Phenomenon

On this episode we take a look back at the phenomenon that is Magic: The Gathering, a pioneer in the trading card game space.

From its humble beginnings at Wizards of the Coast right on through its acquisition by Hasbro and it's online introduction.

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[nikholman]

Great video. My older brother got me into Magic back in 94 and last October my 12 yr old son played his first Friday Night Magic game. It's all coming full circle.

[AlphaInvestments]

This is a great History of mtg, this video deserves a lot more views! Great job Toy Galaxy!

[TheRiehlThing]

Richard Garfield was at Whitman College in Walla Walla when he was developing games, like Roborally and Magic. He had worked on them with playtesters from local comic book and book stores by Whitman College. I grew up in Walla Walla, and in the early 90s, if you went to comic book stores, you would have a bunch of playtesters that had been hooked. Seemed like every adult I played against back then had Black Lotuses and all the Moxes. As a kid from a family that wasn't well off, I would barely get enough trading capital to get a single Mox, for whatever main deck I was playing at the time. Usually a red direct damage deck or a black deck. One of the playtesters I played against a lot, abhorred the demonic tones of black decks. He would buy several boxes for every expansion that came out. I made sure to be at the comic book store when he went to collect the boxes, and he would open all the packs there, and give me all of the black cards cause he knew I couldn't afford to get my own. I usually had a good black deck after every expansion. Later on when he moved, helped him move, to repay the kindness. I eventually sold all my cards to a friend, but he kept the direct damage deck together, so I would keep playing with them. Wish I had kept some of them, they would be worth money now. Never had a Black Lotus though.

[wstine]

Magic the Gathering was a big hit at my high school in 1997. Although it was banned due to distracts and people mistaking it for poker.

[andyv]

I didn’t learn the rules until the online version come out.
Every single friend that knew how to play would say, “It’s really easy, I’ll show you!”
They’d lend me their worst deck, beat me in three turns and say, “See! Wasn’t that easy?”

[joshuawarren]

As a Magic the gathering player I was very happy to see this video.

[neiska]

I always liked themed decks the most, even if it didnt always win, I always found them the most fun.

[wartable]

I grew up playing games at Wargames West…knew Wayne (R.I.P.) pretty well and he let me hang out in the store for hours even after closing.

[nobodyuknow]

I remember Alpha... I remember "confetti orbs"... I remember playing with Black Lotus and Moxes as if they weren't really a big deal... Now I feel old...

[scottsmartky]

That original PC Magic game was amazing. I loved that so much. RPG style where you added to your deck throughout the game.

[ShadowEclipex]

And now D&D, Transformers, and MLP have had cards in MTG.
Though your running gag really showed me what the game is missing. A Hungry Hungry Hippo creature card!

[seszw]

Never got into magic but I remember seeing a tournament on ESPN back in the 90s and was amazed somebody could win thousands of dollars playing a card game. Oh how my eyes were closed then!

[mrvanimal]

I was really hoping for another "Hasbro: Till all are one" mention. One of my favorite thing in your videos.

[riosvalex]

I just have to give a heartfelt thank you! Giving Magic the Gathering its proper respect and making it wide span fame known on this channel. I have been a collector for as long as in my college years. I can not express the utter joy I feel to see this on the channel. Thank you so very much! Keep up the great work. You are the greatest!

[karnblack]

I started playing in 1994 and "got out" twice selling my collection each time eventually coming to regret those decisions, but I'm still playing today mainly Commander and at prereleases.

[velvetplatz]

I've been playing ever since it first came out and I've never quit playing. Thanks for doing this video.

[bmillette]

I think I started with Ice Age, and played regularly through Mirage and 5e. I also got really big into NetRunner back around in '96.

[shanonkallhoff]

Thanks for a great video full of witty humor and excellent memories. I've been playing Magic since 1994 and have shared many good game nights with family and friends over the years. It's still the greatest game I'll ever play in my lifetime.

[excessmaterial]

Damn, what a coincidence. I just passed the box of my childhood collection in the other room. This was my shit as a 90s kid.

Pretty much collected from 1st ed until the Urza "block". Kind of stopped during Nemesis. Had so many random cards from Ice Age and Arabian Nights that my friends had never seen back then lol.

I remember the day in summer camp we all learned that multicolor cards had been created and it blew our minds. Without the internet it was harder to know how crazy the game really was right away back then.

[mikeuziel]

I recently got to work on the game. So cool to watch a ToyGalaxy video on it!

I can say this- Wizards of the Coast is an amazing company to do business with. It's no wonder they've managed to stay popular for so many years. yes, I know they are owned by Hasbro, but the still operate independently. :)