Tutorial

Level 0 - Adding Basic Cards

What is a level 0 card?

A "level 0" card is a card that can be added without writing any code at all!

Generally, these cards have an identical ability of an existing card. For example, 'Nantuko Shade' is a level 0 card because it has an identical ability as 'Frozen Shade', even though its casting cost, creature type, and power are different.

Card type does not even need to be the same, just ability. In this way, 'Magus of the Library, and Disk' are all level 0, since they have the same ability as an existing land and artifact, respectively.

Finally, a small set of basic abilities can be added to other cards without any code changes. Those are basic landwalk, flying, banding, trample, first strike, protection, reach, rampage, and shroud. Therefore you can add Spectral Lynx (regen + pro green), but not Bull Cerodon (haste + vigilence).

Prerequisites

Before you add any card, make sure you have the most up-to-date version of the Magic software. That can generally be found in the stickied post Manalink Update Date.

Next, download the most recent version of the SkyMagic Editor. That can be found here.

Creating a Card

For this exercise, we will be creating the card Skyknight Legionnaire. (yes, this card does already exist, so we'll actually create it with a new name)

1. Open up SkyMagic Editor. It should look something like this:
2. Use the binoculars icon to search for the card that has the same ability as the card you want to create. Remember that in this case, the ability is "haste", since we get flying for free. Raging Goblin has "haste", so we'll search for that.
   Remember this card's id.
3. This is a new card, so we need to enter a new ID. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the list of cards to see what the highest ID currently is. Set your ID to the next highest number.
4. Fill in 'Name' and 'Full Name' with the name of your card. Call it 'Test Card', so that we don't interfere with the real Skyknight Legionnaire.
5. 'CODED CARD' indicates the card is done, and ready to show up in the deck editor. Leave this as '1' unless you do not plan on finishing your card now.
6. The next few fields, 'Expansion', 'Color', and 'Card Type' all have dropdowns of values to choose from. Select the appropriate values. For Expansion, choose whichever one feels like a best fit.
7. Leave 'DB Card Type 2' alone, and fill in the the rarity for the card. Choices show at the bottom of the editor.
8. The 'Req ...' fields set up the casting cost for the card. Our card costs 1WR, so Req Colorless, Red, and White should all be 1. If this cost 2RW, then Req Colorless would be 2 instead, etc.
9. Set 'Num Pics' to 1, since we only plan on adding 1 picture for this card.
10. The next several fields give hints to the computer about how to use the card. Assuming we selected a card similar to the one we are building, these values can be left alone.
11. 'AI Power/Toughness' should be set to a creature's power and toughness.
12. Go all the way down to 'Exp Rarity'. If you want your card to show up in multiple sets for Sealed play, enter the appropriate sets here. Otherwise enter '0h'.
13. Enter the 'Power' and 'Toughness' again for your creature.
14. Skip down to the 'Subtype' and 'Subtype 2' fields. Use the dropdowns to enter your creature's tyes. Only 2 types are allowed, and if your creature is lenegdary, you must select that as one of your types. To blank a type out, chose '211'.
15. Fill in your card's 'Type Text', 'Rules Text', and 'Flavor Text'. You can find the exact wording for these by looking them up on Gatherer.
16. If your card has mana symbols in them, you need to use special syntax. 8 colorless mana is represented by |8, blue mana by |U, tap by |T, etc.
    Add blank lines by adding \n.
    If a basic land type appears in the text, precede it with |H1.
    If a color word appears in the text, precede it with |S.
17. If necessary, update the rest of the text fields as necessary.
18. Click 'Save Record'. You should be prompted 'Append Test Card'? Choose yes to save.
19. Click the 'Save' icon in the upper left to save your changes to disk. Congratulations, you're half way there.
20. Click on the 'Magic.exe' tab. Use the binoculars icon to search for the original card (Raging Goblin) by id.
21. Doubleclick on Raging Goblin to update the right pane.
22. Replace the name and ID with the information for your card.
23. Update the 'Card Type', 'Card SubType', and 'Card Color' as appropriate. Remember that this card is white AND red.
24. The card CC slots help the computer know when a card is available to cast. Generally, put the total colorless cost into 'Card CC 1', and the total colored cost into 'Card CC 2'. So we'd enter 1, and 2.
25. Enter your card's power and toughness yet again.
26. 'Code Pointer' tells the program where to find the code for your card's ability. Since we did not write any code, leave this alone.
27. Use the dropdowns for the 'Static Abilities' to add on any of the "free" abilities to your creature. If you have done this correctly, you will see '20' (for flying) in static abilities 1.
28. Leave 'Reserved information alone.
29. Now for the odd part. Search for the card with the ID one less than your card's ID. Scroll down one more spot on the left and you should see 'Dummy'. Singleclick 'Dummy'.
30. Click 'Save Record'. You should be prompted 'Overwrite Dummy'? Choose yes to save. After you do, your card's information should still be in the right pane.
31. Click the 'Save' icon in the upper left to save your changes to disk.
32. You are done with SkyMagic Editor. You can close it now if you want.
33. In your Magic directory, run csv2dat.exe. A blank screen should flicker. As long as there was no error text on it, it worked.
34. The last thing we need is an image for the card. You can get this from many sources, including Gatherer.
    You can crop the image using MS Paint or another program.
    Save the image in Magic/CardArtNew/ID.jpg, where ID the your card's ID.
35. Your card is created! Test it by running the magic program. To make testing easier, you can turn on debug mode in duels. Just fit F12, and then right-click for a whole bunch of great options.
36. The last thing you'll want to do is share your card with the world. To do this, zip up the following files: Magic.exe, Manalink.csv, Cards.dat, and the image you created. Voila, you are a productive member of the slightymagic community.