Student story: Magic over lunch

By Kathryn Schultz and Katie Mahoney

With only one life left, Kenny Zawlacki had six Island cards on the field with no creatures in his deck.

Evan Roberts, meanwhile, had six mountain cards and seven monsters on the field. Zawlacki was out of luck.

More like “creature screwed” – to use the lingo of the game “Magic: the Gathering.”

In his hometown of Holton, Kan., Zawlacki was the only one who played Magic. His discovery of the 1993 card game would become fate.

“I saw the cards in a Wal-Mart and thought ‘That looks cool,’ ” he said.

That is where his journey began.

The game represents a battle between powerful wizards. There are five basic colors in Magic: blue, white, green, red and black. Creatures attack and land cards provide mana, a source of energy. To have a monster-filled field, you need mana.

"Its like a grown-up version of Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh," Zawlacki explained during lunch Wednesday.

Zawlacki never had an opponent. He collected cards to create six different decks and read the manual. But he needed more. He needed a real battle experience.

The last thing that he expected was to find an opponent at Flint Hills Publications Workshop.

Then he was introduced to Roberts.

Roberts was interested in photography while Zawlacki was a newspaper writer. Nothing in common. Until fate stepped in again.

“Roberts was showing someone a picture on his laptop,” Zawlacki said, twiddling his glasses between his fingers. “He pressed a wrong button and a Magic the Gathering screen saver popped up. So I asked him ‘Do you play that?’”

Roberts helped Zawlacki learn the ways of the trade. Roberts is a seasoned player. He competed in a local competition before he left for FHPW.

“I went to the Gameshop and did the hardest tournament possible. You have to make the deck and make up the strategy right there,” Roberts said.

“I did the best I could in my division,” he said, carefully tugging a key hanging around his neck. “I got this from the tournament.”

It was a key modeled after the Kingdom Hearts’ “Sora’s Keyblade.”

“I use all the red cards in the same deck. That way I don’t run into problems with land,” Evan said, lightly teasing Zawlacki’s bad luck.

The card game was attracting the attention of people passing by. One onlooker spoke up.

“I noticed you guys were playing Magic the Gathering,” said Sean Gaulin, a K-State student.

Gaulin, an avid player, had been collecting cards since the game came out. And though he lived hours away from the two, the three shared a conversation about the battle taking place.

"Do you have your cards with you?" Roberts asked.

"Not with me," Gaulin said.

"Oh that's too bad. You could have played with us," Zawlacki said.

Roberts made the final attack, ending the game.

Zawlacki and Roberts began packing up their cards. Roberts put his in the original box, and Kenny in his box made of graph paper and scotch tape.

They parted ways, with a battle set for lunch on Thursday.

Kathryn Schultz and Katie Mahoney are juniors at Notre Dame de Sion and students in the advanced writing class at Flint Hills Publications Workshop.