Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Design”
Discard effects are essential to the balance of competitive Magic, and to the color identity of black as a whole. Whether it’s Duress, Thoughtseize, Grief, or Inquisition of Kozilek, almost any black decklist will find room for these powerful tools somewhere in their 75. But as popular as these targeted discard spells have been through the years, they are usually …
Elves are one of the most iconic and popular creature types in Magic: the Gathering. Whether featuring in competitive tournament lists, cubes or Commander decks, Elves cemented themselves at the heart of Magic way back in Alpha. Join us as we count down the Top 20 Iconic Elves in Magic. We love a good Top 20 here at Card Kingdom, …
Static effects that stay in effect for the remainder of the game are pretty rare in Magic. But one such card has been revealed in the early preview for Duskmourn: House of Horrors. If Screaming Nemesis is dealt damage it deals that much damage to any other target and your opponent can’t gain life for the rest of the game. …
The Gift mechanic debuted in Bloomburrow. Whether it was gifting a tapped fish or gifting a card, the options for interesting decision points on ostensibly modal cards is a nice way of repackaging Kicker. But is it balanced? And for what formats? THE GIFTS OF BLOOMBURROW Today I want to determine the most “costly” of the gift effects, and then …
If you ask “why is ‘bear’ accepted Magic slang for a 2/2 creature?”, the answer is simple. Grizzly Bears was printed as a vanilla 2/2 in Limited Edition Alpha and set the precedent for describing similar low-complexity combat creatures. But maybe that answer isn’t good enough, and you ask: “no, I mean why would that term be the one to …
Typal (formerly “tribal”) decks are very popular in all of Magic’s formats. These are strategies that revolve around playing a bunch of creatures with the same type alongside cards that give you bonuses for that creature type. Recently, cards that offer typal bonuses to more than one creature type have become more common. In this article, I’ll discuss the history …
Assassin’s Creed is the latest huge crossover event under the Universes Beyond banner, celebrating 17 years of the legendary gaming franchise. Given the series’ broad roots in historical fiction, this set also has the fun side effect of introducing famous names like Leonardo Da Vinci, Socrates and Cleopatra to Magic! No Pope or Doge cards though – guess we’ll have …
With Un-sets like Unfinity and Unstable waning in popularity, there’s a clear trend replacing those set’s storied reference game: putting references and puns-a-plenty into Modern Horizons sets. Jacob sits down to argue why Modern Horizons sets are a natural place to put these easter eggs. THE ORIGINAL JOKESTER Magic has several joke sets. The first of these was 1998’s Unglued. …
Love them or hate them, bonus sheets have become a big part of Magic over the last couple of years. In this article I’ll talk about the pros and cons of bonus sheets, especially as they relate to Limited. A “bonus sheet” is a curated collection of reprints that appears in booster packs for a set. Today’s Play Boosters have …
The Outlaws of Thunder Junction previews have made it very clear: Magic’s newest plane is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Every named bad guy in the history of the game (who isn’t dead or in plane jail) is riding around town, shooting up the new frontier and causing cowboy chaos. The Thunder Junction design team have embraced this …
