WESTLOCK - Have you ever exiled a creature with Deathrite Shaman, then fired off a huge Sphinx’s Revelation? Have you ever held a Spellstutter Sprite in the palm of your hand?
If you have, you’re probably in the middle of the collectible card game known as Magic: The Gathering (MTG), just as 10 students at R.F. Staples School in Westlock were March 7.
The first-of-its-kind contest of the fantasy card game at the school was organized by Grade 11 student Jarett Etherington and would decide once and for all who could build the best deck in the Westlock region.
“I’ve personally been playing for eight years now,” said Etherington, who added he has tried to pull together a tournament at the school before, but it just didn’t come together.
“It was just a personal thing to try and get in touch with the community and see if I could bring up some spirit … A lot of it is coming together with a lot of friends, enjoying our time together and just the social experience in general.”
At its core, Magic: The Gathering is a turn-based strategy game, created in the mid-1990s. It comes down to understanding your hand and your opponents hand, explained Etherington.
“From what I see as an experienced player, it’s a series of threat evaluations,” he said.
Hardcore players may have millions of cards — Etherington himself has tens of thousands — of which, 60 are chosen for a single game, depending on the player’s options and strategy.
“I like confusing people with my weird strategies,” said Taya Etherington, one of the competitors. “It’s similar to chess, but every character has a dozen different abilities they can use.”
Tens of millions around the globe have also taken to the game, which has created a lucrative market for collectors and sellers, along with a trading system for those who are seriously involved. Some players may spend thousands and thousands of dollars to improve their deck.
“It gets expensive, it’s very expensive,” said Morgan Crawford, who was playing with a binder full of cards worth $500 that day, along with an assortment of branded gear.
Etherington said his deck alone was worth $300, but that he could beat just about anyone playing just five cards.
It can also be time-consuming, with games taking anywhere between five minutes and two-plus hours, said Crawford.
“It depends on how balanced each of the hands are,” he noted.
Casters (aka wizards, aka players) volleyed attacks back and forth throughout the day until only one was left, and to virtually no one’s surprise, organizer Jarett Etherington came out on top, followed by Michael Davie in second and Morgan Crawford in third.
Etherington also made sure to thank the school for its support in organizing the event, which he hopes to hold again, for even more players.
He also gave a special shout-out to the sponsors in Barrhead, which contributed 5,000 cards to give away to players at the tournament.
