We humans are particularly bad when it comes to the exploration of the self. Setting aside the sheer miraculous nature that is sentience and our capability of understanding that we have it, we nevertheless kind of suck at evaluating exactly what that means to and within ourselves. Yes, we have consciousness. We are cognizant of the world and that we have some place within it. We can champion our ability to think, process, rationalize, problem solve, discover, explore, and create. Cognito, ergo sum!
All of that is great, it truly is. But it’s neither remarkable nor surprising just how quickly most of us get caught dead in our tracks when asked to decipher the question, precisely, “who am I?”
On the one hand, it isn’t as simple as it initially seems. Sages and philosophers have been debating the nature of the self for centuries. Some have even argued that truly knowing oneself is a wholly unknowable prospect for reasons ranging from the aspirational to the nihilistic. On the other, many of us find comfort and stability by wrapping their identity principally around specific constructs within our lives that help define their sense of self-worth. “I am a mother.” “I am a Christian.” “I am a doctor.” “I am an American.” “I am a fighter.”
There is no singularly correct answer, nor is there a pointed attempt here to guide people down any one particular school of thinking on the matter. Self-perception and self-identity are complex, tricky topics. Part of that is because the only person who can truly define you is, well, you. Everyone around you can provide insight into how they see you, how the world may see you. But it is an incomplete picture of you as you because only you have access to your inner thoughts. Yet because the vast majority of us are so busy focusing on the immediate present, of actively living, delving into such thoughts is not a default concept. Turning inwards with an intentional introspective lens is simply not something that most of us do on a regular basis. Whether that’s due to hardships preventing us even small moments of quiet thought, being worried about what we may find, the fact that society rarely prioritizes or champions the growth of self through self-reflection, or something else entirely, once most of us get past our teen years and into the “real world” of adulthood, that meta exploration slows considerably – if not entirely.
Of course, the other part of why it’s such a tricky topic is because the answer to that question is continually in flux. Asking yourself “who am I?” at 15 will yield wildly different answers than at 25. Or 40. Or 60.
Or 16 for that matter.
We don’t always see it, or think about it, or even acknowledge it, but just as we shape the world around us, the world around us shapes us as well. The undeniable reality is that who you are today is not the same person as you were 10 years ago, a year ago, a month ago, or even yesterday. Whether significant or mundane, we are all constantly changing and evolving as individuals. Just compare, for instance, your current music playlists to those of when you were a teenager. There will be similarities and favorites that have carried through to today, of course, but some bands that spoke to the 17 year old us don’t necessarily resonate the same as the 37 year old us. The same goes for books and movies we may have liked, what made us laugh, what we prioritized, and how we perceived the world. That was you. That isn’t wholly indicative of you now. What’s more, contrary to the vocal screeds of some (particularly on social media), people changing their ideas and beliefs over time isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That’s how we grow and better ourselves. We aren’t innately born with maturity and wisdom – we have to learn it from somewhere, to graft those traits and lessons into our identity through lived experiences. Plus, if we never changed, life would be a whole lot less interesting.
So maybe the next time someone drags up an ignorant or uncouth remark someone uttered 20 years ago, maybe recognize that unless they’re still espousing that sentiment, you can’t immediately assume it’s at all still relevant; just as the world of the past is different, there’s a good chance they aren’t that person anymore.
These changes can manifest in minute ways too, including the why and how regarding playing Magic. At 28 years old, it has engendered enough of a legacy in gaming that quite a few people have at least tried the game at some point in their lives, however briefly. Depending on the circumstances of when that was in your life, that can also shape which parts did or didn’t interest you, your play style, and how long you stuck with it (if at all). The reasons people take up the game – or walk away from it for that matter – are myriad. And that relationship (or lack thereof), also tie into your sense of self in those moments in terms of interests and priorities.
As someone who has been involved with Magic in some form since 1994, my relationship with the game has changed numerous times over the years. When I was first introduced to the game at the ripe old age of 10, it primarily served as a vehicle for being able to do something fun and cool with my teenaged brothers and some of their friends. By high school my driving interest was in honing my skills at improving deck synergies and combos. By my mid 20s the fire of optimization gave way to it being less about the game itself and more a center point around a rich, vibrant, and consistent social life. In the Commander era that last part remains true, albeit now tempered by a dwindled size and less free time, and my EDH decks are often less about being powerhouse players than they are about a) actually working and b) making sure each of them feels fun and unique and different. If I build a deck around a specific legend, the last thing I want is for it to look like everyone else’s.
Of course, as my priorities and vantages towards the game have shifted over time, it is therefore equally true that my relationship with certain cards has done the same. Some cards that I once favored heavily don’t see nearly as much use as I actively try to increase my card diversity. Some I avoided for a variety of reasons but have since had a change of heart over as my tastes and focuses have shifted. This week’s card is very much one of the latter.
Today we have: Traveling Plague
Name: Traveling Plague
Edition: Odyssey
Rarity: Rare
Focus: Creature Destruction
Highlights: One of the most memorable cards from my early years of Magic is the card Takklemaggot. Not because it was a fast or powerful card, or even one that saw much use, but because it may hold the record for the most rules text ever on a single card. It is literally a wall of text. The card itself was an Aura that slowly added minus counters on a creature until it died. When it finally did, it would come back on a new creature. And if one didn’t exist, it turned into an enchantment and starts damaging you instead. Traveling Plague took that idea and made it functional in multiplayer.
The idea around self-recurring Aura-based creature withering has been part of Black’s toolbox since the game’s inception, as evidenced by cards like Takklemaggot. Early on, I disliked such cards because they added elements of unpredictability and the high prospect of reciprocity. I didn’t love the idea that my own Auras likely would come back around to harm me and likely disrupt whatever plans I was trying to enact. With the luxury of longer games and added life totals in Commander, though, I’ve become more willing to add a dash of chaos to the mix than I once did, if to do nothing but keep the game moving in a flavorful way. Auras such as these can do that. Similar to how Kudzu operates with land, these Auras chew through creatures with varying speeds and hop around the battlefield until, usually, someone puts a forced stop to them by either removing the enchantment or the creatures it could affect.
Takklemaggot, however, is far too slow for most EDH settings, with it ticking down a creature’s toughness by 1 each round. At the other end, a card like Nettlevine Blight is devastatingly powerful against a single player, but it is locked to a single player and can completely knock them out of the game eventually if they have no answers to enchantments, which isn’t as fun as it sounds. From a multiplayer perspective, Traveling Plague strikes that not-so-healthy medium.
At five mana, Traveling Plague is a moderately costed Aura. Some players in the past have balked at such a cost, but it’s important to remember that you’ll only ever need to cast it once. Once unleashed, it will operate completely on its own. It states that during each upkeep, the Aura gets a counter, and the enchanted creature gets -1/-1 for each of those counters. In a normal Commander game of 3-5 players, triggering each upkeep ensures all but the largest creatures can be withered away in a round or two unless something is done to stop it.
Once the creature dies, the enchantment then hops back out of the graveyard enchanting a new creature of that player’s choice, and the cycle continues anew. That player could return the favor by giving it back to you, yes, but that isn’t always guaranteed. There’s a chance that Player B could send it along to Player C because they pose a bigger problem. And that’s all one can hope for really. Still, one shouldn’t use such a card if they’re not willing to accept the consequences. So be aware of that.
Moreover, unlike a couple newer iterations of plague Auras which have the upside of killing the creature outright, Traveling Plague has two attributes that make it worth considering over, say, Necrotic Plague. First, Traveling Plague expressly states that it returns to the battlefield once the enchanted creature leaves the battlefield – not that it has to die. Which means that even if the creature is flickered or bounced and it falls off due to state-based effects, it will still trigger and return to the battlefield. This can be a major, if subtle, distinction that can get you extra mileage out of its use. Second, when Traveling Plague returns to the battlefield to infest again, you simply choose the creature to attach it to, getting around targeting restrictions like Shroud and Hexproof. Which ultimately means that unless the creature has Protection, nothing is truly safe from its reach. In a format with an ample supply of creatures that are hard to remove, Traveling Plague can be a novel, if slightly untamable way of addressing them.
A sentiment which I guarantee that the 17 year old me would never have remotely considered.
Keep an eye out for us to be regularly featuring other more accessible-but-worth-it Commander cards going forward. In the meantime, we’ll keep the light on for you.
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