Professional · Trading Card Game · Game Designer · Organized Play
Designing decks, mechanics, and systems for one of the most innovative TCGs to enter the market then judging their first national tournament.
The Game
A TCG where the real world changes the rules.
MetaZoo is a collectible card game built around the fourth wall mechanic, real-world environmental conditions like weather and location directly affect card performance during play.
Creatures are drawn from North American cryptid folklore, Bigfoot, Mothman, Wendigo, giving the game a storyworld rooted in cultural myth.
Genre
Trading Card Game
Creatures
Cryptids & Folklore
Unique Hook
Fourth Wall Mechanics
My Work
Design · Testing · OP
Scope of Work
Design. Playtesting. Rulebooks. Tournament.
Over ten months, my contributions spanned four distinct areas of the product, from hands-on card and mechanic design through structured playtesting, rules documentation, and live organized play operations.
01
Starter Deck Design
Designed two complete starter decks, the Headless Annie flame aura deck and the Ijiraq frost deck, including original cards, archetype identity, and mechanical synergies. Also created the Baby Deck, a first-time user experience product that evolved into the Valentines Chibi Set.
02
Expansion Design & Playtesting
Contributed mechanic designs to the Nightfall and Wilderness expansions. Led structured playtesting sessions tracking gameplay data across decks, identifying power outliers, and translating frequency analysis into balance recommendations for lead design.
03
Rulebooks & Organized Play
Contributed to writing the second and third edition rulebooks, improving rules clarity and accessibility for new players. Served as Head Judge for MetaZoo's first National Tournament, overseeing rules integrity, policy enforcement, and live player dispute resolution.
Starter Deck Design
Two archetypes. Two design philosophies.
Both starter decks were designed with clear identity, a player picking up either deck should immediately understand their playstyle, their win condition, and what mastery looks like. Each deck expanded MetaZoo's dual archetype design space by combining status effects as a mechanical pump system.
Flame Aura · Glass Cannon
Headless Annie
Featured Beastie — Headless Annie
A high-risk, high-reward flame aura deck built around the glass cannon playstyle. Headless Annie rewards aggressive play, trading longevity for explosive offensive output. The deck introduced flame aura as a distinct archetype identity within MetaZoo's dual type system, using status counters to amplify damage output at the cost of defensive resilience.
Frost Aura · Removal On A Stick
Ijiraq
Featured Beastie — Ijiraq
A pure frost control deck built around one idea, freeze everything, then make them pay for it. The Ijiraq deck methodically stacks frozen status effects onto opposing Beasties, building board control through patient, deliberate play before converting those accumulated conditions into damage. The longer the game goes, the more dangerous it becomes.
Expansion Contributions
Nightfall. Wilderness. And what they needed.
Contributions to both expansion sets went beyond playtesting, each set presented a distinct design problem that required original mechanical solutions to fulfill its thematic identity.
Nightfall Set
Dual Archetype & Status Counter System
Expanded MetaZoo's dual archetype framework by developing the frost and flame aura type combination. Designing what the intersection of both could look like mechanically. Status counters as a pump system for Beasties and spells in Nightfall came directly from this design exploration.
Wilderness Set
Mechanics That Embody "Wilderness"
Contributed the core mechanics defining the Wilderness identity: Natural Protection, Territory Differentiation, and Tribal Banding. The Sigil cards in the set were a direct result of these design discussions, translating the feeling of wild, territorial, interconnected ecosystems into rules that players could feel.
Playtesting
Data-Driven Balance Recommendations
Led structured playtesting sessions tracking gameplay frequency data across deck matchups for both sets. The methodology focused on identifying how often specific outcomes appeared, surfacing statistical outliers that pointed to power imbalances before sets went to print.
Organized Play
MetaZoo's First National Tournament
Served as Head Judge for MetaZoo's inaugural national tournament. Overseeing rules integrity, policy enforcement, and player dispute resolution. Required command of the full ruleset across all printed sets and the ability to make consistent, defensible rulings in real time.
Event
MetaZoo National Tournament - First Edition
Location
Collect-A-Con · Denver, Colorado
Role
Head Judge — Rules, Policy, Disputes
Supporting Work
Rulebook Dev · Player Onboarding