For those of you that don’t know I work at That’s Entertainment North, the sister shop to Worcester’s well-known pop culture emporium of the same name, better known as That’s E. This time of year I get a lot of parents, significant others, siblings, etc. coming in looking to buy Magic-related gifts for their friends and relatives.
As any Magic player knows, people who don’t play the game generally understand very little about it. I’ll get people coming in say, “My daughter plays Magic, can you help me find a gift? Please make sure it’s The Gathering, that’s very important.” I had one dad come in buying red and green sleeves as stocking stuffers, but each sleeve was a different brand and there weren’t enough of one color or brand to sleeve up a whole deck. At the end of the day I always recommend getting a gift certificate. I don’t know what format, colors, or sleeves you like to play with, so picking a gift certificate is a very safe option. But most people don’t like giving gift certificates as gifts (even though we have a cool promotion going on right now where you get a bonus, literally free money). So I’m asking that this year you make yourself a good gift receiver.
When parents insist on buying something physical to wrap up to put under the tree (or wherever you choose to exchange your holiday gifts), I end up selling a lot of packs and sleeves. I hope you like KMC Super Sleeves in what your dad thinks is your favorite color because that’s what I use—which means that is what I’m selling unless your dad knows what kind of sleeves you like to play with. Too bad if you’re a legacy player who isn’t interested in packs because packs of BFZ are my safest bet on what you’ll find useful. If they had known what format you played I might have sent them home with the packs of Mirage we have because then maybe you could have gotten a Lion’s Eye Diamond.
Your girlfriend/boyfriend/partner, despite knowing nothing about what kind of deck you play, is insisting on buying you singles since they’re on sale? I hope you’re excited for the fetchlands I’m sending her home with, despite me telling her singles are not a good gift to buy. Fetchlands can currently be played in every format and are good trade fodder. I’m sorry if you already have that one or you don’t play those colors but I spent half an hour talking her through why that wasn’t a good gift idea and she insisted and it’s better than the cards she was going to pick out on her own.
I think Magic players should make the holidays easier on themselves and their family members. I have never met a Magic player who doesn’t have something they want for their collection, whether it be a specific Brainstorm playmat or a new commander for an EDH deck they’ve been wanting to build. Taking the time to write a very specific gift list benefits everyone. You could even make a pinterest! I’ve linked an example list here, but it makes it easy to coordinate between multiple people asking what to get you. Even just taking the time to let them know what format you play makes a huge difference in sending them home with a good gift. I like to think I’ve gotten pretty decent at helping pick out some good gifts without a lot of information but I’d love to know every time I sold something I was selling someone’s perfect gift.
There are so many great potential gifts you can ask for yourself as a Magic Player. Maybe a playset of Flusterstorms seems out of your mom’s price range but what about full art lands for your deck? It’s something you probably want but might not buy for yourself. Are you an avid EDH player? The 2015 Commander decks just came out and they’re great, ask for one of those to expand your collection! Another great idea might be to request a deck box, maybe even something fancy. If you’re anything like myself you’ve got cards in all kind of weird places and some your deck boxes are cardboard and are falling apart. So take the time to write a Christmas list (or a birthday or Hannukkah or whatever list). Gifts are all about giving and giving is 10 times better when you get someone something you know they truly want, so do everyone a favor and don’t leave your loved ones guessing this year!
Kate hails from Worcester MA and also does a bit of Card Altering. Check her Stuff out on Facebook! She mainly plays legacy and modern though will occasionally find herself playing EDH or Standard if she’s desperate.