Framing 25 Years of Magic

Framing 25 Years of Magic

Show Video

On. The left is an image of a card called mine twist as it appeared in limited edition alpha magics very first set released back in 1993. On the right is an image of the same card released nearly 25, years later in a set called Allman ket which, was magics own recreation, of ancient Egypt not. Every card in the set looked like this one the, mine twist here belongs to a unique series of highly collectible, cards called masterpieces. That, showed up in booster packs at an extremely rare rate their, main Flair was an aesthetic one both, cards here are functionally, equal yet, masterpieces, appeal to certain players in such a way that a normal magic, card does not between. These two cards lifts a cavernous history of graphic design, every, detail on the faces and frames of magic cards has evolved since the inception of the game yet, after 25 years its, overall visual style is still fully recognizable, and intact I can, call upon just about any two cards from the pool of over 16,000. Unique designs and they, will on a holistic level possess, the same core elements, that render them specific, to this trading card game and none other the. Printing of this mine twist and it's like however, was the closest moment we've come to breaking such a mold in the game's lifetime, so, much so that many veterans initial reaction to these cards was quote, unquote that is not a magic card so, today I would like to dissect, the visual design elements that make up the anatomy of a magic card in order to better understand, why this mind twist feels so removed from its predecessors, in, order to do so I want to look at every card frame that the game is utilized since 1993, and trace, the subtle changes put forth by each new design, as, such I hope this video can serve as a succinct visual history of magic card frames for future reference as, well as a useful point of comparison for anyone who plays other trading card games alongside. This deep dive on frames I will, analyze the tenuous relationship between, flavor and function and card games as, a way to explain my twists, disconnect, ultimately. I argue that aesthetics, have slowly lost priority, to utility, over the course of the game's lifespan, and the, almond cat in vacations, pushed back on that trend in more ways than one resulting. In nearly unanimous, backlash. Let's. Start at the very beginning magic. Debuted in 1993. With alpha a set of 295. Cards that were divided amongst eight different card frames five, frames corresponded to one of each of the five colors of magic the, sixth frame was for artifacts that had no color the, seventh was designated for basic lands and the, eighth frame belonged to the dual lands that produced two colors of mana at, its inception magics. Flavor as far as card frames were concerned was, at its absolute highest, an aspect, that will be slowly ironed, out over time in favor of function before we look at the details though want, to establish some terminology, the, anatomy of a magic card can be broken down into three main horizontal. Sections, the, first incorporates. The card title in the mana cost which. Sits above the artwork and in this case directly on top of the card frame the, second section shoots across the middle and houses the illustration, as, well as the type line and, later sets the type line we'll also show the expansion, symbol finally, the third section includes the entirety, of the text box as, well as the power and toughness box for creatures and collectors. Information, along at the bottom which, shows the artists credits the, copyright, information and details, about the cards specific, to its set all, of these aspects, are placed within a frame that itself is surrounded by a three millimeter border, either, black or white in most cases to. Note every piece of this Anatomy will be modified, to some extent over the course of the game's lifetime, an, alpha frames correspondent, not only to the color identity, of the card but, were also textured to thematically, match the flavor of said colors White's. Frame is the least distinct, of the bunch but, its text box recalls, the pattern of a lace doily that perhaps you could find on the altar of a church blues. Frame is watery and wispy like it's creatures and its text box looks like a blurry shot of the surface of the ocean black. Has a bubbly frame reminiscent, of a witch's brew in a cauldron and it's text box looks like the parchment, you could find in one of her spell books bread. Is the least busy of the five its, frame and text box recall the smooth texture of stone nestled near a volcano and Green, has a blurry plant-like, frame beneath the text box set to resemble a sheet of wood the.

Artifacts Are a deep brown with a mosaic text, box and the, basic lands differ depending on which color of manna they could produce the. Pin lines surrounding the two tangulls highlighted, these colors too finally. The dual lands exhibited, a radical design that has not been repeated since this, alternating, striped, pattern signified, the two colors of man of the land could make now. Like I said before these, designs were the pinnacle of immersion but, their functionality, in-game was sacrificed, for this high fantasy flavor. The, primary concern with these frames was that they rendered many of the cards unreadable, the, white text on a very thin font, didn't pop on the busy colored frames and the, black italics, on dark red was virtually, illegible - to, make matters worse early. Magic design did not have the streamlined, game language and terminology we, see today, so, cards like illusionary, masks or extremely, wordy, in comparison, to something like Holi strength this. Resulted in a visual incongruity. Across the set alpha, cards also lacked the necessary collectors, information, along the bottom and instead, only displayed the artists credit after the, alpha and beta printings, came unlimited, which, brought the first change in border color and would establish wizards reprint, policy that was eventually phased out in 2007. With tenth edition the. Policy worked as follows, if a card would be printed for the first time it would have a black border and if it were to be printed again in a following sets like mine twist here and unlimited it, would have a white border this, could signify to players that older versions of the card existed, which, appealed to collectors, who sought the first editions, for their decks this, policy became very tricky to uphold however due, to Magic's growth outside of the United States once. The game incorporated, non-english, languages, it meant that technically, their first printing could be in a reprint set which, would then require the card to be printed with a black border this. Confusion would have wizards scrambling, to print Renaissance sets to remain consistent in, their reprint policy leading.

To Gigantic headaches, within are indeed to try and keep track of which cards were debuting and their corresponding languages. Eventually. They disregarded, the white border black border debacle, and committed, to printing all their sets with black bordered cards most. Players enjoyed this change too as, the black border looks better on a magic card some, white border rebels would disagree though a few months, after Unlimited, debuted, Magic's first expansion, set Arabian, Nights in December. Of 1993, the, two primary visual updates were the inclusion, of the expansion symbol, in this case a scimitar, to invoke, world's Middle Eastern flavor and the, new yellow pin lines found on lands that produced colorless, manna like city of brass here these, yellow lines wouldn't be the standard, though antiquities. Utilized, a darker orangish, red for its lands legends. Had a gradient gold and the. Dark surrounded, its non basics, with very thick dark pin lines Arabian. Nights also nearly changed, the card back to a pink version with the expansion name underneath the game's title but, it was pulled at the last second to avoid inconsistencies. With decks that mixed in cards from outside of this expansion this. Decision was critical to Magic's visual design philosophy, and has, been the sole element of the card that has not changed in the history of the game in tournament, legal expansions, to note this alternate, card back had a yellow font which, quickly became the standard for branding, and his mark rose waters preferred color for displaying the game's name this. Along with the deck master title bar would, be amongst, the things he wishes he could change about the original card back a couple, of expansions, later showed for the first time a multi-coloured, card with a golden frame and text box as well, as the debut of legendary, creatures, this, expansion was named legends, and it would set the baseline for multi-coloured cards that is still utilized, in design today since. These creatures like Angus Mackenzie were, not just white nor, blue nor green but all three the, frame signaled to players that multiple colors were required to play the card along. With the subtype came the legend rule which, initially, restricted players to only one copy of the card in their decks going, along with our arguments, this meant that flavor was taking high priority, over function since, these creatures were unique and named it, meant that there could be only one in your deck to remain consistent with the fantasy of the game how, could you possibly have to Angus, Mackenzie when only one exists, in magic lore so. You may expect this rule has been heavily modified over the years which, will be relevant in the second half of this video for. The first 10 years of its life Magic's. Visual design stayed true to the high fantasy spell, book flavor that Richard Garfield established. In alpha with, minor tweaks in the textbox to match the feel of the worlds explored, portal.

Experimented, With a thicker font and a line break two separate rules text from flavor text but, this format never saw further print outside of subsequent, portal and starter sets it. Also replaced the rules text in basic lands with the giant male cymbal which, became the default templating, moving forward this, change bothered, folks at first which, of course will become an ongoing motif. Exodus. Provided, cards with more collectors information, at the bottom moved, the formatting, from left justified, to center justified, as, well as incorporated, a colored expansion, symbol that signified, a card's rarity for the first time in the game's history Magic's. First parody sets unglued, came in 1998, and heavily, played with all of the elements of the card frame most. Notably on the premiere of full art lands this, became a highly desirable treatment, of basic lands and inspired. Reiterations. And future sets to. Signify that all the cards except these lands could not be played in tournaments the, black border was changed to silver. Invasion. However was the first time designers, heavily experimented. With the real estate of a magic card in the, form of the game's first split cards these, spells allowed players to essentially, have two cards in one but, their visual design was nothing more than exactly that it, didn't reinvent the frame they, just turned a normal magic card sideways, shrunk, its and repeated, the process for the second half of the card these, split cards were very well received by players though and, would act as the blueprint for future experiments with the card frame one. Block later in Apocalypse, dual, lands received their first gradient, text box which, stylish, Lee showed off new PIN lines and a clean blend of two colors that the original alpha duels struggled to get right but, the most significant, change to card frames occurred in eighth edition, causing, an outcry amongst the player base that has been echoed with every subsequent change, in frame since. To. Align with Magic's 10th anniversary, at GenCon R&D. Decided, to unveil the designs that they had long been clamoring for and had, began to work on as early as invasion, three years prior eighth. Edition was a corset, and thus, had to obey the reprint policy, that I spoke about before as, such. The borders were white but this was not what made this design decision noteworthy, in the slightest, what, players remember most is the first instance in which that tolkien-esque, feel, from early magic sets was. Replaced with a streamlined, aesthetic, that prioritized. Functionality. Over flavor the. Cards across this set became much more cohesive, as a whole but, in order to do so the, game's visual, design had, to face the tenants, that made each color feel unique from one another, the first unifying, element, was the employment, of three-dimensional.

Boxes, That surrounded, the title and type lines as, well as the power and toughness indicators. If, you look closely these boxes, have a slight shadow effect along the bottom line as well, as against the left crease, they also sport many more pin lines that surround these boxes, two, of which have curves that allow for more space along the type line to make room for the expansion symbol, and a break in uniformity, around the power and toughness box, secondly. The font was changed from Gaudi medieval, to matrix bold which, was heavier and much easier to read yet, lacked that bookish, flavour the. Font was also changed uniformly, to black except. For the collector info on black cards themselves which, remained white now, perhaps the most off-putting update, was the treatment of the text boxes no. Longer would green cards be embossed with wooden panels nor, black cards with roughened parchment and their, places would be a mostly opaque, lightened. Background, that was tinted to match the color of the card the, same was true for the title and type lines the, original textures, however were still present and updated, even if they were far less pronounced, green's, text boxes sported a leafy texture to match their borders and black, cards still had that bubbly, swampy, use surrounding, them the, watery pattern on blue cards became more uniform, and soft while, Reds borders were instead rendered to appear more cracked and stressed and yeah, white lost that lacy doily, look in place, of a clean marbled card frame plans, received a uniform, border - one. With a rough and stony surface, and their, pin lines aligned to the colors of mana they could produce artifacts. Received perhaps the greatest alteration. Their, frame went from a dark brown to a cool steely, texture with metallic, accents, and a, vacuum this design perfectly, matched the flavor of MAGIX version of lost relics that held ancient, powers however, this entire visual scheme, was far too close and hue to the white cards so, much so that it was too difficult to differentiate, the two while panning through a booster pack to. Make matters worse mere, Dan was the expansion, to follow eighth edition which. Was a world built entirely, around artifacts. When, eighth edition released, players, lamented, that these two frames were far too similar, in appearance, but their complaints, were solidified, a couple of months later at the employee pre-release, of Mira Dhin when, Randi Bueller thumbed through his first booster pack of the artifact worlds he realized that the lamenting, player base was right two, sets later in fifth on the border was significantly, darkened, which tided the confusion, one, major complaint still remained however which.

Was The lack of colored mana symbols on activated, and triggered abilities, on artifacts, across the block nirach, stealth suit for example wants blue mana but, this is not immediately, clear upon first glance which. Slowed down drafting, and led to disappointment, in gameplay the. Greater take away from 8th edition though is twofold. The first is that magic finally had a cohesive, visual identity across all cards at the cost of individuality, between, them that is to say from a holistic viewpoint 8th. Edition felt, like one solid unit and promised. Uniformity. Moving forward, once the prior sets were phased out over the following years the second. Takeaway was of course longtime. Veterans, initial, reactions, to the change in frames their. Complaints, like I said up top would, be echoed with every change in card frame moving forward, quote, unquote this, does not look like a magic card they, were correct in the sense that the modern frame lacks that high fantasy flavor, but. The functionality, was greatly improved in its stead cards. Were legible, the focus shifted to make way for better gameplay which meant that immersion would simply have to be found elsewhere no, longer could a player greatly, rely on the card friends to deliver that beloved fantasy, feel see, this is at the crux of my argument, here we, have to ask ourselves as, players of card games what is more important, to, feel like a wizard slinging, spells or to always be clear about what exactly those spells do these, two worlds are not exclusive, though an eighth, edition proved, that the frame could still deliver very tight gameplay under, the guise of alternate, realities, it was around this time too, that R&D began to tinker with the potential of card frames ability, to inspire game mechanics, prior. To this era they were simply, the method of organization and, delivery but. What if a frame could not only clarify, information but, also communicate. Information to, players well, this question was already on our Indies radar, a few years prior for. Sixth edition design, considered, this card frame. Possessed, many of the elements that eventually made it to the modern design a few years later it, had title and tight bars pin, lines the works but, the most striking of course was it's gigantic, border, on the left side along. This bar appeared the mana symbols, vertically, as well as the collectors information, and expansion, symbol at the bottom the, idea at play here was to prioritize the mana cost for players while cards were found in their hands so, that they could quickly glance at their grip and evaluate, their next move the. Problem though was twofold one, it greatly hindered left-handed, players who fan their cards in the opposite direction it. Also looked terribly, unbalanced, which, matters, of course for marketing and to aesthetic, geeks like me the. Mana cost too was vertically, aligned which I argue stands in complete contrast, to all of Magic's visual design traditions, like.

I Said when describing the anatomy, of a card the, entire face is divided, into three horizontal elements. For, Western audiences this matches the flow of reading left to right top to bottom as, such I have noticed that every time design tries to incorporate a vertical, elements in the card frame it fails, it. Simply fights against this natural, flow and this, example is no exception but, it succeeded in opening the door to installing communicative. Devices, into the card frame just, before eighth edition Odyssey. Utilized, a small tombstone, symbol in the upper left hand corner to tell players that it was a set that revolved around the graveyard cards. Barring this tombstone meant that their abilities cared about that zone in some way in Kanagawa. Block appeared the first attempt, at a flipped card which, sought to translate, the idea of creature transformation. Into the schematics, of a magic card the result was a failure because of how cramped these frames were reading. Upside down is very difficult, especially, when trying to conceal information in your hand to opponents, and tapping. These creatures made it very unclear, as to which form the flip card was currently in but. The idea was there and the card frame could provide the conduit to realize it effectively. The. Tinkering continued, in Ravnica which, premiered two more innovations, never seen before on a magic card as well as a rehashing, of the invasion split, cards the, first innovation was an overhaul of gold cards since, this set cared very much about multi, colored cards much like legends but, existed, in a post 8th edition world in which only two multicolored, cards had been printed in over two years it meant that a new gold card frame had to be put in place for future sets, more, specifically, Ravnica. Introduced, the 10/2 color pairings, called guilds, that each had their own identity, and symbols to represent them the, problem was before Ravnica all gold, cards looked the exact same blue, black cards had the same frame as white green ones so, how do you differentiate between all the pairings, Erin, Forsythe went to the card frame for answers here, is coiling, oracle for example, the, signal that this creature belonged, to the Simic combine the, blue and green guild we, have to pay attention to the subtle treatment, of the pin lines and text box you'll, notice that the former slowly fades from green to blue along the edges which, was not the case for the two gold cards in Kanagawa block those. Had solid, gold pin lines the. Text box employs the same gradient, it, also incorporated, those redesigned, textures from eighth edition but. Faded them so that the card could still easily be read there's, that leafy green look on the left these, cards also introduced the technology, of a watermark, which reinforced, the cards color identity, and also, drove home the presence of the Guild's Forsythe. Himself, was not initially sold on this innovation, but, his mind changed after seeing the symbol glimmer on foil cards, to, recall our arguments, the, guild symbols as watermarks, were the perfect harmony of flavor and function, they, acted as an immersive device, in the world without interfering, with the performance, of the game Ravin, cos other multicolored, cards most notably the guild mages introduced. The hybrid mana symbols, but did not have a gold card frame instead. Their frame showed a gradient from one color to the other only seen before in the text boxes of dual lands this. Frame communicated, to players that although. The card was two colors it could still be played in decks that did not run both again. We find an example of R&D utilizing, card frame to inform gameplay, but, in a way that still created an immersive experience for, players who very much cared about the fantasy, and then, came the Time Spiral Bloc veterans. Of the game know that this block was far and beyond magics most complex, design experiment, in its history and, a portion of that complexity, was due to the premiere of new card frames, not.

Only Did Time Spiral resurrect, the old frames in order to invoke nostalgia. And a visit to Magic's past notably. Reprinting, a couple of invasions split cards in the process, the block also brought back white lettering on title and type lines for the first time since prior to 8th edition, foreplane, shifted, cards the, white text meant that the cards mechanic, was evocative, of an ability that typically sat outside its color identity, damnation. A black card for example recalled. Wrath of God a white card which, was mirrored in its artwork and, to make this white text pop these, two boxes were darkened, these plane shifted cards also played with new textures, in their text boxes and around, their card frames Reds, frame was a much sharper cracked, stone green's, text box resembled, the rings of a tree stump, recalling. The wooden panel from alpha and clouds. Could be seen beneath White's rules text I personally. Believe that these templates, are the game's most flavorful, modern, design and, I hope they become the default for future magic cards with, black text instead of white what, was theorized, though were the Future Sight frames remember. That failed 6th edition design it's. Safe to say that remnants of that philosophy, resurfaced, here most, notably in the placement of the mana cost catering. Again to right-handed tournament grinders the, symbols curbed downwards, along the left side of the card placed, into notches that fade behind the type line and text box the, collectors information, moved from the left to the right side the, expansion symbol, sat in its own bubble and the title box sported, an asymmetrical. Polygon, shape that ended with a small dot at its bottom right edge also. Reminiscent of the Odyssey era were, the new symbols, that popped up in the upper left hand corner, these. Never-before-seen. Symbols, correspond, to the card types so, that again players could assess the cards in their hand without pushing them to the front of their grip almost.

Every Detail of these frames were a departure from eighth edition but. Holistically, the Future Sight frames still matched the horizontal, tripartite, design of a typical magic card the, verticality, of the mana symbols just didn't work though reinforcing. My position that cards must, left to right top, to bottom this frame was radical, and of course, quote-unquote. Did not look like a magic heart it also possessed some significant, design flaws knowing. That I wanted to go this deep on card frames for this video I knew I had to seek insight, from someone who knows every, inch and layer of a magic card to the utmost degree so. I called up the proxy guy to chat about frames my, name is Josh I am better. Known on Twitter, as the proxy guy and I have been, playing. The game of magic since, 1995. Late 95 early 96, I started making proxies, pretty. Much as soon as that I started playing the game the Future Sight frame as is, I'm not a fan of because it doesn't pass what I've coined. The term for jenna test test if you, cannot make a progenitor, in a frame that you're creating because. It has ten mana symbols then it's a useless frame so in the Future Sight you only get like seven. I think on the original so it doesn't you can't put a progenitor in the original, frame future, site also explored, for the very first time outside of lands the potential, for full art spells with their cycle of vanilla creatures, the, extent to which this technology can be functional it's fully dependent, on the text that is omitted from the card frame though which, are indi learned with their magic player Awards promos, although. These cards push immersion, and flavor to their extreme, by leaving out the cards mechanics, entirely they've, proven to be more of a headache than they're worth over, time the biggest defender is cryptic, commands the, cards for modes are often confused or forgotten leading. To disputes, and tournament matches aesthetics. Here completely, out wave function, to the point of obsolescence, to. Mitigate this discrepancy game. Day promos now have the same full art treatment but, with an overlaid transparent, text box with white lettering this, is much more balanced, and functional, after shaking. The foundation, of Magic's visual design with future sites 10th, edition solidified. The change in policy I mentioned, earlier for the very first time a corset, would be printed with black borders which. Left the utility, of white borders in the past where they have stubbornly remained since at. This point in our history we. Are in the fall of 2007. And on the brink of the explosion, and potential for card frames released, at this time was lorwyn and with, it the debut of a new card frame this time on something called a Plains, although. This flashy new car type would deeply change the texture of gameplay, forever the visual design of planeswalkers, is pretty much congruent, with the 8th edition philosophy. It, follows that same three horizontal, bar design but. There are notable differences, found in the detailing of that skeleton, the, first heavily, prioritizes. The artwork both, the Johnny Gold Mane's title bar and type line are higher and lower than on the normal card respectively. Which, makes way for a bigger presence of his character, on the card his, axe also breaks the plane of the pin lines and his text box is much more transparent. Which allows viewers to see the entirety, of his body, secondly. The frame around his illustration, is curved drawing. Upon the space opened up by the Future Sight frame which, also gives more way for his artwork to shine finally. The black around his card border takes a gentle, curve roughly two-thirds the way down his text box this, gave much more room for the collectors information, to be clarified at the bottom which, will be very significant, to a later corsets, design.

Zendikar. Block drew heavy influence, from the planeswalker, design, as well as from the traditions, established in unglued, and unhinged to, invoke the adventure flavor of a plane with animated landscapes, rd, printed full art lands for the first time in an expansion, set these, full art lands hosted the same curved card frames seen on a Johnny to, open the viewer as much as possible to the illustrations, they, also experimented, with level up cards that mechanically, resembled, the three planeswalker abilities, like, loyalty counters, these, creatures acquire, level counters and become stronger, and their, card frame mimics their growth horizontal. Bars align with the three possible, levels and darken, and hue as they move downward, along the text box which also corresponds, to three possible, power and toughness iterations. The villains of the block giant. Lovecraftian, monsters, called Eldrazi employed, a transparent. Text box and border similar to those of Planeswalkers, to emphasize their huge size to. Reiterate it is around this time that R&D was exhibiting that flavor can inspire functional, card designs and they, were utilizing, the frames and borders to drive such a theory home in the next block scars of mirrored in for example the watermark, first used in Ravnica returned, to establish, the territorial, war between phyrexia, and Meriden every, card in this block belonged to one faction or the other and thus showed off their corresponding. Symbols in the, following block innistrad, R&D. Cranked up the exploratory. Design and card frames to push flavor and mechanics, into new territory what. Was tested with the Odyssey tombstone, was taken to the next level with the miracle mechanic, which, bravely pushed back against the philosophy, of a tradition, of unifying, the card frames to look fully cohesive, across a set these. Frames were loud and intentionally. So their, goal was to subconsciously, signal, to players that they were different from other cards, and thus, should be paid attention to while playing pulling. A miracle card off the top of your deck triggered a subset of game rules that were time sensitive, and the frame was the primary way to communicate such, an urgency, once, again flavor, was fully harmonious, with function, here perhaps, the most important, technology, developed in innistrad where the transformed, cards first, theorized back in the Odyssey block the, deep need to functionally, capture the visceral transformation. From human to werewolf was, only possible through this card frame design prior. To this set where, creatures could only show change from animal, to bloodthirsty, beasts via the threshold mechanic. But, that was simply not resonant, enough a communicative, device to match the horror trope that the block was heavily pushing, to, boot Wizards, knew that the kamigamo, flipped cards were a failure and that card frame did not provide enough space to accommodate, the worthiness of this tribe so. They had to go against all taboo, and print, a double-faced card as, well as modify the frame to signal this brand new mechanic, once, again the, upper left-hand corner was, a critical, piece of real estate to signal to players the card's abilities, here. The card title nudged over to make space for the symbol of a Sun which, was gently wrapped into the rest of the frame by those ever important spin lines we've analyzed multiple, times in this video since. These cards were first used primarily on creatures, the, text box broke near the bottom right of the card to display the other side's power and toughness for quick reference this. Same arrow showed up in the middle of the title bar on miracle, cards on the, flipside the Sun symbol became a moon and a new small dots and the type line signaled, the cards color identity, since, it lacked a mana cost to convey such information. As you. Can imagine R&D, was very hesitant to push the boundaries of tradition, and order sir. But, looking at the success of double-faced cards in their ancillary products, Duel Masters and developing. A card frame that could simplify gameplay, meant that the mold was primed to be broken once again just. Like watermarks, in full art lands flavor, and function on card frames was fully balanced, in innistrad which, opened up gigantic, potential, for design space and future sets a year, later the team returned to Ravnica and, resurrected, the same design philosophies, that made the first block were like a well-oiled machine, the.

Guild Symbols were sleekly updated, and displayed in the watermarks once again and split, cards incorporated, a new mechanic called fuse that, required an update to the now 12 year old frame to subtle changes took shape the, first was the addition of another type line that ran across the bottom which, described, the mechanic, and the second were the pinched edges between the two halves that sought, to signify that these spells could be merged into one upon casting the, design was fine and the block really just toyed with already-established tropes, without breaking into new space I personally. Think that split cards should be rotated, 90 degrees here's. An example that I asked the proxy guide to develop to, me they just read, better and feel less wonky, then. Theros, came along and built upon the niche carved out by the miracle, mechanic, with this starry card frame that differentiated, enchantment, creatures from normal cards this. Frame was a critical, turning point for the future of Magic's graphic design meant. That the fusion between mechanics. And card frames was here to stay and furthermore, gave R&D, more design space to work with in order to communicate gameplay, to the players where. Pin lines succeeded, in differentiating, gold cards in Ravnica the, miracle, and NYX borders proved that there were still areas to explore on the card frame twenty. Years of this tripartite, format, and suddenly, the space between the border and the illustration, became much more functional, whereas the Odyssey tombstone, and innistrad Sun, and Moon symbols required, their own space now, R&D. Could simply rework, the card frame itself to signal mechanics, to players with, this innovation, they hit the ground running but, before they could tinker with the top half of the card they. Needed to clean up the bottom cue. The magic 2015, corset. Just. After celebrating 20 years of production R&D felt a time to streamline, once again all, the information visible. On a default magic card for. The first time since the dramatic 8th edition alterations. The frames would be reimagined, to accommodate, printing technologies, and give the game a more distinct brand looking, at the before and after side by side you'll, notice that the departure was not very extreme, but. Of course like I've said many times now the, change brought forth the infamous, complaints of quote unquote this does not look like a magic card the, updates were overall very minor a new, IP specific. Font called blarin, that added just enough flair to the previously, utilized, matrix, bold a hollow, foil stamp on rares and mythix, fused along the bottom center, justified, to prove authenticity and, fight counterfeits, and a, more efficient organization, of the collectors information, which greatly helped card stores and bulk clickers alike even, the border was thinned by almost a millimeter, to compensate. For these inclusions, the same curve I highlighted, on a Johnny Goldman, was installed on every card type not just Planeswalkers, this. Was the most extreme aspect, of the m15, changes, and for, the proxy guy and many others it felt yet again like, the uniqueness between, cards was being ironed out in favor of uniformity. And I hated, that frame the first, day I saw it but it wasn't I didn't hate it because it was a change, I hated, it because I didn't like that they were making the planeswalker, frames less special, because. They've always had that kind of break at the bottom in the solid by bottom, of the card like, most of us though he, quickly came around after, playing with it and recreating it it's, the best frame they've ever done I mean, it's the ball close. That's. What a magic card in the modern world should look like they killed. It I love that frame with. Another obstacle successfully. Hurtled the five years following tharros and m15 opened up the card frame to even more experimental, designs, consider. This since, m15, every single expansion as well as a group of supplementary, products, have, incorporated, an alteration, or modification.

Of The default card frame into their design every. Single, one this, has never happened before, in the history of the game it, took almost ten years for the card frame to change at all and now, variants, of the frame have become a default design principle, for nearly every, set this. I believe is a critical Butz, delicate, aspect, to balance let's. Look at these now, conspiracy. A multiplayer, draft matter set utilize, the watermark, technology, to denote cards that affected drafting, it, also debuted, the new card type of the same name that transformed, the title and type lines into a scroll, and hosted. A semi-transparent, text, box to show off more art flavor, met function, in the frame yet again and was, taken a step further in the sequel set this. Time draft matters cards received an all new frame as well, as a watermark, to signal game mechanics, in the same way that miracles, and enchantment, creatures did meanwhile. The khans of tarkir block, pulled from the guild tropes of return to Ravnica and used, watermarks, to organize cards, into the 5-3. Color clans this. Block also experimented. With holographic, watermarks. That transformed, between the console and the dragon symbol depending. On the angle of observation as. Seen on the siege cycle, and my personal, favorite crux of faith magic. Origins brought back double faced cards, this, time to thematically, represent, the game's main characters, igniting, their spark and transforming. Into Planeswalkers, battle. For Zendikar we utilized the mostly transparent Eldrazi, card frame as well as introduced a flavorful pattern, for the devoid mechanic, to add some visual spice to colorless creatures, again. That small space between illustration. And border, is, being put to great use returning. To the plain of gothic, horror in the shadows over innistrad block, brought, back some fan favorite frames and pushed the boundaries of their potential, double-faced. Cards of course offered, premium, real estates and were, utilized not only on werewolves, but even on enchantments, and sorceries, to play with flavourful card, barnsey, took this to the extreme with meld creatures, which, hearkened back to the big furry monster from unglued and stretched, orders across two entire cards, kal adesh debuted, the vehicle creature type and with, it came a new card frame these, were not just artifacts, but a unique design that warranted, differentiation.

That. Frame space once again became critical, to communicate, this message at a quick glance almond. Cat the Egyptian world that inspired this video also. Revamped a former card frame to match game mechanics, the, aftermath split cards showed another attempt, at marrying flavor and function, and pushed, the design space just enough to warrant that same old reaction, of quote. Unquote this, is not a magic card this, design is flawed in its attempt to be both horizontal. And vertical on, each half but, still serves as an example of utility, and forming graphic design the, follow-up set exelon, merged. All of these mechanics together and pushed double-faced, cards even further heck, in this set you can find a vehicle transforming. Into a land both, representing, those new card frames and finally. In unstable, we, can find the ongoing attempt to push card frames further into new territory for, the first time in its history full. Art lands were printed, as exactly, that the. Basics in this set for wins borders altogether, and to, minimize the title line to its semi-transparent. Bare essentials. Contraptions. And hosts and augment creatures did the same thing and not only did watermarks, return to group cards into flavorful, factions, but, they also inspired, an entire sub, theme of the set that greatly affected gameplay, as the. Silver borders returned but, kept that curved black edge to prioritize, the established, collectors information, conventions, in shorts. The post m15, world has been far more exploratory. And inventive, with card frames than the changes seen in the 20 years prior combined, as a, result, game mechanics and design space have expanded, and flavor. Has been reinstated into, the card frame in much the same way that alpha utilized its potential, which. Brings us to right now let's. Talk about masterpieces. In. The midst of this card frame renaissance in the return to a fan-favorite plane and send a car wizards, through players another curveball, the introduction of the Zendikar expeditions, a premium. Series of 45, highly, sought after non-basic. Lands, were randomly inserted into booster packs at an extremely rare rate across the block and offered, a unique twist on what a magic card traditionally, looked like as, well as how it appeared in expansion products, although, they showed up in a standard legal set the, cards possess their own expansion, symbol, and were technically, considered stand-alone, promotions, and thus, were not playable, in the type to format, the, multi front success of the expedition, experiment, inspired Wizards, to repeat this design in the Calla desh block inaugurating.

The Masterpiece, series in the process, initially. Masterpieces. Were intended, to appear in every expansion, moving forward, but this proved to be an unsustainable, model due to the sheer density of cards in each installment, choosing. Upwards of 50 desirable, and powerful, cards from magics past per block meant that sooner, or later the, well would run dry, so, after only three blocks the policy, was changed, masterpieces, would only appear in certain sets where flavor and function would combine to generate a homerun series, of premium cards more. Than the high rarity, playability, or new arts I believe, that the masterpieces, fundamentally. Rely on their custom card frames to deliver their immersive experience, after. All reprints, often have new arts are, almost always accessible, in foil and appear. In either expansion. Or supplemental, sets and so, are playable across multiple formats. Obviously. These elements, are not exclusive, to one another the, most successful masterpieces, so far have been powerful cards with strong illustrations, and high reprint, value but, the prime factor, separating, these cards from any of their premium, or foil counterparts. Is found precisely, in the frames that surround them and I, needed to describe in such detail, and at such great length, the history of magic card frames in order, to drive this point home remember. The ongoing complaint corden quote this does not look like a magic card that. Reaction is intrinsically, tied to, moments of a change in card frame as you, may expect with. Each new unveiling, of these premium, cards some, players echoed, that same sentiment, so, let's take a look at each of the four frames used so far to analyze how flavor is distinctly, communicated. On these cards versus any of their former versions, to, note I am using the double land frame in my analysis, because. It was initially intended to be the exelon masterpiece, frame before, the plans were scrapped for that set up. First is the Zendikar expedition, the forerunner of the series this, frame is a hybrid between the full art lands from the same sets and the, game-day promo as I discussed earlier it, has an illustration box that curves at the top and squares out at the bottom and employs. The same he drawn texture, found on devoid cards except. It continues, throughout the rest of the frame in order, to display as much of the illustration, as possible, the type line was moved from the middle to the bottom and the text box was rendered semi-transparent. Although. They were marketed, as full art land's players, lamented, that the rules text took up too much space and prevented. That desired effect, overall. Though these, look and feel very much like a magic card and they, blew audiences, way this, frame worked the. Cal adesh inventions, overall, are, actually much more traditional masterpieces. Than the expedition's, save, the coloring and again the ever-important, card frame to convey the steampunk, world full of artifacts, and innovation, magic. Artists tylerjacobsen, partnered. With in-house graphic designer, liz leo and painted. The filigree to give these frames a handcrafted. Feel the. Copper treatment of both the title and type lines blended, seamlessly with, this intricate texturing. Which, elevated the art direction of the pieces cards. Like soul ring and mana crypt were certainly standouts, that exemplified, this harmony between frame and illustration, other, than these small aesthetic, modifications the. Frame itself is at its core in m15, design important. To note it has that same black border, surrounding it although. The goal of both of these masterpieces, was to incite immersion, into their respective worlds. Functionality. Was held at the priority, of their designs / mark rose waters article in 2003. When, flavor and function buttheads the, more flexible item needs to give in to the less flexible, function. Has much less flexibility, than flavor and flavor, is thus much more adaptable, this. Has been at the core of magics, design philosophy, for the greater half of its lifetime in, order for players to remain clear about what their fancy new cards did the, rules text was printed on the expedition lands, which, was a lesson our indie learned with the Texas promos, like cryptic command not, once were they seriously considering, Texas expeditions.

Even. If most players know by heart polluted, Delta's abilities, the, cards function still set the precedent, for the visual design the, same was true for the artifacts, in Cal adesh whose, experimentation. Existed, only in the frame and this. Brings us to mind twist and the, almond cat indications. Quote. Unquote this, does not look like a magic card but. Why. Fundamentally. It is because flavor for the first time since alpha, took, precedence, over function, I can safely say that these are far and beyond the most flavorful, cards, the game has ever printed, precisely. Because they ate away at the design space usually reserved for functionality. Every. Inch of this card face has been altered to cater to that ancient Egyptian, feel which, left no room to assure that the card could be playable in-game from. The proxy guys perspective when. You're looking at the card there's, too much vying for your for, your attention. But when you go to play it you're like what's the name of the card you have to kind of dig that out what's. The mana cost because, there's not colors. I have to find that what's. The card type that can be completely buried on. A creature where, is the power toughness, because they did that vertical, little piece on the side and it's difficult but. All of that combined, was, just almost, overwhelming. There was just too much going on and the, title bar alone we have six different border, layers starting, with a flashy golden, bar and ending, with a three-dimensional. Shadowed, slab that feeds into the illustration, beneath. That a pair of capitals, nestled, up to two thick side bars designed, to mimic stone columns, then. Another series of textured, layers building, the type line a huge, drop shadow commands, a fifth of the real estate in the text box which, itself sits between two more colored slabs embossed, with golden Biden's finally. Along the bottom is another panel for the collector's information, more, horns to house the authenticity stamp. And two, more layers of gold and adornment with drop shadows of their own the. Biggest strike against functionality. With these cards were the allege ability, of the title and type lines which, was an intentional, design decision, by R&D they. Wanted players to feel like they were reading ancient hieroglyphics. And to this point they succeeded. Again, the flavor took precedence, over clarity, of information. Secondly. The area designated for, the artwork was heavily shrunk to, accommodate, the three-dimensional, frame what, failed most and a lot of people will say you can't read them I can't. Comment, too much on that only because I've spent so much time staring at it that I don't have a problem seeing them anymore the, shrinking of the art was by far my least favorite aspect of it and finally. The text box has its own host of issues that still Acme despite my attitude, changing, about these cards over time the, font ear called Shengo gothic, is, supposed to resemble letters being carved into stone and thus, was kept in all caps for. Cards like counterspell the effect is bold and it works the text, is also centered justified, which, has only happened on a handful of cards with minimal amounts of rules text this, becomes a highly problematic, design decision, with modal cards like austere command, as you, can see here choose, to had to be lowered to respect, that gigantic, drop shadow which, quashed the four modes into a tiny space that, the lower bowl oz hornz impose, upon to look.

At Days and you'll find these capital, letters fight heavily, with the formatting, and barely fit between their shadows, but. Even cards like capsized, and diabolic, edict deserve at least a little personalized, attention to, their formatting, so, that the text on their bottom rows isn't heavily out balanced, by the ones above them, sacrifices. A creature should just absolutely. Be on its own line to, create that same balance, found on damnation, in, essence that same highly, tailored art direction, that blended the card frame and illustration, on the Cala - masterpieces. Should, have been employed here between the rules text and the font formatting, all, aesthetic, complaints aside though the, invitations, have grown on the player base and on me over time in spite of the initial backlash, their design was bold and pushed the card frame to unrecognizable. Extremes. However, holistically, they still obeyed the central tenets that make up a magic card they, can still be divided, like any other card into. The three horizontal sections. All, of the critical information that m15, prioritize, is still there even. If it is lost in the havoc adding. That same to millimetre black border could have certainly helped ground these designs a bit more - and we, can expect to see car frames explore this space further into the future especially. For the masterpiece, series the, precedent set by the invitations, was followed up by a treasure map style card frame that also dropped the traditional, title lines type lines and text boxes to, push the flavor of a world built around exploration. Once, again this frame prioritized, flavor but, still leveraged a baseline functionality. That was missing from the invitations, players. Came around quicker to these two despite. Out crying once again that these quote-unquote did not look like a magic card so. I would like to conclude this gigantic, video with one final thoughts on how to approach, any future, card frames that may break the mold established, by m15 and Pryor and to, do so I'm going back to a favorite film of mine Ferris, Bueller's Day Off if, you haven't seen it yet worry not there, won't be any big spoilers, in the, film one Center of great dramatic tension exists, between this character, Cameron, and his, mega strict dad who we never actually see on screen we. Know though that he loves this car more than anything else in the world including, according. To Cameron his own son, Ferris. Being the nonchalant, and reckless, friend he is decides. To take the car for a spin around Chicago. Critical. To this plot points, we learned that the car has virtually zero, miles on it which means that Cameron's dad has no actual interest in using this machine for its intended purpose it's. Just a trophy piece and, not a real means of transportation in, this. Example then the car is just a simulacrum of, a car it's, flashy but completely, dysfunctional the.

Allman Cat in vacations are the same thing despite. The fact that they can technically, be played index I treat, these cards the same way Cameron's, dad treats his Ferrari purely. As collectors, items that. Should be their purpose where. They fail entirely on functionality, they, greatly succeed, in delivering that immersive experience, that, pleasure that comes from owning a piece of treasure despite, it serving no really use we're, the expedition's, and masterpieces, found the balance between flavor, function, utility, and glamour akin. To a Lexus, or a Tesla, the, invocation should, be placed in a category, of their own like, a Ferrari in a showroom because, I sincerely believe we are going to continue to receive frames that may not necessarily match. Our established, expectations. Magic. After all is a game about change it's. Not-- this is Magic's 25th, year anniversary and, what, better way to shake the foundations like 8th edition did on their tenth birthday than. With the debut of new visual designs from. Mark Rose Waters drive to work podcast, number, 445. Matt, early, on we, very rarely added, new frames we're, a lot more willing now to use frame, changes a to. Either do things we couldn't do without them or be help. You communicate, what we're doing and make gameplay easier, for you there's, some future frame stuff that's really cool that I can't talk about yet cuz you guys don't know about it yet but there's some future frame stuff we are getting bolder. And bolder with what we're willing to try with the frame and it's really opening up a lot of cool design space now, the question is will, those frames be Tesla's, or Ferraris. Thanks. For watching. I'm. A proud partner of car kingdom used card Kingdom comm, slash studies to help support me and, maybe pick up some magic, products, like some cards with funky, frames from the Magic's. Past that'd, be awesome, thank you.

2018-02-24 23:37

Show Video

Comments:

This one showed way more research, but at the same time lots less heart than your other works. Works as a documentary, but I wouldn't watch much more like this for a while.

I personally think it takes quite a lot of heart to make a 50 minute video on such a precise topic.

hold up, city of brass does not produce colorless mana, it produces every color of mana. You are just making stuff up.

What's wrong with "used" that people had to invent "utilized" ?

I don't play MTG anymore, and this video was one of the best and well researched videos I've ever watched beginning to end. You, sir, just earned a subscriber.

Love you sam!

Great production! I loathe the new borders, I don't buy new packs because of them. One thing I think you overstated was that the older border cards were hard to read. That was never really an issue while playing. Sure, they were cards that were hard to read, but that was more from the volume of text rather than any border/contract issues. Are the new borders slightly clearer to read? Yes, but at the expense of it not being Magic anymore.

good god I can't even imagine the hours that went into the research, scripting, and editing of this video. a damn fine piece, good job

i miss the old artwork =(

WOW DUDE THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST VIDEOS I HAVE EVER SEEN! Thanks so much for doing this!!

I wish they would put indicators for evergreen mechanics. I frequently misplay just because I did not realize this certain creature has flying or double strike or whatever

One cool thing they did in Fate Reforged was introducing the first colorless non-artifact non-Eldrazi creature with Scion of Ugin, letting it use the colorless border

This video needed to be made! Great work!

41:32 Also want to say the borderless cards like in amonkhet are genius. The cartouches around info , the illustrated architecture as a border, great idea. Maybe we will see Greek/Roman/Gothic versions of these cards in the future. Orzhov with cathedral borders for example would be cool.

Is English your second language? The voice ruined the otherwise good video for me.

why would you think that?

I think you forgot miracle cards and their unique borders

Amazing eye for detail as always. I remember opening my first and only invocation: Blood Moon. I use it in my modern burn deck main board. While the deck itself is double sleeved, the "ferrari" us triple sleeved.

Hello, Wizards! Give this man a job in there.

Fuck, now I wish someone would analyze the history of Yugioh card design now.

Hey my dude maybe it's just me but I think a great idea for a couple of videos to make an in depth anylisis of each mana color and what they represent in their playstyle

With the invocations, it's ok to hate on them a little. I do appreciate that they tried, but I'll never get over the shrunken art and the non-colored-colored mana symbols. I think the mana symbols was the most egregious part, I don't think that was in the realm of immersion and design choice, just a strictly worse version and a mistake. I feel this way about a lot of aspects of them but can respect being a little more charitable, the mana symbols was just the most blatant case of "this should have been done one way only, and you botched it". They nailed it with the transform lands though. Transforming rites of itlimoc and using it generate tons of plant tokens with Ghave felt incredibly flavorful and satisfying. They convey a sense of importance and uniqueness to those special locations in the world beautifully.

Arlinn Kord.. the most beautiful Magic Card in the game to day.. imo,

Fantastic work. Don't think you'd find anything more well thought out, scripted and edited on all of YouTube.

Great video, great editing, and was overall fun to watch.

I’m at a loss for words. What an incredible case study. I applaud what you do.

Great video. Nothing else to say!

Discovered your channel today and in short, amazing work. I've stopped playing magic last year and the way you go into detail about certain things makes me want to play again. Keep up the great work man. This channel along side Rudy's is probably the two best channels for magic for me now.

Damn, well thought out edited and concise deconstruction of the history of this games minute artistic changes. I took a break after Dark Ascension/Zendakar and upon returning around Kaladesh I was thrown for a loop with that planeswalker curve at the bottom of the cards being standard. This video really helped me understand when and why those things happened along with the rest of the interesting history, so thank you for that closure. TLDR Amazing video, earned yourself a sub!

Waited so long for a new vid, well a month, this video is so perfect

@26:36 Kibler and LVS's faces... PRICELESS

Amazing video

Great video, one gripe I have though is you say certain design choices, namely how the mana is displayed in certain cards "Failed" or "doesn't work". But how so? I was left wanting you to expound on that point, because it looks aesthetically pleasing to me.

Could you do a video covering Tyler Jacobson? I would to here you talk and analyze/critique his work.

I only just discovered you, but already you are my favorite channel for Magic. High quality analysis, great visuals, mood fitting music, and your voice works absolutely wonderful for these types of videos. I cannot wait to see what you put out in the future. Stay amazing dude

easy sub, great content

50% video essay, 50% documentary, 100% awesome.

As a new player to magic, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This answered so many questions I had looking at some of the new cards compared to old cards. I watched the entire video and was engaged the entire time. I could tell you put a ton of work into this and it shows. Great work!

i wish i could like it again

As a veteran since Unlimited... I have a bone to pick. I liked every single card frame alteration I saw. I even like the Invocations. I never really heard much complaint about the updates over time, across IRC or on message boards or in LGSs.  The negative tone fits the dramatic conceit, sure, but I don't think it rings true.

dont really get how the white frame makes it more "fantasy like"

incredible vid

Fifth dawn actually had no colored mana symbols in the text box at all. Just look at the Bringer cycle.

And the reason why collectors ruined the game of magic the gathering. compared to the players of Magic the Gathering. And is the reason why it has a Reserve list... Simple but true.

How,please tell me how,can someone dislike such a chill video like this?He's on crack or something? Great video as always.

Great video. I would love to hear your take on the popularity of Judge foil Elesh Norn against the bad reception of the Amonket masterpiece card design.

I have held these cards in my hands so many times, you would think I would know some of this stuff, but I just learned so much

I’m wondering if you could answer a question for me. I would really like to know how long it takes to produce the videos on your channel.

this one took about two months, from start to finish.

Another Fantastic and informative video :)

Just the words for this video, mind you I've been following the progress of the "Big One" on twitter: WORTH. THE. WAIT.

Incredible video, you put us other MTG YouTubers to shame. Well done!

Really. Really well done. Thanks for the video. Hope to see you around Austin.

To see Magic treated as reverently and as artfully as you have here made watching this video a true joy. Well done. Well done, indeed!

"If you haven't seen this movie, worry not..." Hmmm...I would disagree. If you haven't seen Ferris Bueller's day off, there is something very wrong with you. Just in case- I'm kidding of course (sorta)

One thing worth mentioning is how the Innistrad transform cards' reverse side replicates some of the designs of the Planar Chaos Timeshifted cards: Darkened colors and white typeline text. Though they still use the standard textures. Just more visual clues that you're looking at the back side of a transform card rather than the normal face. Another thing is that the Future Sight card type symbols are still in use in both MTGO and Magic Arena to assist players sorting through their collections.

Is there a way to super like a YouTube video? Seriously, killer job. This is my favorite video you've done and I love you your other videos. Keep up the good work!

Gorgeous editing. The clarity and thoroughness of your presentation is exemplary as well. If only WotC mirrored your philosophy of quality control today! Subscribed.

Rosewater is such a wiener

This is fucking awesome

Sam, this is an amazing video. No wonder it took so long. Thank you for all that you do, and I wouldn’t be upset about more of these in depth videos in the future

I just found your channel and this is amazing.

I think the Time Spiral block had the best frames, mostly just the time shifted card. The rings of a tree for green, the broken rock for red and all that. Best mix of fantasy and function in MTG for cards. I didnt love the future-sight frame, but I didnt dislike it either, but I will say that future sight was probably the best example of 'this is not a magic card'. It was such an extreme departure from what we knew of magic cards, and I think it was too far ahead of its time for fans to appreciate it. If we had future sight borders put in for an expansion nowadays, it wouldn't be as scandalous as it had been when it was first introduced.

Great video sam. Just astonishing.

You know what negative of the Invocations never comes up? Because they were borderless you knew almost as soon as you opened the pack if you had one or not. It took away from the excitement of getting to the last card - and even took away the option.

I knew when I started watching I'd be in for the long haul, and at no point did I look away. Amazing job Sam. I wish there were awards and recognition for content creation. If there was, this video would deserve several "Oscars." Bravo.

As someone has collected the cards for about 20 years now I still prefer how the old cards look because I like the flavor, but I definitely understand why the frames have been switched and I'm not really mad about it. Amazing video as always.

I can't believe I masturbated to this video, but yah here we are

Personally, I'm a fan of special card frames. But, BUT, why don't full art cards have black bottoms? The Zendikar Explorations, modern full art lands, and modern tokens all have that ugly extra bit of border jutting out the bottom instead of following the black border and creating a pleasant transition from text box to border.

I started playing MTG at the end of AVR and beginning of RTR so to sit through this video and see all the different frames and why or how they were a success or failure was intensely gratifying and pleasurable; thank you. Even I had that knee-jerk reaction of "this does not look like a Magic card" when I saw the M15 cards, even though I had not been playing for nearly as long as most people who do play Magic.

Excellent vid. Minuscule error: Apocalypse was not a block later than Invasion, but the third and final set of the Invasion block itself.

I found this unbelievable diversity to be absolutly wonderful. I love building multiframed decks, but also appreciate making uniform decks!

what an awesome video!

Dude, I thought you'd quit on us.... I'm so glad you didn't. This video proves once again you are the most polished content creator in our community, and a top three must watch, must follow.

Absolutelty fantastic video, GREAT WORK! It suprised me you didn't talk much about promo sets, like FTV or Championship decks, which had Gold borders. Keep up the good work!

great video! congrats!

Ce n'est pas une carte Magic.

Amazing!!!! Unbelievable how much effort you put into this Video! Great Job!

I would really wanna give props to you sir this is well written and the visuals were great too!

so this is what hes been working on!

Expeditions are the best imho

I had no problem understanding the functionality of pre 8th edition card frames... I'd take the high fantasy feel of magic cards over the new frames any day.

More than any other video this made me miss my 4th edition cards having sold out

Your videos are amazing. Lots of hard work, research, great scripting, editing, VO, etc etc. WOTC should hire you to work on some of their content. :)

Do you think if they take the design of the full art lands in unstable, and apply it to other card types using a semi transparent text box at the bottom similar to the title box for rules text?

Incredible. Your videos are such great quality

Lots of cool info here. Nice video. Thank you.

Sure the left handed players get slightly shafted but i like what they did in future sight with some of the cards having the mana cost on the left hand side

Magnificent!

This is the greatest video on YouTube man. Bravo.

Lord of Atlantis white border is awesome

Sam cast Past in Frames with Flashback-- it resolves.

nice, subbed

30:14 "And they hit the ground running" Shrek?

When I first saw the Invocations online I thought they were the ugliest thing ever. Then I saw one in person and it's probably one of my favorite of the Masterpiece set.

FERRIS IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE TOO

Great video as always!

Awesome job

great video!

Mmmmm.. MMMmmm yes. Yes. Very tasty. Thank you.

It seems like whenever someone says "This is not a Magic card," R&D did something right.

Great job, Mr. Magic vir

This was incredible and so enjoyable. I feel that same way with your videos as I do a documentary like planet earth: educational and beautiful. At first I thought this video would feel too long, but the endless visual stimulus was incredible. Thanks.

I still find the old at style so much better

hahaha Brian kiblers face at 26 minutes was amazing

So after watching the whole thing I think there was one consistent piece of the frame that got skipped over? The little hollow circle on the left side of the type line for cards that can't normally be played. I'm unsure how many cards have it but I first noticed it on the Augment cards from Unstable and a few others later on. At least... That's what the little hollow circle is for yeah?

startled awake is the best flavor win they have ever done and it wouldn't be possible without the flip frames.

I feel like this was too short. I could spend hours listening to you talk about cardboard.

Teslas I hope! For love of Science. :)

Love the video I thought it was shorter but still watched the whole thing. Holy tolito I know a lot about magic frames now ,hope it comes in handy some day and hopefully in a slum dog millionaire kinda way

I enjoyed this informative video on a much-overlooked topic. It was like a trip down memory lane. And you are definitely right about the right-to-left preferences for things like cc and p/t...it takes too long to process the information when it isn't where you expect it to be. I remember drafting Future Sight when it first came out and being irritated the entire time.

please RON SPENCER!

I saw this 5 days late but dear god man. You are probably like within the top 10 best youtubers for sheer video quality. This is amazing, I have some sort of experience with card design and this really helped, and even without that aspect, this was such a good video that the 50 minutes was well worth it. Keep it up friend, you're one of the people that actually got me into Magic in the first place you know!

You are right, and I am sorry, I'll try to be more specific on my comment. I can tell you did put it in; the production alone is miles above your already outstanding standards and it is clear that you are quite passionate about the whole affair, but despite it all, between the monotone narration (which one could get used to on shorter-form videos), and the dry, niche inside a niche topic, it was just too much. It isn't bad by any stretch, but it is a far cry from your previous content in the sense of how much new and relevant info we get out of, (the mechanic design and challenges of counterspells and bad cards giving much more to ponder over and bringing back way more memories than the looks on the edges of the cardboard), and even if you liked the idea enough to talk 50 minutes about it and edit for what I can only guess were over 50 hours, that won't always translate to the same perception from everyone else. For me personally, Bolt was less than half as long and more than twice as engaging, I finished watching it and felt the urge to bust out into the local gamestore to play some games, and even that one still had me seeing it at 2x speed. (Hatred outlives the hateful is my favourite tho, watched it several times and at normal speed) In the end I think the problem lies on the delivery, which is a shame since it probably took the least time to record and the most to arrange everything else, but that part lessened the perceived value of everything else for me. But I think you could do it way better if you wanted, and your work would be way greater for it, more easily consumed and captivating, but that's hardly something that would come up if everyone just keeps commenting how awesome you are to keep them hooked for so long, which of course you are and they were, but sometimes you are the student on the front squeezing every bit of info from the teacher with a smile and others you are the kid on the back struggling to focus, and while the teacher isn't responsible for what every single one of it's students takes away in the end, there are ways that the class could be made so that everyone enjoys it better. (sorry about the long and needles analogy, I tend to do that a lot, hope it wasn't too pointless. While I am at it, sorry for the terrible english as well, trying to improve on this second language) I will still await eagerly your next work and am sorry to seem so negative, in the end your content is for you first and for us second, and I really can only be thankful for whatever we get. Since you take your time to read comments, I'll try and take mine to keep on commenting on a more constructive and elaborate manner. Thank you so much for all the hard work. You deserve more and way better fans than just me, and hopefully you've gotten tons of better and more helpful comments.

So much detail! Perfect

Magic players love to complain about anything. Like me on this video. Too long. Too wordy.

great video, felt like 5 minutes to me, I want more :) thanks for that!

I really like the future sight card frame

This video just makes me want the Invocations. I always thought people were overreacting a bit about them, but now I REALLY like them.

I should have subbed on the bolt episode or the boogeyman episode but I'm subbing now sorry

Amazing video. I never knew I could care so much about card frames. the only frames that ever FAILED for me at the Amonket Masterpieces...they really look like they came from a mid-90s High School game design...

Are there more Magic channels like this? Please someone help, this channel is so amazing.

staring a card for 15 seconds to try and finding out what it actually is, is just a bad design choice. who the fuck thought about this!

no, I covered that little circle when I talked about werewolves. it marks a card's color identity when the mana cost is not visible (or does not have one, in the case of Augment cards and free spells like Pact of Negation).

Back when I worked at my local magic shop I saw a couple expeditions pulled and they are so damn cool to just look at

The invocations are among the most beautiful cards ever printed, in my opinion. I absolutely LOVE them.

Awesome video, great content!

This was an amazing video.

Amazing video for magic lovers, old timey and newcomers alike. Such a great work it brings me back so many years and I feel it's the lind of videos I would share instantly to a non-initate to introduce them to this beautiful world. It's a love letter to the game we all love. Congratz you got yourself a new sub!

Collector's Edition, NY PT and World Champs decks

Very well done.

White border 4 lyfe. I dont know why but I like it way more

The full art lands were the only upside of buying unhinged packs...

ferris bueller is awful

Well done.

Never thought I would hear about Duelmasters double side card here.

i found your channel because another you-tuber made a video and referred you. Wow, this is great work. I am so glad i subbed.

which YouTuber?

What do you put your videos together in? They always look great

I use Adobe products (Premiere Pro / Photoshop / After Effects)

To me, you will always be known as TheMagicMan

You're a sort of specialized historian and documentary filmmaker. This type of historical specificity is rare, but necessary. Obviously its Magic, so how could it boring, right? But a lot of really specific history is often riddled and very dense and you unpacked a lot of information here in a very skilled way. This is an amazing video man. Thank you very much for all the effort and context, it helps a lot and is *very* interesting. Keep up the great work, man. Came from Thoughsieze video which was also absolutely beautifully done. Thank you again. New sub here, excited to watch more.

Amazing this was a work of art very interesting man... ill think before I say this doesn't look like a magic card from here on... thanks

Excellent videomanship! You're a great story teller!

White bordered lands are my favorite, especially in decks where you have to search land often since they're easy to find

I love you Innistrad

Hey what about the Phyrexia cards written in Phyrexian and stuff?

The huge problem with the amonkhet cards is how they show up in articles and gatherer instead of any readable one. I'm not against collectors items being super flavorful or anything, but when it removes functionality from things that are used 100% for functionality like gatherer and a card lookup it is a huge issue.

I hate two sided cards more than any thing eggcept maybe conspiracy

Just awesome! Thanks for all your hard work

This video was great! Thank you for this beautiful content :)

Look at that Coiling Oracle though!

50 minutes video of looking at beautiful card eye-candy and Sam explaining the complexities of it all? Count me in. This video is incredible.

I have got to say, after looking at such amazingly designed cards, I could not help, but die a little inside at the vertically asymmetrical end credits blocks. >.< Great work on this masterpeice video though, dude. I loved hearing about the history of the game. This is quality content needed on YT.

You should make a video on Slivers

it was for you!

What a quality video!!!

I’m stunned. Why isn’t this the number one spot on YouTube; this is real quality content-creation.

Wow dude, well freaking done. Great vid, sharing this with all my magic compatible friends and even a few of my more game and graphic design focused buddies.

So I just discovered your channel, but my god I love everything you do. Keep it up dude. Education is one of the most important parts of every tcg

Maybe you could do research on the history of cardstock in MTG...and compare it to others and itself throughout history. Because the cardstock has been severely diminished as of late. I think it would be interesting, but it may not have enough depth as a subject.

How does this video not have a million views yet!?!?

this video is too good man, cheers

As an old Magic player who’s slowly getting back into it, this is a fascinating look at the 15 or so years I’ve missed. Thank you.

You, good sir, got yourself a new subscriber. Keep up the good work, I love watching those analytic videos on MTG of yours!

Best 45 min of my week, maybe even month.

I love these videos. And as to the question - Lexus or Ferrari? I'll take both please.

Changing the magic border in mirrodin was the worst mistake Wotc ever made with mtg. The game felt less magical with the more digital border. It no longer felt like magic. Second worst was introducing planeswalkers. I simply have not enjoyed magic after planeswalkers saw print. The entire game focusses on these endless card advantage machines, erradicating so many deck types and strategies to the point were every magic deck i see now looks like a midrange deck.

Explain why they have deckmaster on the back of the card. I have never understood that.

That. was. awesome. Thank you!

I think the biggest failure of invocations is how hard they pressed the three-dimensional aspect, it is what caused the shrinkage of the art, it creates the huge drop shadows that intrude on text. I love the idea of looking through a frame into another world, and the three dimensions capture this almost perfectly, but where it succeeded in that aspect, it took away from some of the other important flavor parts of a card, namely the art

And now Sagas "don't look like Magic cards"

I know you've heard it before, but your content is some of the the best quality magic content on the internet. I just watched an entire episode on card frames and enjoyed every minute. You are simply amazing at creating shows worth watching.

Tour de force! But note the Portal land text boxes didn't become standard immediately after Portal until Sixth Edition. Two large sets were printed after Portal with the old "T: Add U to your mana pool" text boxes (Tempest and Urza's Saga). The Portal and Portal Second Age lands (along with unglued lands) were essentially trial balloons.

you make the most interesting, most well informed and most genuine mtg videos. Thank you and i loved the ferris reference

Rhystic Studies, please please please make a video about Bitterblossom. I'm a moderator of a Facebook group and I'm sure they all, along with myself, would very much appreciate the time, effort, and care you put into your art.

Great video. Needed more Hazoret the Pervert, though. That invocation font was truly terrible.

Soo What do you think about the Layout of the New Sagas coming in Dominaria?

great video, would you do a Drew Tucker art video.

Was hoping you would comment on the white mana symbol change. Great vid as usual tho, cant get enough!

Once again, I don't even play MTG, but this video was mesmerizing. Keep it up my dude!

Best video yet, keep em coming Sam.

The next magic cards are gonna have little 10 second videos Bet

You should make a tutorial on how to play magic with this awesome visual aesthetic and your knack for teaching and explanation, yours would probably be better than all of the others

an update to this taking into account the new Dominaria Saga cards and legend cards once they're revealed would be really interesting

I don't know why i'm watching this if i never played magic???

i really hate the amonkhet masterpieces amazing video by the way

I would love to have a pink arabian card

Amazing video, quality content and production and fucking amazing editing. Keep up the great work.

This editing is god like for a video this long

"Watermark technology" We call it: "Photoshop Layers."

hearing your dislike for vertical i am curious to hear what you think about the saga cards

Amazing video! Time to update with those new frames that have been shown off!

Just because a frame is non-functional, doesn't mean it's flavorful. Amonkhet frames are a complete flavor miss.

For some reason there's just something funny about hearing Mark's excited voice and car-quality audio with smooth accompanied by smooth, calm music.

What do you think of the new legendary frame of Dominaria?

I don't want to ruin all the fun, but he made a frames video a set before the set with probably the most different frames in years. Probably not the first to point it out but still...

They aren't a COMPLETE flavor miss. The point is that the decisions they did make for it were purely for flavor and actively worked against function, as opposed to the other examples of flavor and function working together. Even if it didn't deliver flavor in a way people thought was the most flavorful, the things like the hierogliphic text, font choice, and gold embossing and other bits gone over in this video, are all things you'd associate with ancient Egyptian relics.

So what do you feel about the Dominaria frames?

Kinda sucks that Dominaria didn't get any "masterpiece treatment" seems wrong IMO....

38:01 the actual piece of *art* right?

The Invocations annoy me because they have absolutely amazing art on un-readable cards. I really hope that's not the last we see of those arts.

Hi, Rhystic Studies. I just wrote a similar article on Magic Card Frames: https://medium.com/@raphaelaleixo/the-graphic-design-for-magic-the-gathering-card-frames-b3b6da4cd003 - It's a different approach, I think, as I am focusing on the game design impact of the frame changes. But I would love to hear your opinion on it. Thanks a lot.

Sam's voice is asmr

And Dominaria naturally comes along two months later and adds a new frame...

I think the Invokations have one more problem that make them less loved than their predecessors (for me at least): they aren't all the same type. There's creatures, enchantments and sorceries, so it's even less clear what they do. If you play an expedition it's always a land, but Invokations don't have that uniformity, which makes the inaccessibility of information even more glaring.

Absolutely genius video, well done. As somebody invested very heavily in design this stands heads and shoulders above everything I've seen on not only this topic but on topics of design in general. Thank you, honestly.

I appreciated the Invocations when they released. I didn't like the illegibility of the text, but I always appreciate cards that prioritize the aesthetic over the design, especially if it's just a reprint. I also came from a YuGiOh background so that definitely helped but, nonetheless, I hope they keep making materpieces.

I have only ever pulled a single card, that was Engineered Explosives, and it is the golden spike in my collection.

You neglected to mention how 8th edition frames helped clarify which cards would be playable (with some exceptions like future sight and time shifted cards) when the Modern format was created.

Absolutely outstanding analysis. And very good idea to use "That does not look like a Magic card" as a recurring statement throughout the whole video, to finally finish off with the car comparison regarding the "Flavor over Functionality" cards.

Which was a great way to end this video. Though I guess had you waited a little longer, the frame change for Legendary cards, as well as the subtle separator line in the textbox with the upcoming Dominaria set would have been a nice inclusion for this video as well. Though then again, if we are to believe MaRos quote, this will be one of many further changes to come.

Was this like a 40 minute rant about Amonkhet Invocations?

Having discovered this video and watching it after Dominaria previews have started, I'd like to know your opinions on the new Legendary flair on the card frame as well as Saga cards. Personally I like the new Legendary frame as its simple but also a bold and beautiful way to mark that this card is unique. And Sagas are, in my opinion, the best marrige of flavor and function we've seen to date. The gorgeous artwork, the subtle watermarks behind the effect texts, the simple design to them and their effects; Sagas are just amazing. Would love to hear your thoughts. Keep up the excellent work!

I wouldn't say white was made to look like a doily so much as worked stone. The outer section looks like marble, and the inner section looks like a somewhat rougher stone. It suits white's tendency to highlight the comparatively weak humans and their great achievements.

That all said, take a look at Stasis. Its issues are all within the picture, but it barely looks like a magic card these days.

what are your thoughts on the new legendary frames and saga cards? :)

I'd never seen those prospective 6th Edition frames, those are so cool! I agree the vertical bar doesn't work, but I like the overall visual style.

OH I WISH trash commons/uncommons that just have flavor on them to just be full art. It'll be beautiful and you get a cool lookin card.

Wow, you do such a damn good job on your videos!

Why weren't the tournament gold bordered frames in the video?

I love your videos man, keep up the great work

28:15 - As a long time DM player, I'd like to point something out about Duel Masters' two-faced cards that was not incorporated in Magic that some viewers may find interesting. Duel Masters had its first two faced cards printed in 2010 (in a set called DM-36 Psychic Shock), a year before first MtG two-faced cards in Innistrad in 2011. They featured exclusively on a supertype of Creatures called Psychic Creatures which instead of being shuffled into your deck like all regular cards would sit on the table in a special zone called Hyperspatial Zone. Rather than pay normally (with mana) for these cards, you would use a special kind of Spell (Sorcery, in MtG terminology) called Hyperspatial Holes which in addition to a normal effect (such as "draw a card" for Hyperspatial Energy Hole) would let you put a Psychic Creature from the Hyperspatial Zone onto the battlefield. Psychic Creatures had their own conditions for flipping similar to Magic two-faced cards, but they were in essence treated like tokens in Magic in that any kind of removal or bounce would return them back to the Hyperspatial Zone. In general I would suggest people who are interested in MtG design and general theory to have a look at Duel Masters and its concepts. In essence, it started off as a simplified Magic for the Japanese market and got incredibly popular. It has much simpler mechanics but due to it not being published in English anymore and the nature of Japanese script much wordier, complex and interesting game mechanics. One of its core concepts also is that you only require your deck to play and nothing else (no dice for counting life, no counters, nothing like that). This also made for a whole bunch of interesting design

Blimey, Sam. You've done it again. Insightful and utterly comprehensive.

When are you gonna get your own magic cards?

Loved the video, but why did the soundtrack give me an urge to jerk off??

I'd so love to see this vid in a film theatre!

I dont even play magic. Why am I watching this? Damn well made tho...

Dude, you are seriously so good at these videos. I mean, come on, your editing and research are just some of the best. Thank you for this, as someone who loves MTG for the artwork and flavor, this is such a treat to see the history of cards frames laid out in such a cohesive manner.

I wish this video was around about 8 years ago. Excellent stuff!

You talk about flavor so much I'd think you snort ramen packets.

I’m a quarter through and this is so cool

The future sight frame is by far my favorite

As always; deeply insightful, informative, sleek, and entertaining.

now Sagas. and legendaries new border

8:31 Well, guess what's coming back!

when I got the Egyptian card I showed it to every one of my friends like it was the best thing ever, i want to have that feeling of spending my money on like two booster pack and getting that awesome and different card, I sealed it up in my card sleeve and never used it, worrying it might get scratched or damaged.

The only frame I truly disliked was the invocations. I adore the inventions. I do have nostalgia for the old ravnica frame. It's what I always considered a magic card. The 4th edition and revised cards always felt "older" and I enjoyed that about them. Here's hoping I find more frames to love in the future.

Outstanding video just like all of your videos

I didn't even notice this video was an hour long and still watched it all

Its sad .. i can only upvote once for such an insane well done piece of hard work

This was an amazing watch.

I'm the only one who really likes the planar chaos frame more? I really like that it was the standar of the game, I feel that each color stands out much more.

28:42 What card is that from?

that's Izzet Staticaster

This is pretty much CoreAgaming

These videos are great with wine

I feel like every video you do is "your best video", all of them are so high quality, but his one truly stands out.

I know that Dominaria wasn't being spoiled when this set was made but I guarantee that at least part of what mark was talking about was the new legend frames, and who know maybe there will be more stuff

Are you trying to trick us with that "Sol Ring by Volcan baga sells for $17,100" ? That high price was for the actual original artwork...

I would to see a video on modern MTG artist Chris rahn. I find him quite interesting and I find his pieces stand out in an era thatany people would think of as bland and uniform. For he is responsible for some of the most iconic Staples of modern magic.

Knocked it out the park.

I got so into the video that I didn't realize that it was 49 minutes long, good job! Hope to see more long videos in the future. This video earned my subscription.

Should never have changed the Font and frame, it's not like people couldn't read the cards, I want to feel like a wizard flinging spells not a nerd playing a card game!

wow i went into this video thinking i wouldnt care about card frames. i was just scrolling, but damn you really made me care about the balance of flavor and function good video dude

“A Sam video should break up my binge really well” 50 minutes later... wow. What a palate cleanser

Amonkhet is not the recreation of ancient egypt. Its a recreation of the exodus story, with the good and evil sides of the story being flipped. (As ancient egypt is not something that has any degree of political correctness (or what some may call decency) - i will believe its based on egypt when they dare to write lore about bolas jerking off into the luxa river to ensure the fertility and well being of his subjects)

And of course we can't ignore what they've most recently done with Dominaria, reintroducing the divider between rules and flavour text and adding Sagas on top.

24:40 GENTLE CURVE

I love the Amonkhet Masterpieces. I think it takes immersion to a whole new level. I like how premium the art direction is, it just looks so premium. Sometimes, art doesnt have to be understood, just felt. That’s why masterpieces aren’tsupposed to be playable. They’re supposed to be art. Agree on the breaking of the "copy" on the rules text. Target player sacrifices /break/ a creature.

You must not be a very good Magic player if you think City of Brass produces colorless mana :P

it's a great video either way

I've actually never played Magic.

It's interesting how Dominaria introduced another new set of changes just after you finished this video. I'm sure every set is always going to introduce new frames, so even if you made an update, the next set will still change something else.

im still sad they didnt end up doing masterpieces for dominaria. i feel like they couldve done them in the original alpha card frame (with some minor alterations of course) so it could play into the theme of "going home" the set has

I'm surprised I'm so enthralled by cardboard border minutiae

The only real magic cards are the ones published before 2003.   All the others are obviously fakes.

this was a long one. but it did not disappoint. I love how our beloved game is being discussed at an intellectual level. seriously dude you can teach a survey college course in magic.

Best design in my opinion would be: Portal Cards with watermarks, Tombstone and Authentety signs. Very Informative and Flavorful. And honestely did really had anyone Problems reading the old layout? 8Edition Change wasnt neccessary. Worst designs they had so far: Future sight and doublesided Cards like werewolves. It IS annoying that you Need other aliascards or colored sleeves yust to put a Card in your deck. The reason why werewolves and the origins planeswalkers have been sold is not because of their Layout, ist because they were really powerful Cards. To the line i would call them overpowered which is again not a healthy choise in a Long-term perspective. Sereously the best Cards we had the last 2 years were Madcap Experiment and the Lifepoints Reservoir from Kaladesh, because they´re not broken and inspire new strategies. Amd that is what makes mtg great. Dumb power like 4 abilities planeswalgers or 3 mana 5/4 Cards is what huts it the most.

Just found your videos and love your work. Brilliantly designed on every angle. Now I don't mean to dumb down the comment but can you tell me which song is used from 24:53 - 30:25? I feel like I've listened to every Lakey Inspired song and haven't found a match. All the best on your good work.

Thank you for the additional support. If I do consider getting patreon to this reason, I will made sure to add to yours as well. Your work is equally as enjoyable.

thanks so much! that song is called "Lazy Day" which is loop available only to his highest tier patrons. if you dig his work, I very much recommend supporting him there: https://www.patreon.com/lakeyinspired

This was one of the best magic videos I have ever seen.

#TeamWhiteBorder

i don´t see the correlation with "better function" or "better gameplay" and the change of frames in the 8th edition. Nobody had a problem reading a card, the only real reason i could find is money, standarizing everything is always cheaper. i stopped playing when this happened like a lot of my friends, some times "this is not a magic card" is something you can´t overlook, specially to recreational players.

This video really helped me understand why the 8th Edition frames bug me so much. It is the flavor. All of those basic bevels are difficult for me to see as anything other than invasions on my fantasy fun-time. (Also: Brown or bust for artifact frames for me.) And I still don't like the M15 frame change, either. Every time I see that bottom my brain thinks the card was cut improperly.

This could definitely be a published paper

The amount of time spent to make this video must be astronomical, great work my friend. THis is really GREAT

Tiny note on dual lands with gradients appearing in Apocalypse (around 10:00), dual lands with gradients actually appear two sets prior to that in Invasion (e.g. Elfhame Palace). Don't let my nitpick distract from this being an amazing video!

fantastic video.

btw the amonkhet split design has a clear function. after you played the card, you can put it in your graveyard sideways, so the aftermath half sticks out on the side and is clearly visible by you and the opponent.

does jaces last name have any connection to this beleren frame?

Shame Dominaria came out after this video

Part of my problem with the Amonkhet Invocations isn't just the functionality issue, but also simply how ugly they look. The frame is messy, and the art is minimized against the background. I want my masterpieces to stress their art over all else, and the Invocations make the art less readable than on a normal card.

good shit

Awesome!

Amazing video; easiest like, sub and favorite of my life. I'm working on a mobile CCG and have been struggling a lot with what style I should use to frame the cards and various UI elements. This video has too many valuable insights into how form meets function its making my head spin.

that's great to hear. thank you!

You should do "History of Magic" video, because there is nothing like that on here, and I really believe you'd be the only person able to give the topic the treatment it deserves. This was an amazing video btw

Over 16000 cards total ,wow

The M15 bottom only became a thing because of the huge rise in counterfeits.

I've hesitated to watch this for so long, but I'm so glad I did. Will never look at a card the same again after your videos, thank you.

The problem with the Amonkhet Invocations was also that the artworks didn't fit stylistically to the frame.

This is an absolutely fantastic video, the length didn't bother me at all because the content didn't drag and held my interest very easily. Great work on this one.

I am immensely surprised you didn't mention Ancient Mew. You've referenced other Wizard's products in your videos and I think it deserves a mention here. The stylized intentions of the Amonkhet cards are not a new concept. I think, while perhaps being impractical, something like this is often highly desirable and coveted. I also argue that the power and toughness indicators are the only real issue with the cards aside from color identity. These two things can easily be solved. Despite the power and toughness indicator being shown as a historically accurate, vertical cartouche, the title box is modeled the same way but horizontally. The columns on either side of the art can be color-coded as well. I just hope that people saying something isn't a "Magic card" doesn't dissuade the developers from creating beautiful and flavorful cards. Functionality does not need to suffer in this context like it did.

1:31 what set is that mountain from?

the aftermath mechanic was an even worse failure than kamigawa flips, they are absoloutly hideous

no mentions on colored artifacts pained me a bit but amazing video nonetheless, also what are your opinions on the frame changes with Dominaria's release?

" some white border rebels will disagree" huehuehuehue. was that intentional?

kind of incredible just how bad every frame from 8th edition and beyond is

Egypt split cards are NOT flawed, they are perfect since you can turn them sideways once in your graveyard to reveal the relevant part.

M15 card frame sucks because when you look at the cards from the bottom they all look black now. So stupid.

Completely disagree that card frame was more functional once arifacts looked white and mana symbols on artifacts were colorless=LESS FUNCTIONALITY. Terrible devastating change that ruined magic in many ways and never got fixed. Also more difficult to tell which color cards were quickly when they changed the frame colors on the other colors of cards. It just made red cards look pink and artifacts look white. Not helpful in any capacity.

With regards to the amonkhet invocations; when i first saw it posted online, i thought it looked absolutely gaudy and served no purpose other than as a collector piece, however upon pulling one myself (i got daze) and seeing it in person, I have to say they look absolutely amazing. It felt like i was not playing a card but instead invoking some sort of ancient spell that i stumbled upon exploring an ancient tomb. So yes i have to agree with how flavorful the card was and my thoughts on invocation has dramatically improved. Looking forward to more flavorful cards in the future!

The realization that the artwork was the primary reason I played magic is what led me to begins an art collector. Magic has changed and so has my appreciation for artistic concepts. Magic R&D has succeeded in more ways than they know.

Dude your content is the best I found on youtube that's about mtg. Seriously a 1 hour long about card frame i wouldn't have bet on the fact that i would look at it without losing attention. WP

Great video! Very interesting and easy to listen to, with good content.

I liked the comparison between Tesla's and Ferrari's. Granted, I may be a little biased since I work at the Gigafactory, but still!

I can't believe I watched it twice now. and at regular speed. still great as the second time around.

yeah best mtg channel on youtube imo. FREE!!

Flavor > functionality

this is such an incredible video. i love niche passionate deep dives into some obscure hobby's aesthetics

I saved this for after work, simply incredible video man I'm in awe

https://youtu.be/qOE-lNs6qe4?t=31m57s ''cool'' ''ye''

Other news