Game designer Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer of Teamfight Tactics teased today that his evil alter ego planned to disrupt multiple Riot game properties, which included adding a Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus to Legends of Runeterra. And the response from a game designer at Wizards of the Coast was an unexpected one.
Set Nine in TFT, Runeterra Reforged, is one of the best-designed sets in the autobattler’s history. The gameplay options are incredibly detailed, providing multiple lines of play, similar to card games like MTG and LoR.
Mortdog played into those similarities today by teasing he was going to add a “Black Lotus to LoR,” which is funny because the senior game designer of Legends of Runeterra, Steve Rubin, is a former professional Magic player with 14 GP top-eight finishes on his record.
Related: TFT 13.14 PBE patch notes: All early changes we know so far
MTG game designer Gavin Verhey joined the conversation on Twitter with an unusual response. Verhey teased back, saying he’ll “sneak a Tacticians Crown into Magic” if Mortdog follows through on adding a Black Lotus to LoR, or even TFT.
It’s highly unlikely Rubin has any interest in adding a Black Lotus-type card to LoR since gaining three mana at Burst speed could potentially break the digital card game. But gaining free stuff in TFT happens all the time through Augments and loot drops. And a Tactician Crown is possible in MTG through copy effects.
WotC has expanded its Universes Beyond IP crossover since its launch, including franchises like Lord of the Rings, Street Fighter, and the upcoming Doctor Who set. A Magic crossover with a Riot game like TFT sounds like fun and I think has potential.
