I am Ricomyer, one of the owners of this site. I’ve been playing Magic since Ice Age (don’t make me look up how many years that is) with a group of 10+ friends. Most of our games are free-for-all multiplayer games. In playing that long with the same group I’ve identified many unique play styles, and how they are often distinct reflections of their real life personalities. By reading this article, I’m willing to bet you will identify similar traits in your friends, and in yourself.
After I started writing this I was told Wizards has written popular articles on a similar subject as this. You can see them here and here. Wizards basically identified 4 types of players, and how they are motivated to play the game (and buy their product). Here is a summary of their categories:
1. Timmy – Likes cards with BIG effects.
2. Johnny – Likes combos with BIG effects.
3. Spike – A typical tournament player. The quantity of victories is more important than the quality, unlike Timmy or Johnny.
4. Vorthos – Likes the cool card art and the storyline.
You can bet Wizards puts cards in each set that satisfy each type of player…or I mean buyer. Now my categories are less motivation oriented, and more play oriented, but I will refer to Wizard’s categories too.
Collector
Scottcos, one of the co-owners, was one of the original players in our group. He discovered this interesting game called Magic the Gathering and started collecting. He doesn’t collect to make money. That would be called The Investor. Scott collects just because the cards are cool and the game is fun. He is a typical Vorthos.
Scott is very personable, laid back kind of guy who doesn’t try to make uber-competitive decks. He likes to make control decks and cool themed decks that use his extensive collection. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the words “I counter that!” from Scott. Fittingly his favorite colors are White/Blue.
