Truly Magical – The Making of Duskmourn & A Visit To MTG Headquarters

It has been over 30 years since Magic: The Gathering started gracing tabletops everywhere. In those 30 years, the card game has been to many different planes of existence, working in wondrous creature/spell designs disguising the killer strategies you can deploy to overwhelm your opponent. Each game of Magic has the player don a wizard hat and staff, to sling spells—or well-designed rectangular cardboard—to triumph over an opponent.

Hidden right near Lake Washington is the Magic: The Gathering headquarters. Like an episode of MTV Cribs, this is where the Magic happens and where for the first time in the 30-year history, a small party of informative writers were invited to peek behind the curtain of the new Duskmourn: House of Horrors set. Head Designer Mark Rosewater told us “ Magic is the greatest game ever made” and instead of backing up his argument with words, the entire visit showed us why.

Magic HQ – New Location, Same Magic

While the night is dark and filled with terrors, the new headquarters building features a strong-looking Shivan Dragon named Mitzy, who greeted us at the entryway. The lobby was filled with many Wizards of the Coast items, including a Wilds of Eldraine booster box, which had been cracked open by an errant wizard and left behind on a shelf loaded with MTG/WotC history.

One of the more striking details was the story that seemed to materialize out of thin air regarding the dragon statue. All the staff knew how difficult it had been to bring Mitzy over from the old headquarters, but it was clear she needed to make the jump as well. Not a single WotC employee said, “We should’ve left her behind,” reflecting the culture of Wizards of the Coast, which seems baked into everything—even their decorations.

There was a massive play area filled with tables lined up in convention style. Draft night aficionados recognize this scene as something pulled from a MagicCon as these tables are meant to host events (among the staff and employees). Playing a game at MTG headquarters was too good to pass up, so fellow writers Stan, Scott, Tom and I jumped into a game of commander. I asked my Wednesday play group if I should bring a commander deck on this trip, and they replied “You always have to stay strapped,” so strapped I was. While I, unfortunately, left my Be’lakor, the Dark Master-themed demon deck at the hotel, Scott had an extra Azorius deck helmed by Daxos the Meletis that he let me use in our four-player skirmish.

This is a common theme among MTG players. Everyone is always so willing to help one another out, and during play, Tom spilled into a story regarding his sleeveless Mox Opal, and how a friend gifted the card to him under the condition he plays with it sleeveless. Tom had no obligation to listen (especially when his friend was not in the room), but there the Mox card was like the day it was born. Mark Rosewater even wandered up to us while playing and watched for a moment like a tournament onlooker. This was Magic.

An Informative Panel of Titans

The Magic: The Gathering behind-the-scenes discussion included the who’s who of MTG. Mark Rosewater (who has been with the company for 30 years) was in attendance, as well as Ken Troop, Jackie Jones, Mark Heggen, Aaron Forsythe, and Chris Kiritz. This segment revealed just how much goes into each set. Mark Heggen dove into the particulars when it comes to making the cards collectible. Duskmourn: House of Horrors was used to show just how in-depth the creation team goes to create each card treatment.

Each card treatment goes through a set of checks and balances (similar to how rules and card functions do) and many prototypes are introduced before the creative team comes to a choice. Heggen explained that for Duskmourn , they had to take special care in each treatment (especially where the Collector treatments were concerned) and they used special designs to appear as if the player were wearing 3D glasses and super-imposed images on each other to capture the essence of 80s-styled horror. These showcase treatments embody the theme of each set, and each detail is poured through with a fine-toothed comb. This includes the inclusion of returning mechanics like “Delirium” and the balance that goes with it.

The creative heads also delved into the format used by the design team when cards are mechanically crafted. There’s a Council of Colours, which is a group that reviews cards, like an MTG Supreme Court. This Council must be consulted when a card may or may not fit the bill, and each colour has a consultant. Mark explained the importance of the ‘colour pie’ and how certain card colours have to behave a certain way or a consultation with one of the council members is necessary.

Each colour has its two allies and two enemies, maintaining psychological consistency among the balance of the game, and the Colour pie is considered the ‘Secret Sauce’ of Magic. When asked why they hadn’t made a sixth colour, Mark Rosewater explained it was just an idea that was talked about but never came to fruition. The colour pie is the driving force behind creative and mechanical elements and all of the creation elements work like a well-oiled machine to bring MTG to shelves.

The creation of card treatments, the Council of Colour, and showcase designs work meticulously to bring fans the Magic: The Gathering cards they know and appreciate, ensuring MTG retains the quality Wizards of the Coast is known for.

The creation process for MTG is not infallible even with such a robust creation system. When I asked about the recent ban list deployed by WotC—specifically when it comes to Modern Horizon 3 ’s Nadu, Winged Wisdom—the panel admits some card designs can fall through the cracks and it’s up to the team to correct it. Aaron Forsythe explains it’s not that the team wants to outright ban cards players want to use from play, it’s community feedback and player satisfaction are important elements of Magic: The Gathering . I took this as the Council always rules, until something starts a fire then the team needs to put it out to fix balance. Mark Rosewater likened it to baseball, saying “We don’t always bat 1.000”.

Duskmourn – A Love Story

Moving on from the behind-the-scenes segment of card creation, our group of writers attended a presentation led by Senior Art Director Ovidio Cartagena, Senior Game Designer Emily Teng, and Executive Producer Mike Turian. It was clear that the team in front of us aren’t just producers and designers of Duskmourn —they’re fans who are excited to play it.

Starting with the inspiration from the artwork of the set, Cartagena went into great detail on how each card came to be, pointing out examples of the stunning artwork on display from Duskmourn . He explained the art team wanted to make this set special, and to make it so they used designs from many different artists, famous and not. One of the examples on display was a story spotlight card, Demonic Counsel, a card that also carries the returning mechanic Delirium last introduced in the Shadows over Innistrad set from 2016. Meaning Wizards of the Coast designers are not afraid to dig up old mechanics if they fit a set thematically.

The artwork on Demonic Counsel is by renowned artist Babs Webb, and Cartagena made it a point to say “We HAD to get her commissioned” for the artwork. Artwork on Magic: The Gathering cards are carefully cultivated to the point it’s as if each player is playing with their own, personal gallery of fine art. Cartagena’s favourite card in the set is the Unidentified Hovership, and this is the ideal card to explain the depths these creators are willing to dig to to make each card the best version possible.

Cartagena explains the imagery on Unidentified Hovership is inspired by the Rendlesham Forest incident (referred to loosely as “Britain’s Roswell) that happened in Suffolk, England 1980 ( Duskmourn approved). This incident is described as locals spotting ephemeral lights that don’t necessarily have a solid outline but were immediately linked to the Roswell UFO incident in the United States. This can be seen on the card artwork. The UFO present appears to be made completely out of light and moves as if it goes through objects rather than around them like the incident. Cartagena explains ” We purposefully avoided a manufactured look so it can appear more mysterious like the incident it was inspired from.”

Principle Magic Designer and former professional Magic: The Gathering player Gavin Verney then proceeded to give us a sneak peek at the four commander decks featured in Duskmourn . He emphasized the importance of each deck’s playstyle against one another when they release a set of four, referring to this adversarial approach as a “Bio-Dome”. He used the Rakdos deck (he called it a “group slug” styled deck) as an example. With the new scheme cards, a player can deploy one deck as the ‘bad guy’ against three other players. Verney explained the bio-dome is how the design team discerns commander deck construction.

One thing is certain, making a Magic: The Gathering set is like weaving a tapestry of beautiful artwork and pinpointing game design decisions that are made to embolden the player with strategy. The most important part all the designers made a point to mention is the set has to be fun to play.

Duskmourn Unleashed and Designer Feedback

I was able to speak to Turian, Cartagena and Senior Game Designer Annie Sardelis after spoilers for the cards in Duskmourn were revealed. I took the opportunity to ask the designers what their thoughts were regarding players already surmising Duskmourn: House of Horror cards as “too strong” on the internet after spoilers (as they do) were revealed.

Turian explained that’s almost always what players think until cards launch (using the Throne of Eldraine set as an example). He continued with “To me, so much of Magic is about synergies and combos, it’s about how the cards fit in certain ways. Am I happy fans think the cards are powerful? Yeah! But are they too powerful? That remains to be seen until launch.” Sardelis said there are so many checks and balances the card designs go through that thinking a card is powerful and then players can figure out they’re not.

Vice versa though, small details will then be discovered after launch, and players will find incredibly powerful cards afterwards that just hit differently. This notion reminded me of my own recent discovery in my MTG collection, the uncommon “Deep-Cavern Bat” in Lost Caverns of Ixalan . A very strong option that I found two sets later from its release.

Design choices dig even deeper into the horror motif, as Meathook Massacre II is named as such due to the design of horror movie sequels adopting a Roman numeral instead of a number. For showcase cards, it was important for the team to dig into compromised VHS quality (like old horror films) instead of pixels. Even a small detail like this was considered a top priority when the showcase was developed, as pixels are not the same.

Annie Sardelis touched upon the returning mechanics and how “Impending” is a much more sinister way to deploy the “Suspend” mechanic. Instead of waiting for an unknown threat, you can see what’s coming with a countdown timer, and it will do some damage unless an opponent removes it. This echoes the feeling of dread watching a slasher flick from the 80s would emulate and this is exactly what the set is aiming for. While many cards in the set operate like the keyword “Constellation,” the designers said they omitted the word on purpose. Turian said, “stars give hope.” Duskmourn is a horror house.

Finally, this small interview concluded with each designer revealing their favourite card from the set, Turian admitted Overlord of the Mistmoors was his choice, Sardelis went with Rendmaw, Creaking Nest, and Cartagena went with the Unidentified Hovership. Turian’s reasoning was the impending doom the Overlord causes, and Mistmoors specifically because the design “captures the enormity of being trapped in a haunted house” and he mentioned how the house’s drapes are adorning the horror like a well-knit scarf. Sardelis opted for the backup commander of Death Toll, Rendmaw, as a scarecrow enthusiast (and she enjoys the overall design and playstyle the most).

All in all, if there’s only one thing I learned from spending my time at Magic: The Gathering HQ, is that it’s in good hands. The passion and care put into every single aspect of card creation, and the balancing that goes along with it is paramount to everyone involved to put out the best product imaginable. While fans of MTG might not always like a new set release, Mark Rosewater said “not every set will be for everyone” meaning fans could just skip this set and wait for one that resonates with them.

This echoes a sentiment by Arrowhead Studios Lead Game Designer Yohan Pilestedt who said, “A game for everyone is a game for no one.” What stuck with me most was when Mark Rosewater noted “The most amazing thing about Magic is that it allows each player to make the game what they want to be.” After many months of playing each set (Commander style) every Wednesday in my basement with friends (we call it Wizard’s Wednesday), a friend in my group put it this simply, “I hate that you guys made Wednesday my favourite day of the week”. Through this trip, Wizards of the Coast may have convinced me, that Magic: The Gathering is the greatest game ever created.