The Gathering I Follow-Up

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Carrie Thearle
Sue-Lane Wood
Media Relations
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
(206) 226-6500, ext. 7695

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Wizards of the Coast, Inc,'s Special Event Attracts Thousands

Renton, Wash. (October 30, 1995)-- Back from a festive weekend in New York City, Wizards of the Coast® is pleased to announce its world premiere gathering was a success!

More than three thousand people came and experienced Magic: The Gathering® I on October 14 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel. The celebration was the first of its kind for Wizards of the Coast and an opportunity to introduce the latest Magic: The Gathering® expansion set, Homelands(TM). "The response was fantastic!" said Ronnie Noize, Director of Magic: The Gathering I. "We had a line of people stretched down the block before the doors opened."

Among Magic: The Gathering I's many attractions:

A passage, or portal, that allowed visitors to actually experience Dominia, the mystical world in which the popular trading card game is set. Visitors encountered many sights, sounds and textures along the path.
A 3-D visual environment called Virtual i-O that introduced visitors to some Homelands cards.
The opportunity to play Magic with the game's creator, Richard Garfield.
The appearance of Magic artists, Chris Rush, Pete Venters, Anson Maddocks, Sandra Everingham and Mark Tedin, who are among the top illustrators in the fantasy adventure industry. Also, renowned artist J.W. Frost made an appearance with one of his fantasy landscape paintings.
The preview of new and future Magic: The Gathering products by Wizards of the Coast's licensing partners, Acclaim Comics, MicroProse Software, and HarperCollins®.

To complement Magic: The Gathering I, Wizards of the Coast held two special Sealed-Deck tournaments, featuring cards from Homelands. "Magic players came from as far north as Canada, as far south as Texas, as far east as Singapore and as far west as California for this competition," said Noize. 15- year-old Alex Drolet from Westport, Connecticut won the first tournament, and 20-year-old Chip Hogan from Denton, Texas finished on top of the second competition. In September, Hogan won the Magic: The Gathering Type I National Championship, sponsored by Andon Unlimited, a division of Wizards of the Coast.

Magic: The Gathering I is the first in a series of premiere events to celebrate Magic and the game's new expansion set in a fully-participative environment. "Wizards of the Coast was delighted to share the excitement of our new Homelands expansion with so many Magic players," said Jim Stanton, Vice President of Product Group One at Wizards of the Coast. "We plan more world class celebrations next year."

Wizards of the Coast is a young game company based in Seattle, Washington. Since it released Magic: The Gathering two years ago, more than a billion cards have sold worldwide, and an entire market has developed around the game. In April 1994, Wizards of the Coast opened a second branch in Glasgow, Scotland. Several months later, the company expanded into a third office in Antwerp, Belgium. Wizards of the Coast currently employs more than 250 people in its three locations.

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Wizards of the Coast, Inc,'s Special Event Attracts Thousands

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Wizards of the Coast, Inc,'s Special Event Attracts Thousands