Hmmm... trample. No, it's definitely not one of my Top 10; I'm not even sure if it's in my Top 20.
If I was only ranking the best keyword abilities that were originally printed as such in Limted Edition Alpha, trample would probably take 2nd, 3rd or 4th place, but that's only because the competition is weak. It's a useful ability that, unfortunately, is also needlessly confusing and unintuitive. I'll have more to say about trample in a future blog!
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Feb 12, 2010Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #1 and Wrap-UpPosted in: Improbable Things
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Jan 14, 2010Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #1 and Wrap-Up@Orim's Thunder: I didn't forget about kicker. For now I will just say that it wasn't really in the running for either the Top 10 or the 5 Worst. I have a very wordy opinion about it. At some point I'd like to discuss kicker in some detail. Maybe after Worldwake and multikicker settle into Standard a bit.Posted in: Improbable Things
To both of you - thanks for reading! I hope you'll check back in the upcoming weeks. -
Jan 14, 2010Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #2@metamind - I love imprint! I certainly didn't mean to slight it, but it was ineligible for the keyword ability countdown because it's an ability word rather than a keyword ability. I know the distinction seems trivial, but introducing ability words into the mix would have introduced a lot of problems into my evaluation scheme. Ability words, individually, don't behave as homogeneously as keyword abilities, so they're harder to evaluate. I just didn't want the headache.Posted in: Improbable Things
I think you are correct when you say that imprint made use of exile zone in a very unique way. But, I maintained at the time (Mirrodin block) that there were other ways to skin that cat. There still are, IMO, if WotC ever wanted to flesh out the idea of a local zone.
But that's really neither here nor there. The point I hoped to make was that suspend was the game-changer. Suspend ended the argument. Even if imprint could only be done with exile / RFG, as cool as it was (or at least could be) it could still be argued that it wasn't worth the clutter of this bizarre non-zone messing up the game's mojo. Then suspend came and nobody could say that anymore. -
Jan 14, 2010Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #2Heh. I guess I threw you for a loop, there, Icatia! I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by my #1 choice, but I will stand by it completely. It's a great keyword ability.Posted in: Improbable Things
But so is flying! And, ranking flying as the #2 keyword ability ever is no slight... it really deserves all the praise you can give it.
@Nis: there's bound to be a difference of opinion regarding my suggestions for flying here. You are right about green wanting to encourage creatures to fight each other - but green wants just about everything for creatures as long as it is a positive effect. So I think the color has room for both ground and air troops.
Thanks for reading, guys! -
Jan 8, 2010Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #4Awesome. I'm glad you've enjoyed it!Posted in: Improbable Things
I'll be very interested to see what people think about my Top 3. There's at least one fairly big surprise in there. -
Dec 21, 2009Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #5That's a good one!! Didn't mean to overlook it... maybe I'll edit and put it in there.Posted in: Improbable Things
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Dec 18, 2009Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #6Hey, Excise, glad you're enjoying the countdown! I'll have my Top 5 ready to go very soon.Posted in: Improbable Things
The reason that I "only" gave Changeling a B+ innovation grade was because the ability itself was almost exactly what was printed on Mistform Ultimus, so changeling as a keyword was really a victory of innovative implementation, and of R&D seeing a very elegant, pre-existing mechanic and giving it a more prominent role.
In contrast, I gave flashback higher marks for innovation because it took a hint of something good from Yawgmoth's Will and made something totally different and awesome out of it, which totally changed the status of an entire zone in Magic. And splice, my highest rated mechanic for innovation (so far - it might end up in a tie ;)) was really completely and totally new on every level.
But it should be said, anything on this Top 10 list is among the best of the best in all three categories! -
Dec 16, 2009Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #6Hi again, Alacar!Posted in: Improbable Things
I appreciate that you're following the countdown here. I addressed some of the issues you brought up in the #8 entry, so go check that out.
In a nutshell, going to a point system (like 8.5, 9.7, etc.) would just be deceptive - my grading system isn't that sophisticated, nor could it ever be. Not to pull rank here, but I actually have a graduate degree in this stuff - testing, scaling and measurement - and I can reasonably assure you that people opting for a decimal system (X.X) aren't fundamentally incorporating more information into their scores than I am. They just have the appearance of doing so. I like to be upfront about my limitations. -
Dec 10, 2009Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #8Nis, thanks for that tip! I will go back and edit my posts to make use of that trick.Posted in: Improbable Things
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Dec 8, 2009Guesswork posted a message on The Top 10 Keyword Abilities Ever - #9@Alacar Leoricar: remember that the comprehensive rules list 81 different keyword abilities, and I'm picking the best 10 out of those. So, I'm starting with the higher grades! You won't see anything that scores below a B in any category on this list. Now, when I get to my 5 worst keyword abilities list, you'll see some D's and F's there!Posted in: Improbable Things
Thanks for reading! I hope you'll come back for #7 - #1. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Yeah, I'm sure it's a strong card, but I hate how its very existence cheapens the party mechanic (which I liked quite a lot at first).
Still not buying WotC's whalebait, now or ever.
But you can't blame the Eldrazi for Zendikar's failings. Even if MaRo does this.
And the reason he's doing that is because it's his job to protect the Zendikar brand. Zendikar was a HUGELY popular, top-selling set. It was a top-selling set because it was peppered with ultra-chase cards. The idea of just being in the room when somebody cracked a priceless treasure was an event that drove MASSIVE interest in Zendikar organized play. All of the Secret Lairs and VIP packs and Deluxe Editions of today got their start with the priceless treasure craze of the Zendikar era. And, when a set has that level of enthusiasm around it, why wouldn't people remember it fondly? That kind of social experience is fun. It's certainly a far cry from the cynicism and rolling catastrophes of organized play in this Simic Winter era. For a lot of players, Zendikar defines the "good old days" of Magic. And MaRo's job is to try to salvage that perception of Zendikar. That perception is big business.
Believe it or not, I don't have any problem with people remembering Zendikar fondly. (I do hate chase cards, but that's another issue.)
So, as to the point in continuing to debate this: I think that if you misattribute to the Zendikar setting a bunch of feelings that you have about the Zendikar set, you're positioning yourself for disappointment. A major part of the good creative work in ZEN / WWK was the buildup to the Eldrazi in ROE. The Roil; the mystery of the hedrons; the weird religions centered around Cosi, Ula, and Emeria: all of these were central to Zendikar's original creative identity. When you strip the Eldrazi away from Zendikar, what are you even doing? You're basically dumping it all out and going back to formula. Zendikar was never a generic "adventure" setting; it was never a setting without the Eldrazi. The things that people think they remember about the setting are really not things that the setting ever was. What I suspect players are remembering is the experience of playing Magic at the time of the original Zendikar set, which has more to do with the set's relatively high power level and the social phenomena around the set's chase gimmicks than any creative elements of the setting.
Here's the main thing: after BFZ / OGW, Zendikar is a setting in crisis. You can't go back to Zendikar's roots by removing the Eldrazi, because the Eldrazi ARE the roots. So, something else must be done to save it. You can't coast on chase gimmimcks, because BFZ / OGW had those same gimmicks and were hated. So, what are they going to do? They've got to add a new dimension to the setting, and it has to be good. Because simply taking away the Eldrazi doesn't leave much left.
You can't generalize Eldrazi based on ROE on the one hand and BFZ / OGW on the other. Apples and oranges. They just slapped devoid on a bunch of godawfully-designed cards that had no mechanical connection to the ROE Eldrazi and called it a good. That BFZ / OGW Eldrazi are nominally colorless is barely even relevant, and battlecruiser is almost a total non-factor. You just can't compare these two eras.
And, even if you just want to talk about the Eldrazi from a creative standpoint, Eldritch Moon totally invalidates your argument. A decent enough set by itself, and arguably the best creative work done with the Eldrazi in Magic. So, there is no issue with the Eldrazi in general. There is a specific issue with the raging garbage fire that was BFZ / OGW, including but not limited to the Eldrazi printed therein.
Also, just in case there's any misunderstanding: I don't WANT the Eldrazi back on Zendikar. Because of BFZ / OGW, that combination is forever ruined. I'm just saying that Zendikar without the Eldrazi is a bottom-tier, generic fantasy setting made popular mostly by peppering booster packs with chase ultra-mythics. As a setting, Ixalan does everything non-Eldrazi Zendikar does, only 10x better. WotC could fix that: no matter how badly they screwed it up in BFZ / OGW, they could still make Zendikar into a compelling and unique setting again. But the way MaRo pins Zendikar's problems on the Eldrazi, it makes me think that WotC didn't really understand their mistakes in BFZ / OGW, and hasn't learned anything from them.
Then, Battle for Zendikar was a cover of that album by a no-talent teenage boy band. It was Magic's Puberty Love.
And then WotC had the stones to be like, "I guess that's what you get when great artists cover crappy source material" and signed the boy band to a 10-album contract.
Yes, of course BFZ was garbage. It and OGW were literally, without hyperbole, the worst sets since Homelands and quite possibly the worst Magic sets ever. BFZ / OGW Eldrazi were awful. That doesn't mean that Zendikar was better without the Eldrazi. The Eldrazi were the mystery that made ZEN and WWK interesting. ROE was a masterpiece. You take the Eldrazi away, you need to put something else in their place, because otherwise there is no hook to the setting. Calling Zendikar "the adventure plane" or whatever they're rolling with is a complete non-statement, and unless WotC comes up with a stronger identity for Zendikar minus Eldrazi, pretty soon it's going to be Magic's worst setting.
A cycle set on Kamigawa that legendary in a way that not only unnecessary but also in conflict with the card designs?
A cycle set on Kamigawa that will thus clog up your hand with unplayable cards?
A cycle where the white and red ones break the cycle design, and are far and away the worst of the bunch?
A we-build-it-for-you cycle where the deck you're supposed to build nonbos with itself?
People... this is self-parody. You're supposed to laugh.
Green lifegain: "MODERN PLAYABLE, GIVE ME SIX."
Opponents hate playing against combo, opponents hate playing against control, opponents hate playing against tempo... good thing God gave us midrange, amirite? Nobody could ever hate midrange...