I know. This is a weird one, right? Well, I honestly couldn’t help myself. Maybe it’s the fact that I was trained to be a therapist, or maybe it’s because I love good media with good morals, but I can’t help but adore Bluey. The lessons this show teaches are invaluable to children…but are they applicable to adults? Without a shadow of a doubt.
But let’s go a step further. Can Magic players take something away from this children’s show? I think so. So sit down, pull up that Disney+ subscription or the official YouTube channel, and let’s see what Bluey can teach you about Magic.
1. Learn from your failures.
Episode: “Bike“
“Bike” is an amazing episode of Bluey that actually inspired this article. Bluey and her friends are all attempting to do something at the park. Bingo wants to reach the water fountain, Muffin wants to be able to put her backpack on all by herself, and Bentley wants to reach the monkey bars. However, each time they try, they all fail. Bluey, similarly, wants to ride her bike but keeps falling and wants to give up. Her father, Bandit, instead has her watch each of her friends struggle until they achieve their goal.
“Why can’t I do it straightaway?” Bluey yells. You can’t be perfect immediately, though. Failure is part of life, part of the process.
Magic is one of the world’s most complex card games. The rules are intricate, intense, and often a bit confusing. Grasping combos and card interaction immediately is rare. Heck, even with me being a player of over seven years, I still mess up from time to time. Failures are a natural part of the process, and learning from them can impact your play experience, especially if you are a tournament player going into specific matchups. Failure isn’t bad. It just means you’ve learned something.
2. Be prepared, because the “boring stuff” matters.
Episode: “The Pool“
“Boring things are still important.” That is the main takeaway of “The Pool.”
The episode starts out with Bluey telling her mom, Chilli, that boring things are not important. She, her sister, and her father then leave to go swim at their uncle’s pool, but they only take the fun pool stuff and not their important pool bag. When they get to the pool, they find they are unable to play because they forgot their towels, sunscreen, snacks, floaties, toys, and flip-flops. They have a miserable time and are about to leave when Chilli arrives with their bag of items. The day is saved, and the kids are able to play and have fun in the pool. Their boring things turned out to be rather important.
So how does this apply to Magic? Well, in my previous article, I talked about how lands are boring but important. The same goes for other aspects of your deck. Cards like interaction, removal, and mana rocks can be considered boring. They aren’t as exciting as an Etali, Primal Storm or that splashy Ultimatum. However, without these pieces, your games might end up boring, not fun, or just unplayable. Boring things are still important.
3. Run your own race.
Episode: “Baby Race“
“Baby Race” is, in my opinion, one of the most amazing Bluey episodes. In this episode, Chilli recounts her experience with Bluey as a baby and her journey towards her first steps. Bluey is focused on being better than one of her friends, and her mother tells her to “run your own race.” Chilli kept comparing her experience to that of her friend’s. Her friend’s child kept hitting milestones faster than her child, and Chilli began to compare and even doubt herself. One of Chilli’s friends visited her and told her that she was doing great, and Chilli then decided to focus on herself and run her own race (achieve things in her own time). What others did didn’t matter.
Whether you’re in content, competing in a tournament, or simply playing in a pod with friends, it can be hard to not compare yourself to others. Maybe they’re grasping a concept faster than you, or their record is better than yours. Comparison is often called the thief of joy. You start to focus on others and forget yourself. By running your own race and focusing on yourself, you can better enjoy things. Everyone is unique, and their experiences are no different.
4. Fun comes in different forms.
Episode: “Stumpfest“
“Stumpfest” is the ultimate dad episode. Bandit, Stripe, and Lucky’s dad get together to rip up two stumps in their backyard. While they’re ripping up the first stump, the kids play Nail Salon on the second stump. They get attached, and when it’s time for the second stump to be ripped up, the kids try to stop them. Chilli intervenes and tells Bluey that they’re interrupting the dads’ playtime. Bluey is confused at first, because to her, it looks like they’re doing work; however, after observing, she realizes that they are indeed playing. It’s just a different kind of play than she’s used to.
There are many different ways to enjoy Magic, be it Pauper, Commander, Draft, or Pioneer. There is no right or correct way. What might seem fun to one seems like something completely different to another. We see this big divide crop up, particularly when it comes to the hot-button topic of casual commander and cEDH. While I myself might not enjoy cEDH, that doesn’t make it bad or not fun. It just looks different to me. The same goes for any other way to play Magic. Fun is always at the heart of each experience, no matter what form it takes.
5. Do you wanna play or do you wanna be right?
Episode: “Grannies“
I really love “Grannies” because the lesson rings true, regardless of the game lens you look through. In this episode, Bluey and Bingo pretend to be grannies; however, Bingo starts to do the Fortnite floss dance. Bluey said she was playing the game wrong because Grannies can’t floss. They call their Nana on their FaceTime equivalent and find out that she doesn’t know how to do the dance. Bingo gets sad and doesn’t want to play anymore. Bluey asks her mom why, and she says, “Well, do you want to be right or do you want her to play?” Bluey then teaches her Nana how to floss so that Bingo won’t be sad anymore, and they can continue to play.
I found this lesson to be applicable in two major ways. The first comes in the form of the Rule 0 conversation. Proxies, Un-cards, and illegal commanders are definitely not allowed in Commander, but the exclusion of playing these things can exclude others from playing the game outright. Of course, it’s okay to say no, but being right is not always the best course of action. In another sense, we can apply this lesson to how we play our decks. Commander is a social format, and the enjoyment of everyone in the pod is important. Playing your deck in the most optimal, fast-paced way can be fitting or not fitting depending on the circumstances. Sometimes it’s fun to not do the right thing. Allowing others to “do the thing” is just as important.
6. Mistakes can take time to heal.
Episode: “Favourite Thing“
The Heeler family sit down for a lovely dinner and decide to play a game called Favourite Thing, where each person says their favorite thing from that day. Bluey says something that makes Bingo embarrassed by mistake. Feeling bad about this, Bluey then asks her parents to help her make Bingo feel better, but despite the game, Bingo doesn’t cheer up. Bluey feels bad because she wants her sister to feel better right away; however, things take time. Eventually, Bingo comes around and continues to enjoy playing and eating with her family.
So how does this apply to Magic? I think we can apply this to feeling salty after a game. Sometimes it’s hard for us to let go of that salty feeling, even if we desperately want to. No one goes into a game of Magic with the intent to make someone upset or unhappy, but it does happen from time to time. We don’t mean for these things to happen, but it’s important for us to realize that it takes time for people to get back to equilibrium, and that we can impact people in ways we don’t even mean to.
7. It was fun while it lasted.
Episode: “Keepy Uppy“
“Keepy Uppy” was such an interesting episode for me because the lesson can be applied in a number of magical ways. In this episode, Bluey and her family play a game with her last balloon in which the balloon must not touch the ground or the game is over. Over the course of the episode, Bandit makes the game harder and harder until the balloon eventually touches grass and pops. The kids are sad for a moment, but then remark that the game was very fun. The game was fun while it lasted, and the kids moved on to another game rather than being sad it was over.
I feel like this lesson can be applied to a few things regarding Magic. In one sense, we can take this perspective when looking at bannings. Regardless of your format of choice, having one of your favorite cards banned can feel like an absolute gut punch. Rather than marinating in the sadness of this loss, one can remark on the fun they had with that card/deck and move on to other pieces. In another sense, we can also apply this lesson to games of Commander. Games have to end sometime, after all, and we can be sad about them ending or look forward to the excitement and possibility of new ones not yet played.
8. Spend wisely.
Episode: “Markets“
Markets is a funny little episode where Bluey struggles to figure out how to spend her tooth fairy money. She and her friend Indy go to the market and keep finding alluring options to spend her money on: a pony ride, hot dogs, pastries, and eventually a toffee apple. Bluey impulsively purchases an apple and immediately regrets it. She instead wishes she could’ve spent her money on a song by a local performer. Through karmic means, the $5 magically makes its way back to Bluey, and she is able to put it in the performer’s guitar case for a song.
The lesson? Buy singles.
***
I know Bluey is a show meant for children, but the messages and lessons taught in it ring true. Magic at its heart is a game, and it’s important for us to remember that. Whether you’re comparing yourself to others in a tournament or you’re sad over the banning of your favorite commander, there is something to be learned from an Australian cartoon about a little blue dog. Have fun running your own race, deckbuilders.
