Magic club is the place to be

Way back when, the ¨nerdy¨ game of choice was Dungeons and Dragons. Now the kids who played Dungeons and Dragons have grown up and had kids, who play Magic the Gathering.

Magic is a trading card game created in 1993. The game is between two ´wizards´ who have decks of 60+ cards and use them to make their moves. Different cards represent different things like spells, artifacts and creatures.

There are five different card colors that can be used for combinations, which have different effects on the game. There are green, red, blue, white, and black.

If you want to learn how to play you can find the rules here.

Mr. Vosk is a biology teacher at Milford High School and the sponsor for Magic Club every Wednesday and Thursday.

He sponsored the club when two students came to him wanted to start it. He didn’t know what the game was, but he wanted to help the kids out.

They taught him the basics of the game, then gave him their worst decks to play with and would beat him every time. Eventually Vosk got frustrated and learned how to play and build his own decks.

¨Magic is great for honing your predicting skills. You have to predict what cards your opponent has and what they’re going to do with them.¨ Vosk said ¨You need a lot of analyzing skills, it’s like chess with cards.¨

Now every Thursday, there is a draft where Vosk orders boxes of cards and kids can buy them and use them to build their decks and play against each other.

Jake Dahlmann, a Milford Junior and avid Magic player said, ¨Magic makes you really focused on critical thinking, it brings you into a different mindset where everything you do matters and everything your opponent does matters.¨

Many players have the habit of shuffling their cards together in between moves. This helps them focus and keeps the other player from seeing their cards.

During games, players will try to trick their opponent. They will tap their decks like they’re about to flip them, making their opponent think they are about to make a good move, or they will smile when they pull a card to make the other player think it’s good. It’s like the opposite of poker, using tells to trick your opponent.

Many of the more experienced players would question what their opponent was doing. If they were about to attack they ask them if that’s what they really want to do, trying to get them to rethink their strategy and make the move they want them to make.

Most of Magic is entirely based on luck, drawing the right cards at the right time. What makes a good player is knowing how to use what they’re given.

¨I really like Magic because it’s nerdy,” Kyle Burns, Milford Freshman said.  “You need knowledge on how stuff works, and it’s really interactive. You get to talk to and meet people.¨

Many students joined Magic club to be social, everyone there is friendly and accepting of the people who come in. Anyone who wants to play, can.

¨I was kind of nerdy, so my counselor told me to go see Mr. Vosk because he was a good teacher to talk to and hang out with, so he got me into Magic.¨ said Burns.

Some members of Magic club have been playing for years, others are still learning. Any member can walk up to a game and watch and feel free to ask questions about strategy and what the player is doing.

Magic is not only enjoyable, but helpful for teens. It’s a game that promotes strategic thought and competition. The club gives students the chance to meet people with similar interests and have a hobby outside of school.

This club is important for anyone looking for a place. People who may not be involved in extracurriculars still need some place where they can socialize, learn and be involved

Magic club is the place to go for acceptance, fun, and lifelong skills.