Subject: re: girls in Magic Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 15:43:12 -0600 (MDT) From: J Paynter To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com June 12, 1998 An open letter to other female Magic players: I'm pretty new to Magic. I only started playing the game in November of last year. I guess I'm one of those "girlfriend" magic players because my boyfriend introduced me to the game. Michael quit playing Magic for a while and gave away all his cards before we had ever met. On a whim, he went to a qualifier for Mainz, and actually won. So, not knowing any of the Tempest cards at all, he decided to buy a shload of cards and get ready for the tournament. I wanted to learn the game, and we spent a while doing sealed and draft. To say it simply, I really learned to like Magic, and made an effort to become a better player in the past few months. As a woman playing the game locally, I think people first thought of me as "Michael's girlfriend". The longer I've played, I've met lots of people, and everone actually calls me by my first name. I don't think I'm a great player...I'd say I'm mediocre to fair, but I have fun usually. Making a place for yourself in a Magic community is the same as any other social situation....it just takes time. I'd encourage any woman who is shy around other Magic players to do whatever it takes to get over that and just jump in. Who cares if you play like a scrub? Everyone has to start from somewhere. There's a couple of tournament reports somewhere on the Dojo that document my typical mistakes. I still make a lot of chump mistakes, but I have a lot of friends who will laugh with me afterwards about it. Tournaments can be a lot of fun if you realize you don't have to win. I finally won my first local tournament about a month ago. It wasn't very big, only eight people in a side tournament at regionals, but I won anyhow. I can't even count how many tournaments I've played since November. It would be really nice someday to be good enough at the game to be competitive at a Pro level, but I'm not holding my breath. Sure I've met a few assholes in the game so far, but you meet those downtown or anywhere else. You only have to be near them for 70 minutes max. Sitting at the bus stop can be just as trying to one's patience and senses. Most of the other girls I've met so far who play Magic honestly are a little quirky. But I could say the same about the men I've met who play the game too. It does bring a little extra attention and attitudes to a girl who is playing in a tournament, by virtue of her gender. I think that would go away if more women were to play at competitive Magic. It would be great to get more women who would play at the local tournaments on a regular basis. A lot of the problems people are complaining about in this string would be alleviated with numbers. So I've been able to overcome a lot of the attitudes I get from local chauvenists by becoming a better player. By no stretch am I great, but I can compete with most players. By listening to the criticisms about my mistakes (one of the most difficult things for me); learning basis deck designs, and how they're played; and putting in time online, I've gotten to be much better the past couple of months. I guess the whole point of this letter is to encourage any other woman to learn or continue playing Magic. While there are only a handful of women who have the skills of someone like Cathy Nickoloff, there are a lot of you out there who could be competitive and enjoy the game. Julie Paynter (Michael Callahan's girlfriend)