Magic: The Gathering (MTG)

Marbella Council announced that it will host at the premises of the Delegation of Youth in Calle Jacinto Benavente, 10, the preliminary rounds of the card game Magic: The Gathering (MTG) in conjunction with Marbella Libreria FM.

Up to 30 players from the province of Malaga are due to battle it out between 10am and 7.30pm on Saturday September 3 with the aim of qualification for the final tournament to be held in Dublin in 2017.  

This fascinating collectible card was designed and launched in 1993 by Richard Garfield, a professor of mathematics and marketed by Wizards of the Coast in the USA. MTG was the first example of a modern collectible card game and at its height had more than six million players in 52 different countries. 

Not totally dissimilar to Dungeons and Dragons, each game which takes place between two players or more sees them take the role of wizards who use spells and fabulous creatures who appear on the cards to battle each other to become the eventual winner.

An organised system of tournaments has evolved over the years, with a community of professional players and there is also a secondary market for the cards whose value depends upon scarcity and age.

Characters from the game are often chosen by individuals for roles in Cosplay where they dress up as their favourite character and act out living games rather than playing with the cards themselves.