Tyler Parrott
@davflamerock.bsky.social
Game designer. He/Him. Poly. I talk Star Wars Unlimited, Magic the Gathering, Halo, and social justice.
*My opinions are strictly my own*
*My opinions are strictly my own*
I wanted a plot that would disrupt your opponent's ability to play cards, but figuring out how to balance it was difficult. Eventually I found that exhausting resources was kinda like bouncing a unit—you're stalling your opponent's ability to add to the board—so we costed it appropriately #FFGStaff
November 28, 2025 at 6:31 PM
I wanted a plot that would disrupt your opponent's ability to play cards, but figuring out how to balance it was difficult. Eventually I found that exhausting resources was kinda like bouncing a unit—you're stalling your opponent's ability to add to the board—so we costed it appropriately #FFGStaff
Stealing the flag from Atriox and some dirty elites (poor Captain Dare probably got killed 7 times in this game, but her Spartans did good work)
November 26, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Stealing the flag from Atriox and some dirty elites (poor Captain Dare probably got killed 7 times in this game, but her Spartans did good work)
We had done capture before, so when we brought it back we asked ourselves how we could evolve the mechanic. Ryan had the brilliant idea of self-capture, hiding a unit inside another unit to survive enemy removal. After MANY revisions, we ended up using it on DJ to great effect! #FFGStaff
November 24, 2025 at 3:42 PM
We had done capture before, so when we brought it back we asked ourselves how we could evolve the mechanic. Ryan had the brilliant idea of self-capture, hiding a unit inside another unit to survive enemy removal. After MANY revisions, we ended up using it on DJ to great effect! #FFGStaff
Ryan had a cute idea for a top-down design for One In A Million, one that was optimized by the use of the Plot keyword. Defeating a unit for 1 resource (& no cards) is an unbelievable rate, & with most units having more HP than power, you can use damage to line them up for the right moment #FFGStaff
November 21, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Ryan had a cute idea for a top-down design for One In A Million, one that was optimized by the use of the Plot keyword. Defeating a unit for 1 resource (& no cards) is an unbelievable rate, & with most units having more HP than power, you can use damage to line them up for the right moment #FFGStaff
We often want to have leaders who encourage you to build a deck around new mechanics. Palpatine and Bail were our Plot leaders in this set. But to ensure that we had more inter-set synergy, we designed Bail in a way that he didn't call out the mechanic, so he can do more than just plot #FFGStaff
November 19, 2025 at 5:52 PM
We often want to have leaders who encourage you to build a deck around new mechanics. Palpatine and Bail were our Plot leaders in this set. But to ensure that we had more inter-set synergy, we designed Bail in a way that he didn't call out the mechanic, so he can do more than just plot #FFGStaff
The original plot upgrade was a 4 cost +3/+3 in blue. Eventually we would overhaul the mechanic in a way that directed us towards wanting more common plot upgrades specifically, so we made several more with unique stats. What surprised me was that the expensive +3/+3 was too strong! #FFGStaff
November 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The original plot upgrade was a 4 cost +3/+3 in blue. Eventually we would overhaul the mechanic in a way that directed us towards wanting more common plot upgrades specifically, so we made several more with unique stats. What surprised me was that the expensive +3/+3 was too strong! #FFGStaff
Today was cube day, and there were few enough of us that we got two drafts in! First went 3-0 with izzet in a rebalanced Bloomburrow draft, then 2-1 in "bar cube with great mana." Started both as UB Control and ended up in izzet, though I was able to splash a Seige Rhino the second time 🤣 #mtg
November 16, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Today was cube day, and there were few enough of us that we got two drafts in! First went 3-0 with izzet in a rebalanced Bloomburrow draft, then 2-1 in "bar cube with great mana." Started both as UB Control and ended up in izzet, though I was able to splash a Seige Rhino the second time 🤣 #mtg
Two independent goals we had for the set were to support go-wide strategies and to make the initiative minigame more interesting. After struggling with a lot of failed designs for this card, I wondered if we could make an anti-token card that also called out the initiative? #FFGStaff
November 14, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Two independent goals we had for the set were to support go-wide strategies and to make the initiative minigame more interesting. After struggling with a lot of failed designs for this card, I wondered if we could make an anti-token card that also called out the initiative? #FFGStaff
Designing sets with token units can sometimes feel strange, because common units have a tight complexity budget. It may feel repetitive to have similar variations on "When Played/Defeated: Create a token" but changing the numbers and aspects can make even similar cards feel very different #FFGStaff
November 12, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Designing sets with token units can sometimes feel strange, because common units have a tight complexity budget. It may feel repetitive to have similar variations on "When Played/Defeated: Create a token" but changing the numbers and aspects can make even similar cards feel very different #FFGStaff
Captain Dare got to commend four Spartans in pursuit of the Oddball, but they weren't brawny enough to fistfight a brute chieftain and an elite with an energy sword (and two other banished) 😞
November 12, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Captain Dare got to commend four Spartans in pursuit of the Oddball, but they weren't brawny enough to fistfight a brute chieftain and an elite with an energy sword (and two other banished) 😞
There was some debate as to whether her ability should cost 1 or have a big condition. It was important that this first version of this effect be simple, and there are plenty of ways to buff tokens and re-use those buffs...not to mention what future tokens we may make! #FFGStaff
November 11, 2025 at 4:43 PM
There was some debate as to whether her ability should cost 1 or have a big condition. It was important that this first version of this effect be simple, and there are plenty of ways to buff tokens and re-use those buffs...not to mention what future tokens we may make! #FFGStaff
Come join us on the livestream for Secrets of Power draft! #FFGStaff www.youtube.com/live/_IAQ70W...
November 7, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Come join us on the livestream for Secrets of Power draft! #FFGStaff www.youtube.com/live/_IAQ70W...
Leia had this ability for most of development, but you could reveal any card. We kept running into a problem: it was too easy to draft a couple neutral cards and then she'd be online the rest of the game. Disclose solved the neutral problem and also made her feel more integrated to the set #FFGStaff
November 7, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Leia had this ability for most of development, but you could reveal any card. We kept running into a problem: it was too easy to draft a couple neutral cards and then she'd be online the rest of the game. Disclose solved the neutral problem and also made her feel more integrated to the set #FFGStaff
Some of my favorite designs are the subtle ones. C-3PO was perfect at that from the beginning: on his own, he's a very straightforward repeatable +2/+2 engine (slow, but effective). But with disclose in the set, he's also a way to have a G/H card in your hand on demand #FFGStaff
November 6, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Some of my favorite designs are the subtle ones. C-3PO was perfect at that from the beginning: on his own, he's a very straightforward repeatable +2/+2 engine (slow, but effective). But with disclose in the set, he's also a way to have a G/H card in your hand on demand #FFGStaff
When we commissioned the art for Scanning Officer in SHD, Elia Kane was an unnamed background character. Ryan & I wanted to put her in SEC, since her storyline was full of intrigue, so Ryan pitched a mechanical callback to the first card that had her art. Now she can hit smuggle OR plot! #FFGStaff
November 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
When we commissioned the art for Scanning Officer in SHD, Elia Kane was an unnamed background character. Ryan & I wanted to put her in SEC, since her storyline was full of intrigue, so Ryan pitched a mechanical callback to the first card that had her art. Now she can hit smuggle OR plot! #FFGStaff
I didn't get to finish my MESBG game tonight because we ran out of time but man it was an absolute blast, between how lethal both sides were and how much of an absolute house the Witch King got to be as he fought off waves of warg riders being thrown at him
November 5, 2025 at 5:54 AM
I didn't get to finish my MESBG game tonight because we ran out of time but man it was an absolute blast, between how lethal both sides were and how much of an absolute house the Witch King got to be as he fought off waves of warg riders being thrown at him
There will likely never be a better time to make a Law-matters card than Secrets of Power, so I tried very hard to get one into the set. Thank goodness Orn Free Taa's previous design didn't work out so I could give him this one! Also what a perfect character for a deck full of Laws #FFGStaff
November 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM
There will likely never be a better time to make a Law-matters card than Secrets of Power, so I tried very hard to get one into the set. Thank goodness Orn Free Taa's previous design didn't work out so I could give him this one! Also what a perfect character for a deck full of Laws #FFGStaff
We wanted most of our Official-matters cards at lower rarities to support the archetype in draft. So we went looking for characters that we liked who would make sense in a mostly-political setting, which gave us the perfect opportunity to finally make a card for Senator Chuchi! #FFGStaff
October 29, 2025 at 4:02 PM
We wanted most of our Official-matters cards at lower rarities to support the archetype in draft. So we went looking for characters that we liked who would make sense in a mostly-political setting, which gave us the perfect opportunity to finally make a card for Senator Chuchi! #FFGStaff
We hadn't tried an "ignore aspect" draft leader before, so we wanted to try in this set. It was interesting seeing how much Mothma's power level fluctuated as the cards around her changed, and we intentionally put larger Officials in other colors so she'd have ample finishing power #FFGStaff
October 28, 2025 at 7:59 PM
We hadn't tried an "ignore aspect" draft leader before, so we wanted to try in this set. It was interesting seeing how much Mothma's power level fluctuated as the cards around her changed, and we intentionally put larger Officials in other colors so she'd have ample finishing power #FFGStaff
Got to play (most of) a full game of Halo: Flashpoint this afternoon with a friend from discord; we played at the Mantic booth at Spiel and OMG you guys won't believe the 3D game board one of the Mantic employees has been making. It's got internal LED lights as well as motorized fans and doors 🤯
October 25, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Got to play (most of) a full game of Halo: Flashpoint this afternoon with a friend from discord; we played at the Mantic booth at Spiel and OMG you guys won't believe the 3D game board one of the Mantic employees has been making. It's got internal LED lights as well as motorized fans and doors 🤯
We needed C-3PO to be a draft leader (Padmé was S and Sabé needed to be R), so how to design a support leader for a format full of haymakers? The most effective answer was exhaust, to counter opposing threats. But a specific condition was tough—we didn't want him miserable to play against #FFGStaff
October 25, 2025 at 6:27 AM
We needed C-3PO to be a draft leader (Padmé was S and Sabé needed to be R), so how to design a support leader for a format full of haymakers? The most effective answer was exhaust, to counter opposing threats. But a specific condition was tough—we didn't want him miserable to play against #FFGStaff
Aaahhh Secrets of Power is coming out soon! We brought some decks with the new cards to show off at Essen Spiel; come by the Unlimited booth between 1 and 4pm to get in games against me or Danny (we also have current Premier decks) #FFGStaff
October 24, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Aaahhh Secrets of Power is coming out soon! We brought some decks with the new cards to show off at Essen Spiel; come by the Unlimited booth between 1 and 4pm to get in games against me or Danny (we also have current Premier decks) #FFGStaff
One of the goals for this set was to provide ample and effective finishers for games that go to 6+ resources. This is especially true for draft, as this set is more about late-game haymakers than other sets. We made sure to design several expensive uncommon units that can end the game fast #FFGStaff
October 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
One of the goals for this set was to provide ample and effective finishers for games that go to 6+ resources. This is especially true for draft, as this set is more about late-game haymakers than other sets. We made sure to design several expensive uncommon units that can end the game fast #FFGStaff
I expected more pushback on Regulation Bureaucrat than I got, given its resource denial mechanic. Instead, my instincts were proven correct that resource denial is far more palatable when it's not a surprise (unit enters exhausted) and the opponent can do something about it (by attacking). #FFGStaff
October 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I expected more pushback on Regulation Bureaucrat than I got, given its resource denial mechanic. Instead, my instincts were proven correct that resource denial is far more palatable when it's not a surprise (unit enters exhausted) and the opponent can do something about it (by attacking). #FFGStaff