I didn't play MtG before, but I played a similar game (maybe easier? I don't know) Yu-Gi-Oh!! It takes a lot of time but I use the task oriented approach while playing (Next Move vs Win.. yeah I suck). and the goal oriented approach while making a deck (Better Deck vs Next Card).

This post made me think about my way of daily life a bit.

Since you talked about Narrative, and you look interested in Magic/fantasy... I'm writing a short fantasy story, I'll probably publish it on steemit next week, wanna give you a link to it when I do?