I was making the following Tiny Leaders deck when this realization came to me. While I may know a thing or two about art, there could be hundreds of other art people out there doing great things, and I’ll never know. I felt something rather special a few weeks ago, helping artists bring concerns to the forefront, and I wondered how many other people were also doing community-minded amazing. As I added each Elf, I scoured through the mythic rares, the rare ones, and then the highly valuable ones. I kept thinking, “I’m making an all-star team of mini +1/+1 lords.” I was looking for the best of the best, and it was hard to just pick a few. The gears in my mind began churning, thinking that, similarly, there could be community members across the world doing incredible things, and we only see the mythic rares. We’re just elves and all striving toward one goal of community betterment, and only the top is being recognized.

Ezuri ? Tiny Leader | Mike Linnemann

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (27)
• 1 Arbor Elf
• 1 Birchlore Rangers
• 1 Elvish Archdruid
• 1 Elvish Harbinger
• 1 Elvish Mystic
• 1 Elvish Pioneer
• 1 Elvish Visionary
• 1 Farhaven Elf
• 1 Fyndhorn Elves
• 1 Gempalm Strider
• 1 Heritage Druid
• 1 Imperious Perfect
• 1 Jagged-Scar Archers
• 1 Joraga Warcaller
• 1 Lifeblood Hydra
• 1 Llanowar Elves
• 1 Llanowar Mentor
• 1 Mistcutter Hydra
• 1 Mul Daya Channelers
• 1 Priest of Titania
• 1 Primordial Hydra
• 1 Quirion Ranger
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 1 Sylvan Ranger
• 1 Viridian Zealot
• 1 Wood Elves
• 1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves

• Spells (6)
• 1 Noxious Revival
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Glimpse of Nature
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Sylvan Library
• 1 Bow of Nylea

• Lands (17)
• 11 Forest
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Wirewood Lodge
• 1 Gaea's Cradle
• 1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
• 1 Pendelhaven
• 1 Yavimaya Hollow

Buy This Deck

The Community Top 8 is a new award that recognizes the top Magic community of leaders.

Why eight? Magic has the eight finalists in every major tournament and showcases an elite group, each member of which has shown magnificent effort in the past year. It will be competitive, just as making a Top 8 is.

Why a nomination? I can come up with a lot of people, but I only know the art community. I don’t know all the other aspects of Magic. I’m only aware of them. So, as a personal project and as a way for people to gain visibility, this process will bring the best of us to light in a democratic process. You don’t need to pass a test to be “good enough” to submit, only that a nominator feels you are—or you feel a friend is—worthy.

If you have a massive ego, you can submit yourself, or if you're humble, you can get your peers, coworkers, and friends to do it for you. There is no place else that recognizes innovation focusing on the individual other than Follow Fridays on Twitter. So don’t hold back. We are looking for both creative submissions and actual impactful, community-driven efforts.

Are you instrumental in building the Magic community?

Prove it.

Fill out a nomination for someone you know—or even for yourself!

Eligibility

• Nominees must have a tangible, confirmable examples of aiding the Magic community.
• Nominees may be self-nominated or nominated by another person.
• Nominees may be posthumously be nominated.

The best candidates will quantitatively demonstrate community involvement (volunteer work, advocacy), leadership ability (public profile, reputation), and influence (impact on the region, on judge policy, or on quality of some aspect of the Magic community).

FAQs

Q: Whom should I nominate?

A: You should nominate someone who is a Magic community leader and who has accomplished specific achievements in the Magic: The Gathering community in the last twelve months. We're looking for quantifiable results and compelling stories to tell our readers. Yes, you can nominate yourself. And no, multiple nominations for the same person do not increase the nominee's chance of being selected.

A: This is a chance to honor a colleague, mentor, client, friend, or the like. It's also an opportunity to share an inspiring story of success with others.

Q: How are winners chosen?

A: Winners are selected by the Gathering Magic editorial staff based solely on nomination forms provided.

Q: What makes a well-done nomination?

A: These are nominations that tell a personal story of a nominee's path to community success, obstacles overcome, unique talents, and so on. Use concrete examples when possible. It is important to "show" the selection committee rather than "tell" them. For example, "John Smith ran two charity MTG tournaments and provided more than $10,000 in scholarship funds last year to the Child’s Play charity," would be better than, "John Smith expanded the gaming shop into the best in the area and has helped many students go to college."

Q: How are winners, nominators and runners up notified?

A: Winners and respective nominators will be notified first by e-mail in mid-February. All runners up will be notified by e-mail announcement. Please do not e-mail or call before this time frame.

Q: What is the deadline?

A: Deadline is Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015 by 9:00 P.M. CST.

Q: Are there any costs associated with nominating and/or the selection process?

A: There is no application fee, and any purchases made at CoolStuffInc will not influence selection committee.

Q: How many people can I nominate?

A: Nominators can only nominate up to five people.

Q: Who are the judges?

A: Judges will be announced soon!

Top 8 Reasons You Want to Be in the Gathering Magic’s Community Top 8 Award

• You will be profiled on Gathering Magic in a full article.
• You will be featured on Twitter in a variety of Follow Friday tweets.
• You will be honored on the Snack Time with Mike and Ant Podcast, among others!
• You will celebrate your win at Grand Prix Vegas, if you are able to attend, with an exclusive event with Magic celebrity special guests—really. Details to be announced.
• You will have an instant boost to your Magic resume.
• You will be acknowledged on Gathering Magic’s Facebook page and website.
• You will have bragging rights within your local community.
• You will become a member of the first class of Community Top 8.

Do you have questions about nominations? Contact me at mjlinnemann at gmail dot com.

Mike