Hi Mark, unsure if this has been asked

The Set Numbers in OTJ really have me in a tizzy near the end there.
Usually I would expect WUBRG + alphabetical, but in OTJ this pattern is broken with Bucolic Ranch - Spirebluff Canal, and of course Jace Reawakened clocking in between the non basic and basic lands at 0271.
Was there a particular thought/reason there?

Absorbing the Aftermath set into the main set is the cause of most of the weird collector numbering.

Why is Jace Reawakened collector number 271 ??? He isn't part of the U cards?

Jace Reawakened was originally part of the Outlaws of Thunder Junction Aftermath set. That product was killed pretty late, so much so, that we couldn’t change the collector numbers when we moved Jace into the main set. I think the rest of the cards from Aftermath (at least the ones we kept) are part of the Big Score.

To the person asking about land tokens: Awaken the Woods and Staff of Titania both create tokens with the type "Land".

FYI

I do think it is important note that Awaken the Woods doesn't make land tokens, it makes creature land tokens. Out side of enabling land synergy they aren't that different from just making a Llanowar Elf token, which is already something you've done.

Fair point.

Hi Mark can I invoke the Birthday Clause and get some trivia about my favourite dragon, Oros the Avenger? Failing that I’d take some Aesi trivia instead, plane name maybe?

In Invasion, we made a cycle of shard/arc dragons (Rith, the Awakener being the most famous). We had wanted to make the wedge versions, but finding the right set to do so was tricky. When Planar Chaos came around, we decided the what if nature of the set was a perfect opportunity. They were designed a 3MNO 6/6 flying dragons with a 2M trigger when they dealt combat damage. We couldn’t find five new “pick a color” effects we liked, so we just tied the effects to color without making the player choose.Happy Birthday!

No question, just a huge compliment to how y'all have turned the telling of tiny stories to an art form. Mourning Patrol // Morning Apparition, Eccentric Farmer, Ecstatic Awakener // Awoken Demon and Jerren // Ormendahl are my favourites from just this last set.

Happy to hear you’re enjoying our two-part stories. : )

Buyback, Replicate, Entwine, Fuse, Exploit, Awaken and Escalate are all really just versions of Kicker. Why not just use Kicker so that these abilities could be backward and forward compatable?

1) We value flavor and excitement of individual sets over keyword continuity. There isn’t that many cards, for example, that care about kicker. As I’ve said many times, one of the big drawbacks of kicker is it’s too broad a mechanic. 2) Not having to keyword it as kicker gives us more flexibility on how individual mechanics work. Not every mechanic you named, for instance, is exactly kicker.

A friend and I were wondering: Why is Noyan Dar (from Battle for Zendikar) in WU? Lands are pretty green.

Green is normally the color that focuses the most on lands, but Battle for Zendikar is on Zendikar which has a major focus on lands, so we have to spread the land mechanics across all five colors. Although it’s not referenced by name, Noyan Dar is basically adding Awaken 3 to instants and sorceries and the Awaken mechanic was primarily focused in white and blue. Green, in contrast, was focused on Landfall.

Does the Corpse Counter from Isareth the Awakener actually do anything?

It’s a visual reminder that when the creature dies it doesn’t go to the graveyard.

"Phyrexians can’t hold a spark I believe." Actually it is just because no Phyrexian has ever held one. They are the blending of metal and flesh in a way that usually involves rotting flesh and undeath but theoretically if a planeswalker were to become corrupted they wouldn't lose their spark. No Phyrexian could ever awaken one though, so they have to turn an existing walker for it to happen. Thankfully they have what's left of the Mirran people to try with. :)

FYI