Welcome to The Void

Florida, sir, is not worth buying. It is a land of swamps, of quagmires, of frogs and alligators and mosquitoes! A man, sir, would not immigrate into Florida. No, sir! No man would immigrate into Florida no, not from hell itself!

— U.S. Rep. John Randolph of Virginia

The Author

me
gesis

Magic: The Gathering™ descended upon my small, rural Florida town in the summer of 1994. Its arrival spawned a fresh wave of Baptist-fueled, “Satanic” panic that swept through the schools, playgrounds, and courtyards. A panic that isolated my friends and me, forging us into an underground cabal of young mages.

I played the game until the release of Urza’s Saga, when most of my group went on to other pursuits. I sold my personal collection of cards, as many former players do. But like most card addicts, I relapsed back into Magic numerous times…

The first of these occurred during the Onslaught block. Upon my return, I fell into the grind of chasing rotating formats while playing competitively in local and regional events. During this time period, I also discovered the “5-color” format at my local game store and grew a long-lasting love for dexterity cards and Contract from Below.

I continued to play officially sanctioned formats through major shifts: the new card frame, the removal of “mana burn” and “damage on the stack,” and the introduction of “lottery cards” with Zendikar’s “priceless treasures.” I managed the organized play programs of two game stores, became an official Magic judge, opened an LGS, and ultimately “quit” Magic once more. This time, shortly before the release of Worldwake.

Running a game store is a thankless task. Doing so during the Zendikar era was especially difficult. Wizards of the Coast’s allotment policies made it nearly impossible to maintain inventory of hot products, and customer loyalty eroded. I stopped having fun with Magic. Our local community dissolved. I made the difficult decision to close the store and sell my collection. With no local venue to play, why bother to keep it?

After closing up shop, I occasionally checked out new sets, only to be disappointed with the new mechanics, card designs, themes, or other aspects of the current game. That changed with the release of Masters 25. Though largely lackluster, the promise of “25 years of Magic history” had me hooked. I purchased a case of sealed product to draft at home.

As I opened packs cards containing old friends like Swords to Plowshares, Mishra’s Factory, Will-o’-the-Wisps, and Lightning Bolt, I began to wonder if there were other people who wanted to play with these old cards. A few google searches later, and I found the blag.

Now, nearly eight years later, I spend my free time talking about 30-year-old cards online, spreading the gospel of 4-Strip, collecting Spellground play cloths, talking shit about the Swedish, and helping moderate the public Old School MTG Discord.

The site

Magic has, in recent years, lost much of what once made it special. It no longer resembles the game that gave my friends and me countless hours of joy, adventure, and camaraderie. This site exists as my way of looking back on those times and keeping a little of that particular magic alive.

Herein, you will find long form articles, deck lists and analysis, alternative rules, and a weekly updated price guide.