Ice Cream and Magic

I, like most people, like ice cream. I like the cold, gooey, creamy, nutty varients. But my favourite flavour is vanilla. I like vanilla because it has no strings attached, it is just ice cream. I think the same attitude can be applied to Magic, both in gameplay and design.

As vanilla is the cornerstone of the ice cream industry, so are Vanilla cards the cornerstone of Magic. But before we get into what I mean by that statement, let me explain my terms. By Vanilla I mean any card that is simple enough to be understood at a glance or one read through. Magic already has three categories for what I would describe as Vanilla Creatures: True Vanilla, Virtual Vanilla, and Vanilla Plus. But I would argue that the term "Vanilla" can be applied beyond just creatures. Doesn't everyone know what Giant Growth does? Does that make it "Vanilla"? I say yes. Basic spell effects which show up on a regular basis (Counter, Giant Growth, Shock, Unsummon, and so on) are all Vanilla Spells. Now that you understand what I'm talking about when I say Vanilla, we can move on.

Vanilla Creatures are incredibly important to Magic. They provide a method to create simple, easy to understand limited fodder; they allow new players to focus on the more interesting cards they have; and they provide a basis for creating Virtual Vanillas and Chocolate cards. Any good limited player knows that a Vanilla can be a whole lot more than just the sum of its parts. It can attack, it can block, it can be sacrificed to big Demons. Magic needs its Vanillas so that the limited player has access to simple, but still useful, cards. As Mark Rosewater is oft to repeat, Magic is a complex game with a high learning curve. Vanillas are not just easy for an experienced player to understand, but also a new player. The ability to ignore the vast amount of text boxes allows a new player to focus on the text boxes that really matter, those of their Sphinx of Ulthuan or Rune-Scared Demon. Thus it can be seen that the most obvious, and arguably most important, role of Vanillas is to be simple cards that can still be relevant in the overall scheme of the game. The other side of Vanillas is their value to a Magic designer. Magic is a very very difficult game to design well, and having access to a set of cards that anyone who plays the game can understand is crucial. The Magic designer can use the tool the Vanilla provides to build interesting cards without breaking the game in any way.

I have to go now, but I will update and edit this blog soon, finishing with my discussion of the Virtual Vanilla and Vanilla Spells.
1
Jaxck's avatar
Jaxck

Comments

  • To post a comment, please or register a new account.
Posts Quoted:
Reply
Clear All Quotes