Custom Cards

Mechanic Color Pie Limitations

Do you ever encounter issues where a mechanic that you want to be core to a set is too niche in its slice of the color pie? Like, food was a big theme in both Eldraine sets, but it is a mechanic that can only appear WGB, so you were limited somewhat in just how much you could use it compared to something disguise, which is a completely color-pie agnostic mechanic. When designing full custom sets I often have ideas for mechanics that seem to be total slam dunks, but are actually kind of limited in how much I can use them.

It happens from time to time. It’s why vision design checks in with the Council of Colors.

Color Pie Colors Council of colors Custom Cards Disguise Food Limited Mechanics Vision Design

Including Non Siege Battles

In ONE you should realy have included at least one non siege battle to make the fact that only sieges are defended by opponents and have two sides clear, several people including the YouTuber nikachu (who you shouldn’t check out because he does custom card reviews but is a good example of this) just don’t get it (as proven in any custom card reviews stream where he reviews any of the several non siege battles of different types made by the community)

Normally, we we introduce a new thing we limit how it gets used. For instance, we thought up MDFCs when we first put made TDFCs, but took our time putting it into a product. I believe including both in the same product would have been a mistake.

Battles Custom Cards Modal Dual Faced Cards Sieges

Concerns about Assassin’s Creed Set

Dear Mark,Is everyone in R&D/Play Design doing okay? Because the Assassin's Creed cards are radiating (at least to me, and several of my friends) "severe burnout" vibes. It reminds me of custom sets I used to see floating around on forums, with a hyper-focus on a specific creature type, and a disregard for other formats it might impact.I know you don't like answering overly "negative" posts, but I haven't met anyone, in real life or online, that's actually excited about this set. Everyone's basically waiting for Bloomburrow, and that kind of worries me.

I’ve mostly been getting excitement (the game has a lot of passionate fans), but it’s absolutely fine if this set is something you’d rather pass on. Bloomburrow previews aren’t too far away.I don’t understand what you mean by “severe burnout”. A game called Assassin’s Creed focusing on the creature type Assassin is low hanging fruit, but it’s what matches the video game we’re capturing. Sometimes the correct design choice is the obvious one.

Assassin Assassin's Creed Bloomburrow Burnout Creatures Custom Cards Game Design Play Design Spoilers

DFC Sheet Rarity Guidelines

I can’t find uncut DFC sheets and I was wondering when you have DFCs (or other bonus sheets), what general principles can you give us for rarities and number of cards for our custom sets? It seems to change every time, but are their guidelines that we can understand like how many cards can be on a sheet or if multiple rarities are on a sheet, how many times a a single card of a rarity must appear on that sheet? Just so we can approximate something close to the restrictions you have. If only to breed creativity. ;)

Just pick your favorite DFC set and use those numbers. The DFC sheet numbers are all about collation and having cards show up at the right ratio, and we don’t get into collation specifics.

Bonus Sheets Card Printing Custom Cards Dual Faced Cards Humor Rarity Rarity

Updating Mechanical Color Pie

If/When: an updated "Mechanical Color Pie" article? I feel like we've seen some interesting changes since 2021, and as I'm quite passionate about custom card design, it would be awesome to get that resource up-to-date.

It’s a huge amount of work, and I need enough to have changed to be worth the update, so my guess is I’ll update it every four years or so.

Color Pie Custom Cards If/When

Best Representation for Witches

I am making a custom set that has a lot of witches in it. I know witch isn’t a creature type so I was wondering which creature type is your go to when representing witches.

Probably Warlock.

Creatures Custom Cards Warlock

Magic Cards Reality

My take on what Magic cards are "real": Cards in a draft, draftable product, or cube are real, including UB, acorn, and custom cards. Cards in collections or constructed decks are not real, but could become real if they were added to a cube.

: )

Constructed Custom Cards Draft Formats Humor Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Discworld and More UB

Joining in on the UB requestsDiscworld, maybe an Unset, maybe not, I’m just throwing it out thereGuilty Gear, the fighting game, would be more than just legendary fighters, Guilty Gear 2: Overture has plenty of minions, soldiers, knights etc. to use. (I’m currently designing my own custom set on Guilty Gear)Small Warhammer 40k package with things for Horde, Planescape, Archenemy etc?Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm, why not one Blizzard IP but their own crossover game! Includes many fan favourite characters and as a MOBA it as minions and things.DnD Planescape? I just want Eberron honestly.Avatar the Last Airbender.

Thanks.

Archenemy Avatar Blizzard Custom Cards Dungeons & Dragons Knight Minion Soldier Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Community Content Engagement

How often do you watch content created by the magic community? I know you can’t look at custom cards, but I just mean stuff like gameplay videos or video essays

Some. There’s a lot made though and I’m just one man. : )

Custom Cards Game Play Humor

Token Creation

What colors can care about tokens? I'm working on a custom set, and I have two token based mechanics that overlap in red, which feels like an odd color to make "tokens matter" designs in. Do you have any insight for this situation?

Here is the order of token making (in volume of cards, from most to least):white > green > red > black > blueAll colors can make tokens.

Black Blue Colors Custom Cards Green Mechanics Red Tokens White

Coin Flip Mechanic

Have you ever considered doing coin flips that have two equal outcomes, instead of one "good" outcome and one "bad" outcome? If so, what design considerations made these cards hard to print? I ask because I'm designing a custom card set for a property I like (the Stormlight Archive), and was considering doing equal opportunity coin flips as the Orzhov mechanic of the set.

Consider them? We’ve done them.

Blogatog / Tumblr Card Printing Custom Cards Mechanics Orzhov (W/B)

Custom Set Archetypes

I'm working on a custom set based on an IP that has eight main characters. Each character maps nicely to a color pair, sometimes with an obvious archetype (e.g., the UW character is a pilot, so a flying archetype is a slam dunk). But that only covers eight out of ten. Do you have any general ideas for how I could approach the remaining two archetypes?

You could capture environment.

Colors Custom Cards Flying Pilot

Early Playtest Process

Hey, Mark, I just finished up the set design skeleton for a custom set I'm working on and looking forward to getting some feedback! Have you gone into detail on how exactly early play tests are run? E.g. booster drafts, giving play testers piles of cards, set constructed?

I have an article for that:
Nuts & Bolts: Initial Playtesting | MAGIC: THE GATHERING

Boosters Constructed Custom Cards Playtesting Set Design Skeleton

Bonus Sheet Design Challenge

In GDS3, there was a challenge where contestants chose a standard legal set and made a booster pack of custom cards for it. If someone chose a set with a bonus sheet (had that been a thing at the time), how should they have approached that?

Match the as-fan in the booster and pick an appropriate card that potentially could have been on the bonus sheet, but wasn’t.

As-fan Bonus Sheets Boosters Custom Cards Standard

Designing Rares Myths

I've nailed down my commons and uncommons for my custom set. Any advice for moving on to rares and mythics?

Just make sure they fit the larger structure of your set. Explore themes and mechanics with the freedom that rares and mythic rares can provide you.

Commons Custom Cards Mechanics Mythic Rares Rares Uncommons

Fan Design Policy

i am an avid custom card creator and have made my fair share of cards and mechanics. do you perchance take suggestions like this from fans?

I’m not allowed to see unsolicited designs. Sorry.

Custom Cards Mechanics

Viewing Fan Creations

Hi Mark!It's well known that Wotcstaff are not allowed to look at custom card designs. Does that restriction apply even to algorithmically derived gobbledeegook like RoboRosewater, or the not that shoves real cards through 12 Google Translates?

I don’t look at any of it.

Custom Cards

Crafting Set Commons

I'm currently making building a custom set with a few friends. We're working from the framework set out in the Nuts&Bolts articles. Any suggestions for making commons?

I have a whole Nuts & Bolts article on it, as well as a podcast.

Commons Custom Cards Drive to Work

Inspiration from Community Cards

Do you ever find inspiration for cards through custom cards from the community?

I’m not allowed to look at them as it’s unsolicited design. When we have been able to see amateur designs (through things like “You Make the Card”), I have been inspired.

Custom Cards You Make The Card

Color Pie Expansion

Excuse me, but if I'm making a custom set with Last Strike, and was planning on putting it in Blue, but since it has only appeared in Black and Red in Unstable, would Last Strike be in pie for Blue?

Sure.

Black Blue Color Pie Custom Cards Red