Magic Deck Vortex: The Writer’s Guild: The Inside Scoop.

It was a cold Tuesday morning; the Writer’s Guild office smelt of black coffee and cigar smoke with the ever present undertone of blood, sweat and tears—and Tynion was on another one of his rants.

I barely registered the slue of abuse aimed at my head this time; my computer and I had been fighting last night and things got ugly real quick. I can still remember that awful blue screen she flashed at me. It just wasn’t my week is all I guess.

Gazing around the office though the faint haze I saw Ryuzaki cracking away at that typewriter of his, smoke rising off of those blurs of movement known as his fingers—the man’s ability to crack though the work is scary and I knew if I didn’t sharpen up he’d be taking my place soon.

Cashew was flitting through the numerous notepads and letters strewn across his desk, trying to separate the numerous articles he was working on from the entrants to several contests he was running around the site. Man’s got stones to take on that kind of workload, I can tell you.

The room temperature drops a degree as Maleficent passes through from the editor’s office towards the coffee machine and a shiver runs down my spine; there is just something about the guy that sets me on edge. Maybe it’s his sharp wit and harsh tongue on reviewing your work or maybe it’s just that crazy look in his eye.

All the while Tynion is still throwing abuse my way and offers some suggestions about what I can do with the cigar I’m holding. When he mentions the Memory Jar deck he keeps lying around I make my excuses and leave; I’ve seen the razor edge of that deck too many times for my liking and I had papers stacking up on my desk.

Dazboot and hamsandwich are standing in the hallway outside Streetz’s office, discussing the finer points of card choices and tempo in a deck. We had grabbed a few beers outside of work sometimes; they’re both pretty solid guys, just need to find that inner power streak to make it big around these parts.

The door to Streetz’s office bursts open in a flurry and Amadeus is pacing down the corridor before I’ve had a chance to regain my posture. Most people would be taken aback by Amadeus’s manner, but it’s just his way—been and gone before you even knew what hit you.

I consider stepping into the office and posing a few questions to Streetz about the lousy coffee we get but think better of it when I hear DBB and Streetz in conference: two of the nicest guys you could hope to meet but always busy. Besides, I can handle the coffee for another week and its nothing six sugars or a shot of the good stuff can’t sort out.

I finally manage to scurry away into my office to find Michael_Zeora with a few card renders I had been after for a while in hand. A solid guy, there is no finer hand when it comes to image manipulation in my mind, but what do I know; the closest I’ve ever come to art and the like is the colorful mess that is loosely referred to as my “Garden.”

After MZ left, I waited for the sounds in the corridor to quiet down before I opened the top drawer of my desk. The letter is sitting there on top of a mass of folders and photos I’ve been taking for the past few weeks now. It has one simple question written across it, but the answers could cost me a lot, though I’ve always argued with Tynion that we need to be more open with the general public about what we do in here; after all it’s not like we’re the “Moderately Oppressive Dictatorship Squad” or “MODS” for short.

I’m still struggling with my conscience when I start to leaf through the dossiers I’ve been collecting on all the writers—myself included. The writers’ eyes look up at me coldly from their photos and the answer to my moral dilemma hits me like a bolt: we write for the people; they deserve to know who works for them.

Wasting no time I grab up the dossiers and start scanning them into my project files. Although some of the writers and editors have managed to escape the roaming eye of my digital camera, I felt any information I could give on these guys was better then nothing.

Warning: Mr L and the Writer’s Guild take no responsibility for any damage or injuries that may be received by looking at the information contained in these files. You Have Been Warned!

Streetz AKA The Big Man
John Streetz, 29-32, Chicagoland, IL, USA The Patriarch of the Forum, the man simply rocks. If there is a poster child for taking on too much by yourself, Streetz would be it, and we all thank him for it between berating him for not taking some time out for himself. “Where's the rest of the guild and why aren't they voting?”

Tynion AKA The Rant King
Chris Newton, Cleveland Ohio, US. Age 29-32 Leader of the Writer’s Guild and an old hand around the forum, Tynion is known as the one and only Olympic Standard Ranter in the entire forum. Behind his sharp tongue and quick wit lies a calculating mind that is always looking three steps ahead; always tackling the issues before they even arise. “Oh I don't know, perhaps because one single card printed in a single set makes an entire mechanic absolutely unplayable in competitive play”

Death_By_Beebles AKA Pro Star Writer
Alex, 21-24, Ohio, USA Name one of your top three favourite articles in MDV’s database and I will bet dollars to donuts that at least one of them is written by this man. His list of articles is extensive and each is a masterpiece—a true treasure to have and a pleasure to work with… when you can track him down at least. “I didn't specifically mention Giant Baiting in my article, but trust me, I draft it often enough : )”

Cashew AKA Mr Creativity
Unknown Ruler of the Contest Domain, King of Competition; Cashew is the creative mind behind many of MDV’s more “intensive” contests. Whilst balancing a workload that would break the back of a weaker man, it is a rare event that Cashew will miss a deadline. He can be secretive sometimes but it doesn’t stop you from liking the guy. “Yeah, I dropped the ball getting everything 100% ready for you on it. I blame life as well. Oh well weekend time to rest and relax... unless you’re me and have 4 more days of 12 hour shifts!”

Michael_Zeora AKA King of Image
Michael E, 17-20, Houston, TX, USA Many of you guys who frequent the forum already know to give praise to this guy’s image handling capabilities. A great friend to have and a master of all things “photo-shoppery,” Michael has taken a more relaxed role within the Writer’s Guild, always ready to supply a card render or banner on request. “You won't get me to admit this so I recommend those who want to use this against me to take a screen cap, it’ll last longer. I agree with Syphon on that particular statement.”

Maleficent AKA Senior Loco
Chris/Steven/Vincent, 17-20, USA If there are stranger beings in this universe, I do not want to meet them. Although he can seem chaotic and unstable at some moments, he is capable of singular moments of clarity and creativity during which he creates amazing work. All the same, most people wish he’d stop smiling all the time…. “This'll be fun. Yay for manipulation! My favorite. ”

Ryuzaki AKA THE Resident Poster
Unknown Recent evidence leads us to believe that Ryu, as he is otherwise known, might actually be living in the forum rather then returning to the real world as is company policy. A fast worker and a bit of an eager beaver, Ryuzaki can turn the grimmest piece of writing into a work of art within minutes and barely takes any longer to produce his own work. “I'll take it. Out of all the assignments, it's the only one that suits me. I mean I do live here... allegedly and still haven't paid rent.”

Amadeus AKA The Ghost Writer
Unknown So little is known about this individual other then he produces amazing work; Amadeus was head-hunted due to his talent with words and explanations of advanced topics. It’s hard to talk about this character as he’s frequently making fly-by trips to the Guild office, but when he’s around he is a fairly solid guy. Though in fairness, his work more than makes up for the absence. “It's possible that I'm the only editor, which doesn't bode well.”

Dazboot AKA The Freshman
Josh, Maine USA, 17-20 During the fallout concerning the industrial event otherwise known as “The Writers’ Strike,” Dazboot rose to popularity in both the eyes of the Writer’s Guild and the general public due to an editorial he submitted in response to the turn of events. One of few people to have been unanimously voted in by the Writer’s Guild, Dazboot has still to find the firm base from which to propel himself to notoriety, but we can all expect great things from him when he does. “Wait... we don't get sideboards?”

hamsandwich AKA The New Kid on the Block
John, Wisconsin, USA, Age Unknown The latest addition to the Writer’s Guild, ham has yet to release anything to the main site, but he is another writer to keep an eye on in the coming months; with a refreshing style and friendly disposition, you would be very hard pressed to say a bad thing about the guy. “America fears nothing (well maybe China), isn't that obvious by now."

Luthervamplord AKA MDV’s Resident Night Stalker
Mark M, Kent, England, 21-24 A relic from the earlier days of the forum, Luther has been a writer on and off for the better part of his time on MDV since its second incarnation. An alternate format junkie and possessing a “Quaintly English” way of writing, Luther can be found in almost every section of the forum and prides himself on being an “approachable creature.” “Face it Syphon; TCG players are suckers for Fluff.”

A great weight is lifted from my shoulders when I pass the final file through the scanner, but it soon dawns on me that there is still much to do. Knowing the writers is not enough; the people deserve to know how we do things in the hidden recesses of the forum. Grabbing up my hidden camera cigar, I started about grabbing the evidence I needed.

SPOILER ALERT
If you would like to believe in the magic of the forum and avoid from seeing how all the strings are pulled in the background, please stop reading now.

The Writer’s Guild is a hidden section of the forum that can only be accessed by valid users and some of the higher level MODS.

Before an article can even be considered as front page material, it is passed through a stringent and rigorous system of checking, rechecking and editing. All articles are up for discussion and debate as well, but this is also where the Writer’s Guild plans the big events such as theme weeks, contests and major updates.

Also, all articles must follow a set of guidelines that are written down in law for all writers to follow; check these rules and guidelines out in this file.

Once an article has been completed, it is entered into a schedule produced by the senior staff of MDV (such as Streetz & Tynion). Fancy a sneaky peek? Well I don’t think I can give too much away but the inside scoop is to keep your eyes on the main website around the 23rd of June; I never told you if anyone asks, alright?

With the photos developed and my papers gathered I started to feel relieved; I’ve managed to collect more information on the Writer’s Guild then has ever been presented to the public and I’ve done it without any of the other writer’s cottoning on…

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