Thanks to the unceasing success of the Universes Beyond product line, the Magic: The Gathering plane getting the most attention lately is not Ravnica, not Dominaria, not Innistrad, but instead, New York City.
Among the fanbase, it's become a bit of a meme that Magic has been to The Big Apple more than any of its in-universe settings in the last year, with the Spider-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles MTG sets both taking place in the real-world metropolis (some of the upcoming Marvel Superheroes cards are probably set there as well).
And during a recent press event, Wizards staff explained that drawing a distinction between the version of NYC seen in the Spider-Man set and the version in TMNT was a major concern, with Crystal Frasier, lead narrative designer, revealing that she'd written an entire presentation on the subject.
"We knew going in that going back to New York right after Spider-Man, people were going to wonder about that," she said. "So we spent a lot of time figuring out 'how does NY feel for Spider-Man versus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?'"
Frasier says she used to live in "the scummiest parts of New York City", the parts you don't see represented in media, and apparently she used that experience when working on Turtles.
"We came up with the idea of the New York you visit versus the New York you live in or are from," Frasier continues. She explains that whereas the Spider-Man set is designed to look iconic, beautiful, and inspiring, the TMNT set is "very homey and very lived-in".
Design lead Eric Engelhard added that the art direction in TMNT does a lot to communicate the different vibe of the set, and that, particularly because many of the cards take place at night, you end up with a "darker and more neon take".
"We were very deliberate about the light sources we used and how they color scenes," says Frasier. "Because New York is a city that never sleeps… and at night the lights are street lights and traffic signals, car lights and neon signs from windows. We thought about how all of these paint this surreal version of New York".
Comic book antics and goofy reptile people aside, do you think the two sets feel distinct from one another? Let us know over at the Wargamer Discord.