I have often wondered if WotC were to do a Great Subtype Update like they did with creature subtypes years ago, what subtypes would they create for noncreatures.
In my personal designs I always give every card a subtype.
What I want to know is what subtypes would they create for instant and sorcery cards, taking into consideration that both would share the same subtype list.
Also, what subtypes do you think would be given to lands?
I really don't think non-creature cards need subtypes. Often enough, what a spell represents is not truly definable. Plus, even if you could group spells together, often there's no good unifying word for them. What do you call mind magic, for example.
I think a better solution would be to remove the distinction between the different subtypes. Any card could have any subtype. This would allow for elemental tribal. So you could make a Fire deck and play as a pyromancer. There's currently no way to do that and it's a pretty big staple in fantasy, Magic included. Many of the current main characters have a certain brand of Magic, like Chandra is a pyromancer, Jace is a telepath and Teferi is a time mage, but there's no way to naturally emulate that.
I tried to make a "Magic reboot" a while back where I actually gave every card a subtype, but you got into wonky territory very quickly with some instants and sorceries (and occasionally even enchantments), especially the more abstract ones.
I think adding a new card type "Elemental" that has its own list of subtypes and can be added to permanent and spell cards alike (like tribal) would probably be a better idea.
Having all that said, I don't think it's feasible in current Magic. It would require way too much work for arguably not enough gain.
If tribal had been around, I'm sure cards that made tokens would have those relevant types, like Raise the Alarm being Tribal Instant - Soldier, The challenge though is the more specific a card is made the harder it is to reprint in different settings.
Mind magic could easily just be a 'Mental' subtype.
Mental, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Arcane, Divine (or Holy), Dark (or Unholy), etc.
I have already done this in my own designs and have not ran into the problems you say there would be. It's not hard to do some research and find the right words to use for these subtypes. I was looking for specific subtypes to add to my list with this post. I have also been going through old sets and finding the right subtypes to use on already printed instants and sorceries. Still haven't encountered a problem. In fact, the biggest problem I have had is that many of these spells would require multiple subtypes and choosing which subtypes to use that will fit on the type line sometimes becomes arbitrary.
While the idea of expanding noncreature subtypes creates some very interesting design space - a Chandra that specializes in fire spells is one example that comes to mind - some spells are abstract and difficult to really pin down. For example, what would you call Cryptic Command? It doesn't fit neatly into water, or even mind magic. It's pure, distilled "blue" magic. You could give the spell a redundant "command" subtype, but that wouldn't describe anything other than the particular class of modular spell to which it belongs. Subtypes fill type lines and allow points of interactions, but their real duty is that they are evocative of whatever the card represents. It's easy to start from a subtype and work up, but, in trying to place every noncreature card into another level of classification, you may end up forcing square pegs into round holes.
Cryptic Command would easily be an Arcane subtype. Arcane generally means 'generic magic' and would fulfill your criteria. I would also use what the card does when determining subtype more than I would the card's name. Function over flavor is a common design philosophy of WotC.
Cryptic Command would easily be an Arcane subtype. Arcane generally means 'generic magic' and would fulfill your criteria. I would also use what the card does when determining subtype more than I would the card's name. Function over flavor is a common design philosophy of WotC.
Giving Cryptic Command (and others) the Arcane subtype would be a power level errata of variable quality. Splice isn't the most powerful mechanic, but it can be competitive in someunexpectedlocations.
Also, in attempting to impose subtypes on preexisting cards, you actually do not have the privilege of using WoTC design philosophy because you are not designing anything new. If you create your own cards, you may apply any subtype you wish in that "function over flavor" approach because flavor can be determined after everything else is said and done.
On the other hand, preexisting cards already have their flavor in place. You cannot roll back the design process to before flavor was determined to find a subtype that fits the function if the perfect functional subtype does not jive with the name, art, and flavor text already in place. Simply charging ahead with subtypes without taking previously designed flavor elements into account risk bizarre choices that may jeopardize the merits of your project.
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In my personal designs I always give every card a subtype.
What I want to know is what subtypes would they create for instant and sorcery cards, taking into consideration that both would share the same subtype list.
Also, what subtypes do you think would be given to lands?
I think a better solution would be to remove the distinction between the different subtypes. Any card could have any subtype. This would allow for elemental tribal. So you could make a Fire deck and play as a pyromancer. There's currently no way to do that and it's a pretty big staple in fantasy, Magic included. Many of the current main characters have a certain brand of Magic, like Chandra is a pyromancer, Jace is a telepath and Teferi is a time mage, but there's no way to naturally emulate that.
I tried to make a "Magic reboot" a while back where I actually gave every card a subtype, but you got into wonky territory very quickly with some instants and sorceries (and occasionally even enchantments), especially the more abstract ones.
I think adding a new card type "Elemental" that has its own list of subtypes and can be added to permanent and spell cards alike (like tribal) would probably be a better idea.
Having all that said, I don't think it's feasible in current Magic. It would require way too much work for arguably not enough gain.
Mental, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Arcane, Divine (or Holy), Dark (or Unholy), etc.
I have already done this in my own designs and have not ran into the problems you say there would be. It's not hard to do some research and find the right words to use for these subtypes. I was looking for specific subtypes to add to my list with this post. I have also been going through old sets and finding the right subtypes to use on already printed instants and sorceries. Still haven't encountered a problem. In fact, the biggest problem I have had is that many of these spells would require multiple subtypes and choosing which subtypes to use that will fit on the type line sometimes becomes arbitrary.
Giving Cryptic Command (and others) the Arcane subtype would be a power level errata of variable quality. Splice isn't the most powerful mechanic, but it can be competitive in some unexpected locations.
Also, in attempting to impose subtypes on preexisting cards, you actually do not have the privilege of using WoTC design philosophy because you are not designing anything new. If you create your own cards, you may apply any subtype you wish in that "function over flavor" approach because flavor can be determined after everything else is said and done.
On the other hand, preexisting cards already have their flavor in place. You cannot roll back the design process to before flavor was determined to find a subtype that fits the function if the perfect functional subtype does not jive with the name, art, and flavor text already in place. Simply charging ahead with subtypes without taking previously designed flavor elements into account risk bizarre choices that may jeopardize the merits of your project.