I'm mg. You might know me, but if this goes well, odds are that you don't. A bunch of years back I started the 93/94 Magic format; it's a casual approach to the Magic the Gathering card game. For the last couple of years, I've been blogging about it at oldschoolmtg.com.

But this is not about that. This is about people not in the #mtgunderground, but in the real underground.

There are more refugees today than during WW2 and the Holocaust. About one in every 122 humans on the planet are forcefully displaced today. So far the conflict in Syria have killed a quarter of a million, and forced millions to run from their homes. Doctors without borders has reported that suppliers in Syria refuse to sell essential medical supplies such as gauze and surgical threads to doctors due to government intimidation. This is, to put it mildly, fucked up.

I wont retell the horror stories we've all heard, mostly as I can't really grasp them. I have spent 15 months training in the Swedish military, but I never went to a war. People fleeing from ISIS is far outside my context.

So what then? Play the waiting game, and accept that this is not happening to us? Well. Lets do something instead. We're Magic players, so let's give up one of our cards.

What We Need & What You Get

So here's my plan. This is four days salary for a Medicine sans frontiers employee working in Syria:

A fetchland could be food for a week.

This is a golden time to act.  We all have a couple of cards we don't really need, staples sitting in our binders or cards that could be exchanged. If we do this, we might actually save a handful of real people from dying. Using our hobby and the community for the people in the real underground.

So I'll sell that Tundra to get some money to give to Doctors without borders. Instead of that Tundra, I'll write #MtgForLife on a Hallowed Fountain and play that one in my EDH deck instead. It's not like I'll ever be sad drawing that one instead of the Tundra. Hell, I'll play it with much more pride. Then I'll sell a Volcanic Island to buy stamps. Because this is where you come in.

For anyone selling, downgrading or just neglecting to buy a $25+ card, and giving the money to the #MtgForLife project, I'll send you a random 93/94 legal card. I'll sign them and tag the card with the project as a memorabilia. If you don't have any card you want to downgrade, just neglect to buy one or donate some money for the cause anyway, and I'll send you a card. If we get just 10 people to skip a blue dual for a basic land or shockland, we'll reach $1000. If we reach $1000, I'll throw in another Tundra in the pot. I'll sell my own cards to pay for any stamps needed, at least up to the first $200 in postage. In case it would actually go beyond that I reserve the right to use a very small part of the funds to fund postage for the perks.

Anything helps. A Thoughtseize to a Duress. A skipped booster draft.

And let's make this interesting. If this project should actually reach $10,000, I'll use my geek budget for the rest of the year to buy a Mox, find someone skilled to give it an awesome alteration, and give randomly to someone who donated $100 or more. All we need is 100 people giving up a dual or a Tarmogoyf. 10 people willing to downgrade a Mox from Beta to Unlimited.

The Impact

All the money collected will go to Doctors without Borders (MSF). The impact might be small on a global scale, but there will be an impact. We might save someone. We might influence other subcultures to join in and contribute in their way. At the very least we'll do something.

Other Ways You Can Help

Spread the word. You can read more about the project at the old school blog.