I'm going to start this story off by saying that I have almost definitely talked myself out of buying that XBox 360.  If I were to buy the console, a couple of games, and some accessories, it could easily cost $700, which would be all the christmas money I could possibly conceivably get this year.  I can't sit here and say with a straight face that I'd ever get $700 worth of good out of the thing.

Meanwhile, my recent excursion into HeroScape has mainly just piqued my interest into that *other* game that I collected.  You know, the one I maligned in my last entry for being too expensive?  Well, that same $700 would probably be a whole year's worth of cards plus a whole year's worth of leagues on Magic Online, and I don't even have to spend it all up front.  I'm leaning heavily in that direction right now.

I'm not sure I can explain what the difference is, but all I know is that opening a HeroScape product feels so anticlimactic.  When you open a pack of MTG (or Dreamblade), there's this excitement to see what cards I got this time--Is there a foil card?  Is the rare a good one?  What about the uncommons?  Plus, the game really is amazingly fun to play, and it can also be played online when there's no opponent handy.  Of course, the online cards are a separate collection, but the point is practicing online is useful experience for playing the physical game too.

So, yeah, despite my best resistance, I guess I got myself bit by the Magic the Gathering bug again.  I guess there's worse things to be addicted to.  A pack of Magic is still healthier than a pack of cigarettes, last time I checked.  But probably just as addictive. :wink: