Welcome to the Design League Season 3 Tournament! In late May 2024, we started our series of qualifiers to create an invitation list for this tournament. We will now enter a series of four challenges, each more difficult than the last, as we gradually eliminate our 8 9 contestants until we arrive at this season’s Design League Winner!
Wraidzel
platypeople
Let’s meet our Designers!
Khord22 – Winner of Qualifier 1
“Wheat from the Chaff“
Khord has been a frequent participant in the Beacon of Creation server recently, jumping into both Design Challenges and You Make the Packs. Khord also submitted a card in every Qualifier challenge, despite winning the first one.
When did you first start playing Magic? What drew you to designing custom cards?
2007/2008. Sethblings Mario custom cube was the project that introduced me to custom magic and the tantalizing nature of endless limited formats and being able to design the things I always wanted to see drew me in.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
Variety of goals, receiving clear and very useful feedback from a multitude of judges.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
Ravos from Theros is a character I always loved. I wish we’d revisted so many more things on our last visit.
Do you have any Magic projects that you’d like to share?
I’m currently working on a set based around vocal performance and enchantments called Voc-Gal Echoes. Find me posting about it in all the different custom magic servers I’m in.
Garduu – Winner of Qualifier 2
“Subtype Sandwich“
Garduu, designer of sets The Depths of Pyloa and Churches of Vaurfell, is no stranger to Design Competitions. Frequent participant and heavy hitter in MSE Survivor and Card Coliseum, Garduu was able to clinch a tournament slot winning our second qualifier.
When did you first start playing Magic?
I started playing Magic briefly back in 2002 when I was ten and my older brother gave me some cards (including a sweet foil Thorn Elemental). It wasn’t until 2012, when I was in college, that I picked it back up and started playing more seriously.
What drew you to designing custom cards?
I was drawn to designing Magic cards because that sort of creative work has always been fun for me. I love the puzzle of designing and fitting together a functional limited environment and I love the creative writing aspect of worldbuilding and lore.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
Qualifiers were fun because the challenges were quick, friendly, and low-stakes. It’s also always cool to see different people’s takes on the same prompt.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
My favorite format is limited–specifically booster draft. Second would be Commander. My favorite card is Seeker of the Way. Artful Dodge, Mantis Rider, original Brimaz, and Precinct Captain are all up there as well. I love aggressive-leaning tempo decks.
perryk – Winner of Qualifier 3
“Would You Be So Kind“
perryk is a second time tournament participant, making it to the semi-finals of Design League Season 2. You can hear from perryk directly by listening to the Beacon of Creation Podcast- Episode 228 “Piranesi and Castmire.“
When did you first start playing Magic? What drew you to designing custom cards?
1999/2017. I started designing custom cards when I started playing as a young child. When I got back into Magic as an adult it felt like a natural thing to explore again. Right now, designing custom cards and giving other people feedback on theirs are the primary ways I engage with the game.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
I enjoy the open submission process where competitors give each other feedback. I’m also always impressed by the challenges Redbay cooks up for us. They always provide direction without being prescriptive and have a nice blend of canon and custom sensibilities.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
My favorite plane is Mercadia and my favorite format is Cube.
Bradley Rose – Winner of Qualifier 4
“Coming Home“
Bradley Rose is a co-founder of the Beacon of Creation podcast. While not currently an active host on the podcast, Bradley Rose has been an active participant of Design League starting in the beginning of Season 2. This is his first appearance in the Design League tournament.
When did you first start playing Magic?
2001. I remember seeing shortly after I started an Odyssey prerelease happening at my local card shop.
What drew you to designing custom cards?
I like two things: 1) card-based games ; and 2) exploring design space. Magic is an excellent framework for this.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
The ceremony of it all is lovely.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
- Magic card: Quarum Trench Gnomes
- Character: Princess Lucrezia
- Place: Kylem
- Format: Cube
Janahwhamme – Winner of Qualifier 5
“Prufrock“
Janah is entering the Design League Tournament with a 100% win rate, having only participated in the Prufrock challenge and converting it into a win.
When did you first start playing Magic?
I started playing magic in… 2007 or 2008? I learned to play with duel deck Garruk vs. Liliana and my first pack was Alara Reborn. Don’t quite know what year that places me at.
What drew you to designing custom cards?
I think my first custom cards were made for the r/custommagic subreddit in like 2011, and it was mostly for getting reddit karma because I was kind of good at it. then I won a copy of FTL for winning a design competition and I was like “whoa, this is like, cool in its own right” and I’ve been here ever since.
Do you have any Magic projects that you’d like to share?
I don’t have any project that’s public at the moment, but I’ve been a judge on the past two seasons of MSE Discord’s Survivor tournament series and am happy to shill for that at any opportunity; it’s quite similar to design league but has its own unique reality-show twists that are really fun.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
The prompts for this design league have been wild and I’ve been really into that. UB: T.S. Eliot is absolutely bespoke and it’s the kind of weird and out there that I’m really into and I think provokes fascinating ideas. They’re very specific in exciting ways (man I wish I hadn’t won qualifier 5 so I could do round 6, round 6 is super interesting!) and definitely push to the limits of “restrictions breed creativity” in ways I love.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
favourite magic card is hard but I’d probably say Thragtusk if I have to pick one good answer. I love the tusk. Similarly favourite character is Garruk. Love him. If there’s any one format I love its draft limited, but any two and 2nd place is pauper for sure. Even in 2024 aggro city metagame pauper is still a deep and unique format that lets me play brainstorm. love that.
Pat – Winner of Qualifier 6
“Leaving Signs“
Pat(urbo pack) loves three things: participating in Beacon of Creation design events, Squad, and doing well at Design League qualifiers. Pat came into Qualifier 6 a heavy-favourite to receive an invite through Qualification Points, but decided to skip their own ticket by winning Qualifier 6.
When did you first start playing Magic?
I started in high school with a friend who had two Khans of Tarkir intro decks. Then I bought a Battle for Zendikar intro deck and some M15 packs, and the rest is history.
What drew you to designing custom cards?
The creative aspect of Magic was captivating from the beginning. I spent a lot of time just reading through every set on Scryfall. My friend Maddie introduced me to Magic Set Editor, and from there I was obsessed. I’ve never completed a full set or anything, but I’ve continually designed custom cards ever since – even during the few years when I “quit” magic.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
The detailed feedback was incredible. I read through the responses for other peoples’ submissions as well. It was very interesting and I feel that I learned a lot about design!
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
My favorite format—or, rather, my favorite infinite number of formats—is Cube! The self-expression and creativity of building a cube is captivating, and the gameplay is just draft but better, AND cheaper! The only problem is how hard it is to get exactly 8 people
Provocative – QP Invitee #1
Provocative, Redbay’s Archnemesis, is on a heater over the past year in Design competitions. Winner of Card Coliseum #2, Third place finalist in MSE Survivor, and now receiving a QP Invite to this season’s Design League Tournament.
When did you first start playing Magic?
I started playing magic with Dominaria, literally on it’s release week. Still in my top five sets of all time!
What drew you to designing custom cards?
The very next set, M19, was about Ugin and Nicol Bolas, but only Nicol Bolas got a flipwalker card. I was very peeved, so the very first custom card I ever designed was a Ugin flipwalker to fix it. From there, it quickly became a habit.
Do you have any Magic projects that you’d like to share?
Oh boy, do I. I am known for making lots and lots of sets. I’ll link just a few here: https://www.planesculptors.net/set/kallatree-fractured#details https://www.planesculptors.net/set/the-fabled-masquerade https://www.planesculptors.net/set/settling-idyll#details https://www.planesculptors.net/set/the-solitudines https://www.planesculptors.net/set/kitsuo-dusk-of-time#details https://www.planesculptors.net/set/kallatree-ascendant#details
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
The main thing I enjoy is the lax nature of the competition. It’s nice to talk with people about the challenge!
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
My favorite card is Agatha’s Soul Cauldron, my favorite character is Nicol Bolas, my favorite plane is Kamigawa, and my favorite format is commander!
CryptRat – QP Invitee #2
CryptRat was the Qualification Points leader going into the final challenge, and managed to hang on for a Tournament invitation. CryptRat is an active participant in many of Beacon of Creation channels, often starting many insightful discussions on card and game design. CryptRat is the originator of the format “Realms,” a casual multiplayer format that uses a shared deck.
When did you first start playing Magic?
I started playing Magic near the release of Apocalypse and bought six boosters of it after playing my first two games. I had to scrounge through a card shop’s bulk boxes to find basic lands and made a 4-color deck with [Rakavolver] and [Vindicate]. I distinctly remember [Nantuko Shade] being previewed on the mothership some time later during Torment previews when I picked up reading articles regularly.
What drew you to designing custom cards?
I have been into tinkering with game systems since at least the DOS-era of computer games with the level editor of Jetpak and filling a notebook with simple board game ideas as a kid. This continued later with the Worms 2 arsenal editor and the map editors of Advance Wars, Red Alert 2, Liero, and various others. I made a handful of custom Pokemon and cards for them after learning to play the Pokemon TCG and tried to make a TCG concept for Worms. Given the prior inclination, designing Magic cards is just a natural extension of all that once the game entered my hobbyspace. I’m sure the insights from Maro’s design articles fueled this interest further once it started and I know I posted custom designs on their forum for it at the time.
Do you have any Magic projects that you’d like to share?
I have long been keenly interested in the deckbuilding space of shared libraries. It has been helpful when only one player brings cards and inherently balances casual games since no player is advantaged due to the matchup or access to more powerful cards. While testing lists requires a regular play group I no longer have, I still am trying to curate a custom ruleset that smooths out gameplay for easy games on-the-go. The explosion in popularity of Dandan gives me hope there will be more interest in the overall shared library space as time goes on and it’s been invigorating to learn lessons from a differing approach to deckbuilding in the space. While it feels a bit out of date presently, there’s an archive of the most recent iteration of distilled thoughts I’ve had here: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/other-formats/homebrew-and-variant-formats/802866-realms-primer
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
I was surprised by the mechanical direction the prompts ended up taking me. I was really into the design space I ended up in with Omens and Courtesy and it was energizing exploring what the limited environments would look like when built with them.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
My namesake, [Crypt Rats], was my first board wipe and in the game I first cast it, I won. I have other favorites, but it’s hard to not mention a core memory.
Nashi.
At the time of writing, we have not yet entered Bloomburrow previews. Even so, I suspect it will be at the top of my list.
It may sound oddly specific, but I really like prerelease sealed. Extrapolating gameplay fundamentals to entirely novel cards and board states in the moment is something I like. Card quality is relatively even across the board and multiple swiss rounds accommodate for outliers over time. Multiplayer commander would be the goto beyond that for types of gameplay that cannot exist elsewhere and tends to be the overwhelming bulk of my play presently, though I spend more time deckbuilding than playing which is an enjoyable solo activity unto itself.
MonoWhiteBorder – QP Invitee #3
You can’t have a Design League Tournament without inviting MonoWhiteBorder– our only third time tournament participant, “Em Dub” is trying to get that monkey off his back and make it through the first round of the tournament.
When did you first start playing Magic?
I bought a starter deck during Time Spiral (Flanking! What a mechanic!), but I didn’t really start playing until RtR (Return to Ravnica) when I bought the Golgari vs Izzet duel deck.
What drew you to designing custom cards?
A little podcast called Beacon of Creation. I started doing the design challenges for Castmire and was hooked.
Do you have any Magic projects that you’d like to share?
I’m on a little break from my set but you can check it out in the #codename-hitchcock channel.
What did you enjoy about the Qualifiers of Design League?
I think my process got a lot better. I think the judge comments reflected that I really didn’t know what/who I was designing for. I felt like my approach was a lot more purposeful by the end.
What’s your favourite Magic Card, Character, Place, and/or Format?
Character: Dakkon Blackblade Card/Place: The Tomb of Annihilation Sealed has really grown on me of late.
Once again, your Design League Tournament Participants! Good luck to each of you, and let the best Designer win!
