If there was any doubt that Magic: The Gathering is more popular than ever, we have to look no further than the roaring success of The Academic. Less than 20 minutes after the launch of the Kickstarter, the project was fully funded. And as of writing this, 16,000 people have pledged more than $850,000. (In fact, we had to update that three times it’s moving so fast!) This is a huge success for The Professor and Tolarian Community College, and it is equally a success for the Magic community.
What is The Academic?
Just three weeks ago, Tolarian Community College posted this short trailer that left us all guessing–or really hoping–that something extraordinary was coming:
We were not disappointed. The Professor is known for his product reviews, guiding many of us towards the best sleeves, deck boxes, and other accessories that take our MTG experience to the next level. Over the course of his numerous reviews, he explored and defined the details that turn a good deck box into a great deck box.
But the Professor wasn’t satisfied. He wanted the perfect deck box. With his partners at GAMEGENIC, he developed The Academic 133+ XL: a masterpiece of magnetic flaps, drawers, and space for triple sleeved cards.
But don’t take our word for it – listen to one of the leading experts in deck box technology:
Just the beginning
The outpouring of community support–not only in pledges to the Kickstarter, but also in sheer enthusiasm–demonstrate the best of the Magic community. In a time when salt and spice are all too common, it was heartening to see so many players celebrate one of the community’s best… even when facing a few issues with the platform.
So many of us look to The Professor for advice, guidance, and kindness. To see it paid back in spades reaffirms that the MTG community is exactly that: a community.
We’ll be watching closely to see what stretch goals are announced and counting the days until the shipments start.