Did you know that CoolStuffInc held its freshman convention over Easter weekend? Hopefully, you did! I ended up attending the show throughout its entirety and I am pleased to say that the show was a huge success.

I am a seasoned convention-goer. With that being said, there was a lot about CoolStuffCon that showed both how prepared and yet completely caught off-guard our own CoolStuffIInc was. Ticket pre-registration for both Commandfest and the cEDH $5k sold out before the show. You could still, fortunately, buy Commandfest tickets at the door, but despite my best attempts to get into the cEDH tournament with my Winota, Joiner of Forces, it wasn't in the cards.

Overall, this speaks to how busy this fledgling convention was. I tried to keep a fairly open schedule, mostly making time for some of the more unique events. My personal favorite was the Mystery Booster 2 sealed events. I also enjoyed traditional Commander and cEDH games, I played in a sealed Tarkir: Dragonstorm event and a game of Commander Emperor. I did Mini-Masters, but let's not talk too much about that... it was embarrassing for me.

Outside of the pay-to-play events, the Commandfest ticket included a Creator Clash game, which allowed players to play with their favorite Magic: The Gathering content creators and cosplayers. One of my friends was introduced to Magic: The Gathering through a video by CovertGoBlue. He ended up getting to play a lengthy game of Commander with him, and I'd be understating it if I said CGB didn't make it memorable. I wanted to test my mettle against Jim Davis and I was invited to a game of cEDH with Play to Win, but I got sidetracked by other events.

At any TCG convention, one of my favorite activities is to visit the card retailer booths and go through the bulk rares. I spent a few hours coming through CoolStuffInc's eclectic collection of cards dating as far back as The Dark that was available for roughly .50 to $1 a card. All said, I ended up dropping about $50 on cards there, getting a few stax pieces for my Winota, Joiner of Forces and picking up a handful of international versions of cards I really like. For example, a holofoil anime art Greasefang, Okiba Boss. I also visited Hotsauce games and picked up a Mother of Runes and a pack of Fallen Empires for my kid.

While the artist alley wasn't exceptionally large, the names in attendance were worth the visit. I jokingly told one of the people in my party that I didn't recognize anyone's art. He immediately pointed out I hadn't looked hard enough because the artists for two of my favorite cards were there. I paid for Kieran Yanner to deface my Drannith Magistrate and had also planned to have Chris Seaman do the same to my Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh and my prerelease promo Ocelot Pride. My son begged me to have Jason Engle sign his Mondrak, Glory Dominus but he left it at home on our last day.

Speaking of my son, he took advantage of the free floor admission. Anyone could come to CoolStuffCon, walk the convention floor, check out the booths, or even sign up for the paid events. In my son's case, he and his friend signed up to be part of the cosplay contest. He dressed up as Disruptive Student. All of the cosplays were impressive, but the host, Zbexx, and the panel of judges (Van Quigg Cosplay, Mistystep, and Mishamigo) were all absolutely amazing. The kids won CoolStuffInc gift cards, which they immediately spent at the CoolStuffInc booth. They both bought a whole bunch of Streets of New Capenna.

On top of the free admission, interesting events and all sorts of Magic: The Gathering awesomeness, the prize wall for completing events was surprisingly rewarding. I've mentioned already that I brought and played my Winota, Joiner of Forces deck at the convention. While I have it tuned to cEDH, I am still missing a few pieces. As I was looking over the Dragon Shield sleeves, the precon decks, and UltraPro deckboxes, I noticed there were also Secret Lairs that could be redeemed. I had just enough to cash out on the Jesper Ejsing Secret Lair and left the convention with a much-needed Deflecting Swat.

Overall, CoolStuffCon was a huge success. I can't wait to see how the convention grows from here. It had a family-friendly atmosphere, was an awesome event, and had fantastic prizing; there was something for everyone, as long as they were interested in Magic: The Gathering. If you missed out on this one, keep an eye open for the next CoolStuffCon, you won't want to miss out!