21 Ways to Design a Card: Part 2 - Use a Magic Glossary + More Japanese-Inspired Cards

A great way to design varied cards is to look at a glossary of Magic terms or player jargon and make a card inspired by each item that appears on that word list. It will make you think about each zone, each permanent type, each type of player action, and each type of decision-making that players go through in a game.

I'm currently designing cards that are inspired by words that Japanese people use when playing Magic in Japanese. (I will start up a blog on how to play Magic in Japanese very soon.) It's had the same effect as going through a glossary of Magic terms. At first I was just hoping the cards I make would help leave an impression about Japanese words and make them memorable, but I've discovered that designing based on Magic words allows me to think about cards that wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise.

Japanese Card of the Day: Giftstone of Dohzo

Within a few days, I'm going to start another blog about teaching yourself to play Magic in Japanese. It will focus on language learning, but each post will also contain a card design inspired by a Japanese word or phrase. I'll simultaneously post just the card designs in this Goblin Artisan blog too, since it may be of interest to any readers of this blog.

The first one is based on the word Dohzo. It means "please, go ahead," and it's used to offer a gift or a seat, give permission to do something, ask a guest to come inside, etc. When playing Magic, "Dohzo" (along with a hand gesture) is sometimes used to pass the turn.