Mike Elliott (sometimes credited as Michael Elliott) is a Seattle-based board game, card game and mobile game designer whose titles include Magic: The Gathering, Thunderstone, and Battle Spirits Trading Card Game. Magic head designer Mark Rosewater called him "one of the most prolific Magic designers in the history of the game." He was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame at the 2017 Origins Game Fair.
Contents
Career
While living in Phoenix, Arizona in the early 1990s, Elliott and several of his friends were active bridge players and competed regularly in tournaments. One evening after a tournament, a friend introduced the group to the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. When Elliott returned home he purchased the game and began playing in Magic tournaments. While at a Magic tournament at Arizona State University Elliott told two fellow attendees what he thought was wrong with the game. During the conversation they revealed that they worked for Wizards of the Coast. One of them, Joel Mick, invited Elliott to fly to Seattle and interview for a position with the company.
Wizards of the Coast
Elliott started at Wizards of the Coast in January 1996 as a developer. Afterward he was promoted to designer, and then senior designer. He worked on approximately 30 Magic expansions and introduced new mechanics such as slivers. His Magic related expansions and project included:
Designing
Portal
Weatherlight
Tempest (the card Emmessi Tome was named in his honor; M.S.E. - Michael Scott Elliott).
Stronghold (lead)
Portal Second Age
Exodus (lead)
Urza's Saga (lead)
Urza's Legacy (lead)
Unglued
Mercadian Masques (lead)
Nemesis (lead)
Fifth Edition (lead)
Invasion
Vanguard I (lead)
Vanguard II (lead)
Planeshift (lead)
Torment
Judgement
Onslaught (lead)
Legions (lead)
Scourge
Mirrodin
Champions of Kamigawa
Betrayers of Kamigawa (lead)
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Guildpact (lead)
Developing
Mirage
Visions
Portal
Weatherlight (lead)
Tempest
Stronghold (lead)
Portal Second Age
Exodus
Urza's Saga (lead)
Urza's Legacy
Urza's Destiny (lead)
Mercadian Masques
Nemesis
Fifth Edition (lead)
Prophecy
Apocalypse (lead)
Odyssey
Judgement
Scourge
Fifth Dawn
Champions of Kamigawa
While at Wizards of the Coast he also designed non-Magic games including Harry Potter Trading Card Game, Neopets Trading Card Game, Hecatomb, and Duel Masters Trading Card Game. Elliott left Wizards of the Coast at the end of 2005.
WizKids
After leaving Wizards of the Coast, Elliott worked for WizKids until the company closed its Seattle office. His titles for WizKids included Star Wars PocketModel Trading Card Game, Halo ActionClix, and DC HeroClix: Batman (Alpha).
Freelance career
As a freelance game designer and developer, Mike Elliott, has designed dozens of games. Notable titles include Battle Spirits Trading Card Game, Thunderstone, Quarriors! and Star Trek: Fleet Captains He also designed Card-Jitsu, an online mini-game in the Club Penguin children's MMO and worked on Hearthstone in early 2017.
In 2008 Elliott designed the Battle Spirits Trading Card Game for Bandai. Part of the Battle Spirits franchise—which also includes several anime series, manga serializations and other merchandise such as toys and video games—the TCG was released in Japan in September 2008. Battle Spirits became one of the top selling trading card games of the year.
The game's popularity led to Elliott's appearance in promotional videos, and a new character based on him being added to the anime series Battle Spirits: Shōnen Toppa Bashin. The "Michael Elliott" character was an eccentric American game designer who created the titular Battle Spirits card game played in the series.
Battle Spirits Trading Card Game was released in the United States by Bandai of America on August 14, 2009.
In 2009 Elliott designed Thunderstone card game for Alderac Entertainment Group. The game won several awards and nominations, including 2010 Golden Geek Best Card Game Nominee, 2010 Japan Boardgame Prize Voters' Selection Nominee, 2010 JoTa Best Card Game Audience Award, 2010 JoTa Best Card Game Critic Award and 2011 Fairplay À la carte Winner. Alderac relaunched Thunderstone in 2017 as Thunderstone Quest with a Kickstarter that raised more than $500,000.
In 2012 Elliott designed the Quarriors! dice building game. Published by WizKids, the game won the 2013 Origins Awards for Best Family, Party or Children's Game.
The Quarriors! Dice Masters system expanded to include The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game, Marvel Dice Masters, DC Comics Dice Masters, Dungeons & Dragons Dice Masters, Yu-Gi-Oh! Dice Masters, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Dice Masters. WizKids reported that Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-Men sold out within its first week of release and in 2015, Marvel Dice Masters won the Origins Vanguard Award.
Credits
Lead Designer Magic Guildpact Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Betrayers of Kamigawa Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Legions Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Onslaught Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Planeshift Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Nemesis Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Mercadian Masques Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Urza’s Legacy Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Urza’s Saga Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Exodus Expansion
Lead Designer Magic Stronghold Expansion
Designer Magic Ravnica Expansion
Designer Magic Champions of Kamigawa Expansion
Designer Magic Mirrodin Expansion
Designer Magic Judgment Expansion
Designer Magic Torment Expansion
Designer Magic Invasion Expansion
Designer Magic Tempest Expansion
Designer Magic Weatherlight Expansion
Lead Designer/Developer Magic 5th Edition Expansion