GM

Today’s newsletter is to be chanted aloud by candlelight (alone).

Go now and prepare, we can wait until you’re ready.

In today’s edition:

• How to join the NFT Illuminati

• The Mint and Watch Lists

• Four new drops

Links for the Mint/Watch list drops are HERE.

Did you know?

We have a premium pass that gives you access to a directory of every drop we cover, complete with detailed information on how to get on every whitelist (including those underrated ones that aren’t already full).

And for those curatooors out there, you can get free NFTs just by finding drops that end up on the Mint or Watch list.

Lastly, hang with me and the MoS team in a private discord with weekly voice chats. The vibes are great.

Would you like to be featured in Mint or Skip like the above ☝️ ?

How to join the NFT Illuminati

Context

Sam Spratt, who is easily one of the most popular crypto artists at the moment, revealed more info about his mysterious upcoming mint called The Monument Game.

Here’s what we know:

• Supply: an edition of 256 Ethereum NFTs

• Price: 3.33 ETH

• Mint date: August 21st

• Mint format: first-come-first-serve (possible gas war)

• Every NFT acts as a Ticket into a “game”.

• Three winners will receive a Skull of Luci NFT (valued 60+ ETH).

More details about the game, lore and mint can be found here.

Our take

Here are a few things you’ll find on the official page for Sam Spratt’s Monument Game:

• An ominous countdown

• Images of occultist masks and skulls

• Paragraphs of hieroglyphic gibberish that require decoding

• A cinematic video of cryptic phrases with loud voices chanting “Luci!” “Luci!” in the background

• A photo of Sam sitting in front of what looks like a fire giving off a “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” stare.

It’s giving off secret cabal vibes, and very deliberately so.

But at this point, it’s not just vibes.

Now – I’m not saying there’s an actual NFT Illuminati, but if there were one, then Sam’s collector base is as close as you’ll find.

The main collection, Skulls of Luci, is made up of just 50 pieces of art that currently have a floor of 190 ETH (and typically sell for at least 60 eth).

And looking at the holder list will show you a Who’s Who of the crypto art world. Wealthy patrons, meme dealers, kingmakers, purveyors of exotic tokens – they’re all there.

It’s this context that makes Monument Game so interesting.

You can sum up the drop in two ways:

1. A chance for people to get involved with this ecosystem at a comparatively cheaper entry point (3 ETH is obviously still a luxury purchase, but it’s a tad better than 190 ETH).

2. An initiation process into this exclusive collector cabal.

That second point is the “game”, which is the most unique thing happening here.

What’s the game?

At the center of the competition is a 1/1 NFT that is being auctioned separately, simply called “IX. The Monument Game”.

This NFT acts as a flame that attracts others to its light (as the story goes).

Everyone who buys a 1/256 edition is buying a Ticket to interact with the flame.

Their objective is simple: leave an Observation on the NFT, which can simply be a text comment.

Then, the Council of Luci (Skull holders) will vote on their favorite Observations. Maybe the most profound, the most ridiculous, the most creative – there really aren’t any rules to how they’re judging these.

The three highest-voted Tickets will get the opportunity to trade in their edition NFT for a Skull of Luci.

This means joining the illustrious ranks of existing Skull holders.

It also means earning a six-figure NFT, which is nice.

Bottom line

NFTs are pioneering a new kind of social art: a mix of visual beauty, game theory, and network effects that can create memetic value out of nothing.

They’re Make Believe Games for adults, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Of course, you can be overly reductionist and take the magic away from any experience.

“Bro it’s just an initiation into an elitist frat.”

O Dearly Beloved, it’s easy to tear stuff down with cynical takes like this.

But then you’ll be missing out on some truly creative experiences that will end up leaving a mark on culture, which I thought was the reason many of us were here in the first place.

Sam Spratt is playing this game at the highest level, and I expect this to turn into an enjoyable spectacle even for those that don’t end up participating.

✨ Mint List #4 ✨

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

BeatKOR

Just last week I wrote about Pixelynx’s AI companion drop, Genesis KOR, a token that grants access to their upcoming AI music creation platform, KORUS.

Now the project is frontrunning that mint with a limited edition version of the Genesis KOR, BeatKOR.

Beatport, a well-known music marketplace for most electronic music enjoyooors, is collabing on the drop.

The mint should happen today at 3 PM ET, but they haven’t shared many details (including pricing), so I suggest signing up for updates here if interested.

Summer Kevin

Summer Kevin is a $35 limited edition minting as part of Onchain Summer. It’ll provide a physical and digital derivative of Kevin, a character that needs no introduction if you paid attention to early 2022 NFTs.

The physical collectible has a supply of 705 so I expect the digital version will follow suit, but confirmation on that is pending.

It’s funny to think that the mascot for the worst NFT reveal of 2022 is now going to be advertised on Coinbase. And, honestly, it looks like a fun drop.

The Denizens of ZenAcademy

OG readers should remember this one from our earlier editions. Cheers to being loyal🥂

ZenAcademy, the web3 learning hub established by Zeneca in 2021, is set to unveil Denizens of ZenAcademy, a collection of 10k anime-styled avatars by Thai artist Pondering.

The only way to get these is by burning a genesis ZenAcademy token, which will yield a ZenChest (tradeable since last year), then burning that (soon™️) to get your final PFP.

More details, including utility, are yet to be revealed. I'll stay vigilant 👀

Anichess – Orbs of Power

Anichess, a free-to-play video game developed by Animoca in partnership with Chess.com, introduces spells and power-ups to your favorite 1500-year-old game.

I had been tracking this one for a whole year, and it seemed like the project had been all but abandoned until June 22nd, when a raise of $1.5M was announced.

Details around the genesis drop, Orbs of Power, are on their site’s FAQ section, which says that you can buy these using Elixir Points, a discord-only currency earned from Zealy quests.

The first of these Orbs was airdropped to questers yesterday, but there’s more to come. Time to put your sudoku hat on.

The Mint List

1. Taproot Wizards. OG Bitcoin meme inscribed as ordinals

2. 10KTF PFP. Drop from a team that includes Yuga and Beeple

3. Genesis SFT Pass. Digital anime collectibles from a notable team

4. LUCI: Chapter 5. Follow-up from artist with esteemed collector base

5. Shadow Hats. Ordinals drop from the creators of Forgotten Runes

6. Project Animus. RTFKT's biggest launch since Clone-X

7. Symbiogenesis. Square Enix's upcoming gaming NFT

8. Quasi Dragons. Innovative drop from an Art Blocks veteran

9. Memeland [TBC]. High-value treasure MVPs minting on BTC

10. The Boys of Summer. Interactive art drop from an OG amongst OGs