Gifts Given (2023)
Gifts Given (2023)
Mementos from friends near and far
I keep a small, gray binder in my closet where I put Magic cards that have been gifted to me from friends and fans of channel. This year, the binder grew, as did the neighboring storage bin that holds anything that won’t fit in a sleeve. I’d like to share some of these gifts with you as an expression of my gratitude.
Custom Dandân Proxies and Tokens
At MagicCon Barcelona, comic artist Tim Gaedke passed me a complete set of custom, Secret Lair-inspired Dandân proxies that he illustrated. Tim also has a sweet Dandân tattoo that I got to see in person. Check out his site for more of his designs.
Fellow Dandân enthusiast and longtime internet friend David sent me this hand-painted Copycôpy token from Spain. We met in person for the first time in Barcelona, then raised a glass together at Elijah Wood’s DJ set. That was a good night.
In Vegas, the forever homie Tyler Lieb gave me a playset of Magikarps that he white-bordered by hand for my tempo Dandân list.
I appreciate this treatment for Pokémon cards. Stripping away the bright yellow frames lets the watercolors soften up in a beautiful way.
F.I.R.E. Sleeves
Principal game designer, game balance lead, and friend of the channel Andrew Brown has been sneaking me cool accoutrements from inside Wizards HQ for years. Among the latest arbitrage was this pack of sleeves that the devs in the building use to playtest future Magic sets. Stuff like this is priceless to me.
Altin Gün Vinyl
Fan of the channel Daniel lives and plays music in the Netherlands and happens to be friends with the Dutch-based, Turkish psychedelic rock band Altin Gün. Daniel knew I had recently discovered the band and hand-delivered this vinyl to me in Barcelona. I recommend this track to get a sense of the band’s groovy stylings.
Latin Promo Raging Kavu
Noting my passion for learning languages, longtime friend of the channel Magnet gave me this foil promo Raging Kavu at MagicCon Philadelphia. This is the only Magic card to date to be printed in Latin. Five other cards make up this series, including a Phelddagrif printed in Greek and a Fungal Shambler with text in Sanskrit. The Arabic Stone-Tongue Basilisk has always been one of my favorite looking game pieces.
Snow-Covered Mountain Artist Proof and Color Study
2023 marked a major milestone in my career – together with Tiziano Antognozzi, I co-curated an exhibition on Magic’s 30th Anniversary at the Lucca Comics and Games festival in Italy. Magic artist Adam Paquette was in attendance and brought multiple sketches and color studies for our gallery.
At the end of the event, Tiziano surprised me with this color study of Snow-Covered Mountain, the painting that introduced my video on Kaldheim, and purchased the second study for himself. Adam then gifted me a signed AP of the card with a heartfelt message written on the back. Keepsakes of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Holy Light Artist Proof
At the same event, I met Gianluca, the owner of Boose MTG and founder of the annual Paupergeddon tournament in Pisa. Gianluca went above and beyond to provide all the timeless Magic memorabilia that decorated our exhibition, like old copies of The Duelist translated in Italian and the Magic Poker deck printed in 1998.
During setup, after we geeked out about our favorite sets from the early years, he snuck me a Fallen Empires booster pack and this AP of Holy Light from The Dark. The front of this card is worn out in a really strange way, which adds to the allure and intrigue of Tucker’s illustration.
Bootleg MagicManSam T-Shirt
Vorthos Mike teamed up in secret with TheProxyGuy and printed some bootleg Rhystic Studies-adjacent merch for MagicCon Minneapolis. He wore his shirt all weekend.
Bootleg merch is NFS. You had to be there.
Japanese 30th Anniversary Shivan Dragon Promo
A couple months later, Mike flew across the ocean and curated another Magic art show in Tokyo. Not only did he bring back a ton of those awesome old school sleeves for known associates, but he also snagged me a copy of the Japanese Shivan Dragon promo and sent it to me without my permission. Mike is among the most generous dudes in Magic. He’s really got that midwest (wiener) dawg in him.
Sarevok, Deathbringer Ink Depository
Throughout MagicCon Vegas, artist Ben Hill used this foil-etched copy of Sarevok, Deathbringer as a primer for his signing pens. I stopped by his booth near closing time on the final day and he insisted I take it home with me. I am obsessed with how cool this thing looks. An (unintentionally) bewitching little trinket.
Destroy All Humankind. They Can’t Be Regenerated.
Our pal Luke hosts weekly game night at his place where we draft cubes and the latest limited sets. This summer, he went to Japan and brought back all sorts of goodies for us, including an issue of a Magic-inspired manga that I came across for my Wrath of God video. The book came with a sealed Magic card inside and seems to tell an endearing story. One day I’ll learn Japanese.
Home Is Not A Place
Spice brought me a book from their hometown when we met again in Portland to film Prof’s gameplay show. It’s a hybrid work of photos, poetry, and journalism that documents what it means to be Black in Britain. The photos are especially charming and poignant. This was a thoughtful gift from a thoughtful person, one who knows how much I love books and quality time spent discussing them.
Happy Holidays 2023 Card
Lastly, Wizards of the Coast included me in their annual holiday card tradition this year (marking my fifth card to date.) Along with the Seasonal Sequels above, they sent a gorgeous foil from their Duel Masters TCG that has embossed, gold accents along the frame. This thing rules. It’s cool as hell and makes me want to play another card game, which is a rare feeling these days.
I’m very fortunate to live a life filled with so many generous people. Christmas is often branded as the season of giving; maybe we could also benefit from taking stock of everything we gained leading up to the holiday. Often the most sincere gifts are those that arrive unprompted, after all.
