Counterpoint

Targeted Card Draw Stance

I've been reading your archive and got to the Point/Counterpoint article about targeted card draw. What's your stance (and R&D's for that matter) over a decade later?

I lost that fight many years ago.

Card Draw Counterpoint Fight / Bite

Tribal Batching Views

Hi Mark, with all the talk of tribal recently, can I maybe voice a counterpoint/unpopular opinion? As someone who loves making individual tribal decks, I greatly dislike batching of lesser established creature types. Mixing Warrior/Samurai or Wizard/Giants takes away from the unique identity of each tribe. Can we get more lords for lesser types like Clerics did in Dominaria United? Cats/Pirates/Minotaurs/etc could all greatly benefit from a 2 cmc lord that gives +1/+1 to their respective types.

We only get so many slots to do creature type caring cards. Batching allows us to hit more of them and also does a better job of enabling certain themes to hit a large enough volume to work in Commander. We’ll stick make the single creature type cards, but batching is a useful tool to make more players happy.

Batches Cat Cleric Commander Counterpoint Creatures Dominaria United Giant Kindred / Typal Mana Value Minotaur Pirate Samurais Warrior

Retro Frame Excitement

To offer a counterpoint, the Bother's War commander decks being completely in retro frame made then an instant preorder for me.

I think there’s a little confusion about the point I was making the other day. The complaints I’m getting aren’t “this product shouldn’t exist.” There’s clearly an audience excited for them, and the goal of design is to make products that inspire and excite some portion of the audience which these Commander decks with retro frames are doing an amazing job at. The issue being raised is more this. Alternate frames are great. It’s cool that there are different aesthetics for cards and players can opt into the look they like. Magic, though, should have a unified default that players can always have some access to. To some players continuity of look is an important aesthetic choice, so they want to always have the ability to access the default version. That’s the issue being raised.It’s a similar issue to another recent complaint I’ve been hearing about the Secret Lair Countdown Kit. Let the players choose whether cards are foil or not. Not having control over that is disconcerting for a bunch of players.

Card Frames Commander Decks Counterpoint Foils Instants Secret Lairs The Secret Lair

Nostalgia Comebacks

As a counterpoint to the comment about nostalgia comebacks feeling cheap: I wasn’t around for the original Dominaria arc, so it’s kind of cool for me to see “live” versions of these names I’ve heard tossed around the whole time I’ve been playing.

Most elements of Magic have fans and foes.

Counterpoint Dominaria

Changelings and Overuse Issues

Counterpoint to the requests for additional changelings: I accept them as a tool, but generally feel like they'll eventually devolve into tribal soup (for eternal formats) so the more sparingly used the better.

Yes, changelings, like any spice, are best when used sparingly. Having too many would start causing problems.

Counterpoint Eternal Kindred / Typal

Appreciation for Eldrazi Impact

To counterpoint all the people saying that you didn't focus enough on the Eldrazi's impact on the plane, I'd like to say that I think the amount of references and changes to the plane are just right. Can you high five the creative team for me?

Can do.

Appreciation Counterpoint Eldrazi High Fives

Value in Weak Cards

"“Bad cards” are really “cards aimed at someone other than me”." - Counterpoint - Wood Elemental

I’ve known four different people (one of them being me) who built a Wood Elemental deck because we all wanted the challenge of winning with one. I don’t believe we should necessarily make purposefully horrible creatures all that often, but my point is there’s even an audience who has fun with truly weak cards.

Counterpoint Creatures Elemental Wood Elemental

Doubling Card Effects

"Counterpoint: doubling stuff is an odd thing to do. : )" Counter-Counterpoint. There are over 50 cards that Double in Magic and new ones come out with relative frequency, mathematically its roughly 2 cards per year that double an effect making it not that odd of an effect. :^)

Counter-counterpoint: Stop making so many doubling cards - I can’t even! : )

Counterpoint Humor

Obosh and Gyruda Complaint

I have a complaint about Obosh & Gyruda. Obosh doubles things and anything doubled is always Even and because the result is always Even Obosh should have been the Even caring one so it was Even doubled=Even rather then being the Odd one who ALWAYS makes Even. I see this as the biggest issue with Obosh, his mechanical identity is at odds pun intend with himself by always creating the thing he cant do. Gyruda on the other hand is in the perfect colors to fit into Yennett, but mostly Obosh's thing.

A fair complaint. Counterpoint: doubling stuff is an odd thing to do. : )

Colors Counterpoint Humor Your Hand

Thoughts on Same-Copy Legends

Counterpoint to another questioner... multiple Teferi, Time Ravelers in play would NOT terrorize any formats. Of all cards, a second copy in play adds very little incremental value. Teferi+Oko in play is far more useful than Teferi+Teferi or Oko+Oko. There are very few instances in which having two of the same really good Legend is meaningfully better than having two distinct really good Legends.

There are a few that do, but I agree the list is shorter than most players think it is.

Counterpoint Legendary Creatures

Evil Geese Appreciation

I must make a counterpoint. The card design for Gilded Goose is excellent, but the fact you have made it a goose is a tragedy. Geese are the greatest evil we have ever seen, sent from the 9th sphere of Phyrexia, to exterminate all life unlike themselves. No question, but geese are evil. (Love the card though)

Green can have evil creatures.

Appreciation Counterpoint Creatures Gilded Goose Green

Appreciating Subtle Allusions

Just as a counterpoint to an earlier comment, I wanted to say that I very much appreciate when Magic does subtle allusions to things rather than heavy-handed direct references. I like the idea that the Magic multiverse is it's own thing.

I like that we have Olivia Voldaren and not Count Dracula.

Counterpoint Olivia Voldaren

Justifying 'Bad' Cards

WEEWOOWEEWOO It's the "Call MaRo out on some random thing he said like 15 years ago brigade. In your article "When Good Cards go Bad," you said "due to the nature of trading card games, it’s impossible not to have “bad” cards. They exist because they have to exist." Counterpoint: Modern Horizons. Check and mate :P.

You should read my feed. : )

Counterpoint Making Magic Mark Rosewater Modern Modern Horizons

Dominaria Prerelease Fun

Had a blast at Dominaria prerelease, everyone's loving it, even those of us who started with Kaladesh or Amonkhet, who are only now getting to know Teferi and Jhoira and the rest for the first time. But I'd like to say that I love KLD and AKH and Ixalan, and that I wish I'd been there for the full SOI experience, as a counterpoint to all those people who seem to hail DOM as the 'return to real Magic'. 'Real Magic' didn't get me into MTG, energy and Eldrazi, League and Anointed Procession did.

Glad to hear.

Amonkhet Anointed Procession Counterpoint Dominaria Eldrazi Ixalan Kaladesh Limited Prerelease

World Depth Commentary

Counterpoint to the Star Wars metaphor: Star Wars visits many worlds in a couple hours, so you only need to care about them for like 15 minutes each. Magic worlds are supposed to remain engaging for -9- -6- 3 months, so they really need to have more than a single hook. Ixalan was a little better than the last couple one-dimensional worlds, but it's depressing to think that Wizards' goal isn't to make immersive worlds anymore. Remember when you said that Magic was best at environmental stories?

We make immersive worlds. Innistrad has lots of depth. It just doesn’t have another continent where the people are Norse inspired. : )

Counterpoint Innistrad Ixalan

WUBRG Creature Possibility

Can I get a Maybe :) on a WUBRG Legendary creature with 5 ally colored activated abilities to be the counterpoint to Cromat?

Maybe : )

Ally Counterpoint Creatures Cromat

Vorthos Character Excitement

As a counterpoint to the ask saying only dragons delivered, I'm very excited from a Vorthos standpoint to see some of the new legends - for instance, Licia looks to be a ROMAN VAMPIRE LEGIONNAIRE and if that's not an exciting sneak peek at the possible future, i don't know what is.

Good point. There are players who want to see new characters with the legendary creatures.

Counterpoint Creatures Dragon Legendary Creatures Vampire Vorthos

Squirrels Debate Potential

Can we get a point counterpoint article or write-up about squirrels in magic? I'd love to see both sides of the coin.

The counterpoint is a creative one and we haven’t had a creative column since Cavotta stopped writing “Taste of Magic”.

Counterpoint Squirrel

Nemesis Dynamics

With Tabak being your nemesis, wouldn't it make sense to do some point/counterpoint articles with him?

The advantages of being short. : )

Counterpoint Matt Tabak Nemesis

Card Draw Targets

On the point/counterpoint topic with Zac Hill, I'm curious. I was on your stance for every point but it was the "blue sun's zenith" argument that makes me change my mind. I would say that limited card draw (up to 2 or 3) shall be targeted whereas for higher number of cards, target would fit better. Do you still believe, 5 years later, that targeted card draw shall be the default, whatever the number?

Most of our card draw is one, two or three cards. So yes, I agree targeted should be the default. Larger card draws probably want to mostly be non-targeted but they are far from the norm.

Blue Blue Sun's Zenith Card Draw Counterpoint Limited