Dragon-Rend
About
Dragon-Rend is a fan made Magic Set and Plane I created. The original intention for building the set was to demonstrate my world building and card design capabilities for Magic the Gathering. I went into this project with the goal of expanding my understanding of the sorts of limitations that a world designer may need to take into account when creating for a card game like Magic. On top of that, I tried my hand at designing not only individual cards, but a set that plays well together and still fits into the narrative and rules set by Wizards. I also gave myself a deadline for each milestone of set creation. This project included tons of research, iteration, and feedback. The set and its main story are still in progress so make sure to ask me about those!
Links
The plane within Dragon-rend is called "Draco-ward".
I built this plane with a single idea/theme. I wanted to create a world with an unbelievably large dragon inside/on top of it. I took that concept and ran with it. I would determine how different groups might react to such a devastating threat, how the dragon got to the planet, what effect the dragon has on the planet itself, and more. Answering these questions allowed me to establish a backstory, and build from there. I would take inspiration from MTG and build the set as though it were truly a part of their established universe. Normally Magic Sets are built by massive teams of professionals, making this one of my most ambitious projects yet!
What I Did
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Researched a slew of worldbuilding, design, and art creation articles and videos released by Wizards, as well as from other popular TCGs. I also heavily researched world-building and design concepts from a variety of sources throughout the project.
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Created a unique world within the MTG Universe, documenting and presenting its details big and small.
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Wrote accompanying lore and stories to flesh out the core idea of the world and to provide context for included characters in the set. I wanted to make sure I did most of what is required to build a set to the best of my ability
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​Created a variety of Art briefs meant to convey certain card concepts, based on the template Wizards uses.
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Designed six new mechanics, all meant to play alongside one another.
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Created hundreds of cards, and fit them into my own unique design skeleton. Each with its own flavor text and unique abilities.
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Play Tested the set heavily, first with lower rarities and then in full, ensuring all of the Set's systems were as fun and fair as possible.
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Performed the math necessary to ensure set balance, and documented heavily to maintain design scope
Process Showcase
Step 1 - Research
To begin building my set I first performed a ton of research. I researched MTG articles, learned more about TCG Design, learned about World Design/Building, learned about Art direction and the specifics used by Wizards, and more. I would continue researching all throughout the project, but this is where I started.
Step 2 - World/Mechanics Direction
Wizards begins building worlds through one of two broad directions. (Based on my research). They either begin with a World Concept (Like "Magic does Egypt"), or a Mechanical Theme(Like Lands Matter). I built Dragon-Rend using the former. I began with the idea of a Dragon being trapped within a planet and ran with it. Allowing that concept to be the focal point of the Plane, I would WorldBuild around it.
Step 3 - Worldbuilding
Once the core idea was established, I would worldbuild fast and heavily. This included more research and a lot of idea generation. I would save mechanical ideas, and more story intensive ideas for later, initially focusing on establishing the core includes for a Magic Plane. I established the general themes I would touch on, and focused on making a living breathing world to the best of my ability. Like many of the other steps, I would continue Worldbuilding in smaller doses or change things throughout.
Step 4 - Presentation
Once I got started I essentially entered a designing flurry. I would continue world-building, but also created some rough card designs and mechanical concepts to weave in with the established narrative. During this time I became aware of a worldbuilder job for Wizards. Though my set wasn't complete, I wanted to pursue the opportunity and built a robust presentation of my world in its current state. This resulted in a lot more creation, and upon its completion helped me to smooth out many of the projects rough edges.
Step 5 - Set Design
With a world to build cards in and mechanical themes to pursue, I began designing the base cards. I created a very long document that includes a ton of ideas and organized them into a design skeleton. Much of this step was influenced by Magic Set Building articles, and was greatly made possible by Mark Rosewaters article series on the topic. I designed intensely, iterating and playtesting throughout. My first big milestone would be the completion of both my commons and uncommons for the set.
Step 6 - Playtest 1
Although I had already been playtesting, this time it was my focus. I would run a variety of playtest sessions with peers, taking notes and iterating throughout. To get to this point, I would input all of my "finalized" designs into a comprehensive design skeleton on Google Sheets. Then I would take this data and translate it into mock cards using Figma. Finally, I would take the completed group of cards and import them into the game program Table Top Simulator. This allowed me to play with friends at any distance, and maintain a little bit of a physical feel.
Step 7 - Iteration
In a Magic Set, the cards are split up between colors and rarities. Each time I would finish making a rarity for each color, I would test, iterate, test, build the next rarity, rinse and repeat. Following the completion of all of the cards, I had the ability to tweak other aspects of the set as the vision became clearer.
Step 8- Art
Every card in a Magic Set requires Art! Card Art must suit the overall creature or spell design, and serve to immerse the player in the world your set revolves around. For this step, I meticulously scoured the internet and even made some of my own art using AI. This step was very monotonous but still required a careful and creative approach. The art also helped to tweak certain cards to make them fit the world even better. I was surprised at the usefulness of this step for design!
A pic taken during a playtest session in which I viewed someone in a "mock" limited event while they built a deck.
Step 9- Polishing
Next, I combed over everything for final polishing! I fixed typos and syntax errors, made balancing changes, adjusted card Art, and got even more feedback from peers. Throughout my time, I actually happened upon a Discord with other fan designers. This Discord proved crucial as it was a resource to get feedback on cards pretty much 24/7.
Step 10- Story
Upon completing my Set, I could finish the accompanying story. Every Magic Set is released with a book or short story, that is normally released after the set. These stories follow characters that can travel to new worlds and those characters' experiences in the new world. The story aims to expand on notable characters in the Set and to expand on the world from a more direct perspective. The set and the story are often interrelated, with certain characters potentially having abilities inspired by their narrative role.
Conclusion
Thank you for looking into my process! This project has been a massive undertaking, but also a blast. One big thing I learned from this is the importance of structure and process when designing. In the beginning, I could have just started building my cards, disregarding the steps to lead into it. If I did that, however, I feel that I would have found myself with something inconsistent at best. It was invaluable for me to take the time to flesh out my documentation for my world and my story because it helped me to design with a framework and theme. The process that Wizards established works for them for a reason, and I definitely grew respect for it.
Thanks for viewing my site. Reach out if you want to know more!
Some of the finished cards, printed with MPC and playable in real life!