Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Design”
Welcome to another edition of the CK-Files! Today we’re going to go behind the scenes of Lumeria: The Great Divide! As part of our daily duties as designers, we keep a detailed log of our design work. At the end of each day, before we hang up our hard hats and punch out, we all take some time to write …
2019 has been a massive year, in Magic and in general. So much happens with such intensity that it can be tough to put ourselves in the mindset of even a few months ago! So as we turn the final page on our calendars, let’s reflect on 2019 and count down the cards that defined the year in Magic. JANUARY: …
The story of Lumeria begins in 2017. In a brainstorming session, I suggested we make our own masters set, but with inexpensive cards that we could sell at a reasonable price. A few months later, Chris VanMeter approached me about getting a list together. The first Lumeria set was focused on two-color pairs and finding archetypes within those pairs. With …
Drafting a new Magic set is an opportunity to explore the unknown. Chaos Draft offers an even more refreshing mish-mash of cards and mechanics between packs. Mystery Booster takes it to an even more exciting level by offering a mix of themes within the same pack! While Mystery Booster was fully unveiled at MagicFest Richmond, there’s still a deeper mystery …
Oko, Thief of Crowns appeared in 69% of decks at Mythic Championship VI. Simic-based Food was the obvious best deck going into the high-stakes event, so the elite field of competitors were highly incentivized to beat Oko any way they could. (In the end, an unprecedented majority chose to join him instead.) The Oko build of Urza combo is arguably …
*Boom, boom, clap**Boom, boom, clap* It’s 2001, and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” echoes throughout a theater a beaming twelve-year-old me is in. The opening credits of A Knight’s Tale set the tone of a medieval times movie with modern storytelling. Its story demonstrated what it took to become a knight. It’s 2019, and a menacing version of Frankie Valli’s …
As one of the staple baddies of fantasy and myth since olden times, the mighty troll gets a bad rap in Magic. Since Sedge Troll debuted in Alpha, these hulking menaces have been constantly on the sidelines, while fairytale contemporaries like goblins, elves and giants have flourished. Even the troll’s signature ability, regeneration, has been removed from modern Magic design; …
Like children who can’t wait to hear their favorite bedtime story, the Magic community is once again giddy with excitement over spoiler season. Throne of Eldraine is looking to be one of the most flavorful sets of all time, tapping beloved fairy tales and Arthurian legend for resonant top-down designs. Just the thought of beating down with The Gingerbread Man …
Throne of Eldraine previews have officially begun, and one of our favorite Planeswalkers made quite an entrance. After a five-year hiatus, Garruk Wildspeaker is back on the hunt on the plane of Eldraine and has been captured on the new card Garruk, Cursed Huntsman. When we last saw Garruk, he was the face of Magic’s 2015 Core Set, and he …
It seems as though every new set nowadays is jammed full of “project cards.” These cards do weird, but powerful things, tempting players to try and build new decks to harness them. In Core Set 2020, one such card still waiting for time in the spotlight is Brought Back. Just look at this thing! The power level and mana cost of …
