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

About the Author

me
Magic: The Gathering™ would descend upon my small, rural Florida town in the summer of 1994. Upon its arrival, a fresh wave of Baptist-fueled, “Satanic” panic would sweep through the schools, playgrounds, and courtyards. A panic that would serve to isolate a younger version of myself and his friends, creating an underground cabal of young mages.

I would continue to play the game until the release of Urza’s Saga, where most of our group would go on to other pursuits, and I would sell my personal collection of cards.

Like most card addicts, I would relapse back into Magic numerous times…

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

I would continue to play officially sanctioned formats through the transition to the new card frame, the abandonment of “mana burn” and “damage on the stack,” and the introduction of “lottery cards” with Zendikar’s “priceless treasures.” I would manage the organized play programs of two game stores, become an official Magic judge, open an LGS, and ultimately “quit” Magic once more. This time, shortly before the release of Worldwake.

Running a game store is a thankless task, and running a game store during the Zendikar era was extremely difficult. The Wizards of the Coast™ allotment policies made it extremely hard to maintain inventory of what would prove to be a really hot product, and our customer loyalty waned. As a result, I stopped having fun with Magic, our local player community fractured, and I made the difficult decision to close the store and sell my collection once again. After all, with no local store to play in, why bother to keep it?

After I closed up shop and sold my Magic™ cards, I would occasionally check out new sets. Each time, I would be disappointed with the new mechanics, the card designs, the set themes, or other aspects of the current game. Until the release of Masters 25. While it was mostly lackluster, the promise of “25 years of Magic™ history” had me hooked, and I purchased a case of sealed product to draft at home.

As I opened pack after pack of 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 and eBay searches later, and I found the blag.

Now, nearly 8 years later, I spend my free time talking about 30 year old cards online, spreading the gospel of 4 strip, collecting spellground play cloths, and helping to moderate the public Old School MTG Discord.

About 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 I countless hours of joy, adventures, and camaraderie so many years ago. This website 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.