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Crafting A Malifaux Fate Deck


Clawz

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Hello Wonderful Wyrd warriors

 

I have been toiling on my computer these many months, endeavouring to craft a deck for the finer Malifaux resident. A deck with which to truly write history. A deck steeped in far too much attention to minor details as is healthy for one man...

 

Today, for the first time, that deck is visible to the wider audience! It is still not completed. Nay, it still has many stages of revision, but you, discerning patrons; you can help guide it!

 

Salesmanship talk aside, here's the link to the blog.

 

Here, too, is a sample image for your enjoyment:

 

Also, this project is, if you can't tell, inspired by Xander who kindly posted below! Here's the link to his original craft: http://wyrd-games.net/community/topic/72090-control-deck-vs-playing-card-deck-combining-the-two/

 

Critiques welcome!

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Really digging your work! Two Suggestions: make the face cards different masters (for example Guild King: Lucius, Queen: Lady Justice, Jack: Hoffman, Ace: Sonnia Criid). Second,  change the backing picture; the map seems like a cool idea but is too busy. Maybe like a portal esque thing to look like a breach?

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Hey Nohero, thanks for the feedback.

 

I am wondering most about the backside; I may vary it up, keeping only the border. The map idea was for something useful to Malifaux visitors. I'm not entirely certain it works, and it also guarantees I need Wyrd's sign-off to do any kind of mass production of the deck.

 

As for the masters as face cards; I would, but that breaks the idea of the deck a bit. I want this to be like a deck one could walk into a store in Malifaux (or in the towns Earth-side) to buy. As a result, they might not know who the great players are, and in the case of all but the guild (rams) wouldn't want to immortalize the notable faces!

 

I may yet do another deck after this (who knows: maybe even a compilation with Xander!) as a kind of "twisted fate deck" where the various face cards are appropriate masters, the suits are not laid out cleanly, and do what I (we) can to make each card look twisted by the evil (Perhaps Zoraida's own deck). But this is meant to be a different beast.

 

Breach portal's not a bad idea, and a lot of decks from the era just had plants or simple drawings on the back; I may be over-thinking it...

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Really like the art style of the border. I like the map it just doesn't seem to explain or give the idea of Malifaux a lot. A map is just a map, which a lot of games use when your break it down. I also like the idea of symmetry on front and back of playing cards. I would suggest something that captures the essence of Malifaux for people passing by to see and say something like, "Those playing cards look awesome. What are you playing?" Then you could use the cards as a talking point of the game, whether it being the card mechanic (which is the most unique part of the game imo), the Breach, Malifaux, factions, etc. Another idea that jumped in my mind is the train coming through the breach, which could be done symmetrically (making it easier to print/draw/render) and look mystical and intriguing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update time!

I've been playing with new backside ideas. My first recreation was attempting to make a symbol that represented each master, integrated into a kind of scatterplot pattern. The problem with this is that there was no good way I could find to keep the symbols stylistically similar and still be true to the various masters. (Also, some masters do not lend themselves to easy symbols!) My next idea was a default pattern thrown together whilst exploring through Illustrator, mostly out of frustration, and I came up with this:

 

 CardBackNew.png  
 From Malifaux Deck

 

Thing is, it feels a bit like a cop-out oversimplified design. I have since been wondering if perhaps I should continue the theme from the front side, and design the interior of the back with a more distinct art nouveau feel. I've looked at decks of cards from the time, and found that many are themed like this:

$T2eC16NHJI!E9qSO8GbYBR%28V5cs53Q~~60_35

 

Such a theme would make things easier on me: Repeating patterns without a specific theme are easier than trying to tie together a full cohesive design.

 

I also wondered about making something more in line with Art Nouveau's full poster look; I've long found designs like this to be very interesting, and the famous cigarette poster absolutely captivating:

 

tarocchi-art-nouveau.jpg

 

Something playing off that and my already present theme of good/evil, lucky/unlucky seems appropriate for a fate deck, I'm just not entirely certain how I'd pull it off.

 

Thoughts? I'm sure I can do up the drawings required and make them look Art Nouveau enough, but it does stride significantly away from a simple backing...

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The first picture really makes the border pop. If you did something like the second picture you would only have to design one fourth of the card and have the image mirror itself. Really like the last one you could do a face of good and a face of evil or you could put a face in the middle of the card, keep your border, and do half good and half evil semi-mirroring itself. Giving it almost a Jekyll and Hyde feel. If you like the floral part you could do souls draining into a soul stone.

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I think I may clean up the whorl moire pattern. It is nice and neutral, and it seems to be the one a lot of folks like. I may add something specifically referring to Malifaux, or perhaps subtly imply a skull in it (only visible at a distance). That interference pattern could imply the pattern of the breach, etc.

 

As for the soulstones visualizations: the problem is Wyrd's been pretty vague on what exactly they look like. Some are clearly cut gemstones style, but those would just look like gemstones.

 

I may try a demo run of the interference pattern for the most part with the good/evil faces on either end of the card as well... I'll hopefully have another run of design stuff soon!

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  • 5 weeks later...

It's time for a new update folks! I've done a full write-up on the reasoning for the changes you'll see on my blog as per usual, (head over to Counting Rivets to see all the thrilling design discussion. I know what you came here for though; I know why you clicked this link. You want... Images!

 

 CardWeak.png  
 From Malifaux Deck

 

First up is the Ace in almost its final form. There's some cleaning up and tweaking to do, and some of the lines/elements will have to be resized so I can be sure the ink doesn't swallow them, but it's mostly there. I've added damage pips, as we were recently playing with my Fiancee using Xander's deck, and those damage pips are so damn useful.

 

For contrast, here's the King:
 CardSevere.png  
 From Malifaux Deck

 

I'm hoping the damage indicators are subtle enough not to seem out of place, but still when you know, a simple enough check to figure out.

 

And last but not least, the most recent iteration of the back of the cards, with some inevitable tweaking to come:
 CardBackSepia.png  
 From Malifaux Deck

 

Thoughts as always, are welcome, and I think we are at final modifications stage before full production run! The parchment backing will eventually be replaced with one of my own crafting, so I can dodge any copyright claims there (it's a placeholder image) and also so I can vary up the specific variation of pattern on each card (but only the front side of course: Back side gets an entirely consistent paper design as well for obvious reasons...)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have an update! After some time working back and forth, I think it's either going to be a very subtly implied death's head (more subtle than the one above) or perhaps something like this:

Card%2520Back%2520Nouveau1.png  
 From Malifaux Deck

 

Another variant of which is this:

Card%2520Back%2520Nouveau2.png  
 From Malifaux Deck

 

I found a bunch more free vector sites and wanted to work something up in more the theme of Art Nouveau, and one that may be a bit more complex. I figure eventually I'll work two or three ideas to the point where I can print them, and then pick once I see them actually finished.

 

The second variant is meant to highlight the M more, while the former is a more print-accurate look (getting those various shades of grey, while easy by today's print standards, would have been quite the chore at the time...)

 

Thoughts? I'm curious to know which of the various backgrounds works the best in other folks' minds. Once I can narrow this down, I'll also be showing them to our local play group to see if they have any input.

 

Remember too: Since I have not gotten any kind of permission from Wyrd themselves, the decks I'm making won't directly reference the game, or any of what might be their IP, which is why the map had to go.

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You can always ask for permission.

I like the new version quite a bit. My only concern is the all the different types of line may be a bit much. Admittedly my art history classes were a tad basic so we didn't spend a whole lot of time on art nouvou. So if the multiple line styles is a thing there than feel free to ignore the crit.

I do like this pattern a whole lot more than the deaths head on the previous design. The M is a great reference to malifaux, subtle enough that it's not a 2x4 over the head, but still clearly a reference. Also, excellent choice on the typeface! Very classy

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Bowchickawowers: Art Nouveau was one of those wonderful periods where the "civilized world" latches on to a thing newly discovered, or rediscovered, and just goes whole hog with it. If I remember correctly, this was the discovery of Roman grottoes, with all the funky leaf and fern artwork on walls, and they just fell in love with it. You can find all kinds of things from that era that are utter riots of curls and curves and madness.

 

(Neat geeky sidebar: If you ever hear reference to "Egyptian-style" typefaces, that don't look in any way hieroglyphic... they're slab serif, but when they came into vogue everyone was obsessed with King Tut and Egypt, so they just straight named them that for popularity!)

Glad to see someone else recognize the joy of typefaces. I struggled a while picking ones that'd be era-appropriate, before eventually going with one that was more balanced and even.

 

Oddly, I did send them an email at the beginning of this project, asking to borrow/use their faction-specific fancy symbols for the aces, and didn't hear back. I prefer not having to ask permission, though, also because it frees me up to make these on my own without fear of having to pay them anything, or ask for a professional release. I know a bunch of folks who want decks, and being able to just purchase and send them will be much more straightforward. If Wyrd does decide to contact me and make a second fanciful deck, I can consider different things then, since they'd officially be my client!

 

Paradoxstorm: I'm not certain what you mean about video image, but if you mean digital, I understand entirely. I'm probably soon going to print a bunch of these out on a laser printer just to see how they change in printing, and which works best.

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I took a couple graphic design courses with my studio degree a few years ago now. I enjoyed the challenge of finding a typeface that matched the feel of what I was designing. I think you're the first person I've met outside of a school setting who appreciates typeface!! Well met good sir!

As for my comment regarding the back, the line work immediately around the M feels more like Celtic knot work that roman grottos, it just feels off, does that make sense ? I love the idea of a deck they'd have had going into malifaux. I think this latest design is the strongest of them for two reasons. 1: it matches the feel of the decks from the time best (I did a little reading last night) 2: it's one I think their printers could have handled better than your kinda trippy circles or skull thing.

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Paradoxstorm: I'm not certain what you mean about video image, but if you mean digital, I understand entirely. I'm probably soon going to print a bunch of these out on a laser printer just to see how they change in printing, and which works best.

 

Yep, that's what I meant.  Images based on light emitting tech often look somewhat different than those based on light reflection.

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I think your deck looks really great, it always amazes me what tallented people can do - if I were to make a deck I would have probably ended up using crayons and drawing the suits on the backs of business cards :D .

 

Of the two backs you posted, I think the first one is a stand out winner for me. Also if you need any help playtesting your deck, feel free to send me a free one hot off the press when it's done :P

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