On Thursday mornings at 7:15 a.m., members of NAHS’s newest club emerge from the parking deck. They greet their club sponsor at the staircase, letting them inside not long after. Although Robert Bennet teaches biology, for the next hour, these students will be doing Magic. More specifically, Magic: The Gathering.
Magic: The Gathering, colloquially abbreviated to “Magic,” is a card game. Far more complicated than War, B.S. (Baloney Sandwich), and even Gin Rummy, Magic is highly fluid. Personalized card decks and infinite tactical possibilities render no two games alike. Players can buy and compile unique decks that suit their aesthetic and strategic tastes. “You can find a deck or set of cards that fits your personality,” said Bennet.
The goal of the game is to drain your opponent’s starting life of 20 or 40 points to zero. Many players keep track of life with the official “Magic” app. “Mana” in the game means power. Power costs money. “Lands,” or land cards, afford the ability to play “Mana” and cast spells. If one chooses to attack their opponent, they declare the attacker. The opponent declares a defender. Each must choose wisely. “Numbers on cards confer the damage done,” said Gabriel Welty, the founding member.
The game can be intimidating at first, given the various rules and loose style of play. However, with some instructions, it is relatively easy to pick up. Furthermore, the game affords players more agency than others, and the stress of those choices is overcome by the thrill of making them. “It was hard at first to understand all the rules, but once I grasped the concept, it was one of the most fun and well-paced strategy games I’ve ever played,” said junior Ranveer Sethi. “It feels like chess but with magic and endless possibilities.”
Richard Garfield’s Magic: The Gathering hit the market in 1993. 32 years later, just after the peak of North Atlanta exam season, then-sophomores Caleb Blease and Gabriel Welty found themselves with time on their hands. “It was after exams, and we were bored,” said Welty. “That’s when it began.”
Returning as juniors, Blease and Welty decided to share their love of the game with friends. They formed the Magic Club at North Atlanta, and that’s when it hit the 11 stories. Bennet, Welty’s IB Bio teacher, agreed to host the group weekly. Magic just barely passed by Bennet during his youth. Now, as an adult, he often plays with the group, sometimes getting caught up in the competitive spirit.
The club is strong with many members, and Magic is well worth the early wake-up for students (and teachers) alike. It is not witchcraft that draws members from their beds early on Thursday mornings, but rather the promise of a thrilling game. It is a competitive and mentally demanding game with the accompaniment of added camaraderie. If you don’t believe it, go see where the Magic happens.
