10 Years

Time for some self reflection.

It was 10 years ago today that mtgcolorpie.com was first started. Not much has changed in the Magic landscape since then I’m sure. In fact, this was the “mission statement” I wrote on the date:

The reason for this site is to talk about the design aspect of Magic. What is Wizards doing right, what should we be expecting from them in the future? All of those things will be covered right here. Why? Because like everyone on the internet, they think they can do as good of a job, or better, than the professionals (don’t believe me, search YouTube for stupid stunts). Am I better than the design team headed up by Mark Rosewater? We’ll see…

Yeah, shooting a little high with Mark Rosewater, right? I had to make a statement when starting my blog. Put my voice out there in the aether. Do I think he was doing a bad job? No, I just felt that there was some room for criticism about Magic design. Am I professional Magic designer? No, not yet (is there a collation?). Since that still a goal of mine? Why wouldn’t it be?

I know it hasn’t been 10 years of constant blogging. There have been some regrets of not writing as much as I should. Life, babies, job all gets in the way. I try and make time for it, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out as the number of half finished articles in my queue can attest to. As of this writing I have published 253 posts on MTGColorPie.com. That’s an average of 25 a year or once every two or so weeks. So average it out and I’m doing okayish for a single person. And maybe because this isn’t a full time job for me (I make no money from this blog) that it feels like I wish I could’ve done more. I will always try and want to do more than what I can and that’s my guilt. I’ve had some real fun with pieces going completely absurd, like the parody pieces, and some real talk, like when I talked about the loss of my grandmother.

The Magic community is a fantastic place to be. I’m proud to be a voice in it for the past 10 years. It’s allowed me to do some fun stuff: PAX, meet Dr. Richard Garfield briefly, talk with WotC employees, write for other sites like Gathering Magic and interact with all of you.

I really want to thank you readers for actually reading my words (in whatever order they end up in). When I first started this and my Twitter account, I was considering of keeping myself fully anonymous so I could say anything without fear of backlash. Then, when I found out I don’t have that much to say to be worried about, I dropped that act. Whenever I go to PAX or places and introduce myself, it’s always a surprise to meet someone who’s heard of me especially when they say they like my work. I’m not doing any of this to be famous (as the number of posts can tell you), but just to write out my thoughts. With your kind words, it’s helped me through some tough times during the past 10 years. I’ll always be thankful for you.

So, what’s next? More articles (I’ve got enough in my queue to last another 10 years), but also branching out a little bit with another medium. I’m moving at the end of August/Early September so I’ll finally have my own office once again. My cards won’t be in boxes and I’ve always wanted a whiteboard in my home office for ideas. My notebooks is full of notes that I’m ready to spring into the world. I’ve toyed with the concept of streaming a bit, either card creation or building EDH decks or, drafting? Who knows. I mean, I’ve got all of this camera and video equipment and I haven’t really done anything with it yet. It will be much easier to create when I don’t have to constantly put away things when I have my own room and my girls are a little bit older.

If you’ve ever wanted to write or create content about Magic, I would highly suggest you give it a try. Don’t worry about what other people say. Write or create what you want to consume. Soon, you’ll find your voice and your place in the community. That’s how I started 10 years ago, and you can do the same. To paraphrase the proverb:

The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The second best time is now.

As always, you can reach me by email (mtgcolorpie@gmail) or twitter (@mtgcolorpie). I’m mtgcolorpie most everywhere else as well. Again, thank you all.