Card Draw

Card Drawing Text Simplification

Will “draw a card” be shortened to “draw 1”?

Unlikely. It saves little text space and is just more confusing.

Card Draw

Green's Monopoly on Ramp

I was just talking with a friend about how card draw, despite being "Blue's thing", all colors need it because having cards in hand is a resource that all decks need, and thus Blue card draw is the only unconditional one, but every color has been getting some form of conditional card draw that ties it to its color philosophies.This begs the question, why does Green have such a monopoly on ramp? Can't the same thing be done for that? The closest thing is White's catch up mechanics

All colors get the ability to fetch their own basic land type. Red has some ramp, but more one-shot than repeatable. And white does some catch-up ramp. In addition, we make a bunch of colorless cards that can help.

Blue Card Draw Colorless Colors Green Lands Mechanics Red White Your Hand

Ward Mechanic Constraints

Could we see a variant of ward with a cost similar to Gift? i.e. to target this creature, its controller gets the stated reward. Either as a set specific mechanic or just written out

Ward has to be a cost. We can’t do “ward: opponent gets to draw a card” as that isn’t a cost.

Card Draw Creatures Mechanics Ward

Interpretation of Skittish Seer Card

We got Helga, Skittish Seer previewed - but her card doesn't do any seeing? She doesn't scry or surveil or anything like that, she helps to cast big creatures. I was excited to see her card after reading the story and having this ADHD character featured, but now I feel kinda disappointed? Like, what the card does is cool, but it doesn't feel at all related to the character.

Drawing cards can also be flavored as seeing the future.

Card Draw Creatures Scry Story / Lore Surveil Helga, Skittish Seer

Altering Sphinx's Revelation

Can sphinx's revelation be white and black instead of blue

No. Black needs to spend a resource to draw cards.

Black Blue Card Draw White Sphinx's Revelation

Black Card Functionality

Black card draw is supposed to have some kind of downside, right? Generally we see this as either costing life or sacrificing stuff. But black theft effects tend to function pretty darn similarly to card draw, yet don’t have those downsides. What is the fact that it’s your opponent’s cards instead of your own really so big of a downside that these cards don’t need any other drawback? I’m not complaining, just confused

Not every black effect has to come with a downside.

Black Card Draw

Investigating Card Distribution

Does giving the opponent cards have a specific place in the color pie?I only took a cursory glance through a card database to research this question, so I could be very off, but it seems like white most often lets an opponent draw a card as a 'compensation'. Red traditionally has wheel effects, and blue has a bunch of "everybody draws" effects. Black and green have little to nothing.Despite that, any color seems to be able to "gift a card" in Bloomburrow. Is that just an exception because it's a set mechanic?

We found the best gift options and then made sure each color had gift(s) that made sense for that color.

Black Bloomburrow Blue Card Draw Color Pie Colors Gift Mechanic Green Mechanics Red White

Formatting of 'Gift'

Is there a reason Gift wasn't formatted like Ward to remain a generic keyword? It seems like the kind of keyword that could become evergreen if it wasn't specifically tied to hardcoded options like "Gift a tapped fish." For example:Gift - Draw a card (As you cast this spell, you may choose an opponent. If you do, they draw a card before the rest of this spell's effects.)

We can say Gift a _________ a do whatever gift we like. It’s not very restricting.

Card Draw Colorless Evergreen Fish Gift Mechanic Keywords Ward

Syphon Mind: a Break?

Would syphon mind be considered a break since it’s black card draw with no downside?

I consider it a break.

Bend / Break Black Card Draw Syphon Mind

Card Templating and Phrasing

Hi, Mark! A templating question (with some recent card text for reference):

Whenever you commit a crime, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. This ability triggers only once each turn.

Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on Dusk Legion Duelist, draw a card. This ability triggers only once each turn.To save space and avoid any sense of letdown, why does Magic not more frequently use phrasing such as the following?

The first time you commit a crime each turn, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

The first time one or more +1/+1 counters are put on Dusk Legion Duelist each turn, draw a card.Unrelated feedback: I quite like these designs, which slot perfectly into a certain Burn deck of mine: Amped Raptor; Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury; Fear of Missing Out (such good art); Bloodbraid Marauder; also Inventor's Axe.

Two main reasons. One, it becomes a memory issue where you have to think back to what you did before you cast this spell. Two, it increases the chances that you miss a chance to use the card the turn you play it.

Amped Raptor Art Blood Bloodbraid Marauder Card Draw Dusk Legion Duelist Fear Inventor's Axe Once Per Turn Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury Templating Triggered Abilities

White Card's Draw Flavor

"The flavor [for once per turn card draw] is white draws long, that is it sets up the proper condition and then gets rewarded with card draw over time. It’s slow, methodical card draw." My issue is that all colors have "once per turn" effects already. Heck, Dimir had a set theme's worth of it in OTJ with Committing a Crime cards, and some of those were even card draw. It feels less flavorful and more like a stopgap for card balance.

The goal is to make decisions that make sense for how that color needs to draw, not to create a situation that’s unlike other effects. In other words, the feel of gameplay trumps uniqueness.

Card Draw Colors Dimir (U/B) Flavor Game Play Once Per Turn Outlaws of Thunder Junction White

Keyword 'Draw' Consistency

Re: Keyword 'Draw': "We increase confusion for what?"We'd gain some consistency. As the previous person noted, it'd put drawing cards in line with things such as scry, survail, and mill. It also would be adjacent to the changes from "enters the battlefield" to "enters." In the same way that the battlefield is the only thing that can be entered, cards are the only thing you can draw.I personally don't feel either way is inherently better, I just see the merit the previous post was getting at.

But we simply don’t template everything that involves a number like that. We don’t say Lifegain 3 and Discard 2 and Tutor 1.

Card Draw Discard Enter The Battlefield Keywords Lifegain Mill Scry Templating Tutoring

Keywording Card Draws

You've said before that you think keywording draw (number) into draw n (draw 1, draw 4, etc.) doesn't save much space and would confuse people, but I disagree. Most other games keyword drawing cards and would make the transition from other games much easier. Additionally we already do that with scry, surveil, etc. drawing cards is one of the most intuitive things in card games, i don't think we need to spell it out like we do anymore

The biggest sticking point against it is we just don’t really gain anything. We increase confusion for what?

Card Draw Keywords Scry Surveil

Thoughts on Card Draw Formatting

Have you ever thought of formatting card draw as a keyword action like scary and surveil? ("Draw 1" as an analogy to "Scry 1?") Why or why not? Thanks for answering our questions sir.

It’s not necessary and would make it harder for new players to understand.

Beginners Card Draw Keyword Actions Scry Surveil

Streamlining Card Text

hi mark! big fan, thank you for everything you've done for this game and its community.with the recent emphasis on streamlining text ("enters" replacing "enters the battlefield" etc), has there been any discussion of replacing "draw a card" with "draw 1," "draw two cards" with "draw 2," etc?

It doesn’t save us much space, and not in the places we most need to save space.

Appreciation Card Draw Enter The Battlefield

Non-Clown Card Drawing Chance

“ you and everyone on planet Earth could play a game every hour for the rest of your lives and the chance of anyone ever drawing a non-Clown card are still astronomically low” so you’re saying there’s a chance?

: )

Card Draw Humor

White's Card Draw Mechanics

I gotta say, I am not a fan of the "once per turn" draw in White. It just doesn't have the same mechanical bite that other colors have like Red's impulse draw/rummaging or Black's sacrifice for power. Can we see more of a push in forms of White card draw that thematically fit, like charity (Secret Rendez-Vous), compensation (Discerning Financier), and retribution (Esper Sentinel) with less ETB card draw and "draw a card because you did something" (Wedding Announcement, Welcoming Vampire)?

The flavor is white draws long, that is it sets up the proper condition and then gets rewarded with card draw over time. It’s slow, methodical card draw.

Card Draw Colors Discerning Financier Enter The Battlefield Esper (W/U/B) Esper Sentinel Fight / Bite Flavor Mechanics Once Per Turn Retribution Sacrifice Sentinel Vampire Welcoming Vampire White

Dominaria United Monocolor Themes

Hi Mark! I would like to request some birthday trivia please! Specifically, in Dominaria United, each monocolor was assigned a mechanical theme (e.g. White = Go Wide, Blue = Sorceries and Instants matter). I was wondering if you could please elaborate the monocolor themes in Throne of Eldraine as I believe they aren't explicitly stated anywhere on l'internet.

Each of the five courts had a virtue which we built the color around mechanically, as well as flavorfully:
White Court (Ardenvale) – Loyalty
Blue Court (Vantress) – Knowledge
Black Court (Lochthwain) – Persistence
Red Court (Embereth) – Courage
Green Court (Garenbrig) – Strength
White leaned into “go wide” with creatures helping one another.Blue leaned into control with card drawing.Black leaned into graveyard recursion.Red leaned into aggression.Green leaned into caring about creature size.Happy Birthday!

Birthday Black Blue Card Draw Colors Creatures Dominaria United Green Instants Monocolor Red Sorceries The Graveyard Throne of Eldraine Throne of Eldraine White

White's Symmetrical Card Draw Limits

Is uncapped, but symmetrical card draw within pie for White?

Uncapped? No.

Card Draw White

Green’s Role in Card Draw

can a creature with ETB draw two be G/U hybrid?

I’m skeptical green would do that.

Card Draw Creatures Enter The Battlefield Green Hybrid Simic (G/U)