Hi everyone and welcome to the first entry of the WoW TCG R&D Blog (which means the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Research and Development Blog if you’re not so acronymically inclined.)
My name is Danny Mandel. I’m the head designer of the WoW TCG as well as the lead designer of the upcoming Drums of War expansion. My fellow WoW R&D teammates and I will be posting here to fill you in on a wide variety of topics including but not limited to…
Design Stories
Like how we came up with Dual Shield on Netherwing Protector’s Shield. Answer: It rhymes with “Dual Wield.” This realization also inspired the cards Double Barrel and Titan’s Grip.
Development Stories
Like how we decided to bump up Azeloth’s original stats of 47/47. Actually, I’ll save that one for later.
Interesting or funny things that happened at work that day
Like how today developers Ken Ho and Jeff Liu almost, ALMOST had a contest to see who could eat more animal crackers. Maybe tomorrow...
Cool and/or Wacky Decks
Like Hunt for Illidan Lead Designer Ben Cichoski’s Xiri + Footsteps of Illidan deck that took our Thursday Interdepartmental League by storm a few weeks ago.
Sneak Peeks at upcoming cards
Like what you’ll find below if you keep reading.
And possibly most importantly—
Answering Questions from You.
Each week we’re going to dive into our mailbag (which you can find your way into if you send your questions to WoW_R&D@upperdeck.com), and we’ll answer questions you have about designing the game and try to satisfy any other curiosities you might have about the crazy life we lead.
Okay, that’s enough of an intro. Let’s get to the meat of today’s post.
As many of you know this weekend is the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational. To celebrate the event we’re giving out a shiny new card from the Drums of War expansion to attendees.
While it’s certainly a little early to start talking about the next big set (we’ve only just had the Hunt for Illidan Sneak Preview) I figure you guys won’t mind if I give you a quick look.
But first, here’s a little lead in.
In each of the last three expansions (collectively known as The Burning Crusade Block) we’ve asked you to make a choice between sides.
In March of the Legion it was Aldor or Scryer.
In Sevants of the Betrayer it was Loyal or Traitor.
In Hunt for Illidan it’s Demon or, well, not a Demon.
Looking down the road, in Drums of War we’ve decided to take a break from Outland and look at the original conflict of the World of Warcraft: Horde vs Alliance. One of the ways we explore their differences is by focusing on the strengths of the races of each faction. Way back in the Through the Dark Portal expansion we designed mechanics to give the heroes of each race different powers. In Drums of War we’re doing the same only this time it’s mostly about your allies. Take a look.
I hope you enjoyed today’s blog entry and I look forward to hearing your feedback, questions, and anything else you’d like to share with R+D.
Take care,
Danny