Or you can design it the way Eldraine was designed, what Rosewater calls top-down. You can start with a mechanic and then design upwards from there, thinking up a creature or a thing in its world and a storyline that fits. There are two ways to design a Magic set. It'll give background on what the heck I’m on about below. Quick note: If you haven’t played it, I’ve written a very quick guide to how Magic: The Gathering works on the second page of this article. “People always ask, ‘Don’t you get bored? How can you do the same thing for 24 years?’ And I’m like, well, every set is almost its own game.” “Later this year, I’ll celebrate my 24th anniversary working here at Wizards on Magic,” he says.

All together, they form a densely intricate game of attack and defence, playable both as physical cards and in Magic: The Gathering Arena.Įldraine is product of a remarkable design machine which somehow spits out a similar set of new cards every three months, so I asked Rosewater how it works.

Others feature pie-baking and big bad wolves, and some spin out Arthurian legends. Among 269 new cards in Magic’s latest expansion set, Throne of Eldraine, some tell the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. Mark Rosewater has been head designer on Magic: The Gathering since 2003, overseeing the creation of thousands of new cards in the collectible card game that spawned them all. It’s climbing the beanstalk, giant’s castle, giant’s wife, golden goose, self-playing harp, escape with the goose, chop down the beanstalk.” This time, Magic: The Gathering Arena ’s Throne of Eldraine expansion. This is The Mechanic, where Alex Wiltshire invites developers to discuss the difficult journeys they’ve taken to make their games.

Mtg card sets chronological order