This includes good comedic text since I like it when it’s used right. Text that evokes emotions or is memorable in its own right will also be included. I prefer cards that help give depth to the worlds and characters they show or that help move the plot forward in interesting ways. That being said, I do still have some criteria for the cards I chose. That’s gonna play a huge part in why I choose some of the flavor texts in this list.
What flavor text you may or may not find good depends strongly on your personal opinion and taste. The Criteria for Choosing the Best Flavor Text Out Thereīlood Clock | Illustration by Keith Garletts Stand-alone flavor text needs to be good writing, so it doesn’t matter what card it’s on because it almost always helps to elevate it and make it more dignified and flavorful. I think this type of flavor text works in contrast to the comedic one. It still relates to the effect of the card, but at the end of the day it’s a piece of writing that you could use in a completely different setting outside of Magic and it’d remain equally powerful and good. The text itself isn’t attributed to any character and it doesn’t mention anything directly related to Magic. The 2007 judge promo print of Vindicate works as an example of this. This includes pieces of text that may not be explicitly about the card they’re on but are still great complements. It makes it funny without undermining the card’s flavor.Īnd finally there’s stand-alone flavor text. The text is funny while actually being related to the creature depicted in the card. On the other hand, I think cards like Werebear work really well. I think this takes away from the card’s flavor while also being somewhat disrespectful to the artist. The art wasn’t intended to be funny, but they added comedic text since it has a “silly” pose. This isn’t a funny card and there’s nothing on it that makes room for a comedic quote. I find Gorilla Titan to be one of these cases. The bad thing is that this kind of text can absolutely ruin the flavor of a card when used in the wrong place. It can give insight into the world and characters while also giving you a good laugh. I adore this type of text when it’s well used. Then we have humorous and whimsical flavor text. While I think those can be really good and work really well on cards, I won’t be talking about those cards since I’m going to focus on original text made for Magic.
Some players also consider instances where cards have real world quotes to be part of this category. I include short dialogue here too since it works in a similar way. There’s even various characters whose only appearance in the game is through flavor text quotes. They’re usually said by important characters or protagonists, but sometimes they’re attributed to background characters. Quotes are another prominent form of flavor text. I’d add cards that also represent important story beats and moments here too. The dynamics between different groups, a snippet of the history of the place, maybe even geographical details. These are texts that give some insight into the world the cards represent.