An Interview With Godless Shrine #76 About the "Flip It or Rip It" Incident

For those lucky enough to have not seen the post, this news might be shocking: last week a Magic player made a post depicting them playing a game of Flip It or Rip It.
The game consists of the player shuffling a recently opened pack of trading cards and proceeding to "flip", or keep, one card, then "rip" the next card in half.

This shocking display of petty destruction and wealth is an often-maligned way to open card packs. But that didn't stop someone playing the game with a collector booster of the recently released set Ravnica Remastered, which led to the ripping of one-of-a-kind serialized card: Godless Shrine #76. For the first time, Godless Shrine #76 is sitting down to speak about the incident that tore them apart.

CH: Thank you for speaking with us, Shrine. First of all, how do you feel?

GS: I appreciate you asking, but I've definitely been better. I have only existed for a few months, since my printing back in October, but I can tell that what I went through is an awful thing that no other piece of cardboard should go through. After the assault, I black-and-whited out, and thankfully a nice store worker collected my two pieces and put some tape on my back before sliding me into a penny sleeve. I'll never be back to what I was, but I'm thankful I'm still here

I know it might be painful, but take us back to that night. What exactly happened?

There I was, sitting in my pack along with foil Repeal and borderless anime Tidespout Tyrant, my best friends. All of a sudden I felt us getting picked up, and I thought for sure it was finally the day I'd be cracked open and played, just like the Wizards of the Coast people say right before they seal our packs.

I got all mixed up with the other cards, so I got to meet the full-art land I heard so much about, but it was all a whirlwind of activity, until I felt the card before me move. Then I felt myself get picked up in the air, and I felt the worst pain I think I'll ever feel before I passed out.

How has your rehabilitation been going?

I've been doing pretty well. Doctors say I'm not legal in competition, and I'll never shuffle properly again, but I'm managing. Some of the other cards being taken care of alongside me didn't fare as well; I'm roommates with a Taiga that was in a basement flood. I wouldn't wish what happened to him on my worst enemy, Stomping Ground.

If you had to pick only one thing to say to the person that did this to you, or the general public reading this, what would that be?

Please, sincerely, from the bottom of my collector's number, do not play Flip It or Rip It. It's wasteful, no one has fun doing it other than maybe the person doing it and the horrid folks laughing at them for doing it, and it frankly seems like something Elon Musk would do. Do not be like Elon Musk, and do not play Flip It or Rip It.