Students in the Magic, the Gathering club traveled to Phoenix for the Magic, the Gathering Grand Prix from Oct. 27 to 29.

Club member Luke Rowen ’19 said he joined Magic, the Gathering because math teacher Andy Stout mentioned it during class.

“[Stout] said, ‘if you’re free, why don’t you stop by and I’ll teach you how to play,’” Rowen said. “So I had nothing to do, and I went to the club, and I really liked the game.”

Rowen said the tournament was very beginner-friendly.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” Rowen said. “Part of that is that the Magic, community is very welcoming to newcomers and first-timers.”

Rowen said that many players wanted to play him particularly because he was a newcomer.

“That was a really nice part of it, in that people were really excited to be playing me because they knew it was my first tournament. Even though my record for the tournament wasn’t great, people were really excited even when they got knocked out.”

The trip’s participants played in the main tournament, a nine match game Oct. 28. After all were eliminated, the group decided to enter into a four match side tournament Oct 29. Rowen said many participants enjoyed the tournament despite their performance, and he highlighted the social element of the game.

“If you’re playing Magic with someone, you might as well get to know them,” Rowen said. “There isn’t really a rhyme or reason for it, but in my personal experience, I didn’t meet anyone who was really annoyed that they got knocked out of the tournament, or thought they got cheated in some way. Everyone was really chill about it, and were there to have fun. It fit into that vibe that they weren’t like ‘oh god I really need to win this match’.”