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Edmund, Eye of the Storm

This card was illustrated by Rerepop back in October of 2022. I saw a YCH from them and thought it would be the perfect art for an Edmund card.

Unfortunately, I think it is my least favorite among all of the card designs I’ve ever shared publicly, and a strong candidate for a complete rework down the line. The issue is that I have referenced Edmund as a “Storm Mage” with lightning powers numerous times, and as a design space in magic Red/Blue spellslinger is so worn that it’s difficult to carve a new niche inside of it.

My first attempt (shown below) incorporated an aspect of impulsive draw, but I never went farther with it because it went too far in soothing out the weakness of the archetype. The inconsistency is part of what makes it what it is, and allowing card advantage to this degree adds too much consistency.

So instead I chose to take him in an “anti-storm” direction, to punish opponents for daring to play too many cards. This has the opposite problem where it’s probably not strong enough and should double down on the “storm” aspect a bit more, yet even given that critique I’m still not entirely happy with it. It feels less like an “Edmund” card and more of a bog-standard Izzet card, and I don’t know if there’s a good solution to that problem.

The other issue is that I hate this flavor text. I’ve since retooled Edmund’s speech to still sound like he’s not a typical academic without relying on just giving him a funny Brooklyn accent, and this is a piece that was completed prior to that work. This must be why artists don’t look back on their old work if they can avoid it. It’s too easy to get bogged down by the faults in it.

I may not be proud of the card, but I am happy with Rerepop’s art, so I will leave you with the full piece and the description that went with it when I uploaded it to FA.

On days when Edmund doesn’t have much to do in terms of training or schoolwork, it’s not uncommon to see him making use of his command over the winds to soar above Magitrum City. There’s no better way for the young to get both a bird’s eye view and a better appreciation for the school that changed his life and opened him up to new possibilities. As an orphan in Oplentis, Edmund never thought he’d ever have a chance to be more than a street punk. But thanks to his mentor, he’s become a skilled detective and mage of his own, never losing the empathy and fierce sense of justice that finally convinced Enigma to take the younger man under his wing in the first place.

Truly, the mind mage could not have asked for a more worthy apprentice.