Magic: The Gathering is arguably weirder than it has ever been, whether it is in its epic tales of spell-slinging Planeswakers in its primary card sets or its crossovers with everything from Street Fighter and Lord of the Rings. The series is often weird because it takes Magic as it is and has fun with it.
In the Wizards of the Coast, this is known as the "Un-set." There have been five of these casual sets across the card game's history, cards that take a break from both the competitive and narrative seriousness of Magic andamp up the goofiness, mechanically and in flavor, to game breaking levels of fun. A mystical carnival-themed round of cards to play with that are packed with fun art, goofy flavor text, and some very silly rules is about to be released.
To learn more about the history of designing "Un-set" and what to expect in the new release, we chatted with Mark Rosewater, the head designer of Magic: The Gathering. Click through to see the new cards and variant art when you check out our interviews below.
I would like to know how the core idea of Unfinity came about.
Mark Rosewater likes to apply some of the techniques we use on normal sets to Un-set. Let's make a top down set, that is a set where we make the mechanics match the flavor of a big idea. Throne of El draine was a fairy tale. Theros was a myth of Greece. What was a fun top-down idea that we wouldn't do in a regular set? Dawn Murin was asked to think of ideas by me. She wanted to do retro science fiction. I would like to do a circus, carnival, and amusement park. We looked at each other and agreed to do both.
This time around the theme is carnival. What did you do to bring that flavor to Unfinity?
The first thing we did was make a list of all the elements of a circus, carnival, and amusement park. There are attractions and stickers in the set. The things you can do at the space carnival are attractions and the stickers. A lot of individual cards were made to represent everything from who would work there to the objects you would see.
What game ideas were you most looking forward to exploring?
Mini games are when you stop the main game to play a short game that will affect the larger game. The idea of games at a carnival was a great one.
I want to know if there were any mechanical ideas you had for the set that didn't make it in or if it was too far for the Un-set's design.
When we started talking about things we wanted to be in the set, I was happy that most of the list we made ended up in the set. I got a lot of ideas for future areas of design space to explore in other Un- sets.
What do you think is the reason why non-legal sets have been embraced by Magic players?
The fun, casual side of the game is what Rosewater: Un- sets are all about. It's great that you can compete in a tournament, but it's also great that you can hang around with your friends and have fun.
Where do you think Magic's un- sets will go? Do you have any ideas for what you would like to do next?
Rosewater has an idea for the next Un- set. There are lots of places to look for the next cool thing because the game is so robust.
I would like to know more about the process of writing copy. How does your team deal with new arrivals?
After art and rules are finished, the creative text process begins. About 30-40 cards a week are the goal of the team of contract writers. Each writer submits multiple names and flavors for each card, and the best of the best make it to print.
Do you approach the set like a regular Magic set?
The structure of the set was the same, but we had fun with it. The biggest difference was me. I don't usually do creative text leads. I led a team of writers for the first time. What a team. My boss gave me permission to bring in some very funny people from all over the internet, after I asked if I could hire some names.
The writer on my list was very personal and funny. Working with him was a dream come true since his articles in EGM were formative to my own sense of humor. Three heavy-hitters from Loading Ready Run were hired by us. The tee-hees were responsible for some of the best lines in the set. Mark Rosewater, one of our funniest go-to creative text writers, and myself joined the team. The World's Tallest Editor, Matt Tabak, was instrumental in making the delicious steak that is Unfinity. It was a metaphor.
Most of the time, it was business as usual. I could not be happier with how the set turned out because of the collaborative back-and-forth between all the hilarious hires.
What are the biggest challenges in creating a story and copy?
Creative text begins after art and rules are finished. It can be hard to come up with a good joke, like trying to win a New Yorker caption contest. Picking a winner was hard because our writing team was so funny. There is a dichotomy of Un-set.
Magic has always had a sense of humor, but the Un-set can make it funnier. What do you think about stretching the comedy magic can play with?
The kind of jokes you can't do on a normal Magic card were important to me. There is a type of internet anti-humor that we couldn't do in a typical set. It was great to be able to make a bunch of jokes at the same time. The ppc is more than average.
In recent years, worldbuilding and story has become more important to Magic. Do you think there are any lessons that can be learned from writing for a set like Unfinity?
It's unfortunately not really. It doesn't have a story. I think I have been inspired to take more risks on Secret Lair. I would definitely run the next Un-set to get more lessons.
October 7th is the release date for Magic: The Gathering - Unfinity.
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