Gleemax

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Gleemax
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Gleemax.jpg}}|250px]]
Details
Race Elder Brain

Gleemax is the name for the mythical giant alien brain in a jar that secretly runs Magic: The Gathering R&D. He is said to occupy “The Forbidden Room” in an underground lair below the corporate offices.[1] It is an in-joke among the staff of Wizards of the Coast.[2]

History

Gleemax is said to be first thought of on June 5, 1996, on a Usenet post entitled “WOTC R&D, Is there a brain behind it?”.[1] A user named Jeff Franzmann (a.k.a. “Canticle”) answered the post's question by stating that an alien brain in a jar of formaldehyde was controlling R&D. From there Gleemax became an inside joke of sorts. Mark Rosewater included references to Gleemax in many of his articles published in The Duelist, as well as mentioning Gleemax in a number of his Making Magic articles. Gleemax was the subject of the Ask Wizards question on November 7, 2003.[3][4].

Unhinged

Gleemax was scheduled to appear as a card in Unglued 2, inspired by a card cut from Tempest: Mindslaver (then called Helm of Volrath).[5] Although Unglued 2 was cancelled, Gleemax was given a second chance in Unhinged.[6]

Gleemax.com

Gleemax is also the name of the website launched in June 2007 by Wizards of the Coast. It started as a viral marketing campaign involving plastic brains. Randy Buehler later revealed the website would grow into a social networking site similar to MySpace or Facebook, but specifically for gamers.[7]

On July 28, 2008, it was officially announced that it would be shut down, allegedly so the company could focus on other online projects. Critics think that it was due to a lack of interest from the gamers. Since October 1, 2008, the site redirects to Wizard of the Coast's homepage.[8]

In-game references

Represented in:

References

External links