MTG Icon's New TCG Debuts First Look At Retro Card Art

The TCG scene is dominated by long-running titans like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, but there's always room for new competitors. MTG influencer Brian David-Marshall is gearing up to disrupt the market with a new game called Cataclysm Arcade, created in conjunction with Jay Van Hoy, a producer of films like The Lighthouse and The Witch.

Screen Rant can exclusively reveal new card art and packaging for Cataclysm Arcade, featuring art from a wide variety of comic book and TCG illustrators. Cataclysm Arcade will be available for hands-on playtesting at the GAMA Expo this week, a follow-up to its debut at PAX Unplugged last year.

Cataclysm Arcade Is A Retro-Inspired TCG

Reimagining 2026

Cataclysm Arcade takes place in a future present, as it's inspired by 1980s action movies set in "future" years that have already come and gone. In Cataclysm Arcade's case, the setting is 2026, but it's a very different 2026 than the one we know. After a near-apocalypse in 1986, the New York City subway tunnels have taken on a new life as a home to a gladiatorial bloodsport.

The new card art offers a look at some memorable characters within that setting, as well as glimpses of the urban decay around them. The retro vibes might be even stronger in the box and pack art for the Crawling from the Wreckage set, which feature a sewer grunge style that brings classics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to mind.

You Can Jump Right In

One Pack Is All You Need

The coolest promise of Cataclysm Arcade is its emphasis on immediate access to play. Rather than requiring players to invest in a starter kit or carefully curate a collection, Cataclysm Arcade promises that there's a complete "first time user experience inside every booster wrapper," while other play experiences will still be possible in other formats. Fast-paced matches ultimately determine which Boss will be the last one standing.

New trading card games are always exciting, as they can be much more welcoming entry points to the TCG genre than games with decades of information and updates to unpack. Add in the ability to play Cataclysm Arcade out of a single booster pack, and this could be a breath of fresh air for those interested in playing first and collecting second.

A press release for Cataclysm Arcade bills it as "the first step toward pairing fillmmakers with top game and product designers to expand this property into tomorrow's most exciting new entertainment franchise." It's an ambitious target for a Magic: The Gathering rival, but here's hoping that Cataclysm Arcade can stick the landing.