Magic: The Gathering’s Reality Fracture set is a Universes Within set after two Universes Beyond sets in succession, but it’s also a little different in that it showcases iconic Magic characters, spells, and more that have been transformed by Jace Beleren.

The Planeswalker has transformed the universe into how he feels it should be, and that means new versions of well-known cards in a sort of “What If?” scenario.

IGN sat down with Yoni Skolnik, former Magic pro and Principal Game Designer, and Meris Mullaley, Worldbuilding Design Manager, to talk about the set’s influences, what comes in a pack, and the Secret Lair bundle.

Alternate universes are nothing new in pop culture, but I was curious how much last year’s Marvel’s Spider-Man set influenced Reality Fracture. As you can imagine, the genesis of Reality Fracture comes from a much earlier set.

“Some of the ideas go back to Planar Chaos, a set from 2007 that had a lot of What If elements,” Skolnik revealed.

“That set focused on messing with Magic's color pie, putting effects in colors where you wouldn't normally expect them.”

“While we didn't want to return to that exact formula for a What If set, the concept of What If is very compelling as it lets you pay tribute to Magic's devoted fan base.”

“Mark Rosewater [Head Designer] was keen to try the concept again, and it ended up fitting perfectly with the conclusion to Jace's storyline.”

“When developing the Echoed Pairs, most of our learnings came from other Magic IP sets that featured multiple legends,” Mullaley added.

Source link