How to Grow the Sorcery: Contested Realm Community & Why It Matters
Written by Archive Keeper
Editor’s Note: The following is a lightly edited written transcription of Archive Keeper’s video published on Nov. 14, 2025.
"If you don't know where you're going, then any road will lead you there."
—Cheshire Cat
It is impossible to sit still. Time moves forward and, slowly but inexorably, nudges everything and everyone. The broader community of Sorcery: Contested Realm (SCR) players is being guided, consciously or unconsciously.
Of course, every road has its pros and cons, but some opportunity costs are worth bearing to reach a higher good. This isn't a step-by-step plan of exactitude, but rather a discussion of values, of what we prize as a community; a dialogue that raises collective awareness of our present and our future regarding winning not games, but players; their hearts and minds.
Future Sorcerers
Few can say that SCR is their first trading card game (TCG). At least, within the SCR community, the buzz is about players converting from other card games, usually Magic: The Gathering (MTG). There are myriad reasons for players to make the switch.
To set a noble course, think of what categories the reasons players have shifted from gathering magic to contesting the Realm. Think about how the arguments we make in favor of SCR shape its future.
"What you win them with is what you win them to.”
Different arguments win over different Sorcerers. By selecting our winning arguments thoughtfully, we can attract the players we hope to see contesting the Realm, those we trust trading cards with. In this way, we can shape our community and how it's perceived.
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Arguments
Divide all arguments in favor of SCR into two categories: positive and negative.
Positive vs. Negative
Positive is any argument about what SCR does right, what it really excels at. Better still, if it's unique to SCR, such as its commitment to hand-painted art.
Negative arguments are those against playing other games; prominent examples include the downsides of MTG: a cramped set release schedule, complexity creep, and the proliferation of Universes Beyond (UB).
Winning players to SCR with positive arguments can have profound effects. SCR inhabits optimism, newness, and growth. We fight apathy by caring deeply about SCR's beauty and excitement. Arguments in favor of SCR light the beacon on the hill, inviting others to join our common cause. Inviting new players this way attracts good, tenacious people who will stick with SCR through thick and thin.
By contrast, appealing to players with negative arguments suggests we focus on what bothers us rather than what excites us; that we complain more than we create; that our community thrives on bitterness and resentment.
Those who try SCR solely because they don't like the direction of their current game aren't any more likely to stick with SCR. I've been guilty of many negative arguments in the past. I need to do better.
Realistically, negative arguments are unlikely to ever dissipate entirely due to the ever-increasing degradation of other games. But remain mindful of the balance between the negative and positive. Consider the messages we send and who will hear them.
Qualities That Matter
There are several critical qualities to accomplish arguing for the positive.
Honesty
We are so inculcated in our society with the idea of “sales.” Everybody wants a "yes," justifying half-truths and lies of omission to achieve it. It is a well-worn road in many modern consciences.
To care more about the quality of people in the SCR community rather than the quantity, we must be honest, even when it's a less successful sales tactic. A prominent example I've experienced firsthand and secondhand is appealing to MTG players by drawing on gameplay similarities and ignoring differences.
While many may try a game believing a half-truth about mana and lands being similar to sites, glossing over the grid-based, three-dimensional gameplay that cares about position in the Realm can leave a new player disgruntled by confusion. Dishonesty or lack of clarity regarding the steepness of the learning curve can lead new players to early failure and disappointment; emotions that are difficult to overcome early on.
By contrast, honesty during the onboarding process is more likely to lead to joy in learning the game. It allows new players with TCG experience to be the student. They won't feel stupid or inadequate for needing time to learn SCR's complexity and richness.
The learning curve is a fun and exciting experience; many in the community find it rewarding to discover the new depths SCR allows. The joy is in the journey. Reaching the summit feels proportionally rewarding to the challenge of the climb.
Messing up the rules can be part of the fun. Every SCR player has a story about a few rules that they mistook when learning the game. It's a wonderful bonding experience to share these tales with fellow Sorcerers as the community grows.
Humility
We need humility. The SCR community is relatively small amidst the increasingly saturated landscape of new TCGs. SCR is niche. It focuses on high-quality hand-painted art and tabletop play. In humility, we admit the challenge of finding others to play with or stores that carry SCR product.
Ironically, humility is the antidote for these issues. Believing in SCR's values as the means to attract new players without aggrandizing its size in the TCG landscape makes SCR more approachable.
SCR is an incredible game worth new players' time and money. Appealing with humility conveys that, when they join the SCR community, they can help carry the beacon forward alongside us.
Much of our society might read humility as weakness, though that couldn't be further from the truth. Conviction in SCR and its goals is fueled by optimism about its future. Vulnerability is not weakness, nor is the humility to seek help from others.
Thoroughness
In a sales pitch, the salesperson generally stops pitching when they get a "yes." They may have had more material prepared, but the goal was a "yes." However, SCR and its community aren't a sales pitch. We should not appeal to new players as though we are selling a subscription to a game called SCR, nor that we are recruiting members of a global club. To that end, ensure thoroughness with new players so they can succeed on their own and grow their own love and knowledge of SCR.
Curiosa.io and Corefield are incredible tools that may not be intuitive for new players who have not received sufficient guidance from us. Humility and patience will go a long way in minimizing that gap.
I have previously failed to explain to new players that SCR packs are draftable. SCR supports Limited play when many other games don't, or are phasing Limited out.
Winning with honesty and humility is challenging but rewarding. We cheat ourselves and our fellow Sorcerers when pitching SCR carelessly or thoughtlessly to new players. It shortchanges the community if we don't appeal to new players with the same vigor and tenacity we show when trying to win games. Selfishness will not suffice here.
A game is only as strong as its community. It's not often we realize how much of SCR's success is on us. When a new player joins the SCR community because they share our values, they make SCR a better game for everyone.
When attending a TCG convention with a SCR tournament drawing a triple-digit turnout, remember it was only possible because hundreds of others cared enough about SCR to share it.
Consider the impact we each have on SCR. That we, through our actions, shape the future of SCR for better or worse. Stay positive, honest, and humble. SCR depends on it.
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