Richard Garriott Created a Card for Magic 2015

cardart_shieldoftheavatar

Wizards of the Coast recently partnered with a number of video game industry veterans, inviting them to each create a card that would appear in Magic the Gathering’s (colloquially: Magic) 2015 Core and Duel of the Planeswalkers releases.

Richard Garriott was among those who submitted a card design:

“Lord British,” creator of the Ultima series

Many of our designers set about creating cards that alluded to their own games (and in a few cases, we added our own winks). Richard created a card that would be at home in his Ultima games—a shield powered by the collective hope of all your creatures. It was interesting to watch designers who work in other genres try to balance Magic cards against the gameplay of those other genres. Richard’s first version only absorbed so much damage before it fell apart and then dealt damage to the bearer. Instead, we get to make a clean card that absorbs damage and never falls apart.

The card itself looks like this:

shieldoftheavatar-card

And here’s a description of the art featured on it:

Color: Colorless artifact
Location: In a castle armory.
Action: Show us an ornate shield resting against the wall of the armory. The scene on the shield, either presented in relief or painted in lacquer on it, represents something about drawing power from your allies in battle. Other weapons and Equipment might be seen scattered about the immediate area as well, but unlike them, this shield is pristine, unscratched by the countless battles it has survived.
Focus: The awesome magical shield.
Mood: Carried by the kings of old!

So if you’re in to Magic, be sure to look for the Shield of the Avatar (because of course that’s what it’s called) in the 2015 decks.