Each year, as the site’s founder, I have the opportunity to look back over our history. So I’m sitting here thinking about how five years is a pretty long time in the life of a website. I mean how long did we use Myspace until everyone switched to Facebook? Was it even that long?
It’s surreal really, for half a decade Hipsters of the Coast has been offering free content. And not just free in cost, but free in our ability to tell the exact story as we see fit. Looking back over that time it’s impossible for me to not be proud. Proud of what we’ve accomplished, proud of our consistency, and most importantly, proud of our message. Doing this really puts a lot into perspective, and looking back gives us a chance to look forward as well.
Now, before I get mired in the future, I always like to go back into the past and remind people how this website got started. Back in early fall 2012 I decide to start writing a Blogspot in preparation for Return to Ravnica’s impending standard rotation. I couldn’t tell you even looking back now, if that article was good or if it was complete garbage. What I can tell you, obviously, is that I had potential. When I approached Matt Jones and Li Xu to join me on this site writing about the game we love they took a chance as well. For that I am forever grateful to them.
Soon we were joined by Hunter Slaton, Rich Stein, David McCoy, Jess Striba, Zachary Barash, Carrie O’Hara, Kate Bates, Aaron Gazzaniga, Jerry Mee, Nathan Golia, Hugh Kramer, Dylan Hiester, Nicholas Forker, Pat Euglow, Ryan Sainio, Beck Holden, Shawn Massak, Sandro Rajalin, Stefano Black, Colin Bevis, Clayton Adams and I’m positive a few others I’ve missed while typing this. That’s a big crew. Some have been here almost the entire 5 years, some for just a few months or an article, but one thing’s for sure. This website would not be the same without each of those people. Each person on that list as brought their unique voice to our family. After this weekend at Hascon, our first event as a team specifically as a press outlet, I can say that we are truly a family.
It’s not just about the people creating articles though—the people reading them, the feedback we get, and the community at large, are just as important. I think Mark Rosewater said it best this weekend, “Magic is more than a game.” For some of us it’s a group of friends, for others a savior, and still for others a really great way to pass the time. We all care so much for this game that it’s hard to measure its impact on our lives. And with that in mind I’m going to be giving away two play mats from HasCon in our Patreon drawings this month. If you are already a patron in September we will be doing a second drawing for the Sword of Dungeons & Dragons HasCon playmat. If you happen to follow me personally on Eternal Durdles, I am also also adding the Nerf War Hascon playmat to this month’s drawing, in addition to the other drawings we will do this month. That’s one of the best ways I can think of to thank the readers and listeners.
So let’s talk about the future. As you saw this weekend I’m sure you noticed we ventured into the realm of video and that’s pretty exciting stuff for us. It’s a realm that we previously have just dabbled in and now we’re looking to do a little bit more. You’ll see us dedicating more time and effort to our video content, and hopefully that means you’ll get to know us a little bit better as well. Over the course of this week you’ll get to see some of the content that we created at HasCon and we’d really appreciate your feedback. The Good. The Bad the Very Bad. All that feedback is really helpful and it helps us figure out how to move forward, so don’t hesitate to hit up Hipsters of the Coast on Twitter hit me up at @durdlemagus on Twitter and let us know what we’re doing right what you’re not quite sure about and what you think about our new content.
Finally, a personal thank you to everyone who’s clicked on the links, read an article, hit me up at a event said how much they enjoyed or didn’t enjoy what I was up to, offered commentary on a sideboard choice that I might have made that was a little sketch, and all around just supported what we were up to. Knowing that we are keeping the discussion going in the community is what makes this worth doing. Here’s to another strong five years.
Zac Clark is the Founder of Hipsters of the Coast. An avid gamer since his early teens, Zac can often be found in Brooklyn either playing games or taking photos. When he’s not drawing extra cards, wrathing boards and countering spells, he’s taking pictures of other peoples good times and listening to 90’s Music.