Tom LaPille

Last updated
Tom LaPille
Born (1985-08-27) August 27, 1985 (age 37)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationMagic Developer

Tom LaPille (born August 27, 1985) is a former Magic: The Gathering developer at Wizards of the Coast. He led the development on Magic 2012, Dark Ascension, and Masters Edition III, Modern Masters 2015, and Eternal Masters. He also wrote the Dailymtg.com Development column Latest Developments for nearly four years. [1] Mark Rosewater considers him part of the fifth generation of Magic designers. [2]

Contents

Biography

Lapille grew up in Ohio, where he attended Ohio State University.

Career

Magic: The Gathering

Tom LaPille played Magic: The Gathering professionally throughout his time in college, making top 8 at Grand Prix Charlotte in 2005 [3] and playing in four Pro Tours. [4]

In 2007, Tom created the website http://playmagicwith.tomlapille.com with the stated goal of obtaining a job with Wizards of the Coast, the company which makes Magic: The Gathering within one year. The website and its extensive focus on the "Cube" format garnered Wizards' attention, eventually leading to his hiring within a year. Tom believes that showing Wizards how he could construct a set through his Cube design was crucial for obtaining the job, stating, "Carefully crafting a cube means taking cards as given and using them to build a coherent and fun play experience so it's about as close as you can get to actual Magic development without being able to adjust the actual cards." [5]

While employed at Wizards of the Coast, Tom worked on Magic 2011, Innistrad, [6] Masters Edition III, Masters Edition IV, New Phyrexia, [7] Worldwake, [8] Mirrodin Besieged, [9] Magic 2010, [10] Return to Ravnica, [11] Magic 2012, [12] and Dark Ascension. [13]

Tom also wrote the Dailymtg.com weekly Column on Magic Development, Latest Developments, from January 9, 2009 [14] through December 2, 2012, [15] leaving to pursue more work on Dungeons & Dragons . [15] He still writes Latest Developments on occasion.

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References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2013-02-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "Wizards of the Coast". Archived from the original on November 30, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Events | Magic: The Gathering". Wizards.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  4. ↑ "TomLaPille". StarCityGames.com. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  5. ↑ "Arcane Teachings- Wizards School". StarCityGames.com. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  6. ↑ Archived 2012-01-12 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "New Phyrexia - MTG Salvation Wiki". Wiki.mtgsalvation.com. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  8. ↑ "Articles". Archived from the original on August 6, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Articles". Archived from the original on August 5, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Kaladesh | Magic: The Gathering". Wizards.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  11. ↑ "Return to Ravnica - MTG Salvation Wiki". Wiki.mtgsalvation.com. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  12. ↑ "Magic 2012 - MTG Salvation Wiki". Wiki.mtgsalvation.com. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  13. ↑ "Dark Ascension - MTG Salvation Wiki". Wiki.mtgsalvation.com. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  14. ↑ "To Kill a Planeswalker". Archived from the original on January 15, 2009.
  15. 1 2 "Zone Change". Archived from the original on December 4, 2011.
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