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HOLY COW!! Vital, this is spago from #pokegym, and more exactly, DARK ARMY!! OH YES!! I still talk to Gr81 all the time, he lives like 20 min away from me. WHAT UP TIA!! Man, I totally miss the old days of #pokeleague and #pokegym
If I were going to start up a new game fresh, it would either be Poker or Magic. Magic is a game that is supported like no other TCG ever has, is, or (most likely) will be. There is a massive player base with ALL TYPES of people. To catagorize a "Magic player" would be like trying to catagorize a similar group of people (Like saying all Americans, or Women, or East Coast people are the same... they aren't). The MTG players around where I live are a great bunch of guys, and I actually talked with them more in between rounds of Pokemon tournaments than I did the other Pokemon players. They were just a great group of people-- not to say that Pokemon players aren't. If ukpokemonpro and Nick15 just ran into a bad pocket of them (which is probably the case, with so many players, there is bound to be a few bad apples), I wouldn't let it ruin your opinions of ALL of them. Magic has many, many formats, and the existing ones are changing and adapting constantly. Also, it's supported by Magic Online, which is great for teaching you how to play and testing, etc. If money and a tourney scene is your concern, they've got that covered better than any TCG out there. If a player base is your concern, they win, hands down.
I think Poker is a great game to get involved with, too. I think it's a lot of fun, and you can make some serious money at it, if you're good. The strategy in that game is simply unbelievable. It's like... unreal how many aspects of the game you have to know to be good at it. Not only do you have to know the game and it's strategy inside out to be a capable player, but you have to know probability, implied odds, and be able to read people for their tells. And it's especially hard, because to be a great player, you have to know how to play many different games of poker, each with their own seperate strategy. Pick your favorite!