Skip to main content

About

Current Landscape of TCG:

  • As a lifelong fan of trading card games, I felt like there was something flawed with the games that I fell in love with as a child. Over the years, the games have reached a point of complexity where you need an encyclopedia just to finish a game. On top of that, the overall cost to play competitively in either casual or professional contexts is incredibly high. And finally, as a collector, the games were going in so many directions with alternate arts, frame variants, hologram variants, crossover sets, and more – it was dizzying and left a feeling of emptiness; a feeling as if I’d never be able to feel satisfied, or like I can complete a collection to my satisfaction. Now, in my 40’s, with kids of my own, I realized that the game I loved so much growing up was one I didn’t want to pass on to my kids. Something had to be done.

Emerging TCGs:

  • After researching the landscape of TCGs, it was clear that a true contender for the #3 position among the top trading card games had not yet been named – and was very much in demand.
  • I saw dozens of new Trading Card Games going to market on Kickstarter and other platforms, and each of them, as a player and collector of the top 2 TCGs, fell short of my personal standards. To keep it short, they were:
  1. Hybridizing formats (mixing formats like Board Games and Trading Cards).
  2. Hyping collectibility with pre-slabbed cards, NFTs, and other gimmicks.
  3. Recruiting past game designers to boost credibility.
  4. Using misleading claims like “research-based” to artificially boost credibility.
  5. Changing core gameplay mechanics to “be different”, instead of using proper research and user testing protocols.

Inspiration:

  • I grew up in a culture of philanthropy and participated in community and fundraising events to support families impacted by blindness and mental disabilities. I also lost a close friend of mine to the war in Iraq, only weeks after returning home for the birth of his son.
  • Having experienced the loss of my own father and bullying at a young age, along with other challenges like ADHD, social anxiety, and a fear of public speaking, I always dreamed about living up to the examples of other people; individuals who gave their time, and in some cases, their lives to make a difference in the world.
  • Reflecting on my childhood, the Comic Book and Trading Card Game culture helped me overcome many of my childhood struggles, including socializing and making friends. It’s also well-documented that trading card games in general also help kids and military members with Autism, ADHD, and PTSD to make friends, building soft skills, and have a sense of community.

 

  • The current TCG landscape is broken.
  • The emerging TCG competitors are unsatisfactory.
  • A single project allows me to combine my skills as an artist, love for gaming, and passion for philanthropy.
  • And it just so happens to be in a market long overdue for a true competitor.#LETSGO!

Research-based Approach

  • In order to create truly exceptional gameplay, I harnessed over 20 years of experience in research and design, and over 30 years of history as a TCG player to research the space and create a vision for the product.
  • Through both qualitative and quantitative methods, interviews with pro players and other game founders, and more, I was able to use research data to highlight what people love, discard what people don’t, and combine that information to create something truly exceptional.

Artist Platform

  • As a fellow artist, I understand how difficult it can be for artists to carve out an identity, network, build a follower base, and generate a list of supporting patrons. Beyond that, many artists equally struggle with merchandising and marketing their skills in different creative marketplaces. With MageTCG, in addition to a digital variant of the game, our vision is to create a platform where artists can thrive!
  • While currently MageTCG is in a “proof of concept” stage, our goal is to evolve beyond that and commission artists for alternate art variants and limited promotional releases of our core set and future set releases.

Rarity & Collectibility

  • In order to make our product affordable to everyone, put the emphasis on skill over budget, and create a product that is desirable to collectors, each card in our core set will be printed at common rarity with each pack or deck containing algorithmically-randomized limited prints, holograms, serialized, and alt art cards. This way, no player will be disadvantaged based on the amount of money they spend, and upgrading cards with holograms and alternate arts is entirely optional.
  • Another benefit of this printing model is the fact that we can generously donate the base-quality product without creating inflation for the more premium collector product and impacting collector value.

Aesthetic & Gameplay Inspiration

  • Drawing inspiration from the aesthetic and gameplay of Trading Card Games back in the mid 90’s, “taboo” games like Tarot and Ouija, and even modern video games like Dark Souls, Witcher, and Skyrim, Elder Mage’s art direction establishes a more realistic, immersive, grittier, and in some cases, darker aesthetic and gameplay compared to other more commercialized TCG’s in the market. We believe the results speak for themselves, and we’re excited to go on this journey together with you!

Follow the Project

Roadmap

March-August: Concept
– Initial market and competitor research
– Design exploration and ideation with professional TCG players
– Initial brand setup (website design, social media, etc)

September-December: Build & Refine
– Develop card database and general themes for various card groups
– Establish power/cost curves, and balance gameplay throughout
– Start Artists Guild and recruit artists for the play testing prototype
– Create artwork for 300 Chapter 1 (Alpha) set release

January: Tabletop Simulator Launch– Launch MageTCG on Tabletop Simulator
– Run TTS play test tournaments
– Gather feedback, make refinements
– Start pre-launch giveaways on social media
– Form relationships with US-based LGS’s

February: Chapter 1 (Alpha) Kickstarter Launch
– Launch Chapter 1 (Alpha) Kickstarter campaignMarch: Chapter 1 (Alpha) Production & Chapter 1 (Beta) Start
– Start print run for founding backers, giveaway, and play test tournament winners
– Prepare card designs for Chapter 1 (Beta)April: Chapter 1 (Alpha) Fulfillment
– Fulfillment for founding backers, giveaway, and play test tournament winners
– Continued community growth and live events, including tabletop simulator tournaments and community giveawaysMay: Chapter 1

(Beta) Kickstarter Launch
– Launch Chapter 1 (Alpha) Kickstarter campaign

June: Chapter 1 (Beta) Production & Chapter 1 (Gamma) Start
– Start print run for founding backers, giveaway, and play test tournament winners
– Prepare card designs for Chapter 1 (Gamma)

July: Chapter 1 (Beta) Fulfillment
– Fulfillment for backers, giveaway, and tournament winners
– Continued community growth and live events, including tabletop simulator tournaments and community giveaways

Following this plan for organic growth, the goal from this point forward is to be financially sustainable with a stable player base, gaming community, artist team, lore team, and basic employees to support future production. The release cycle will continue with a Chapter 1 (Gamma) release in October, and then pursue a full international Chapter 1 launch in January to start the annual cycle in 2026 (continuing the quarterly release schedule).
January 2026 (Chapter 1 Official International Release)
April 2026 (Chapter 2 Release)
July 2026 (Chapter 3 Release)
October 2026 (Chapter 4 Release)