A few weeks ago, Magic: The Gathering Head Designer, Mark Rosewater, teased a new playable game that would be released through Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and Secret Lair. After several weeks of suspense and speculation, Rosewater’s game has been unveiled — Mood Swings!
Nearly 30 years in the making, Mood Swings is a trading card game at its core, maintaining key elements like “…interactions, adaptability, collecting…” but designed to be more accessible and less time-intensive, with each game estimated to take around 5-10 minutes. There are also multiple ways to play the game, such as Duel Play, Team Play, and Draft Play, which Rosewater shares more about here.
Each Mood Swings product comes with 45 cards (23 common, 14 uncommon, 6 rare, and 2 mythic rare cards) and can be played with 2-4 players right out of the box, and while the game doesn’t have deckbuilding elements, no two 45-card decks will be the same, leading to new experiences each time.
According to Rosewater, the whole of Mood Swings contains “…133 cards—48 commons, 40 uncommons, 30 rares, and 15 mythic rares…” and utilizes Magic’s five colors. Additionally, the artwork featured on all of the game’s cards are “…sketches from published Magic art…”, chosen for how they represent an emotion or mood.
“I like to call Mood Swings my love letter to trading card games. It combines everything I love about them in a small, simple package.”
Mark Rosewater
For those headed to MagicCon: Las Vegas this weekend, Rosewater will be on-site promoting his passion project and for everyone not attending, Mood Swings will be available through the Secret Lair Marketplace beginning June 1 and will cost $25 per box.
Read the announcement article and learn the game’s extended rules from Mark Rosewater and WotC.
