Magic the Gathering - Grand Prix Portland

I played Magic the Gathering (MTG) back in 1993 and 1994 growing up in Seattle.  I was pretty good for a kid, and once owned a Black Lotus.  Unfortunately, most of those cards were traded away or lost in the next 25 years, including the Lotus that was traded for a Mox Pearl, Mirror Universe, and some other nonsense.  I still have a Revised set in storage somewhere.  I played a little bit after moving to Hawaii in 1996, but really petered out before 2000.

I'm not really sure what piqued my interest in playing again, but I've really picked the game back up with a vengeance.  I enjoy all of the new 'eSports' angles, but really the thing that does it for me the GATHERING part of Magic the Gathering.  I enjoy the social interaction with people that I normally would never converse with in day to day life.  It's lead to friendships and connections all over that I really cherish.

As Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro turns more to eSports, I worry that the paper aspect of the game, and subsequently the GATHERING will wither.  I would hate to see this.  This picture was taken at Grand Prix Portland in December of 2018.  Now, there are no more Grand Prix's and instead they are replaced with 'Magic Fest' run by Channel Fireball.  We can only hope that paper magic continues to grow with the eSports side of things.