Chroma

Devotion Variant Possibility

Do you think there could ever be a devotion variant that cared in some capacity about mana symbols in cards in your graveyard?

Chroma could do that. If we did devotion out of the graveyard it would have an additional word, something like grave devotion.

Chroma Mana The Graveyard

Trivia About Devotion Mechanic

Hi Mark! It was my birthday recently :) do you have any fun trivia about the Devotion mechanic?

The devotion mechanic was the redoing of chroma, an ability that first appeared (unnamed) in Future Sight and then (named) in Eventide. Aaron Forsythe originally pitched chroma on a single card in Future Sight, but I held it back because I thought it was a whole mechanic. We had high hopes for chroma, but the audience wasn’t too excited by it. Then when we were making original Theros, we needed a mechanic showing a connection to the Gods, and design team member Zac Hill pitched bring back chroma. We cleaned it up (now only caring about the mana cost of permanents on the battlefield) and renamed it, and it went on to be a beloved mechanic. It goes to show how much execution of a mechanic matters. Happy Birthday!

Aaron Forsythe Birthday Chroma Eventide Future Sight Gods Mana Mechanics Permanents Theros

Single Color Rewards

I've got a few chromatic questions!

In recent years, multicolor has become more prevalent - in tournament scenes, in limited, etc. It's just become a lot easier to get good land fixing with the number of dual and tri lands available to players (and mana rocks). This has really led to an increase in "good stuff" decks.
We've seen many incentives for playing multicolor, like the domain mechanic (in all its variations - i.e. chroma) but less stuff like devotion. Really, in recent memory, Theros has been the most focused on multicolor "hate".
Do you see more cards that focus on color in Magic's future, especially cards that incentivize sticking to a single color, or punish splashing?

We’re more likely to reward single color play than punish multicolor play, but we’ll still make both.

Chroma Colors Domain Lands Limited Mana Mechanics Theros

Mechanic Evolution

Hi Mark! We've seen a lot of mechanics in the recent times sort of "replace" other older mechanics; Morph -> Disguise, Cascade -> Discover, even further back with Chroma -> Devotion or Fear -> Intimidate -> Menace.How often does R&D like/want to do this, and whenever one of these "replacement" mechanics is designed and confirmed, how does that impact the status of the older mechanic and its future in the game? Does the older mechanic just go away forever, like with Chroma and Fear/Intimidate, or are those exceptions and not the norm?

When we upgrade a mechanic, we seldom return to the original version.

Cascade Chroma Disguise Fear Game Design Intimidate Mechanics Menace Morph Morph

Chroma vs Devotion

How is chroma different from devotion? Reading both I don't really see a difference

Chroma looked for colored mana symbols in mana costs in all zones. Devotion just looks at your permanents on the battlefield.

Chroma Mana Permanents

Mechanic Family Tree

Has there ever been an attempt at making a mechanic family tree? Like how a bunch of mechanics descend from kicker or how devotion came from chroma etc

Not that I know of. I’ve seen mechanics broken down by the type/style.

Chroma Kicker Mechanics

Mechanic Vocabulary Issue

I think Descend X, “if you descended this turn”, and “Fathomless decent”, have a vocabulary issue like Haunt did. They all mean different things. Descend 4 is a condition (similar to delirium/threshold). “If you descended this turn” is an action (similar to “if you milled a permanent or a permanent died” which is “Revolt”). Fathomless descent is neither a condition nor an action; it functions closer to Undergrowth/Chroma as a counting mechanic. As a tiny amount of feedback, using vocabulary in 3 different contexts makes it more difficult to grok (and remember).

Would using three different words for things so mechanically connected not cause more confusion?

Chroma Delirium Delirium Descend 4 Fathomless Descent Haunt Mechanics Revolt Threshold Undergrowth Undergrowth

Devotion vs Chroma

If/when colorless chroma just because of the dissonance with colorless and the name of the keyword

If. Devotion has mostly replaced chroma.

Chroma Colorless If/When Keywords

Mechanic Reception

Are there any mechanics that were not well recieved that may have only been that way due to not being pushed enough rather than a core issue with the mechanic itself? E.g. if the real problem with cleave is that cleaving costed too much or did not do enough? Is this usually taken into consideration when evaluating whether to bring it back?

The classic example is chroma. It was poorly received. We revamped it as devotion and it was a huge hit.

Chroma Cleave Mechanics

Chromatic Lantern Placement

My question about Chromatic Lantern was more about why it wasn't put in the 5 color deck, which would need it more than the 3 color deck, instead.

I wasn’t involved in the making of the decks. My best guess was it was trying to match a certain flavor and it got put into the deck that best matched that flavor.

Chromatic Lantern Colors Flavor Three Color

Chromatic Lantern Placement

Why was Chromatic Lantern in a 3 color Warhammer deck, but not in the 5 color DMU precon? Seems like it would fit perfectly there.

We usually try to not put the same card in products near each other.

Chromatic Lantern Colors Dominaria United Three Color

Chroma and Devotion Revisit

Any chance we could see chroma and devotion return in the same standard environment? I think itd make for a fun "back to basics" monocolor matters atmosphere. Chroma is nice because it works with cards in hand/library/graveyard.

I’m am skeptical we’re ever going to see chroma again. I think devotion has displaced it.

Back to Basics Basics Chroma Monocolor Standard The Graveyard The Library Your Hand

Comparing Lorwyn to Eldraine

Why is Lorwyn a 6 on the Rabiah scale when Eldraine was just Lorwyn Again This Time With Humans?

The same reason Chroma was disliked and Devotion beloved - execution matters.

Chroma Human Lorwyn Rabiah Scale

Chroma's Future Possibility

Now that we have Devotion. Chroma wil never see the light of day?

It’s very unlikely.

Chroma Light of Day

Improving Prior Set Designs

Re: Doing new things versus fixing old mistakes. Sometimes something new comes from the iteration of an old design--devotion versus chroma, for example. From that same perspective, how often is "a set about XYZ has more potential than the last time we did it, let's try to better it" the starting part for vision design?

Almost never.

Chroma Vision Design

Legendary Sorceries' Gameplay Feel

My issue with Legendary Sorceries is that (to me) they didn't feel like "the Legendary mechanic, changed to be applicable to sorceries", it felt like "an entirely different mechanic, which has been stapled to the legendary supertype". I appreciate that spells required a different approach to the flavor, but use the same supertype made promises to the players as to how the mechanic would feel, and I think it failed to meet those promises. And unlike chroma, there's no way to try again.

Here’s the problem, how legendary permanents work can’t be replicated on non-permanents. Trust me, we tried. Too much just can’t carry over, so you really have no choice but take a stab at a different mechanical execution that feels like it matches the flavor.In my mind, thus may be what fundamentally dooms legendary instants and sorceries. Players want them to work the same and they just can’t.

Chroma Flavor Game Play Instants Mechanics Non-permanents Permanents Sorceries Spells Supertype

Unexpectedly Cold Receptions

Hello there Mark. Was there ever a mechanic that you thought it was going to be a slam dunk and the reception was "cold"? Not hated mind you but the general reaction was "meh, it's alright I guess"

I thought Chroma was going to go over way better than it did.

Chroma Mechanics

Devotion vs Chroma

Why did devotion work but not chroma?

It has better flavor and a more concise utility.

Chroma Flavor

Likelihood of Devotion Outside Theros

What is more likely: Devotion showing up outside of Theros, or the return of Chroma?

The former.

Chroma Theros

Foretell Mechanics' Origin

Was foretell created as a improved morph the same way chroma lead to devotion?

No, it was the combination of capturing a top down omen flavor and a mechanic called layaway that I created many years ago based on a mechanic from the Star Wars Trading Card game.

Chroma Flavor Foretell Mechanics Morph Morph Top Down