The Magic the Gathering Community

The Gamecock Esports club is prized for its many competitive teams such as its large League of Legends and Smash communities; but the club is also prized for its more casual communities(casual meaning not in a competitive league).

Every Casual Game Night, there are three large groups that come to play: the Smash players, the board game lovers, and the Magic the Gathering followers. One of the fastest growing communities we have is the Magic following and their emanating passion for the game inspired me to start this series that spotlights Esports communities! If you are already interested, or will be interested in joining the community, I linked contact information at the bottom of this article; otherwise let me tell you the story of Dimitri and his Magic cards.

Last academic year, there was only one ever present Magic the Gathering player: Dimitri. He would come with several decks, his deck mat, dice, and an eager expression waiting for somebody to play Magic with him. It did not matter if you did not know anything about Magic, Dimitri was ready to explain and let you borrow one of his decks. I, being already curious about the game, tried my best to play with him, but ended up just laughing at how unaware I was with everything that happened. I am sure Dimitri appreciated it since a lot of people, at hearing the word “magic,” asked if Dimitri was offering to pull rabbits out of hats and quarters from behind their ears.

But due to the enthusiasm that Dimitri emulated, he found another person who understood his Magic jargon, and they repeatedly played every week at Casual Game Night. I asked Dimitri, what in general was the Magic community like? Nay, it is not a bunch of sweaty old men, but a long colorful range of individuals, 35 million to be exact. In remarking about the community, Dmitri told me

“I’ve seen middle aged women, sports fanatics, young children, parents and their kids, and everyone who you wouldn’t expect to be invested in Magic play this game religiously! I also like to think that part of the reason that getting into Magic is easy is because everyone is so supportive.”

While watching the pair play over and over, seemingly never getting bored by playing the same set of rounds with the same decks, I increasingly began to be more interested about Magic the Gathering. The thing about Magic the Gathering is that there are LOADS of cards with a wide range of rules that you may or may not apply while playing with your deck.

“Magic has a lot of modes, or ‘formats’, that appeal to many people. Do you want a slower, tactical format that uses cards from the latest sets? Play Standard. Are you a veteran player that likes to use older, more powerful cards? Play Legacy. Do you want to make a deck out of all your cards that come in common rarity? Play Pauper. Magic has a playstyle for everyone, and this combined with a crowd that’s looking to get something different out of the game has led to a growing community.”

The format the club plays is Elder Dragon Highlander(EDH), or Commander, format, which means that your deck includes 100 cards, which includes a “commander” card, and there is only one copy of each card(unlike the usual 4 copy limit). Dimitri notes that “This makes games feel very fresh, because whereas those 60 card formats make drawing the same cards much more likely, games of EDH rarely have identical opening hands, adding a lot of replayability to the format.” The card pool also includes all the cards in the history of Magic the Gathering’s 26 years of existence (minus some overpowered cards). This made me understand completely why Dmitri and his friend could go on and on with just their one deck for awhile.

Their set of games never got a chance to become dry because others began to join. Conveniently, the Commander game mode features a multiplayer form of playing, making the experience more welcoming for others to join in to add to their every growing whoops and hollers. What was just Dimitri trying to coax others to play with him, was now a large group that covered several table lengths. Indeed, this group of players are contending to be the loudest group in the Casual Game Night room.

I strongly encourage if you are in anyway interested in Magic the Gathering, whether you are just curious or a seasoned player, to come to the next Casual Game Night and sit with this community; their passion and love for the game is contagious and I can’t help but smile even when I am just watching.

Article by Clio Lang, Discord: Clio#4086

Dimitri's Discord: Magic4Life#1664

Inquire more in our magic-the-gathering channel on our Discord

CGN is every Thursday night at 8PM in room b110 in the Honors Residence Hall