Sweet Tweets: #GenConIsComing
Like a cloud of locusts gamers from across the world will be driving flying and riding to "The Best Four Days of Gaming" better known as Gen Con 2012 (@Gen_Con). Every year Indianapolis Indiana transforms to accept over 35000 game enthusiasts for one of the biggest gaming conventions in the country. But it wasn't always so big…
The convention we now know as Gen Con began in 1967 and was founded by Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax (which was made later) as a casual gathering of wargamers. In 1968 Gygax rented the Lake Geneva Horticultural Hall for $50 to hold the first formal Lake Geneva Convention also known as the Gen Con gaming convention in Lake Geneva Wisconsin near Gary Gygax's home.
Since those humble beginnings Gen Con has moved around a lot but it settled in Indianapolis and never looked back. It's tough to remember those early days now with the thousands of booths and tens of thousands of visitors but this year #GenCon honored their early years with their first ever keynote address delivered on Thursday by Wizards of the Coast about Dungeons & Dragons (@Wizards_DnD). A fitting tribute for a man who started the convention with around 100 people at an event later referred to as "Gen Con 0."
It's no wonder that Magic players are so excited to descend on Indy. Brace yourself… #GenConIsComing:
— Kevin Cron (@kevincron) August 15 2012
@affinityforblue#ERMAHGERD#GERNCERN#ahem#GenCon
good morning! Just one more day + a few hours and I'm on a plane to GenCon!! I can't wait! =o)
— Omar H (@ITOmarHernandez) August 14 2012
(Frank) So GenCon is approaching in a mere two days where there is guaranteed to be some juicy news about Return... fb.me/2l77X5tSk
— Magic.TCGplayer.com (@MTGatTCGplayer) August 14 2012
Safe travel to all my tweeps en route to
— Scott MacCallum (@MrScottyMac) August 14 2012#GenCon today. Get there so you can go off!!
8am flight to GenCon guess I could be going worse places...
— David Williams (@dwpoker) August 15 2012
Plane is departing now. Can't wait to see you all at
— Jackie Lee (@JackieL33) August 15 2012#GenCon!
Getting ready for the trip to
— Adrian Sullivan (@AdrianLSullivan) August 14 2012#GenCon. See you there!@gen_con
Start packing car for GenCon. Downpour immediately starts out of nowhere.
— Jason Clark (@RealEvilGenius) August 14 2012#savethecards!
About to board my flight for
— Gavin Verhey (@GavinVerhey) August 15 2012#Gencon. Should be an exciting weekend full if adventure... Here we go! :D
In case anyone doubted my commitment to Gen Con I have made an appt with my doc eye doc and even a masseuse to try to kill this migraine.
— Kranny (@kstube) August 14 2012
The Gen Con packing ... Continues.
— Adam Jury (@adamjury) August 14 2012
Last minute packing for
— Nathan Holt (@WalkThePlanes) August 15 2012#GenCon! Why do I do this every time I travel???
My packing list for GenCon: 7 pairs of shorts 5 T-Shirts 5 Button-down shirts.
— Zak Whyte (@zakman86) August 14 2012#Ilikeoptions
GenCon has a sort of family reunion feel to it where your entire family is awesome and minus the creepy uncles. Okay maybe a few uncles.
— Eric Klug (@klug_alters) August 14 2012
On the road with
— USS Beatdown (@CapnTopDeck) August 15 2012@chosler88! Heading to GenCon and rocking some classics on Pandora already!
Made it to FT. Wayne Indiana. Only about 100 miles more!
— Jelger Wiegersma (@WJelger) August 15 2012
T-Minus hour and a half.
— Marcel MTG (@MarcelMTG) August 15 2012#GenCon
If you're going to Gen Con please watch Inside The Deck at the Film Festival on Friday at 7 PM in the Westin. More info to come.
— Richard Castle (@richardfcastle) August 14 2012
Going to
— Lee Sharpe (@Lee_Sharpe) August 15 2012#GenCon? Play in Magic Online cube drafts! Schedule is here: wizards.custhelp.com/app/answers/de…#mtgo
About to head to the airport on my way to
— Brian Kibler (@bmkibler) August 15 2012#GenCon.Excited to represent the USA in the World Magic Cup and show the world#SolForge!
Off to Indy to meet up with Team USA for our final preparations for the
— Alex Binek (@PTQChamp) August 15 2012#WMC!
En route to
— Brian David-Marshall (@Top8Games) August 15 2012#GenCon to do coverage of the#WMC and hang out with a gaggle of my favorite people in the world.#draftphoneactivated
Getting ready for
— Helene Bergeot (@HeleneBergeot) August 15 2012#GenCon Trade Day and the WMC. So excited about this year's show!
I want to see the
— Joe Mckellar (@JoeyMac399) August 14 2012@smenendian Doomsday deck win Vintage Champs!
The Vintage Champs metagame?themanadrain.com/index.php?topi…
— Stephen Menendian (@SMenendian) August 14 2012
Up at 5am heading to airport. Sadly not to Gencon :( :( :(
— Tom Martell (@tommartell) August 15 2012#dontgrowup
Awww poor Tommy!
In related news the Magic community got a nice little surprise when they got to Gen Con on Thursday: a #ReturntoRavnica spoiler! Wizards (@dailymtg) has released to us Deadbridge Goliath a 5/5 for 2GG that has no abilities while in play. That would have been quite impressive by itself a few years ago (consider Iwamori of the Open Fist or even Durkwood Boars) but that's not all the Golgari Giant has to offer. 'Big Green' also has a new keyword: scavenge. For a cost (in Deadbridge Goliath's case 4GG) your creature essentially has a sorcery-speed flashback ability that will put +1/+1 counters on target creature equal to the creature's power. So for four mana the first time around you get a 5/5…and then if you so choose you get five more power after it dies for six mana!
A new ability a preview card and lots of Twitter discussion? What's not to like?
RtR Launch Foil twitter.com/AllWeDoIsWinMT…
— James S. & Missy D. (@AllWeDoIsWinMTG) August 15 2012
Deadbridge Goliath is pretty sweet.
— Burritoman Mike (@burritoman88) August 15 2012#mtg#MTGRTR
Golgari's new mechanic: SCAVENGE. bit.ly/PlfmtX
— Justin Treadway (@GriffnValentine) August 15 2012
— Jason Barnett (@juzamjedi) August 15 2012
@uselessend that's a nice ability. Get a 5/5 now get to pump another creature after he dies. Makes mana dorks semi-relevant late game.
Scavenge is a horribly boring mechanic.
— Travis Allen (@epic_travisty) August 15 2012
— Michael L (@forestsfailyou) August 15 2012
@maro254 I thought you said new guild mechanics would work with old ones. BS scavenge needs lands dredge runs none.
— Jake Meiser (@mejakenow) August 15 2012
@usmantherad I don't even think I'd cube it sad a 5/5 for 4 in green doesn't seem great anymore
— Kyle Engleson (@Kengy5) August 15 2012
@jparnell1 I still think a 5/5 for 4 with upside is great. I'm imagining a mana elf with "scavenge: G" to be the breakout hit.@usmantherad
True or false Deadbridge Goliath is just Grave Shell Scarab in profile. "For this next card catch my good side!!"
— Bill Boulden (@ThaGatherin) August 15 2012
And finally a quick shout out to my podcast mate Matt Kranstuber (@kstube) who has recently started a new cube themed podcast called The Joy of Cubing. Take a listen to his first episode with guest Eric Klug (@klug_alters) here:
The first EP of Joy of Cubing is up! Big thanks to
— Kranny (@kstube) August 14 2012@klug_alters for helping me with the first episode. Enjoy! joyofcubing.blogspot.com#mtgcube
I'll be your platinum I'll be your silver I'll be your gold (as long as you Tweet me)!
Coverage Coordinator and Twitter Admiral for StarCityGames.com
Listen to the @InContention podcast! It's the official podcast of the StarCityGames.com Open Series with @kstube @affinityforblue and me. Listen in at InContentionMagic.com. Our most recent episode Guidance Counselor to the Firemind can be found here.
About Reuben Bresler
Reuben Bresler is a Coverage Coordinator for SCGLive who lives in Roanoke, VA. When he's not doing coverage, he works on various video projects for StarCityGames.com, like The Newsening.