Hello Cosmere friends! It’s been a minute since Dragonsteel 2024, but we have one more surprise to share. . . Our coverage from Brandon Sanderson’s Magic the Gathering charity draft! I was lucky enough to get access to this exclusive event, so I’m very excited to finally share this experience with you all here.
Dragonsteel MTG Charity Draft
Magic the Gathering (MTG) is one of the most popular and influential trading card games (TCGs) in the world. It was created by Richard Garfield and is published by Wizards of the Coast. Every year Brandon Sanderson and the Light Weaver foundation, a charitable foundation founded by Brandon and Emily Sanderson, hold a MTG tournament where the proceeds go to charity. The tournament is called a “draft” because players take turns picking (e.g., drafting) cards from packs to use in their decks.
Why Magic the Gathering Over other trading card games?
Because Brandon Sanderson is a huge fan of the game of course! He even confirmed that he has plans to collaborate with Wizards of the Coast to publish a specific set of Magic cards themed around his Cosmere universe. I, among many Brando Sando fans, can’t wait for that to happen. For example, there is an unofficial Cosmere cameo in a particularly powerful special version of the MTG card called “Grand Abolisher”. Eagle eyed Cosmere fans will get the reference:
“Journey . . .” alludes to “Journey before destination” from the First Ideal of the Knights Radiant. Can’t wait to see an “official” cover of Sanderson’s work in MTG.
How do you attend?
To participate in the MTG Charity Draft at Dragonsteel Nexus you need to sign up at Tabletop Events prior to the con. Players are randomly selected, and you will be informed before the con if you get in. It’s a super popular event, so don’t feel bad if you aren’t selected. If you are selected, hooray! Congrats, and get ready to have a whole lot of MTG fun with Brandon Sanderson himself. Participants in the MTG draft will be required to pay a fee that goes to donations for the Lightweaver Foundation. You can learn about the specifics of the event, at least for Dragonsteel Nexus 2024, here.
Exclusive Access
I was lucky enough to help MTG streamer extraordinaire Taalia Vess cover the event. Taalia is a MTG content creator who’s gone toe-to-toe with the likes of the Josh Lee Kwai and Jimmy Wong on the hugely popular YouTube channel GameKnights. Most recently, as of this posting, she played against the Professor on his show Shuffle Up & Play. Do check out her work!
Skkaw with Taalia Vess at the Dragonsteel 2024 MTG Charity Draft
As a bonus to helping her out, I was able to stay and cover the entire tournament. So grateful to help and be lucky enough to get access to cover this very exclusive event. Huge thank you Taalia and Dragonsteel for the access!
Brandon Arrives in Style
And just when things couldn’t get any better, Brandon Sanderson arrived at the event to join in all the MTG fun!
Brandon Sanderson arriving at the Dragonsteel Nexus MTG Charity Draft
It was so great to be there and capture the moment in person. Huzzah!
And the Fun Begins . . .
After getting settled in, Brandon immediately sat with participants at each table of the tournament. It was an energetic scene, with fans getting a very fun space to talk to Brandon in person.
Unlike other events where you could get to meet and greet Brandon, this event was less rushed and more relaxed. Very personal, and laid back. Some lucky participants were even able to speak with him one-on-one, sharing their stories and asking him questions.
For me, it was so much fun to catch Brandon kicking it back, playing some cards, and just having an overall great time. So well deserved after a long and successful convention!
Although I wasn’t able to interact with Brandon Sanderson directly myself, I was so happy to be there to be able to capture the moment and share the experience with you all. As you can see, I had a blast as well!
After meeting everyone and spending time at each table, Brandon said a few words on stage and began a live stream of the event. The tournament also officially started and everyone got to playing some MTG fun!
Who’s this event for, and should you try to attend at the next Dragonsteel?
This event is geared toward Dragonsteel attendees who already play MTG, and would like to a fun environment to meet Brandon Sanderson. Since it’s still a tournament, it may be challenging for new players to attend since you are expected to play in the draft. MTG Drafts aren’t exactly easy to play if you’re new to the game. But regardless of how you play, at least based on my experience from Dragonsteel 2024, you will get exclusive access to meet Brandon with a bit more time to chat and talk. I’d say if you’re willing to try, you don’t lose anything by signing up for the lottery and seeing you can get in to the tournament and meet him.
Special Thanks to Game Grid and Dragonsteel!
Big shout out also to Game Grid team, who hosted the tournament, and most especially Becky and Octavia from Dragonsteel for allowing me to cover the event. So grateful for the exclusive access at the end of the con. And of course, as mentioned above, huge thanks to Taalia Vess!
Skkaw with Jordan from Game Grid, and Becky from Dragonsteel.
End the turn
I had so much fun attending the Dragonsteel Nexus 2024 MTG Charity draft. Hope this helped if you were curious about the event, and are interested to attend at the next Dragonsteel. I am definitely considering it for the next one!
Do check out the below for more of our Dragonsteel Nexus 2024 coverage:
- Cosplaying Our Way Through Dragonsteel Nexus 2024
- Cosplaying My Way Through Dragonsteel Nexus 2024
- Dragonsteel Nexus 2024 Cosplay
- Dragonsteel Nexus 2024: I’ve Been RAFO’d by Brandon Sanderson
- Join Us at Dragonsteel Nexus 2024: Cosplay Sneak Peek
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