We may not be able to gather in large halls for MagicFests, but the Magic players are still gathering. I’m not talking about webcam Magic, MTG Arena, or Magic Online, but the social bond we create outside of the game. Through hashtags we stay connected and have fun referencing pop culture, depicting new mechanics in the game, and having fun with filters.

There have been a lot of opinions flying around Magic: the Gathering recently concerning everything from banning new cards within their first week of print to Secret Lair Drops with characters from a TV show. All the chatter can make one feel overwhelmed, as if everyone is always arguing. So let’s forget the Magic for a moment, and shine light on the Gathering. There have been some terrific trends from inside and out the community, which we can all share and enjoy together.

#MTGgothgirlsquad

Our first hashtag was created on August 16th by a trio of friends and well-known Magic players, @jesstephan, @baetog_, and @_Elantris_ each posted all black looks including goth-style clothing, makeup and props.

Even though this is not directly cosplay, there is a sense of becoming a goth character. If you want to create your own look for this trend, you could wear literally anything black and if you have black lipstick smack it on. The use of props was reminiscent of popular movies, like the Mean Girls “Burn Book” appearing in @baetog_’s photo to the horror-esq props.

Others quickly picked up on the trend and began sharing their own looks with the hashtag. Don’t let the hashtag fool you, this trend is for everyone—not just the ladies. The tag was so popular it appeared in Trending topics, and lasting over a week it didn’t fade after a day like some fads. Personally I had a busy work week so I didn’t hop on the trend, but it was exciting for me to see each individual’s take while browsing the hashtag. Whether a freshly done look, a dark MTG cosplay, or a picture from past goth days there were a ton of witchy photos to enjoy.

#MTGparty / #MTGpartychallenge

par · ty

/ˈpärdē/ : a person or group participating in an action or affair

When the new party mechanic was revealed live during the Zendikar preview show (a two-hour live stream put on by Wizard of the Cost staff members) along with the Zendikar Rising mechanics bulletin, an explosion of possible parties erupted. There are many fun parties to be made to match-up mechanics, form a tribal team, or just uniting your favorite cards for a unique party.

On Twitter @ralphdoesmagic posted one of the first quadruples of parties, conveniently using Twitter’s max four photos per post to fit in four MTG cards. This example gives wild benefits to creatures and zones like the graveyard, but may be hard to play outside of a five-color deck. That’s the beauty of choosing your party in terms of Dungeons and Dragons play, they are the ones you’ve chosen to adventure with reflecting the theme of our new trip to Zendikar.

 

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On Instagram, @thephyrexianhipster posted one of the first parties on the platform using the tag #ZendikarRisingPartyChallenge. They also cited cards with powerful abilities for card draw token generation and proliferate. Surprisingly Samut found her way into both of these pioneering parties; whether giving haste to your board or untapping other creatures you control, she’s a fine friend to include.

I took this trend in a slightly different direction, finding cards to “cosplay” one of my favorite classical quads from The Wizard of Oz. With the help of Gatherer’s advanced search and Scryfall’s art tagger, I was able to search for the specific types and imagery required for my cinematic crew.

Did you know the subtype “Scarecrow” isn’t paired with any party-viable subtypes? It may seem strange but yes, those goblins are atop a scarecrow securing them the Rogue spot by default. My favorite pieces of this party are the Tin Man as an artifact creature and Braids, wearing braids like the protagonist Dorothy. Many who saw my posts commented the black version Braids, Cabal Minion is better as a card in play, but as a Human Minion she did me little good for the theme.The blue Braids worked wonders as a Wizard, especially considering Dorothy’s signature plaid dress is also blue in color.

Posting across platforms using the appropriate tags the MTG community helped me find a fault: Vizier of the Menagerie (a rare lion on a Cleric art) would be better swapped for a jaguar cat family friend, Ajani’s Sunstriker, to better fit the mold. I loved all the positive discussion and creativity which sprung to social media with the new card mechanics revealed.

#MTGeuphoriagirls

This hashtag based on the HBO show Euphoria is the second style trend from the same trio who started #MTGgothgirlsquad.

If you aren’t familiar with the show, it is a drama following high school students finding love and friendship amidst drugs, trauma, identity, and more. The show has a very distinct “filter” for times when the characters use illegal substances implying a state of euphoria, featuring pink and purple lighting and tears of glitter streaming down the actors’ faces.

Picture from HBO.

This trend already existed online and has influenced makeup styles—the show originally premiered back in June 2019. But in mid to late August of this year, the trend started making waves on the video-based platform TikTok, when main actor Zendaya announced there may be a “bridge” episode for the delay of season 2 set to originally scheduled to air on HBO during 2020. The video trend consists of a person sitting upright on a bed without the makeup look, and then falling backwards onto a pillow triggering the transition to the euphoria makeup.

Today there are over 792,000 videos on the platform using a trending sound which comes from two song clips spliced together, Bea Miller’s “Feel Something” and Labrinth’s “Still Don’t Know My Name.” The group of MTG players simply brought it to the forefront and sparked some in the community to melt in on this makeup trend. Here’s an example from musical artist Lizzo:

@lizzoReposting cus my duet just got 7mil in 2 hrs so maybe I’m on fyp mode♬ feel something – bea miller – valenn🐺

I had been wanting to do this trend on TikTok, so as soon as I saw the ladies do it I instantly followed bringing my own flare to the trend using star-shaped rhinestones and glittery eyeshadow to enhance my “tears.”

There are a ton of ways you can do your makeup for this and enter your own state of euphoria. I encourage any of you who missed this trend to still give it a try, the delay show will continue to spread hype. I will definitely hype your look if you tag me in it.

#animefilter

Another trend from outside the MTG community but making huge waves this past week was the Anime Style filter available on the social media platform Snap. The best part about this trend is it requires no extra effort on your part except pointing and shooting. You can get the filter for the app here. (You can also search “Anime Style” in the app. If you clicked the link and it says, “Nothing to see here!” you likely already have it added in your carousel of filters.)

The release of this hashtag and rise of popularity synchronized with the prerelease of Zendikar Rising. One of my favorite uses of the filter isn’t on humans, but the Magic characters we know and love like @taaliavess showed us here:

Even though this isn’t a MTG community specific trend it was thrilling to see familiar personalities and friends trying out their anime look. It made me feel like we were all at the same event laughing about the silly images on the screens surrounding us. Considering this trend is barely a week old and takes little effort, I highly recommend having some fun using the filter and sharing your own results!

The Next Creative Trend

Did you watch any of these trends as they were going viral, or perhaps participate? The amount of positive reactions, retweets and likes on these posts made it clear the community savors supporting original and organic content. I can’t predict the trends but I sure enjoy following them and finding a sense of community in a year where events and physical meetings have been slim. In a world where everything is constantly changing, even the game we all know and love it’s nice to agree on one thing, we are all part of the Gathering.

Zenaide “ZBexx” Beckham is an Oregon-based cosplayer, gamer, and MTG judge. Her favorite format is Legacy, because just like performing in dance or cosplay she gets to Show and Tell.

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