Michigan Tech Lode
PULSE
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
7
Tech’s Magic: The Gathering Club, Pre-Release Party ALEX SAARI Lode Writer Since Magic: The Gathering’s creation in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, Michigan Tech has more or less had a devoted fan base for the popular card game. Starting with Friday Night Magic (FNM) where tournaments and free play occur, players meet each other and cards are traded. Started during the spring of 2010, the Magic club on campus was created to give players and enthusiasts a regular place and time to meet. Since its creation, the club has increased in member size and popularity. While seventeen members make up the active roster, the Facebook group currently has forty-seven members. This past Saturday, September 29th, a weekly meeting of the club took place at Sportscard Connection in downtown Houghton. Meetings are normally every Saturday starting at 6:00 p.m. in Fisher 129 but a scheduled prerelease party for a new core set took place that night. In addition, the pre-release of the Return to Ravnica core set prompted the owner of Sportscard Connection to host a tournament. The pre-release event was a sealed deck tournament where players prepare a deck with a minimum of forty cards. Each card in the deck is drawn from six booster packs. Fifty plus players were at the card shop during the event while a typical FMN session welcomes between twelve and twenty people. Magic enthusiasts from the local area and club enthusiasts
were present at the event. Return to Ravnica is scheduled to be released on October 5th and is the fiftyninth core set to be released. Set in the megalopolis of Ravnica, this core set focused on five different guilds (or houses) and their falls from power. Return to Ravnica will be followed up by Gatecrash which features the remaining five guilds of Ravnica. When asking about club members about their favorite expansions, most had no preference and preferred multi-colored decks, which determined the type of creatures, spells and artifacts used. Zachary Schneider, the main contact for Tech’s Magic Club, was more specific and gave a short biography of himself. He prefers a multi-color deck with blue and black cards and has been playing for almost three years. John Hillaker, another player attending the regular club event, also prefers a multicolor deck with white and some other random color (either black, blue, red, green or white). He prefers fairly aggressive all-creature decks. The Magic club sponsors tournaments and free plays during each regular Saturday meeting. Standard tournaments are the most popular among members while booster drafting also occurs. FNM events are held by both the club and Sportscard Connection. Tom Cowan, the owner of Sportscard Connection, reported that this was an average turnout for a pre-release party. In the card shop, three Magic events are held every weekend including Friday Night Magic.
Top: Various players participate in the Magic: The Gathering tournament. Bottom: Members of Michigan Tech’s Magic: The Gathering club play a match. Photo courtesy of Alex Saari