MagicCon: Las Vegas was hotly anticipated as one of the biggest dates on the Magic calendar. Our Card Kingdom team joined thousands of other planeswalkers at the Las Vegas Convention Center last weekend – and we’re glad to confirm that it lived up to the hype!
Naturally the top attraction was the Mana Stage, where Wizards employees were making headlines with new product announcements and “first look” reveals for The Hobbit and Reality Fracture. But that was just the centerpiece of a sprawling event that also included a Pro Tour tournament, a who’s-who of MTG artists and content creators, hangout areas and family activities, an arcade, and even more besides.
Card Kingdom set up camp in the Magic Marketplace, alongside other prominent third-party vendors and suppliers. But our presence at this event wasn’t about buying or selling cards. We were there purely for the Gathering, welcoming in any travelers with free swag and tables to sit and talk – or do battle.
The booth quickly became a hub of social activity and community events. We hosted polls, raffles and even our own CK game show (complete with celebrity guests!). If anyone felt their weekend was lacking adventure, we offered a scroll containing tenfold quests – some requiring a journey to other sections such as the Red Bull Tavern.
Brave souls who achieved at least 8 of our 10 tasks were rewarded with the Treasure of Card Kingdom! Many rose to the challenge, and a veritable dragon’s hoard of our event-exclusive Monarch Coins were handed out by the end of the con. Honor was also bestowed on those who proved themselves chivalrous in their interactions with the community. These heroes received an exclusive pin dubbing them as CK Knights.
We also offered visitors a taste of life as Card Kingdom royalty: a regal crown to decorate according to their whim, and their portraits taken lounging across a mighty throne. Seeing everyone get into character for the throne-selfie was definitely a highlight of the con.
Perhaps the most memorable attraction for visitors to our booth this weekend was “Local Game Show”: Card Kingdom’s very own Magic quiz battle! Each iteration of LGS saw three lucky contestants picked from the crowd to answer Magic-related trivia questions. Whoever triumphed in this test of knowledge and recollection would be crowned the official Monarch of Card Kingdom… at least until we crowned someone else the next day. Everybody knows the Monarchy moves around in Magic.
The atmosphere at the booth during LGS was quite intense, as you’d expect when you put people on the hot seat live in front of hundreds of other Magic players! But good vibes reigned in the end. There were prizes for all contestants, including a lucky representative from the crowd (said crowd having answered enough questions to count as our honorary 4th player).
LGS was an immediate crowd favorite – who knew Magic players are really into Magic trivia? The second episode on Saturday afternoon was hosted by Nitpicking Nerds, who were kind enough to hang around to meet fans and sign crowns afterwards.
That same day also saw a surprise unannounced visit by the crew from Command Zone. Rachel Weeks, Josh Lee-Kwai and Jimmy Wong were immediately surrounded by fans, and looked very much the part holding court on the CK throne!
While the crowds were gathered at our booth for LGS, we took the opportunity to ask them the hard questions. Questions like: which Secrets of Strixhaven college is most deserving of a Commander Spotlight (turns out the majority of Vegas attendees are alumns of Witherbloom College) and Who would win: One Eldrazi or 100 Squirrels? Turns out the all-powerful cosmic entities are no match for our furry friends
We were also humbled to play host to Magic artists Josh Freydkis and James Bousema, who are responsible for some of our favorite Secret Lair visuals ever. This meet-and-greet became a highlight for guests and artists alike; Josh described the experience of talking with fans as “life-changing”.
We also had an area set up for guests to test-drive some of our Card Kingdom Battle Decks – our exclusive line of bespoke, budget-friendly precons for 60-card play. Tons of players enjoyed this taste of “Magic as it was originally intended”, and even members of the CK team could be seen sitting down to sneak a few games.
Everyone who participated in these events were bestowed with tickets to our Royal Raffle. Prize draws were held at the end of each day’s events, bringing back the crowds for a fun and suspenseful finale where we gave out a variety of treasures, such as Collector Boosters, art prints, Card Kingdom apparel, and of course, booster boxes!
This event brought so many people in the community together to share their laughter and their love of the game, through all the myriad avenues Magic has to express that. As fellow members of that community, we are proud and overjoyed to help create that experience and to meet so many awesome people over the weekend. Stash those Card Kingdom Coins and other goodies somewhere safe, and we’ll see you again for more fun and games at the next big Gathering.
Tom’s fate was sealed in 7th grade when his friend lent him a pile of commons to play Magic. He quickly picked up Boros and Orzhov decks in Ravnica block and has remained a staunch white magician ever since. A fan of all Constructed formats, he enjoys studying the history of the tournament meta. He specializes in midrange decks, especially Death & Taxes and Martyr Proc. One day, he swears he will win an MCQ with Evershrike. Ask him how at @AWanderingBard, or watch him stream Magic at twitch.tv/TheWanderingBard.