2019-20 Minnesota Wild Fun With Magic the Gathering Cards

Got ’em, got ’em, need ’em, need ’em used to be common discusson among kids back in the day of collecting sports cards.  Especially for those of you who remember that golden age of sports card collecting around the late 1980’s to early 1990’s as people began to realize those little pieces of cardboard actually had monetary value.  The same is true for collectable card games and what collecting baseball cards was probably for Generation X’ers, collectable card games will be probably have that nostalgic ring for millenials as they look back at the times when they used to collect Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

But Generation X’ers like myself had a collectable card game of their own some of them enjoyed immensely, and that was Magic: The Gathering which first appeared in 1993.  I have been playing Magic since 1994 and still play the game today.  A few years back I wrote an article that tried to provide a little levity to the 2016-17 season by making a series of my own Magic cards that were Minnesota Wild themed.  So before we begin the stress of the playoffs, let’s try that again, with the help of MTGCardsmith.  I created 5 cards for your enjoyment, and I hope that the cards are at least understandable even if you never played Magic: the Gathering, let the fun begin!

Kirill Kaprizov, Delayed Savior

Fans all across the State of Hockey breathed a sigh of relief as news of Kirill Kaprizov‘s signing came across Twitter last week.  The card reflects that painfully long wait of signing the Russian star since we drafted him in the 5th round in 2015 by having him wait four turns to be able to be used in combat.  Afterall the Minnesota Wild signed him to a “two-year” deal even though he’s burning the first year of his deal this summer even though he’s not allowed to play with the team this season gives you a sign of just how desperate the organization was to get him under contract.

The card then gives the talented player credit for his tremendous success throughout his career at all levels (KHL, Olympic play) by saying he cannot be blocked (stopped).  And lastly he has double strike because we hope he becomes one of the most dangerous (offensively) players on the team once he arrives.  Or at least we hope so.

Mikko’s Last Shift

It has been widely speculated that this could very well be Mikko Koivu‘s last year in the NHL as the 37-year old center has made some round about comments to that effect.  If it is true and that the only permanent captain in the team’s history is about to hang it up I thought it was only appropriate to create a card to commemorate that historic moment.

I made this card a legendary sorcery simply because you really should only have one of these cards in your deck because you can only have one last shift as a player.  Not only did I provide a boost for all of your creatures, but I also gave the creatures ‘Vigilence’ because of Mikko Koivu’s dogged dedication to playing safe, defensive hockey.  In a nod to the mythical event of ‘Angry Mikko’ I added that if a player was damaged (i.e. scored upon) the previous turn, then Angry Mikko’s last shift would take place and your creatures would be boosted even more and given the added ability of trample to go along with vigilence to make sure you do some damage on that ‘last shift.’  I think of it much of the same way Mikko Koivu gave that back shoulder check to Niklas Kronwall before setting up the game winning goal against Detroit a while back.

Target Field, Abandoned Rink

The card is a reference to the 2021 NHL Winter Classic which is still tenetively planned for next season at Target Field when the Minnesota Wild drop the puck against the St. Louis Blues on January 1st, 2021.  The key word is tenetively as the current COVID-19 situation puts that in jeopardy.

The card itself tries to reflect this hesitation by having the land come into play tapped.  Then, you can only use it to create mana (the energy you need to cast spells, etc.) if the Hennepin County Health Board approves it.  At this point I’d say the likelihood of the NHL Winter Classic happening as it was originally planned is probably rather unlikely.  The flavor text (the quote) is reflection of the fanbase which would like to know if the NHL would simply postpone this event for the following year or will Minnesota have missed its chance to finally host a Winter Classic?  So far that question remains unanswered hence the ‘!?!’ at the end of the quote.

Russo, Annoyed Hockey Scribe

With all due respect to other writers who cover the Minnesota Wild, for the last 15 years Michael Russo is the ‘go to’ source for all things about the organization.  Since moving to the Athletic a few years ago, one could argue his imprint on the fanbase has only grown as he has diversified into podcasting as well as his normal work in addition to being a regular guest (and sometimes host) on KFAN and regular appearances on Fox Sports North.

The card is colorless as Michael Russo is first and foremost a journalist and even though he is assigned to the Wild he does his best to be objective in his coverage of the team.  You must pay 2 colorless mana and tap Russo, Annoyed Hockey Scribe to get an Athletic subscription counter is recognition that the content he creates is not entirely free but it isn’t all that expensive either.  However, if you are subscribing expect Russo’s content to be a driver of that segment of the Wild’s fanbase’s feelings about their team.  So if Russo is worried, the fanbase is worried.  If Russo is excited, the fanbase is excited, etc, etc.  Since fan confidence may be somewhat tied to his writings, the presence of the subscription counters either give you a boost if you gain life but can also cause you to lose even more confidence when the team loses.

NHL Licensed, N-95 Mask

We would be remiss if we did not have at least one Magic: the Gathering card that tried to address the current situation the world is grappling with.  We will certainly not make a joke about COVID-19, but I think the card is rather self explanatory.

For people who feel a mask doesn’t fit their image, if you’re an NHL hockey fan then get one with your favorite team’s logo on it and accesorize!  If putting a sports team logo on your face makes the experience feel a bit more ‘cool’ then please do so.  If the player equips the mask (please note it takes zero mana to equip the mask reflecting how minimal an effort this really is) it will benefit you by help keeping you a bit safer from contracting COVID-19.

However if you choose not to equip it, you have put everyone else you are playing with in danger (including yourself) and thus are receving 2 damage each turn until you equip it.  Wearing a mask is more about being respectful of the health of others than anything else.  Lastly, the card was made a common, because wearing a mask should be commonplace.  Simply put, wear your mask if you want to win the game (i.e. save your life)!

We hope you enjoyed our fun Minnesota Wild / NHL themed Magic: the Gathering cards!  Tell us what you think on Twitter @CreaseAndAssist or in the comment section below!