Pokémon Monday: The Ultimate Crossover - Magic: The Gathering Meets Pokémon

Magic: The Gathering Meets Pokémon

The Boot-Legacies, in classic bootleg sense, focuses mostly on Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon bootlegs. Rightfully so, they are the pinnacle of bootleg goodness, and frankly absorb much more of the market space than bootleg Magic: The Gathering - this reflects a bigger message in terms of their audience appeal. Magic fans tend to lean more toward 1:1 clones of cards (sometimes referred to as proxies), because it is more played, rather than collected. 

So, I wanted to approach Pokémon Monday a bit more flavorfully this week to reflect my own interest in a Magic: The Gathering design space.

Long story short, the fun, cool, and whatever fake Magic: The Gathering card scene is limited only to counterfeit cards and fan-made/alter art (cards that are 1:1 functionally but look different).

Given my growing affinity for fake Pokémon cards, and my love for commander (a Magic: The Gathering format focused on a key creature and a strategy around that creature) I have recently begun exploring a design space focused on crossing Magic and Pokémon cards. 

Enter custom Magic: The Gathering Cards, a space lightly explored by fans of the franchise, and encapsulating all that bootleg goodness. 
Base set charizard pokemon card in magic the gathering style

If Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon Had A Baby...

Let me give you a very... a very brief history lesson here. If any of you have ever collected Pokémon trading cards, you'd know the first few sets in the Pokémon trading card game were printed and created by Wizards Of The Coast, the company that currently owns Magic: The Gathering. 

Upon analyzing a base set Pokémon card and an old(er) Magic: The Gathering card side by side, their design similarities are evident. 
Base set blastoise foil card pokemon trading card game
Empress Galina mono blue magic the gathering commander card

Their design principles carried toward each other quite clearly, and it remains evident that they began their origins in the same place. So much so, there were even rare instances of test prints of Blastoise having the Magic: The Gathering card backing. Yes, I want one. No, I can’t afford it. Yes, I’m still salty.

The Why

So of course, with my passion for both of these classic trading card games, and my current bootleg obsession, I took it upon myself to create my own "Bootleg Pokémon" cards by morphing the two. 
A crossover pokemon looking magic the gathering card depicting mythical pokemon celebi in place of galadriel

Perhaps it's a result of buried Pokémon nostalgia, or I'm just a weirdo. I don't know. But it WORKS and it captures the whole vibe of The Boot-legacies through and through. Weirdness, nostalgia, and FUN. It's what makes bootlegs so interesting. At the end of the day, there is no definitive reason for it, but these cards emit flavor, fun, and nostalgia. What if Celebi had a mana cost? What if Rayquaza created tokens? What if Charizard could spar against a board of knights? They are, at their core, THE Magic: The Gathering bootlegs if that scene does exist. They are the epitome of unlicensed, unexpected, and unreasonably cool, as fakes are. 

Rule 0

In Magic: The Gathering, custom cards are by technicality, not allowed (maybe the reskins would be though). However, at the end of the day, there is little 'legal' room left for these monstrosities. Rule 0 exists for this purpose, it is a pregame conversation that one has before playing a game of commander, perhaps other formats too; Discussing game expectations, power levels, and what everyone is okay with. My preferred format (Commander) is notably THE format that is most friendly with these things, and in a way Commander encapsulates what this blog is about, fun, freedom, and nostalgia! 

In many ways, Commander embodies the spirit of this blog: freedom, fun, and flavor-first design. So let’s embrace it — in both communities.

Concluding...

I had to make this Pokémon Monday post brief, as the term is beginning and frankly I am underprepared, however, I leave you with a call to action, fellow Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering enjoyers, take a moment this week to enjoy some nostalgia, and do your own thing. Stop letting arbitrary rules and weirdness keep your own weirdness at bay. Life is crazy, let's enjoy our crazy weird nostalgia filled cardboard together and play how we'd like! Dig up your old binders. Smash formats together. Enjoy your own nostalgia — you earned it.

Until next Monday,
Keep it weird, and carry on!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eif Baby Pokémon: The Cutest Modern Bootlegs I Have Ever Seen

Image
I began getting back into collecting Pokémon trading cards with a quest: to collect every Mew ever. I figured it would be an undertaking of sorts, all of the Mew cards I could find, all of the strange, the official, the unofficial, the custom ones, the non-tcg cards. All of the Mews. Of course I began to attend local card shows, hoping to fulfill my Mew fantasies (which I did somewhat).  One particular vendor I had visited had a fun derpy shining mew parody card, a custom one with star-foiling, not a bootleg, but fun either way. Of course it had to go into the collection. That same vendor had a little cardboard box filled with these glittery, extremely thick and somewhat small cards - maybe not necessarily small, but I guess more square than a regular (standard size) card.  Of course I immediately began to look at all of them hoping to find my beloved Mew. Each one I browsed past, cute baby-ified pocket monsters, small, chibi, most likely stolen art, but adorable regardless - ...
Read more

How It Started and How It's Going: Why 2025?

Image
It all began as a young child, I begrudgingly browsed local flea markets and farmer's markets, absolutely not impressed by much - I mean, which kids are? Fruits, veggies... lame.  Of course that was how it began, but I was remiss to find that at almost every single one of these pop up events, little treasures were buried among the lameness - tucked somewhere, usually at the end of these event lineups, in brown boxes that sat on the ground. Shining like gold in the distance. That was exactly where it started, right there in those boxes.  Cheap Beyblades Weird overly foil-y Pokémon trading card packs (including strange mixtures of characters that absolutely should not have been together) Endless Yu-Gi-Oh cards Bootleg Bakugan (those have a nice ring to them) For a kid? All these toys? I was hooked! Of course I begged for them... and I was promptly met with  "Those are chintzy, you don't want those."  Pulled away and denied. It was a true tragedy. From there of course ...
Read more

The Crazy World of Fake Yu-Gi-Oh Cards (And Why All Bootlegs Are Worth Collecting)

Image
When you think about fake Yu-Gi-Oh! cards (bootlegs, sometimes known as knockoffs), what comes to mind? Have you ever considered collecting fake cards? What would drive somebody to collect these weird relics of the past? There's a plethora of reasons bootleg collectors enjoy them, and it ranges anywhere from: The Broken English (Engrish?) Cheapo firework-styled foiling Weirdly washed out images crappy (but endearing) card quality and questionable means of production? Let's go in on this for a moment, and reveal what truly makes these wonderful pieces of fake, knockoff cardboard worth your time! Let's Talk About The Fake Craziness Bootleg Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are like the wild west of the fake trading card world. They were my first and funniest exposure to bootlegs as a child.  I recall sitting at the lunch table, trying to play a quick duel with my classmates when one of them pulled out this clearly fake Yu-Gi-Oh! card. I remember staring at it in awe. It had to have been a game...
Read more