I really appreciate the restraint you showed with the number of french vanilla or more general creatures! It always makes me happy when someone manages a flavor slam dunk without using 8 lines of text!
Thanks! I definitely think simple designs are super important in Magic, though I also think that a) like I said the super high number of them made the set a little bit too boring, and b) most of the simple designs being on big creatures meant that the set didn't feel very balanced between small and big creatures. I do think that it's very important to be able to express things with simple designs flavor-wise, though. I think designing simple well-flavored commons and uncommons is really important for sets featuring other IPs.
I'm a very big fan of Magic and also very big fan of Hollow Knight, so sometimes I think that it would be interesting to make a thematic set or at least a few custom cards. So it gives me real pleasure to see how someone else had the patience, imagination and talent to bring to life this idea. So far, the only fan project of this scale that I have come across is set "Hollows of Lordran", based on Dark Souls. And in comparison those projects, each made by literally one person out of pure enthusiasm, feel much deeper and much more faithful to the primary source, than any official releases of UB. Great work!
Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the set, and I'm actually currently working on a vid where I go over what I think my projects do differently to universes beyond to make them feel more authentic.
This is single-handedly the most impressive custom Magic set I have ever seen, especially as a Hollow Knight fan!! One day, whenever Silksong releases, you should definitely create a follow-up expansion. Incredible work!
@@Etchings. Almost completely custom cards. All of the cards are set in the hollow Knight universe but a small amount of them are functional reprints technically. Mostly just a land cycle and some mana fixing. Besides those however, the entire cube is custom cards based off of five different three color archetypes. There are five new mechanics that these archetypes are based around as well with each archetype having a mythic three color creature and enchantment.
With all of the drama in MTG around universes beyond, this video illustrates what mtg cross overs should be. Community driven passion projects that are made with a desire to celebrate what makes magic a great framework, and how different settings look inside of that lense or frame. Instead we're getting pushed power scales and share holder pressure for increased profits after money is sunk into liscenses and marketing. Sorry to rant, but your video and effort onto creating this set just demonstrates so well, that this type of content is better served as Community projects. I hope to see your video blow up with HK and Mtg fans, and see more people, myself included, looking at the community made fan content thats out there.
Thanks so much! UB definitely needs to be handled very carefully to be done well. I'd love to talk a bit more about my thoughts on UB given my experience with similar projects. Maybe stay tuned for those? ;)
haven't played mtg in 3+ years, i somehow ended up really enjoying this video. i really like all the cards that serve as glue or have simple synergies with the rest of the set's mechanics without being overly referential or feeling overdesigned. i appreciate that being accurate to the lore, mechanics or aesthetics of the game did not override this feeling like a real mtg set. the later sections with observations regarding limited, constructed formats, commander and various design mistakes also scratched the itch i missed from reading state of design years ago. kudos!
Alrighty, I have now taken the time to watch this video and truly appreciate it. It is a marvel, an absolute wonder. This really emphasizes to me how beautiful a large and organized community of custom card creators would be. We're too disorganized to be able to find and catalogue awesome achievements like this for many people to enjoy. But these are dreams of mine for a later date. I would like to now take some time to ask swwwwwwwwdddddsome questions. Firstly, any tips or advice on making a video like this, from editing, compiling footage, and writing a script. I've a set that I am nearly done with that I want to show off, but don't feel like I know where to start to actually making a video like yours to do the set I've made justice. Secondly, what are you currently using for both card creation and game design journaling/progress tracking? I've fallen in love with MTGNexus for creating, but it doesn't have the best tools for cataloquing the process and finished product as of yet.
Thanks for your support! ^^ For editing, I use the free program davinci resolve. A lot of my editing decisions are just based on my experience a- watching a lot of similar youtube videos, and b- my experience with UX and game design, studying things like what sort of tools are useful for helping people understand a point / idea intuitively, thinking about it from the users' side, etc. I use the website mtg.design for creating card mockups, though if you have easy access to a windows machine i believe MSE (magic set editor) is typically the way to go. I don't journal a whole lot, but writing the design document at the beginning of the project is important, and from there, using a combination of retracing my own design steps and looking back at discord messages I sent in my project channel where i was discussing the design of the set with other people and getting feedback. Just a google doc works for documentation though.
This was a great video and a fantastic breakdown of how game design is a trial and error process. With all of the drama surrounding Universes Beyond at the moment I think your Hollow Knight set shows that other IPs can be brought into the MtG fold as an entiree set if care is taken to implement the flavor of the game in a manner that makes sense.
Amazing! I’m quite impressed that this is the first video on your channel! One of the best and most thought provoking first videos I’ve seen! I especially love how reasonable you were, this looks like a plausible magic set (aside from the IP :P). Many custom cards I’ve seen have made many mistakes, some of which you point out in the video. Just a really nice job!
This was incredibly neat and cool video! It was very well made and extremely well thought out! Would love to see you cover your other sets here as well! Good job!
You know I've been brainstorming a few Universes Beyond Commander Precon ideas for a franchise. But now, after watching this, I wanna make a whole set for it now!
Congrats on completing your first custom set! This is a monuments task that takes a ton of blood, sweat, and love. I look forward to seeing what you do next!
12:48 Really enjoying this video and learning about magic set design. but I want to pause for a second to make a serious argument for Black being a key part of Peter Parker's colour identity. While Peter consistently chooses White via his "Great Power means Great Responsibility" he nevertheless has a prominent Black shadowside that plays a consistent role in his character throughout many stories. In his introduction comic, Peter had an "I'll protect my family and let the world hang" attitude that is very Black and it was only after this attitude cost him his own uncle that he decided to use his power to protect everyone, not just a select few. In the beloved Sam Reimi's spiderman 2, he stops being Spiderman because of the difficulties it was putting on HIM personally. And in the most popular versions of the Black Suit arc, the suit amplifies his more bitter, selfish traits to the front. I think Black is the flawed side of Peter and because his stories so often show him as flawed, imperfect and human, I feel it's a part of his identity that should not be ignored.
Awesome video, glad to still discover new parts of Magic, especially if it's with Hollow Knight. Also the way you present and explain the process of your project was really interesting !
Absolutely loved the video dude! Making custom cards is always a super fun time, isn't it :) me and my playgroup started making a cube of noting but custom cards from some of our favorite shows and games and i mostly focused on Persona 5. Id love to see what other kinds of projects you do in the future! keep up the amazing work, friend!
Thanks! It would be super cool to see y'all's designs. I did a couple of persona-themed designs myself actually, but those are for my un-set so they probably look pretty different than yours.
This is amazing! Massive respect for the time, thought, and effort you put into this. I’m no stranger to making custom cards, but I’ve never had the attention span and extended drive to make a full-size set like this. I also completely understand the challenges you faced when designing your cards - Magic is surprisingly particular about everything down to the word choice in its text boxes and the order of its color pips. (And it’s frustrated me to the point that I basically mastered the art through repetition and made a reference document to help others along.) Your attention to detail paid off though, the final product is incredibly polished aside from a few hiccups here and there - which is more than forgivable for a first large-scale project. Also, it looks like the set’s been uploaded to a TCG simulator site I frequent, so cheers if that was you, and letting you know if it wasn’t.
Thanks for the kind words! I don't think I've uploaded this set anywhere but planesculptors, but to be honest I've got no problem with it, I'm glad people want to play with my cards! Which site is it?
really cool project, and the effort you put into it is astounding! not only in terms of pure writing, but also the sheer amount of thought you've clearly put into it! also, this may allow me to get a couple more of my friends into magic >:3c
What an awesome project! And you're absolutely right about players expressing things they love through Magic cards. I search for cards with abilities that match my favorite characters. I use "MTG Design" to change the art. I keep everything else the same and put these pieces in my Commander decks.
I have occasionally wondered what magic sets of games I play would be like. I would think up a couple interesting cards or synergies. But the dedication to actually make a full set is incredible! The attention to detail is really good. Well done!
While this is a mechanic limited currently to duskmorn, I think a cool way to explore the theme of exploration in hollowknight would be to use rooms. A lot of Hollowknight areas are "two sided" which works really well with the door mechanics. On top that you need to unlock many areas. For instance... Dirtmouth//Forgotten Crossroads, Kingdoms Edge//The Hive, Greenpath//Queen's Gardens, City of Tears//Royal Waterways, Fungal Wastes//Mantis Village, Ancient basin//Abyss. You could even create a "Tram" sorcery that could tutor in a room of a different colour with a room unlocked.
@@Etchings. I don't know anyone there, but keep working. You are talented and creative. Everything happens at the right time. The opportunnities will show up. Keep up!
Thanks! For the charms, unfortunately this set is pretty heavy on equipment already, and I did already include a couple as non-equipments (Grubsong, Shape of Unn) but there's only so much space in the set 😅
Oooo i definitely haven’t made a handful of HK cards myself. (Edit) i see the sly and it just makes me want to talk about my own interpretation of the character. Since i wasn’t making a set i could do a lot more out their designs so for all of the nailmasters i gave them mentor and a keyword to reflect their nail art. For the nailmasters (not sly) they had the ability to pay mana and grant their keyword to the creature the mentored, they all had the same base power so they couldn’t inheritly mentor each other, and then for a but of extra spice they had a unique combat damage triggers and were all White+ a second color. So when i made sly the plan was obvious, 4 color all three keywords and mentor with a higher power then the masters. For his extra spice i gave him a harden scales ability but he can’t bestow keywords to other creatures. He was still a broken attacker. WRGB 6/3 with trample vigilance first strike and mentor.
As an avid fan of both MtG and Hollow Knight, I love this! I'm curious if, during the design phase, you considered leaning into the exploration focus in Hollow Knight and having that manifest in the Venture into the Dungeon mechanic from the dnd sets. Its definitely the first thing that came to my mind!
Thanks! This set was designed during a timeframe where by the time AFR came out, I had already designed the mechanics. Plus, I think wizards doesn't like this mechanic much (and neither do I) as it introduces too much external complexity.
@@Etchings. Yeah, I remember a few years back me and my friends did a commander game where we found a custom commander we liked, I used your 'The Vessel' Commander for it.
@@Etchings. For me, no, no absolutely not. Iirc I drew pretty badly and the vessel got caught in a boardwipe and spot removed twice, which for a voltron deck, was pretty debilitating, fun though.
We don't think about magic power and toughness comparisons. There was that 3/3 storytelling old guy in duskmourn. You telling me that guy can take on trained soldiers in a 3v1? Plus maybe Oro and Mato are just 2/2 without their nails...
I havent been super hyped about Universes Beyond being in Standard, but honestly this looks so cool that I do kind of want to make a Black White Vessel deck for Commander Even just to have a sort of party box to play with a bunch of UBs. Get a LOTR, 40k, Dr Who, Fallout, surely a Spider-Man and a Final Fantasy deck... Just sort of have a 6 or 8 pack of proxied decks to take with me to board game nights for friends With that said I'd love if the set had some of those Commander staples in the art style, but the cool thing is thos empowers me to make my own
Thank you! I'd totally recommend both making your battle box and proxying staples with custom art. I actually made a 4-deck commander battle box for my friends of all custom cards, and so far everyone has loved it!
This was a fun video and would love to see more magic videos from you in the future. A small bit of constructive criticism I do have is you seemed to be getting out of breath near the end of the card design segment. Other than that your voice was well put together throughout.
12:44 While I understand the point you're making, I'd have to disagree with the editor's note, seeing as I think the Symbiote Suited Spider-Man could be Black, given that in most versions it is portrayed as a corrupting influence that turns his very white "With Great Power [...]) mantra on its head.
I'm barely 2 minutes into the video but I have to say Zote, the Mighty is so extremely funny, I haven't played any hollow Knight but I didn't need to too get the joke it's such a fucking good bit
For legacy I think the radiance would be an option in sneak and show (you cant reanimate it due to graveyard clause) but given that its competing with atraxa grand unifier and emrakul the aeons torn I dont really think so
I love this! But I have two big criticisms: 1) not enough lands! Could've/should've had more lands listed, even reprints. I do love the one land that's there though! 2) some cards are... Broken? Several have typos, for one. But Snail Shaman does not work at all rules as written: it exiles the creature you're trying to put a cipher-esque effect on, and if you could cast the spell, it would be one-use (which seems possibly intended.) The Last Stag is ridiculously specific, to the point of being essentially unplayable, especially with the lack of lands in the set. And the Radiance turns off mana abilities, which is NOT something cards can really do in this total-denial way, especially recently. Binding the Vessel should also choose a creature both times it activates, or be significantly cheaper, as in it's current state it makes 5 chump blockers, then makes one a 5/5 (good so far), but then exiles a creature for as long as that 5/5 is around and has no abilities - meaning this 6 mana enchantment does nothing meaningful if one piece of removal is thrown. This could honestly be 4 or 5 mana and just make 4 0/1s instead imo. While some cards are broken in more power-related ways (Dryya, the White Defender, the Kingsflame, Troupe Master Grimm, Fungal Eminence, and Ze'mer among the main offenders,) this set is great.
I also have a LOT of liiittle top-down design comments overall, like how Cornifer and Isela should partner with each other (which is legal in any format,) and I think the siblings should have flying :P
Thanks for all the feedback! I'm glad you liked the set. I don't really see how snail shaman exiles the creature ("Exile with" never means exile both of them, for example Mangara of Corondor says "Exile this creature AND another target creature. Cards like Asmodeus the Archfiend don't refer to cards ALSO in exile/exiled.), but the one-time cast is definitely a bit of a flavor fail. Radiance is meant to emulate humility, which does turn off mana abilities. I think it's fine as long as you don't hit lands. You're definitely right about binding the vessel being quite weak. And while Partner does work in every format, it's definitely designed for commander, and I don't really like how it plays in 60 card. Though if I were to make commander products for hallownest like they do with most sets these days, I would definitely make them a partnered pair in that!
Radiance can't be reanimated though. Show and Tell maybe, but it's not as good with Sneak Attack as existing options like Atraxa and Emrakul, and Sneak Attack is a common alternative win-con for Show and Tell decks.
@@Etchings. It doesn't matter if the reanimate is instant-speed. Radiance, as shown in this video is not exiled *after* being put in the graveyard, it's exiled *instead* of being put into the graveyard. It never touches the graveyard and cannot be targeted by any reanimate effect.
sorry, i just have to do this. absolutely no offense meant but it irks me 5:04 fewer* 6:37 insect is capitalized 6:57 mana pool isn't a thing. "until end of turn, you don't lose this mana as steps and phases end." also, equipment is capitalized 8:02 equipment is capitalized 8:12 equipment is capitalized 8:22 previous type-based one has correct capitalization 9:38 insect is capitalized 10:33 spell out numbers except for stats 10:58 "create a *token that's a* copy of..." also clue is capitalized. also catographer 🐈 11:34 equipment is capitalized 11:49 capitalize the effect after a colon 14:06 the bottom of what? also, the rightmost card doesn't work how you think it does. the creature you control won't die until after it checks if a creature has died this turn 14:12 gets*, not get +1/+0 14:19 artifact is decapitalized. also insect is capitalized 15:00 "create a *token that's a* copy of..." 15:32 clue is capitalized. also "you may cast ~ if from exile if it wasn't put there this turn. It costs {3} more to cast this way." 15:47 did you mean for crystal stasis to only keep the creature tapped for one turn? if not, remove "next" 16:44 equipment is capitalized. also, you don't need to put the equip ability in quotes. see [[armed with proof]] wording 16:54 the plural of equipment is equipment [[A-Goma Fada Vanguard]] 17:05 equipment is capitalized 17:24 spirits is capitalized 17:51 spirits is capitalized 20:37 equipment is capitalized 21:14 bottom of what? also, remove "this ability" 21:52 equipment is capitalized 22:05 equipment is capitalized 24:13 multiple consecutive keyword abilities aren't capitalized. also, "put," not "place." also capitalize "the" in the name of the card on the textbox. also, spell out numbers except for stats 28:16 equipment is capitalized 28:51 equipment is capitalized
Thanks for pointing all this out! Like I said I was very much still in the business of learning how to write mtg syntax when I made this project, and I never really went back and did a big wording revision, so I'm not surprised a bunch of this slipped through. If I ever do, I'll definitely come back and reference this comment!
@@Etchings.and if you do, you'll have to follow all the numerous wording errata WOTC has created, like "enters the battlefield" -> "enters" and "~" -> "this (card type)" lol
Hot take maybe but I feel that the pale king would flavor wise be blue black, not mono black. The white palace has clear signs of engineering and technological progression, especially relative to hallow nest as a whole and it is heavily implied that hallow nest was even less progressed prior to the pale kings arrival. The pale king granted self, or ego, onto all the bugs in hallow nest and in pursuit of his own best interest applied the study of soul and void in an attempt to create a perfect vessel. Mono black just does not seem to capture the intellect and experimentation that the pale king exhibits
Good insight, and I agree! My card for TPK is actually UWB, as I feel he is responsible for the spread of structured society, law, and order throughout hallownest. Additionally, "The Pale King's Reign" saga meant to represent him giving knowledge and ego to the kingdom. I only codified void itself as mono black.
Ah, good catch! Though then it would need to not block... and then it would need to be red... maybe I just need to replace it with another creature hehe
So hybrid mana designs need to be able to be cast with either green or white mana. I don't think this design could be mono green, so it's a pie break, though not a terrible one.
Can someone pls tell what song is playing in the background where magic is explained (act 2). I have yet to watch the rest of the video but this song has captured me
I linked both a sortable digital version (on planesculptors) and a printable version in the description! When I draft in paper I print 3 of every common, 2 of every uncommon, 1 of every rare / mythic, and include a couple foils. I then assemble packs using traditional draft booster balances (so not play booster ones, as this was designed and balanced before play boosters)
I have a discord account, but not a server or anything, seeing as before this video I had 16 subs. Though if you're interested in this sort of thing, the custom magic discord is a great place to look!
Why were certain creatures, specifically many of the Deepnest creatures, not Spiders instead of Insects? This would diversify the base creature types more. Genuine question, not a critism.
I really appreciate the restraint you showed with the number of french vanilla or more general creatures! It always makes me happy when someone manages a flavor slam dunk without using 8 lines of text!
Thanks! I definitely think simple designs are super important in Magic, though I also think that a) like I said the super high number of them made the set a little bit too boring, and b) most of the simple designs being on big creatures meant that the set didn't feel very balanced between small and big creatures. I do think that it's very important to be able to express things with simple designs flavor-wise, though. I think designing simple well-flavored commons and uncommons is really important for sets featuring other IPs.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of "mechanics-minimalist" card designs.
I'm a very big fan of Magic and also very big fan of Hollow Knight, so sometimes I think that it would be interesting to make a thematic set or at least a few custom cards. So it gives me real pleasure to see how someone else had the patience, imagination and talent to bring to life this idea. So far, the only fan project of this scale that I have come across is set "Hollows of Lordran", based on Dark Souls. And in comparison those projects, each made by literally one person out of pure enthusiasm, feel much deeper and much more faithful to the primary source, than any official releases of UB. Great work!
Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the set, and I'm actually currently working on a vid where I go over what I think my projects do differently to universes beyond to make them feel more authentic.
This is single-handedly the most impressive custom Magic set I have ever seen, especially as a Hollow Knight fan!! One day, whenever Silksong releases, you should definitely create a follow-up expansion. Incredible work!
Thank you! And I'd love to create a silksong expansion, one day!
I have a friend who made an entire playable hollow knight cube. Very awesome.
Do you have a list by any chance? 🙏
Sick! Is it a more traditional cube with mostly existing cards or more of a custom project like mine? I'd love to compare!
@@Etchings. Almost completely custom cards. All of the cards are set in the hollow Knight universe but a small amount of them are functional reprints technically. Mostly just a land cycle and some mana fixing. Besides those however, the entire cube is custom cards based off of five different three color archetypes. There are five new mechanics that these archetypes are based around as well with each archetype having a mythic three color creature and enchantment.
@@malachifreedman3975 Unfortunately I don't have the list but I could ask him if he's willing to share it
@@devan9197 Awesome, sounds really similar to my project! I'd love to see how it turned out.
1:44 Japudi spotted.
Peak.
I'm just trying to tell the children the truth you know?
This is the universes beyond I’d actually want
Me too!
With all of the drama in MTG around universes beyond, this video illustrates what mtg cross overs should be. Community driven passion projects that are made with a desire to celebrate what makes magic a great framework, and how different settings look inside of that lense or frame. Instead we're getting pushed power scales and share holder pressure for increased profits after money is sunk into liscenses and marketing. Sorry to rant, but your video and effort onto creating this set just demonstrates so well, that this type of content is better served as Community projects. I hope to see your video blow up with HK and Mtg fans, and see more people, myself included, looking at the community made fan content thats out there.
Thanks so much! UB definitely needs to be handled very carefully to be done well. I'd love to talk a bit more about my thoughts on UB given my experience with similar projects. Maybe stay tuned for those? ;)
haven't played mtg in 3+ years, i somehow ended up really enjoying this video. i really like all the cards that serve as glue or have simple synergies with the rest of the set's mechanics without being overly referential or feeling overdesigned. i appreciate that being accurate to the lore, mechanics or aesthetics of the game did not override this feeling like a real mtg set. the later sections with observations regarding limited, constructed formats, commander and various design mistakes also scratched the itch i missed from reading state of design years ago. kudos!
Thank you!
Alrighty, I have now taken the time to watch this video and truly appreciate it. It is a marvel, an absolute wonder. This really emphasizes to me how beautiful a large and organized community of custom card creators would be. We're too disorganized to be able to find and catalogue awesome achievements like this for many people to enjoy. But these are dreams of mine for a later date. I would like to now take some time to ask swwwwwwwwdddddsome questions. Firstly, any tips or advice on making a video like this, from editing, compiling footage, and writing a script. I've a set that I am nearly done with that I want to show off, but don't feel like I know where to start to actually making a video like yours to do the set I've made justice. Secondly, what are you currently using for both card creation and game design journaling/progress tracking? I've fallen in love with MTGNexus for creating, but it doesn't have the best tools for cataloquing the process and finished product as of yet.
Thanks for your support! ^^
For editing, I use the free program davinci resolve. A lot of my editing decisions are just based on my experience a- watching a lot of similar youtube videos, and b- my experience with UX and game design, studying things like what sort of tools are useful for helping people understand a point / idea intuitively, thinking about it from the users' side, etc.
I use the website mtg.design for creating card mockups, though if you have easy access to a windows machine i believe MSE (magic set editor) is typically the way to go. I don't journal a whole lot, but writing the design document at the beginning of the project is important, and from there, using a combination of retracing my own design steps and looking back at discord messages I sent in my project channel where i was discussing the design of the set with other people and getting feedback. Just a google doc works for documentation though.
This was a great video and a fantastic breakdown of how game design is a trial and error process. With all of the drama surrounding Universes Beyond at the moment I think your Hollow Knight set shows that other IPs can be brought into the MtG fold as an entiree set if care is taken to implement the flavor of the game in a manner that makes sense.
Thank you, I completely agree! I'd love to talk about this more in future videos.
1:52 NGL judgement for all goes HARD
It's a great design!
Amazing! I’m quite impressed that this is the first video on your channel! One of the best and most thought provoking first videos I’ve seen! I especially love how reasonable you were, this looks like a plausible magic set (aside from the IP :P). Many custom cards I’ve seen have made many mistakes, some of which you point out in the video. Just a really nice job!
Thank you so much!
This was incredibly neat and cool video! It was very well made and extremely well thought out! Would love to see you cover your other sets here as well! Good job!
Thank you!
You know I've been brainstorming a few Universes Beyond Commander Precon ideas for a franchise. But now, after watching this, I wanna make a whole set for it now!
Totally! I'd love to see if if you do
7:25 well that one certainly provoked an emotional response XD. You either get the perfect card or deck yourself out.
Will the perfect card be enough to make you happy though?
@Etchings. The perfect ideally should be one that bring happiness. If it doesn't the player may need to seek out professional help.
Man, I thought I would be able to make a set, but there's a lot I hadn't thought about that you considered. This is really cool.
Thanks! You should still totally try out that set if you want, it's hard work but extremely rewarding!
As a fan of hollow knight and a newer fan of mtg, this is awesome!
Thank you!
Surprised you only have 20 subscribers - This was a very thoughtful exploration of your process and learnings.
Funny how fast this comment aged. Thanks for your support! Really blown away by the response to this video
i am exactly the right audience for this
Glad you found it!
Some debatable, more great. With a couple tweaks, perfect. Absolutely a couple things I'd snap add to my decks. Scavenge the topsoil peak!
Thanks! I'm glad you like scavenge the topsoil, I love that design.
I desperately want to play with this now
Thanks! Try playing with friends in paper or on cockatrice / tabletop sim maybe?
Congrats on completing your first custom set! This is a monuments task that takes a ton of blood, sweat, and love. I look forward to seeing what you do next!
Thank you!
12:48 Really enjoying this video and learning about magic set design. but I want to pause for a second to make a serious argument for Black being a key part of Peter Parker's colour identity.
While Peter consistently chooses White via his "Great Power means Great Responsibility" he nevertheless has a prominent Black shadowside that plays a consistent role in his character throughout many stories.
In his introduction comic, Peter had an "I'll protect my family and let the world hang" attitude that is very Black and it was only after this attitude cost him his own uncle that he decided to use his power to protect everyone, not just a select few.
In the beloved Sam Reimi's spiderman 2, he stops being Spiderman because of the difficulties it was putting on HIM personally.
And in the most popular versions of the Black Suit arc, the suit amplifies his more bitter, selfish traits to the front.
I think Black is the flawed side of Peter and because his stories so often show him as flawed, imperfect and human, I feel it's a part of his identity that should not be ignored.
Awesome video, glad to still discover new parts of Magic, especially if it's with Hollow Knight.
Also the way you present and explain the process of your project was really interesting !
Thank you!
Absolutely loved the video dude! Making custom cards is always a super fun time, isn't it :) me and my playgroup started making a cube of noting but custom cards from some of our favorite shows and games and i mostly focused on Persona 5. Id love to see what other kinds of projects you do in the future! keep up the amazing work, friend!
Thanks! It would be super cool to see y'all's designs. I did a couple of persona-themed designs myself actually, but those are for my un-set so they probably look pretty different than yours.
Watching the design process was so cool! Looking forward to what you do next!
Thank you, your support means a lot!
Such a clever idea! I hope this does well so I can have hope to show off some of the sets I've made
Thanks! I'd love to see your projects, and this video is doing much better than I expected, so the idea clearly has an audience :P
i love this so, so, so much!!! you have such a talent for flavor! i would abolutely play this limited format
Thanks so much!
This is amazing! Massive respect for the time, thought, and effort you put into this. I’m no stranger to making custom cards, but I’ve never had the attention span and extended drive to make a full-size set like this.
I also completely understand the challenges you faced when designing your cards - Magic is surprisingly particular about everything down to the word choice in its text boxes and the order of its color pips. (And it’s frustrated me to the point that I basically mastered the art through repetition and made a reference document to help others along.) Your attention to detail paid off though, the final product is incredibly polished aside from a few hiccups here and there - which is more than forgivable for a first large-scale project.
Also, it looks like the set’s been uploaded to a TCG simulator site I frequent, so cheers if that was you, and letting you know if it wasn’t.
Thanks for the kind words! I don't think I've uploaded this set anywhere but planesculptors, but to be honest I've got no problem with it, I'm glad people want to play with my cards! Which site is it?
really cool project, and the effort you put into it is astounding! not only in terms of pure writing, but also the sheer amount of thought you've clearly put into it!
also, this may allow me to get a couple more of my friends into magic >:3c
Thanks so much!
this is super clever, excellent game design combining two really great games
Thank you!
Now this is the niche content I'm looking for!
Thanks!
This is great! Takes a lot of work to get a whole set of cards out!
Thank you! It is a lot of work but it's very rewarding :P
Much respect on this endeavor!
Thank you!
What an awesome project! And you're absolutely right about players expressing things they love through Magic cards.
I search for cards with abilities that match my favorite characters. I use "MTG Design" to change the art. I keep everything else the same and put these pieces in my Commander decks.
Thank you! This is something more people should do, it's really fun :)
I have occasionally wondered what magic sets of games I play would be like. I would think up a couple interesting cards or synergies.
But the dedication to actually make a full set is incredible! The attention to detail is really good. Well done!
Thanks! You should totally try getting some of those designs down :)
hope to see more of your set designs in the future
Thanks!
Congratulations on your incoming Pinkerton's visite
I can't wait to meet them tbh
I like this a lot.
Thank you!
While this is a mechanic limited currently to duskmorn, I think a cool way to explore the theme of exploration in hollowknight would be to use rooms. A lot of Hollowknight areas are "two sided" which works really well with the door mechanics. On top that you need to unlock many areas. For instance... Dirtmouth//Forgotten Crossroads, Kingdoms Edge//The Hive, Greenpath//Queen's Gardens, City of Tears//Royal Waterways, Fungal Wastes//Mantis Village, Ancient basin//Abyss. You could even create a "Tram" sorcery that could tutor in a room of a different colour with a room unlocked.
I could totally see this!
Wonderful video! I love how well you integrated the world of Hollow Knight!
Thank you!
Great project!
Thanks!
WOW, hats off to your dedication
Thank you!
I would have made the void colorless, but your design choice is valid
I can definitely see this interpretation! It's hard to fit large swaths of colorless cards into sets though, so you have to be careful.
WOTC, hire this guy!
They've been rejecting my applications. Maybe with this new UB stuff I've got a better chance. Let me know if you have an in 💀
@@Etchings. I don't know anyone there, but keep working. You are talented and creative. Everything happens at the right time. The opportunnities will show up. Keep up!
I know nothing about Magic but this video was awesome! Great blend of the two IPs
Thank you so much!
i love this! exciting to hear the in depth thought process
a bit disappointed only some of the charms seem to have made it into the set
Thanks! For the charms, unfortunately this set is pretty heavy on equipment already, and I did already include a couple as non-equipments (Grubsong, Shape of Unn) but there's only so much space in the set 😅
Oooo i definitely haven’t made a handful of HK cards myself.
(Edit) i see the sly and it just makes me want to talk about my own interpretation of the character. Since i wasn’t making a set i could do a lot more out their designs so for all of the nailmasters i gave them mentor and a keyword to reflect their nail art. For the nailmasters (not sly) they had the ability to pay mana and grant their keyword to the creature the mentored, they all had the same base power so they couldn’t inheritly mentor each other, and then for a but of extra spice they had a unique combat damage triggers and were all White+ a second color.
So when i made sly the plan was obvious, 4 color all three keywords and mentor with a higher power then the masters. For his extra spice i gave him a harden scales ability but he can’t bestow keywords to other creatures. He was still a broken attacker. WRGB 6/3 with trample vigilance first strike and mentor.
Your designs for the nailmasters sound super good and flavorful! I love your approach to making them similar yet different.
This is Awesome
Thank you!!!
I didn't know I needed a Hollow Knight set until now
Thanks!
As an avid fan of both MtG and Hollow Knight, I love this! I'm curious if, during the design phase, you considered leaning into the exploration focus in Hollow Knight and having that manifest in the Venture into the Dungeon mechanic from the dnd sets. Its definitely the first thing that came to my mind!
Thanks! This set was designed during a timeframe where by the time AFR came out, I had already designed the mechanics. Plus, I think wizards doesn't like this mechanic much (and neither do I) as it introduces too much external complexity.
I actually followed this as it was being designed, blast from the past.
Wow, crazy! Super glad you're still around :D I hope the finished product met your expectations!
@@Etchings. Yeah, I remember a few years back me and my friends did a commander game where we found a custom commander we liked, I used your 'The Vessel' Commander for it.
@@melonlord2229 Wow, that means so much and is so awesome to hear! I'm so glad you liked my design enough to pick it. Did the game go well?
@@Etchings. For me, no, no absolutely not. Iirc I drew pretty badly and the vessel got caught in a boardwipe and spot removed twice, which for a voltron deck, was pretty debilitating, fun though.
🔥🔥🔥 vid, love this
Thanks!
I like how iselda has double the power and toughness of both mato and oro
We don't think about magic power and toughness comparisons. There was that 3/3 storytelling old guy in duskmourn. You telling me that guy can take on trained soldiers in a 3v1? Plus maybe Oro and Mato are just 2/2 without their nails...
This is epic
Thanks! :D
I havent been super hyped about Universes Beyond being in Standard, but honestly this looks so cool that I do kind of want to make a Black White Vessel deck for Commander
Even just to have a sort of party box to play with a bunch of UBs. Get a LOTR, 40k, Dr Who, Fallout, surely a Spider-Man and a Final Fantasy deck... Just sort of have a 6 or 8 pack of proxied decks to take with me to board game nights for friends
With that said I'd love if the set had some of those Commander staples in the art style, but the cool thing is thos empowers me to make my own
Thank you! I'd totally recommend both making your battle box and proxying staples with custom art. I actually made a 4-deck commander battle box for my friends of all custom cards, and so far everyone has loved it!
Fishing for fishies i see :3
Real recognizes real 🤝
damn that's so cool, I would probably play again if I could use hk cards ngl
Thanks!
pls make more of these for your other custom sets :Dc (OOO next!)
I'd love to :D
This was a fun video and would love to see more magic videos from you in the future. A small bit of constructive criticism I do have is you seemed to be getting out of breath near the end of the card design segment. Other than that your voice was well put together throughout.
That's definitely a problem I have, and were this THE video not pretty rushed I definitely would have re-recorded a bit. Thanks for the kind words!
Damn, I had this same idea to make a Hollow Knight MTG set ;-;
I'll just watch the video, and then still go and try to put my own spin on it then :3
I'd love if you did!
12:44 While I understand the point you're making, I'd have to disagree with the editor's note, seeing as I think the Symbiote Suited Spider-Man could be Black, given that in most versions it is portrayed as a corrupting influence that turns his very white "With Great Power [...]) mantra on its head.
I don't actually know what the symbiote spider man is, but I don't doubt that you're right lmao
I'm barely 2 minutes into the video but I have to say Zote, the Mighty is so extremely funny, I haven't played any hollow Knight but I didn't need to too get the joke it's such a fucking good bit
Thank you! That was definitely my most popular design hahaha.
For legacy I think the radiance would be an option in sneak and show (you cant reanimate it due to graveyard clause) but given that its competing with atraxa grand unifier and emrakul the aeons torn I dont really think so
Thanks for the insight!
if only cornier could have made map tokens instead of clues this would be a perfect set
When they spoiled map tokens this was one of my first thoughts
Hollow knight and mtg, damn you now i want it to be real
Me too...
I love this! But I have two big criticisms:
1) not enough lands! Could've/should've had more lands listed, even reprints. I do love the one land that's there though!
2) some cards are... Broken? Several have typos, for one. But Snail Shaman does not work at all rules as written: it exiles the creature you're trying to put a cipher-esque effect on, and if you could cast the spell, it would be one-use (which seems possibly intended.) The Last Stag is ridiculously specific, to the point of being essentially unplayable, especially with the lack of lands in the set. And the Radiance turns off mana abilities, which is NOT something cards can really do in this total-denial way, especially recently. Binding the Vessel should also choose a creature both times it activates, or be significantly cheaper, as in it's current state it makes 5 chump blockers, then makes one a 5/5 (good so far), but then exiles a creature for as long as that 5/5 is around and has no abilities - meaning this 6 mana enchantment does nothing meaningful if one piece of removal is thrown. This could honestly be 4 or 5 mana and just make 4 0/1s instead imo.
While some cards are broken in more power-related ways (Dryya, the White Defender, the Kingsflame, Troupe Master Grimm, Fungal Eminence, and Ze'mer among the main offenders,) this set is great.
I also have a LOT of liiittle top-down design comments overall, like how Cornifer and Isela should partner with each other (which is legal in any format,) and I think the siblings should have flying :P
Thanks for all the feedback! I'm glad you liked the set. I don't really see how snail shaman exiles the creature ("Exile with" never means exile both of them, for example Mangara of Corondor says "Exile this creature AND another target creature. Cards like Asmodeus the Archfiend don't refer to cards ALSO in exile/exiled.), but the one-time cast is definitely a bit of a flavor fail. Radiance is meant to emulate humility, which does turn off mana abilities. I think it's fine as long as you don't hit lands. You're definitely right about binding the vessel being quite weak. And while Partner does work in every format, it's definitely designed for commander, and I don't really like how it plays in 60 card. Though if I were to make commander products for hallownest like they do with most sets these days, I would definitely make them a partnered pair in that!
Making a Zote EDH deck now. Lets just hope they don't realize its flavor text 😂
Should be easy in that case!
Radiance can't be reanimated though. Show and Tell maybe, but it's not as good with Sneak Attack as existing options like Atraxa and Emrakul, and Sneak Attack is a common alternative win-con for Show and Tell decks.
Yeah, I guess most of the instant speed reanimates only keep it around for a turn, and it's not exactly an insta-kill kind of card.
@@Etchings. It doesn't matter if the reanimate is instant-speed. Radiance, as shown in this video is not exiled *after* being put in the graveyard, it's exiled *instead* of being put into the graveyard. It never touches the graveyard and cannot be targeted by any reanimate effect.
sorry, i just have to do this. absolutely no offense meant but it irks me
5:04 fewer*
6:37 insect is capitalized
6:57 mana pool isn't a thing. "until end of turn, you don't lose this mana as steps and phases end." also, equipment is capitalized
8:02 equipment is capitalized
8:12 equipment is capitalized
8:22 previous type-based one has correct capitalization
9:38 insect is capitalized
10:33 spell out numbers except for stats
10:58 "create a *token that's a* copy of..." also clue is capitalized. also catographer 🐈
11:34 equipment is capitalized
11:49 capitalize the effect after a colon
14:06 the bottom of what? also, the rightmost card doesn't work how you think it does. the creature you control won't die until after it checks if a creature has died this turn
14:12 gets*, not get +1/+0
14:19 artifact is decapitalized. also insect is capitalized
15:00 "create a *token that's a* copy of..."
15:32 clue is capitalized. also "you may cast ~ if from exile if it wasn't put there this turn. It costs {3} more to cast this way."
15:47 did you mean for crystal stasis to only keep the creature tapped for one turn? if not, remove "next"
16:44 equipment is capitalized. also, you don't need to put the equip ability in quotes. see [[armed with proof]] wording
16:54 the plural of equipment is equipment [[A-Goma Fada Vanguard]]
17:05 equipment is capitalized
17:24 spirits is capitalized
17:51 spirits is capitalized
20:37 equipment is capitalized
21:14 bottom of what? also, remove "this ability"
21:52 equipment is capitalized
22:05 equipment is capitalized
24:13 multiple consecutive keyword abilities aren't capitalized. also, "put," not "place." also capitalize "the" in the name of the card on the textbox. also, spell out numbers except for stats
28:16 equipment is capitalized
28:51 equipment is capitalized
Bottom of what?
Bottom of the opponent’s hand, obviously.
Thanks for pointing all this out! Like I said I was very much still in the business of learning how to write mtg syntax when I made this project, and I never really went back and did a big wording revision, so I'm not surprised a bunch of this slipped through. If I ever do, I'll definitely come back and reference this comment!
@@Etchings.and if you do, you'll have to follow all the numerous wording errata WOTC has created, like "enters the battlefield" -> "enters" and "~" -> "this (card type)" lol
@@massive_avecado oh my god you're right... how exhausting
Ah yes, the intersection of my interests. I am, as they say, the target audience.
EDIT: Also, JAPUDI MENTIONED LETSGOOOOOOO
Loving the Japudi fans in the comments
Hot take maybe but I feel that the pale king would flavor wise be blue black, not mono black. The white palace has clear signs of engineering and technological progression, especially relative to hallow nest as a whole and it is heavily implied that hallow nest was even less progressed prior to the pale kings arrival. The pale king granted self, or ego, onto all the bugs in hallow nest and in pursuit of his own best interest applied the study of soul and void in an attempt to create a perfect vessel. Mono black just does not seem to capture the intellect and experimentation that the pale king exhibits
Good insight, and I agree! My card for TPK is actually UWB, as I feel he is responsible for the spread of structured society, law, and order throughout hallownest. Additionally, "The Pale King's Reign" saga meant to represent him giving knowledge and ego to the kingdom. I only codified void itself as mono black.
mfs when no silksong
I'm literally developing my own metroidvania it's that over...
@@Etchings. well I love your work here, hope it goes well!
@@Etchings.A Magic metroidvania for the symmetry
This is fantastic- one question, why doesn't Cowardly Husk have the "coward" creature type, it feels too perfect to not, imo
Ah, good catch! Though then it would need to not block... and then it would need to be red... maybe I just need to replace it with another creature hehe
At 23:17 you mention templates that WOTC uses. Is there an easy for other aspiring custom magic set creators to find these templates?
The one i referenced was on an mtg nexus article linked at www.mtgnexus.com/viewtopic.php?t=51179
I am confused how hiveling brakes the the color pie. it looks fine to me
So hybrid mana designs need to be able to be cast with either green or white mana. I don't think this design could be mono green, so it's a pie break, though not a terrible one.
Can someone pls tell what song is playing in the background where magic is explained (act 2). I have yet to watch the rest of the video but this song has captured me
If you're talking about the song at 3:00, it's City of Tears from Hollow Knight.
So, insect trival + voltron?
Yep! Plus some other stuff :)
is there a "set" put together with all the card counts so i can draft this as a cube?
I linked both a sortable digital version (on planesculptors) and a printable version in the description! When I draft in paper I print 3 of every common, 2 of every uncommon, 1 of every rare / mythic, and include a couple foils. I then assemble packs using traditional draft booster balances (so not play booster ones, as this was designed and balanced before play boosters)
when i tried to print this out on paper a bit of it was cut off do you know how to fix this?
I'd have to see exactly what the error was, and how you're printing it. I could try to help though!
@ IVE FIXED IT NOW, THANK YOU THOUGH! IM HAVING FUN WITH THE DECK
"The dreamers lay sleeping" saga in your pdf is unfinished (nevermind its finished in another pdf)
Beside of that, amazing work!
Thank you!
What tool did you use to create these cards?
I used the website MTG.design, with a bit of help from the Magic Set Editor program
Do you have a discord or anything?
I have a discord account, but not a server or anything, seeing as before this video I had 16 subs. Though if you're interested in this sort of thing, the custom magic discord is a great place to look!
Congrats on getting lucky with the algorithm btw!
Give it sometime. Eventually every IP will be absorbed by mtg at this point
I for one welcome our new overlords...
I dont know magic the gathering
But i do have a hyperfixation on something else...
I was hoping I'd get some people like you!
Why were certain creatures, specifically many of the Deepnest creatures, not Spiders instead of Insects? This would diversify the base creature types more. Genuine question, not a critism.
The little weaver is a spider. Honestly though, I do not remember why nosk and deepling aren't. That might be an oversight, good catch!
(=) D
Thank you the smily guy guy :)
calling magic the best game you've ever played is craaaaazy, you need to play better games lol
My girlfriend agreed with this comment
@@Etchings. that's nice, hi girlfriend!