While I'm still not very enchanted with the D&D skins of Magic cards, I did catch this Twitter thread on some of the art that went into the set.
I like how Magic (and what I've seen of D&D for that matter) have evolved over the decades, moving away from stereo or monotypes in creatures, allowing for more nuances and more interesting stuff!
The drawback is that I wouldn't have known about what the cards were depicting without that thread. But, that isn't necessarily for me! The people who have been playing D&D a long time will catch these changes and know what they mean.
Even so, some of those engagements are a bit...too quiet. How would anyone know the Ravenloft Adventurer is a transmasc character, without being told? There's no space for flavor text or anything indicating a characteristic at all-in contrast with Alesha, Who Smiles At Death, who has stories written about her by WotC. We know who she is because they took the time to tell us about her.
On the one hand, trans characters shouldn't be all about being trans. That's terrible characterization.
On the other hand, I'm not sure how I'd feel if a company trying to show more diversity just told me that a character was diverse but didn't actually show it somehow.
Similarly, the Green card isn't one I would've pegged as different representation. But the difference here is: I don't know giants in D&D. The D&D folks WILL see that and get it. It's very clear to the audience that they're aiming for.
It's hard work, making things functional and communicate what you want them to. But I'm glad they're doing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment