• In a few sentences, what is the premise of Seas of Krakonos?

"Seas of Krakonos is a top-down limited set themed around pirates and exploration."

• Where would you say Seas of Krakonos is in the development process?

"Currently, KRK is sitting on a mostly-filled set file, with just over thirty total uncommons/rares/mythics left to design. However, much of the file still remains unflavored with placeholder names and flavor texts."

• What inspired you to begin creating Seas of Krakonos?

"Around spring of 2020, I started working on one of my very first sets, simply called Krakonos. I had only been playing Magic for a few months at that point, so needless to say, the set was pretty rough. Flash forward to autumn 2021. Feeling burnt out on Marvel Cube [another project designed by Schwa77], I decided I wanted to try out my first attempt at a traditional limited. Realizing I already had a lot of art saved for a pirate plane, I took Krakonos (in name alone) and began redesigning it. That project eventually sputtered to another halt, only being picked back up again in spring 2022. Finally having a bit more experience with limited sets under my belt, this grew into the Seas of Krakonos of today."

• Krakonos is being developed for a limited/Primordial format. How has that affected how you look at creating cards and measuring up the set as a whole?

"One thing I have been putting more at the forefront of my design recently is trying to have more build-around style cards at uncommon rather than rare. Primordial’s deckbuilding restrictions (for those unfamiliar, a brief summary: one set, 40 card decks, 2x rares at 1x any given card, 6x uncommon at 2x any given card, unlimited commons at 4x a given card) mean that, without tutors, build-around rares can prove pretty challenging to actually find in gameplay. While an uncommon does not appear that much more frequently, the increased probability allows some decks to be propped up around these “side strategies” rather than the more traditional archetype-supported ones." (To learn more about the Primordial format, you can visit its website: https://primordialformat.com/)

• When making designs or art decisions, how do you draw the line between historical pirates, Hollywood zeitgeist, and traditional MTG-style fantasy?

"KRK definitely pulls more of its inspiration from Hollywood and other pop culture pirate depictions (and consequently, their Treasure Island origins) than real-world history. In part, this is just where the art resources line up better, but it also has a lot more of the “resonant tropes” that people think of being associated with pirates. Maps to buried treasure, walking the plank, and “Arr, matey!” may have very little historical precedent, but I felt a pirate set could feel lacking without them. As for incorporating traditional MTG fantasy, one thing I’ve consistently worked towards with this project is feeling distinct from Ixalan’s representation of pirates, who primarily comprised of Humans, Orcs, Goblins, and Sirens. By comparison, KRK casts a much wider net for creature types, introducing Cats, Halflings, Lizards, Minotaurs, Zombies, and more!"

• What is your favorite card in Seas of Krakonos?

"If I had to pick one, it would be Avarice. I think having single Incarnations on plane-bound sets show off a unique and interesting look at the plane, and it also holds a special place for me as one of the earliest mythics I designed for the set. Mechanically, I think it does an excellent job at representing its concept as an Incarnation, testing a player to see how much they are willing to give up for more power."

• Would you like to give any special thanks to anyone on this server for their help?

"First and foremost, I gotta shoutout Scribbl. He’s been super helpful from the very beginning of development, helping me lock in different archetypes, up until now, offering great feedback on rares/mythics. Similarly, Mattelonian’s been a huge helper throughout the entire set process, can’t thank him enough for always being ready to assist. Gotta give thanks to CanterburyEgg for letting me adapt his Hoard into the now-beloved Plunder.

I have to extend thanks to Janahwhamme for putting up with me for this long and being one of the biggest driving forces behind getting me to (admittedly slowly) flavor this whole project, and Philippe Saner for helping a lot with worldbuilding. Can’t forget Morgan (FLAREdirector), Popcornia, and LeetWizard for helping out with flavor texts, and have to say thanks to Dodger for allowing me to use Lord Rickard Dawson in this project (and while not on this server, the same thanks to Queen Emily for Jadon/Lillith.)

Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone who hasn’t yet been mentioned, but has helped out by offering feedback through the channel and engaging with the weekend Pack 1 Pick 1’s. Splitmoon, Bergland, Dr. Chillbrain, Timespiraled (special shoutout for allowing me to reprint the beloved Saddled Scuttleback), Zangy (special shoutout here for also helping with the art file), HazelnutCookie, Platypeople, Ensorceler, Ivy, Staggs, Matt, Cool Beens, and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed. Thanks a ton for helping out, everyone! This set absolutely wouldn’t be where it is without this community."