Hello friends, my name is Beth, otherwise known as Queen of Cardboard, and I am introducing you to my series People You Need to Know. While this isn't a new series, it is new to Cool Stuff Inc., moving here recently which honestly feels like home. This series was inspired by Sheldon Menery and the idea that lifting up people in the community who might not otherwise get seen is incredibly important work and I'm so grateful that CSI agrees with me. If they didn't, you might not even know who I am, as part of my rise was thanks to Cool Stuff's own, Adriana, putting me and my mission of community out on their socials at a Command Fest almost two years ago. This month is Women's History Month and I'm so excited to introduce you to a fellow Queen, a thriving member of the EDH community and cofounder of sheEDH, Queen Honey.

Meet Queen Honey

I first came across Queen Honey on TikTok, a platform that has a unique Magic: The Gathering crowd, ranging from skit comedies and deck techs to social justice causes and even a Monster. Queen Honey has stood out to me immediately as someone making moves not only for herself, but for all women. An incredibly kind person, she's made it her mission to lift up women and she's not afraid to make her point clear, one of her most recent videos expresses frustration that many women share, myself included, that most Magic marketing is done to men. The particular brand in question had chosen to show a woman in their ad but only for her to be buying a product for her boyfriend.

Like many women, Queen Honey was officially introduced to Magic by her partner but the passion for Magic and community that ignited is 100% hers. If not for her "cooler" older sister, Queen Honey wouldn't have known what Magic was, though sisters being sisters, meant she didn't really get a chance to play until 2016. Today she not only works at her local game store, but she is obsessed with several formats including Cube and Oathbreaker with Limited being her favorite.

Of course me being a commander player, we had to talk about her favorite deck and for Queen Honey, it's the first deck she ever built, Gisela, Blade of Goldknight. While this deck has gone through a lot of iterations, starting off as a burn deck, it's now an exclusively White creature deck with some Red spell slinger shenanigans. Queen Honey isn't afraid to lay down the law with a spicy deck and enjoys being able to be super girly as well.

Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Commander | Queen Honey

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Adarkar Valkyrie
• 1 Admonition Angel
• 1 Angel of Destiny
• 1 Archangel of Thune
• 1 Archangel of Tithes
• 1 Aurelia, the Warleader
• 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1 Bishop of Wings
• 1 Bruna, the Fading Light
• 1 Esper Sentinel
• 1 Giada, Font of Hope
• 1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1 Gisela, the Broken Blade
• 1 Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant
• 1 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 1 Magus of the Wheel
• 1 Reya Dawnbringer
• 1 Shattered Angel
• 1 Soul Warden
• 1 Soul's Attendant
• 1 Starnheim Aspirant
• 1 Sunblast Angel
• 1 Valkyrie Harbinger
• 1 Victory's Herald

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1 Elspeth Resplendent

• Instants (12)
• 1 Big Score
• 1 Disenchant
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Intimidation Bolt
• 1 Lightning Bolt
• 1 Mana Tithe
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Safe Passage
• 1 Seething Song
• 1 Shelter
• 1 Silence
• 1 Teferi's Protection

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Disrupt Decorum
• 1 Faithless Looting
• 1 Mana Geyser
• 1 Mass Calcify
• 1 Renegade Tactics
• 1 Vanquish the Horde

• Enchantments (8)
• 1 Curse of Shaken Faith
• 1 Fiery Emancipation
• 1 Flaming Fist
• 1 Honor of the Pure
• 1 Impact Tremors
• 1 Legion Loyalty
• 1 Monologue Tax
• 1 Pacifism

• Artifacts (12)
• 1 Armillary Sphere
• 1 Belbe's Portal
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Darksteel Plate
• 1 Herald's Horn
• 1 Jeweled Lotus
• 1 Moonsilver Spear
• 1 Quicksilver Amulet
• 1 Seraphic Greatsword
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Urza's Incubator
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble

• Lands (36)
• 14 Plains
• 9 Mountain
• 1 Ancient Ziggurat
• 1 Clifftop Retreat
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 1 Lorehold Campus
• 1 Rustvale Bridge
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Seraph Sanctuary
• 1 Spectator Seating
• 1 Temple of Triumph
• 1 Treasure Vault
• 1 Wind-Scarred Crag
• 1 Aurelia, the Law Above

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Putting the Girl in the Gathering

As I mentioned above Queen Honey does a lot of skit based content which can be found both on Instagram and TikTok but I was inspired by her desire to foster more space in gaming for women. While we talked about what she has going on in her personal content, what she's really driven by right now is sheEDH, a group for women by women that she's founded with creators Magic New Girl, Magic Highness, Emmy, and ShyTwilii. Now you may be thinking, do we need yet ANOTHER women's group and the answer without a doubt is a resounding YES. To be clear, the work that Queen Honey and sheEDH is doing is not to step on other women or other womenled groups but rather to have more women in the space. The need is infinite and sheEDH is an example of a group of women filling a need they saw. Their mission statement which I'm including next is one of acceptance, nurturing, and empowerment. It reads, "sheEDH is a community for all dedicated to cultivating a safe, inclusive, and positive Magic: The Gathering and gaming space for women and femme presenting players. This is fostered and achieved by rewriting stigmas with integrity, empowerment, and equality."

Behind the Crown

When Queen Honey told me she used to be a middle school arts teacher, the pretty slides she presented me with and the talking point on safe spaces all clicked into place. Her passion for teaching people goes beyond Magic but also into helping people find where they belong, what sparks their joy. In addition to being a hard charging leader in our community, Queen Honey comes from a family of dreamers, her mom, an artist, and her dad, a drummer in a blues band. It's clear they instilled not only values and the ability to stand up for what she believes in but creativity as well. If playing Magic, creating content, and leading a community weren't enough, she also plays multiple instruments and paints and is in the process of writing a 7 book young adult fantasy series. How she still finds time after that is a miracle because in addition to everything I've already listed, she enjoys the outdoors, spending time with her partner, and camping.

To keep up with Queen Honey make sure to check out her links here: https://linktr.ee/queenhoneygames

If you're a femme person looking for community, be sure to check out sheEDH here:

https://linktr.ee/sheedhcommunity