Growing up as a gamer in the 90s was a truly wild time. Trading card games officially got started with the birth of Magic: The Gathering and the slew of games that sprung up in its stead. Nowadays, most people would quickly look to either Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! as games that got their start in the 90s. In reality, those two are the survivors of a gold rush of card games inspired by Magic's collectibility angle that left dozens of others in its wake. People around back then may recall such games as Star Trek, the various Star Wars games, Netrunner, Vampire: The Masquerade, Legend of the Five Rings, and more. You might even know about a little game called Tomb Raider.

The game was fairly inconsequential, but I remember it from a promo card that came with an issue of Scrye I got as a kid. It was a product of several popular nerdy franchises getting their own game based around them and if you were a gamer in the 90s, boy was it hard to escape Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. Lara was everywhere. You'd see her in magazines, game stores, TV commercials, restaurants, you name it! As one of video gaming's first major female protagonists, she was an icon for everyone: a bit of representation for women gamers and a badass babe that fit that 90s edginess for the gaming guys of the world.

In recent years, I've found myself a lot more interested in retro video gaming. It's become my go-to hobby outside of Magic and a big part of that is exploring the history of the medium as well as things I missed out on as a kid. Tomb Raider was one of those things. During the height of the series, I didn't have a Playstation, and by the time I got one, most of the series' hype faded away, making way for newer titles instead. Now I'm older, though, and have had an opportunity to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. I actually went out of my way and acquired a copy of the game for this sole purpose, as you can see above. It's funny, then, that soon after I'd get this, something awesome would get announced for Magic: a Tomb Raider crossover.

Immediately, I knew I wanted to do something with this. Not only were these themed around the games, but they even included a Lara Croft card that was all her own! Even though I hadn't played the games yet, I still knew about certain aspects like the T-Rex and Lara's bow and spear weapons that she uses in various games. I wanted this for the love of the gaming icon I grew up seeing so much as a kid, and for my love of retro gaming and its history. I had to do something with her! The only question was: how would I build it?

Despite going out of my way to actually buy the game and check it out, I sadly haven't had a chance to actually play it or any of the other games in the series. I know of certain elements of the series, but little else as of the writing of this article. So instead, I went with the overall themes of the series, the character of Lara, and my expectations of an exploratory adventure world. Once I started building, I simply couldn't stop. Here's what I ended up creating:

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider | Commander | Paige Smith

• Commander (1)
• 1 Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Academy Manufactor
• 1 Ancient Stone Idol
• 1 Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
• 1 Birds of Paradise
• 1 Carnage Tyrant
• 1 Diligent Excavator
• 1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Forgotten Ancient
• 1 Geological Appraiser
• 1 Golden Guardian // Gold-Forge Garrison
• 1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
• 1 Kogla and Yidaro
• 1 Lotus Cobra
• 1 Meria, Scholar of Antiquity
• 1 Mystic Snake
• 1 Omnath, Locus of Rage
• 1 Oracle of Mul Daya
• 1 Ramunap Excavator
• 1 Rattleclaw Mystic
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 1 Rhonas the Indomitable
• 1 Sentinel of the Nameless City
• 1 Sylvan Caryatid
• 1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
• 1 Treasure Nabber
• 1 Urza, Lord High Artificer
• 1 Veteran Explorer

• Instants (5)
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Heroic Intervention
• 1 Joint Exploration
• 1 Negate
• 1 Thirst for Knowledge

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Anger of the Gods
• 1 Blatant Thievery
• 1 Explore
• 1 Faithless Looting
• 1 Nature's Lore

• Enchantments (9)
• 1 Court of Cunning
• 1 Exploration
• 1 Hadana's Climb
• 1 Passionate Archaeologist
• 1 Path of Discovery
• 1 Rhystic Study
• 1 Search for Azcanta
• 1 Storm the Vault
• 1 Treasure Trove

• Artifacts (13)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Blackblade Reforged
• 1 Bow of Nylea
• 1 Helm of Kaldra
• 1 Helm of the Host
• 1 Lithoform Engine
• 1 Shadowspear
• 1 Shield of Kaldra
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sword of Kaldra
• 1 The Immortal Sun
• 1 Treasure Chest
• 1 Treasure Map

• Lands (39)
• 2 Mountain
• 2 Island
• 3 Forest
• 1 Academy Ruins
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 City of Brass
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Demolition Field
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Frontier Bivouac
• 1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
• 1 Halimar Depths
• 1 Hinterland Harbor
• 1 Inventors' Fair
• 1 Kher Keep
• 1 Labyrinth of Skophos
• 1 Littjara Mirrorlake
• 1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Rejuvenating Springs
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Rootbound Crag
• 1 Sanctum of Eternity
• 1 Spire Garden
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 1 Temple of Abandon
• 1 Temple of Epiphany
• 1 Temple of Mystery
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Training Center
• 1 Treasure Vault
• 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

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Building this deck was almost an adventure in and of itself, starting small and ending up feeling epic and grandiose. I knew I wanted every card from the Secret Lair itself in the mix here. Easy enough, as each card fit well and played nicely in a Commander setting. Then, I knew that I wanted Thada Adel, Acquisitor. I mean, seriously, she just fits the theme so well! Look at her doing her best Indiana Jones at the start of Raiders of the Lost Ark impression!

From there, I wanted to work off of what the card of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider actually did herself. She seeks out legendary artifacts and legendary lands. So, I started pouring over every one of those that are in Temur colors. In the process, I started pulling everything good, but as I went on, I found myself thinking more and more: is this the kind of thing you'd expect to see in an exploratory adventure game like Tomb Raider?

For example, let's take something like Heart of Kiran, Memnarch, or the Planar Bridge. Each of these almost feels more science fiction than it does archaeological exploration like you'd expect in something like Tomb Raider or similar franchises like Indiana Jones or Uncharted. It lacks a certain mystical vibe that takes away from the overall feel of it all. That's why the alien aspect of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took many Indiana Jones fans out of the experience, as an example.

Instead, I wanted to go for things you might find in a temple, an ancient city, or - yes - even a tomb. For this I looked at equipment in particular. Many of these series might utilize a weapon as a relic that bears discovery, like a sword or a shield that does something mystic and powerful when utilized. The Kaldra pieces seemed like a great fit in that regard! So too do cards like Blackblade Reforged - a found relic in the Dominaria story - or the Helm of the Host. I also utilized The Immortal Sun and Lithoform Engine as additional ancient artifacts that one might seek out on an adventure such as this.

From there, I went after legendary lands, and it didn't take long to find ones that fit the whole vibe I was going for. Things like Inventors' Fair, Kher Keep, and a wide variety of Kamigawa lands all fit the bill nicely. But then I found myself looking at non-legendary lands and found tons of other great options as well. The Arch of Orazca is like an archway you might go through on your quest, or you might step into a City of Brass, perhaps even a labyrinth (Labyrinth of Skophos) along the way. You even have the obligatory temples and some area you might find within them like a Treasure Vault or the Sanctum of Eternity. Heck, the only reason I left out the obligatory Archaeological Dig is that it's not really all that good!

It surprised me just how many worlds we had in Magic that fit this whole overall vibe as well as it did. You had places like Kamigawa, Tarkir, Ixalan, Kaldheim, Amonkhet, and Theros - all themed off ancient civilizations and the people who live in them today - and even general adventure worlds like Zendikar. Heck, even some of the planes that don't give this vibe still lent well to the concepts at play, like how Dominaria has since become a plane all about history.

This made me look at what all of them had to offer. What about exploration? Well, that's easy enough, especially when you have both a mechanic based off that name and several cards fittingly named after it. Exploration, Explore, Joint Exploration - all sorts of things fitting for an adventure deck. So too would be a Veteran Explorer who might guide you on your journey. Even Path of Discovery - a card that allows you to explore - feels delightfully flavorful on all marks.

Then there's the angle of archaeology itself, where there's numerous ways to approach it. This could be the actual excavators and archaeologists, of which there are numerous examples in Magic. Think the Ramunap Excavator and Diligent Excavator, both of which work great with what Lara's trying to do. You even get Urza, Lord High Artificer who started out as an archaeologist himself! How about the resources you might use on your journey, such as partaking in a Rhystic Study or consulting a Treasure Map to guide your way? And, of course, there's the good old fashioned thievery aspect which cards like Treasure Nabber and, well, Blatant Thievery embody so well.

By this point, what surprised me was how few creatures I ended up with. I've already mentioned a few, naturally, but some just came naturally like Carnage Tyrant to fill the role of the famous T-Rex and some Birds of Paradise you might spot in a jungle. Same with Ancient Stone Idol - representing the sort of statue that might collapse on you during your escapades. With most of the card choices figured out, I only had ten creatures, and that just wasn't going to be enough. So, I went hunting.

Here, like the rest, I went on vibes. You probably wouldn't find something like an elf or a goblin on an adventure like this. Sure, many of these pulpy adventure style stories end up with some mystical creature involved in some capacity, but it has a very unique feeling to it. Think how you'd find a T-Rex in the modern day, but it might instead involve something like the woods coming alive, an ancient sphinx, or a god coming before you. When you look and see cards like Golden Guardian or Omnath, Locus of Rage, they're largely filling this role, and others are more filled by utilitarian aspects like an Eternal Witness that you meet along your adventures.

When it comes down to it, though, I think what excites me the most about this list is the fact that this is what I'm building without actually having played a single Tomb Raider game. It doesn't fit the usual kind of Temur good stuff deck-building that usually comes up and instead has its own unique flair. It felt like something fresh and original as it came together and that has me absolutely thrilled to put it together before MagicCon Chicago next month.

Best of all, though? As I actually get around to playing those classic titles I missed out on as a kid, I can build on it anew. Fill it with cards that feel more directly related to things that happen in the Tomb Raider games themselves rather than what I expect to be there. It provides so much more room for this deck to evolve and become even better as time goes on. Lara Croft is still going strong today, too, so whether you grew up seeing her as an icon or are just finding out about her now, I can't recommend trying a list around her out for yourself. You might find yourself having just as good of a time as I did!

Paige Smith

Twitter: @TheMaverickGal

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