Cult classic actor Nicolas Cage once famously said, “in Magic: The Gathering, there are only two people I trust. One of them’s me, and the other’s the Redditor who made a Nic Cage EDH deck”. Maybe that’s not exactly what Cage said, but there really is a Cage-themed EDH deck.
“It started out with any cards that had the word ‘cage’ in them”, deck creator u/Hooply1 told Reddit on August 3, “and then evolved into things which had ‘nic’ in them – which allowed for things like ‘CycloNIC Rift’ or ‘DemoNIC tutors’”. “Then to fill it out, pretty much anything I could find a good Nic Cage image for made the list, including a few EDH staples which will allow me to draw and play all of my jank.” “I also leaned heavily into the movie Vampire’s Kiss for several cards”, they add. Fittingly, the deck’s Commander is Nicol Bolas, the Ravager.
Since completing the deck, u/Hooply1 has had it printed. They’ve shared pictures of over 40 gloriously Cage-y MTG alters so far (some of which you can see below).
As well as replacing card art with Nic Cage film scenes, Cage’s face is repeatedly edited onto the face of planeswalker Nicol Bolas. Each card’s flavour text also features colourful quotes from the cult actor (yes, including “not the bees!”).
“I didn’t post the deck in its entirety,” u/Hooply1 says, “but every card, including the lands, has Nic Cage images or references”. Additionally, u/Hooply1 told Reddit they’ve also created custom Nicolas Cage sleeves, but these haven’t yet arrived.
“I don’t actually care if it plays well, to be honest”, u/Hooply1 told Reddit. “As long as I get to play a bunch of janky Nic Cage cards that make the table laugh, I will count it as a win.”
Perhaps our favourite cards in the deck are the black cards. Endless Scream is perhaps the card that best sums up Nicolas Cage’s acting performances – and we know, from now on, we’ll struggle to play Blood Artist without chanting “I’m a vampire, I’m a vampire, I’m a vampire” as it hits the battlefield.
The eagle-eyed among you may spot one card that doesn’t have Nicolas Cage on; it has an image of John Travolta instead. Except this is a picture of Nicolas Cage, as it’s a still from the 1997 film Face Off – the film where Nicolas Cage’s character swaps faces with John Travolta’s character. ‘Clever Impersonator’ indeed.
The internet has already flooded the original Reddit post with suggestions for more Nic Cage cards. Burnt Offering is recommended for more Wicker Man alters, and it’s been suggested the art for Skinshifter and Starke of Rath already looks a bit like Cage.
Another Redditor suggested that, though Cage doesn’t actually appear on the cards, this would have been a great opportunity to use the (unreleased) MTG promo cards created for Nic Cage film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Cage’s character from this film doesn’t appear in any card art, but he’s printed on the back of every card in the deck.
Check out the complete Nic Cage album on Imgur.
For more awesome alters, check out the cards that made us want a Paddington Bear Secret Lair. Or, for more officially awesome art, you can check out our proper Secret Lair guide instead.