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Fairfield residents launch online Magic league
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD — Two Fairfield friends have teamed up to offer an innovative way to compete in a version of the popular Magic: The Gathering card game.
Magic: The Gathering invites players to a mythical realm where they control characters with special powers. The game debuted in 1993 and has become one of the most popular trading card games in the world.
Ginger Persolus and Patrik Siljestam grew up on different continents but both came to love the game, though at different stages of life. Siljestam is a native of Sweden, and started playing when he was 12-13. He liked the theme of the game, collecting cards, and it was a great outlet to practice English.
“I’ve always been a nerd, playing video games, card games and board games,” Siljestam said. “I liked that [Magic] was a combination of fantasy, creativity, and that you could build your own deck.”
Persolus was exposed to the game as a child but preferred other games, such as the ancient Chinese game Go, and later joined a Go club in Chicago. About four years ago, Persolus got into Magic because all his friends were playing it. They played various forms of the game, including a four-person version called Commander.
One day, Siljestam brought to the group a variant of Commander called Pauper Commander, which has special rules designed to level the playing field between players with expensive cards and those who haven’t invested so much in their deck. Siljestam said he likes this version best because it forces players to outsmart each other based on strategy, instead of relying on high-priced cards. It’s also ideal for getting new people to try the game, since they don’t have to fork over an arm and a leg just to start. Siljestam said a deck can be purchased for as little as $15.
Siljestam and Persolus had so much fun with this new version of the game that they created a league for it, run from Fairfield’s board game shop Wanderer’s Haul, just north of the Fairfield Public Library.
They started the “Wanderer’s League” for Pauper Commander last year, and kept a running total of game results. Now in their second year, Siljestam and Persolus have taken their league online, so people around the world can compete with one another. So far, the league has 70 registrants. It began in February and will run through December.
Siljestam said people have been able to play Magic: The Gathering online for many years, but the Pauper Commander version he and his friends like to play is a niche market, with maybe 3,000 to 10,000 players worldwide. Until Siljestam and Persolus launched the online Wanderer’s League, there was no place to play that version of the game online. Siljestam said that, instead of using a computer interface, all players hold their physical cards, and show them to their opponents over a webcam.
Those who are interested in learning more about the Wanderer’s League can visit app.cpdh.guide, or email cpdhleague@gmail.com. The season features four mini-tournaments, and the next is March 28.
Persolus said the public is also invited to play Pauper Commander in person every Friday from 6-10 p.m. at Wanderer’s Haul.
“It’s so much fun and so affordable,” Persolus said about the game. “It’s a social game for four people, and it’s a great way to meet people. It is a little bit of a complicated game to play, but there’s such a friendly environment with people who want to teach you.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
