For better or worse, the MTG innovation engine has no brakes. Not only is Wizards constantly pioneering bold new developments like Chaos Vault, but there’s no end of new mechanics too. Arriving alongside the release of every new set, Magic has a constant deluge of weird, wonderful, and uniquely named mechanics.
Thankfully, despite MTG’s relentless pursuit of innovation, Wizards of the Coast isn’t constantly jumping the shark. Black-bordered sets like Unfinity, which introduced Stickers and Attractions, are now a rarity that may never be repeated. For better or worse, these wacky Un-Set mechanics aren’t the only ones with a seemingly dark future.
Recently, MTG’s Head Designer, Mark Rosewater, has confirmed that three-sided MTG cards aren’t a viable option. Sadly, this is for the most boring reason imaginable.
Printing Problems
Over the weekend, Tumblr user Gravitasmor took to Blogatog with a rather unusual question. Asking if there was any possibility for three-sided MTG cards, Gravitasmor noted that MTG was already late to this idea. The Transformers TCG, for instance, already has “folding oversized cards,” known as Triple Changers.
Having existed since 2019, three-sided cards are really nothing new in the TCG space. Technically, Wizards has already experimented with this idea for their Duel Masters TCG, which is largely popular in Japan. Given Duel Masters introduced three-sided cards over a decade ago, it seems long overdue that MTG gets the same.
Sadly, it seems there’s a reason that we’ve been waiting for so long, and it’s woefully boring. As Mark Rosewater explained, “It turns out three-sided cards don’t expand well, meaning it’s basically not viable for a product with the volume of Magic’s print runs.” So, while it is definitely possible, printing problems stand in the way of us having a good time.
Considering how much of an issue double-sided cards cause already, this probably shouldn’t be the biggest surprise. It’s nonetheless disappointing, however, considering that three-sided cards could have some awesome mechanical opportunities. If Wizards really wanted to sell a set’s Headliner card, making it three-sided would be one hell of a way to do it.
In an ideal world, three-sided cards could be the perfect evolution of the Level Up mechanic. Just like Duel Masters’ 3D Dragsolution cards, Magic’s versions could literally get bigger and better on the board. Sadly, as cool as these cards would be in theory, it seems we’re never going to get them officially.
Boring But Better
Sadly, as cool as three-sided MTG cards might be, it’s probably for the better they don’t actually exist. As Gravitasmor noted in their original question, these cards come with a few logistical concerns since they’re so massive. Being multiple times thicker than a regular MTG card, it’d be impossible to put them in a regular deck.
Technically, a solution could be to have a placeholder card within your actual deck. This is already an established fix for double-sided cards which otherwise don’t work when unsleeved. As much as this would mitigate the problem, it does admittedly spoil the fun. Speaking of sleeves, three-sided MTG cards wouldn’t exactly work with them, which is another real concern.
Much like Stickers from Unfinity, three-sided MTG cards could essentially be perishable, since things can only be folded so much. After a while, there’s a very real chance that these potentially powerful cards could be all but unusable. With this in mind, it’s probably for the better that Wizards stay away from making three-sided MTG cards.
Curiously, while it’ll all but confirmed that three-sided MTG cards would never happen, Wizards has looked into it. After all, Rosewater seems to know specifically why it wouldn’t work, suggesting Wizards has genuinely explored this design avenue. Supporting this theory, Mark Rosewater has previously stated “I assume one day Magic will try them,” when talking about folding three-sided cards.
Ultimately, in spite of any exploratory design work, clearly, this interesting mechanic isn’t really viable for an MTG set. As we’ve mentioned, this is probably for the good of the game, thanks to the logistical and physical complexity involved. That being said, we can’t help but still be disappointed by this development.