MetaZoo Mondays Recap – June 9, 2025

Casters,

Here's Everything We Learned from MetaZoo Monday (June 9th, 2025)

MetaZoo Monday returned this week with another open Q&A lead by Charlie Hurlocker - and this time he brought along a special guest: Mike Ryan (MGR), the lore editor and writer behind MetaZoo's evolving mythology.

What followed was a thoughtful, candid and occasionally emotional community hour that touched on future product plans, distribution, lore development, IP policy, and Charlie's own personal reasons for bringing MetaZoo back to life.

OP Roadmap Coming This Month (June 2025)

Kicking things off, Charlie offered the first new detail on organized play since he briefly touched on it last week:

OP roadmap comes out before the end of month.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Simple, clear and much needed. With Torrential Tides around the corner, the timing couldn't be better.

"Let's Make It What We Want"

At the start of the event, Charlie reminded the Discord that MetaZoo Monday is more than just a Q&A:

This also doesn’t have to be strictly Q&A. It’s a community hangout once a week. So let’s make it what we want. As long as we are having fun!

- Charlie Hurlocker

He emphasized that this format is meant to build relationships - not just dump announcements. This will be on full display later on in the chat!

Flex Decks, Accessories, and Distribution

In response to user Rhom's question about ancillary product support alongside core sets, Charlie affirmed that much is in the works:

Yep, tons of plans. Most are decision trees based on different circumstances. Complicating the core set SKU mix is a lower priority than introducing intermittent excitement and value.

- Charlie Hurlocker

He later spoke on accessories like binders, sharing his cautious optimism:

Working on a solution for some different accessories. Exact order and when those come out, TBD. You all better show up and buy them, too. Accessories are a massive inventory risk and the margins are unkind. Going against my better judgment making them and partnering to pull it off.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Regarding online MetaZoo distributor Carde.io, Charlie clarified that access is not lottery-based:

Carde.io isn’t odds based, should just be first come first serve. They just took on new customer support reps to get better in that area. Hit them up for sure and make sure you are set up. They are soliciting Torrential Tides now.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Big Box & TCGplayer Updates

When asked by user shmoos fanboy if MetaZoo would return to retail giants like Target and Walmart, Charlie confirmed the team is pursuing it - but with restraint.

Yes, it is a possibility. These things take time and it’s really important not to overload those channels… Big box measures sell-through and margin by the square inch and it’s not good to push into pegs that you can’t confidently move.

- Charlie Hurlocker

As for TCGplayer, the story remains the same:

We talked about this last week, but they’ve got some stuff they’re working through… Optimistic over time, doing what we can. But there’s nothing I can do to personally pull the trigger. Let them know you’d like to see it. They care the most about their buyers and what the buyers want!

- Charlie Hurlocker

"Cryptid Nation Bible" - Confirmed as Vapor

User CamelJR asked a longstanding community question: did the legendary 425-page Cryptid Nation Bible exist?

I have not seen anything suggesting it exists. It was not in the company files… Most of the things that people were told existed at best existed in very, very partial form.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Charlie used the moment to reinforce a new standard:

We don't announce things before they are certain. We don't tease things we aren't sure can come to be. When you see a product now, you know it is coming. And you'll be able to buy it and receive it.

- Charlie Hurlocker

IP, Artists, and Visual Variants

In a set of related questions, community members asked about artist freedom, shiny cryptids, and working across multiple TCGs.

On potential cryptid "shiny" variants, Charlie said:

I don’t think it would work as strictly a shiny variant, but because the Caster that is mapping can have an impact on the physical appearance of the mapped cryptid, you could theoretically have rarer appearances. Especially if the aura of the caster is particularly antithetical to the cryptid origins.

- Charlie Hurlocker

On IP protections and sketch policies:

Artists can draw whatever they want. They cannot sell original artworks featuring MZ trademarks because it weakens the trademark protections. They can remarque or alter any official products. This is the policy at cons and generally. I love sketches and autographs and have collected them for a super long time from Pokemon and other TCGs. MetaZoo has no policies at all about other versions of characters. The only interest is in protecting the validity and strength of the trademarks globally. Within those legal guidelines, we give as much bandwitdth as we can possibly give

- Charlie Hurlocker

And when asked if artists are allowed to work for other TCGs:

Yeah, almost all of them do to my knowledge.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Lore and Storytelling with MGR

The addition of Mike Ryan (MGR) gave fans a rare look into the creative process behind MetaZoo's fiction.

On how he writes lore:

We have a MetaZoo style guide to start with, and I research them carefully back to their originally appearance historically. And I live in the Pacific Northwest, so I have a distinct idea that if they're close to each other--say, Batsquatch and Bigfoot--they should interact. They're not blind to one another, and if they're territorial, you'd think there'd be a clash over whose forest this is...

- Mike Ryan

Reflecting on his career and the ever-evolving Abraham storyline:

I've been a writer and editor for over 35 years now--I've been trained by some amazing folks to tread lightly, tread carefully, be thorough, respect your readers (read: players/fans), and own what you do. The work I'm doing on Abraham's story is perhaps the most intensively researched I've ever done, and every crytpid he encounters needs to be exactly right in its context. I've never written a story that I'm as invested in as I am in Abraham's, and I'm working literally between 5 and 12 hours a day working that novel out to make it as good as possible

- Mike Ryan

And on the community's reception so far:

This group is so genuine and thoughtful, kind, that I’m a little taken aback… You guys are fun and engaging. I’ve enjoyed this. I’ll come back next week, if you’re keen to have me.

- Mike Ryan

Creator Shoutouts and Spoiler Delivery

When Charlie asked the crowd who they appreciate in the current MetaZoo content scene, names like Zeles TCG, TMXcomics, Immortal Workshop, and Ben (from SmokeSquad Collective) were celebrated. Charlie confirmed plans to reach out to these creators (and more) for spoiler season.

On how fans like to see new card reveals, feedback included surprise drops, YouTube deep dives, and sneak peeks between updates. Charlie noted:

We will reach out to some of those favorite creators you mentioned and work with them for spoiler season. Buckle up.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Miscellaneous Notes & Nuggets

These quick exchanges didn't demand full sections, but each still adds a valuable piece to the larger MetaZoo picture:

Promo 003 is still coming - Charlie confirmed this at the top of the week (and it will be featured in our MetaZoo Archive Project).

A return to themed events like the Loveland Frogman Festival are possible, but they need to make financial sense.

I love the idea of it... I love the themed events and the idea of returning in some way.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Asked by CastAweigh Cards whether the original red booster boxes were ever produced:

Not technically. There are flat printer proofs on sheets of a different paper but no physical red boxes were constructed. The sales sheet design was FPO and swapped to the finalized design before print

- Charlie Hurlocker

When asked by community memberMatty Collectz (Host of the ZooCast) whether MetaZoo will ever make the trip toAustralia for a convention Charlie elaborated:

Working on it. Would be with distribution partners. Not sure on specific form yet, but I'm super interested in seeing a bigger presence globally through partners.

- Charlie Hurlocker

On whether there's a guaranteed hit per case (base set):

There is not a guaranteed hit per case.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Will MetaZoo ever bring back coins?

I would love to see coins eventually of some sort. Grading Pokémon coins was my guilty pleasure for at least a year.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Charlie's favorite Pokemon?

Alolan Dugtrio, too easy, next.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Charlie's Final Word: A Community of Hope

As the evening wrapped up, community member MetaZoo Menace asked for the top three takeaways from that night's MetaZoo Monday, but Charlie instead offered something far more meaningful: a personal reflection on why he took the risk to bring MetaZoo back.

When MetaZoo went under, I felt like it was unfair. I always felt like MetaZoo fans were bullied in the TCG world. That they didn’t deserve the hate that they got. And I was frustrated that I felt like they worked super hard to make a space that was their own, show passion for the subject matter, and then it blew up for reasons outside their control.

- Charlie Hurlocker

That sense of injustice stuck with him. But it wasn't until the bankruptcy filing - with $1.7M in claims and no completed products in the pipeline - that Charlie made the decision to step in

So I took a really big chance. I put together a group, paid over $2M in, an amount in excess of the claims filed with the company, pulled strings to get a really good team together, and we started working with what was in front of us to try to make MetaZoo into something sustainable.

- Charlie Hurlocker

He acknowledged the lingering pain in the community and the missteps of the past. But his message was ultimately one of healing and direction.

We’ve spent over half a year now making this space somewhere you all could work through that. But I believe that this can be a good space. A hopeful space. Something forward-oriented for people whose great memories from the past are primarily rooted in the positive aspects of TCG culture.

- Charlie Hurlocker

But that hope comes with expectations - and boundaries.

One of the things that I will defend that space from is people who want to be bullies. It didn’t sit right with me in the past and it doesn’t sit right with me now. If your primary purpose in this community is to create a negative space and rob the joy of people who are discovering MetaZoo, we can see that. And it doesn’t have a place here.

- Charlie Hurlocker

And with that, a reminder that the future - like MetaZoo itself - is still being shaped.

This is the official policy of the Discord and of the spaces we create. And the burden of proof is on you to be a positive contributor… Here’s to the future.”

- Charlie Hurlocker

For Charlie, rebuilding MetaZoo isn't just about cards - it's about reclaiming a space where passion, creativity and community can thrive again.

Remember to follow MetaZoo News for full recaps, exclusive interviews, and all your MetaZoo updates - every Monday and Beyond!