what is the latest point you’ve added/removed/altered a card from a set before release?
We’ve fixed things after pencils down for editing or play balance reasons, but it happens infrequently.
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Where Question Mark meets Explanation Point. If you’re new, start by checking out my FAQ: markrosewater.tumblr.com/faq
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If/When: Day/Night cameo :)
If. It’s not the kind of mechanic we cameo.
Is there a property that you can think of that you’d want to do for Universes Beyond where horsemanship would be a main set mechanic and flying maybe only would show up at cameo levels?
Call me skeptical. We do horsemanship as a cameo infrequently, usually for fun flavor reasons, but as a core mechanic of a set would cause structural issues in formats like Standard.
Hi Mark, Tricolor sets seems to be quite popular, why do we have so very few tricolor sets? Has it ever been discussed to do them more often?
There not quite as popular as you think, and we need to be careful how much they overlap with one another in Standard.
Share a popular Magic opinion you have :)
Squirrels are awesome.
Is generating Food Tokens deciduous? if not where would it be on the storm scale?
Yes, which makes them a 2.
Around which set did you start considering that legendary shouldn’t hold rules baggage?
A long time ago. Twenty or so years.
Could you still add cards to zhalfir right now if you wanted?
We’re past the point where we normally do. Could we still in an emergency? Maybe.
Hi Mark, quick question about Hobbit Hole. First off, I love the card for my Hobbit deck but I was wondering why the Halfling cycling on it costs 4? It seems a bit expensive when comparing it to other type cycling cards that all cost 3 or less and can get objectively more powerful creatures. Slivercycling on Homing Sliver is 3, Wizard cycling is 2 on Step Through and 3 on Vedalken AEthermage
The basic issue is how much of a “full card” is the base ability of the card? The closer it is to being all a card needs, the less you have for a cycling ability, and thus, it has to be costed weaker.
Share an unpopular Magic opinion you have >:)
The legendary supertype should just be a marker and not have any mechanical component.
Would it be fair to say that evergreen mechanics are all mechanics that a Magic set more or less “needs”? Like, take flying away and its absence creates a vacuum that needs to be filled with a similar effect, and menace was introduced to replace the problematic intimidate.
The evergreen mechanics fill a basic need. If you remove them, you need to replace the core role they’re filling.
What is useful in Vigilance as an ability for your set?
It’s a combat ability.
What’s the modern flowchart for the design process these days? We’ve been talking about a successor to Thunder Spirit lately, what’s the process for it being a hypothetical on this blog to me cracking it in a pack?
Design takes roughly three years, but cards can get added along the way, up to maybe a year out.
Is New Thunder Spirit at 2W printable? As in, does changing that cost get it far enough away from the Reserved List to print?
If we changed the creature type, probably.
“Threshold was always an ability word, even in it’s first printing in Odyssey. We just didn’t italicize ability words yet.” It wasn’t templated as an ability word, though. “You have threshold as long as you have seven or more cards in your graveyard” was reminder text, not rules text.
You’re correct. It was in a weird middle state. Instead of writing it out in the rules text, it used reminder text to define it.
If or When: a Garruk’s homeplane set?
I assume when.
Mark, would you say, on average, you answer more questions on here when you have a day off, or during a regular work day?
I think I answer more questions on my days off.
Hey Mark, why is Storied threshold so low? It’s quick and easy to unlock, even in limited.
I’m sure they tested it at different numbers and three worked best.
If when on a new villian “pillar” i.e. a 4th that joins bolas, eldrazi and the phyrexians
When.
Mark rulesbreaker seem like a slam dunk for a mel mechanic and we know that mystery booster has no problem dipping into acorn territory was a mel card ever considered
If and when we do Mel, it will be an Un-card.