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Behind the Cards

Every Magic mechanic began as an idea about a world: that the dead don't stay buried, that power has a price, that the ground beneath an explorer's feet is alive. Behind the Cards follows those ideas from story to rules text in two kinds of guide — lore pieces on a mechanic or flavor archetype, and spotlights that study a classic set the way a designer would. Each ends with original example cards and how to build your own in PipGlyph.

Open the card creator
8 min read

Zendikar for Card Designers: Landfall and the Adventure World

A design study of MTG's original Zendikar: landfall, Allies, Traps, Quests and kicker, why they worked, and how to riff on them with original cards.

behind the cardsloremana
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10 min read

Death Is Not the End: The Lore Behind Graveyard Recursion

The story behind MTG graveyard recursion: how each color treats death, the shapes a return can take, and how to design a recursion card in PipGlyph.

behind the cardslorecard design
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10 min read

Power at a Price: The Lore Behind Magic's Costly Bargains

Why so many MTG cards make you pay in life, sacrifice or debt: the story behind costly bargains, and how to design a fair one in PipGlyph.

behind the cardslorecolor pie
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9 min read

Innistrad for Card Designers: How a Horror Set Was Built

A design study of MTG's Innistrad: top-down horror, double-faced cards, morbid, flashback and curses, and how to riff on them with original cards.

behind the cardslorecard design
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