RENTON, Wash. — Magic: The Gathering’s turns are divided into phases which guide players through the process of playing lands, casting spells, and combat. In a recent push to address the mental health concerns of hopelessly addicted players, Wizards of the Coast has added a new optional phase which provides players the opportunity to have a good cry without interruption before the end of their turn.
“There’s a lot of thought that goes into each step of any given turn in Magic: The Gathering,” said Ronnie Lott, Senior Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast. “Instants and flash spells can be played anytime a player is given priority, which happens a lot. As a result, players are often beaten over the head with countless choices, even if it’s not their turn. This can leave many people feeling overwhelmed, be it from a wrong move or missed opportunity. What better way to alleviate the pressures of the game than by designating an official phase to have yourself a choking, ugly cry when it all becomes too much.”
With every change Wizards of the Coast makes, players hated it and were vocal about it. That was until, per the norm, they sat down and actually tried it out.
“Bobby cried for a good six minutes,” said regular at Hex & Co. Vincent De’Lorino. “After he was done weeping, he said he didn’t realize how much he needed it. Even though it was just turn one, I totally get the feeling. Only a tapland available when you have Sol Ring in hand turn one is hard. Turns out it was because he really loves his dog and was thinking about him being home alone. Then we all started crying at instant speed during Bobby’s have-a-cry phase because that’s some real shit.”
In addition to personal emotional outpouring, the newly added phase provides players a chance to learn about empathy for others.
“You don’t really know what’s going on in other people’s lives. I’ve always been so focused on judging people based on their choice of commander and associated archetype when they sit down at the table. The have-a-cry phase has shown me that sometimes there’s a good reason for deliberate provocation by playing a Koma, Cosmos Serpent deck. When given the opportunity to share personal difficulties with the group, the desire for the playgroup to have a downright miserable game of commander makes a lot more sense.”
With the success of the new phase, Wizards of the Coast are looking to incorporate other ways to address mental health concerns such as printing all new cards with that plastic film that comes on new electronics that’s so damn satisfying to peel off.