Magic: the Gathering (MTG) is a multiverse that keeps on growing, thanks to multiple expansions every year that reveal new planes (MTG lingo for world), from radiant and lush environments to the deep and dark depths that know no end. For every new plane, creative teams at MTG publisher, Wizards of the Coast, spend months building a new reality, sometimes down to the very blades of grass that fill the land.
Magic’s newest set, Duskmourn: House of Horror, takes place in a plane never seen before – a literal haunted world. And with the tactical collectible card game’s extensive 30 year history, it’s no longer an easy task to introduce a new plane when there has been so much legacy and lore that fans have grown a fondness for. We speak to Emily Teng, Senior Game Designer at Wizards to gleam some insights into how they keep each new plane fresh and unique.
From the wild west world to an entire plane haunted with spooks, how do you and the team find inspiration when conceptualizing new worlds?
A lot of our new worlds actually started as pitches from individual team members. We’ve got a bunch of creative folks with a wide variety of interests that they personally would love to see as a Magic set, and anyone can suggest an idea for a new set. After that, we evaluate each pitch to see if it’s wide enough to support the needs of an entire card set. Sometimes it is, and we move forward with it as it is—modern horror, for example. Sometimes an idea is compelling but too narrow or needs some extra work to ground it within Magic, and we will have to set it aside.
Bloomburrow and the new Duskmourn are great worlds that are almost polar opposites in theme. What kind of worlds are the hardest to build in terms of lore and carving out a unique identity?
In my opinion, the hardest worlds are ones that have thematic or tonal overlaps with already- existing worlds. Duskmourn is a clear example: it has to define itself against Magic’s existing horror-based worlds of Innistrad and New Phyrexia. We also ran into a similar issue with Bloomburrow, which wanted to lean into pastoral charm and whimsy, but in a way that set it apart from Eldraine and Lorwyn. We spent a lot of time in early worldbuilding meetings, figuring out exactly how to thread that needle to keep it feeling distinct.
What is that “What If?” world that you’ve always wanted to explore in Magic but haven’t had the opportunity yet?
I don’t know about “always wanted to explore” just because of how recent they are, but I really want to see what happens if Duskmourn invades Bloomburrow…
For the worlds that did become a reality in Magic and you had a hand in, which are you most proud of, and what elements of that world make it stand out from the rest?
You’re probably tired of me talking about only these two worlds, but honestly, it’s a tie between Bloomburrow and Duskmourn. I’m really proud of how we made the different animals in Bloomburrow feel super compelling, while expressing their color identities differently from Ravnica’s guilds. For Duskmourn, I’m super happy with how malevolent the place turned out. It’s actively out to get you in a way that’s tailored personally to everything you’re afraid of. In my opinion, it takes the prize for the worst plane to be on in the whole Multiverse.
Duskmourn certainly has taken the mantle of scariest place in Magic’s multiverse, with the five Overlord cards (one for each colour) featuring nasty monster art and really powerful abilities to strike fear into your opponents. Above them is the big bad of the plane – Valgavoth – a massive 9/9 creature with Flying and Lifelink and can even cast your opponent’s dead minions. Without careful collaboration within Emily’s team, it’s unlikely any of these cards would have come to light.
While Duskmourn marks the last new plane of 2024, you can expect 2025 to give us more worlds of wonder and awe, built with rich history and themes that will not leave fans disappointed. Combine that with revisiting familiar planes, there’s going to be a lot to explore. We can’t wait to get going.
Ted Chen is the founder of Tap & Sac, a website with a dream of making Magic: the Gathering more accessible and inclusive to a whole generation of new players. It offers learning guides for beginners, all the way to advanced videos for seasoned spellcasters. Everyone can have fun in the gathering!
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