Artifacts

Dividing Set Themes in Drafts

When/if: a single set split into two draftable packs. There is some overlap (land cycles, equipment, colorless artifacts, etc) but one pack is Team X (Bolas let's say) which is 3 different archetypes in his colors and the other packs are Team Y (Ugin let's say) which are 3 archetypes in colorless, white, black. All the cards together make a single set, but you would draft Ugin packs with Ugin packs, and then only play against players who drafted Bolas packs.

We did this in Mirrodin Besieged. The set was split in Mirran and Phyrexian, and you chose which side to play when you played in the prerelease.

Artifacts Black Colorless Colors Cycles Draft Formats Equipment Lands Mirrodin Besieged Phyrexians Prerelease Sealed Format White

Possibility of 'Artifactfall'

"Is "Artifactfall" something realistic to expect considering how many Treasures, Clues and Food makers exist these days?" "It would have to take artifact token making into account." It seems to me that, regardless of how aggressively or unagressively you costed it, the "smart" way to play such an effect would be using tokens rather than actual artifact cards, since they're cheaper. Correct me if I'm wrong. Assuming I'm right, wouldn't it be better if the mechanic specified "non-token?"

We did Alliance and didn’t feel the need to say nontoken, and we make more creature tokens than artifact tokens.

Alliance Artifacts Creatures Food Mechanics Tokens

Possibility of 'Artifactfall'

Is "Artifactfall" something realistic to expect considering how many Treasures, Clues and Food makers exist these days?

It would have to take artifact token making into account.

Artifacts Food Tokens

Acknowledging Atraxa's Fall

FYI Atraxa's Fall has "Destroy target artifact, battle, enchantment, or creature with flying."

True.

Artifacts Battles Creatures Destroy Enchantments Flying Atraxa's Fall

Missing Old Aspects

Do you ever miss older aspects of Magic? Today, I'm missing "continuous" artifacts turning off when tapped.

That’s an old school miss. We stopped doing that with the Sixth Edition rules. It caused endless problems.

Artifacts Rules

Artifact-Related Issues in Bloomburrow

I was checking out the previews for Bloomburrow and people were raising concerns about Ygra turning every creature into an artifact creature (since Foods are inherently artifacts). Someone raised the point that those tokens (Clues, Treasure, Food, Maps, Blood Junk, etc) could have been given a unique type to avoid unwanted artifact-related issues. Was that ever considered/discussed?(loving the cards so far and I already love "Hop/bounce" as a mechanic for frogs and foraging for squirrels! Also looking forward to the pay/gain life for bats since Orzhov is my favorite pair. My compliments to the chefs! Great cooking!)

We consider artifact synergy a feature, not a bug.

Artifacts Bats Blood Bloomburrow Creatures Food Frogs Junk Lifegain Mechanics Orzhov (W/B) Planechase Spoilers Squirrels Tokens Treasure

Non-Creature Artifacts as Commanders

Regarding non-creature artifacts being a commander: this also even exists in not-silver border/acorn. Shorikai, Genesis Engine from Neon Dynasty is a non-creature artifact (its a vehicle so it can become a creature but its default state is not creature)

FYI

Artifacts Commander Creatures Genesis Non-creatures Shorikai, Genesis Engine Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets Vehicles

Noncreature Artifacts as Commanders

If/When: A noncreature artifact that can be your commander and If/When: A battle that can be your commander? If i remember correctly, those are the ONLY permanent types that do not have a non creature that can be your commander.

The first has been done. The card has errata allowing it to be your commander.
The second is an if.

Artifacts Battles Blogatog / Tumblr Commander Creatures Errata If/When Non-creatures

Possibility of New Frames

Hi Mark,If or when: Instants/Sorceries getting their own frame like Artifacts and (nyx-bordered) enchantments do, possibly in a limited capacity to start with, as a trial run perhaps?

If, but it’s been discussed.

Artifacts Card Frames Enchantments If/When Instants Limited Sorceries

Enchantments Graphic Design Query

With Foundations making Nyx frames on Enchantments the standard, how will that combine with Enchantments that have other distinguishing frames, like Snow or Devoid? The Nyx effect is a bit different from the 'base grey' of Artifacts.

We have talented graphic design people.

Artifacts Card Frames Devoid Enchantments Foundations Standard

Winter Moon Card Mechanic

Was it ever considered for winter moon to have the “as long as this is untapped” clause that winter orb has? I know that having it would make moon way stronger, but it feels like it would’ve added a chefs kiss to the call back. It’s not there wasn’t enough space on the card.

R&D, in general, is not a fan of artifacts that shut off when tapped, so it’s not something we tend to add to cards.

Artifacts Mechanics Orb Winter Moon Winter Orb

Evergreen Status of Battles

Re: “battles aren’t evergreen”Will this always be the case? Like, once we get to fall of 2025 and we potentially start seeing battles again, will they not be evergreen? It seems incredibly strange to me that an entire card type would not be evergreen. Kindred at least has the fact that its existence was a mistake, but battles not being evergreen feels like saying that planeswalkers or artifacts won’t be in every set.

Evergreen means every set wants access to it, and battles simply don’t fit that requirement. Just because things have been a certain way doesn’t mean it always will be. I don’t expect us to design new card types very often, but there’s no obligation that they have to be evergreen if we do. Odds are, by the nature of how card types work, they won’t be.

Artifacts Battles Card Types Evergreen Kindred / Typal Planeswalkers

Legendary Artifact Appreciation

LEGENDARY ARTIFACT - PURRING SLIPPERS

: )

Appreciation Artifacts Blogatog / Tumblr Humor

Reason Behind Colorless Cards Design

Why *is* the design for colorless cards formatted like a full art card with the opaque border and text box? Why that instead of following more closely to the modern colorless artifact design?

It’s something we did for the Eldrazi, and continued because players liked it.

Art Artifacts Colorless Eldrazi Modern

Artifact Tokens and 'artifactfall' Keyword

Does the existence of artifact tokens that are easy to make en masse make an "artifactfall" keyword harder to pull off?

We just have to cost the ability accordingly.

Artifacts Keywords Tokens

Artifacts and Color Identity

Sorry to bother you yet agian mr Rosewarter, but i seek answers. Cards(more so artifacts) that have abilities that make colored mana (specifically "Ramos, Dragon Engine") but are not colored, dose this mean for commander that their color identity is WUBRG, and if so, what is the reason?Is the inherent difficulty of aquiring mana outside your commander's identity not a challenge enough that if you manage to get it, should it not be okay to use it?(of course, referring to activated abilities)

If a colored mana exists in rules text (but not only in reminder text) it counts towards the card’s color identity. Note that the Commander Rules Committee is in charge of defining color identity, not Wizards.

Artifacts Color Identity Commander Dragon Dragon Engine Mana Ramos, Dragon Engine Rules

Artifact Creature - Blood Possibilities

If/When:Artifact Creature - Blood

If, but I think the chances of it happening are better than it not.

Artifacts Blood Creatures If/When

Artifact Token Types

I like the design of Food creatures and Clue creatures, but Goldhound is the only Treasure card.What's the likelihood of other token types becoming Artifact Creature cards? IE Gold, Junk, Incubator, Blood, ect

If an artifact token gets used in a set, we’ll look for opportunities for it to be used on a card.

Artifacts Blood Creatures Food Goldhound Junk Tokens Treasure

Excluding Card Types

On not having certain card types in a set, if or when on having a set without artifacts? Without enchantments?

We’ve come close, but I don’t anticipate it happening without a strong mechanical reason.

Artifacts Card Types Enchantments If/When

Constraints in Changing Borders

Why not just make a special “Greatest show in the multiverse” border. I mean artifact isn’t a color so there’s technically precedent for that.

Changing the border causes printing issues. It’s why we didn’t mix silver borders with black ones.

Artifacts Black Card Borders Card Printing Colors Greatest Show in the Multiverse