iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 2h

Made a Marina Vendrell Haunted House deck and did a little linocut for the outside of the deck box.

House and mouth print for a Marina Vendrell deck box.

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 9h

In Seattle there’s a fence company called Cool Cat and they have a cartoon cat logo. I see their trucks a lot. Yesterday, I was driving to class and I saw a truck for Rare Bears, also a fencing company. Also with a cartoon logo—this one a bear, natch. Something is going on here. Investigating.

130

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Okay. I pretty much got the only Reality Fracture card I need in my first pack.

Mind Meanderer, bird fish illusion, MtG card. Kinda rad.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Has Google renamed it The Gulf of Super Intelligence yet?

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Thinking of replacing TTRPG Game Night or Commander Game Night with Pit Game Night.

A picture of the box for the Parker brothers card game Pit.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

In “well, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that” news, I just saw a crow have a sneezing fit.

020

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The press ban is just a way to keep people from seeing him fall further and further into the depths of his dementia.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I like those "Opening Hands with..." such and such commander videos that some of the creators make, and I think it might be fun to make some of my own--especially because I'm so middling at Magic that I'd basically say yes to whatever as long as there are three lands. "I guess this'll work. Dunno."

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I made a Kibo, Uktabi Prince deck for my son and thought it might be fun to try linocut printing for the first time. And so I made Banana tokens. Not terrible for a first try.

Yellow and black linocut Banana MtG tokens, reminiscent of the banana from the cover of The Velvet Underground and Nico, which I used as a template.

031

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

“We need to have the moon. We really need it. America’s moon. Many people are saying it. Many people are saying we need the moon.”

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Where has Mastiff been my whole life? mastiffhchc.bandcamp.com/album/deprec...

mastiffhchc.bandcamp.com

Deprecipice, by Mastiff

10 track album

020

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

currently listening to: februusdm.bandcamp.com/album/constr... floating-label.bandcamp.com/album/hesita...

februusdm.bandcamp.com

Construction of Conflict, by FEBRUUS

8 track album

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Found a guitar-playing alligator sticker on the floor of my kids room, so I looked up “dragon bards” on Scryfall and made a Korlessa, Scale Singer card.

Korlessa, Scale Singer, except it’s a kids alligator sticker on a blank playing card, with the text and suck attacked. And the o painted a color field behind it.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Playing around with collage #mtgalters. This one is The Belligerent, but it’s the GOOP cruise ship. You too can have an Izzet vehicle deck with Gwenyth Paltrow’s MLM artifacts! Up next, Mishra’s Bauble, but it’s a vaginal egg.

Collage of the Magic card, The Belligerent, with an image of a “GOOP cruise ship” from a Harper’s article about them.

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

My HTMLGiant essay about MtG and anxiety got a comment, which is exciting because it's the first post on the site in three years, and this is the first comment in probably the same amount of time. htmlgiant.com/random/magic... Watch for my essay on Cookie Clicker and Universal Paperclips in 2028!

Someone commented to say: "This makes me want to play magic the gathering so bad"

130

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Sigh. An hour sitting online trying to get some Gene Luen Yang for my kiddo.

100

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

For today's post, I interviewed the game designer @alfredvalley.bsky.social. Good stuff!

071

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Day four of my week of posts. It’s Three Fake Walks. matthewjsimmons.substack.com/p/three-fake...

matthewjsimmons.substack.com

Three Fake Walks

A Week of Very Short Pieces, Day 4

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

"the return of the thin white duke/throwing darts in lovers' eyes" when the thin white duke enters, you become the monarch

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

<--your favorite writer's favorite writer's favorite writer's writer that they think maybe they remember once seeing at an AWP reading or something.

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Today’s post is a short visual companion to a new, and much longer, review of Magic: The Gathering that I published on HTML Giant yesterday evening. Enjoy! matthewjsimmons.substack.com/p/mtg-basic-...

matthewjsimmons.substack.com

MTG Basic Lands by Agnes Martin

A Week of Very Short Pieces, Day 3

010

Reposted by Matthew Simmons

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Day Two of a week of short pieces on A Sympathetice Destroyer continues with an early draft of a LARP called "Psychopomp," a game inspired by VIGIL by George Saunders, Jane McGonigal, and a video by @rhysticstudies.bsky.social. matthewjsimmons.substack.com/p/psychopomp...

001

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

001

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Wirecutter having a bit of a day, apparently.

100

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I have a new, short piece up today. I'm going to do a little something every day this week: matthewjsimmons.substack.com/p/another-co...

000

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I often imagine there is a large text thread featuring all the writers I know except me.

010

Reposted by Matthew Simmons

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

If Wizards won't give me "Bullroarer" Took, I'll just have to make him myself.

Alt version of the MTG card Brion Stoutarm, except it's Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took. Art by Andrew DeGraff. Looks pretty good! I should make a deck.

001

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

If Wizards won't give me "Bullroarer" Took, I'll just have to make him myself.

001

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

There’s a Goose and a Geese, so that means you can still name your band Gooses.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

In the continuing story of the Steve Jackson Games 1996 Illuminati TCG predicting the future, I opened up my old cards and found the term 2 Trump saga in four cards.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I’m writing a new campaign for my gaming group, and it starts with the original Blades in the Dark, moves to Wildsea, and ends in Blades ‘68.

Three books, spine forward. Blades ‘68, Wildsea, and Blades in the Dark.

130

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Picked up a brand new Orzhov commander I’ll have to beg to people to let me play. Still worth it!

Grand Marshal Macie, Orzhov Unfinity card.

210

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

re-teaching myself to play euchre. might use my bulk to make a euchre #mtg deck.

041

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Remembering all those years ago, that time when my cat tried to eat my Wild Billy Childish and the Black Hands record. Scamp.

020

Reposted by Matthew Simmons

Niv Mizzet's Right Hand Squirrel @mtgcritical.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

All of these alters are currently for sale! $55, payments made via PayPal, DM me to claim one! #mtgalters #squirrel #shadowwizardmoneygang

01411

Reposted by Matthew Simmons

Victor LaValle @victorlavalle.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Who do we love? Librarians. Forever and always.

24411

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

I don’t know. How’s your morning going?

A screenshot of Jack Nance’s head floating in front of a field of maybe stars and a maybe planet. It’s the opening shot of Lynch’s Eraserhead.

010

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

A fine fine mail day yesterday! Received an alter of Kavaron, Memorial World and some wonderful tokens from @mtgcritical.bsky.social. That Saproling will go great with my Gilder Bairn pauper commander deck!

An alter of the magic planet land card Kavaron, Memorial World and some mtg token cards with art by mtg critical.

131

Matthew Simmons @matthewjsimmons.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

My current MtG obsession is the Nita, Forum Conciliator deck, where I steal your spells, but might also offer you a settlement: moxfield.com/decks/qcI_Q7... #MtG #commander #orzhov

moxfield.com

Moxfield — MTG Deck Builder

A modern deck-building website for Magic: The Gathering®

020