Types of Magic Players

If you play Magic Arena, you may have noticed new avatars in the store (see above illustration). These pay homage to the general 'types' of Magic players, the subject of today's post. As summarized on MTG Wiki, there are two classifications of player profiles:

• The "psychographic profile" explores why people play the game
• The "aesthetic profile" explores what players care about in the game

Psychographic Profiles

People play Magic for different reasons. In 2002, Mark Rosewater (the game's head of development) wrote an article where he claimed there were three basic reasons why people played Magic. Asking questions like "What motivates that player to play? What kind of cards do they like? What kind of things encourages that player to keep on playing?," they developed three psychographic profiles and named them Timmy, Johnny, and Spike, each with descriptors shown below.

Timmy, Power Gamer

Timmy "likes his cards to be impressive, and he enjoys playing big creatures and big spells." He "is motivated by fun. He plays Magic because it’s enjoyable. Timmy is very social. An important part of the game is sitting around with his friends."

Johnny, Combo Player

"Johnny likes to win, but he wants to win with style . . . using his own deck. Playing Magic is an opportunity for Johnny to show off his creativity." He "likes making decks that win in innovative ways . . . [and] enjoys deckbuilding as much as (or more than) he enjoys playing. Johnny loves the cool interactions of the cards. He loves combo decks. Johnny is happiest when he’s exploring uncharted territory."

Spike, Tournament Grinder

"Spike is the competitive player. Spike plays to win . . . [and] will play whatever the best deck is. Spike will copy decks off the Internet. Spike will borrow other players’ decks. To Spike, the thrill of Magic is the adrenalin[e] rush of competition. Spike enjoys the stimulation of outplaying the opponent and the glory of victory."

You could summarize these by saying Timmy likes big creatures/spells and the social aspect, Johnny likes deck-building and the exploring/creative aspect, and Spike likes to win and the competitive aspect.

Of course, it is possible for a person to fit one (or all) categories. They needn't be viewed in isolation from each other. But generally, players will trend towards a certain profile more than the others.

Aesthetic Profiles

In 2007 (and again in 2015), Rosewater wrote about the aesthetic things people enjoyed about Magic. Originally, these were thought to be the fourth and fifth types of players, but Rosewater argues otherwise in these articles, saying in the latter that "aesthetic profiles . . . focus on what aspect of the game you find the most beauty in" and that these types don't "necessarily impact your psychographic, because each one can be applied alongside the aesthetic scale."

Vorthos

For Vorthos, "beauty is seen through flavor representation. They look at a card, or cycle, or mechanic, or set, or block, or even a component of a card, and they can appreciate how well it captures the feel of the creative."

Mel

Mel "looks for beauty through the mechanical components. Mel appreciates that there are many different elements that have to come together to make a Magic card function structurally, from the color pie to the mana system to the rules to the templating to the mechanical needs of the set. There is an art to designing and developing Magic cards, and the Mels of the word are fascinated from that vantage point."

Rosewater summarizes: "While Vorthoses are focused on the craft behind the creative, Mels are focused on the craft of the design." And he emphasizes that "Vorthos and Mel each exist on their own scale. You are not Vorthos or Mel but rather Vorthos or anti-Vorthos and Mel or anti-Mel (or more likely somewhere on the scale in between in each case) . . . It is possible to be both a Vorthos and a Mel, or to be neither."

Vorthos was identified first (and originally considered a fourth psychographic profile), which is why it shows up in Arena but not Mel. 

What are you?

So why do you play Magic, and what do you care about in the game? Though I see hints of all types mentioned above, when I look at my history in the game, I would classify myself as a Timmy/Johnny Vorthos. I like big spells (and the social piece), deck-building (and the exploring piece), and flavor. Of course I like to win, but that isn't my prime driver.