Preservation edition: an attributed synopsis of David Rhinehart’s September 11, 2013 Geekenstein feature, recovered from a July 28, 2017 Common Crawl capture. The original written feature survives. This edition summarizes its argument and distinguishes later sourced context from the writer’s contemporary assessment.
Rhinehart introduced The Started Hare’s Chromancer as an attempt to rethink the digital trading card game. His interest centered on two connected proposals: giving digital editions collectible identity and making the battlefield change the basic actions available to a player.
The promise and problem of digital scarcity
The feature described plans for finite card print runs, individual serial IDs and later editions distinguished by artwork or design. Rhinehart saw the appeal of finding something special, but also questioned how scarcity and trading would be balanced for newcomers. His enthusiasm depended on implementation, especially keeping rare cards from overwhelming players without them.
Those were pre-release proposals and a dated editorial judgment. The feature did not establish a functioning market, final card balance or a collectible’s present-day value.
A battlefield that could remove basic capabilities
Rhinehart described land generating chroma, with creatures and buildings placed on it. The Castle, Graveyard and Bank represented drawing cards, recycling discarded cards and saving resources. An opponent could attack those structures; losing one constrained what its owner could do. Movement, positioning and the twelve card colors added decisions to that framework.
He regarded this as a promising use of the digital medium and a reason to reconsider TCGs after losing interest earlier in his gaming life. This is his 2013 assessment, not a new playtest.
Later creator context, checked October 7, 2026
The article anticipated a late-2013 launch. The creator’s August 2014 update still described a new beta client and an approaching open beta and launch. Keep the earlier date as a forecast. A separate September 2013 creator announcement offered a 50-card physical starter-and-promo set and Mark Poole artwork; delivery is not verified in this preservation pass.
The related George Maasry interview is a separate historical URL whose recording or transcript remains missing. This feature does not supply that interview’s dialogue.
Historical source and preservation notes
This is an attributed, condensed written preservation edition. The capture date is not the article publication date. Optional historical media is not republished and no missing interview dialogue is supplied.
Geekenstein and KLXCards are companion projects under the same ownership. Attribution and corrections · Digital card history reading trail