In a clash between junior Mathew Stumpf and sophomore Connor Gibes, they each call upon creatures and spells to diminish the other’s health and claim supremacy. This is no school-yard skirmish, however, but a card game called Magic: The Gathering.

?My friend Tyler Combs [’10] got me interested,? Stumpf said. ?I went over to his house one time and I saw him playing Magic with some friends. I always like trading card games so I picked up on it and started battling and playing.?

The main objective of the game is to lower a player’s health by either attacking with creatures or with a spell. A typical deck consists of different-colored cards: light, blue, black, red, green and recently, dual-colored cards.

The deck also includes four different kinds of cards: monsters, spells, artifacts and land cards, which players tap to create mana to use the other cards. Each of the monsters, spells or artifacts requires a certain type and amount of mana.

“My strategy depends on what the colors are in my deck,? Gibes said. ?Depending on what color cards they are, they have a more likely chance to have a certain ability. Magic may look hard and evil on the outside, but when you start playing it, you realize it is just a fun game that is easy to play.?

A turn starts with an upkeep phase where players untap their monsters, land and artifacts. Afterward they draw and play one land card and summon as many monsters, spells or artifacts as they can with the mana from the land card. Then the battle begins as players attack back-and-forth with their monsters until one player reigns supreme.

“I like Magic because it is fun to play and no two matches are the same,” Tonia Keys-Bramlett, ’09, said. “Also, a lot of my friends play. A lot of times Adam [Casuga] will meet me at my house early before Laser Quest and we will play for about an hour every Saturday.”

After members of her Destination ImagiNation team introduced her to the game, Keys-Bramlett borrowed decks from her friends until one of them bought her a deck for Christmas.

“A fun part about Magic is finding good cards and customizing your deck, then trying to beat people you had lost to before,” Keys-Bramlett said. “My deck is not very good right now because I have not put very much money into it, but I am trying to save up to get some good cards.”

While some students enjoy the card game, others hold negative opinions about the activity that spellbinds several students in the halls each morning.

?I have made a vow to never play the card game Magic: The Gathering,? Frank Daniel, ’11, said. ?The reason why I hate the card game is because I used to be able to hang out with my friends, but now they have become consumed with the card game.?

Many players develop strategies while playing the game, but Stumpf says he abides by one simple course of action for most battles.

?My main strategy is to build a huge wall of defense and attack from behind my wall of creatures,? Stumpf said. ?I do not like to expose myself in order to deal damage, so I chip away slowly.?

While Stumpf says the prices of the cards can become costly, he watches for sales at his favorite vendor to cheaply augment his deck.

?I buy from Collector’s Paradise at Bullard and 1st,? Stumpf said. ?The owner runs it differently: He lets you pick and choose what you want from giant boxes of cards for a good price. The guy is really nice and giving.?

Whether in the halls on campus or even during classes, these students continue to duel in an effort to master the trading card game.

For more information, visit Magic: The Gathering’s Web site.