David K. Wilson thought he knew exactly what kind of documentary he wanted to make about Magic: The Gathering. The lifelong player and filmmaker planned to start shooting at a Star City Games convention in Louisville, the perfect place to connect with pro players, artists, and tournament organizers about the history of the oldest trading card game in the world. The timing, in hindsight, could not have been worse. It was scheduled for March 2020.

Wilson eventually began filming conventions in 2022. His first major shoot took place at SCG Con Dallas, one of the first large Magic gatherings to occur as the pandemic waned. At first, players weren’t quite sure what to make of a camera crew wandering around the tables, Wilson said.

“Everyone was sort of like, ‘Who are these people with cameras?’” Wilson told Polygon in a telephone interview. “They thought we were outsiders.”

The breakthrough came when Wilson did what he had done countless times before as a player: He signed up for a Sealed event and took a seat at the table. Attitudes shifted quickly. By the end of the day, people started approaching his crew, asking to share their stories. It helped Wilson realize that the film wasn’t about new set releases or Universes Beyond, mechanics, or history. It was about the people.

“That’s why it’s called The Gathering is the Magic,” Wilson said. “It’s about the gathering more than the game.”

After several years of filming at conventions and interviewing players, judges, artists, organizers, and content creators, Wilson said he now has a cut that runs about 75 minutes long. He calls this cut complete, but there are still pieces he wants to add: additional interviews and some higher-end post-production work, among other things.

To help with the final stretch, Wilson is launching a Kickstarter campaign on April 7, with a goal of $25,000 to complete the project. Various potential stretch goal rewards include unique playmats illustrated by Magic artists like Aaron Miller, Phil Stone, SchmandrewArt, along with another by Jacques Solomon, an illustrator who’s worked on official Magic: The Gathering comics.

Wilson has been part of this community for decades. He started playing Magic as a teenager in the mid-1990s, when early expansions like The Dark were still new. Over the years, he drifted away from the game at times — particularly during college — but always found himself returning. When he moved to Los Angeles in his early twenties to pursue filmmaking, local game stores became one of the easiest ways to meet people.

“You go in there, it’s like, ‘I like Magic. You like Magic. Let’s play Magic — and we can be friends,’” Wilson said.

That sense of connection eventually evolved into the heart of the documentary. Rather than telling the straightforward history of Magic, Wilson said the documentary ultimately centers on four members of the Magic community whose lives have been shaped by it. Their stories — and the friendships they built through the game — form the backbone of the film. Some of those stories touch on serious topics, including social anxiety, loneliness, and the ways gaming communities can offer structure and support. But it’s also a celebration of how a shared love for a really fun trading card game helps to forge and shape relationships.

“Originally, I thought the movie might be about the mechanics of the game or the history,” Wilson said. “But the most interesting moments were when people opened up about what Magic meant to them.”

Even in its current form, Wilson believes the documentary captures something that longtime Magic players already understand. The real magic of the game isn’t just in the cards. It’s in the people sitting across the table.