Associated Press - Nearly a year after its initiation, Magic: the Gathering humor site MiseTings.com is still on the rise. In a recent poll, the site was voted the 3rd funniest Magic humor site on the web, trailing only Team Academy and the undisputed king of Magic comedy, CCGPrime.

The causes behind the dramatic and unexpected increase in the status of the Onion-style humor site, which had previously ranked 10th in Magic comedy, is a point of great interest in the Magic community, although experts have been quick to point out that it was certainly not due to any increase in the quality of the articles. Instead, the rise is being attributed to various unusual circumstances that knocked other perennial competitors out of the running.

For example, top-tier comedy site Brainburst.com appeared to be holding strong, with numerous contributions from the likes of Sean McKeown, Jarrod Bright, and Jun-Wei contributing to the site's April ranking of 2nd best comedy site. Brainburst's star continued to rise with Zvi Mowshowitz's timeless comedy piece about the benefits of Premium membership, which is already being regarded as one of the biggest jokes of all time. In early June, a hilarious article by acknowledged comedian JJ Stors about a "Great Debate" between Repulse and Recoil nearly earned the site the number one ranking. However, in a surprise announcement, editors Scott Johns and Chedy "Some Dude" Hampson revealed that Brainburst was not, in fact, a humor site, despite widespread belief to the contrary. This unexpected reclassification of Brainburst in the "strategy" category helped pave the way for the rise of MiseTings.

A similar sequence of events eliminated Sideboard.com, which had previously held the number four ranking based on the strength of long-running comedy series such as "Bad Play of the Week" by Alex Shvartsman, "Limited Review" by Gary Wise, and "My Fires" by the aforementioned Mowshowitz. The top-tier comedy site later added to its arsenal with the addition of Josh Claytor as a feature match reporter, and was well known for hosting freelance comedy pieces such as "My Story" by Mike Long. The peak for Sideboard probably came with Josh Bennett's hilarious article about a "Magic Colony," which caused quite a buzz in the online community. Strangely, despite the wild popularity of the humor site, the Sideboard staff began insisting that theirs was not intended to be a comedy site and insisted that Sideboard be classified as "strategy," giving MiseTings yet another boost.

More recently, the rise and fall of the upstart Yershit.com provided another shake-up in the Magic humor community. The site enjoyed huge initial popularity based on the strength of the immortal "Can of SpaGeddes-O's" alone, quickly overtaking such comedy mainstays as StarCity and Pojo. Unfortunately, the site's four writers eventually ran out of their old articles that had been rejected by MiseTings months earlier, and was forced to close down for lack of content.

MiseTings is not the only comedy site to benefit from the changes in the online comedy roster, though, with the humor site MagicTheGathering.com enjoying a similar rise in popularity. Ever since its auspicious beginnings, with an initial ranking of fifth best humor site just by announcing that Anthony Alongi, Ben Bleiweiss, and Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar would be featured columnists, MagicTheGathering.com has followed almost on MiseTings' heels for the better part of a year. This has prompted many to point out the seemingly symbiotic relationship between the two sites, which often carry very similar content. In numerous instances, a humorous article on mtg.com will prompt a "sister article" based on the original to be posted on MiseTings as early as the next day.

While MiseTings has certainly become a fixture in the online community, it was unable to overtake Team Academy in the poll rankings. Run by Andrew Stokinger, TA gained huge popularity for its Operation: Defecation, as well as coverage of the timeless Geddes Cooper fiasco, widely regarded as the single greatest Magic joke since Wizards' hilarious "Homelands" prank. While a lack of regular updates led many to speculate that TA would decline in popularity, the recent publication of Will Brinkman's masterful "How To Be A Barney" article pushed TA back to the top. Responses to Brinkman's article ranged from "Oh God, its all true" to "Dear God, its all true." The article has already sparked three suicides and seven attempted penile enlargement surgeries at Amateur Championships alone.

In any event, the news of the poll was well received by MiseTings aficionados. "This is truly a tremendous accomplishment," editor Mike "Top 8" Bregoli said at a press conference. "I can't even begin to express how pleased and surprised I am at the success of this site. What's even more special is that we are unique among Magic humor sites, in that we base our comedy on laughing with the writers, not laughing at the writers. While we may never attain the number one ranking, I am hopeful that MiseTings will remain one of the premier Magic humor sites for years to come."

Not everyone was as optimistic. "It's a fucking weblog," said writer/pimp MD. "No one gives a shit about some poll about Mike Bregoli's fucking weblog. And who said anything about not laughing at the writers? I mean come on, have you read the forums lately? Christ."

Writer cavedan offered some final thoughts: "I must admit, it pleases me to see that this site is doing well. I began writing several months ago, just as this site started going to the shits, and it saddens me to say that it has not improved a whole lot since that time. Nevertheless, I have put some of my valuable time into this site, and it is like a child to me. A very stupid, immature child, that has given me nothing in return despite all I have done for it. While I am pleased to see it succeed, there are still some things, such as surpassing CCGPrime, that it can never do. When it comes to satisfying my humor needs, The Prime will always be first in my heart."

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Associated Press - Nearly a year after its initiation, Magic: the Gathering humor site MiseTings.com is still on the rise. In a recent poll, the site was voted the 3rd funniest Magic humor site on the web, trailing only Team Academy and the undisputed king of Magic comedy, CCGPrime.

The causes behind the dramatic and unexpected increase in the status of the Onion-style humor site, which had previously ranked 10th in Magic comedy, is a point of great interest in the Magic community, although experts have been quick to point out that it was certainly not due to any increase in the quality of the articles. Instead, the rise is being attributed to various unusual circumstances that knocked other perennial competitors out of the running.

For example, top-tier comedy site Brainburst.com appeared to be holding strong, with numerous contributions from the likes of Sean McKeown, Jarrod Bright, and Jun-Wei contributing to the site's April ranking of 2nd best comedy site. Brainburst's star continued to rise with Zvi Mowshowitz's timeless comedy piece about the benefits of Premium membership, which is already being regarded as one of the biggest jokes of all time. In early June, a hilarious article by acknowledged comedian JJ Stors about a "Great Debate" between Repulse and Recoil nearly earned the site the number one ranking. However, in a surprise announcement, editors Scott Johns and Chedy "Some Dude" Hampson revealed that Brainburst was not, in fact, a humor site, despite widespread belief to the contrary. This unexpected reclassification of Brainburst in the "strategy" category helped pave the way for the rise of MiseTings.

A similar sequence of events eliminated Sideboard.com, which had previously held the number four ranking based on the strength of long-running comedy series such as "Bad Play of the Week" by Alex Shvartsman, "Limited Review" by Gary Wise, and "My Fires" by the aforementioned Mowshowitz. The top-tier comedy site later added to its arsenal with the addition of Josh Claytor as a feature match reporter, and was well known for hosting freelance comedy pieces such as "My Story" by Mike Long. The peak for Sideboard probably came with Josh Bennett's hilarious article about a "Magic Colony," which caused quite a buzz in the online community. Strangely, despite the wild popularity of the humor site, the Sideboard staff began insisting that theirs was not intended to be a comedy site and insisted that Sideboard be classified as "strategy," giving MiseTings yet another boost.

More recently, the rise and fall of the upstart Yershit.com provided another shake-up in the Magic humor community. The site enjoyed huge initial popularity based on the strength of the immortal "Can of SpaGeddes-O's" alone, quickly overtaking such comedy mainstays as StarCity and Pojo. Unfortunately, the site's four writers eventually ran out of their old articles that had been rejected by MiseTings months earlier, and was forced to close down for lack of content.

MiseTings is not the only comedy site to benefit from the changes in the online comedy roster, though, with the humor site MagicTheGathering.com enjoying a similar rise in popularity. Ever since its auspicious beginnings, with an initial ranking of fifth best humor site just by announcing that Anthony Alongi, Ben Bleiweiss, and Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar would be featured columnists, MagicTheGathering.com has followed almost on MiseTings' heels for the better part of a year. This has prompted many to point out the seemingly symbiotic relationship between the two sites, which often carry very similar content. In numerous instances, a humorous article on mtg.com will prompt a "sister article" based on the original to be posted on MiseTings as early as the next day.

While MiseTings has certainly become a fixture in the online community, it was unable to overtake Team Academy in the poll rankings. Run by Andrew Stokinger, TA gained huge popularity for its Operation: Defecation, as well as coverage of the timeless Geddes Cooper fiasco, widely regarded as the single greatest Magic joke since Wizards' hilarious "Homelands" prank. While a lack of regular updates led many to speculate that TA would decline in popularity, the recent publication of Will Brinkman's masterful "How To Be A Barney" article pushed TA back to the top. Responses to Brinkman's article ranged from "Oh God, its all true" to "Dear God, its all true." The article has already sparked three suicides and seven attempted penile enlargement surgeries at Amateur Championships alone.

In any event, the news of the poll was well received by MiseTings aficionados. "This is truly a tremendous accomplishment," editor Mike "Top 8" Bregoli said at a press conference. "I can't even begin to express how pleased and surprised I am at the success of this site. What's even more special is that we are unique among Magic humor sites, in that we base our comedy on laughing with the writers, not laughing at the writers. While we may never attain the number one ranking, I am hopeful that MiseTings will remain one of the premier Magic humor sites for years to come."

Not everyone was as optimistic. "It's a fucking weblog," said writer/pimp MD. "No one gives a shit about some poll about Mike Bregoli's fucking weblog. And who said anything about not laughing at the writers? I mean come on, have you read the forums lately? Christ."

Writer cavedan offered some final thoughts: "I must admit, it pleases me to see that this site is doing well. I began writing several months ago, just as this site started going to the shits, and it saddens me to say that it has not improved a whole lot since that time. Nevertheless, I have put some of my valuable time into this site, and it is like a child to me. A very stupid, immature child, that has given me nothing in return despite all I have done for it. While I am pleased to see it succeed, there are still some things, such as surpassing CCGPrime, that it can never do. When it comes to satisfying my humor needs, The Prime will always be first in my heart."

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!