* Barren Glory
* Cancel
* Castle Raptors
* Curiosity
* Hellkite Overlord
* Orzhova, the Church of Deals
* Wave of Indifference
* Withered Wretch
* Yomiji, Who Bars the Way
My bread-and-butter over the past few years in the freelance writing field has been writing names and flavor text for Magic: the Gathering. I'm proud of many of the names I've written for cards (such as the Onslaught pit fighter legends like Rorix Bladewing and the now-staple card Naturalize). However, flavor text, being longer, displays much more of my writing style, and so I've decided to feature it on this page.
I've been writing flavor text since 2000 in a competitive writing environment, so the list is appropriately long! I've divided up my cards by set (in chronological order) and listed my cards in alphabetical order. Use the menu below to jump directly to a particular set. I use the official Magic card archive, Gatherer, to "show" you my work. Click on a link, and you'll see the Gatherer entry for that card. Gatherer shows a full image of every Magic card ever printed - name, illustration, rules text, and flavor text. Thus you can see my work the way it was intended!
For those of you who don't want to go through the entire list, or if you're new to Magic and want to just hit some highlights, check out my Favorites section right up at the top. It's a list culled from years of feedback of all types, listing those pieces that someone (myself, a coworker, or a player) especially liked for one reason or another. We'll start it at a mere ten cards for now, and expand it (only a very little!) as further events and memories warrant. Take a look for a much shorter insight into my Magic writing history!
I promise to try to update with new sets as they get printed, and as links change because of reprintings.
Oh, and as an additional note, you might see cards on my list that quote real world sources. I, of course, don't claim authorship of these; I only claim having the idea of associating that particular piece with that particular card.
Hope you enjoy my little gallery!
All images are copyright 1994-2009 Wizards of the Coast
Click here to go right to the bottom nav!
| * Arrogant Wurm * Barren Glory * Cancel * Castle Raptors * Curiosity * Hellkite Overlord * Orzhova, the Church of Deals * Wave of Indifference * Withered Wretch * Yomiji, Who Bars the Way |
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| * IN(Invasion) Bird token * IN Elephant token * PS (Planeshift) Spirit token * OD (Odyssey) Bear token * OD Beast token * OD Elephant token * ONS (Onslaught) Soldier token(#) * ONS Dragon token(#) * Swords to Plowshares (DCI promo) |
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| * Akroma's Devoted * Aven Envoy * Beacon of Destiny * Blood Celebrant * Dark Supplicant (@) * Dreamborn Muse * Enormous Baloth * Essence Sliver * Flamewave Invoker * Glintwing Invoker * Glowrider * Graveborn Muse * Keeneye Aven * Lavaborn Muse * Plated Sliver * Primoc Escapee (@) * Seedborn Muse * Smokespew Invoker * Starlight Invoker * Stoic Champion * Stonewood Invoker * Timberwatch Elf * Vile Deacon * Ward Sliver * White Knight * Windborn Muse * Withered Wretch |
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| * Daru Warchief * Dawn Elemental (@) * Dragonstalker * Exiled Doomsayer * Extra Arms * Faces of the Past * Gilded Light * Guilty Conscience * Metamorphose * Nefashu * Rain of Blades * Recuperate * Silver Knight * Spark Spray * Upwelling * Zealous Inquisitor |
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| * Canyon Wildcat * Cowardice * Curiosity * Disrupting Scepter * Elvish Lyrist * Flash Counter * Fugitive Wizard * Merchant Scroll * Planar Portal * Sea Monster * Sever Soul * Solidarity * Spirit Link * Trade Routes * Vine Trellis |
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| * Annul * Auriok Bladewarden * Barter in Blood * Copper Myr * Copperhoof Vorrac (@) * Farsight Mask * Fists of the Anvil * Goblin Striker * Granite Shard * Iron Myr * Krark's Thumb * Leaden Myr * Leonin Abunas * Leonin Elder * Leonin Skyhunter * Living Hive * Loxodon Punisher * Molder Slug * Myr Adapter * Platinum Angel * Psychic Membrane * Rustmouth Ogre * Sculpting Steel * Silver Myr * Skyhunter Cub * Soul Nova * Tel-Jilad Archers * Tempest of Light * Thoughtcast * Troll Ascetic * Viridian Joiner * Viridian Shaman * Welding Jar * Wurmskin Forger |
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| * Auriok Glaivemaster * Burden of Greed * Genesis Chamber * Hoverguard Observer * Hunger of the Nim * Last Word * Machinate * Mephitic Ooze * Myr Moonvessel * Nim Abomination * Nourish * Reshape * Ritual of Restoration * Scavenging Scarab * Screams from Within * Synod Artificer * Turn the Tables (?) * Vulshok War Boar |
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| * Acquire * Advanced Hoverguard * Anodet Lurker * Auriok Salvagers * Chimeric Coils * Conjurer's Bauble * Disruption Aura * Door to Nothingness * Eon Hub * Fist of Suns * Into Thin Air * Leonin Squire * Loxodon Stalwart * Qumulox * Raksha Golden Cub * Skyhunter Prowler * Synod Centurion * Thermal Navigator * Thought Courier * Vanquish * Vedalken Mastermind * Wayfarer's Bauble |
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| * Araba Mothrider * Bounteous Kirin * Briarknit Kami * Choice of Damnations * Death Denied * Ebony Owl Netsuke * Gnat Miser * Ideas Unbound * Infernal Kirin * Ivory Crane Netsuke * Kiku's Shadow * Kuro's Taken * Locust Miser * Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker * Minamo Scrollkeeper * Overwhelming Intellect * Path of Anger's Flame * Plow Through Reito * Razorjaw Oni * Ronin Cavekeeper * Secretkeeper * Trusted Advisor * Wine of Blood and Iron |
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| * Avatar of Discord * Azorius Signet * Brain Pry * Cytoshape * Enemy of the Guildpact (partly) * Ghost Quarter * Leafdrake Roost * Nettling Curse (?) * Pillar of the Paruns * Psychic Possession * Seal of Fire (partly) * Simic Sky Swallower * Taste for Mayhem * Thrive * Unliving Psychopath |  |
| * Amrou Seekers * Ancient Grudge * Assembly-Worker * Barbed Shocker * Benalish Cavalry * Bewilder * Blazing Blade Askari * Brass Gnat * Castle Raptors * Children of Korlis * Chronosavant * Flowstone Channeler * Fortify * Fungus Sliver * Goblin Skycutter * Hivestone * Ironclaw Buzzardiers * Sage of Epityr * Shadow Sliver * Spiketail Drakeling * Stormcloud Djinn * Tectonic Fiend * Telekinetic Sliver * Tendrils of Corruption * Tolarian Sentinel * Unyaro Bees * Urza's Factory |  |
| * Battering Sliver * Essence Warden * Fa'adiyah Seer * Merfolk Thaumaturgist * Necrotic Sliver * Ridged Kusite * Saltblast * Serra's Boon (?) * Sophic Centaur * Timecrafting |  |
| * Barren Glory * Force of Savagery * Heartwood Storyteller * Llanowar Augur * Magus of the Vineyard * Narcomoeba * Pact of Negation * Second Wind * Sliver Legion * Street Wraith * Witch's Mist * Zoetic Cavern |  |
| * Ambassador Laquatus * Bandage * Chimeric Staff * Citanul Flute * Cloud Elemental * Colossus of Sardia (footnote 4) * Demystify * Denizen of the Deep * Essence Drain * Fountain of Youth * Hidden Horror * Mobilization * Mortivore (footnote 4) * Natural Spring * Rhox (footnote 4) * Shimmering Wings (footnote 4) * Skyshroud Ranger * The Hive * Traumatize * Treasure Hunter |  |
| * Angelic Benediction * Bant Charm * Bant Panorama * Cancel * Clarion Ultimatum * Feral Hydra * Hellkite Overlord * Hissing Iguanar * Rakeclaw Gargantuan * Rhox War Monk * Scavenger Drake * Spearbreaker Behemoth * Thunder-Thrash Elder * Violent Ultimatum * Volcanic Submersion |  |
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* Armillary Sphere * Bloodhall Ooze * Conflux * Fiery Fall * Ignite Disorder * Jhessian Balmgiver * Mana Cylix * Martial Coup * Rhox Bodyguard * Scarland Thrinax * Toxic Iguanar * Vectis Agents * View From Above |  |
Footnote 1: When I first applied for the Magic Staff Writer job (at the time a completely new position), I was asked to write names and flavor text for fictional cards. The piece eventually published for Organ Grinder was one of the pieces I wrote for this test, for a zombie card that had no resemblance to Organ Grinder.
Footnote 2: This card is my only Magic "creative perfecta." I concepted the card art (or at least I'm almost certain I did; it's been a long time!), created the name, and wrote the flavor text. As such, it has a special place in my heart.
Footnote 3: My best set for flavor text so far. Between myself and fellow creative freelancer Jay Mouldenhauer-Salazar, we accounted for about 50% of the flavor text in this set.
Footnote 4: In Tenth Edition, foil versions of cards do not have reminder text. Thus, certain cards have flavor text only in their foil version. This is a card where I wrote flavor text for that foil version. The Gatherer picture won't show it, but it will be listed to the picture's right with all other info.
* While I wrote other cards in the cycle in which this card appears, others may have rewritten my original entries for this card. Thus, I only had part of a hand in writing it, and I put an asterisk by it.
(?) I have been given credit for this card by the creative Powers That Be, but I don't recall writing the actual text. I assume their records are more accurate than my memory, but for accuracy's sake, I mark it in this fashion.
(@) I remember writing this piece, but was not given credit for it by the Powers That Be. This may be because of a database error, someone else rewriting the text, or because I just remember wrong. But since I generally trust my memory in this kind of thing, yet still want to be accurate, I put in this note.
(#) Sorry for the bad picture. Better ones are not available from wizards.com.
