I think we will see a form of afflict that lets you deal damage to a player or planeswalker, which would provide a way to deal with the planeswalkers matters aspect of WAR. Likely wording would be 'When this creature is blocked it deals one damage to defending player or a planeswalker they control.' This would be a little easier to balance and would allow for the mechanic to be stackable.
Does Maro have any credibility? I dont play very often anymore so I dont hear a lot of other opinions but every.single.thing he says is "Ooh, look, we did awesome". Nevermind the fact that what he says we like/dislike does not match anything I've heard, and nevermind that his ratings do not make any sense in context with the criteria he says adds up to them. example: Colored artifacts- these are good, there are no problems, theyre flexible, they can go anywhere and not dominate the meta: storm scale 2. Compared to: vehicles- these are problematic, if theyre good enough to use they dominate the meta. we had to ban some of these. they only work well part of the time, and story wise, theyre kinda pigeonholed. : storm scale 2. (wtf?)
TL:DR, does everyone else treat Maro like russian news tv? what he actually says is all BS but it gives hints as to the direction the government is moving whether we like it or not?
He’s one of the best living game designers, period. If what he says doesn’t always make sense to you, look for the meaning behind it. No one is a perfect communicator. But the results are undeniable. Magic is the most vibrant, experimental, self-reinventing CCG. While games like Hearthstone struggle to maintain interest a couple years after release, Magic continues to grow after 25 years of releasing four times as many cards per year. The creativity and innovation that comes out of MaRo’s design studio is off the charts.
Sad to see Exert is just a 4. I really liked Exert, especially in drafting. I hope it comes back eventually.
Really shocked Afflict is not coming back for WAR. It was a fine mechanic that seems perfectly made to exist in a Planeswalker heavy set (which are likely to be slower formats, so having a way to push damage through would seem ideal).
Does Maro have any credibility? I dont play very often anymore so I dont hear a lot of other opinions but every.single.thing he says is "Ooh, look, we did awesome". Nevermind the fact that what he says we like/dislike does not match anything I've heard, and nevermind that his ratings do not make any sense in context with the criteria he says adds up to them. example: Colored artifacts- these are good, there are no problems, theyre flexible, they can go anywhere and not dominate the meta: storm scale 2. Compared to: vehicles- these are problematic, if theyre good enough to use they dominate the meta. we had to ban some of these. they only work well part of the time, and story wise, theyre kinda pigeonholed. : storm scale 2. (wtf?)
TL:DR, does everyone else treat Maro like russian news tv? what he actually says is all BS but it gives hints as to the direction the government is moving whether we like it or not?
Those opinions are formed from discussions with professional players, the groups that WotC tests new mechanics and ideas with, and from the player surveys that are sent out after each set. If you do not see your opinion reflected in what he is saying, then you could very well be in the minority. Magic is a big game, and forums/facebook/streamer-channels are all well known for getting stuck in the group think bubble.
I think what he said about Vehicles and Colored Artifacts is 100% true. Colored Artifacts put a limiter on artifact abuse, it is a solution to a problem that plagues artifact heavy sets. Vehicles are dangerous because the have all the inherent flaws that powerful artifacts possess but, unlike generic powerful artifacts, they are wildly popular and very flavorful. People like them. They like the concept, so it is going to come back again and again. WotC messed up by making one, maybe two, vehicles that were too good but that is to be expected when you are carving out new territory. Remember equipment was also a new concept back in the day and WotC made SkullClamp and Umezawa's Jitte (two cards that morphed standard around their use). Plus, the colored artifact solution, also fixes the powerful vehicle issue.
Eternalize really was embalm's megamorph, wasn't it? Ithink considering that connection it did well. But it also has very limited design space compared to embalm, so even if both of them were exactly equally liked, eternalize would be less likely to return.
Embalm had great flavor going for it. "You're turning the creature into a mummy." Eternalize? Not so much. "You're turning the creature into a crystal-coated Zombie." Doesn't help that the Eternals look more like Skeletons than Zombies.
Honestly, Amonkhet was a letdown for me. I liked Embalm, Deserts, and Jackalfolk, but the lack of Leonin* disappointed me. I didn't enjoy the characters, I didn't enjoy the story, I didn't enjoy such a resonant theme being hijacked and overshadowed by Bolas. I was hoping more for an adventure setting with archaeologists and raiders exploring ruins and tombs full of mummies, Curses, and Traps in search of ancient and valuable artifacts. I was hoping for more towns with palaces and proper pharaohs. I want an Egypt-inspired setting that doesn't have Bolas ****ting all over it. Amonkhet to me is a failure. Not nearly as big of a failure as Kamigawa, but a failure nonetheless.
*I understand that one of the reasons Leonin were left out is because they already had two green tribes, Jackals and Naga. However, Naga could easily have been a UB tribe, to create a nice cycle of WU Aven, UB Naga, BR Minotaurs, RG Jackals, and GW Leonin. Black gets Snakes, why can't it get black non-Zombie Naga? Also, why was the God of Ambition a Crocodile and the God of Strength a Snake? It would have made more sense the other way around.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I liked both Embalm and Eternalize, and would like to see both mechanics again some day (although, not necessarily in the same set or on the same plane. There were other civilizations that embalmed their dead, although not in the way the Egyptians did.)
Maro's bandwidth is sort of limited. If MTGReddit's banning history is any indication, I doubt he sees the majority of opinions on any one mechanic and that WoTC relies extremely heavily on the pro scene and sales figures.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I liked both Embalm and Eternalize, and would like to see both mechanics again some day (although, not necessarily in the same set or on the same plane. There were other civilizations that embalmed their dead, although not in the way the Egyptians did.)
I just want to point out, the bar on New Plane creative space is so low now that we just assume they are going to be Cultural Ripoffs now.
Eternalize in WAR doesn't entirely make sense anyway from a story perspective: Bolas has already created his Eternals on Amonkhet, he has no reason to make more, and he can't even make more on Ravnica anyway because Ravnica doesn't have lazotep (the material on Amonkhet necessary to create Eternals).
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Lapsed DCI Rules Advisor - Retired from playing but still hanging around
I liked both Embalm and Eternalize, and would like to see both mechanics again some day (although, not necessarily in the same set or on the same plane. There were other civilizations that embalmed their dead, although not in the way the Egyptians did.)
I just want to point out, the bar on New Plane creative space is so low now that we just assume they are going to be Cultural Ripoffs now.
Wizards has been on the whole "planet of hats" thing since they started plane-by-plane design in Mirrodin. Every new plane since, top-down or bottom-up, can have its shtick described in one word ("the ____ plane") and/or is based on a real-world culture. Heck, even Dominaria has a hat as the generic fantasy plane. If you disagree with that description, keep in mind that most settings are worth more than their elevator pitches if done well.
Eternalize in WAR doesn't entirely make sense anyway from a story perspective: Bolas has already created his Eternals on Amonkhet, he has no reason to make more, and he can't even make more on Ravnica anyway because Ravnica doesn't have lazotep (the material on Amonkhet necessary to create Eternals).
But (and excuse me if I'm ignorant here, a Vorthos I am not)... isn't the nature of planar portals that they can transmit materials but not creatures? Like, is it possible he can bring Lazotep from Amonkhet to make new Eternals on Ravnica, but he can't actually bring the Amonkhet Eternals themselves?
Eternalize in WAR doesn't entirely make sense anyway from a story perspective: Bolas has already created his Eternals on Amonkhet, he has no reason to make more, and he can't even make more on Ravnica anyway because Ravnica doesn't have lazotep (the material on Amonkhet necessary to create Eternals).
But (and excuse me if I'm ignorant here, a Vorthos I am not)... isn't the nature of planar portals that they can transmit materials but not creatures? Like, is it possible he can bring Lazotep from Amonkhet to make new Eternals on Ravnica, but he can't actually bring the Amonkhet Eternals themselves?
Well this was part of the point of the lazotep. If the organic matter is completely encased in it, the Eternals of Amonkhet can get through the portal just fine. (Otherwise, narratively, what was the point of them being created on Amonkhet in the first place?)
I didn't expect Eternalize anyway, but the lack of Afflict surprises me, it seems like a perfect enabler for Spectacle.
Eternalize is in an odd spot. It has a particular flavor associated with Bolas building his army; at least embalm can be used in just about any graveyard set if there are funeral rites in that plane's native culture. Mostly Egyptian- and archaeology-themed settings are a good fit, but possibly also Mayan. Eternalize also wants a "power/toughness matters" mechanic, but the creature has to have P/T less than 4/4. And while you can use it on Lhurgoyfs, Maros, Warlords, and the like (just say "CARDNAME gets +X/+X, where X is VARIABLE" on a 0/0, this tends to bust them in two.)
Afflict's big problem is that it was blue, but it really should only be available to black and red. (Maybe green, if we use Thorn Elemental and friends as precedent, but I would err on the side of caution.)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Does Maro have any credibility? I dont play very often anymore so I dont hear a lot of other opinions but every.single.thing he says is "Ooh, look, we did awesome". Nevermind the fact that what he says we like/dislike does not match anything I've heard, and nevermind that his ratings do not make any sense in context with the criteria he says adds up to them. example: Colored artifacts- these are good, there are no problems, theyre flexible, they can go anywhere and not dominate the meta: storm scale 2. Compared to: vehicles- these are problematic, if theyre good enough to use they dominate the meta. we had to ban some of these. they only work well part of the time, and story wise, theyre kinda pigeonholed. : storm scale 2. (wtf?)
TL:DR, does everyone else treat Maro like russian news tv? what he actually says is all BS but it gives hints as to the direction the government is moving whether we like it or not?
I've been reading his articles since the late 90's. The only constant I've found over the last two decades is that the set-in-stone maxims he informs us of tend to get thrown out the window every so many years. Every time I hear 'but Maro said', I say to myself, yeah right, let's see how that pans out in five years.
I liked both Embalm and Eternalize, and would like to see both mechanics again some day (although, not necessarily in the same set or on the same plane. There were other civilizations that embalmed their dead, although not in the way the Egyptians did.)
I just want to point out, the bar on New Plane creative space is so low now that we just assume they are going to be Cultural Ripoffs now.
Wizards has been on the whole "planet of hats" thing since they started plane-by-plane design in Mirrodin. Every new plane since, top-down or bottom-up, can have its shtick described in one word ("the ____ plane") and/or is based on a real-world culture. Heck, even Dominaria has a hat as the generic fantasy plane. If you disagree with that description, keep in mind that most settings are worth more than their elevator pitches if done well.
That's one big thing that bothers me with set design. We don't need a whole plane(t) for a particular cultural or in some instances geographical setting. Mirage did a great concept of invoking a Northern African theme to it without deviating from Dominaria to another plane. Same with the settings in Ice Age.
We could've had a world that contains multiple cultural and geographical/political settings. Like why can't there be an Indian-inspired region alongside an Innistradi one on the same world? Dominaria would've been a great base point but they've limited its design over the years so there's no expansion outside of what's there.
Having too many worlds makes it difficult to go back to one for a long time as that particular theme gets dry and overused.
'buster
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset. Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
I liked both Embalm and Eternalize, and would like to see both mechanics again some day (although, not necessarily in the same set or on the same plane. There were other civilizations that embalmed their dead, although not in the way the Egyptians did.)
I just want to point out, the bar on New Plane creative space is so low now that we just assume they are going to be Cultural Ripoffs now.
Wizards has been on the whole "planet of hats" thing since they started plane-by-plane design in Mirrodin. Every new plane since, top-down or bottom-up, can have its shtick described in one word ("the ____ plane") and/or is based on a real-world culture. Heck, even Dominaria has a hat as the generic fantasy plane. If you disagree with that description, keep in mind that most settings are worth more than their elevator pitches if done well.
Dominaria's hat as of the set with the same name is "history". Thus all the callbacks in the set.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
I always thought that planes were better when they had a theme that is not a culture.
Ixalan was Meso-american but also had dinosaurs and pirates. Amonkhet was on the other hand incredibly one note and there was nothing besides the Egypt theme. Kaladesh was Indian but that was hardly the focus. The whole plane was focused on artifacts, but did overall a worse job then Mirrodin. So that was also a bit lackluster, but not due to the culture focus.
Innistrad is gothic horror and therefore very Europe centric. Strangely enough the plane is also described as very small. So there is literally nothing more to explore there. While other planes do have more space where you could put a few off-beat ideas in.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Drop your knees to the floor
Hands to the sky
Give a round of applause
For the great Miss Y!
I liked both Embalm and Eternalize, and would like to see both mechanics again some day (although, not necessarily in the same set or on the same plane. There were other civilizations that embalmed their dead, although not in the way the Egyptians did.)
I just want to point out, the bar on New Plane creative space is so low now that we just assume they are going to be Cultural Ripoffs now.
Wizards has been on the whole "planet of hats" thing since they started plane-by-plane design in Mirrodin. Every new plane since, top-down or bottom-up, can have its shtick described in one word ("the ____ plane") and/or is based on a real-world culture. Heck, even Dominaria has a hat as the generic fantasy plane. If you disagree with that description, keep in mind that most settings are worth more than their elevator pitches if done well.
And I am saying it is very sad that we just assume that we are mostly going to get creatively bankrupt planet of hats stuff, instead of places like Mirrodin and Ravnica (yes Ravnica is nothing new, but the Concept of Guilds based on Color Pairings as the core of the plane is still good, WOTC just hasn't actually committed to that theme after the first set.)
I get frustrated every article that MaRo says what players liked.
(My preferences aren’t wrong, everyone else is wrong!)
When I saw him saying that players never liked Lorwyn and Kamigawa, I started to trust this man much less than before...
Where did he say that? I recall him saying that Kamigawa and Lorwyn were unpopular, not that players never liked them. Just because you personally liked those blocks doesn't mean they didn't have a lot of design and creative issues.
Kamigawa
Too much obscure flavor, not enough resonant tropes
Flip cards confused a lot of players
Overall weak cards
Lorwyn
Too much complexity
Underwhelming mechanics
Tribal theme was pushed too strongly
Tribes changed colors between Lorwyn and Shadowmoor
If those blocks had sold well and fared well in surveys, Maro would have said so and he would be more optimistic about return trips. Maro himself is fond of Lorwyn, and as a Magic designer he doesn't want any set to be a failure. But the sales numbers and customer surveys made it clear Kamigawa and Lorwyn were failures.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I always thought that planes were better when they had a theme that is not a culture.
Ixalan was Meso-american but also had dinosaurs and pirates. Amonkhet was on the other hand incredibly one note and there was nothing besides the Egypt theme. Kaladesh was Indian but that was hardly the focus. The whole plane was focused on artifacts, but did overall a worse job then Mirrodin. So that was also a bit lackluster, but not due to the culture focus.
Innistrad is gothic horror and therefore very Europe centric. Strangely enough the plane is also described as very small. So there is literally nothing more to explore there. While other planes do have more space where you could put a few off-beat ideas in.
No matter how small Innistrad is, there was some mentioning of stuff outside of what we've seen. I seem to recall a source talking about non-Wolf were-creatures beyond the sea among other things. It's just that we're not likely going to explore those regions ever (though if we ever get to see the original home of the Ixalan vampires that would set a precedent.)
Zendikar was quite diverse until everything got destroyed. Pre-Eldrazi Zendikar is certainly somewhere among the top most explorable places - full of mysteries beyond the Eldrazi presence that never got focussed on.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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]
I always thought that planes were better when they had a theme that is not a culture.
Ixalan was Meso-american but also had dinosaurs and pirates. Amonkhet was on the other hand incredibly one note and there was nothing besides the Egypt theme. Kaladesh was Indian but that was hardly the focus. The whole plane was focused on artifacts, but did overall a worse job then Mirrodin. So that was also a bit lackluster, but not due to the culture focus.
Innistrad is gothic horror and therefore very Europe centric. Strangely enough the plane is also described as very small. So there is literally nothing more to explore there. While other planes do have more space where you could put a few off-beat ideas in.
We know there is at least one additional continent on Innistrad, even if we haven't visited it. The same with Ixalan.
If anything, Kaladesh feels a lot smaller than either of them (even though we don't know its actual size) because both of the sets set there was almost exclusively centered around one city on the plane. The apparent size of a plane can be incredibly deceptive, Dominaria for instance was prior to Invasion block and the overlay twice as large as Earth (now it is slightly larger due to the added mass of Rath), yet it feels no larger than Earth, despite the many sets and different cultures there. Heck, Mirage block only explored about 10% of the top of Jamuraa, and the Domains, home to Benalia and Llanowar is still mostly unvisited.
Ravnica is another plane that feels small because it is one big city, but it isn't, it is massive. There are whole oceans below parts of the city, and the truth is that large parts of the plane, although covered in city, is mostly wilderness, because the population has moved out from it.
The point is, that when WotC creates a world, they often create additional parts of the world that we do not see to give them additional material to work with should the set prove itself popular enough for a revisit. Even "small" planes often have at least one unvisited continent, and planes designed to be large can feel deceptively small. Dominaria itself (the set) doesn't feel that it takes place in a huge area, but it does, the set visits almost a quarter of the known continents, or references them in some way. Visiting such diverse places as Shiv, Benalia, Urborg, and Jamuuraa.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
I always thought that planes were better when they had a theme that is not a culture.
Ixalan was Meso-american but also had dinosaurs and pirates. Amonkhet was on the other hand incredibly one note and there was nothing besides the Egypt theme. Kaladesh was Indian but that was hardly the focus. The whole plane was focused on artifacts, but did overall a worse job then Mirrodin. So that was also a bit lackluster, but not due to the culture focus.
Innistrad is gothic horror and therefore very Europe centric. Strangely enough the plane is also described as very small. So there is literally nothing more to explore there. While other planes do have more space where you could put a few off-beat ideas in.
We know there is at least one additional continent on Innistrad, even if we haven't visited it. The same with Ixalan.
If anything, Kaladesh feels a lot smaller than either of them (even though we don't know its actual size) because both of the sets set there was almost exclusively centered around one city on the plane. The apparent size of a plane can be incredibly deceptive, Dominaria for instance was prior to Invasion block and the overlay twice as large as Earth (now it is slightly larger due to the added mass of Rath), yet it feels no larger than Earth, despite the many sets and different cultures there. Heck, Mirage block only explored about 10% of the top of Jamuraa, and the Domains, home to Benalia and Llanowar is still mostly unvisited.
Ravnica is another plane that feels small because it is one big city, but it isn't, it is massive. There are whole oceans below parts of the city, and the truth is that large parts of the plane, although covered in city, is mostly wilderness, because the population has moved out from it.
The point is, that when WotC creates a world, they often create additional parts of the world that we do not see to give them additional material to work with should the set prove itself popular enough for a revisit. Even "small" planes often have at least one unvisited continent, and planes designed to be large can feel deceptively small. Dominaria itself (the set) doesn't feel that it takes place in a huge area, but it does, the set visits almost a quarter of the known continents, or references them in some way. Visiting such diverse places as Shiv, Benalia, Urborg, and Jamuuraa.
Not to mention that there are stories of Innistradi Elves, but they "died out a long time ago" Could possibly be beyond the Sea.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Kynaios and Tiro, Couple of the Year 2016
Many thanks to DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studios
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Yep, just like that.
Standard - Some kind of control
Modern - UB Mill (casual)
EDH - Meren's Grave Shenanigans
He’s one of the best living game designers, period. If what he says doesn’t always make sense to you, look for the meaning behind it. No one is a perfect communicator. But the results are undeniable. Magic is the most vibrant, experimental, self-reinventing CCG. While games like Hearthstone struggle to maintain interest a couple years after release, Magic continues to grow after 25 years of releasing four times as many cards per year. The creativity and innovation that comes out of MaRo’s design studio is off the charts.
Really shocked Afflict is not coming back for WAR. It was a fine mechanic that seems perfectly made to exist in a Planeswalker heavy set (which are likely to be slower formats, so having a way to push damage through would seem ideal).
Those opinions are formed from discussions with professional players, the groups that WotC tests new mechanics and ideas with, and from the player surveys that are sent out after each set. If you do not see your opinion reflected in what he is saying, then you could very well be in the minority. Magic is a big game, and forums/facebook/streamer-channels are all well known for getting stuck in the group think bubble.
I think what he said about Vehicles and Colored Artifacts is 100% true. Colored Artifacts put a limiter on artifact abuse, it is a solution to a problem that plagues artifact heavy sets. Vehicles are dangerous because the have all the inherent flaws that powerful artifacts possess but, unlike generic powerful artifacts, they are wildly popular and very flavorful. People like them. They like the concept, so it is going to come back again and again. WotC messed up by making one, maybe two, vehicles that were too good but that is to be expected when you are carving out new territory. Remember equipment was also a new concept back in the day and WotC made SkullClamp and Umezawa's Jitte (two cards that morphed standard around their use). Plus, the colored artifact solution, also fixes the powerful vehicle issue.
Embalm had great flavor going for it. "You're turning the creature into a mummy." Eternalize? Not so much. "You're turning the creature into a crystal-coated Zombie." Doesn't help that the Eternals look more like Skeletons than Zombies.
Honestly, Amonkhet was a letdown for me. I liked Embalm, Deserts, and Jackalfolk, but the lack of Leonin* disappointed me. I didn't enjoy the characters, I didn't enjoy the story, I didn't enjoy such a resonant theme being hijacked and overshadowed by Bolas. I was hoping more for an adventure setting with archaeologists and raiders exploring ruins and tombs full of mummies, Curses, and Traps in search of ancient and valuable artifacts. I was hoping for more towns with palaces and proper pharaohs. I want an Egypt-inspired setting that doesn't have Bolas ****ting all over it. Amonkhet to me is a failure. Not nearly as big of a failure as Kamigawa, but a failure nonetheless.
*I understand that one of the reasons Leonin were left out is because they already had two green tribes, Jackals and Naga. However, Naga could easily have been a UB tribe, to create a nice cycle of WU Aven, UB Naga, BR Minotaurs, RG Jackals, and GW Leonin. Black gets Snakes, why can't it get black non-Zombie Naga? Also, why was the God of Ambition a Crocodile and the God of Strength a Snake? It would have made more sense the other way around.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Well, they are both dead.
Honestly a return to Amonkhet which is modeled after Egypt after the Bronze Age collapse might actually be pretty neat.
Hands to the sky
Give a round of applause
For the great Miss Y!
Maro's bandwidth is sort of limited. If MTGReddit's banning history is any indication, I doubt he sees the majority of opinions on any one mechanic and that WoTC relies extremely heavily on the pro scene and sales figures.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I just want to point out, the bar on New Plane creative space is so low now that we just assume they are going to be Cultural Ripoffs now.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
But (and excuse me if I'm ignorant here, a Vorthos I am not)... isn't the nature of planar portals that they can transmit materials but not creatures? Like, is it possible he can bring Lazotep from Amonkhet to make new Eternals on Ravnica, but he can't actually bring the Amonkhet Eternals themselves?
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Eternalize is in an odd spot. It has a particular flavor associated with Bolas building his army; at least embalm can be used in just about any graveyard set if there are funeral rites in that plane's native culture. Mostly Egyptian- and archaeology-themed settings are a good fit, but possibly also Mayan. Eternalize also wants a "power/toughness matters" mechanic, but the creature has to have P/T less than 4/4. And while you can use it on Lhurgoyfs, Maros, Warlords, and the like (just say "CARDNAME gets +X/+X, where X is VARIABLE" on a 0/0, this tends to bust them in two.)
Afflict's big problem is that it was blue, but it really should only be available to black and red. (Maybe green, if we use Thorn Elemental and friends as precedent, but I would err on the side of caution.)
On phasing:
When I saw him saying that players never liked Lorwyn and Kamigawa, I started to trust this man much less than before...
That's one big thing that bothers me with set design. We don't need a whole plane(t) for a particular cultural or in some instances geographical setting. Mirage did a great concept of invoking a Northern African theme to it without deviating from Dominaria to another plane. Same with the settings in Ice Age.
We could've had a world that contains multiple cultural and geographical/political settings. Like why can't there be an Indian-inspired region alongside an Innistradi one on the same world? Dominaria would've been a great base point but they've limited its design over the years so there's no expansion outside of what's there.
Having too many worlds makes it difficult to go back to one for a long time as that particular theme gets dry and overused.
'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset.
Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
Dominaria's hat as of the set with the same name is "history". Thus all the callbacks in the set.
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Ixalan was Meso-american but also had dinosaurs and pirates. Amonkhet was on the other hand incredibly one note and there was nothing besides the Egypt theme. Kaladesh was Indian but that was hardly the focus. The whole plane was focused on artifacts, but did overall a worse job then Mirrodin. So that was also a bit lackluster, but not due to the culture focus.
Innistrad is gothic horror and therefore very Europe centric. Strangely enough the plane is also described as very small. So there is literally nothing more to explore there. While other planes do have more space where you could put a few off-beat ideas in.
Hands to the sky
Give a round of applause
For the great Miss Y!
And I am saying it is very sad that we just assume that we are mostly going to get creatively bankrupt planet of hats stuff, instead of places like Mirrodin and Ravnica (yes Ravnica is nothing new, but the Concept of Guilds based on Color Pairings as the core of the plane is still good, WOTC just hasn't actually committed to that theme after the first set.)
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Where did he say that? I recall him saying that Kamigawa and Lorwyn were unpopular, not that players never liked them. Just because you personally liked those blocks doesn't mean they didn't have a lot of design and creative issues.
Kamigawa
If those blocks had sold well and fared well in surveys, Maro would have said so and he would be more optimistic about return trips. Maro himself is fond of Lorwyn, and as a Magic designer he doesn't want any set to be a failure. But the sales numbers and customer surveys made it clear Kamigawa and Lorwyn were failures.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
No matter how small Innistrad is, there was some mentioning of stuff outside of what we've seen. I seem to recall a source talking about non-Wolf were-creatures beyond the sea among other things. It's just that we're not likely going to explore those regions ever (though if we ever get to see the original home of the Ixalan vampires that would set a precedent.)
Zendikar was quite diverse until everything got destroyed. Pre-Eldrazi Zendikar is certainly somewhere among the top most explorable places - full of mysteries beyond the Eldrazi presence that never got focussed on.
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
We know there is at least one additional continent on Innistrad, even if we haven't visited it. The same with Ixalan.
If anything, Kaladesh feels a lot smaller than either of them (even though we don't know its actual size) because both of the sets set there was almost exclusively centered around one city on the plane. The apparent size of a plane can be incredibly deceptive, Dominaria for instance was prior to Invasion block and the overlay twice as large as Earth (now it is slightly larger due to the added mass of Rath), yet it feels no larger than Earth, despite the many sets and different cultures there. Heck, Mirage block only explored about 10% of the top of Jamuraa, and the Domains, home to Benalia and Llanowar is still mostly unvisited.
Ravnica is another plane that feels small because it is one big city, but it isn't, it is massive. There are whole oceans below parts of the city, and the truth is that large parts of the plane, although covered in city, is mostly wilderness, because the population has moved out from it.
The point is, that when WotC creates a world, they often create additional parts of the world that we do not see to give them additional material to work with should the set prove itself popular enough for a revisit. Even "small" planes often have at least one unvisited continent, and planes designed to be large can feel deceptively small. Dominaria itself (the set) doesn't feel that it takes place in a huge area, but it does, the set visits almost a quarter of the known continents, or references them in some way. Visiting such diverse places as Shiv, Benalia, Urborg, and Jamuuraa.
---
Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Many thanks to DNC at Heroes of the Plane Studios