SIGNAL PEST
Crafty tokens, a savvy Snail, and a curated history of Gatherer
SIGNAL PEST is an article series that spotlights good work within the Magic scene and elsewhere.
I) Players Just Like You
“Players Just Like You” is a self-published zine by Magic historian Cary Thomas. Travel through an era when players could rate and comment on individual cards in Wizards’ official database.
Remember that Erebos, God of the Dead sparked discussion about the ethics of printing a card with the type line “God.” Triumph of Ferocity was riddled with shitlord commentary advocating for violence against women. Phyrexian Metamorph once served as untargeted removal against legendary creatures – Iam_IronMan highlighted this detail in May 2013 and rated the card 3.5 stars out of 5. Small glitches, like the community accidentally creating bold and italicized text within the html, remain in the code as aging relics of a dying internet.
This project is the gold standard of archive curation and cultural preservation, and I want you to download it right now.
II) Dominarian Plowshare
Dominarian Plowshare is an essay series on Substack with a critical eye toward Magic’s aesthetics and play experiences. The Serious Art of Unserious Art is a great place to start, an article that examines the role of humor in a game that takes itself pretty seriously.
The site’s author is a soon-to-be Ph.D.; expect brilliant insight and clever turns of phrase at every line break. In the aforementioned writeup, for example, Magic is described as a “gestalt thing,” which has become my go-to descriptor of this sprawling and often incongruent game we all adore.
III) Buy the Same Token
Buy the Same Token produces hand-painted acrylic tokens and peripherals for tabletop games. Their lead designer Ed Cardall gifted me a pack a few months ago and I was impressed by the quality. They are legible, detailed, crafty, and perfectly sized for physical cards. I consider them excellent tools for teaching the game to newcomers, especially those transitioning from Arena (see: the summoning sickness and condition tokens in particular.)
IV) Salubrious Snail
Salubrious Snail is a YouTube channel that explores the philosophy of deckbuilding and playing EDH. I found the channel a few months ago when the algorithm recommended me this video on Malfegor. I then proceeded to watch another five or six videos in a row.
Typically, I’m revolted by the overused format of “thumbnail with clickbaity text written in ugly font that responds to the video’s argument in its title,” but I’m making an exception for Snail here. They’re intuitive and smart as hell, and are actively making me want to build Commander decks again (a true sign of voodoo.)
Here’s to Snail getting a 100k plaque this year.
V) LINKS
Extranet Shaquille - Why I (Used To) Hate Video Essays
If different fonts were outfits
My father describes his Oblivion stash
Don’t let players win because they know more rules than their opponent
How many Magic cards have the same name as a Magic mechanic?
Cable clips to organize your cords
