This is an initiative in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast.
When last week we talked about Street Fighter cards from Secret Lair from Magic: The GatheringI couldn’t help but remember another text from our Magic Chronicles It had left me wanting to know more.
In one of the many Magic tidbits we’ve chronicled in the past, we picked up a couple of cards designed by video game creators and, uniting the best of these two great hobbies, sooner or later I wanted to stop and take a closer look at them.
Well, that day has come. Below you have all the letters that came out of the collaboration between Magic: The Gathering and a good handful of video game designers who were encouraged to create their own Magic cards.
Magic cards created by video game designers
Brian Fargo: Bard’s Tale, Wasteland, and Fallout
What was born as an idea of Un-Set -Fargo wanted a bard who forced the player to sing that he had it in his possession and every time he jumped from one player to another the song had to be longer than the previous one-, it ended up being a very worthy card that could sing and summon creatures depending on how long his song was based on counters on it.
David Sirlin: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Sirlin’s idea, drawn from his own work, was intended to focus on how to read opponent’s moves, which ended up being a sort of gamble where you could play cards without paying their mana cost if your opponent failed to hit if the card cost more or less than four. A very good idea that was also complemented by a flying bug capable of tearing you to shreds.
Brad Muir: Massive Chalice
With the mind set on Commander, the designer of Double Fine took it upon himself to hunt down search spell abusers within the deck with a smash commander for that strategy: every time someone searched his library he would lose 10 health and would have to sacrifice a creature. Without contemplation.
Justin Gary: Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer
Not only is he the only designer coming from a game development of another card game, Gary is also apparently a great Magic player with a Pro Tour under his belt. Normal that he was able to find the key to a card like this, with the right dose of benefits and risks to create perfect mechanics: An enchantment that you can summon 1/1 creatures with and sacrifice creatures with to make it indestructible.
Isaiah Cartwright: Guild Wars 2
In a sense, this was the card that encouraged Magic’s designers to tinker with exile more. Until then they had not considered the idea of making the exile really made a difference, and since then it’s become just another practice among the game’s mechanics. It’s not the designer’s initial idea, but it’s pretty close: getting +2/+2 every time an opponent exiles a card.
Mike Neumann: Borderlands
Probably one of my favorite cards on the list, even though I’m not a big fan of blue. The key is that the color was forced quite a bit and its mechanics were modified to link it to the card draw. A card drawn, a +1/+1 token on the creature. If it dies, all of those tokens become 1/1 creatures.
Richard Garriot: Last
By far the most legendary designer on the entire list. He wanted a shield capable of withstanding whatever was thrown at it until at a certain point it broke, damaging the possessor of the shield. artifact. The final card is far from that, but at least the idea of being able to have a shield in which the player controlled the level of damage to stop remained.
Edmund McMillen: The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy
Supported by a very aggressive style, the legendary creator wanted to find a card that he himself could play in his decks. aggro. One that grew fast and could be sacrificed to take advantage of the work put into it. In the end they found this creature capable of gaining +1/+1 and getting rid of those counters as damage to enemy creatures.
Rob Pardo: World of Warcraft
From the lead designer of World of Warcraft comes another excellent card that required a few changes to pass. The very idea of an invincible assassin who becomes vulnerable when attacking is already fantastic, but adding attack first and deathtouch they managed to turn a mere 2/1 into a card capable of instilling terror.
Stone Librande: Riot Games, Diablo 3, SimCity
From the hand of the lead designer of Riot Games, a very original card arrived at Wizards of the Coast. A goblin capable of laying mines and damaging opponents, but at the risk of perish from the damage of the mine itself.
The original idea was a bit different, but to balance its potential they decided to let it create a mine at the start of your turn and sacrifice it at the risk of being able to deal 2 damage to the goblin depending on what came up on a coin toss.
Markus Perrson: Minecraft
Another great card that could have led to devastating combos with its original idea but, fortunately, they limited it quite a bit. An enchantment that causes you to be unable to play cards while allowing you to sacrifice a land to draw two cardyes They added the tag once per turn so you don’t fill your hand with cards.
James Ernest: Cheapass Games
From the creator of the alternative version of Cluedo, Kill Doctor Lucky -instead of information you gather weapons and you must create the perfect assassination to get out of it unscathed-, this board game designer delivered a funniest idea. A hot soup which makes opponents unable to block you, but if you take damage and spill soup on yourself, your creature is destroyed.
George Fan: Plants vs. Zombies
From the hand of the creator of the legendary Plants vs. Zombies comes this particular tribute to his most famous game. The idea of this hydra is that it can gain as many +1/+1 as counters you pay, and you can also look at the same number of cards in your library and play the card with that number of counters or fewer. Twisted, yes, but very effective.
Mike Krahulik and Jerry Hokins: PAX
We close with the creators of penny arcade and his particular artifact. A superb idea and an excellent use of the duality between risk and reward that allows one of your creatures to enjoy +2/+0, vigilance and the possibility of drawing an additional card each turn. Of course, when the opponent kills that creature, he will keep the artifact. The number of laps that can be given in a single game.