Magi-Nation Duel

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Magi-Nation Duel, sometimes abbreviated "MND", is a collectible card game (CCG) published by Interactive Imagination Corp (2i). It was previewed at GenCon 2000 and was released in October 2000. The game sought to appeal broadly to both younger and older players, and to attract former players of two popular collectible card games which seemed to be waning in popularity at the time: Magic: The Gathering (tm) and Pokémon (tm). Designer Phil Tavel created a game with mechanics which closely resembled Magic: The Gathering, and the cards were illustrated with high-quality anime-style artwork by Matt Holmberg and several other manga-style American artists.

1 Expansions
- 1.1 MND Japan
2 Other Media
3 External links
- 3.1 Artists

[edit] Expansions

The first card set, which is also known as Limited, contained 190 cards and introduced five "regions" of the larger world called the "Moonlands": Arderial, Cald, Naroom, Orothe, and Underneath. A reprint of the base set, known as Unlimited, was released in February 2001. This set contained a full parallel set of "foil" premium cards, whereas the base set only had foil versions of selected cards.

Four additional sets were created as expansions to the game:

Awakening (144 cards, released August 2001): This set introduced a new region, the Core, and provided preview cards (one "Hyren" creature each) for the regions of Weave and Kybar's Teeth.
Dream's End (185 cards, released November 2001): This set officially introduced the Weave and Kybar's Teeth regions, and included two preview cards for Bograth and Paradwyn. This set also saw the introduction of dual-region cards.
Nightmare's Dawn (300 cards, released April 2002): The regions of Bograth and Paradwyn were officially introduced in this set, which also included seven d'Resh cards and two Nar cards.
Voice of the Storms (300 cards, released November 2002): The last two regions, d'Resh and Nar, were fully introduced in this set.

Each region specializes in particular gameplay tactics, be they defensive, offensive, manipulation or denial. A fifth expansion, named Traitor's Reach, was developed but never printed. 2i has announced a future expansion entitled Daybreak, which is supposed to be a 150-card set with no new regions. They have also announced plans for a new base set called Second Order, which will likely feature previously-released cards with revised texts and possible alternate artwork.

2i supplied prize support for organized tournaments and leagues as well, including promotional cards that were only available for completing each league "season" and cards that could only be obtained by defeating a representative of Interactive Imagination. Seven league seasons were published, based on the regions of Naroom, Underneath, Cald, Orothe, Arderial, Core, and Kybar's Teeth, in that order.

[edit] MND Japan

A release of the base set (Unlimited) in Japan followed the US release of Dream's End. Alongside the CCG release ran a manga series in a shonen digest, and a GBA remake of the original Magi-Nation video game. The main character of the game, Tony, was replaced with Dan, a character of more Asian-friendly appearance. Several promotional cards were released that were only available with the manga series, and the Awakening set was published as well, but no further development is forthcoming.

[edit] Other Media

[edit] Newsletter

A newsletter, named The Book of Ages, was released to fans sporadically, each issue containing promotional cards, articles, artwork and fiction. Five issues were printed, and a sixth was available online.

[edit] Handhelds

In an attempt to popularize the brand, 2i also developed a Game Boy Color role-playing game cartridge, titled Magi Nation, which met with some success. A sequel, Magi Nation: Invasion, was in development for the Game Boy Advance (GBA), but production ceased for an undisclosed reason. Magi Nation: Keeper's Quest is a puzzle game, produced originally for the Game Boy Color, but due to bad timing, it was never released on that platform. Instead, it is now available for Palm PDAs and several cell phone units (see External links).

[edit] Animation

Perhaps the most risky move for Interactive Imagination was the attempt to develop and air an animated television program based on the franchise. A demo was released, but 2i stated that they changed developers shortly thereafter.

The licensing agreement to produce the much anticipated Magi-Nation animated series has been finalized in September 2005 with a multinational studio. The studio is expected to make production and network related press releases in the near future. If all proceeds according to plan the animated series should begin to be aired in various worldwide markets sometime between Fall 06, Spring 07 and Fall 07.

As of October 2006, Cookie Jar Entertainment has confirmed production of it's animated adaptation of the Magi-Nation series. A synopsis can be found in recently-released Mipcom Jr. newsletter:

Produced by Cookie Jar's action/adventure brand Coliseum, the Magi Nation animated series is a multiplaform new brand. Kids will tune in to see if three young Magi heroes and their collected force of Dream Creatures can navigate their way through environmental obstacles, confront constant challenges and battle against the atrocious evil magi and creatures that threaten the vitality of the 12 precious Moonlands of Magi Nation. Magi Nation follows Tony Jones, an ordinary 15-year old boy whose world is shaken when he is drawn through what he will come to know as the Dream Plane, into a world far beyond his imagination. Tony is now in Magi Nation, a beautiful world that was created millennia ago by the powerful Magi people. Tony meets Edyn and Strag - two young Magi heroes in training - who will help Tony discover his vast new magical environment, collect and bond with the fascinationg and varied creatures of the lands and compete against the forces that threaten his new home. Tony, Edyn, and Strag and their Dream Creatures accept the challenge to search The Moonlands for precious Dreamstones that will unlock the long held secrets hidden throughout the 12 Moonlands and ultimately, they hope, keep the ominous evil locked deep within The Core.

[edit] Massive Multiplayer Online

An online game is currently being developed by Canadian company Tribal Nova as announced on their website. According to the website's page, the game is being developed for the entertainment company Cookie Jar Entertainment. The game will be bilingual in English and French. No other information is available from the website.