Create Your Own Magic: The Gathering Set: A Starter Guide

Designing a single card is fun. Designing a balanced, draftable set of 250+ cards is a monumental challenge of game design. If you're ready to take the plunge into creating your own custom block, you need a plan. You need a Set Skeleton.

What is a Set Skeleton?

It's a spreadsheet that outlines the slots in your set before you design the actual cards. Mark Rosewater (Head Designer of MTG) swears by this method.

A typical 249-card set might look like this:

• 101 Commons (divided by color)
• 80 Uncommons
• 53 Rares
• 15 Mythics

The "As-Fan" Concept

"As-Fan" stands for "As Fanned" (as seen in a booster pack).

• If you want a mechanic (like Landfall) to be a core theme, it needs to precise at Common.
• If a mechanic only appears on Rares, it won't affect the Draft environment because players won't see it often enough.

Step 1: Define Your Archetypes

Magic sets usually have 10 two-color pairs (Guilds), each doing something specific.

• White/Blue: Flying / Control?
• Red/Green: Big Creatures / Midrange?
• Black/Red: Sacrifice / Aggro?

Write these down first! They will guide every card you design.

Step 2: Fill the Commons First

Don't start with the flashy Mythics. Start with the "vegetables"—the boring staples that make a game playable.

• Red needs a shock (2 damage instant).
• Blue needs a bounce spell and a counterspell.
• Green needs a giant spider (Reach).

Once your Commons are solid, the set is playable.

Step 3: Use TCGCustom for Uniformity

When creating a set, consistency is key.

1. Set Symbol: Create one custom symbol and apply it to every card.
2. Artist Credits: Be rigorous about crediting art, or your set feels messy.
3. Export: Use the bulk export to print playtest sheets.

Conclusion

Designing a set is a marathon, not a sprint. Start small (maybe a 180-card Cube), test it with friends, and iterate. There is no greater feeling than watching your friends draft a game that came entirely from your own mind.