MTG Salvation

Do you enjoy surprises?
Do you like excitement!?
Do you love getting gifts in the mail!?!

If so, then the Twelfth Annual Holiday Card Exchange is exactly what you've been waiting for this holiday season!

What is the Annual Holiday Card Exchange?

The Holiday card exchange is a volunteer run community event in which people send personally altered cards to each other for fun and merriment. It's very simple: people send me an envelope with two things — some personally altered cards, and a pre-stamped blank envelope with enough postage to send your gift package onward to the next destination. Then, as the Holidays arrive, I mix them all up and send them on to their final recipient! It's a fun gift exchange that's always a blast. For international senders, if enough non-US MTGS users participate, we try to match you directly with another user, so you can ship directly to each other and avoid shipping to the US.

The MTGS Holiday Card Exchange has been run by various moderator and art aficionado volunteers for the past eleven holiday seasons, started by Lesurgo in 2007, all the way through my first year as organizer in 2016. Others who have run the Exchange include Galspanic and Jay13x.

This Exchange is not sponsored by Wizards of the Coast (just mentioning in case that was not obvious), and is not sponsored by MTG Salvation either - it is a community run and driven project, and we would love for you to be a part of it!

Personally Altered?
What if I'm not an artist?

Fear not! You do not need to be as artistically gifted as the wonderful people posting in the Altered Art Thread, All that is important is that you personally alter your cards, and are willing to have fun. Sharpies, white-out, paint, markers, crayons, googly eyes, we have seen it all!

There is a lot of variation in what people choose to do. Featured is wide range of artistic talent, from doodles to full-blown alters. Just make it fun. In general, if you wouldn't be happy with receiving it from somebody else, you should alter it until you would be.

If you believe that you are not artistically inclined, don't worry! It doesn't need to be extreme, but it should be more than just a signature. Candy canes, presents, pine trees, and Santa hats are all easy alters, and always go over well!

Another thing that tends to go over well is to make your card show off your personality or forum persona! If you are know for a certain archetype, or use a certain card as your Avatar, that is always a great place to start! Since I live and breathe Commander, my recipient can expect to receive some Commander staples from me, though I try to ensure that they are generally useful for others as well!

About Me

Some of you may know me from the Commander forums, if not I guess you should know that I moderate the Commander forums. I occasionally believe that I have some ability at writing, and I even occasionally believe that I know how to art! I have personally participated in the exchange for several years, and have always had fun with it, so when Jay13x had to step down for 2016, I accepted to step up to the plate (and now you're stuck with me!).

How to Participate

First off, stop by the Official Thread and join the conversation! All of this information, and even more details are in the main post, as well as some tips.

Once there, you'll also want to send me a private message with your address. This lets me know that you're participating, and who to expect goodies from, and send back to. I will then reply with my address, so you'll know where to send your package, and all you need to do them is pick some cool cards and art supplies, and get to it! Send your package in to me so it arrives before December 12th, and sit back!

After that, it's just a bit of patience before you receive your card. It is also always nice to take a picture of what you receive and share it in the Twelfth Annual Holiday Card Exchange thread, to share your excitement with others.

One final note is to please don't be upset over what you receive. If you spent hours slaving over your card only to receive a play set of basic lands with stick figures fighting on them and a signature, you don't get to petition to receive "something better" than that. This is all for fun, so don't be a grinch. Keep in mind that someone else did put forth their effort into this, so try and appreciate what you receive!

I think I have gone on long enough, so if you are interested in learning more, I heartily encourage you to read more in the Twelfth Annual Holiday Card Exchange thread, or swing through some past years to see people's excitement and see what they have received! We are always happy to see new members join in, so grab your sharpies and join us!

Hope to See YOU at This Year's Card Exchange!