Feature Content Creator - Bennie Smith

For my second article I chose to reach out to a very well known writer in the MTG space, Bennie Smith.  Bennie has been around for a long time and he knows what he is talking about.  If you like playing or brewing for Commander/EDH you should check out his content, he literally wrote the book on it.  No seriously, here is the link:

http://www.starcitygames.com/content/completecommander/

When I started playing Commander Bennie's content helped me a lot, and honestly it still helps me even tho I know what I'm doing...well, at least I think I do.  If you have a commander you want to bulid around you should check out if Bennie covered it because it will give you a great idea of which direction to go.  I read a lot of MTG articles and watch a lot of videos, Bennie's content is some of the best.

When writing or playing, Bennie's goal is for everyone to have fun and enjoy what is happening.  Honestly, I am scared to play a game of Commander against him, because I know at any point in time he can end me, the game, or turn the game on its head, which actually sounds like a lot of fun. 

Writing isn't the only arrow in Bennie's quiver, he was the 1999 Virginia State Champion, who had repeat States Top 8 finisher, and pioneer of the Dredge deck (so blame him for that monster :P). Bennie regularly pilots over a dozen Commander decks, and is the administrator of the Spirit of EDH Haymaker Award in Richmond, Virginia.

When I started selling my commander trays I reached out to Bennie.  Not only was he very nice, he was more than happy to try it out for me.  Since then, he has posted photos of them on Twitter, taken them to events, and even has a custom one with his Twitter handle on it.  I cant verbalize how much Bennie's support meant for me as a small creator who was just getting in the space.

Alright lets get to the fun stuff.

Serious Questions:

Name:  Bennie Smith

What is your story?  I’ve played Magic for 25 years and have been writing professionally about Magic almost as long, mostly for https://t.co/sbAy35w2Tg I've also written for Wizards of the Coast and Scrye Magazine.  

What type of content do you make?  Currently I write about Commander every week for SCG.  Mostly focused on building decks around Legendary creatures from the newest Magic sets, but I’ll also write strategy articles and sometimes opinion pieces.  I also wrote the only book about the format, The Complete Commander!

Who is your market audience?  Anybody who enjoys brewing up and playing Commander decks!

How long have you been making content?  I’ve been writing professionally about Magic for 20 years (Collin - I was 7 when he started writing btw).  By my calculations, I’ll be hitting 2 million words sometime this year (2019).  I’m pretty sure that only Mark Rosewater has written more about Magic than I have.

What got you into making content?  I’ve been a writer since middle school, and a gamer since before then.  After I fell in love with Magic and found out that people were writing tournament reports and strategy articles on Usenet, I put both my loves together and haven’t looked back.

What is special about you and your content?  I’ve been playing Magic and writing about it for a long, long time and I still get so much joy out of it.  I’ve never gotten burned out on Magic or taken a break from it.  Each time a new set is released is like Christmas to me.  My goal is to convey that joy and excitement to my readers.  I’m also excellent at brewing up interesting combinations with brand new cards, so I hope to give readers lots of ideas they can bring to their own decks.  

MTG questions:

Favorite single MTG color?  Green

Favorite card?  Skullclamp  (Collin - Skullclamp is a bonkers card)

Favorite format?  Commander

Favorite MTG set?  The most recent set

What is one thing Wizards can do that you think will make the game and/or community better?  Bring back more written content!  Not everyone has hours and hours and hours to sit and watch videos.

Fun questions:

Favorite villain?  Gollum, precious.

Favorite movie?  The Fellowship of the Ring

Favorite flavor of ice cream?  Vanilla Bean

Boxers or briefs?  Boxer briefs ;)

Did Hans shoot first?  We’d all be disappointed if he didn’t!

What is worse, waiting in line at the DMV or waiting in line at airport TSA?  I haven’t flown in an airplane since 9/11 so I can’t really compare.  DMV is still pretty bad.

If you were stranded on an island for 30 days would you survive?  I’m a very resourceful fellow with swarthy skin and lots of stored… well… energy.  So yes.  

Tell me something funny or slightly embarrassing that you wouldn't mind everyone knowing?
I didn’t realize Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder had trample until about six months after I’d built the deck and played it a half dozen times.  I had a fair number of cards in there specifically to give Ydris trample because I really wanted to get that triggered ability.  I blame the overcrowded text box and my old eyes.

If you like what you read and want to check out Bennie's content, below is where you can find him.

Twitter link:  https://t.co/82PvotXBKq 

YouTube link:  https://t.co/LkGTqRuTdV?

Twitch link:  https://t.co/ZZnuDCCB68

Patreon link:  https://t.co/DcF7ZPBcCW

Other links where you can be found:

https://t.co/5YaFJDfX7H

https://t.co/xnX0FosFjU

This wraps up my Second article in this series on content creators.  I hope you enjyed it.  If you have any content creators you think I should do an article on, send me an email at the below email address.

Being a content creator is hard, a lot of work and stressful.  If you have a content creator you enjoy tell them that, it really means a lot.

Collin

The Game Jester

Twitter(@jester_game):

https://twitter.com/jester_game?s=09

tcggamejester@gmail.com