Tuesday, June 2nd

In this newsletter

Arcane Sword Press

Magazine Madness: Series Finale!

Magazine Madness Finishes! The Duelist by Wizards of the Coast

Okay, folks, here is the final article of Magazine Madness. I’m sad to say I won’t put much effort into this one, because most people who voted said they were least interested in The Duelist. Even calling it an article is a stretch if I’m being honest. Why so short? Well, let me explain!

• I’ve been busy with my other projects (see last week’s newsletter), to really focus on reading a number of magazines.

• I’ve been busy with life in general! Between work, obligations, and ramping up to ArcaneCon opening to registration, it’s been hard to make time to read multiple magazines

• No one cares if I review The Duelist because most of you said you weren’t interested in it in a survey.

So why cover it at all? Well, it’s a snapshot of the tabletop hobby space in the mid-1990s, during the emergence of tradable card games. The Duelist came out in 1993, the same year as Magic: The Gathering’s release, where it served as a promotional publication to support the new game. Initially, it was a one-off publication with issue 0, then quarterly for the rest of the year, then bi-monthly for issues 4-21, and monthly thereafter. With that said, I feel like I’m only really qualified to give a quick briefing of the impression I got from The Duelists:

• The Vibes: Wow, this magazine really drips the aesthetic that Magic had in its early days. It’s busy, with interesting color choices and a mix of art and photos of gems in its layout. In a way, it’s a mix of Planescape and a muted Global Village Coffeehouse tackiness with a dash of that 1990s “crystal witch” style, if you know what I mean. So in a way, early White Wolf book covers, but more colorful and without the edge. But this also makes it hard to read. If you have a very textured or illustrated background that is brown and tan, with lilac-colored italicized font at 8-point size, I’m going to have a hard time reading it. 
  

• The Content: The narrow focus on an early and emerging hobby it’s really compelling to see through the lens of a 1990s magazine publication. It’s both comparable to The Strategic Review with D&D but far more professional and much more padded. By “padded,” I mean overly written sections describing cards. But that IS cool for someone like me who prefers the Old School and Vintage formats of MTG. So you see the emergence of the meta story of Magic: The Gathering, deck type design formats emerging, strategies, and interviews. It is cool to see interviews with Richard Garfield and others involved in the game’s development.

• The Art: Since magic was a very visual game, this magazine does not shy away from using its artwork to fill its pages. The magazine also includes a centerfold poster of the cover art, which is always fun! But the busy layout and overeager use of graphics, while keeping much of the card art card-sized, make it hard to appreciate the artwork sometimes.

• The Density: Like I said, they reeeeally stretch it out. Issue 5 is 152 pages!!!! Too big! A lot of it is full-page ads for video games and card lists. Even Issue 2 is 82 pages!!!! Too much!!!!

If any of the above sounds interesting to you, it’s strongly recommended that you check it out. It’s a look into the time and place of an emerging powerhouse hobby that also captures that mid-90s fantasy feeling I haven’t really felt since I was a kid. There isn’t anything here for people who aren’t into Magic: The Gathering or other tradable card games, but for those who enjoy pre-modern Magic- it’s a real gem!

So what’s next: I’m leaving the survey open since only three people filled it out. I want to know what people are actually interested in! If I don’t get any more interest from the survey, I’ll probably drop the bi-weekly series and pivot to something else, since these articles do take a good amount of time to work on. So if you haven’t filled out the survey yet, please do so! I will have the results next week.

In other news: badges are on sale for ArcaneCon and game sign-ups are live! If you are interested in going, make sure to snag your game tickets!

Until next time!

• Bryan

StapleCult

First Look

First Look. More info coming soon. 

Ham & Egg Publishing 

The Vintage RPG Podcast Takes A Vacation

The original piece of Vintage RPG promo art from 2018 by Sally Cantirino

Ahoy!

It’s your ol’ buddy Hambone here, and after almost 8 years of broadcasting every Monday from somewhere in the swamps of Jersey, The Vintage RPG podcast is going on hiatus.

Now I know what you are thinking, “A hiatus? Nobody ever comes back from a hiatus.” Well, dear reader, I can assure you that is not the case. We are planning to return to regular weekly episodes in late September/early October, or sooner, schedule permitting.

The reality is that Mr. Vintage RPG himself, Stu Horvath, and I are all bogged down with projects. He’s elbow deep in writing the history of Goodman Games, which is keeping him from reading other things we would cover. On my end, I have several projects I need to tend to so they can be released this year.

The good news is that we have over 300 episodes you can listen to here and here. That should keep you going in the meantime.

Above all else, we’re incredibly grateful for our listeners. You really are the reason we keep doing this, and why we return in the fall.

Until then, stay safe out there, and may the dice always roll in your favor. 

-JHM

Friends of the Union

Evangeline Gallagher

My name is Evangeline Gallagher, and I am a full-time freelance illustrator from Baltimore City, Maryland, where I have lived for the past decade. I’m a fan of horror, solo journaling games, and games with rules you can fit on a single piece of paper. Outside of the game-vers,e my main bag is drawing book covers and tour posters, I go to the movies at least once a week, and I volunteer with lizards and turtles at the National Aquarium.

I love the collaborative nature of working on games – I have experienced the most fun combination of creative freedom and back-and-forth idea generation with the folks in this space. It is the most enthusiastic, punk rock community you could be lucky enough to find as an artist.

Something I don’t get to say often enough is that I credit independent TTRPGs with kickstarting my illustration career – One Night Strahd with Jake Kurzer and Adam Seats is the first really big (and it is a BIG book) book project I was commissioned for, and it was an illustration boot camp that made me about 1000 times better at drawing. Additional big ups to my clients at The Lost Bay, World Champ Game Co, Spicy Tuna RPG, Elliot Davis, STATIONS… (if I’m forgetting anyone, it’s just because my brain is constantly leaking information at an alarming rate, and I loved working with you).

I just re-released my tarot deck, which you can find on my website https://www.evangelinegallagher.com/, and I have a few exciting projects coming up that I can’t speak about quite yet. I am always looking for more! I love drawing pictures, and I hope I get to do it forever.

Stillfleet Studio

Curious about Stillfleet’s Grit System?

Recently, I hopped on a call with Ryan of The Weekly Scroll to chat about creating a TTRPG system from scratch. We talked in depth about the “why” behind a new system and the pros and cons of fundamental design choices such as task resolution and power design. 

We also touched on developing mechanics with friends across multiple games, publishing commercial-friendly licenses, and sorting out a game jam so folks can hack it apart further. It’s a good introduction to the Grit System and—I hope—a useful addition to present conversations around the post-OSR future of TTRPG design.

Reminder, the inaugural Grit System Game Jam is running all summer long! We’d love to see our Analog friends jump in and build something epic (or goofy!) with us.

ShireCon North Canaan, CT – September 25th & 26th

ShireCon is cleebrating it’s 8th year! Two days of role-playing and board games in the Berkshires! Come for a day and a half of OSR and modern gaming. Visit our vendors selling old and new games and enjoy the local fare in North Canaan, CT

ArcaneCon Northampton, MA – October 16th & 17th

ArcaneCon is returning October 16th & 17th, 2026. Join us in a celebration of indie, old school, and old school-inspired RPGs, miniature games, board games, and more! ArcaneCon is Western Massachusetts’s premiere tabletop hobby convention! Game submissions are open now!!! See more information at Tabletop Events.

Your editor this week has been Hambone of Ham & Egg Publishing. 

Keep on emailing us at hello@analogunion.com to let us know what you’d like to see more of/less of and to share ideas.

If you enjoy the Analog Union newsletter, please tell your friends to sign up at AnalogUnion.com.

Until next time!

—JHM