Epic Desk at NYCC 2026: Attack on Titan, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sleep Token & More

RadioAnime takes a private tour of Epic Desk at New York Comic Con 2026 and speaks with founder Trey about major anime and music collaborations, NYCC exclusives, independent artists, and the creative process behind the company's desk mats and playmats.

Epic Desk Takes Us Behind the Booth at NYCC 2026

During New York Comic Con 2026, RadioAnime had the opportunity to take a private tour of the Epic Desk booth, where we got a closer look at the company's growing collection of desk mats and playmats.

The booth brought together some major names from anime, gaming and music, including Attack on Titan, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sleep Token and Fogland, alongside artwork from independent and emerging artists.

During our tour, we spoke with Trey, founder of Epic Desk, about how some of these partnerships came together, what goes into creating the artwork, and why supporting independent artists has become such an important part of the company.

Creating the “Most Epic” Desk Mats

When we asked Trey what Epic Desk is all about, he described the company as working with creators, licensed IPs and independent artists to create what he calls some of the “most epic desk mats and gaming mats on the planet.”

Walking through the booth, it was easy to see the variety he was talking about.

There were major anime properties, designs, music collaborations and completely original artwork, all displayed alongside one another.

And some of the partnerships have an interesting story behind them.

Attack on Titan: From an Email to Japan

One of the biggest collections featured at the booth was Attack on Titan, which Trey described as one of Epic Desk's biggest-selling anime licenses.

We asked Trey how the partnership originally came together.

Trey explained that Epic Desk initially reached out about pursuing the license and received a response about setting up a Zoom call. Instead, the Epic Desk team decided to go to Japan and meet with them in person.

That trip brought the team to the Kodansha building, where they met with members of the licensing team. The trip also happened during cherry blossom season, something Trey remembered fondly — and it would eventually inspire another Epic Desk collection.

We also had to ask the obvious question: Did the trip include meeting Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama?

Trey explained that they met with members of the licensing team and employees rather than Isayama himself. We then asked whether a future special “chase” mat featuring Hajime Isayama's signature could ever be possible.

Trey said he thought it would be a good idea for the future, but joked that Epic Desk might need to sell more mats and impress the team first before something that special could happen.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Makes Its Epic Desk Debut

Another major highlight of the booth for anime and TCG fans was Epic Desk's new Yu-Gi-Oh! partnership, which had just launched at NYCC.

Epic Desk showcased seven different Yu-Gi-Oh! desk mats, featuring some of the franchise's most iconic characters and imagery, including Dark Magician Girl, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician and Yugi Mutou.

One of the mats that immediately caught my attention — and a personal favorite of mine — brought several of those iconic characters together, featuring Dark Magician Girl, Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician on the same design.

The collection also included a Blue-Eyes White Dragon design, along with two classic Yugi Mutou designs. One features Yugi alongside the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime title, while another shows Yugi with his Dueling Disk and the words “King of Games.”

It was a great combination of designs for both longtime anime and TCG fans, mixing some of the franchise's most recognizable characters with artwork that immediately brings back memories of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! era.

From Japan to the Cherry Blossom Collection

That trip to Japan didn't just help Epic Desk develop its Attack on Titan partnership.

It also gave Trey an idea.

After returning from Japan, he told his team that it was a “travesty” that Epic Desk didn't have a cherry blossom collection.

The company then commissioned an artist to create one.

The resulting designs were among the more atmospheric pieces we saw during our tour, showing a completely different side of Epic Desk's catalog.

Sleep Token Becomes Epic Desk's Number-One Best Seller

Epic Desk's partnerships extend far beyond anime.

One of the biggest surprises at the booth was the company's collection with Sleep Token, the progressive metal band from the United Kingdom.

We asked Trey how the collaboration was performing, and his answer was pretty impressive.

“Sleep Token launched back in September and has been our number-one best seller,” he told us.

The Sleep Token designs were also among the NYCC exclusives showcased at the booth, demonstrating how Epic Desk has expanded into music while maintaining the same focus on distinctive artwork.

The Artists Behind the Designs

While the major licenses naturally attract attention, one of the things we found most interesting during our conversation with Trey was the company's focus on independent and emerging artists.

Trey explained that some of the artists Epic Desk works with may only have a few thousand followers on Instagram.

For Epic Desk, that isn't necessarily a disadvantage.

Instead, the company sees an opportunity to give these artists a platform and introduce their work to a much larger audience.

Trey described the company's goal as helping “uplift” independent artists who may not otherwise have a way to showcase their work or build a fan base.

During our tour, Trey also showed us work from Michelle, a newer artist whose designs include pixel art and landscapes.

He explained that some of the artwork takes months to create, with some featured pieces requiring approximately three months of work.

NYCC 2026 Exclusives

NYCC was also the perfect place for Epic Desk to showcase several limited designs created specifically for the convention, giving collectors a chance to see some of the company's newest collaborations up close.

Among the featured pieces were the Yu-Gi-Oh! Blue-Eyes White Dragon exclusive, limited to 100 pieces, as well as Sleep Token's “Garden Eternal” designs.

The limited Yu-Gi-Oh! piece was particularly eye-catching, continuing Epic Desk's newly launched partnership with the franchise and giving fans another way to collect the iconic Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

The Sleep Token “Garden Eternal” designs brought a completely different aesthetic to the booth, highlighting how Epic Desk has expanded beyond anime and TCG properties into music collaborations as well.

Having these limited designs displayed alongside Epic Desk's larger catalog made the booth feel like more than a product display. Fans could discover new collaborations, check out original artwork from independent artists, and see some of the pieces that were available in limited quantities specifically around NYCC.

Digital Art, Traditional Art — But No AI

We also asked Trey about something that has become an increasingly important topic in the art world: AI-generated artwork.

His answer was direct.

“All of our stuff that we do is not AI; we don't use any AI for art or anything.”

Trey explained that many of Epic Desk's artists work digitally on computers, but the company requires time-lapses from many of its artists to document their creative process.

He also gave us an example of artist Nicola, who created one of the designs traditionally, drawing it with ink on paper before coloring it.

So while Epic Desk works with artists using different techniques — from digital illustration to traditional media — Trey emphasized that the artwork isn't being generated by AI.

Built for Gamers and Collectors

Of course, these aren't simply art prints. During our tour, Trey explained that Epic Desk's desk mats are designed with gaming in mind, featuring what the company describes as a “luxury precision surface fabric.”

The standard desk mat measures:

930 × 400 mm
Approximately 36 × 16 inches

Epic Desk also produces TCG playmats measuring approximately:

24 × 13.5 inches

Trey explained that the company only got into playmats about a year ago, despite customers asking for them for years.

Now, the company is working to bring its licensed partnerships to both desk mats and traditional TCG playmats.

The mats also come with a lifetime warranty.

Our Private Tour with Epic Desk

Getting a private tour gave RadioAnime the opportunity to hear the stories behind the products directly from Trey rather than simply walking past the booth on the show floor.

We were able to ask about the company's biggest licenses, how the Attack on Titan partnership came together, the unexpected success of Sleep Token, the launch of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the company's work with independent artists and its approach to AI-generated artwork.

It was also a chance to see the products up close and get a better understanding of what goes into the collections beyond the finished mat sitting on the display wall.

Watch Our Epic Desk NYCC 2026 Booth Tour

Nycc 2026 epic desk booth tour including Fogland yu gi oh attack on titan cherry blossom

Want to see the Epic Desk collection for yourself? Take a closer look at the booth in our RadioAnime NYCC 2026 video, featuring Attack on Titan, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sleep Token, original artwork and more.

Final Thoughts

Our conversation with Trey gave us a look at a side of Epic Desk that isn't immediately obvious from the finished products.

Behind the desk mats are licensing relationships, artists, months of artwork and a growing effort to give independent creators a larger platform.

From Attack on Titan and Yu-Gi-Oh! to Sleep Token and emerging artists, Epic Desk's NYCC 2026 lineup showed just how broad the company's catalog has become.

And if Trey's comments about upcoming artists, licenses and new products are any indication, there's plenty more to come.

RadioAnime thanks Trey and the Epic Desk team for giving us a private look at the booth during NYCC 2026.