Students get their ‘Magic’ on
Magic: The Gathering is a tactical collectible card game with the objective of overcoming your opponent, said Liberal Arts major and Phi Theta Kappa President Levi Turner.
His experience with MTG has been limited to playing with friends, but many students play at the Westside campus where they occasionally host tournaments, he said.
A deck includes creatures, enchantments, artifacts, and land cards, said Turner
“Creatures are ‘physical b e i n g s ’ that you draw t o a t t a c k your opponent. Enchantments and artifacts affect the whole field in various ways and land cards are used as ‘energy’ or ‘mana’ to power everything else,” said Turner.
Turner’s best advice for beginning players is to make a deck with at least 70 cards and not to focus on one particular creature, but to use multiple cards in order to make the entire deck functional, he said.
Executive Council of Students Vice President and Criminal Justice major Stephen Martos said a player must understand the complexities of the game and figure out the best strategy to defeat an opponent with a deck of cards.
“MTG is diverse. New players often find really cool and powerful cards and build a deck around that card; however, in my experience, the most effective decks focus on a goal or a central idea instead of a particular card. That way you are not relying on one card to make your deck effective,” said Turner.
Turner said he started playing MTG in high school, when one of his oldest friends introduced him to the game.
“Sometimes it gets really exciting. It depends on the match just like any other sport.
I would probably break a sweat playing on really hot days,” said Turner.
Martos said he has been playing MTG since late last year when a couple of friends invited him to a game session, he said.
“New players should be open to new experiences. Some people take this very seriously and that can seem odd, but it’s just like any kind of sport or professional game out there. It’s a really fun game,” said Martos.
The game can be overwhelming for beginners but he said once the basics are understood, the rest will come gradually and then the fun really starts.
There are endless ways of creating a personalized playing style which varies from player to player, he said.
“For me, it’s fostering creativity and learning something that I previously had no idea about,” said Martos.
MTG has opened up social venues for Martos that were not there before, he said.
“Being able to get together with friends and just play while having fun is a fantastic experience,” said Martos.
Pre-Health Science major Robert Courville has been playing MTG since the late 90s.
For Courville, the main objective of playing MTG is to kill time and hang out with friends, he said.
“In the past I’ve played in tournaments, but I haven’t played in one in years,” said Courville.
MTG is a constantly evolving game and he said it has been a significant part of his life, he said.
“You have to stay on top of the rules and strategies of the game,” said Courville.
Courville said there are many tools available to help people learn about MTG.
“Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers for the Xbox is helpful to learn the mechanics of the game. My wife doesn’t like to play the cards but she likes to play on the Xbox,” said Courville.
Ares Wargames at 3301 Menaul Blvd NE, near Menaul and Carlisle, hosts tournaments on Friday nights, said Courville.
