Magic: the Gathering - Norse Mythology

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Two ravens had perched upon our shoulder and whispered in our ear that Wizards of the Coast may be giving thought of creating a set, in the not too distant future, on a new Plane of Existence with a Norse mythology theme.  There is little argument that Norse Mythology has been witnessing something of a surge in interest with production of movies, television shows and books illuminating characters from the Viking pantheon.  We will admit that the History Channel series 'The Vikings' and the movies 'The 13th Warrior' (Antonio Banderas) and Marvel's 'Thor' (Chris Hemsworth) had stoked our interest enough to learn more about the myths.  

Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology with the Theros gods

Although our distant Icelandic and Germanic relatives may have had great distaste for sitting through dull school lessons on this subject, we are most decidedly looking forward to a Norse mythology themed Magic: the Gathering set from Wizards.  We are cognizant that there will be detractors in the MTG fan community that story characters may not hold true to the old Norse stories - we have two responses :

• 'based upon' themes must be offered a wide license to develop, and create their environment, without being bound by the details of the originator.  Exampli gratis - Wōtan's eye sacrificed at the Mímisbrunnr well may be lost another way or not lost at all.

• Snorri Sturluson (1179 - 1241), when not drunk and soaking in his hot-tub at Reykholt, recorded the bulk of what we know about the myths in the Gylfaginning and we would not consider his sagas and poems to be a realistic / accurate witness.  In a similar vein, the story of Beowulf was passed down through oral tradition prior to being finally recorded in manuscript, so an argument for a preciseness to detail is a non-starter.

Now - to the creation of a Norse Mythology themed Magic: the Gathering set -

It may be a very well traveled road as Wizards has already created some 23 'God' cards for Theros (Greek Mythology) and Amonkhet (Ancient Egyptian Mythology).  The challenge is to select which figures, whether gods, heroes or beasts to employ and then which of Magic's five colours to have these painted.

Wotan-Denkmal, Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover

Odin with pals Huginn, Muninn, Freki, and Geri

We will have a go using Odin, who may be associated with battle, death, knowledge / wisdom , and sorcery (among numerous other attributes) may be considered as having demonstrating almost all of the five colours of Magic: the Gathering.  For this we would need to limit to perhaps one or two (White or Blue perhaps?).  The two ravens which serve Odin  Huginn (Mind) and Muninn (Memory) fly over Jörmungrund every day gathering information for Odin which they relay each evening, so having an 'Enter the Battlefield' effect of this 'god' creature two bird creature tokens seems natural.  The two Wolves Freki (Greedy) and Geri (Ravenous) which are also associated with Odin may be presented in an associated sorcery which generates two 2/2 Wolf tokens, again, not too unreasonable.  To apply static abilities and other details such as mana cost is quite beyond our skill, so we will just simply wait for Magic game developers to bring it all together.

The Norse mythology is deep, rich and able to supply numerous stories to adapt to a Magic: the Gathering set.

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Friday MTG Miscellany

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Today we have a mish-mash variety of Magic: the Gathering related items for your scrolling here at MTG Realm.  Kicking off today is the Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica in Atlanta, Georgia with a prize pool of $250,000 and the winner walking away with $50,000.  The format starts with booster draft and standard constructed following.  You may check out the coverage at this link.  

If you are heading out to your friendly local gaming store here in Central Ontario (and obviously other parts of Canada), do mind the weather / traffic - as it is heavily snowing right now.  If you find yourself in Barrie, Ontario, do drop over to OMG! Games tonight for Friday Night Magic for a chance to score an FNM promo card.

Now for some of the MTG Misc. via MTG Realm on Tumblr -

Dungeons & Dragons: Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica Dice (Fifth Edition) are releasing soon on November 20, 2018.  The container / tin  looks rather attractive and contains the following dice:

• 1 x D20
• 1 x D12
• 2 x D10s
• 1 x D8
• 4 x D6s
• 1 x D4
• 1 x Special Ravnica Guild die


Here is a closer look at the attractive, semi-translucent dice :

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MTG GORE ! :: Be Warned - A time long ago when card sleeves were not in use.

Magic: The Gathering commentator Marshall Sutcliffe had Pro Tour Historian Brian David-Marshall on his MTG Breakdown show back in the summer to show off an amazing piece of game history: video of a Magic tournament from Saturday, November 12, 1994 in the Ball Room at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.  Video linked right here.  One can see mullets, acid-wash jeans, and of course a large number of what is now rather rare and expensive cards.  The video was not only very entertaining but informative as well.

The ‘Gore’ starts around 16:45 with some riffle / bridge shuffles - THE GOLD - Marshall Sutcliffe‘s reaction … . considering that a Black Lotus may have fetched around $20 or $30 bucks back then (if that), now command a price of up to $8,000 (prices obviously very rough).

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Finally, for us, the amazing Magic: the Gathering card art that Wizards of the Coast commissions is almost as enjoyable as playing the game itself.  We were very happy to hear that Gallery 1988 in L.A. had a MTG group art exhibit, which feature numerous works.

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Dungeons and Dragons - Ravnica

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Although it has been years since we have played Dungeons & Dragons, we do credit our love of Magic: the Gathering as coming from such seeds in our youth.  Wizards of the Coast teams for both Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons literally work in the same hallowed building so it comes as a welcomed result that there has been a good degree of brand cross-over.  The latest such project is this very next DnD Guide to be released next month - details and blurb here -

Dungeons & Dragons Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica / D&D/Magic: The Gathering Adventure Book and Campaign Setting Hardcover – November 20, 2018
by Wizards RPG Team 

In Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica, the world's most popular roleplaying game meets the world's most popular trading card game. Released to coincide with the Magic set Guilds of Ravnica, it's the perfect blend of story from the creators of Magic: The Gathering, wrapped around the rules, monsters, and magic of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Details from the Amazon listing linked here.

In Chapter one, races detailed in the Guide include Centaur, Elf, Goblin, Human, Loxodon, Minotaur, Simic Hybrid and Vedalken with sub-classes of Cleric and Druid.  Chapter two provides backgrounds on the Guilds of Ravnica along with what it takes to be a member of a Guild.  Dungeon Masters are provided assistance in creating adventures in Chapter 4.

Some common complaints we have read from fans of the game is that there is a preference for more details, whether it may be a character stats (Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength and Wisdom), stats on a Monster (everyone loves thumbing through a Fiend Folio), or more information to move a party through a campaign.


Obviously this is a simple supplementary product to be used as a guide, but our limited and unexperienced opinion is that Wizards of the Coast would be well served in developing a Magic: the Gathering themed publication more heavily invested in the world of Dungeons and Dragons while addressing the fan community's wish list.

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MTG Gift Pack and Game Night

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Some Magic: the Gathering news today posted on the mothersite by Daily MTG content guru, WotC staffer Blake.  The announcement touches upon special 'one - off' products, specifically two separate products both releasing on the same day, 16 November, 2018.  Here are the vital stats before we get into the opinion piece -

Magic Game Night
This is an out-of-the-box introductory multiplayer Magic experience in a way similar to Planeswalker Decks. But for multiplayer.  five preconstructed decks, one of each color, plus all the accessories you'll need to play the decks: spindown life counters, life counter platforms, +1/+1 counters, and five reference cards.  Releasing November 16, Magic Game Night will be available in local game and mass market stores around the world. The MSRP is $39.99 (applies only to the United States and Canada).

Gift Pack
The Gift Pack releases November 16 and will be available in local game stores and mass market stores everywhere. It will have an MSRP of $19.99 (applies to the United States and Canada only).  

The Gift Pack will  contain :
• four Core Set 2019 boosters, 
• five premium lands, 
• a Spindown die, and, for the first time, 
• five creature cards exclusive to the Gift Pack 

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Magic Game Night appears to us a decent offering to friends getting together, and perhaps not wanting to play Cards Against Humanity, Exploding Kittens, Settlers of Catan, etc., how about a Magic: the Gathering, designed for folks who may not have played before.  The brilliant idea here is that everything one may need is in the same box and just sits with the rest of the games for when friends come on over for Game Night.

We have a feeling that there will be two very separate groups of Magic: the Gathering fans receiving this year's 2018 Gift Pack.  The first group are the casuals who will be drawn to the shiny Pokémon-like boxed sets.  In addition to that, Christmas / Holiday gift shoppers in that aisle at Walmart / Target will find this an attractive purchase for their nephews / nieces / kids.  The second group of MTG fans are those which have been playing and collecting for quite a while.  We suspect the majority of this group to issue an agonizing wail and complain that Wizards of the Coast just need to drop a bit more swag into the previous iterations of this Holiday Gift Pack where a big draw was an attractive storage box.  We need more such storage boxes, so do not ask our opinion as we would be biased in our response.

Anywhoos, great arts as per usual in the Gift Pack - do check 'em out -

Angelic Guardian, illustrated by Sara Winters
Angler Turtle, illustrated by Alex Konstad
Vengeant Vampire, illustrated by Mitchell Malloy
Immortal Phoenix, illustrated by Daarken
Rampaging Brontodon, illustrated by Lars Grant-West

Plains, illustrated by John Avon
Island, illustrated by Andreas Rocha
Swamp, illustrated by Mike Bierek
Mountain, illustrated by Andreas Rocha
Forest, illustrated by Volkan Baga

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Hold My Beer

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

We had just been browsing the Hold My Beer subreddit, when some related Magic: the Gathering news had popped up on our radar.  The news comes from yesterday's Updates to Alcohol and Age Restriction Policies, posted by the Wizards Play Network (WPN).  

Specifically, as of July 23, 2018, the WPN Terms and Conditions had been updated to removed any prohibition of serving or consumption of alcohol at sanctioned events (including in play spaces).  The policy had also been amended to allow organisers (excluding Premier Play events), to run events with age restrictions which supports the above Alcohol policy, but also promote Magic: the Gathering events to younger players who may not otherwise be engaged given an older, more competitive crowd.  WPN would still ensure that members do "maintain a family friendly environment or retail hobby focus."


This is great news, as this would provide a degree of flexibility to organisers to better cater to their local demographics.  Whether encouraging younger players to attend a less competitive environment or to other gamers (like us) who have been migrating away from gaming stores to the kitchen table and within reach of our favourite beverage.

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Commander Anthology Vol. II

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Commander Anthology Volume II is Magic: the Gathering's second collection of classic decks from across Commander history, showcasing some of the game's most renowned, legendary creatures.  The four decks featured are some of the most iconic and hard to come by in the Commander series.These preconstructed Commander decks will be released by Wizards of the Coast on June 8, 2018 and have an MSRP of $165.

The anthology box contains four classic decks from four different commander releases, including thirteen premium foil commanders. Namely Commander (2011), Commander 2014, Commander 2015 and Commander 2016. All legendary cards have the special card frame that had been introduced with Dominaria.  Each of the decks features alternate Commanders to encourage different play styles and deck building experiences.

Contents: 
• Four 100-card decks, including 13 foil commanders
• Sixty single-sided token cards
• Four deck boxes, each capable of holding 100 sleeved cards
• Four 100-point spinning life total trackers
• Rules and information insert

The Decks in this collection include -

Devour for Power, Blue / Black / Green : graveyard as a resource theme.
Commander - The Mimeoplasm
Alternate Commanders - Damia, Sage of Stone, Vorosh, the Hunter

Built from Scratch, Mono-Red : artifact / salvage theme
Commander - Daretti, Scrap Savant
Alternate Commanders - Feldon of the Third Path, Bosh, Iron Golem

Wade into Battle, White / Red : large creatures theme
Commander - Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas
Alternate Commanders - Anya, Merciless Angel, Gisela, Blade of Goldenight

Breed Lethality, White / Blue / Black / Green : +1/+1 counters theme
Commander - Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
Alternate Commanders - Ikra Shidiqi, the Ursurper, Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker, Reyhan, Last of the Abzan


Full decklists are featured at this link.

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Dominaria Theme Booster Packs

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Here at the MTG Realm playgroup, all of our Dominaria pre-orders are in, and everyone is now physically going over all the new Magic: the Gathering cards for their Commander or standard decks.  By and large, all the decklists are remaining the same since before the release of Dominaria with a few small, but efficient amendments (the strictly better argument).  Last Friday Night Magic event at our local store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario, our improved lists sleeved up with crisp Ultra PRO deck protectors, the games went well and will get better with tuning.

Speaking of our local gaming store, a new Magic: the Gathering product from Wizards of the Coast NOT expected to be seen on the shelf is a new Dominaria Theme Booster.  What on earth is a Theme Booster ?  Let's find out.

We would suggest you check out Gavin's article today on the mothersite (linked right here).  Essentially, Dominaria Theme Booster, available in each of the five colours (White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green) have been rolled out to approximately 300 Walmart retail locations within North America.  Each of these theme boosters contain 36 cards with cards within that colour (artifact / colourless cards may be included) broken down to one rare or mythic rare, and a variable number of uncommons and commons.  

The indication from Gavin's article today is that there may be a degree of theme shown with a level of synergy shared with the cards.  Gavin writes "For example, in the white theme booster, if you open Danitha Capashen, Paragon, you will also open Auras and Equipment to go with her".

NEAT !  We love this idea as new players may be further encouraged into the game and provided a level of assistance with the themes suggested within these booster packs.  It is kind of like the old Intro Pack, but without the training wheels, in that one is allowed to explore a wider range of decklist construction.  Here is an image of all five -

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Dominaria Cycles

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Wizards of the Coast has done an absolutely solid job of delivering Dominaria card previews given that this upcoming Magic: the Gathering set’s Release Notes were let loose prematurely.  Another experience that we are completely loving is the series of stories that Wizards had commissioned author Martha Wells to produce.  Please do check out the very latest post here -

Return to Dominaria Story, Episode 5
Gideon, Liliana, and Jhoira muster their forces for the showdown with Belzenlok, but first must solve a mystery at Tolaria West.

Before we get on to today’s post (‘cycles’), we need to matter about the very awesome wall scrolls we’ve been seeing.  The first one we saw was the 25th Anniversary Magic: the Gathering wall scroll, which showed all the expansion symbols - big time nostalgia.  It looks though that this may only be available through Japanese retailers.  The other wall scrolls, which are avdailable here in North America from Ultra PRO are the Dominaria Saga Wall Scrolls - History of Benalia, Rite of Belzenlok and Antiquities War.  Very awesome and full of nostalgia as well for many players.

Anywhoos, we really want to talk about cycles.  Why? Uncertain. Perhaps it provides us with a sense of purpose and completion when looking at a set, perhaps we did way too many connect the dot puzzles as a kid.  Here are a few cycles in the upcoming Dominaria set.

Mono-Colour Devotion : This is a full colour cycle of rare creature spells with three of the same colour - Benalish Marshal, Tempest Djinn, Dread Shade, Goblin Chainwhirler and Steel Leaf Champion

Legendary Sorceries : self-explanatory - Urza's Ruinous Blast, Karn's Temporal Sundering, Yawgmoth's Vile Offering, Jaya's Immolating Inferno and Kamahl's Druidic Vow.

Allied Colour Legendary Dudes : Cycle of allied colour legendary uncommon creatures - Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage, Rona, Disciple of Gix, Garna, the Bloodflame, Hallar, the Firefletcher, and Shanna, Sisay's Legacy

Enemy Colour Legendary Dudes : Cycle of enemy colour legendary uncommon creatures - Arvad the Cursed, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, Slimefoot, the Stowaway, Tiana, Ship's Caretaker and Tatyova, Benthic Druid.

Memorials - cycle of uncommon utility taplands which may be sacrificed for an effect - Memorial to Glory, Memorial to Genius, Memorial to Folly, Memorial to War and Memorial to Unity

Enemy check lands - cycle of rare (Innistrad) taplands tapping for one of two colours. These enter the battlefield tapped unless you control one of those two types already.
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Fblthp’s Big Day

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Something a bit new for us here on MTG Realm - a short fan fiction piece.  Wizards of the Coast had invited Magic: the Gathering fans to chime in with an offering - here is ours.
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The sound of the bird crowing announcing daybreak jolted Fblthp fully awake.  That noisy animal’s pen may have been on the far side of the Magister's Gardens, but it could have been just on the other side of the (rather thin) wall given the voluminous pitch and tone.  Fblthp, now sitting up could see the handful of Homunculus he shared the garden shed with now in motion and getting ready for another day working in the Garden.  Oh to be working alone in the serene solitude of the garden.  But that was not his duty today.

The evening before, at dinner time, one of the Magister’s servants had interrupted the gardener’s vittles to bring Fblthp the highly disturbing news that would require him to leave his garden. This requirement would be his third such errand which involved travelling to the far end of the Guild-controlled neighbourhood to fetch a stupid scroll for the Magister.

“Do you remember the way?” the servant asked in his annoying tone.  Fblthp nodded.

“Ask for Tosmaz, the Jelenn scribe and he will give you the scroll.” the servant said in slow cadence.

Fblthp may have been inarticulate but did have a knack for directions, both verbal and compass.  He nodded, and hoped the irritating man would go away soon.  He did and Fblthp rejoined the other Homunculus over the almost empty pot. 

“Great, and only half a dinner now too.”  If only Fblthp’s ‘cousin’ returned from the errand and not wound up as some Rakdos showstopper, Fblthp could still be enjoying the peace of the garden.

The same servant who interrupted his dinner last evening was waiting for Fblthp at the garden gate leading out to the busy street beyond.  He tossed Fblthp a small medallion with the Azorious Guild symbol on it.  This token gave the bearer unhindered passage through the handful of checkpoints to the Jelenn scriptorium where never ending Azorious proclamations, by-laws, and decrees were recorded.  Fblthp picked the token up and slipped out of the garden gate onto the crowded thoroughfare. Nine blocks.  Just nine blocks and back home.  He should even make it back just before dinner time by his reckoning.  

 Totally Lost, illustrated by David Palumbo

A seemingly serpentine matrix of alleyways running parallel to the main street was the safest way.  Not too busy and a lot less doorways where big people stepping out might not see Fblthp and squash him underfoot.  The first three blocks went by quickly enough without incident but ahead on the street gave Fblthp some concern.  It looked like debris from a structure littered the way.  A few paces on, Fblthp could now see a number of Azorious Lawmages and Borros Wojek enforcers talking heatedly over what looked like a very large dead Cyclops.  The Cyclops had a Gruul Scab Clan symbol roughly painted on its back.  Fblthp reacted quickly and moved over to another alley to avoid that chaos.

Statute of Denial, illustrated by Zoltan Boros

Turning the corner on the street, Fblthp was knocked backwards by a blast of heated air.  Quite fortunately, he landed in a window well, which provided shelter from whatever was going on.  He peeked over the lip in time to see an Azorious Aethermage casting a counterspell against another he could not yet see.  Perhaps this was connected to demolished building the next street over.  Fblthp did not wait any more and scrambled out of window well and darted down the street.  An unfamiliar street.  He could not go back the way he came and going forward, he would become totally lost.  More importantly than that, this street was crowded.  Too crowded.  In fact unusually crowded.

Fblthp found salvation in the form of a series of stone steps up and away from the dangerous thong of very large shoes and boots.  He had barely caught his breath at the top of the step when shouts went up from the crowd.  It now appeared from his improved viewpoint that these were mostly Unguilded folk, and the mood was hostile.  Seeming to fan this hostile flame was the motion of a mounted Boros Sunhome Enforcer.  Some within the rabble started throwing stones at the Knight which had no effect other than bouncing off the heavy armor and making the rider increasingly more irritated.  Escape!  Flee!

 Unquestioned Authority, illustrated by Zoltan Boros

Fblthp clamored up a downspout to the roof and skittered over to the other side of the building.  Likewise, seeing the street nearly empty below, he slid down another downspout (very useful things) and looking around, could not believe his luck - the Jelenn scriptorium !  In front of the building were a few guards and the very scribe he needed to see.  Apparently Tosmaz must have seen Fblthp as well for he walked quickly across the street and stopped, giving him a stern look.

“You are an hour late” said Tosmaz, and then started into a tirade of why Homunculus were inappropriate for use as intra-guild couriers.  Tosmaz continued on, and were it not for the interruption of an Azorious Lyev Arrestor (by the look of the insignia), the scribe may have gone on forever.  Without a word Tomaz turned and gave a small scroll to the tall armored woman, and went back inside the Scriptorium.

“My name is Lavinia and I am to take you and scroll back to the Magister” she said.  “Would you care to travel with me in my saddlebag?”

Perhaps the best idea today Fblthp thought and nodded his approval.  Lavinia extended a hand which Fblthp grasped and was then lifted up and into a rather comfortable and thankfully empty bag on Lavinia’s steed.  Together they trotted off and down the cobbled street, and even though rhythmic jostle, Fblthp slipped into sleep with a dream of his sun-filled garden.

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MTG - Coming Soon

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

With yesterday's slew of announcements over at Wizards of the Coast's Magic: the Gathering website, we feel we have need to summarise a list of upcoming product releases.  This really is more for us to organise the very busy schedule ahead as well as planning some purchases.  Anywhoos, here it is presented in chronological order -

• Masters 25 - March 16, 2018
Masters 25 will contain 249 cards from across Magic 's entire 25 year history and designed to be drafted.

• Challenger Decks - April 6, 2018
Similar to the previous Event Deck products, these are 75-card pre-constructed decks are geared toward Standard play for the Friday Night Magic player.

• Duel Decks: Elves vs. Inventors - April 6, 2018
The last in a long-running series, will have two pre-constructed ready-to-play themed decks featuring Elves, preservers of nature, and Inventors, proponents of artifice

• Dominaria - April 27, 2018
Dominaria will contain 269 cards and is to is the first set to follow the re-introduced Three-and-One Model.  Set on the Plane of the same name and will ceautre the Gatewatch as well as a number of legendary characters.

• Commander Anthology Volume II - June 8, 2018
Similar to the previous Commander Anthology, the boxed set to contain four 100-card decks including thirteen foil commanders and 99-point sping life-counters.

• Battlebond - June 8, 2018
Battlebond will contain 254 cards (85 new cards) is the first-ever Two-Headed Giant-focused Magic booster set for limited play.  Storyline to take place in the Areana at Valor's Reach on the plane of Kylem.

• Signature Spellbook: Jace - June 15, 2018
Similar to From the Vault series, this is the first Signature Spellbook set containing nine previously printed themed cards.

• Global Series: Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling - June 22, 2018
Name for two new Planeswalkers, this set of two 60-card decks, is designed by a team of Chinese artists, writers, and folklorists to explore a new branch of Magic lore rooted in Chinese aesthetics and mythology.

• Core Set 2019 - July 13, 2018
Core 2019, containing 269 cards, this is to be the 18th core set and the first to be released under the re-introduced Three-and-One Model.  Core sets took a break since Magic Origins in 2015.

• Commander 2018 - August, 2018

The latest in the pre-constructed Commander series.  Will contain four 100-card decks and should this follow previous product design, a blend of new cards and reprints.

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Magic: the Gathering - Stories

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

As it is Friday, make sure you kick your weekend off correctly by getting to your local gaming store and get some Friday Night Magic in.  Personally, we've made two new tribal decklists now (Merfolk and Vampires) with all the Rivals of Ixalan goodies and can't wait to try them out at our local gaming store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario.  We know a lot of other Magic: the Gathering players will want to game with the same tribes as well, and think we have put just enough spin to get us over or through the new metagame.

We need to take a moment before we get into it to thank all of our regular readers.  We had just hit another milestone on our Tumblr blog with over 16,000 followers - w00t !  Thank-you.  We should probably run a contest to show our appreciation.

Anywhoos, on to today's post - 

Some news from late yesterday.  Alison Luhrs from Wizards of the Coast had some news from Magic R&D Narrative who create the wonderful Magic Stories.  Apparently, WotC has added one additional story to the Rivals of Ixalan story arc - from five to six now as one story had become "WAY too long".  Great news we think - ever become so completely engaged in a book and suddenly realise you are getting rather close to the end?  You just want to savour the read just a bit longer.  

Here is the list and short blurb of the stories from both Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan so far with links to the stories -

Ixalan Stories

• Jace, Alone - A man wakes up alone on an island, his memory as absent as his means of arrival.

• The Third Aspect of the Sun - Huatli is a Warrior-Poet of the Sun Empire. Her talent in combat and creativity know no bounds, but when faced with a frightening encounter and an even more astounding vision, she must overcome discomfort to live up to expectation.

• The Talented Captain Vraska - Vraska has never been happier. Finally able to be the leader she always knew she could be, she captains The Belligerent with the skill of the greatest of commanders. She had kept Jace Beleren alive initially to utilize his talents, but soon discovers that they make quite the team.

• The Shapers - With so many different groups seeking the golden city of Orazca, how will the River Heralds keep the city's power from falling into the wrong hands?

• Something Else Entirely - The Belligerent harbors at High and Dry, and Jace gets the lowdown on Vraska's mission.

• The Race, Part 1 - After the River Heralds marooned The Belligerent, Jace and Vraska escape intact. Meanwhile, Huatli and Tishana team up to track down the compass that could lead them to the Golden City, and Vona pursues.

• The Race, Part 2 - The race to the Golden City picks up the pace as each group jostles for position. Everyone needs the Thaumatic Compass to reach the city, but who will get there first?

Rivals of Ixalan Stories

• The Flood - Kumena awakens the city of Orazca as Jace's memory returns in an unrelenting torrent.

• Glimpse the Far Side of the Sun - Huatli races toward the Immortal Sun as Jace and Vraska encounter a surprising foe.

• The Arbiter of Law Left Chaos in his Wake - Huatli and Tishana reach the Immortal Sun while Jace and Vraska discover the callousness of the sphinx who made it.

That last story title is actually WAY too long.
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MTG GES3

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Some rather exciting news out today for those Magic: the Gathering fans who aspire to work with Wizards of the Coast to help continue to create entertaining and engaging cards to be played in countless future games.

First, let's have a brief history of 'The Great Designer Search' contest by Wizards of the Coast -

2006 - Great Designer Search 1

The three finalists, Alexis Janson, Ken Nagle and Graeme Hopkins were among the cohort of fifteen cadidates or finalists who had undergone six challenges with eliminations each round.  Alhough Alexis Janson won the contest, all three finalistswere eventually hired by Wizards of the Coast.

2010 - Great Designer Search 2

The final candidates were Ethan Fleischer, Jonathon Loucks, Shawn Main, Devon Rule, Jay Treat, Scott Van Essen, Daniel Williams, and Jonathan Woodward.  Both the winner Ethan Fleischer and runner-up Shawn Main were hired by Wizards of the Coast.  Ethan developed the keyword 'Evovle', and the ability 'Assault' while Shawn would develop the 'Battalion' ability.

2018

This is kicking off January 16, 2018.  The goal of the contest is to find new talent for Magic design and the grand prize was a design internship and thus is in general a job interview.  Like its former iterations, The Great Designer Search 3 begins with the candidates answering ten questions in essay form, with a 350 word cap per question.


For more information, check out the announcement (linked here) and the terms and conditions (linked here).

If you are contemplating of competing in this contest, be sure to prime yourself with some of the tenets which have kept Magic: the Gathering a great game.  Here are the Principles of Magic Research and Design.

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