InQuest 14 - 4 - Donruss: Red Zone Mention
EDITOR'S LETTER
Have Your Cake
and Play It Too
When pop culture icon Andy Warhol said that in the future
everybody would be famous, but only for 15 minutes, he was wrong.
His problem was that he never met Richard Garfield or played
Garfield's Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
I have, and I know the truth: While plenty of "typical" people will
be famous for 15 minutes, most will never be famous at all - and a
select few will be famous forever.
That''s because Douglas Shuler and a few artist buddies are
auctioning off chances to model for Magic cards.
They're still formulating the when and where; "InQuest News" will
have the details when they're final. But first I want you to understand
how truly amazing this is.
Forget that Magic (which Wizards of
the Coast published six years after
Warhol's death) is probably the greatest
game ever invented. Forget - but only
until the bidding starts! - that the
auction's proceeds are going to charity.
And forget that Shuler's fantastic painting
of the strong, beautiful Serra Angel is one
of gaming's best-loved illustrations.
Have Your Cake
and Play It Too
When pop culture icon Andy Warhol said that in the future
everybody would be famous, but only for 15 minutes, he was wrong.
His problem was that he never met Richard Garfield or played
Garfield's Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
I have, and I know the truth: While plenty of "typical" people will
be famous for 15 minutes, most will never be famous at all - and a
select few will be famous forever.
That''s because Douglas Shuler and a few artist buddies are
auctioning off chances to model for Magic cards.
They're still formulating the when and where; "InQuest News" will
have the details when they're final. But first I want you to understand
how truly amazing this is.
Forget that Magic (which Wizards of
the Coast published six years after
Warhol's death) is probably the greatest
game ever invented. Forget - but only
until the bidding starts! - that the
auction's proceeds are going to charity.
And forget that Shuler's fantastic painting
of the strong, beautiful Serra Angel is one
of gaming's best-loved illustrations.
No, this opportunity is amazing
because it shows how far cards and
other games have come.
The first playing cards were invented
in 10th-century China to entertain the
emperor and his wives. When trading
cards arose, they pictured people who
were in or close to the spotlight:
baseball players. Later, cards showed TV
and movie actors and other celebrities.
Chess, the classic strategy
board game, is won by trapping the opposing king. In Monopoly,
you're a would-be real-estate baron cum capitalist oppressor. TSR's
new Birthright is about controlling and toppling monarchies.
These cards and games are fine, but collectible card games are
something else again. Take Magic. In addition to fantastic heroes and
ferocious monsters, it's got average joes like Orcish Conscripts and
Elvish Farmers. After 1,000 years, regular people are finally getting a
taste of cardboard power!
And there's more. Sports fans, bless 'em, can frame their Reggie
Jackson or Don Mattingly cards and hang them on the wall, but those
cards will never do anything. But gamers can shuffle John Elway and
Glyn Milburn into a Red Zone deck and play a game. It's like having
your cake and eating it too.
because it shows how far cards and
other games have come.
The first playing cards were invented
in 10th-century China to entertain the
emperor and his wives. When trading
cards arose, they pictured people who
were in or close to the spotlight:
baseball players. Later, cards showed TV
and movie actors and other celebrities.
Chess, the classic strategy
board game, is won by trapping the opposing king. In Monopoly,
you're a would-be real-estate baron cum capitalist oppressor. TSR's
new Birthright is about controlling and toppling monarchies.
These cards and games are fine, but collectible card games are
something else again. Take Magic. In addition to fantastic heroes and
ferocious monsters, it's got average joes like Orcish Conscripts and
Elvish Farmers. After 1,000 years, regular people are finally getting a
taste of cardboard power!
And there's more. Sports fans, bless 'em, can frame their Reggie
Jackson or Don Mattingly cards and hang them on the wall, but those
cards will never do anything. But gamers can shuffle John Elway and
Glyn Milburn into a Red Zone deck and play a game. It's like having
your cake and eating it too.
Plus, most CCG cards are much nicer to look at than plain old
regular playing cards.
Which returns us to that charity auction. Wouldn't you like to be
featured on a Magic card picture? You could play with yourself to your
heart's content. (So to speak.) And you could stick a few of your cards
into those airtight cases designed to last 15 million years.
After all, it's not every day that someone wins a piece of mass-
distributed cardboard fame. Why not make it last?
If only Andy Warhol and those early Chinese emperors could see
us now. Pasteboard power to the people, brother!
Matthew E. Milliken
Associate Editor
