Magicthegathering.com

Magicthegathering.com (also referred to asDailyMTG.com and by fans asthe Mothership) is the official website for the game ofMagic: The Gathering and a subpage ofwww.wizards.com, the official homepage ofWizards of the Coast. It features columns byR&D members and prominentMagic players.^[1][2]

History[]

Start[]

Magicthegathering.com followed up onDuelist Online. It went online in early 2000, but the first page was notMagic specific (May 30, 2000 edition). The firstMagic specific page went online in early 2001 around the time ofSeventh Edition (April 30, 2001). The site moved to a column format (ala newspaper looking) inearly 2002. When web editorAaron Forsythe left in 2003 to become part ofR&D, it was considered to merge the site withMagic Online and theSideboard website.^[3] This was effectuated in early 2004, whenScott Johns took over.^[4][5][6][7]

Facelifts[]

Further facelifts and updates followed in August 2005,^[8][9] July 2006^[10] and September 2006.^[11] A complete overhaul of the site was achieved in August 2008.^[12][13] After Scott Johns,Kelly Digges managed the site. Since 2012,Trick Jarrett andMike McArtor were the content managers.^[14][15][16]

Rasmussen era[]

In 2014,Blake Rasmussen became copy editor-in-chief and the site was completely revamped, again. Changes included a responsive design for an improved browsing experience on any web-connected device, a rich and interconnected story section, a new calendar, improved search functionality, and a more robust experience for visitors reading in non-English languages.^[17] The revamped site wasn't functioning very well in the first weeks and met with a lot of criticism. This led to another complete redesign, only six months later.^[18] In January 2016 Rasmussen let go of the strict weekly format of the site. The roster of authors and the range of content were expanded, and the site now could be updated several times a day at irregular intervals. Rasmussen introduced theDaily Magic Update, retiredMagic Arcana and rechristenedUncharted Realms to the less idiosyncratic"OfficialMagic Fiction" (laterMagic Story).^[19] "Daily Magic Update" was expanded upon in the November 2017 update, "making use of the newest web design technology".^[20][21] However, the site experienced a subsequent decline in original content and updates - eventually, the site mostly served as a hub advertising popular content from other creators rather than a site that published works itself.

MPL era[]

When theMagic Pro League was established, a new site underMagic.gg was started. Initially, the site only held the event pages for the major tournaments, but once theRivals League was up and running much of the articles regarding competitive play, the event archives, and most of the Arena update news was migrated here as well. League play weekend information and Arena decklists also started to be published here.

While the Leagues themselves were retired mid-2022, the site remained as the main source for tournament information.

2023 Revamp[]

On November 10th, DailyMTG was overhauled to use the magic.gg backend system for ease of editing. In the process, many older DailyMTG articles were retired due to technology and compatibility issues.^[22]

Notable content[]

Weekly[]

Nowadays,Mark Rosewater'sMaking Magic on Mondays^[23] is the only regular article series. TheMagic Online Weekly Announcements Blog andMTG Arena Announcements are weekly bulletins on upcoming digital events. That said, two weekly video series are present, but are published on other sites and promoted on Daily MTG:Good Morning Magic by Gavin Verhey on YouTube, andWeekly MTG on Twitch.tv withBlake Rasmussen and guests.

In the week of 8th of August, 2022, two new weekly article series were introduced: the return ofThe Week That Was underCorbin Hosler, andMetagame Mentor, underFrank Karsten. Both were published on themagic.gg subsite.^[24][25]

Standard set release cycle[]

• Card Previews, by various authors, for three weeks before set release.
• Magic Story on Wednesdays, by theMagic Creative Team. Previously released at the start of preview season, the full story is now published before preview season to avoid the spoilers onstory spotlight cards.
• Prerelease Primer, by Gavin Verhey.
• Oracle and Comprehensive Rules update, by the current Rules Manager.

Annual[]

• State of Design, Mark Rosewater, as Head Designer, examines the current state ofMagic design by looking back at the previous year to appraise what went right and wrong withMagic design (August).
• Announcement Day. Originally planned as a biannual mass product announcement — one in the spring and one in the fall.^[26] As of November 2018, WotC was rethinking how and when they announced products,^[27] and announcements were more spread out. For 2020, the annual Announcement Day was reinstated with the most important upcoming sets revealed on September 4, 2019.^[28]. Announcement Day 2020 was September 1, while Announcement Day 2021 ("Magic Showcase 2021") was on August 24.
  • In 2022, Global Marketing ManagerLight Humphreys added monthly announcement days.^[29] The annual Announcement Day (August 18, 2022) was now called "Wizards Presents".^[30]
  • In 2023, monthly announcements were abandoned again. The annual Announcement Day took place onMagic: The Gathering's 30th birthday (August 5th), and took the form of a panel atGenCon.^[31]
  • In 2024, Announcement Day was delayed untilMagicCon Las Vegas on October 25th.^[32][33]

Irregular[]

• Magic Digital
• Magic Online Bug Blog.

Retired content[]

Magic Arcana[]

Magic Arcana was a section of the magicthegathering.com site that provided readers with sneak peeks of future products and revelations of little-known factoids about the game's past.^[34] It used to be updated daily, but after 2014 it wasn't updated on Fridays anymore. In 2016 it was incorporated in theDaily Magic Update.

Magic Arcana made its debut on January 2, 2002.Mark Rosewater wrote:

Every Friday until 2014,Magic Arcana had a "Wallpaper of the Week", which is a card artwork that is downloadable at 1280 x 960 pixels, 1280 x 1024 pixels, 1024 x 768 pixels, and 800 x 600 pixels.Magic Arcana kept anarchive of Wallpapers of the Week.

TheLexicon was another regular part ofMagic Arcana. The Lexicons were articles that defined words used in card titles. For instance, thelast entry lists a calderanoun as "A large crater formed by volcanic explosion or by the collapse of a volcanic cone."

The 1000thMagic Arcana was uploaded on January 25, 2006.^[34]

Ask Wizards[]

Ask Wizards was a section of the magicthegathering.com site that answers sent-in questions of the public. It changed from daily, to weekly (allowing for staff holidays.)^[35][36] In 2014 it became a monthly feature.^[37]

Card of the Day[]

Every weekday day,Card of the Day was updated with aMagic card with an interesting factoid or two; this feature provided readers with "inside" scoops and Easter Eggs.^[38] The chosen card often related to the theme of the week, if there was one, or the other cards that are chosen during that week.

FlavOracle[]

The FlavOracle was a pendant of theOracle, a document that housed the officialflavor text for everyMagic card (basic sets,expansion sets, andpromotional cards).^[39][40] In addition, MagicTheGathering.com ran an ongoing feature that allowed readers to submit flavor text for older cards. After a screening process, a popular vote would determine the eventual winner for each card, and the winning text would be added into the FlavOracle.^[41] The FlavOracle was introduced in March, 2002.^[42] and used to provide flavor text for six cards inEighth Edition.^[43][44] It was already retired by December 2004, because of lack of interest.^[45][46]

Orb of Insight[]

TheOrb of Insight was a recurrent feature that was available prior to a set's release. It was a JavaScript-based object that, when available, one could type in a term, word, or number, and the Orb would return with the number of mentions of such term in the forthcoming expansion. Although it did not takeflavor text into consideration, it did considercard names andrules text.

Mark Rosewater wrote of the Orb of Insight:

As it turned out, players could find out an extremely large amount of information. Through data-mining key word frequencies to figure out set structure with preview set data, like nonbasic lands, multicolored cards, proper terms (Legendaries and named references) and mechanical relevance. Methods used in preview season were successful enough to retire the Orb.^[47]

Mistform Ultimus Watch[]

TheMistform Ultimus Watch was a recurring sub-feature that kept track of whatcreature typesMistform Ultimus had become, and in effect, what new creature types recently had been added toMagic.^[48]

Theme weeks[]

In the early days, the site would have theme weeks to fill the gaps between the releases of new products.^[49][50] Subtypes, mechanics, and lore topics were all on the table, with various levels of contribution through the week's authors.

Columns[]

Regular columns used to be:^[51]

• Limited Information by Steve Sadin and guests
• Serious Fun byAdam Styborski
  • Ways to Play.
  • Magic Lifestyle.
• Building on a Budget byJacob Van Lunen, a deckbuilding column, usually using Magic Online, aimed for the aspiring competitor.
• From the Lab by Noel deCordova, a deckbuilding column on unusual build-arounds.
• The Week That Was byBrian David-Marshall, in the GP/PT era, which wrote various news-clipping styled tidbits collected off the Pro Tour.
• Uncommon Knowledge was a history column that ran from January 2, 2002, to August 15, 2003, with a single column on November 29, 2006, during theTime Spiral nostalgia period. It was authored byBen Bleiweiss with one guest article byAaron Forsythe on November 6, 2002.
• Daily Magic Update byBlake Rasmussen.
  • Magic Arcana, a daily trivia column with curiosities in art, flavor, mechanics or players.
  • Saturday School was a question and answer column that ran from October 2002 to July 2006. It was first authored by NorwegianRune Horvik,^[52][53][54] thenJohn Carter.
• Taste the Magic byMatt Cavotta, dedicated to flavor
  • Savor the Flavor byDoug Beyer, its successor
  • Uncharted Realms by various authors
• Latest Developments on Fridays, byAaron Forsythe,Tom LaPille and later bySam Stoddard.
  • Replaced byPlay Design on Fridays, byMelissa DeTora and others.
• Top Decks byMike Flores and later Luis Scott-Vargas, looking at the highest performing decks in recent GP and PTs.
  • Perilous Research byJacob Van Lunen, looking at Magic Online decklists for metagame evolution.
• How to Play...
  • Magic Academy was a rules introduction column that ran from July 2006 to August 2007. It was initially authored byTed Knutson, thenJeff Cunningham. Guest lecturers includedScott Johns,Ben Rubin, andShuhei Nakamura.
  • Level One byReid Duke, a full course (August 2014 - October 2015) for anyone looking to improve their play or learn more aboutMagic.^[55]
  • Beyond the Basics byGavin Verhey.
• Magic Podcast.
• Walking the Planes. Video series hosted byNathan Holt and Shawn Kornhauser, Walking the Planes documents various large tournaments (such asGrand Prix orPro Tour) and the overall Magic scene in a light-hearted fashion. It often includes interviews with pro players. The series also features small sketches about the misadventures of an unnamed necromancer planeswalker (played by Holt).
  • Enter the Battlefield. A more conventional documentary series covering Magic scenes of countries, lives of individual pro players, artists and content creators. The series is also created by Holt and Kornhauser.
• Friday Nights. Video series produced by the Canadian sketch comedy groupLoadingReadyRun, the series documents the group's own experience in playing Magic and its contact with the culture surrounding the game (e.g. a road trip to Grand Prix Calgary 2013), exaggerated for humorous effect.

Gallery[]

• 
  MTG.com banner for the week from October 1, 2007, to October 8, 2007.

References[]