Just noticed something about this card which seemed amiss, so I wanted to ask...
From a rules perspective, is there anything functionally different about gearseeker serpent's cost reduction ability compared to that of say broodstar? Does "<this object> costs {1} less to cast..." somehow inherently work differently from "This spell costs {1} less to cast..."?
I was just curious about the design, lack of conformity, and for what possible reason this new card wouldn't have the preexisting "affinity (for artifacts)" keyword which was readily available and waiting (way too long in my opinion) for new cards on which to be printed. Is it purely a flavor-based decision where "affinity (for artifacts)" was/should remain exclusive to the plane of Mirrodin, and if so, was it abandoned entirely simply because the plane no longer exists (in it's previous form, somehow resulting in nothing having "affinity" any longer), or was this particular instance of keyword omission circumstantially based on the fact that this new card exists on Kaladesh which happens to be a different plane, and/or happens to be the only card in the set with said cost-reducing ability?
Anyhow, the best I can come up with myself is a game in the top 8 of a PTQ back during Urza block in which we were starting game 3 with time already expired, so the tiebreaker rule was that whoever had more life after 3 turns would win. And I lost to... healing salve.
Rules wise the only difference is because Affinity is a keyword, and has to go on multiple objects.
The designers don't like including keywords or ability words unless they're significant features of the set (with the exception of reprints, and even then they try to make a theme).
For example, Shadows Over Innistrad had at least one Morbid card, but as Morbid wasn't a set theme, the card wasn't marked.
As far as Affinity itself is concerned, MaRo has said they're iffy about bringing it back because it caused serious balance problems last time. Affinity is still supported by the rules, just don't expect it to show up on single cards.
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From a rules perspective, is there anything functionally different about gearseeker serpent's cost reduction ability compared to that of say broodstar? Does "<this object> costs {1} less to cast..." somehow inherently work differently from "This spell costs {1} less to cast..."?
I was just curious about the design, lack of conformity, and for what possible reason this new card wouldn't have the preexisting "affinity (for artifacts)" keyword which was readily available and waiting (way too long in my opinion) for new cards on which to be printed. Is it purely a flavor-based decision where "affinity (for artifacts)" was/should remain exclusive to the plane of Mirrodin, and if so, was it abandoned entirely simply because the plane no longer exists (in it's previous form, somehow resulting in nothing having "affinity" any longer), or was this particular instance of keyword omission circumstantially based on the fact that this new card exists on Kaladesh which happens to be a different plane, and/or happens to be the only card in the set with said cost-reducing ability?
Thanks!
The designers don't like including keywords or ability words unless they're significant features of the set (with the exception of reprints, and even then they try to make a theme).
For example, Shadows Over Innistrad had at least one Morbid card, but as Morbid wasn't a set theme, the card wasn't marked.
As far as Affinity itself is concerned, MaRo has said they're iffy about bringing it back because it caused serious balance problems last time. Affinity is still supported by the rules, just don't expect it to show up on single cards.
Art is life itself.