Players travel the world to battle it out in Sydney’s magical competition

AS one of the most popular games in the world it is no surprise that people of all nationalities arrived in Sydney for the Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix.

Magic was in the air at Hall 6 at Sydney Showgrown yesterday as wizards and warlocks like Scott Reismanis and Jessie James competed in Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix while Travis Gately and Jenni Gyngell watch on.

YOU might have thought that the fiercest battle fought at Homebush last weekend was the NRL showdown between the Wests Tigers and the Parramatta Eels, or that the only wizards in town were those on the hunt for Harry Potter.

You would be wrong.

The most brutal competition at Olympic Park last weekend took place at the showground’s Hall 6, where over 1000 brave wizards and warlocks hit Sydney to find out whether they had the cunning, stamina, and pluck needed to be crowned winner of the Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix and take home a share of $65,000 in prize money.

Most of the competitors at Magic: The Gathering were not even Pokemon Go fans ... except for competitor Toby Morgan.

Of the more than 1300 people who attended the three day event to watch the carnage unfold, one in five of those came from overseas to take part.

And — during The Daily Telegraph’s visit at least — only a handful of them were playing Pokemon Go.

Created in 1993, Magic: The Gathering was the first trading card game ever made and over twenty years later it is still the most popular of its kind in the world. Yet despite an estimated 20 million players worldwide, many people have never heard of the phenomenon.

Travis Gately (Jace Beleren) and Jenni Gyngell (Liliana Vess) are just two of a growing legion of fans of the card-based game.

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The game, sold in more than 70 countries and printed in almost a dozen languages by its US based publisher Wizards of the Coast, has become so popular that it has spawned video games, a clothing line — even a movie is now in the works.

The aim of the game is to use your cards, which depict fearsome creatures and powerful spells, to vanquish your opponent. Think of it as a cross between Dungeons and Dragons and poker.

Although there is a tantalising element of chance, games are skill based and knowing when your opponent is bluffing is just as important as deciding when to unleash your own scintillating sorcery.

More than 1300 participants came from around the world to participate in Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix.

Unlike most other card games, Magic players are able to carefully craft their own deck of sixty cards to suit their playing style and personality.

From simple aggressive decks that quickly beat down your competition, to more sophisticated ones that chain together multiple spells to annihilate your foe in a slick knockout combo, players can choose from more than 16,000 different cards that have been printed so far to build a deck that is uniquely their own.

Each card has its own rules text and strikingly rendered art that portrays the many weird and frightful denizens of the Magic multiverse. Sparing no expense, these creations are the work of classically trained painters and designers, with Wizards of the Coast being the largest employer of artists in the world.

Competitors at Hall 6 were also playing via streaming.

Cards have names such as ‘Tarmogoyf’, ‘Scavenging Ooze’ and ‘Emrakul, the Promised End’, a gruesome tentacled being that was unfortunately coaxed from the blind eternities to wreak havoc on the good people of Innistrad, a dark gothic horror world where the latest set takes place.

Cards are sold in shiny foil ‘booster packs’ which can be bought at games and hobby stores around the country. Each pack contains 16 cards, including one ‘rare’ card that represents a particularly dangerous creature or spell.

Cards are completely randomised in each pack, which means that you can strike it lucky and open a highly sought after card worth many times the price of admission.

The most potent cards are in hot demand among players and can carry jaw-dropping price tags — in 2013, a single copy of the rarest and most expensive card in the game, Black Lotus, sold for over $36,000. This card was only released in the very first sets of Magic and if you played the game at school in the mid-1990s you might want to stop reading this right now to see if your mum has kept any of your old cards (be sure to give her a cut of your wizard’s windfall).

You can even parlay your prowess at Magic to make a living and travel the globe.

The most skilled spell casters are able to play the game professionally at large tournaments held around the world like the Sydney Grand Prix.

Players developing a strategy before the game gets underway.

David Mines is the current number one ranked Magic player in Australia and has played the game competitively since winning a tournament qualifier at the tender age of 15.

Now approaching 30, he has gone on to attain professional status and is paid by organisers to compete in major overseas events that see him spend several months of the year in destinations like Spain, Germany and Hawaii.

“Being able to use Magic as both a game and a way to see the world is very appealing to me”, David told The Daily Telegraph.

And he has a clear respect for those he has duelled with on his travels.

“Everyone’s really nice, everyone’s really sociable, open. I think everyone has this misconception about nerds in the basement, that sort of thing.”

Damien Rank having his cards signed by well known player/commentator Marshall Sutcliffe.

In the weeks leading up to tournaments he follows a strict training schedule, playing Magic for up to 12 hours a day to help him gain an edge over his rivals, which is needed as the popularity of the game has skyrocketed in recent years.

“The competitive scene of the game has grown massively over the past five years and the scene in Australia is getting a lot stronger”, he said.

Despite the tremendous popularity of Magic, the game is largely unknown — but this is changing as prize pools for competitive events become larger.

The beauty of the game is that it caters for players of all skill levels, budgets and ages. You do not have to play at big events like the Sydney Grand Prix. Anyone can pick up a cheap deck and command hordes of dragons, zombies, merfolk, angels and elves from the comfort of their kitchen table.

The game is big business with more than 20 million competitors worldwide here the judges overlook competitors (black shirts).

So, now that the dust has settled on the Sydney Grand Prix does the showground gain a reprieve from witchcraft and wizardry? Of course not. This weekend the greatest spell casters in the world will again descend on Sydney for the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour, the all-star game of the Magic calendar where the best of the best will compete for a total prize pool of over $300,000.

Even Harry Potter may struggle to make the cut.

* Additional reporting Amy Dale