by Brandon Borges ‘15
Not only is May 17th the day of the huge Field Day for the Class Competition, but it is also the day of two Magic: The Gathering tournaments at Ignatius. There will be the annual Sealed Draft with last year’s seniors, and the tournament for Class Competition points. Between the high stakes competitions and the excited competitors, this is the most anticipated Magic: The Gathering event of the entire year.
The first tournament will be the Field Day tournament, where one student from each grade level will compete for points for the Class Competition. The freshman representative, Eliot Oreskovic, said to me, “It’d be a party.” When asked about his improper speech, he said, “Just leave it.” Oreskovic will be joined by sophomore representative Matthew Barto, junior Raphael Dean, and senior Anyun Chatterjee. All four representatives are very skilled and have an extensive background when it comes to the card game, so this will be a stellar competition.
The second tournament will be the Sealed Draft, and the most anticipated draft of the year at Ignatius at that. Not only will this draft include almost every Magic: The Gathering club member this year, but it will also have last year’s seniors that were also in the Magic: The Gathering club when they were Ignatians. For $25, participants will receive 9 Dragon’s Maze booster packs, and with the cards in these packs along with any basic land cards they need, they will construct a deck consisting of at least 40 cards with which they will go against any other participant determined by the randomizer. The winner of the last sealed draft was Jackson Lynn. When asked about his confidence going into this draft, he said, “I know what types of decks work now, but the cards you get are random, so I don’t know.”
Lastly, the president of the Magic: The Gathering club currently, Jake Biesiada, will give his position to the next president, Giovanni Valentino. When asked about his experience being president, Biesiada said, “It teaches leadership skills. It’s like herding cats.” When asked about choosing Valentino for the new president, Biesiada said, “I want to watch this club burn. Having said that, Gio’s capable, but I am the best there was,” and Valentino said, “Being in this club for 4 years, it’s really an honor.”
Mark May 17th on your calendars, everybody, because that is when sparks will fly in more ways than one.
