Sign in Blood: The Hobby of Signed Card Collecting, Part 1

Header Image: Korlash, Heir to Blackblade, signed by Richard Kane Ferguson (Photo by Nick Wolf)

Have you ever started a game of Commander with three new friends only to have one of those players use a card that's been scribbled on? 

When you ask, the answer is usually the same: "Oh this? It's the artist's signature."

Why would someone have a stranger sign their name on their property? Why would they then use that damaged game piece in public? Signed cards are often more difficult to read, distracting, and in some cases, much more expensive and hard-to-replace than their unsigned counterparts. 

They're also really, really cool.

This week, we're kicking off an article miniseries delving into the world of signed card collecting, a hobby-within-a-hobby growing in popularity as more artists appear at in-person events around the globe. For many, having a card signed by its artist is a way to connect with a game on an axis that's special to them. It's a way of showing their appreciation for the art of Magic, which for many (myself included), is the most important aspect of the game. It's a way of expressing oneself, furthering their collection's element of uniqueness. For some, it's a niche goal to complete a Commander deck, a full draft set, a Cube, wherever their interests lie.

There are nearly as many reasons to get a card signed as there are people who collect them, and this miniseries will look into the why, how, and when of signed card collecting, as well as what signatures are rare, which are routinely forged, which command a premium, and which are downright impossible to acquire. 

But first, this week, an overview.

Jesper Ejsing can't remember the first card he signed. 

Ejsing, a Danish illustrator and avid Magic player in his own right, saw the first cards bearing his art in 2007's Lorywn. Since then, he's credited with more than 250 cards over nearly 20 years, but the very first piece he finished was Lignify

But at every event, Ejsing's always signing a newly released card for the first time ever, a trend that will undoubtedly continue at MagicCon Chicago tomorrow. In fact, it's almost a guarantee. 

"I wish I had made a spreadsheet when I first started."

"Because now, it's a super daunting task to estimate (how many signed cards I have)."

That's Matt Schneider, perhaps known better in some circles as MountainMage. Schneider runs one of the largest and most prolific mail-in card signing services there is. In fact, between Schneider and Mark Aronowitz, nearly every Magic artist who actively signs with a mail-in service is represented. Hundreds of artists, and thousands of cards every year; if a card is being mailed to an artist for a signature, the chances are high that they'll be passing through the hands of either Matt in Florida or Mark in New York.

Both built their businesses through a passion for the art of Magic, an appreciation for the artists who create it, and a healthy dose of meeting the right people at the right time.

Schneider elaborated about his personal signed card collection. "I can make an educated guess. I currently own 29 fully signed Commander decks, a fully signed 450-card Peasant Cube with 35 signed basic lands per color, my binder of signed planeswalkers, my oversized signed card collection (Planechase/Archenemy/Etc.), a longbox of signed tokens, and four-and-a-half of the Magic Holiday Gift Boxes full of signed cards. Just eyeballing it, I'd say each holiday gift box has around 600 cards per column, which would make the total to be... 11,500 signed cards," he said. "Give or take."

That sounds like a mammoth collection, and it is, but Schneider points out that he's been acquiring artist-signed cards for more than a decade. "My first ever big Magic event was GP Miami in 2013. After looking it up, I saw some artists would be there, including Greg Staples ,who flew all the way from England," he said. "It was then that I realized 'the artists who made me fall in love with the game are accessible to interact with and actually get signatures from!'"

Schneider decided to bring a few cards to get signed at the event, and he was hooked immediately. "After the event, I searched for resources to find out more info about getting cards signed through the mail, since I figured I would rarely have the chance to travel to events." Schneider took to the internet to learn how to continue this hobby, which brought him to MTGSalvation's forums, then to Facebook, or more specifically a group called "Givememana," which is still semi-active today. "Once I found that group, I began to mail cards to many artists, as well as the (at the time) two big agents who repped various other artists," he said. "Mark Aronowitz is one of those agents, and he inspired me to start my own signature business."

Jesper Ejsing works with Mark Aronowitz to coordinate mail-in signatures, and he regularly heads to events to sign in person, as well. And not only is he an artist who signs fans' cards, he's also a fan himself and has signed cards in his collection. "I really like signing cards. It means a lot to me to meet the fans and give them something special," he said. "We all have so many cards in our collection, but the ones that are signed are usually the ones you remember. I have a few special ones in my decks that are signed. 

When it comes to artists, signing cards might seem tedious. Writing one's name hundreds, if not thousands of times, in one sitting would drain on anyone, especially at an in-person event like MagicCon Chicago, where Ejsing's likely to have a line at his table from the opening of the event on Friday to its close on Sunday afternoon. It's certainly a source of income, but for a lot of artists, it's worth it in other ways, as well. "It helps me in reinforcing my own value of what I do," said Ejsing. "I am so incredibly proud and thankful for being able to make a living as a fantasy artist. And that's solely because of the fans and the way that people like and love my artwork and appreciate all the effort I put into it. When I talk to people at events and they tell me what they like about a specific piece of art or card, I feel like it mattered."

Lie Setiawan is an artist based in Indonesia, with more than a decade of professional illustration experience. He's credited with nearly 200 Magic cards, despite seeing his first physical card debut only six years ago, with Core Set 2020's Coral Merfolk

Like Ejsing, signing cards for fans is something Setiawan enjoys. "For me, it's really an honor to sign my cards, knowing there are people who like to play with my art on it," he said. "It makes me feel appreciated, and I'm just hoping my art could inspire and give people happiness."

Currently, all cards signed by Setiawan are done via the mail, as he hasn't had the opportunity to attend an in-person event quite yet. "I think signing cards help an artist in several ways; it helps them financially, adding that extra income, that is always a welcome benefit," he said. "It helps them emotionally, like I mentioned before, it makes me feel appreciated, I think other artist would feel the same way."

What compels a person to "deface" their cards with signatures? 

That's a question that every fan of signed cards will be confronted with at one point during the pursuit of their hobby-within-a-hobby. For every person enamored with the idea of seeing the artist responsible for the art of a card physically signing the card itself, there are a dozen who see it as nothing but damage. That's true of players, collectors, and, perhaps most important, vendors. It's true that an artist signature in most cases makes a card more difficult to resell, as only fans of signed cards would attribute adequate value to the card on a secondary market. 

"I understand why vendors need to keep signed cards separate, and usually that means in the 'damaged' section," said Schneider. "Signatures can be annoying to verify, and not everyone is interested in them."

And it's not just artists who are known to sign cards, which makes it even more difficult to appropriately estimate a resale price for a signed card. Some cards, said Schneider, have been signed by pro players or content creators rather than the artist, but there's a very low premium for most people like that.

Some, as anyone who has spent any length of time in signed-card Facebook groups will undoubtedly know, have even been signed by completely unknown random players. Often a person who comes into possession of one of these cards posts an image of it in the Facebook groups as a last-ditch attempt to identify the signer. "It can be daunting for a vendor to do anything with signed cards," continued Schneider. "But, there have been some vendors at recent shows I've been to that have a section just for foreign or signed cards, and I think that's an awesome idea."

As for players, Schneider said he also understands why they might want to value a signed card less than an unsigned card. "They've got ink on them!" he said. "They can be hard to read!"

But, the signed card collectors are out there, "and we're a large group," he added. "For artists who sign A LOT of cards like rk post or Eric Deschamps, you shouldn't value them any more or less than an unsigned copy. But many other artists will command a premium, and sometimes even a large premium, such as artists who are no longer with us (Chris Rush, Glen Angus, for example), or who no longer sign (Chippy, Mike Raabe). They're not damaged! Just 'special.'"

According to Setiawan, the very first card he ever signed for a fan was Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale.

That's understandably a very popular choice, and when it comes to Ejsing, there's one card many reading this might have already guessed

Both Setiawan and Ejsing, with close to 500 cards between them, are sure there are at least a few they've never signed. "I think Sea Gate Banneret is a card I have no recollection of ever signing," said Ejsing. "Usually people want their favorite card signed, or cards that they play with in their Commander deck. And I think no one plays Sea Gate Banneret." 

As for Setiawan, he's got a few forgotten cards, too. " I think Silverflame Squire is one of them," he said. "Another one is Ardent Electromancer I think, but I could be wrong."

It's not a matter of just slapping one's name on a card, either. There's significant thought behind each artist's signature, and if you ask ten artists, you'll get ten stories of outside inspiration, practice, and hundreds of iterations and tweaks. We'll cover this more in-depth in a future article, but Ejsing said he was first enamored with the signature of another fantasy artist that Magic fans have probably heard of.

"When I started as an artist, I always thought Frazetta had a really cool-looking signature. He only signed with his last name," said Ejsing.

According to him, 'Jesper' is a pretty common name in Danish, whereas 'Ejsing' is extremely uncommon. "My family are the only family in Denmark named 'Ejsing,' so I took that as my signature. I started practicing writing it, so that it would look nice in the bottom of a painting." When he started signing Magic cards, he'd already put in a lot of work into having a signature that was more than just his name, but his personal mark.

And even the placement of the signature on the card is something that's intentional. "Unlike the wish of many fans, I write my signature on the illustration of the card rather than the text box," he said. "First of all, it's because I feel like I am signing the painting, but also because I myself would like to be able to read the text of the card for rules purposes, and so that you can show the card text to your opponents so they can read it." 

Don't think that this is out of the goodness of Ejsing's heart, though. Rather, it's a strategy decision. "It's sometimes better having people read it, instead of having to explain what the card does, thus giving away your intentions and crazy plans on the table."

"I think that, overall, the signed card hobby is still a bit niche."

As we head into 2025 and another year's slate of in-person events centered around Magic or fantasy art, there are still plenty of Magic players and collectors who still fall into the category of "I only get cards signed at events I'm attending by artists I'm meeting," said Schneider. "And of course, there's nothing wrong with that!"

On the other hand, he said, that's usually the first stepping stone to fostering that passion for signed cards. "It certainly was for me. There's so many amazing events happening now for Magic, and people can only go to so many, not to mention that the vast majority of Magic artists never go to a single event," he said. "So if they want fully signed decks, or they want cards signed by a specific artist, that's where me and other community members will step in and try to help, and welcome them in with open arms."

It's probably intimidating to take the plunge and begin utilizing a signed card mail-in service, but both Schneider and Aronowitz are approachable, helpful, and, most importantly, trustworthy. The signed card fandom is nothing if not welcoming to newcomers, and longtime collectors love to gush about their favorite signatures, artists, or circumstances in acquiring that one last hard-to-get card to complete a personal project.

"I think that the community is growing slowly, but it's getting more and more common to play against someone with at least a few signed cards in their decks!" said Schneider. "Of course, those tend to be the more enfranchised players, rather than the super casual folk who might only play with precons, or just do drafts."

But, he continued, once you get into Eternal Constructed formats, Commander, and especially Cube, you get the players who want to make their collections special. "And signatures, in my opinion, are the best way to accomplish that."