Magic: The Gathering -- Advanced Strategy Guide: The Color-Illustrated Guide to Expert Magic

by Mark Justice, Beth Moursund

Written for serious Magic players, the ADVANCED STRATEGY GUIDE features cards and techniques for the intricacies of high-level and tournament play. Topics include constructed deck vs. sealed deck; evaluating cards; draft tournaments; metagame; and Magic ethics. 100 color illustrations.

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 1998

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully printed, contrary to some more recent low-budget attempts. Attempts at what? At somehow reaching the millions that play this game and making a profit. Given the dearth of any such attempts, it must be tough. And yet, the game is so much richer and more complex than poker which has dozens of books published about it every few months. It's a shame but there are reasons.

Mainly because the strategy changes so frequently and unpredictably that only the Internet can do it justice. That said, this book does have some general strategy that would help out a great deal of new players struggling with sealed deck formats for example. On the other hand, I found some value in just how off this pro's ratings of then-spoiler Stronghold cards was. No fault of his, Dream Halls needed some more parts to enable it, and to his credit he does mention that card in particular as having potential.

No, a book like this is simply a time capsule of the burgeoning excitement around this game over a decade ago that was not yet an institution.

And there are some entertaining stories about Mike Long, of course...

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not being a Magic the Gathering player, I picked up this book just to learn a little bit about the game. This book gave me a little more respect for the people who do play the game. Mark Justice, a former US National champion of the game, was able to illustrate just how challenging the game can be. It is definitely a game that makes you use your memory, reasoning, and processing skills, all of which are great exercises for your brain. Mark not only tells of the different styles of games being played, but also how to construct decks, and prepare for tournaments. Even though the book was published in 1998, and there have been many new cards released and possibly new rules added, it was still helpful in teaching me a bit more about the game. My major problem with the book however, was the many errors in grammar and punctuation. The book definitely needed a better editor.