For what it’s worth though, if there were more large events near me I’d be going all the time. But my priorities would remain the same; perform in a way that I find satisfactory, create some good stories, meet good people and (hopefully) come away with a stack of packs for the “great future chaos draft storage box” (it’s getting pretty massive now lol)

I still do the larger tournaments but I approach them as a kind of “treat” rather than the be-all and end-all. My personal best finish remains 11th of 300 but I put that mostly down to lack of attendance :). I can count the number of large tournaments (greater than 50 people) I’ve been to in the last five years on my hands… Maybe seven, not much above one a year.

In the end, magic is fun, and it’s designed to resonate and channel through our fun-pathways more than our must-reach-the-protour ones. I love it for all that it offers, from story and world-building to the actual mechanics and rules-design of the cards. There’s a lot to appreciate and it’s all embedded in that sense of fun and play that you described here.

A while back I was in the finals of an rptq. I realised when I sat down that even if I won, I still wouldn’t physically attend the protour. I took the packs and was satisfied. It’s down to perspective as you highlighted here.

Nice article.