This is a custom Secret Lair Universes Beyond package featuring the film/book Children of the Corn. It features 3 new cards, 2 nicknamed cards, and a Universes Within version of the face card, Isaac, Giver of His Word. This includes a design document featuring Isaac’s card and art.

Design Documents

Isaac, Giver of His Word

Isaac, Giver of His Word is a 1/* Legendary Creature, Human Warlock who costs 2GB.

Card Text-

Isaac’s toughness is equal to the player’s devotion to black and green.

When a nontoken creature you control is sacrificed, create a number of Food tokens equal to its toughness.

Food tokens you control are 0/2 Plant creatures in addition to their other types.

Expected Playstyles –

I expect it to work within Food token strategies, as well as strategies that care about high toughness creatures. It works well within two-card synergies, such as combining Isaac with the prevalent Avenger of Zendikar or with token creature strategies like Aristocrats, and unconventional creature cards like Doomgape.

Design Process

Isaac is a iconic villain from the Stephen King universe, because more so than other villains, he is a vessel – a warlock of some great evil. With his design, I wanted to incorporate a few things from his source material. Those elements were blind faith, sacrifice, and of course, corn.

From these, I wanted to work in devotion – partially because I knew I wanted to put Shrine to Nyx in this drop – but also because using toughness is an important part of the design of this card and its signature spell: Lost in the Maize. It would also mean that I had an angle to begin creating Malachai, another card in this set.

The current version of Isaac has his stat as the Theros special – 1/*, where * is your devotion to green and black. Because toughness is so important, I wanted him gain strength from the other nontoken cards you have. His minimum toughness is 2, but with a much higher maximum. I also made sure that Isaac could be sacrificed, which is very on theme with the original story, where (spoilers) Isaac gets killed in a confusing way, which makes his god stronger.

I have loved recent editions of Magic where food tokens take a more prominent role, like in Wilds of Eldraine and Lord of the Rings. Isaac now makes these Food tokens into creatures, not dissimilar to Bernard, Ginger Sculptor, but focuses more on sacrifice than being a “lord”.

Because of these strengths, as much as I adore my two-cost legendary creatures, I had to bring it up to costing 2GB. Now I think its a really fun card to build with, because it fits easily into other sacrifice decks, namely Korvold, Fae-Cursed King and Izoni, Thousand-Eyed, but makes for an entertaining commander in themselves.

I think this card is flavorful, on theme, and an excellent lead for this Secret Lair Drop.

Art Brief

Art Title: Isaac, Giver of his Word

Size: 3334 x 2449 pixels

Art Description: Isaac staring through glass. Isaac is tight lipped and staring intensely through it. On the left of the card, we see faintly in the reflection, a silhouette old, portly man clutching his throat the dropping a coffee mug. On the right, we see a follower raising his sickle to slice down a fleeing adult woman.

Setting: The image should feel like a horror movie poster from the 80’s, heavy with shadows and dark in color.

Color: Green/Black Legendary Creature

Location: This card takes place in a small town, but a horrific cornfield looms behind him. In front of him is a glass pane, with faint reflections on the glass of violence – children slashing at people with sickles and machetes and people choking on their drinks.

Action: Isaac is being inactive – but observing. In front of him are reflections of violence – murder with sickles and choking to death from poisoned cups.

Focus: What makes Isaac such a compelling villain is his intensity. The way his eyes tilt forward, his mouth holds firm. Isaac feels no joy in what he has done – only joy in knowing that the will of He Who Walks Behind the Rows is being carried out.

Mood: The mood for this piece is grim, despite a kid staring you in the face it should feel like a dangerous religious leader is demanding sacrifice.