“I’m going to Tragic Slip your Heroes’ Bane with morbid.”
“Fine, I’m going to tap four for Fuel for the Cause, counter-target spell, proliferate…”
This exchange might seem a bit dense and esoteric, but it’s actually a bit of well-planned thrust and parry from the card game Magic: The Gathering.
Magic is a high-fantasy trading card game. Players compete against each other as mages, “planeswalkers” who cast spells and summon creatures to defeat their opponents.
First created in 1993, Magic has grown into a broad, international presence of 12 million people. In addition to casual games, there is a competitive scene, extensive collectables, and a strong community of dedicated players.
And now Magic is here at Camosun.
The Magic community has grown to include students at the college, now that Andy Chen, who is also the Camosun College Student Society’s director of students with (dis)Abilities, has founded a Magic: The Gathering club at Camosun.
“I’ve been playing Magic for close to 20 years and in that time I haven’t seen a Magic club on campus. It was something I really wanted to organize this year,” says Chen. “The idea behind having a Magic club was not only to create a social atmosphere where players can collect, trade, and play the game, but also to create a safe space for people to enjoy.”
Magic lends itself to customization and personalization, with over 12,000 cards to choose from for a deck of 60. The combinations are effectively endless. This variety has kept the game fresh through the years and encouraged players to keep coming back year after year.
“There’s definitely a very strong research and development team that puts a lot of effort into creating these cards and attracting new generations of players. Some decks are built for speed, so they win in several rounds, but others are developed for a long game,” says Chen. “There are many kinds of Magic players, some that just want to win; then there are those that like to win in style.”
Chen has designed the club not just to be a place to play games, but also to be an inclusive, safe space for students. The initial meetings were held in the library to encourage women to come out and play, and there is a free card box that works like a “take a penny, leave a penny” tray to help new players build decks.
“If you don’t have a collection, that’s fine, we can build a deck for you. For a novice player, it might be great just to borrow a deck, or watch someone play a few hands of Magic before they start playing themselves,” says Chen. “Breaking isolation is a big aspect of the Magic club; this is a safe place on campus to organize, be yourself, and express yourself.”
Chen’s strategy of inclusion and patience is paying off. These are not angry players playing in dimly lit rooms, cursing at each other over the anonymity of the internet. They are peers meeting face to face and having fun. In the gaming world, that connectedness can be difficult to find.
One of the club’s members, Camosun student Devon Wintoniak, was initially drawn entirely by the community around the game. Despite having limited gaming and no Magic experience, he signed up at the college’s Club Days earlier in the year.
“I’ve been here for every meeting so far,” says Wintoniak. “I went into it purely for the social side, but beyond that the game itself is engaging. It seems like everybody latches on to a particular thing they like. Some people like playing to win, some like the collecting side, some people like building interesting decksÉ That’s where I’m at: collecting. Everyone just kind of finds their niche.”
Camosun’s Magic: The Gathering club meets every Friday from 1 to 3 pm in Fisher 200 at the Lansdowne campus.