Conversation: Creating Magic: The Assembling of Contemporary Horizons 3

Fans of Magic: The Gathering have regarded Modern Horizons 2 as one of the best sets to appear on the TCG for the whole time I've been a fan, which began at some point during the UK's numerous staggered lockdowns. Its worth hasn't decreased, and all the content creators I follow have nothing but positive things to say about it—they often use boxes as freebies.

I knew I had to get on this and pay attention when Wizards of the Coast unveiled Modern Horizons 3. Until Modern Horizons 4, it would ideally serve as the new benchmark for sets in Magic: The Gathering. Now that it's available, we can confirm that this collection fully met our very high standards. The set is a lot of fun to play with, construct decks around, and display in a collection. The Commander Precons are excellent, and the Collector Boosters are outstanding.

So when I had the opportunity to have a conversation with product architect Mike Turian and senior game designer Michael Majors, I wanted to ask all there was to know about the plans for Modern Horizons 3, the designs, the ramifications for the plot, and more. Here is what two of the set's designers told us about it.

Why, in your opinion, are the Modern Horizons sets such important pillars of the MTG expansions? Major Michael: "There are many parts. First off, I've always had a thing for modern. Its large card pool encourages and facilitates inventive deck construction. My favorite aspect of Magic has always been coming up with creative methods to combine odd bits or rough diamonds to create something that is better than the sum of its parts. One of my favorite things to do is to give individuals extra toys to add to their imaginary sandbox. I also like coming up with creative methods for people to express themselves using the cards."The second is that, while Modern Horizons isn't technically associated with any one world or tale, it allows us to do both imaginative references and intricate mechanical mashups that could be deemed inappropriate or perhaps too complicated in a typical frontlist release. Back in 2006, the product line was first shown as a "Time Spiral 2," a block referred to as a love letter to Magic aficionados. Many additional pieces of Magic have been created since then and are accessible for use and reference. The imaginative concept of Modern Horizon, which I often describe as being "canonically out of place and time," allows us a great deal of latitude in combining intriguing concepts and reintroducing beloved characters.

When the team assembled to write Modern Horizons 3, what objectives did they have in mind?Major Michael: "To put it succinctly, the goal was to avoid severely damaging Modern."All kidding aside, there were a lot of demands and difficulties to handle. There will always be compromises to be made. At that point, we had gathered enough information and feedback to conclude that Modern Horizons 2 was likely very aggressive. Although Magic players like shattering open and using strong cards, we needed to take a somewhat different approach. I realized right away that we couldn't "compete directly" with Modern Horizons 2."Early on, research was done to identify a few neglected themes that were once a part of Modern and Standard and that would encourage enthusiasts to return. This led to the creation of the set's mainstays, Eldrazi and Energy, as well as a few unique designs that aim to expand players' gameplay choices rather than negate the utility of cards they currently hold.I always planned for Modern Horizons 3 to be aimed at three main groups of people: players who like competitive Modern, as the set's nickname suggests, Commander players, and those who are nostalgic about the past of Magic. A less strict objective was to allow many of the set's most intriguing cards to resonate with different segments of these groups. Necrodominance, Birthing Ritual, and energy rares that alludes to strong cards from the history of Magic are a few instances of this.The Horizons product line is often referred to as "Commander Horizons" on the internet, but again, these kinds of items come with trade-offs. A package with 200 shots at Modern would not make anybody pleased, not just because of the ramifications for the format as a whole, but also because it is simply impossible for the format to handle so much material."At the individual level, Modern Horizons 2 offers a plethora of excellent rating cards and robust responses to those rate cards. With a few notable exceptions, we generally didn't place as much emphasis on MH3 in order to provide more response cards; instead, we aimed to restore more strength to synergy cards, engines, and other outdated Modern tactics. An exemplary case in point would be the MDFC Flip Planeswalkers. While each of these cards is strong on its own, their combined effects are greatest when used in certain deck types including as Life Gain, Graveyard tactics, Spell-based combos, and Sacrifice decks.When assembling this collection, did you make use of Modern Horizons 1+2 as baselines or points of reference? Or did you examine MTG in its entirety?Michael Majors and Without a doubt, both! I'll confess that after working on all three of these sets, I've utilized a lot of my own ideas. However, giving the set a stronger mechanical foundation (Energy, Eldrazi, and Modifications) and obtaining new viewpoints from team members greatly aid in producing more amazing and nostalgic material for viewers.We also offer ourselves a lot of material to work with—virtually the whole history of Magic! In this instance, we kind of ventured into Magic's future. Naturally, I adored the idea of using Collect Evidence on a graveyard-based card so much that we even brought a mechanic forward from a set that hadn't been released while we were designing Modern Horizons 3 for Detective's Phoenix, even though Modern Horizons 3 is releasing after Murders of Karlov Manor.Are there any scenes in Modern Horizons 3 that you're really looking forward to?Michael Majors and : As previously said, the main plot of MH3 takes place outside of time and space, but we do get to witness a few memorable moments and people, which are always amazing to watch. The main attractions are the MDFC Flip Planeswalkers, who are experiencing their eureka moment, and the Eldrazi, especially Emrakul. The World Anew was forced to retreat from the Innistrad moon, which would eventually become her prison. Other highlights include meeting Genku, Future Shaper, Tamiyo's husband, who runs an orphanage alongside her, and Shilgengar, Sire of Famine, the Elder Demon with whom Sorin's family strikes a deal.

The Eldrazi seem to be influenced by the ancient monsters and unknown gods seen in the cosmic horror subgenre. How can you take on such formidable creatures and align them with all MTG cards to prevent them from being as strong as they would be in the real world?Major Michael: "The Magic mana system" works really hard for us! They are much more powerful than the typical monsters you may encounter in Magic, but that is part of the game's appeal—you have to put in a lot of effort to defeat them. Where and how to find a balance between rewarding players for their hard work casting these very strong monsters and keeping them intrigued is the issue. We want the players to speak about their entrance on the battlefield and consider it to be something worthy of their reputation.Unlike other sets, it seems that Modern Horizons 3 draws a boundary where MTG Expansions have been made, and the game uses mechanics from them to advance. In particular, which of the Modern Horizons 3 are you most looking forward to, and why?Major Michael: "Motivation! It's fun to play with and build, but it's also challenging. As an additional resource, Energy really forces players to build around it in a synergistic way and provides us designers greater latitude to concentrate power among a very particular percentage of the card pool. As such, I saw it as a huge chance to produce cards that we can't normally make. Without drastically weakening Recurring Nightmare or Alluren, we really wouldn't be able to make any references to them; yet, by using a limitation like Energy, we may create strong cards deserving of their callbacks.The Gathering: Magic isn't just about card mechanics and gameplay, though; a sizable portion of the fan base is made up of players, collectors, and people who just want to watch other people play Magic: The Gathering Arena but who also want to own the cards in order to understand them on a deeper level. Without a doubt, I am guilty of purchasing Commander Decks but never using them.What served as the model for this set's Ripple Foil effect?Mike Turian: "We're always searching for fresh, eye-catching foil treatments for Magic. The shine of Ripple Foil is remarkable, like to gazing at a ripple on a placid lake. Since the theme of Modern Horizons 3 is Magic, we looked for a treatment that would enhance the artwork's attractiveness. Ripple Foil has that startling quality that elevated the already outstanding artwork to a whole new level." Collector Commander decks have not been seen since the release of the Warhammer 40K sets ). What made you wantTo have them in Modern Horizons 3? Mike Turian: "We anticipated that the initial Modern Horizons set would be appealing to players of the Modern format, and we were not wrong. Additionally, our Commander player community became enthused about the cards in Modern Horizons 1. This was seen once again in Modern Horizons 2. It turns out that strong, eye-catching cards are a favorite among Commander players. Therefore, it made sense to be able to design cards with the vibe of a Horizons set that were targeted only at the Commander audience while we were creating Modern Horizons 3. We were free to develop new designs that felt like they belonged in Modern Horizons 3 because the Commander decks were already included in MH3, so we didn't have to worry about how they performed in Modern.After that, the Collector editions of Commander decks gained a lot of traction with Warhammer 40,000, and with MH3, we saw an opportunity to merge the innovative Commander-focused designs with the new Ripple Foil treatment. Since the Collector Commander has already had such a great response, I'm happy that we were able to put everything together for Modern Horizons 3.Which card, if any, from the set is your favorite that you worked on, and why, if you can share?Major Michael: "Phelia, Joyful Shepherd. I have a strong prejudice. She is modeled after my dog. In essence, the reasoning was that people liked dogs. We've never done a corgi, although I have a corgi. Now, how would I illustrate a corgi in the language of Magic? They are dog herders. Herding is akin to flickering objects. She receives a reward if she herds your belongings. And now here we are.When players pick up cards and settle down to play Modern Horizons 3, what do you want both seasoned veterans and novices to take away from the game?Majors & Turian: "Enjoy yourself and explore the area of possibilities. Even at this early stage, I've really enjoyed seeing content producers brew with the cards, and as a deck builder, I find great satisfaction in the fact that some of the cards don't have very clear places. We hope that players worldwide enjoy using the cards, regardless of their fondness for the allusions and mechanical mashups of Modern Horizons 3.