Archer

Questioning Quaketusk Boar Reach

Quaketusk Boar having reach is probably going to catch a lot of people off guard. In the past, reach creatures typically were archers, or spiders, or had "spitting" or "turret" or "bounding" or something like that in the name. I understand that reach is far more common nowadays, making it harder to keep doing this, but I feel like SOME rules for reach creatures should still exist. The rules don't even need to be about the name or creature type. Maybe its something that's communicated in the art.

Reach has proven difficult to communicate in art because it doesn’t have clear symbols like wings for flying. We make a lot of large creatures that don’t have reach.

Archers Art Boars Creatures Flying Rules Spiders Quaketusk Boar

Future for Creature Groupings

Are we going to see more mechanics for groupings of creature types like outlaws in the future? Like maybe fighters (Knights, soldiers, warriors, archers) or critters (rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, etc) or undead (zombies skeletons vampires spirits)? Where does it sit on the storm scale?

There will be more batching. We do want to be careful how often and how intuitive the groupings are.

Archer Batches Creatures Knight Mechanics Mouse Rabbit Rat Rat Skeleton Soldier Spirit Squirrel Storm Scale Vampire Warrior Zombie

Skittishness Regarding Subtype Updates

Re: Subtype updates"R&D is still a bit skittish about the last one."I think a big part of the equation is that a lot of us don't understand why R&D is skittish. As a player who came in sometime between Lorwynn and RTR, hearing about the GCTU sounded like the best idea ever. Of course, I've also spent 0 days on R&D, so I'm willing to believe and hear our reasons that part of the team may think it's not a good idea.

There’s a cost when a card does something that just isn’t written on the card. For example, a key moment at a Pro Tour happened because one player made a critical mistake because they were unaware their opponent’s card was an Archer (due to errata, not on the card).

Archer Competitive Play Errata Game Design Return to Ravnica Subtype

Typal Support Cards

How do you decide when to give typal support cards to creature types that don't usually do typal things? I'm thinking particularly about class/job-based types like Archer (with Greatbow Doyen and more recently Ohabi Caleria) or Druid (Gilt-Leaf Archdruid, Seton, and the new Deeproot Historian), but also species-based types that don't get as much love.

We look for opportunities that fit the set, with an eye out for things we haven’t done before (or in a while).

Archer Creatures Deeproot Historian Druid Eye Gilt-Leaf Archdruid Greatbow Doyen Kindred / Typal Ohabi Caleria

Reach in Colors

Was reminded of the card Longbow Archer recently, and I wanted to ask- can white, blue, and black still get reach? Or do you prefer to keep it exclusively in the flying-weak colors for the sake of mechanical distinction?

White is technically tertiary in reach, mostly to flavor archers, but really the three colors with common fliers don’t need reach.

Archer Black Blue Colors Flavor Longbow Archer Tertiary White

Archer's Reach

Could a white and blue legendary archer character have reach?

White is tertiary in reach, so we’d do it on a monowhite card. We don’t often do tertiary abilities on multicolor cards, although we do on rare occasion.

Archer Blue Rares Tertiary White

Resource Allocation Importance

Regarding your point about inclusion: that's all true in terms of things like card elements because there's no real world cost to choosing "wall" over "archer w/ defender". But some choices require real world resources such that "doing X means not doing Y." Arena is the best example: devs have stated that they have limited human resources, so they're always making choices about how to commit them. So advocating for X over Y is important for fans, as sometimes Y might mean losing X.

You are correct. The more resource-intensive a choice is, the more we have to decide which to use.

Archer Defender Human Limited Magic Arena Wall

Skeleton Trope Evolution

A while back, you mentioned that Skeleton Archer was made because younger players don't really have the "skeletons don't stay dead" trope ingrained in their head. Since then, several more self-reforming skeletons have been made, while there's still just the one Skeleton Archer. Was it found that people do have a stronger association with the older trope?

I just think the designers are a little older and respond more to that trope. We should go more archers.

Archer Skeleton Skeleton Archer

Flavor for Reach

Has there ever been a concerted effort to standardize the art/flavor for reach like there was for flying? I think one of the reasons players get caught by it so much is that there is a lot of inconsistency with the flavor. Some really tall things have it, some don't, some archers have it, some don't etc.

We don’t want all tall things having reach.

Archer Art Concerted Effort Flavor Flying Standardize

Tribal Support Review

About this time last year, I asked you what creature types you felt like needed support (either for EDH and you allowed your readers to weigh in. I was wondering if you'd be interested in doing again. I would also like to ask how R&D feels like they have done over the past year in terms of expanding tribal support to tribes that need it. It definitely seemed like there were a few creature types (Assassin and Archer for example) that definitely got some needed assistance over the past year. Here's hoping for Temur Dinosaurs in Return to Ixalan!

Answer away everyone.

Archer Assassin Commander Creatures Dinosaur Game Design Ixalan Kindred / Typal Temur (R/U/G)

Job vs Non-Job Class

Hi Mark! Great podcast with Glen about CLB. Can you clarify a job vs non-job class? I get soldier is a job. Wizard is a job. Is archer a non-job, just a soldier who has the ability to use a bow? Thanks

I think the idea is that all jobs or roles are “classes” , so Soldier, Wizard, and Archer would all be considered “classes” while Human, Goblin, and Elf would not.

Archer Drive to Work Elf Goblin Human Soldier

About Various Creature Types

-Er creature types: Nightstalker, Sliver, Shapeshifter, Specter, Soldier, Assembly-Worker, Spider, Artificer, Archer, Rigger, Berserker, Spellshaper, Salamander, Volver, Elder, Beholder, Bringer, Ranger, Badger, Thopter, Flagbearer, Badger, Otter, Oyster, Carrier, and Monger. Silver Border: Gamer, Paratrooper, Waiter, Proper (from Miss Demeanor, whose current typeline is Creature — Lady of Proper Etiquette), Designer, Lobster, and Wrestler.

FYI : )

Archer Artificer Assembly-Worker Assembly-Worker Badger Beholder Berserker Bringer Carrier Creatures Elder Flagbearer Gamer Humor Miss Demeanor Monger Nightstalker Otter Oyster Ranger Rigger Salamander Shapeshifter Shapeshifter Sliver Soldier Specter Spellshaper Spider Thopter Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets Volver

Comma vs Semicolon in Keywords

Hey Mark. Can't really find an answer anywhere! Help! If you check the oracle text of Vampire Nighthawk and Longbow Archer, one of them has a comma between keywords and the other has a semicolon between em. Is there a reason for that? It's driving me crazy!

It’s supposed to be a comma. The semicolon is a typo.EDIT: I’m incorrect. Apparently semicolons are used when one of the abilities has reminder text.

Archer Keywords Longbow Archer Vampire Vampire Nighthawk

Future of Archer Class

Are there any plans to discontinue Archer as a supported class? We have Rangers now, and we were already seeing bow-wielding creatures that weren't Archers in previous sets, such as Jaspera Sentinel.

Not every person with a bow is a Ranger.

Archer Creatures Jaspera Sentinel Ranger Sentinel

About AFR's Reach Creatures

There are some creatures in AFR with Reach keyword and wielding bows in the art, but they aren't Archers (creature type). Is it just AFR thing, or is Archer creature type being faded out in favour for Ranger creature type?

There are multiple options for what to call a reach creature with a bow. In the D&D set, we erred towards Ranger.

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Archer Art Creatures Keywords Ranger

Visual Indicator for Reach

Shorter version of a previous ask: Reach is a keyword that seems to be missed very frequently, leading to a lot of feel-bad situations. Beyond the keyword itself, is there any chance we can get some kind of visual indicator (either on the card or in the art) that a creature has Reach?

There’s not a clean visual indicator. Not every tall creature has reach and every reach creature can’t be an archer.

Archer Art Creatures Keywords

White's Defense Against Fliers

When I was asking about white archers without reach I was more asking about white responses to flyers, but I guess white doesn't so anything against flyers?

White’s flying defense is it has a lot of fliers.

Archer Flying White

Alternative Abilities for Archers

Are you able to give white archers something instead of reach? If so what is it?

We often give them first strike or double strike. Note, we don’t want to have to restrict all arts with bows to have a singular keyword.

Archer Double Strike First Strike Keywords White

Bow and Arrow Reach

With a bow and arrow symbol designating reach on MTGA, is there a push to have bow and arrows, or archer themes, only featured on creatures with, or things that, have/grant reach to avoid confusion?

No. A tall creature can have reach without needing a bow and arrow.

Archer Creatures

Consideration of Additional Party Classes

You've discussed considering Druid as a fifth, Green-leaning Party class. Did you consider Scout or Archer at all? When I think of Green-leaning members of a D&D party, I think of the Ranger. Rangers could have been represented as Scouts or Archers...

Druid was the only one we explored and even that wasn’t for more than a playtest.

Archer Druid Dungeons & Dragons Playtesting Ranger Scout