TCG Designers' Blog

A Taste of the Future

3024145 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:58:00 GMT

Hi there, WoW fans! While the release of the 10th WoW TCG set, Scourgewar, may still be a few months a way, I'm sure many of you are already hungry for some juicy tidbits about the exciting cards coming up in this landmark set. So, being the kindhearted soul that I am, I figured I'd whet your appetites with a handful of said juicy tidbits. Now, my first instinct was to simply drop a few clues about cards in the set, and let you try to decipher the awesomeness that awaits you down the...(read more)

Favorites of Fields

2224453 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:22:00 GMT

With Fields of Honor now out and about for a few weeks, I thought it would be a good time to let you guys in on some of our internal favorites from the set. Off we go… Burgle “The art, the text box, the name – the complete package!” – Andrew “Package” Wolf Sgt. Pugg “Come on, it’s Pugg! Plus, he really hates 1 health Protectors.” – Drew “The Last” Walker Jin’rohk, The Great Apocalypse “It’s a big striking weapon that doesn't deal much damage...(read more)

Playtesting Arena Grand Melee

2224453 — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:25:00 GMT

As predicted briefly on the forums, playtesting Arena Grand Melee was challenging at times for us. The following is a list of some of the reasons why. Enjoy! Up first is the card that was never a positive flip for us. If only we could develop at GenCon. And to answer a question on the forums, yep, if you are working at a store, you draw 2, then discard your hand. Sorry. The next 3 cards are tough for us for very similar reasons. Cards from the current set that we are testing don't...(read more)

More AGM Shenanigans!

1134492 — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Today...we celebrate...our continued AGM spoiler day:Treats only pls!Maybe Mr. T hacked the game...Is that a Protector Deck?!If your name is Paul Ross, then nothing is sweeter than the efficiency of a Tatulla.Enjoy!...(read more)

Keep it Coming AGM!

1134492 — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:36:00 GMT

I know, I know, you didn't think it was actually possible to have this much preview action going on. Big Ben is off in Florida for a wedding, so he asked (aka ordered under penalty of death) me to fill in with some previews in his absence.Good ole rock!Now everyone can pretend to be the most popular class in the TCG...Hunter (or Warlock)!If you are slick, then maybe cheaters do win.There's no trucks in World of Warcraft...See you tomorrow for more sweet, sweet AGM action!...(read more)

Even More AGM Cards!

2224453 — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:16:00 GMT

Enjoy today's installment! I knew it would pay off to have awful gear one of these days! Have those headphones ready. A fresh perspective is always nice, don't you think? If you stand on one leg, you get an extra turn. Hope you enjoyed this group! See you May 19th!...(read more)

More AGM Cards!

2224453 — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:54:00 GMT

We thought you guys might like to know more about what you're getting yourselves into with AGM! Enjoy! No fair asking your mom. She always thinks you're a winner. L2P. Can I borrow that for just one second? Proving the old adage: "You just never know when a raid is gonna break out." Stay tuned for more AGM fun and check it out for yourself on May 19th!...(read more)

Arena Grand Melee Rules

2492254 — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:33:00 GMT

So there have been some questions and speculations about exactly how the new Arena Grand Melee cards will work. Well, wonder no more, as I present the rules for Arena Grand Melee (only slightly redacted).Make sense? Basically, during each player's turn, after he draws a card, he flips over the top card of the AGM deck before doing anything else in his turn. That card will either be an ongoing effect, which destroys any other previous ongoing AGM effect in play, or it will be a one-time...(read more)

Arena Grand Melee Preview (Seriously)

2224453 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:14:00 GMT

Hello faithful blogophiles! It’s Arena Grand Melee time! This product (street date May 19th) comes with 2 copies of nine tournament-legal abilities, one hero and a sixty-card deck that introduces a whole new casual way to play the World of Warcraft TCG. If you buy both the Horde and Alliance decks, you’ll have 4 copies of each ability, one of each hero and all 120 Arena Grand Melee cards. Today we are going to give you a quick preview of a handful of cards in the Arena Grand Melee...(read more)

The New Guy's Perspective - Name That Card - Revealed!

2492254 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:27:00 GMT

Welcome back! Hopefully by now you have had a chance to come up with your answers for the mystery cards from Blood of Gladiators. I’ll have to admit that there were some pretty good guesses out there. Some were easier than others, to be certain, but I wanted to demonstrate some of the different ways in which cards get designed and developed. So without further ado, here are the answers, with some explanation as to how then ended up where they are today. And hopefully,...(read more)

The New Guy's Perspective - Name That Card!

2492254 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:07:00 GMT

Welcome blogophiles! It has been a while since I talked about the actual process of designing and developing individual cards for the WoW TCG. In these past few months I have learned quite a bit about how a card eventually comes to be. Sometimes, a design is right on and there is very little tweaking required. Just slap some art on that bad boy, and send him to the printer. On the other hand, some cards have to go back to the drawing board many times, for any ...(read more)

The New Guy’s Perspective – Our Favorite Things: Blood of Gladiators Edition

2492254 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:43:00 GMT

With the recent release of the latest expansion to the WoW TCG, Blood of Gladiators, I decided the time is right for another informal poll to see what everyone’s favorite card from the new set is. While some chose their favorite based purely on power level, others also factored in humor factor in making their decision (Hardy, har, har… anyone?). So without further ado, here are UDE’s Blood of Gladiators favorites: Andrew ‘The Wolf” Wolf Merciless Gladiator’s Crossbow...(read more)

The New Guy’s Perspective – March Madness!!!

2492254 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

College basketball fans aren’t the only ones who get excited about March Madness. We in R&D decided to get into the spirit of the brackets this week with our own Elite Eight draft challenge. As part of our development process, of course, we draft with the cards we are currently developing, and this week, we continued to put set 10 through its drafting paces. We are fortunate enough to have software that not only keeps track of every card we have ever made and are still...(read more)

The New Guy’s Perspective – Blood of Gladiators Edition

2492254 — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:56:00 GMT

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Hopefully by now everyone out there has had a chance to check out Blood of Gladiators. I thought I would spend a little time sharing my thoughts about the latest and greatest set for the World of Warcraft TCG. When I first started working at Upper Deck, Blood of Gladiators was at the very end of its development cycle,...(read more)

A Rose By Any Other Name

1187293 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:19:00 GMT

…just wouldn’t be as fun. If I said design “isn’t all fun and games” I would be lying to you. Lead designing a trading card game set is one of the most enjoyable experiences as a Game Designer in this industry. You are able to put a vision down to paper and see that vision play out on the game table in front of you. You are also able to have some more fun during the Design/Development process. Let me give an example. Each set does not start out with final names...(read more)