“Wait, if I do this… that happens?”
Looking Back on Our First Year of Women+ in Magic: The Gathering
Seeing people during our MTG Beginners Events have that moment where the game just clicks, when they’re like: “Wait, if I do this… that happens?”. Watching folks feel safe enough to show up as their true selves during our Casual Playdays, and taking WIM abroad for our biggest event yet... it’s honestly been so special and way beyond anything we thought we’d pull off in our first year.
It’s kind of wild to think it hasn’t even been a year since Myrna Hendrickx, Stéphanie Buter, and I (Lize Korpershoek) met up on a super sweaty day in August in Utrecht, The Netherlands. We came together to get a game of Commander in but mainly to talk about this idea I had: creating a space where FLINTA* folks (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender people) could hang out, play Magic: The Gathering, and just be.
Somewhere, online and in real life, where no one has to deal with weird looks, gender bias, or sexism. Just a place filled with good vibes, laughter, colorful dice bags, and maybe some homemade lemon poppy seed cake. A space where winning isn’t the point: connecting and having fun is.
We kicked things off with our Discord in October 2024, had our very first Beginners Event in a hotel lobby in Amsterdam in November, and ran our first WIM panel at an MTG festival in January. Since then we’ve taught more than 50 new players how to untap, upkeep and draw, we’ve held three official WIM Casual Play Days, two mixed events, and there’s been a big bunch of community-led meetups. I’m honestly so proud of everything we’ve built and all the moments we’ve shared so far.
Next up: MagicCon Atlanta. We’ve been invited to host a booth at The Gathering Grounds, a brand new space at MagicCon that’s open to everyone. It’s all about celebrating what makes us different and lifting up voices from communities that haven’t always had a seat at the table. It’s a place to meet, play, and feel seen.
We’re beyond excited that Wizards of the Coast has already picked up on what we’re doing, and now we’re headed across the ocean to host a booth and run play events. We can’t wait to share that relaxed WIM vibe with even more folks.
This whole ride has been a "Wait... If I Do This, That Happens?" for all of us. And what I’ve learned and felt most over these past 10 months of meetups and running our women+ only Discord is this: when we come together, Magic really does happen. And I’m so excited to see what’s next.
watch our what we do video on Instagram!
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