Absorb

Insights on Absorb Mechanic Designs

Hello, I heard something interesting about MH3 where you retried EVERY mechanic to see what would work with a new context or be interesting. You (WoTC) revisited many of my favorite mechanics like grandeur but didn't for probably my favorite. That mechanic is absorb, and while it has only been keyworded on one card "Lymph Sliver" it did see a continuation on my favorite card of all "Valkmira, Protector's Shield" alongside what would only a few sets later become ward. I wanted to know if you could share any insights on the designs taken with absorb or any other of your favorite mechanics? Thank you very much for your time.

I designed Lymph Sliver and absorb. If I remember correctly, I was riffing off of a shield mechanic from the Star Wars TCG. (It was a trading card game design lead by Richard Garfield that I was on the initial design team for.)

Absorb Absorb Appreciation Game Design Grandeur Lymph Sliver Mechanics Modern Horizons 3 Richard Garfield Sliver Ward Wizards of the Coast

New Players' Attraction

It's maybe a bit late to add my two cents on this topic, but I want to challenge the seeming consensus that the Brother's War set failed to appeal to new players in the pursuit of hitting the nostalgia of older players. I got into Magic when BRO was the latest set, knowing nothing about Magic story except the few tidbits I would absorb from my Vorthos friend, but all I needed to hear was "it's the heroes of the modern day traveling back in time to an ancient war from the early years of the game" to think "Woah. That's cool." It was a strong hook that gave me something cool to chew on, and I think it was a uniquely good jumping-on point to this last multi-year storyline. That's just my perspective as a completely new player, so I'd imagine players who's started a few sets earlier might have found it a bit jarring to jump focus from the modern characters they were starting to get attached to into a wildly different time and status quo, but I'd nonetheless challenge the wisdom that referencing Magic's history inherently turns off new, unfranchised players. Players are already intimidating by the massive size and scope of MtG across its 30-year history, but an invitation to understand and experience some of the big events they missed does a lot more to bring people in than to shut them out.

The set didn’t do quite as well as we’d hoped, but there is much debate as to why.

Absorb Beginners Modern Story / Lore The Brothers' War Vorthos

Toxic Keyword Justification

For anyone complaining about Poisonous being dropped for Toxic: Poisonous means specifically chemically harmful to swallow, breathe, absorb or otherwise ingest, while Venomous refers to animals that have a chemically harmful bite, barb, or sting. Toxic is a broader word that covers both kinds of harmful chemical delivery. As most Phyrexians are more venomous than poisonous, the broader term seems more appropriate.

FYI

Absorb Fight / Bite Ingest Keywords Phyrexian Poisonous Toxic

Addressing Product Fatigue

Hey, Mark! You recently wrote "We put out more products, but at the same level of quality, if not more, than we always have", and I want to say I do agree! However, it seems likely to me that product fatigue from too many releases is a real thing, no matter how good the products are. Anecdotally, I will say that I barely even register / get interested in supplemental products anymore, when once upon a time I'd be all over stuff like Planechase. Just some hopefully constructive feedback.

I said in an ask a few days ago that we’re at another flex point. Let me explain a little more what that means. A flex point is a moment in the life cycle of a product where how the product is used goes through a transition. Flex points are usually the result of a product evolving to match the needs of its audience and/or the technology of making it.For many years, we made Magic trying to get the audience to act a certain way. We would put focus on certain ways to play to influence the audience to play that way. Magic is about Standard. We’ll make Standard-level sets, and make sanction play be Standard, and shine a light on competitive play using Standard. Eventually, we realized Magic did better if we reflected what the audience wanted rather than tried to influence how people played. You tell us how you want to play and we’ll make Magic that lets you do that. So we shifted how we made Magic and started making our offerings more broad. Not just in what sets we made, but how we made them. We experimented with kinds of boosters, kinds of frames/layouts, kinds of premium cards, kinds of art, etc. In addition, we started making more releases as it allowed us to go even broader. The result was a huge success. More people found things that excited them and Magic had it’s best years in its history. Now we get to the flex point. While how we make Magic has changed, how the audience, at least the enfranchised audience, absorbs it hasn’t yet. There’s a lag between new technology and new behavior. You seem to think your inability to focus on everything is a bug, rather than a feature. You can’t absorb it all, so you’re choosing what you care more about and are just focusing on that. Great! That’s where this process is going. Magic is better as a product if it’s not limited by being at a scope that players can absorb in its entirety. Magic at its heart has always been about exploration. It’s a game bigger than its box. Now let’s take that up the next step. It’s a game bigger than a singular focus. It’s a game that as you play it you can discover new things about it. You can run into cards you didn’t know existed. That was Richard’s original concept. The problem was the internet was exploding at the time and there wasn’t a means to withhold the information. Plus, the game just wasn’t that big yet, so players could literally know every card. Richard’s vision was great. It just wasn’t viable at the time. But now Magic turns thirty. There are over 25,000 unique cards. We’re past the point where one person can absorb all the information. So why build our product lineup around that concept? Magic’s complexity has always been a big part of its success. Players can dive deep because the game’s too big for any one person to master it. That’s what I mean by we’re at a flex point. How we make Magic is changing, which means how the audience absorbs it will ultimately change as well. I get it’s disorienting, but as with all flex points, this will come to feel normal once you’re used to it. Anyway, that’s what I was talking about.

Absorb Art Boosters Card Frames Competitive Play Experienced / Enfranchised Players Limited Once Upon a Time Planechase Standard

Split Second's Storm Scale

Split second has an EIGHT on the storm scale! WHY IS IT AN EIGHT?!? Is it a power level issue? Surely not! Things that high on the scale for power concerns are mechanics like DELVE AND AFFINITY!! Does it lead to unfun gameplay? Maybe for the blue player, but either way, it’s not close to as bad as fateseal or buyback, which are ALSO both eights! Is it too convoluted? Opalescence effects are famously confusing even for entrenched players, AND ANIMATING ENCHANTMENTS IS ONLY AT SEVEN!!!! Is it too bland or niche? Maybe it’s rather unassuming, but is it really as boring as ABSORB? Is it really as useless as FATEFUL HOUR?!? Honestly there’s a lot of storm scale ratings that seem strange to me, but split second holds a special place in my heart, which is why I’m asking about this mechanic specifically.

The mechanic has baggage that might not be apparent to you. For example, it confused a lot of players and had some play design issues. I do think we’ll see split second again, but more likely in a supplemental set than a premier set (and that’s what the Storm Scale measures).

Absorb Absorb Affinity Blue Buyback Delve Enchantments Fateful hour Fateseal Game Play Mechanics Opalescence Play Design Power Level Premier Sets Split Second Storm Scale

DFCs in Preconstructed or Reprint

Which do you think is more likely: a preconstructed deck product with DFCs, or a Masters-style reprint draft set with DFCs?

The latter is more likely. Randomized boosters have much more ability to absorb production costs.

Absorb Boosters Draft Formats Dual Faced Cards Reprints

Favorite Mechanics or Cards

I feel like a lot of people who say you’ve only done bad for the game don’t realize you’re probably behind some of their favorite mechanics or cards too. For a change of pace, can you list some beloved mechanics or cards you’re responsible for?

Here are the Magic mechanics I’ve had a hand in creating: Absorb, Addendum, Affinity, Aftermath, Aura Swap, Battle Cry, Bolster, Champion, Changeling, Cipher, Companion, Contraptions, Crew (Vehicles), Dash, Deathtouch, Delve, Dredge, Embalm, Energy, Entwine, Evoke, Exert, Exploit, Fabricate, Fateful Hour, Fateseal, Ferocious, Flashback, Flip, Forecast, Fortify, Frenzy, Gotcha, Graft, Gravestorm, Heroic, Hexproof, Host/Augment, Hybrid Mana, Imprint, Infect, Intimidate, Kicker, Landfall, Lifelink, Living Weapon, Madness, Manifest, Mentor, Modular, Monstrosity, Morbid, Morph, Multikicker, Mutate, Ninjitsu, Phyrexian Mana, Poisonous, Populate, Proliferate, Prowl, Raid, Rally, Reach, Recover, Reinforce, Retrace, Ripple, Shroud, Soulbond, Splice, Split Cards, Split Second, Suspend, Transfigure, Transform, Typecycling, Undying, Unearth, Vanishing and Wither.

Absorb Absorb Addendum Affinity Aftermath Aura Swap Battle Cry Battle Cry Bolster Champion Changeling Cipher Companion Contraptions Crew Dash Deathtouch Delve Dredge Dredge Embalm Entwine Evoke Exert Exploit Fabricate Fabricate Fateful hour Fateseal Ferocious Flashback Forecast Fortify Fortify Frenzy Graft Gravestorm Gravestorm Heroic Hexproof Hybrid Imprint Infect Intimidate Kicker Landfall Lifelink Lifelink Living Weapon Madness Mana Manifest Mechanics Mentor Modular Monstrosity Morbid Morph Morph Mutate Ninjitsu Phyrexian Poisonous Populate Proliferate Prowl Raid Rally Rally Recover Reinforce Retrace Ripple Shroud Soulbond Splice Split Cards Split Second Suspend Suspend Transfigure Transform Undying Unearth Unearth Vanishing Vanishing Vehicles Wither Your Hand

Hypothetical Nonexistent Color

Let's pretend for a moment that a color had never existed. Which one you think it would be?

I think the world could get along fine without chartreuse. As for Magic colors, I’ve previously said green would be the easiest to absorb mechanically into other colors.

Absorb Colors Green

Variance and the Companion Mechanic

The most important part of Magic the Gathering, from a gameplay perspective, is the variance from one game to the next. Companion has undermined that. I get that you were inspired by Commander, but there's a difference: Commander is held together by unwritten social rules that prevent it from being turned into an un-fun game for your playgroup. Competitive formats are not. When there are people in your community calling for a ban in Vintage of all things, you messed up. Please understand this.

People called for us to get rid of Standard when it was introduced (called Type 2 at the time). People wanted Sixth Edition Rules removed when we introduced them. I got letters saying double-faced cards were the death of the game. Players historically react strongly to new and different things. What history has shown us is to give new things some time to breathe and let the world adjust to their existence. Players tend to overcompensate at first as everyone’s focused on the new thing. If, after the dust settles (and remember the vast majority of Magic players haven’t even played with the cards yet), things are problematic in certain formats, we have tools to adjust those formats to correct issues. The game has lived through Necro Summer, Combo Winter, affinity, storm, dredge, etc. it can and will adapt when necessary. But for everything on that list, there were other things that at first seemed problematic, but eventually the players figured out ways to adapt to it and it didn’t end up needing intervention. I agree that companion has potential to be something we will need to adapt to. i’m just asking to follow the lessons of history and give the system and the audience time to absorb it first.

Absorb Adapt Affinity Bannings Commander Companion Competitive Play Dredge Dredge Format Legality Game Play Mechanics Rules Standard Vintage

Trolls' Abilities

With regenerate gone away, trolls are missing their characteristic ability of them being hard to kill. Would something like Absorb 1 (unkeyworded, of course) work as a replacement?

Absorb has a bunch of play design issues.

Absorb Play Design Regenerate Troll

Old School Reprints

I love the oddball reprints from old school Magic such as Absorb and Scrabbling Claws. I'm not sure design does that, but could you please pass along the message to keep that up?

Vision design will put reprints in the set, but those will often change along the way. I believe Absorb was first suggested during vision design.

Absorb Card Printing Reprints Scrabbling Claws

Holiday Preview Choices

I saw the question elsewhere and I had to ask: why did you guys not preview a red-green card on Christmas Day?!

The issue was what day to preview Absorb, not what to preview on Christmas Day.

Absorb Green Red Spoilers

Keyword Volume Concerns

Looking back at some Lymph Sliver, I noticed that Shield of the Realm basically says: Equipped creature gets Absorb 2. Looking back, since the keyword was introduced, a few other cards could have made use of it including Shield of the Avatar, Hedron-Field Purists, and Djeru, With Eyes Open. I know you said previously its a hard ability to design around, yet the ability itself has shown up from time to time. So why not the keyword?

It’s not something we ever want to do in volume, so it doesn’t make sense to keyword.

Absorb Avatar Creatures Djeru, With Eyes Open Eye Hedron-Field Purists Keywords Lymph Sliver Shield of the Avatar Shield of the Realm Sliver

Absorb Mechanic Perspective

In November, you said that Absorb is too defensive. Did you mean that it was too powerful to be printed in large quantities? Because Shield of the Realms gives Absorb 2 for a very low cost.

One card is very different from a whole mechanic.

Absorb Card Printing Mechanics

Monstrosity Keyword Parameters

Does Modular Monstrosity count granted keywords on creature cards? Like Absorb 1 from Lymph Sliver?

Yes. It just has to be a keyword printed on a creature.

Absorb Card Printing Creatures Keywords Lymph Sliver Modular Modular Monstrosity Monstrosity Sliver

Modular Monstrosity Mechanics

How does Modular Monstrosity work with keywords that have a corresponding number such as Frenzy (nice returning mechanic by the way), Absorb, Bushido, etc. does the controller provide a number? Does it default to 1 or 0?

You have to choose the number at it has to be something actually printed.

Absorb Bushido Card Printing Frenzy Keywords Mechanics Modular Modular Monstrosity Monstrosity

Absorb Mechanic Future

is "absorb" completely bygone? preventing damage in any increment seems to have been decreasing over the years, i hardly see it at all anymore. was it that unpopular? will clerics get something new, if they ever come back?

We’ve playtested with it. It’s too defensive.

Absorb Cleric

Concern Over Complexity

"Let’s say you see a 2/2 with a counter in it. Is it a 1/1 or is it a 3/3? In limited, where we never mix the counters in limited, you’ll always know." How do you know it isn't an age counter? Same argument. I believe, it's thinking your audience is dumb. It's one thing that players don't know all rules, then adapting the game to that. But it's another to accept and embrace the stupidity that some players are too lazy to catalogue or just simply remember which creature has a certain counter.

It’s not about thinking our audience is dumb. It’s about understanding the complexity in the game and taken steps to not be needlessly complex. As I’ve often said, the thing most likely to kill Magic is complexity. It would be very easy to forget how intimidating Magic can be and just cater to the 1% that can absorb and understand all (okay, most) of that information. #WotCStaff

Absorb Creatures Limited Rules

Keywords as Cards

As for keywords as cards: There are also Flash, Dredge, Absorb, Fortify, Gravestorm and Battle Cry.

FYI

Absorb Battle Cry Battles Dredge Flash Fortify Gravestorm Keywords

Library Lookup Mechanics

Is it posible for your opponent too look at your library and not be aloud to change to order and not shuffle it. Say, as a downside for a spell? It seems interesting that your opponent could know the order of your library

The rules allow it but the game play is poor. It forces the players to have to absorb a huge amount of information which later makes them feel bad when they forget. Also, hidden information is important.

Absorb Game Play Rules Shuffle The Library