I have been playing Pokemon for two years now. My (then 9 year old

daughter) got me started into it. I have always liked games but was not a

big card game fan and never played a TCG game before this. Snxx Snxx.

         OK  OK I will move on. What I wanted to say is that a friend of mine

has taught me to play Magic recently since I asked him to for the sole

reason that I constantly heard these comparisons between the two. And I

honestly thought that Magic was going to be more complex, more

strategic,more... just more. I knew going in that I would not be taking it

up because I could not invest the funds and time as I have playing Pokemon.

Still, there was the interest.

         As we have been playing for the past 3 weeks I  found that I prefer

the strategy in Pokemon more. I find less strategy in Magic and a lot more

luck. You basically have to play the hand given you and have no option of

improving it. There are only certain things you can do with the cards given

you. And in the cards I am familiar with there is little card drawing. This

card drawing may influence the game but it does not allow you to re-group

and start a new attack.

         I have been fortunate to win 2 out of every 3 games played and I do

not know if it is because my 'black' deck matches up favorably with his

'red' deck or if I am just luckier with the cards I get but I KNOW it is not

because I am a better player. That just feeds my prejudice that more

"chance" is involved and less skill. (A feeling that I never got when I

first started playing Pokemon and was getting my brains beat in by everyone

between the ages of 6-60). We just finished a L  O  N  G  game where I beat

him most accurately stated by using all "trainers" and no "pokemon". It is

impossible to play a game of pokemon so decidedly unbalanced and win but

'Enfeeblement' and 'Life Drain" and ' Lava Axe' allowed me to polish him off

and not put but 1 ineffectual creature into play. That was not a veddy

interesting way to win.

         I think the fact that there are shaman, zombies,g iant spiders and

the like make the game more appealing to a teen crowd (as opposed to an army

of  'puffs, 'fairys and pikachus) but I think not enough credit is given to

the skill level and strategy involved in a game of Pokemon.

        

         Thank you for your letting me have my say. I welcome all

intelligent, constructive criticism and opinion. Late gator

                                    Mark.Dawson@vacorp.com