<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light the Way" href="#" target="_blank">Light the Way</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theboyofcheese/?hl=en">Benjamin Ee</a></em></p>
<p>Hello, dear readers, and welcome to another interview in our Community Corner series. The Light the Way grant program is now open, providing funding for projects intended to make an impact on the <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> community. We interviewed Ryan Inzana, the creator of this grant, to learn more about the program and his role in making it all happen.</p>
<h2>Interview With Ryan Inzana for Light the Way</h2>
<div>
<h3>Where'd the idea for the Light the Way program come from?</h3>
<p>This was something I've been wanting to do for a while now. I often hear from creators that they'd like to engage with the community more, but planning events was cost-prohibitive. Sadly, community or charity projects can be expensive. There may be supply costs, prize support, travel, the cost of other people's time, etc. Many of these are out-of-pocket and/or upfront costs. There's no shortage of great ideas out there, and we want to provide folks with the resources to make them a reality.</p>
<h3>What is the intention for the grant?</h3>
<p>The mission of the grant is to fund projects that will make a positive impact on our communities through player engagement and/or charity. If that sounds broad, it's for a reason! We hope that the lack of restrictions will fuel creativity! Maybe you'd like to run an event to teach new players the game, or run a charity stream. Perhaps you'd like to create a program that highlights the work of marginalized creators. If this sounds like you, we'd love for you to submit an application!</p>
<h3>Who's involved in Light the Way's selection committee?</h3>
<p>The selection committee is full of wonderful, community-minded creators. Besides myself, the members are:<br />
Blue Collar Commander<br />
The Filthy MTG Casuals<br />
Trying Casually Games<br />
LevDev<br />
CarloMTG<br />
Ryan Pippin (rynosaurusreks)</p>
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<div id="attachment_188241" style="width: 1930px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-188241" class="wp-image-188241 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="2560" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-225x300.jpg 225w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/D3265BA0-3A25-450F-A7E6-8ACDA8348929-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-188241" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>Ryan Inzana (center) met up with pals JanePlaysMagic and LlanowarRicky</strong></span></p></div>
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<h3>What are you hoping to accomplish with the grant program?</h3>
<div>
<p>I'm hoping we can give folks an opportunity to make a positive impact on their community by tearing down the financial barriers! We also hope that the grant itself will inspire people to use their influence for good!</p>
<h3>Is this a one-off initiative, or are you hoping Light the Way becomes a regular occurrence?</h3>
<p>Light the Way will be offered annually, and funding has been secured for the first five years of its life. With that said, we hope to grow the program and offer even more opportunities in the future! We're also happy to see other organizations like Birds of Paradise offer their own private grants to the community!</p>
<h3>What does the Magic: The Gathering community mean to you?</h3>
<p>Many of my closest friends belong to the Magic: The Gathering community. They're the folks I talk to when I have news to share, lean on when times are tough, hug when happy or sad. There's a love and support there that is akin to family. They're not the people I was born with, but the ones I choose daily.</p>
<h3>Why do you do what you do for the community?</h3>
<p>It's a labor of love. I want to shine a spotlight on the little guys within the community trying to do BIG things! I've seen what happens when this community decides to rally around a cause, an initiative, or an idea. It's inspiring, and I want to see more of it. Let's make a difference together!</p>
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<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>A big thank-you to Ryan for allowing us the opportunity to interview him about this grant. The window to submit applications for Light the Way closes on July 31 of this year, at 11:59 p.m. Awardees will be selected and announced on August 31. The link to details and the application form can be found below, via Bluesky:</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:ayfnur7ngiraunwk3demhbme/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp6ypm6k2k23" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreiej2g6yeiazvl3u7zzcy2x3wojhhouderjqsraslmyfij2ujc7jsq">
<p lang="en">Very excited to announce the &#34;Light the Way&#34; grant program aimed at making a positive impact on our communities through player engagement and/or charity.Let&#39;s use our influence for good and make a difference together! See details below.Apply now:forms.gle/gT4jm2kTCzfn...</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ayfnur7ngiraunwk3demhbme?ref_src=embed">Ryan Inzana 🔜 HoochieCon 2026 (@ryan.wubrgsky.org)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ayfnur7ngiraunwk3demhbme/post/3mp6ypm6k2k23?ref_src=embed">2026-06-26T12:58:43.498Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>


https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/CCRyanInzanaehader.png

Interview: Ryan Inzana, on the Light the Way Grant Program

<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Header image: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unsummon|LEA|86" href="#" target="_blank">Unsummon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CDouglas+Shuler%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Douglas Shuler</a></em></p>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/jeremy-rowe">UnsummonedSkull</a>, also known as Coach JRo, is a writer for EDHREC, but he's also a streamer, a master of creature types, a teacher, and a podcaster. He's also an excellent philanthropist, with charitable donations following many of his live-streamed Commander play events. We got a chance to interview JRo about these events and contributions, and here's what he had to say!</p>
<h2>The Interview With UnsummonedSkull</h2>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’ve been conducting charity events for a while now. What drives you to do it?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first money I made from winning a tournament was donated to <a href="https://madd.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)</a> in the name of a friend of mine from high school who was killed by a drunk driver. I still have his Cleric Typal Commander deck, evolved from his original kitchen table <em>en</em>-Kor combo deck. The first webcam Commander game I played was a feature match at the First Online Commandfest, whose spot I won by submitting a 2-minute deck tech to Channel Fireball, which started my online presence. That was part of a fundraiser for the <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NAACP Legal Defense Fund</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even when I was teaching in person, I would write grants and work with companies to get prize support for the events I’d run for my students, who were from a poor suburb of Detroit and didn’t have a local gaming store. I would also donate any prize packs or boxes I’d win to the games club I ran, giving the students a chance to draft them. This was part of what kept me going between my competitive and casual phases. Essentially, as long as I’ve been good at <em>Magic</em>, I’ve been trying to use it to help people.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Currently, I’m using my microcelebrity status in the <em>Magic</em> community to create events that stretch thinking and comfort zones, inspire creative builds, and help out a variety of different charities. Before I stopped posting on the platform, I had over 4K followers on Twitter, which I described as “having a superpower”. The following was built over a couple of years, but it was jump-started by the aforementioned First Online Commandfest. I’ve tried to use the following to uplift members of the community, and that sort of noblesse oblige is a big reason why I started making charity events. </span></p>
<h2>On Theme Deck Throwdown</h2>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your current tournament, the Theme Deck Throwdown (TDT), donates to charities every year. What charity seems to get the most attention from your event’s competitors? Why do you think that is?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unlike my other events, and unlike most charity events in general, the TDT doesn’t serve any one charity. Instead, the winners of each semifinal pod get to choose a charity to receive a $25 donation in their name. This was my attempt at offering a different kind of prize, one where the players had agency over who and what they support, which is something I’ve seen on TV competitions with celebrity competitors. I loved how it gave the competitors ownership over the donation, as opposed to the typical charity stream, with a donation link in chat, sometimes with chat redemptions for donations.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There have been a variety of charities supported over the 4 years of the TDT, but the most frequently chosen has to be <a href="https://translifeline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trans Lifeline</a>. Trans Lifeline is a peer support and crisis hotline, and a 501 (c) nonprofit organization offering phone support to transgender people. It is the first transgender crisis hotline in the United States and Canada. It is also the only suicide hotline whose operators are all transgender. With the rights of transgender people in peril around the country, it’s a particularly important time to support this historically disadvantaged population and the wonderful community members who identify that way.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is the gist of TDT, and why did you decide on that concept for your main charity tournament?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The general conceit of the TDT was to make a <em>Magic</em> March Madness analog, such that people who were new to <em>Magic</em> or Commander could still have something to follow and root for. My <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/43p5ImbqqYiECUUEDES2XJ?si=58ccd7d0944e4d3f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quote of Arms podcast</a>, which features community members sharing stories about their favorite creature types, precedes the TDT, which, in turn, precedes my moniker as the “Resident Typal Expert of EDHREC”. I’ve run tournaments before, including sanctioned events as a Judge and Tournament Organizer for my games club, but the TDT was a bit of a different animal. Sanctioned events have a Rule Enforcement Level (REL), as well as prize payouts, entry fees, and certain expectations for competitive play and decorum. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I wanted to make a casual event that still had some stakes but had a reason for people to care without a prize pool, as I couldn’t afford to put a lot up… teaching doesn’t pay nearly enough. I initially offered a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cavern of Souls" href="#" target="_blank">Cavern of Souls</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from my former Modern Humans deck to the winner, but it was actually declined two years in a row because just being able to say your type was the best turned out to be enough of a top prize. But this year, now that I’m an ambassador for <a href="https://www.girudo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Girudo</a>, <a href="https://www.nerdgear.gg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nerd Gear</a>, <a href="https://pinfinityar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pinfinity</a>, and <a href="https://www.jankmats.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jank Mats</a>, there’s a substantial prize pool for both players and viewers!</span></p>
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<h2>On WIP Wednesdays and Event Planning</h2>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">During your streams, such as your WIP Wednesdays, you often encounter some positively wild Commander decks. Besides your own, which deck stood out most to you and why?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I described the conceit of my WIP Wednesday streams back when I was writing for Commander’s Herald, in my article about my </span><a href="https://commandersherald.com/top-lessons-learned-about-deckbuilding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Top Lessons Learned About Deckbuilding</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. One of my biggest flaws as a player is that I tend to be impetuous, playing the new deck because it’s fresh on my mind and exciting, regardless of whether it’s appropriate for the event. In particular, the inciting event was when I brought a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selenia, Dark Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Selenia, Dark Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> life loss combo deck to a game I knew was being recorded. I'd never played the deck before.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I managed to put together the combo of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Near-Death Experience" href="#" target="_blank">Near-Death Experience</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mischievous Poltergeist" href="#" target="_blank">Mischievous Poltergeist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but I was caught completely off-guard when the host, playing a Dimir Zombie deck, countered the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Near-Death Experience" href="#" target="_blank">Near-Death Experience</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with a free counter while tapped out. Unfortunately, I proceeded to tilt and threw the game, visibly upset, even over webcam. As a result, I resolved to make a regular stream where players could bring decks they wanted to test, completely agnostic of power level. Why agnostic of power level? Because that’s one of the things a player might want to figure out!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The deck that made the biggest effect on me from my WIP Wednesdays was the Dimir Siren Typal deck that MTG in Quarantine brought. It used effects in blue and black that forced combats and punished players for attacking. It really felt like our creatures were being lured into dangerous combat situations, falling victim to a perfectly-flavorful <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Siren&#039;s Call|LEA|77" href="#" target="_blank">Siren&#039;s Call</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. That deck changed a fundamental paradigm for me, in that it taught me that typal decks that haven’t had official support can still be flavorful. It appealed to my inner <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/melvin-and-vorthos-2007-05-07" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Melvin</a>, a psychographic that has become increasingly dominant in me since I decided to become competitive. </span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Near-Death Experience"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mischievous Poltergeist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Siren&#039;s Call|LEA|77"></div></div>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">How much effort goes into planning an online tournament? How long before these events do you typically start preparing them?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Making an online tournament is a bit of a complicated process, but my clinically diagnosed OCD brain helped me break it down into manageable pieces. The first step was to gauge interest. I’m in a few different Looking For Games (LFG) servers, including my own <a href="https://discord.gg/bX2pNGCb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Skull Symbol</a> and <a href="https://discord.gg/2Jtw9GRa">WUBRG Sky</a>. Before my Skull Symbol existed, I would put out posts with a skull-shaped Bat Signal, captioned “Looking for a VEDH (Virtual EDH) Game” on Twitter, which now serves as the icon for the server. I would put this call out well in advance of the event, sometimes as many as three months ahead of time; basically, whenever I was thinking about it. I would then bookmark that post, and any future calls I would put out.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The next step would be, once I had at least 20 responses, to make a Google Form. The questions on the Google Forms include: multiple dates (some week days, some weekends, and mornings, afternoons, and evenings), which is not mandatory, a yes or no question on whether any dates work, which is mandatory, name/handle, which is mandatory, discord name, which is mandatory, and themes that are or will be built, which is mandatory. From here, I have the data to make a spreadsheet of this information.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The spreadsheet has columns for Name, Type Options, Type Running, and each of the dates and times. For each player, I select a unique creature type from their Type Options and put it in the Type Running column. I then go through the dates and put an X in the row of each player who can accommodate that date and time. I color the dates that work yellow at first, and then red when there are five or more unique players that can accommodate that date and time. The goal is to find four pods of five people, so each pod has a backup and me as an emergency. I leave the Xs in, even for dates the player is not scheduled for, so I remember what worked.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, I friend all of the players on Discord and make group chats for each pod. I do this so that the audio can be streamed from a voice call (VC) in the group chat. I separate the audio from the visuals (like <a href="https://spelltable.wizards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spelltable</a> or Girudo) so that we can work through technical difficulties, such as if someone accidentally gets kicked out of the game. If everything were through the same client, then we could lose contact with a player.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The trickiest part is using spectator mode to capture the pod. Since I am not playing in most pods (or preferably any of them), I need to be able to capture the visuals of the game. Spelltable hasn’t fixed spectator mode, so I would have to do a screen grab of someone else’s screen share on Discord. With Girudo, Spectator Mode is available and usable, but some bugs are being worked out regarding making a game and then leaving it and returning in Spectator Mode. My most recent workaround was to make group chats in Girudo and add all of the players in a given pod. Then, the players could add each other, and one of them could make the game and invite me as a spectator. That way, I wouldn’t have to play around with admin privileges.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The turn order for each pod is determined by the popularity of the creature type, per EDHREC data. This is determined by going to Tags, then Typal, and then typing in the search bar. This is done to slightly favor the more recognizable types, the same way teams with better records host playoff games in most sports. After all, the TDT is designed to be a bridge between Magic and sports!</span></p>
<h2>On the Future of JRo's Events</h2>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is one thing you hope for your events to achieve so they can excel further in the future?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The biggest hopes I have for my events are that the participants have fun and that the content they create is entertaining. I want people to want to participate in my events; I want them to be things that people get excited about. I want people to look forward to March; to get to the point that people approach me, asking to be part of it, rather than me trying to gauge interest. And, one day, I hope to expand the event to a full 64 players, with other streamers helping as well. My biggest fear is that I find these events cool and fun, but no one else does. Still, it’s a labor of love.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year, I added prizes from my sponsors, worked with Dork4Short to make wrestling-style introductions, moved the event from Spelltable to Girudo, and even made an Exhibition pod to accommodate even more players. It was a major undertaking; I do the organization, graphic design, and streaming, among other things, for the events. It’s a lot of work, in addition to my four jobs and out-of-work responsibilities, but this is what gives me joy, and I want to see these endeavors succeed.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">What are your next steps? Which of your events are you most looking forward to?</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I have five events I plan to run annually: TDT in spring, Pride Month Rainbow Games in summer, Boros Bashes Breast Cancer and Angel Suicide Prevention in fall, and Holiday Horde in winter.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ideas for future events: Everyone brings decks with 50 or fewer decks built on EDHREC. Turn order is determined by uniqueness. Maybe fundraise for fighting homelessness, as we're finding homes for these commanders and giving them the love they deserve. Everyone brings Food-themed decks, and we raise money for local food banks in November.</span></p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>A huge thank-you to UnsummonedSkull for allowing us to conduct this interview with him!</p>
<p>And now, we'd like to open the floor to you, dear readers! What charity events of UnsummonedSkull's would you most like to take part in? What charities would you want to represent? And are there any charities that UnsummonedSkull should represent in future events? Sound off in the comments below!</p>
<h3>Read More:</h3>
<p>https://edhrec.com/articles/community-corner-creator-spotlight-uberguitardude-and-cats-and-commander</p>
<p>https://edhrec.com/articles/magic-sparks-rare-connections-in-the-tsc-community</p>
<p>https://edhrec.com/articles/an-interview-with-lee-jennings-of-the-funeral-portrait</p>


philanthropy

Interview: Ryan Inzana, on the Light the Way Grant Program

Interview With UnsummonedSkull on His Philanthropic Efforts