How Magic: the Gathering became a pop-culture hit – and where it goes next

The original card game has 20 million players worldwide. Now, its publishers are revisiting its leading characters' origins in an effort to get bigger still

It had been a long, hard fight. My opponent and I had been exchanging blows and counter attacks for what seemed like hours, and now we sat, silent and depleted, like two punch-drunk prizefighters awaiting the final round of a gruelling championship bout.

The contest had been well-matched. I'd assembled an army of shrieking apes, giant bipedal mammoths and armour-plated rhinos. My plan was simple: overrun anyone who stood in front of me - brutal, lumbering but ultimately effective.