Kind of weird wording on the squirrel, you think it'd be phrased as an activated ability. They look like fine cards though. Also, this feels like the first time in at least fifteen years that we've had a card that specifically interacts with walls.
I think the wording on the Squirrel (and the Wall) is because such a thing doesn't technically work as an activated ability (Goblin Bookie doesn't technically work within the rules), since the ability would have to be activated after the thing it's affecting resolved. I guess they're trying to make these cards work a little better within the rules when possible.
I'm mostly confused by Squirrel-Powered Scheme because it doesn't play well with the "roll 2 dice and take the difference" theme we've seen so far...
@Skios -- They're worded those ways because they're technically special actions you're doing (interfering with an action while it's happening, in this case). Thus, they get unusual templating instead of the standard tap-symbol, colon, text. See also the wording on suspend and (mega)morph, as those are also special actions when you suspend or turn a card face up while paying its (mega)morph cost.
Special actions don't really get spelled out and fanfared when it concerns rules text.
It doesn't say tap, if untapped. You can tap a tapped squirrel so all rolls made by you can be +1!
Not sure if serious or if you just need to have a re-read of the Adviser.
You can't tap something that is already tapped to "activate" or do this special action. Plus you can only tap the Snickering Squirrel itself to increase a die roll, not any squirrel.
Still an interesting few cards, I wonder how many die rolling affects there will be in this set, with these at common/uncommon am guessing there will be a few.
It doesn't say tap, if untapped. You can tap a tapped squirrel so all rolls made by you can be +1!
Not sure if serious or if you just need to have a re-read of the Adviser.
You can't tap something that is already tapped to "activate" or do this special action. Plus you can only tap the Snickering Squirrel itself to increase a die roll, not any squirrel.
The wall in the same post is neither a trigger or activated, yet it says tap an untapped.
Still an interesting few cards, I wonder how many die rolling affects there will be in this set, with these at common/uncommon am guessing there will be a few.
I don't see this ability as an activation ability, the templating is not what an activated ability looks like. Nor it is a trigered ability. It has to work outside of the stack too. Totally unstable templating then? By squirrel I meant the advisor of course.
If it was an activated ability, you couldn't use it in the turn you cast the squirrel due to sickness too.
I know this isn't an activated ability, as those are written [COST]:[EFFECT]. That was why I had activate in quotation marks.
And yeah this ability wouldn't work as an activated ability anyway, since the any die rolls will more than likely be done during the resolution of a spell/ability. So in order to have an effect on them this would need to be done as a special action, something done when you didn't have priority.
But my point still stands, you can't tap something that is already tapped. That much is in the rules: 701.19a To tap a permanent, turn it sideways from an upright position. Only untapped permanents can be tapped.
Of course, as this is an Un-set, Wizards could make these work however they want, since Un-sets don't have to follow any rules. But from what I understand, they want this set to follow the rules a bit more than the previous ones.
Coin flipping is a well established part of black border Magic. I don't see how die rolling is so super special silver border territory. Unsets are supposed to be about things black border can't do, not just about things it doesn't do. Lame.
Private Mod Note
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Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Its interesting they seem to have reverted this thinking with the dice (obviously high results are better as evidenced by these cards), which heavily implies a binary good/bad result.
It's silly to think they have "reverted this thinking" when you are talking about silver-bordered cards. The "this thinking" generally applied to black-bordered cards. Whenever you hear a designer talk you can assume as a default that they are talking about black-bordered sets (actually I'd go so far to even say you should assme Standard-legal unless the context is implying otherwise).
To see how the two philosophies are different in silver-bordered Magic vs. black-bordered Magic you have to look no further than a keyword from the most recent black-bordered expansion set: Explore in Ixalan has clearly two modes which are (unless manipulated by scry etc.) random, but no clear absolute downside. That's the philosophy against randomness and that's what you will see mostly in black-bordered Magic.
Nevertheless you get to see entirely lucky cards every now and then even in black-border since the cards have fans, but not on the level of an Un-set. Which is exactly why we get dice in Unstable: There are fans of the ransom effects and silver-bordered is about certain play experiences that align well with what these fans want, hence they turn it up to 11 here (or 22 as the case may be).
The product is tailored to its audience. Drawing conclusions from these without taking the context into account is short-sighted. And the context is: Dice have been a silver-bordered staple - including unpredictable risky effects with clear downsides. With all the changes to what silver-bordered means some effects remain.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Coin flipping is a well established part of black border Magic. I don't see how die rolling is so super special silver border territory. Unsets are supposed to be about things black border can't do, not just about things it doesn't do. Lame.
I’m gonna write this once in this thread and once in the large spoiled thread from yesterday and then no more:
Can we just agree that none of us can tell Wizards what ‘Unsets are suppose to be about’?
It’s their game, their rules.
In some way it's also our game, as we are the one's who are playing it.
And we got plenty information on what Unsets are supposed to be about, like here: "One of the rules is we don't do silver bordered cards that could simply be done in black border."
Just because they don't word them properly doesn't mean those die-rolling cards are proper silver border cards. Silver border is supposed to be exciting things you can't do otherwise, not lame things that play bad and thus are not usually done.
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Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Coin flipping is a well established part of black border Magic. I don't see how die rolling is so super special silver border territory. Unsets are supposed to be about things black border can't do, not just about things it doesn't do. Lame.
Coin flipping is a well established part of black border Magic. I don't see how die rolling is so super special silver border territory. Unsets are supposed to be about things black border can't do, not just about things it doesn't do. Lame.
MaRo has often said that he made mistakes with the first unsets, things didn't always work out. Those two cards are 9 years old. For example, The Cheese Stands Alone lost its status as an Un-card because there was no reason for it not to exist in black border, as Barren Glory shows. If coin-flipping can be done in black border, but isn't done often, because it's not making for good gameplay, then why put twenty-sided coin flipping into an Unset? It's just lazy.
Private Mod Note
():
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Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Does the enchantment actually do anything at all in this set? Far as we know, the majority of dice rolling being done cares about the difference between two results, which adding 2 to each result would not change, and the one card that doesn't roll difference between d6s instead rolls a d20 and needs a 20 to activate, so adding +2 could give you 21 or 22 and not activate that ability.
Does the enchantment actually do anything at all in this set? Far as we know, the majority of dice rolling being done cares about the difference between two results, which adding 2 to each result would not change, and the one card that doesn't roll difference between d6s instead rolls a d20 and needs a 20 to activate, so adding +2 could give you 21 or 22 and not activate that ability.
I believe the two dice difference was stated to belong to the goblin faction, other factions can have different dice-related mechanics.
Does the enchantment actually do anything at all in this set? Far as we know, the majority of dice rolling being done cares about the difference between two results, which adding 2 to each result would not change, and the one card that doesn't roll difference between d6s instead rolls a d20 and needs a 20 to activate, so adding +2 could give you 21 or 22 and not activate that ability.
I think saying "the majority of dice rolling" is a bit presumptuous when all we have is a single contraption theme for one faction using that particular ability. It's quite likely that other factions will care about higher numbers or rolling specific numbers, as represented by the Legion of Dastardly Doom cards just increasing your die rolls, while the Order of the Widget allows you to force rerolls (on either player, mind).
Does the enchantment actually do anything at all in this set? Far as we know, the majority of dice rolling being done cares about the difference between two results, which adding 2 to each result would not change, and the one card that doesn't roll difference between d6s instead rolls a d20 and needs a 20 to activate, so adding +2 could give you 21 or 22 and not activate that ability.
We know, currently, 25 of 200+ cards. Far as we know isn't currently very far...
In my playgroups it is very common for people to role dice to determine who they want to attack if they are trying to be fair and come off as not targeting (especially at the beginning few rounds of the game.) These are kind of silly with that as there is no rules text saying you cannot target those dice rolls! Also, there is no rules saying that the player can't choose to ignore the results and attack you just for making them reroll or change the numbers hahaha.
Coin flipping is a well established part of black border Magic. I don't see how die rolling is so super special silver border territory. Unsets are supposed to be about things black border can't do, not just about things it doesn't do. Lame.
MaRo has often said that he made mistakes with the first unsets, things didn't always work out. Those two cards are 9 years old. For example, The Cheese Stands Alone lost its status as an Un-card because there was no reason for it not to exist in black border, as Barren Glory shows. If coin-flipping can be done in black border, but isn't done often, because it's not making for good gameplay, then why put twenty-sided coin flipping into an Unset? It's just lazy.
Now, I know this might be confusing, but... there are these things, strange creatures, called 'casual magic players' who show up to play magic, with a deck and maybe a piece of paper to keep their lifetotal (but most likely just their phone).
I know, crazy, right?
They don't carry a vast array of D6 to D20 and a randomized D20 with them to play Magic. Which can, at the barest of minimums, be played with a deck of (Magic) cards and nothing else. It is infinitely more likely they have some spare change in their pocket on happenstance, than they tripped, fell, and found a lost randomized D20 on the ground on the way to the card shoppe.
This. Is why. Dice. Are. Unset. Approved.
Since unsets are in no way designed to really be gotten by casual magic players (kinda in the same vein that Masters sets aren't designed to be worth it for casual magic players) they can do things that require you to have a bit more supplies. And maybe Wizards also hopes that Ye Olde Local Game Shoppe will provide some dice for play in case they get some casuals too. But it can't be a standard (hah, get it!?) thing.
unsets are in no way designed to really be gotten by casual magic players
You are right that dice are less convenient than coins, but UN sets are marketed SPECIFICALLY at the casual crowd.
Apologies, that phrasing didn't separate concepts as well as I'd liked. I was a bit agitated at the phrase '20 sided coin' like that's a thing and it meant I didn't proofread myself as well.
I usually use casual to mean infrequent players and 'kitchen table' to mean noncompetitive players. The two groups generally overlap, but I specifically was talking about the former (who aren't the audience for the more detailed jokes in unsets) while leaving out the latter (who would get the jokes and also be less... Spikey about their gameplay). But a kitchen table player that isn't casual often does have the dice, coins, little colored stones as counters, etc that is a full kit of magic tomfoolery, and would be more ready to just whip out a randomized D20 than someone who just came with the money to draft and maybe some sleeves.
Can we all appreciate Wall of Fortune for a Planeschase game?
I certainly do. My secret hope that they manage to make cards that have special uses with other supplemental products they might not specifically mention is fulfilled.
Private Mod Note
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Here we go.
I'm mostly confused by Squirrel-Powered Scheme because it doesn't play well with the "roll 2 dice and take the difference" theme we've seen so far...
Special actions don't really get spelled out and fanfared when it concerns rules text.
Past Ruminations
Links are broken, will fix in near future.
- Kaladesh
- Zendikar
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Alara Reborn
- Innistrad <- Personal Favorite
- Dark Ascension
- Avacyn Restored
- Theros
- Return to Ravnica
- Tarkir
Past Ruminations
Links are broken, will fix in near future.
- Kaladesh
- Zendikar
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Alara Reborn
- Innistrad <- Personal Favorite
- Dark Ascension
- Avacyn Restored
- Theros
- Return to Ravnica
- Tarkir
Not sure if serious or if you just need to have a re-read of the Adviser.
You can't tap something that is already tapped to "activate" or do this special action. Plus you can only tap the Snickering Squirrel itself to increase a die roll, not any squirrel.
Still an interesting few cards, I wonder how many die rolling affects there will be in this set, with these at common/uncommon am guessing there will be a few.
I know this isn't an activated ability, as those are written [COST]:[EFFECT]. That was why I had activate in quotation marks.
And yeah this ability wouldn't work as an activated ability anyway, since the any die rolls will more than likely be done during the resolution of a spell/ability. So in order to have an effect on them this would need to be done as a special action, something done when you didn't have priority.
But my point still stands, you can't tap something that is already tapped. That much is in the rules:
701.19a To tap a permanent, turn it sideways from an upright position. Only untapped permanents can be tapped.
Of course, as this is an Un-set, Wizards could make these work however they want, since Un-sets don't have to follow any rules. But from what I understand, they want this set to follow the rules a bit more than the previous ones.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
It's silly to think they have "reverted this thinking" when you are talking about silver-bordered cards. The "this thinking" generally applied to black-bordered cards. Whenever you hear a designer talk you can assume as a default that they are talking about black-bordered sets (actually I'd go so far to even say you should assme Standard-legal unless the context is implying otherwise).
To see how the two philosophies are different in silver-bordered Magic vs. black-bordered Magic you have to look no further than a keyword from the most recent black-bordered expansion set: Explore in Ixalan has clearly two modes which are (unless manipulated by scry etc.) random, but no clear absolute downside. That's the philosophy against randomness and that's what you will see mostly in black-bordered Magic.
Nevertheless you get to see entirely lucky cards every now and then even in black-border since the cards have fans, but not on the level of an Un-set. Which is exactly why we get dice in Unstable: There are fans of the ransom effects and silver-bordered is about certain play experiences that align well with what these fans want, hence they turn it up to 11 here (or 22 as the case may be).
The product is tailored to its audience. Drawing conclusions from these without taking the context into account is short-sighted. And the context is: Dice have been a silver-bordered staple - including unpredictable risky effects with clear downsides. With all the changes to what silver-bordered means some effects remain.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
And we got plenty information on what Unsets are supposed to be about, like here: "One of the rules is we don't do silver bordered cards that could simply be done in black border."
Just because they don't word them properly doesn't mean those die-rolling cards are proper silver border cards. Silver border is supposed to be exciting things you can't do otherwise, not lame things that play bad and thus are not usually done.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
I guess Chicken à la King and Elvish Impersonators aren't Un-cards either.
This spoiler season is going to give me agita.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
I believe the two dice difference was stated to belong to the goblin faction, other factions can have different dice-related mechanics.
We know, currently, 25 of 200+ cards. Far as we know isn't currently very far...
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
I know, crazy, right?
They don't carry a vast array of D6 to D20 and a randomized D20 with them to play Magic. Which can, at the barest of minimums, be played with a deck of (Magic) cards and nothing else. It is infinitely more likely they have some spare change in their pocket on happenstance, than they tripped, fell, and found a lost randomized D20 on the ground on the way to the card shoppe.
This. Is why. Dice. Are. Unset. Approved.
Since unsets are in no way designed to really be gotten by casual magic players (kinda in the same vein that Masters sets aren't designed to be worth it for casual magic players) they can do things that require you to have a bit more supplies. And maybe Wizards also hopes that Ye Olde Local Game Shoppe will provide some dice for play in case they get some casuals too. But it can't be a standard (hah, get it!?) thing.
I usually use casual to mean infrequent players and 'kitchen table' to mean noncompetitive players. The two groups generally overlap, but I specifically was talking about the former (who aren't the audience for the more detailed jokes in unsets) while leaving out the latter (who would get the jokes and also be less... Spikey about their gameplay). But a kitchen table player that isn't casual often does have the dice, coins, little colored stones as counters, etc that is a full kit of magic tomfoolery, and would be more ready to just whip out a randomized D20 than someone who just came with the money to draft and maybe some sleeves.
I certainly do. My secret hope that they manage to make cards that have special uses with other supplemental products they might not specifically mention is fulfilled.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO