What’s the coolest place you’ve played Magic: The Gathering? It probably doesn’t trump student Noah Fenlon and pals, who believe they’re set the record for the deepest game of Magic, held 2 km (1.3 miles) underground in a Canadian dark matter and neutrino research lab.
While there was no official body to accredit the feat, we’re pretty sure they’ve smashed this one.
Fenlon is an undergraduate student who is spending the summer working at SNOLAB, a dark matter research lab built in an operational nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario. He worked on the SNO+ detector, an experiment investigating the nature of neutrinos.
“It’s been such a wonderful and educational experience, and it’s a true privilege to be part of such important research!” Fenlon told us. But more importantly, he discovered that two of his fellow students at the lab were TCG fans, primed and ready to enjoy some MTG Commander.
“We knew that we had a chance of breaking this silly record, so we had to go for it,” he says.
SNOLAB is a ‘clean lab’, carefully controlled to avoid contamination which could mess with its incredibly sensitive equipment. Fenlon told us briefly how this works…
“We need to leave all of our clothes and mine gear behind, shower, and then get into new coveralls that don’t shed any kind of fabric,” he says. “We also need hairnets, and safety glasses and hardhats when going anywhere other than the refuge.” (Essentially the lab’s lunchroom, with a cooler name).
“Finally, we need to wipe down everything we brought underground – I had to double bag and then wipe down my decks just to bring them!”
What MTG format is best to play when situated thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface? Noah says they “jammed some 1v1 Commander and Lost Leonin” – a white Dan-Dan variant that we at Wargamer had never heard of until just now.
“I’ve been playing Magic for eight years now, and it’s truly a core part of my identity,” Fenlon says. “I started back in elementary school playing unsleeved kitchen table decks on the rocks outside. I’ve always gravitated towards Commander, as I value having a good time with friends and making wild, crazy plays over winning games.”
It’s always interesting to learn about the wild places nerds are engaging with their hobbies. This was the deepest Magic game, but for the most southerly Warhammer match, you might want to read about the HMS Protector’s games in Antarctica.
In the meantime, for more Magic: The Gathering content, check out the rest of the 2024 MTG release schedule, or read up on the best MTG Arena decks.
Source: Wargamer
