Imajica CCG

Imajica CCG adapts Clive Barker's 1991 epic fantasy novel about the five Dominions and the Reconciler who must knit them back together, a book that occupies cult-classic status in the Barker bibliography between Weaveworld and the Books of the Art.

The game

Released in 1997 by HarperPrism (HarperCollins' short-lived CCG imprint), Imajica CCG is a two-player reconciliation duel where each player plays a faction fighting for or against the reunification of the Imajica. Cards represent Maestros, Nullianacs, the Autarch's agents and key locations (Yzordderrex, the In Ovo, the Erasure). Mechanics reward accurate replication of the novel's cosmological structure.

The context

HarperPrism was HarperCollins' late-1990s attempt to push its fantasy book line into card-game form. It produced AvP CCG, Shadowfist and Imajica before the imprint was wound down. Clive Barker was personally involved in the card text, which makes Imajica CCG one of the small number of CCGs where the original author of the source material wrote meaningful card content. Art was commissioned specifically, much of it by Barker's own circle of collaborators.

The collector angle

Only the base set shipped before HarperPrism closed the CCG line. Print runs were modest and distribution was heavier in bookstores than in hobby stores, which changed which audiences ended up with the product. Clive Barker-signed promotional cards from the 1997 World Fantasy Convention are the primary collector trophies and command prices on par with Barker-signed novels rather than typical CCG cards. The Autarch and Sartori rare cards are visually iconic and often acquired for Barker-archive purposes rather than gameplay.