Name: Brian Tinsman
Job Title: Lead Game Designer
Describe yourself in 1 sentence.
I’m a lifelong learner, explorer, and collector of ideas, grateful for my good skills and good luck, and I’ve shipped 50+ games.
What game got you into TCGs/CCGs?
Magic: the Gathering. I started around Ice Age.
Would you consider yourself a collector, player, or both?
I’m mainly a player and deckbuilder. Also a card and systems designer.
Do you have a favorite moment in your CCG career?
My first Magic design team was myself, Richard Garfield, Mark Rosewater, and Bill Rose, and they decided I should be the lead designer (The set was Judgment, which was appropriated since I felt judged.)
What is your favorite WoTF Character Proof?
Carrionys Moth is so emblematic of the breakout era of AI art and the unique feel of the Wonders world. There’s no other game that has art like this, and the tech is moving so fast there probably won’t be anything like this in the future.
What can people find you doing in your spare time?
18 years of Brazilian jiu jitsu. Also Magic, Google Earth VR, watercolor art, gaming, beekeeping, and the most fun thing of all: game design.
Any tips for newcomers to Wonders of The First?
It’s a huge card set and it’s simple to play multi-orbital decks, so casual experimental decks are easy to make. Start with about a 10 lands and 25 fighting units, and then 15 other card types to bring the total deck to 50 cards. Mix together some cards from two orbitals and see where it takes you.
You’ll find there’s a risk/reward tension with cheap vs. expensive energy costs. If you use cheap units to capture stones early, you’ll have energy to play the expensive ones earlier and have a big advantage. But you also risk more unlucky draws where you get too many expensive cards early.