I am from Bishkek, which is the capital of Kyrgyzstan. We don’t have a fancy LGS. Our MTG community is an underground party of a dozen people. A big part of these people are in EDH, but we have some enthusiasts who play formats like standard, pioneer, pre-modern, modern, and pauper.

The first time I bought Magic products in Saint Petersburg, I did so because the set was about Dungeons & Dragons. I had a chance to play this game and really loved it, so I decided not to miss the opportunity to buy something D&D-related at Hobby Games. My idea was that my wife and I could play this game while traveling, because two decks can easily fit into our luggage. I bought two starter arena decks + 2 boosters.

But this wasn’t the right moment to get into this hobby. I barely looked into the cards inside these decks, and I don’t know if I even unpacked these boosters. I decided to donate these boosters to our Bishkek board game community.

Later, a new game, “Tyrants of Underground,” was discovered, which focused on deckbuilding strategies. But during this game, there was not enough time for me to enjoy my brewed deck. So I was curious if any other games have the main idea of building your own, unique deck and playing against other players. I instantly remembered about MTG and in the next hour I already ordered a starter deck from the local hobby games shop.

So, I got these decks and then had no idea how to play. I had a company: my wife’s brother, who was also interested in learning this game. Our first step was to install MTG Arena and dive into the game rules. For some reason, it took me longer to understand the basics. But it was enough to amaze me, so I was curious to explore more.

And my next step was to buy some cards. I went back to Hobby Games and bought a fancy box of Phyrexia: All Will Be One.

Then it was impossible to stop. I started buying more and more cards, boosters, and boxes. I was obsessed with opening packs and discovering new cards. TCGplayer/EDHrec/MTGgoldfish became my go-to resources, replacing all my social networks.

Btw, this was my first biggest pull:

I was going to tell more, but I think to update this post later with more stories and pictures. Stay tuned!