Gatekeeping gets a bad reputation in Magic: The Gathering—but not all gatekeeping is bad.

There’s a huge difference between telling another player they don't belong and deciding that a format, community, product, or style of play isn't for you. In this episode, I’m making the case for the good kind of gatekeeping: protecting the things you actually enjoy about Magic. Pasted text

Pre-Modern is a great example. The format has clearly defined boundaries, but those boundaries don't have to be hostile. The community can preserve what makes the format special while still finding ways to invite new players through the gate. Pasted text

We also get into:

  • Why community formats don't need to become massive competitive ecosystems
  • Why it's okay to keep a format small and local
  • Battle boxes as a way to introduce people to Classic Legacy and Pre-Modern
  • Why gatekeeping your time and money can be a good thing
  • The problem with engaging with products you actively dislike
  • Why negative engagement is still engagement
  • What Magic can learn from the way communities support their own formats
  • How to actually grow a community format without talking down to people
  • Why teaching someone to play a format is more powerful than simply telling them it's great

The goal isn't to keep people out.

It's to protect the things that make your version of Magic worth playing—and then invite people in who genuinely want to be part of it. Pasted text

If you've ever built a Battle Box, played Pre-Modern, Classic Legacy, Peak Legacy, or another community format, this one is for you.

00:00 — The GOOD Side of Gatekeeping Magic
01:00 — Gatekeeping Formats Without Gatekeeping Players
02:18 — How Pre-Modern Uses Gatekeeping
04:39 — Building Communities Around Shared Culture
06:58 — Why Community Formats Don't Need to Go Big
09:17 — Gatekeeping Your Time & Your Magic
11:42 — Gatekeeping Your Wallet From Bad Products
14:10 — Why Negative Engagement Still Helps
21:38 — How to Actually Grow a Community Format
26:10 — What's the Goal of a Community Format?

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