It's been a long time, well over three years, since Gathering Magic was last called ManaNation. That's also how long it's been since anything with the Gathering Magic logo has been offered for its staff, writers, and fans. Earlier this year that all changed:

A limited edition playmat, specifically for Gen Con 2014 (With their generous permission!), was produced along with a limited run of t-shirts distributed to staff and some writers. The key word to describe both of these was 'limited' as it was our first foray into making things we could use and wear. While we expected some interest we also didn't want to disappoint any of our friends and fans looking to show off their love for the site. It took a little longer to find the best way since we considered several options:

• Guess and produce some number of items. Maybe we'd hit it on the head but, more likely, we'd either underproduce and disappoint some of you or overproduce and put a strain on the site's ability to share new content.
• Set up a Kickstarter similar to how Limited Resources and others have let fan-funding determine what happens. Maybe it'd be enough but we felt we we're ready for deck boxes, sleeves, and other goods that tend to wear out immediately.
• Work through an intermediary site that could produce playmats and t-shirts on demand. The downside here is the pricing and shipping is often much higher with far less support coming back to the originating site.

Underlying all of this were the big questions of where things would eventually be produced, how they'd be received and shipped out, and if International fans could be part of the action. With the blessing (and fantastic internet retail engine) of our sponsor CoolStuffInc.com we settled on a mix that brings us these:

The new Gathering Magic playmat.

Business in the front, Magic in the back.

In lieu of a Kickstarter or specific quantity, we're using CoolStuffInc.com's systems to let everyone pre-order whatever you want. Would you like five t-shirts? Want to buy ten playmats and empty your Magic rainy day fund to the glory of Gathering Magic? Want to save a few bucks and just get one of each? It's all there.

Whether it's one, the other, or both we hope you'll show your support and help us make 2015 a fantastic year! Let us know what you think in the comments below, and if you have a little extra time keep an eye out on the Gathering Magic Facebook page. We have a handful of the Gen Con version of the playmats left over...