Community and Events: Building Together Through Content and Conventions

MetaZoo Monday on September 1st also highlighted the importance of community engagement and convention planning. From content creation strategies to how the company approaches event promos, Charlie emphasized reliability, accessibility, and shared experiences as the foundation for growth.

Supporting Content Creators

When asked what type of content creators should focus on this month, Charlie stressed that building community matters more than chasing algorithms.

Literally whatever builds up your community. I think that people are being rewarded for not overthinking it and ripping and enjoying product with friends. Specific and topical is awesome, too, and we need deckbuilding content, for example, so filthy netdeckers like me can jump into play easily and have a fighting chance. But I think that there’s room for everything and we should all count uploads, not likes, to build community. Reliability forms habits. Approachability + reliability forms communities.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Future Conventions and Exclusive Promos

On the convention side, Charlie addressed how the company decides when and where to provide exclusive promos.

It’s tough. Events tend to be opportunistic. I think there is a gut instinct that some specific events are going to continue to have promos and a presence. I think that we are still in the thick of the 2025 season and collecting data. A lot of these decisions will be made closer to the end of the year, especially after set 3. It’s not realistic for us to have exclusive promos for 100% of the things that we attend. But from an assets perspective, the trade packs give a really long window of first-touch access at the conventions + the exclusive prizes for finishing the sets which is more total assets to collect + a more involved experience, which I personally prefer to just 500 promos but a really shallow engagement component.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Promo 003 lands at Chicago Collect-A-Con!

Charlie also confirmed that Chicago Collect-A-Con (Oct. 11-12, 2025) will be the site of Promo 003’s release, explaining the timeline decisions made earlier in the year.

Chicago Collect-a-Con. It made more sense for us to go to the second one. But we had to put together the first few promos immediately to make print deadlines, despite not having the full plan 100% fleshed out. Remember that we got the IP and then we had to RUN to get things rolling. That’s also why the art renders more on the later releases in the series. They were made in two batches. The initial promos and then the remainder of the series. You’ll be able to get your much-needed 003 so soon!

- Charlie Hurlocker

A Tease for Next Week & Looking Ahead

To close the session, Charlie teased that fans could expect a Dark Set spoiler in the near future if the community reached the engagement goal.

Okay okay okay. I’ll find a dark spoiler that I think is exciting next MetaZoo Monday if we get 50 reacts on this comment. See you all there! Thanks for another great one this week, y’all. Had a blast.

- Charlie Hurlocker

With Organized Play ramping up and product plans solidifying, MetaZoo’s growth ultimately depends on its community. Charlie’s call for consistent, approachable content and his candid approach to event planning highlight a focus on building lasting habits among players and collectors. As the Dark Set teaser looms, the emphasis remains on reliability and engagement, both online and at conventions.