Conspiracy: Jumpstart #10: Dack
Conspiracy: Jumpstart began as a National Game Design Month project, where a game (or, in this case, a Magic: The Gathering product) is designed in one month, during November 2020. This is a continuation of what was left unfinished of that project.
Previous Devlog Updates:
- #00 — Conspiracy: Jumpstart kickoff
- #01 — Brago
- #02 — Selvala
- #03 — Muzzio
- #04 — Grenzo
- #05 — Marchesa
- #06 — Leovold
- #07 — Adriana
- #08 — Daretti
- #09 — Kaya
Product Updates
Journey’s end. This is the last of the ten character packs. This makes it so that there are two character packs per color.
Close Call: A Silver-Bordered Card
I really wanted to have the Dack pack open a booster pack. Sort of as an homage to my favorite Conspiracy card, Lore Seeker. Though, opening booster packs is usually relegated to drafting rounds or silver-bordered cards.
I wondered if restricting to mentioning packs from specific expansions could make the spell black-bordered. I realized the physical logistics of opening packs without looking at them was a silver-bordered thing, though. Besides the fact that print runs of specific sets are not indefinite.
I got so far as designing a card in silver border and almost included it in this product. Ultimately, I decided against my desires for the sake of product consistency.
Here’s the card, though (this card is NOT in Dack’s character pack):
Basically, you do a mini one-round draft in the middle of a game. Anyway, to reiterate: the above card is NOT in the Dack character pack.
Dack
Dack’s mechanical theme is whenever you or your conspirators draw their second card this turn. This effect is naturally triggered whenever you or your conspirators gain sway of the city. And, of course, there are doses of looting, rummaging, and card draw in the pack.
In the story, “Drakeston” is the name of Dack’s hometown. But it’s written “Drakestown” on the existing Magic card Drakestown Forgotten. I decided to pay homage to the “Drakeston” spelling with the Drakeston Terror card below. No, the town isn’t named after a Drake, but I figured a Drake might be nestling, finding a home amidst the rubble of this ghost town. Y’know — to be cheeky.
Dack’s planeswalker card is quirky! Scroll down to below this pack’s card images to read more about the behind-the-scenes on the Dack planeswalker card.
With Dack being dead and only having had one planeswalker card so far, I figured it was appropriate to use the rarely-seen extended planeswalker textbox frame for Dack for this product.
I found it difficult to manipulate the Magic Set Editor template so that each of the four sections were divided in text box space as I’d like. So the abilities are not in a logical order but in an order that maximizes text size. The bottom of the card, for example, allows for less space for rules text, so the ability with less rules text is place there.
Dack’s first loyalty ability (-1 ability) is a top-down design for his psychometry skill. He can pull magic and memories from objects. The usual gameplay that will result is you re-using any Construct’s ETB effect. Their “magic.” Well, the ETBs that counter spells are basically null for this. But, most of the time, you’ll find a useful ability to steal.
Dack’s second loyalty ability (-2 ability) is basically a Relentless Assault that cantrips. However, if you plan ahead, you can take multiple turns in a row, thus functioning more like an Aggravated Assault. There are ways to surprisingly ramp up loyalty counters. Don’t forget to cast your instants and spells with flash during your extra turns, as the mana allows. Find the perfect time to perform your heist and take multiple combats in a row to take out one or both of your opponents!
Some updated card images for image hosting:
