“Thanks for reading, listening, and watching, and I can’t wait to be writing another one of these in five more years.” That’s how I closed out my article about Hipsters of the Coast turning five years old in September 2017. While I’m thrilled to be writing another one of these for our Tenth Anniversary Celebration, the past five years are incredibly difficult to reflect upon. But through all of the joys and sorrows of the past half-decade, somehow, this little corner of the Magic: The Gathering community is still here, still producing content, and still looking ahead to a bright future.
I’m going to do some personal reflection today on what this anniversary means to me specifically, but before I do I want to direct your attention to our Tenth Anniversary Hub. Our content and editorial team here has put in a lot of effort to bring you two amazing weeks of content. To make it easier to find all of this content, it will be organized and linked from the hub. You’ll still be able to find everything on our home page, but it will be easier if you miss a day to come to the hub to find out what you missed.
We’re going to have a lot of great content in the next two weeks including retrospectives by current and past writers, a very special guest article, and more Top 10 lists than you can shake your “hey, that’s clickbait” stick at. A few of those lists will be written by special guests as well, which you won’t want to miss.
Lastly, I also want you to direct your attention to sign up for our re-launched weekly newsletter. It’s still a work in progress but if you aren’t checking the site for regular content updates, I highly recommend subscribing to our email newsletter to get all the important updates, featured articles, and upcoming events information that you need in one place.
Five Years, Two Children, and One Co-Op Later…
Ask anyone how their life has been altered by the past five years and I don’t think anyone would quite know where to begin. I’m not entirely sure where to begin and I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. There’s the still ongoing global pandemic, the horrific war in Ukraine, the inhumane abortion laws in the wake of the repeal of Roe v. Wade, the continuing collapse of our planet’s climate, rising antisemitism and trans-misogyny encouraged by a political party that is actively trying to turn America into a fascist dictatorship, and that’s only like the last 12 months.
And here we are, a small 10 year-old content publishing site (mostly) dedicated to Magic: The Gathering, still putting out content. After a decade doing this, including seven years at the helm, I can say that what keeps us going is this community of writers and readers that have come to us throughout the years to find a home for their own voice to be given a platform.
This isn’t a site about selling Magic cards (no offense to our sponsor Card Kingdom, we love you xoxo).
This isn’t a site that features pro player strategy (though it does feature pro players fighting the good fight against oppression).
This isn’t a site that fills its pages with adverts (you wouldn’t believe how often those guys plagiarize our stuff).
No, at the end of the day this is a site about a community. It’s a community that loves to play a silly card game, sure. But it’s also a community that loves to fawn over the gorgeous illustrations on those cards. And they absolutely will talk for hours on end about the stories and the flavor behind those cards. This is a community of passion, and while that passion can sometimes lead us to be quick to anger, it more often brings us together over the things we love most in life.
This is a community that has fought hard for equal rights for all of its members. It is a community that refuses to let racism, sexism, or any kind of prejudice take root. And when it’s discovered this is a community that will come together to excise the portions that have been infested with rot. A lot of that wouldn’t be possible without Wizards of the Coast’s continued support in their own ways to remove toxic members of the community, but those actions of course reflect the will of their consumers.
This is not a community for racists.
This is not a community for sexists.
This is not a community for ableists.
This is not a community for homophobes.
This is not a community for transphobes.
This is not a community for whatever bullshit you think you’re going to just waltz into your local game store with because the moment you run your mouth off you will be shown the door.
And if you’re in a part of the community that has decided to welcome those people, please know that you can leave and still be supported. It has never in our lives been easier to connect with the wider Magic community and find the help you need to stand up to bullying. Find another local store on Facebook. Connect with virtual Commander players over Discord. Log into Magic Arena and find new friends to brew decks with.
I know there are shitty parts of the Magic community. But if this were a truly unwelcoming community, Hipsters of the Coast wouldn’t be here anymore. Because this site is a home for everyone. It is a home for those who have been bullied. It is a home for those who have been ignored by others. It is a home for social justice warriors. It is a home for keyboard dojo cage fighters. It is a home for anyone willing to stand up for the oppressed.
Because this game is what helps keep us sane at times. When all of the absolutely awful things going on in the world become too much to bear and you need a few hours to escape into fantasy to keep your brain from exploding we’ll be here. The content we produce will be here. The members of this community will be here. And they’ll have whatever you need, whether it’s a couple 40/60/100 card decks to duel with, or an ear to listen with, or just acknowledgement of your existence and its struggles. We’re here.
Hipsters of the Coast has been here for 10 years, and I hope it will be here for another 10 continuing to help shape the Magic community in what are some of the darkest times many of us have ever lived through.
I would be remiss if I did not think now about all of those who we have failed in the past. We are not a perfect community by any means. Many members have left, victims of bullying and abuse that no one should have to endure. My message for those of you who are still here is this: make your mission every day as a member of the Magic community to do right by those who we have failed in the past. Do not let history repeat itself. Do not let the darkness that can so easily infest a community gain a foothold here.
Because before you shuffle up the latest deck techs from MTG Goldfish or put the finishing touches on your next order from Card Kingdom you should always ask yourself: am I doing right by this community, which has become my home? Is it a safe place for me and others? If not, what can I do about it? If so, how can I expand this place for others?
We didn’t get to be 10 years old by publishing endless social justice clickbait articles (though there’s plenty of folks who think we did). We got to be 10 years old by helping to build a better Magic community for everyone, including those that disagree with us.
And with that there’s nothing left to say but: thanks for reading, listening, and watching, and I can’t wait to be writing another one of these in five more years.