MTG - Here's why parents should be happy that their kids play Magic: The Gathering 

High School Science teacher represented here. I run a magic/board game/anime club at my school and we have 32 regular members. We generally play pauper because it is easily the most accessible format, and I can use my useless cards! I am glad I can help my students find a place where they can play and express their interests. I am a huge advocate for magic players. I loved this message, thanks for another brilliant video.

Sorta resonates with me. Before starting magic, I was in grade 10 (about 16), I was quite heavily depressed and suicidal, I'd go and spend all my money on alcohol and drugs. I'd skip school most days to just stay at home and mope about. One day my brother comes home, he brings these cards, these magic cards that he bought, (this was ravnica block, so he had a azorius detain deck) and he came home with a rakdos deck, both the premade $35 decks. This was a time where I had recently been released from the kids mental health ward. We started actually hanging out at a small comic book store for fnm instead of mostly ignoring eachother. My life has definitely improved from mtg, I wouldn't say it cured me, but it definitely started me on the right track back to being a more normal person. A few years later, I finished school, currently studying for hospitality management and turned my life around. While magic is expensive, spending a bit of money every so often is so much better than spending ~$100 per double bake session.

I'm 42 year old man who just discovered Magic the gathering and your channel. I started to learn how to play this game only a few weeks ago and I'm hooked to it! Like you said, this game requires a lot of thinking and I'm going to teach my son how to play when I'm better at it. :)

Reasons to let your kids play MTG: 1. No money left to buy drugs

"You cannot play this game without a BRAIN!!!" ... "If you have a brain, you are already ahead of the majority of the population" -TCC 2014

I actually got back into magic all because of this guy's passion for the game. Thank you.

I'm an engineer in his mid twenties and haven't been able to find the time to get to the card shop with any regularity over the past few years. You've inspired me to make that time. I had nearly forgotten how warm and inclusive the community-which you typify-surrounding magic is. Thanks for everything you're doing. You're going to be an awesome father.

My mother is actually very supportive. She has a basic understanding of the game and will often ask questions about the cards i'm using or the strategies my decks utilise. I think she secretly wants to play but wont for some reason.

I'd like to point to the advantages of playing d&d which not only promotes math, strategic thinking and creativity but also reading, writing, problem solving and research techniques.

My husband plays MTG and through his playing I've met many different people. One of which is a gentleman who suffers from ADHD. As a young teen MTG offered him the chance to focus on something and he used the same strategies that he learned playing to better focus in school. MTG may not work for all sufferers of ADD or ADHD but it worked for this young man. As for other players in my husband's group it allows them a chance to step away from the daily stresses and really enjoy there Friday night games. I sometimes get upset that my husband's playing Magic *again* instead of being home, but after watching your video I have a more positive outlook on it, and I'll be sharing your video with the other magic the Gathering widows.

This was a great video. I recently had an issue where a young teenager, aged 16, was invited to join our local MtG group. Most of us know each other from work, and as he was both a fairly new kid on the job and enjoyed games like Magic, I invited him to join our bi-weekly game nights. We play at a local Tim Horton's shop and our ages range from 18-40, with most, like myself, being in the middle. He really enjoyed himself, so much so that the next day he went out and a bought his own Duel Deck, just to get started with his own cards. Sadly, his mother did not approve. Though we play in a local, social area and most of us are fairly young, she did not want her son involved with older people nor "wasting his time" playing a card game. Which is both disappointing given her archaic view on age and the fact that her son spent 30$ on his own deck, which he has only used once. I intend to share this video with him, and hopefully he can pass it off to his mother. Who knows, maybe a respectable Professor in a snazzy suit could help change her perspective on why Magic the Gathering is a great game?

ive discovered this channel not long ago and i really enjoy watching your vids, specially this one, that encouraged me to play magic, and honestly, this is the first time I see magic this way, i just played magic for enjoyment but you made me feel smart and happy.

Totally showing this to my parents who think my playing Magic is an awful obsession and try to stop it when they can.

This is very true. I'm 25 and started playing Magic about a month ago and I feel like my mind is being worked harder than it has in a long time. I play less videogames than I did before, which often require less mental involvement and instead more "game logic" and finger coordination. My argument against Magic however is that it can drain your money very efficiently. Spend smart, play for fun, meet people.

Tolarean Community College, Thank you so much for this video. I used to play a lot of magic when I was a kid, and my dad always argued that I shouldn't do that to my life, that those little cards would get me nowhere. Still, I persisted playing , against dad's will. Well, this year I graduated brazil's best law school, got a job at a Lawyer's association here in São Paulo that is the dream of every young adult and probably in a couple of years will have enough money to purchase my own apartment. Since a kid a used to wonder if playing Magic was helping me or slowing me down, and of course in some levels a card game can affect your life negatively. In my life I have met some people addicted to magic, not working or studying at all and using the game as a refuge, but I must say that they were the minority. Thanks for the video really. I hope that someday my children and I will play together

My mom bought me the 5th edition starter box when I was about 9 or 10. She knew nothing about mtg, but knew that it involved math and critical thinking. It came with a vhs video instruction on how to play. She even watched it with me and helped me learn how to play (she never kept playing though)

I will never understand the perception of magic, So many people perceive it as childish, and yet think it's horrible for children to play. I've heard the "Aren't you too old to play with silly cards?" or "Why do you waste your time doing that?" My answers are typically "I don't know. Aren't poker players a little old to play with silly cards that contain comparatively low complexity? I'm looking at dozens of works of art, trying to figure out which of 700 cards my opponent will play next. You're looking at 3 diamonds painted on a card wonder which 2 of 52 cards your opponent has." and "I don't know, why do you waste your time sitting on a couch watching movies and shows about other people living instead of living yourself. I'm exercising my mind and living life. You're wasting yours" I own a great deal of table top game and Magic is my favorite. I hope my future children take an interest in Magic and want to do something with their life rather than just sit on a couch and watch TV all day.

This whole video is really relevant to me. I am 14, and my friends and I all play Magic. There are some Magic players in my grade that I am not great friends with, but I still know them. Magic is great, but there was this one time at a school fundraiser-type social event. Lots of people from my grade came, but me and my friends didn't. We went to a friend's house to play Magic and do other stuff. However, some of the people that I don't know too well that play Magic were there, and they decided to play a small game in the corner of one of the rooms. Apparently, some of the more popular kids came over and started being jerks about them playing, saying "what are you doing" and "this looks stupid", etc. Well, the worst ones of them started taking cards from these kids, and they even ripped some up. They even ripped up this kid's Jace Beleren, which isn't a super expensive card, but it is still horrible. I have a few more of these sort of stories, but we never stop playing Magic, as people can suck, but not so much that I will want to quit the game. I know this was really long, but I thought I'd share a story. :D

Yep my mom and dad practically think I have no life when I play magic and I tell them honestly I would rather blow my money on Magic than buy drugs honestly they don't know how lucky they are.

introduce your kid to mtg and he will never have money for drugs.

Basically, what I tell my mom when she's upset that I spend so much time on magic/videogames. "Do you want me to hang out with the kids that drink and smoke or go to a club every weekend, or do you want me to stay at the local game store having a great time with my friends/stay at home chatting with them on skype over a videogame?". That usually puts things into perspective for her.

This was a great video, you earned yourself another sub.

Let your kids play magic the gathering They won't have enough money for drugs since they'll be broke over MTG

You probably won’t see this but I just want you to know you made 4 kids parents encourage them to play magic and have our parents let us get our first deck so I just wanted to say thank you so much 😊 god speed to you Edit: OMG thanks so much for replying it made my day

Wow. I just jumped in to your videos but if your subscribers are growing it's only because your camera presence is amazing half the time I can't decide if you're reading a script or you can memorize the script or you're just Free styling done. Either way awesome

My parents, especially my dad doesn't like the game also. He thinks the local game store I go to is full of "gay" people. I'm sick and tried of his babbling and what not. It's ironic because one of the "gay" guys that he points at is actually a nice guy. When I need a few pennies to buy a single card he ends up giving me a whole dollar. I attempt to give him the change but he denied. I'll never stop playing this wonderful card game, no matter who the hell tells me that its "gay" or it's for "nerds". Rather be a nerd than a stoner.

Thank you, this is brilliant! When I was a teenager, a lot of my friends' parents expressed concern about us playing MTG. But if I ever have kids, I hope they play MTG, or some equally awesome, crazy, and interesting game.

"Magic is not a game for dummies" *Cough ... I guess I'll take my leave then.

The passion with you're talking about, not only magic, but a part of your life, really got me. It is a pretty good advice about being an sensible parent and a person.

I'll like this, its true. Video games and magic in particular have changed if not saved my life. The human connection and community really speaks loudly. I love it, I have traveled through Europe and there was one common language, magic the gathering! And of course the normal pass turn gestures and target gestures and what not. But over all magic didn't really change much AT ALL! I was so impressed, it was such a cool way to interact with people and surpass language barriers. Yes this game can be obsessed over, IF you're that competitive with it. If not then whatevs, enjoy it all, enjoy the time and interaction with the people you play with. Thank you for the video, very accurate and appreciated!

I started playing Magic a week ago thanks to your videos! After watching your beginner's guide i was reeeeally interested in the game. When i went to my local store i was a little shy of asking for help and i thought that here in italy there was no sample decks at all. But Store owner and players helped me to start playing when i asked, and gave me a sample deck for free (but i was so happy i also bought an intro pack, newbie here hahaha). Everyone was gentle and friendly, and i was very happy to start playing this game by meeting these welcoming, friendly and still competitive people. Also my mother was happy of me starting to play a trading card game since i was in a strange period for my life. And that should be for all the parents who see their kids play Magic, because at any age , life could be a mess sometimes. I've seen good friends getting into drugs and so many lives destroyed by cocaine and heroine. And i know that sounds kinda stupid, but i wanna give an advice to all parents, friends and family of people havin' a bad time right now: try starting a hobby together. Maybe Magic The Gathering. It helps a lot being distracted by hobbies, especially when there's so many friendly people playing it. So thank you for making these videos and keep going! I hope i can be the best player in that store hahah or at least get some good friends :) (Also, designer here, studying to become a Comicbook artist and sometimes part-time carpenter! :D)

You should have story time with the professor a weekly thing. When i say weekly I mean every day

As a parent and a fellow magic player I appreciate the message of this video. I whole heartedly agree with every sentiment you expressed. I hope to see more from your channel. The content is superb and valuable. I am grateful for every video! Kudos!

7:48 I'm still in high school, 8 more weeks until graduation, and we have two science teachers that run this club after school every Thursday, it's about two teachers and 7 students in this 9-way free-for-all. I'll miss it.

Thanks for this video professor, there are a lot of people out there who think this game is just about dumb pieces of cardboard and self invented rules, but you´re showing them the truth behind it: how hard actually is playing Magic. As you have said you need to have brain and be able to properly use it, because of any of my hobbies so far, Magic is, I think, the one that makes me think the most, and moreover, the one that makes me happiest, because of the community, because of how much this game gives me back and because thinking about building new decks by myself and for myself, and after that playing them, is one of the best feelings I have sometimes when I am stressed. Thank you professor for making these kind of videos, you´re just improving our community.

The Prof had literally the ultimate nerd kid vs adult moment that we all fantasized about as a kid. It’s no wonder he was destined for glory!

You had recess when you were a teen?

Came back to this video as the Professor asked us to go back and watch an old video and I think about this one all the time. I didn’t play Magic when I was in high school as I was already know as super nerdy and already had drawn too much attention to myself with my love for Harry Potter at the time. So I did as few things to draw attention to myself as possible and just got through the days. When I got to college I met a group of people who played magic the gathering at lunch, as it was a community college, and I noticed how welcoming they were and how much thought went into this game as I was always a fan of board games. So over the summer coming into my second year at college I picked up the Teferi planeswalker deck from the Dominaria set and began to learn. The more I played the more I realized how much I loved the game and the community, but this video is what pushed that love for the game and the community over the top for me. As the years have gone on a bit it is disheartening to me to see how Hasbro is pushing hard for profits at the player’s expense but coming back to this video reminded me what makes this game special, it’s not the cards it’s the people and the love and dedication they have for the game and for each other. I get the same feeling watching this video as I do when I think about opening my first pack of magic cards. I don’t know where you are with the game these days Professor but I hope you come back and watch these videos once in a while and see the impact that these videos have made and still make on the community. The pandemic has done a lot to isolate everyone and I don’t know how you’ve coped with it but you are none of us are ever truly alone and this video is a reminder of that fact. And as time goes on and seasons change my love of magic the gathering may end up fading away a little my love of this community will remain because Hasbro hasn’t built this community, people like you, the local game stores, and the players are the ones who have the greatest impact. As time as gone on I’ve lost touch with a lot of the people I used to play with but I still play with some of them and have found a new play group at my church, we even have a couple of Dnd campaigns going, and my memories of the past are still something I have but I am making more memories with the people I love most and that’s something there is no price tag on. So thank you for loving the game the way you do as well as the community and here’s to all the years we’ve all spent playing this game and here’s to many more. P.S. I know you were an english professor so sorry for the English errors in this large brick of text...🤔🤷‍♂️😂

I'm here watching this video in 2019, and I just want to thank you Professor. It seems like yesterday you were still teaching as an adjunct professor and I remember when you made the video saying you lost that job and were going to focus more on your MTG content creation. Thank you so much.

I'm really dumb though, don't have a proper education or a job. But at least my infect really kills it in modern. :^)

Can confirm growing up to become programmer. Played magic as kid. Was poor as hell, but traded smart. Grew up and now make so much programming I buy whatever cards I want. I hadn't played since I was a teenager, but I am just getting back into it because the CEO of the startup I work at plays magic.

Wow the intro story is painful. My daughter and play mtg, it is such a great game for teaching strategy, planing, math, and reading. Attention to detail is essential for playing mtg. Most of people I played mtg with as a kid are now lawyers or techies and use the skills they picked up in gaming in their respective fields. Great video!

I have terrible social anxieties but through your videos I found magic and it helped me a lot. Only a few weeks ago I help at my local lgs, which had a charity event, and explained magic to other kids. Thanks for your videos

This makes me so happy!! I'm a medical laboratory technician and myself and one of the ER docs I used to work with played magic at the same lgs

Choose one: 1. Have Kids beat each other up in breaks. 2. Have them play a harmless card game. 3. Have them play on phones.

You hit home with this. I played Magic in High School, and College... Where am I now? Sitting at home coding software for a company... Damnit dude.

do i buy 3 grams or 6 booster packs?? hmm... actually debating this lmao.

I've Chosen to open my own game store, i cant wait.

Love your videos. Wish when I was a teen I was playing magic and not doing drugs and getting in trouble. I play magic now it is definitely a positive way for anyone to spend there time having fun with friends.

I hate how much i enjoy your channel

Could this be said about people who play Yugioh? I wanted to go to my local gamestore but my parents didnt let me. I was like WTF??? why not!! and they just said cuz no. So i was super mad and thought to myself. " I cud be out partying and doing drugs but i just wanna play a card game but my parents are dumb"

i hate picking between cards or weed 😢 ima open a game store/dispensary one day

This is a video I've watched a handful of times. Usually showing it to someone else. I showed this to my wife and it was like a switch got flipped: She understood why I got so much enjoyment out of this. Now she plays along with the kids and me. Keep up the good work.

I just started playing magic, and obviously looked up to find you more about he community. I have to say I really love your videos, and it is really nice to see how many nice and smart people are in the community. Please keep doing these kind of videos professor :D

The folks at my lgs and casual magic community like to say as a joke that we'll get our kids into magic so they wont be able to afford drugs.

My College has rules that prevent playing any card game. But the dean in our department doesn't seem to mind, nor do the professors.

NOPE, I work a physical labor job and don't go to college anymore, but I do love the game and I love math and science and chess. I just don't enjoy sitting around learning from books and stuff. I'm just more hands on and Magic is something where I can physically feel what I'm doing and not go bonkers from constant studying. Though I'm going back to schooling soon for Vet Technology because I found a passion for it and heck, knowledge is never bad.

What a wonderful and kind message, thanks and 7 years later it’s wild how fast the channel grew. My friends and I are just getting back into the game after 10 years. Cheers

This video really hits home with me. I play MTG with my Daughter it's great quality time we get to spend together. Keep up the great job on your videos, We really enjoy them

My parents told me they'd rather see me play magic than going out and doing stupid things

Prof seems like he’s a great parent lol

I love how 4 of the top comments are the same thing: “They won’t have money for drugs.”

My adult son plays Magic and now I do too. He came home from college one summer and spent a lot of time online playing games with his school friends. At first I was a little upset (internally) but fortunately I was more curious. I got brave and asked my college kid to teach me. Watched a few of your tutorials together to get the idea. We went to our local comic book store and found starter duel decks. That was nine months ago and we have played at least three times a week in addition to FNM with a local playgroup. He just spread his wings a week ago. New state and making a life for himself but guess what? We’ve played twice online and he’s found a new playgroup at his LGS. Magic has strengthened our bond and is helping him transition into his new home away from home. I hope more families have this opportunity. Thank you and your team for sharing your passions and thoughts.

I love going back and rewatching this. it gives me good for people.

I went from smoking to spending all my money on magic and comics instead way better

Here's why parents are upset that their kids play Magic: The Gathering : limitless cash-spending

Not gonna lie with the magic players are programmers or engineers point but its true. I practice programming and take classes for it in my school.

Came across your video tonight, And I gotta tell ya I smiled and laughed the entire way through. I am just coming back to Magic and man oh man I must say, I feel like i'm a kid all over again, I am now in my 30's and introducing the game to my niece's and nephew's, AND THEY LOVE IT! I couldn't agree with you more on your outlook of this game. I am grateful for something like this to our kids to latch on to opposed to things we wouldn't want them doing. Thank you and keep up the amazing vid's

You are my favorite Magic the Gathering information source. I'd love to see more strategy, or insightful breakdowns of cards, combos, decks, anything and everything magic. As a new magic player in college, I can understand the costs associated with Magic: it's expensive, and sometimes it's not very kind to newer folk without magic friends, but if done in moderation, and good friends, I think it's a great hobby and game that I'm happy to be a part of my life. Cheers, Prof. lookin forward to your next class.

When you said there are lots of magic players who are programmers, I laughed because (if we can't be magic pros or something similar) in my magic friend group, most of us want to be programmers, and i know a few programmers who play magic. It's funny how true that is

id like to say, i to have a young baby girl. just turned 1 last christmas, and i have a 6 year old boy, who LOVES watching me build decks and play games. i feel he is too young at the moment to actually play but i do give him cards and he takes pride in his magic collection. im very proud of him because he can read each and every card, and understands the majority of whats written. He also loves flavor texts. My big problem is, im not a very good teacher, i try to explain it and feel that ill confuse him to the point where i end up confused haha. I want him to love the game as i do and also, my daughter when she becomes old enough. Do you have any tips for me to explain the game better in a childs eyes making it easier for him to comprehend what im trying to say. and also i know the game is intended by WoC to be played by 13 yr olds and up, but he is extremely advanced (being in gifted classes) and being able to read at a 6th grade level, i feel he could get into it sooner than most kids.By the way im a big fan of your videos, and watch you all the time. Your very good at teaching about things ive never tried before such as Highlander and Commander, in fact if it wasnt for this channel, id have never tried either of them. Id be much obliged if you replied to my comment/ question. thanks -Kyle

Dear Professor... I am a moderately skilled Planeswalker. I have been playing for 2 years, and i understand everything i need to know about the game. But when i go to FNM, i never seem to get any better. I am in the dreaded "Inbetweenie" stage of gaming where i am better than my friends, but not skilled enough for professional play. When i play FNM, and get obliterated, and i cant help but remissness on the cash-grab mess of a game Yu-Gi-Oh! was back when i finally quit playing. I want to know if you can tell me anything i need to know. Am i missing something? is there a hermit who comes out once a month to read off the top decklists?

I was half expecting something silly, but this felt like a sincere heart-to-heart. Thanks!

6:45 this was literally THE comment that inspired me to create my channel. Since I'm a Software Engineer and a long-time magic player. Thanks Professor! I hope to meet you at GP Vegas!

I am a music teacher. I love this game :)

HEAR HEAR!!!!

I think that magic is great for kids but there is one point I disagree with..... magic is most definently not a drug free environment. over half the people at my LGS leave very often to go smoke and come back smelling terrible.

This is one of my favourite videos from you Professor. I sincerely hope your now 8-10 year old son watches it and appreciates your passion ❤

Hey Prof - Just wanted to say thank you for your vids. My 8 year old triplets have just started to learn (as am I - @ 44!) and your channel has been a big help. Keep up the good work.

Dear Teacher Even though you aren't my physical teacher I want to ask to you two questions. can you still play magic when your going or are deaf? Can you start captioning your shows?

Don't forget that after playing Magic, they don't have the money for drugs :3

You should play a game, because it's fun. I'm tired of people bringing forth all the skills a certain activity allegedly improves. Whether it's CS:GO, playing violin or boxing. Mostly it only makes you better at playing CS, the violin, boxing. And apart from that, ANY activity improves certain skills. The maths you use in MTG are really only simple calculations; the tactics in chess won't help you on the battlefield. But when you have fun playing, that's already an end in itself.

I already started playing with my oldest son - he turned 5 this July. He has trouble with the math of course, but he gets super excited when looking at the art and makes sound affects when I say creatures are attacking/blocking. He understands that the numbers represent their cost to play or how powerful a certain card is "OH WOW THAT GUY IS STRONG". It's amazing and I love it.

I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed and appreciated this video. I'm a mental health counselor (who of course, plays magic) and my local game store provides me with those free starter decks to give to young clients. I often use games such as magic as a tool to build rapport, but I recently had a parent question Magic and whether or not it was healthy for their child. This video was posted literally the next day. Keep up the good work, you're helping people more than you realize!

Teach the kids to play Magic: The Gathering, they will have no money for drugs! HAHA

Well guess what my school banned the game inside the school because its witchcraft

Did your girlfriend become your wife?

I started teaching my daughter MTG when she was 9 shes 11 now & loves it I have visitations & playing magic has been one of the best ways spending one on one time together magic will always have a special place in our hearts

Thank you for everything you do on your channel. I have a 15 and 13 year old and we spend most Friday and Saturday nights playing 3 person Magic games. We absolutely love it and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I don’t always have to win and I love their excitement when they happen to beat me! I will always encourage them to play Magic or any other thing that they want to play, because it’s what they want to do.

If I were a parent I would rather have my kid playing this game that teaches math and strategy then killing people in most of todays popular video games like Call Of Duty and Grand theft auto.

Saw this video back when it was first released, and the message really stuck with me. Just re-watched it and it's just as good.

you are so right prof, i started playing magic 2 months ago and it has now become an obsession. before magic i would pass all my free time playing video games. Now i just sit behind my computer and try to build new decks or make some adjustment on my existing one and i love doing it except that i can't spend a lot of money every week but i hope my son, when he gets older will want to play magic with me :) nice video bythe way, keep on the good work !

I'm a programmer who started magic as a kid. At my work we have a good size (10+) group of programmers and IT guys who play for our lunch time even now. Some have played for a long time, and some have just started. Technical and Mathematical knowledge plays into Magic well, and Magic has sharpened my mind and helped me to improve my skill in thinking abstractly. Thanks for the video! I hope my kids want to play when they are a little older...

As a teacher who hold a magic the gathering club every week at their school, this video made me very happy to watch. Keep up the great work, sir!

I stumbled onto your channel because of TheManaSource, and it has become a family event for my oldest and my wife to watch your channel. Teaching my oldest (she's 9) was the best decision i ever made. It has taught her discipline, strategy, patience, and learning through losses. Ideally, I think all parents who play should teach their kids. If nothing else, it's a new person to play with. Thanks again, Professer!

Incredibly well said Professor! Currently teaching my 9 year old daughter how to play and shes loving it, your videos are a great help

Dear Professor. I'm new to magic, got an intro deck and I'm already loving it. Living in a big city like I can't wait to check out the local Gaming store. I have to thank you a lot because you have no idea. This channel has been perfect for research and you have kept me well informed. I can't wait to get more into magic. Impressive story to. I hope to have good ones as well.

great video with an awesome message. i myself am in college and am going to be a high school art teacher, and i have no plans whatsoever of stopping my hobby of playing magic. i actually used art from magic cards in a presentation for my professors last semester, and they said it was refreshing and awesome to see something as popular with the younger community as this is to be distributing artwork as varying and beautiful as these were. your videos are wonderful, keep it up

Thank you very much! I enjoy every video from your channel! This channel got me back to Magic The Gathering! I had a hard time spending my last year with using drugs and alcohol , but a few months ago I´ve started to play Magic again as an adult and now I spend my time and energy for this and hang out with my new friends from the local game store! @ all Parents! Let your kids play Magic :)

I'm so glad i discovered your channel, this one and the one about quitting magic made me feel so good ! Cheers from france