Key Takeaways
- Discworld and Magic: The Gathering is the crossover we didn’t know we needed.
- The attention to detail on the custom cards is commendable.
- You should all read Discworld.
A creative Magic: The Gathering fan has combined the art of the supremely talented Discworld illustrator Paul Kidby with their own custom card descriptions, showcasing what a custom Discworld Secret Lair could potentially look like.
For those unfamiliar, a Secret Lair is a term used by Wizards of the Coast to describe pseudo-sets of cards. These are usually smaller crossovers like The Walking Dead, or existing cards with strange, alternate art. Secret Lairs are notable because they aren’t sold in stores or packs, but rather, Wizards of the Coast sells the cards directly to consumers, a business practice that’s exceedingly uncommon for the company.
And of course, Discworld is a fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett. In his lifetime, Pratchett published 41 books that used the Discworld setting. If you haven’t read any of them, you should.
Good ‘Ol Bill Door
The Discworld ‘Secret Lair’ was put together by ThePhyrexian, a Reddit user who is clearly a fan of both properties. The cards depict some iconic characters from the Discworld mythos, like Bill Door, The Hogfather and Rincewind. You may notice from the art of these cards that Kidby enjoys parodying famous paintings, like American Gothic and The Scream.
The card ability of Igor Thurgeon reads “Exile two cardth from your graveyard. Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.” This is of particular delight to commenters because of the intentional misspelling of ‘cards’, which is intended to represent Igor’s lisp. In Discworld, Igor isn’t one individual but rather a common first name for every male member of an “extremely extended family.” These individuals tend to gravitate towards being assistants to mad scientists and such, and follow a loose Code of Igors that advises them to lisp and limp, even if they can speak and walk normally.
The attention to detail by ThePhyrexian is commendable, even going so far as to include a creature type, subtitle and Kidby’s name in the artist section on every card (except for Adora, which is drawn by Ben Evans).
Unfortunately, the likelihood of Wizards of the Coast adapting a cult classic like Discworld is slim. The latest Secret Lair released was Assassin’s Creed in July, with the next release planned to be Final Fantasy in 2025.
Next
Magic: The Gathering Players Are Trying To Find Foundations Jumpstart’s Missing Card
Card 350 is strangely absent from Foundations Jumpstart, but fans have narrowed down 240 cards that it could be.