I was mostly going to Collect-A-Con for a Metazoo tournament and to hangout with my friend in Texas, not really expecting much. The convention hall felt no different than the card shops in my home state, the same kind of collectibles at every table. Rare cards here, overpriced figures I could buy online for cheaper there, and the same graded slabs over and over.
I scrubbed out of the tournament early and walked around looking for gifts to give back home but stumbled upon a booth that was doing raffles. The whole table had new and upcoming card games in development that they were showcasing. Apparently they were raffling away merchandise and promo cards for those new games. As a typical weeaboo, I entered the raffle seeking a bunch of anime cards splayed all over the table. Something peculiar did catch my eye—a checkered-pattern white playmat with tiny people printed on it with a retro feel. I don’t typically like retro-looking things, but I was fixated and discarded any urge to win the waifu cards. Unfortunately, like my luck with the tournament, I didn’t win the playmat. However I was able to learn of the game’s name: “Gem Blenders.”
After a walk across the convention hall, I was able to scope out the Gem Blenders booth for a bit. They had a few promo cards of their game, several people playing the card game on the side, and two members of their team ready to answer any questions. Sam and David were really nice. Any ruling questions, everything about their production process, future plans, and their gaming backgrounds were answered very easily. They were extremely patient and helped me figure out what to buy on their online store in order to play with my friends back home.
They sold out of pretty much everything that Collect-A-Con weekend. However, I was able to snag some really cool holo promo cards, which were the only thing they had left at the booth. Shard Buster and Bolt Ram were definitely my favorites out of the promos because of how vibrantly their patterns reflected with their foiling. I left for home feeling thankful and excited to play a brand new card game with my friends.
