Creatures

Possibility of Multiplayer-Focused Booster

As mentioned, the odds of another Conspiracy set are low. What about specifically a multiplayer-focused booster set, without the "draft matters" aspect? Or do Commander Legends sets mostly eat up that space?

I do think the chances of a multiplayer-focused booster are still good.

Boosters Commander Legends Draft Formats Legendary Creatures

Balancing Flying and Reach Abilities

Is R&D down on flying or high on reach? From Midnight Hunt through Murders at Karlov Manor sets averaged just over 5 creatures with reach, topping out at 7 four times in those 11 sets. In OTJ there were 10 creatures with reach, and Bloomburrow has 13. A rather high number for a set where the theme is small woodland creatures.

Bloomburrow has more reach because two of the ten dedicated animal creature types (Birds and Bats) all have flying.Other than that, I think it’s just an ebb and flow thing.

Bats Birds Bloomburrow Creatures Flying Game Design Murders at Karlov Manor Outlaws of Thunder Junction

In Command card Mechanism

If my library is a creature and I play your in command on it. What happens?

It becomes your commander, but if it ever dies and tries to leave the battlefield, it loses the aura and stops being a creature, so it’s not super useful.

Auras Commander Creatures The Library

Return of Phelddagrif Creature

If or when: the mighty return of the phelddagriff as a creature type?

If. I personally love them.

Creatures If/When Phelddagrifs

Requests on Legends Articles

Hi Mark! Us Vorthoses were SO happy to see the return of the Planeswalker’s guides. But can you pass along the request to bring back the legends articles too? Many players enjoy having a little background on the characters they see on the cards.

Will do.

Legendary Creatures Vorthos

Favorite Creature Type Conflict

Hi Mark! What does Sally thinks of you proclaiming that your favorite creature type is other than Squirrel?

I love many creature types. 🐿️ - I’m not talking to you.

Creatures Squirrels

Pre-release Enthusiasm Encouragement

Hi Mark!Just letting you know that my girlfriend is very excited for Bloomburrow prerelease (she likes the fuzzy creatures, and the not fuzzy ones too), but feels like she might not have the right to get excited

Show this to her: You absolutely have the right to get excited! Our whole job is to get people to fall in love with specific cards, so please get as excited as you desire. Magic is a game for anyone who wants to play it.

Bloomburrow Creatures Prerelease Sealed Format

Creature Types in Bloomburrow

Does Bloomburrow’s lighter emphasis on more creature types set a precedent for how sets with more typal themes will be treated in the future? I think I remember you claiming that Lorwyn’s typal density created balance and draft issues, which Bloomburrow’s lighter focus seems to solve.

The big lesson of Bloomburrow is Innistrad is a better model for typal sets than Lorwyn.

Bloomburrow Creatures Draft Formats Innistrad Kindred / Typal Lorwyn

Cyber Conversion Mechanics

Is Cyber Conversion a break, a bend, or in pie? Flickering the creature removes the effect, as does turning it face-up if it has morph or disguise, but it's otherwise a much more permanent effect than an aura.

It’s a bend, but I could see is doing it in a set with morph/disguise.

Auras Bend / Break Creatures Disguise Mechanics Morph Cyber Conversion

Return of Saddle/Mount Creatures

Hi Mark! I know it'd be a fast return for a new mechanic, but can I get a "maybe" on Saddle/Mount creatures returning for the Death Race set?

Maybe. : )

Creatures Humor Mechanics Mounts Saddle

Black's Game Dynamics

Can Black still turn creatures into 0/2s like Sudden Spoiling or Sorceress Queen?

It’s not in black’s slice of color pie, but more bend than break.

Bend / Break Black Color Pie Creatures Sorceress Queen Sudden Spoiling

Favorite Class/Job Type?

We all know your favorite creature type is zombie but what about class/job? (Artificer, wizard,etc)

Designer. We don’t use it a lot. : )

Artificers Creatures Humor Zombies

Blue Serra Angel Reprint

Hey Maro,If/when functional reprint of Serra angel into blue with a relevant creature type. Just realized now that blue has vigilance and flying.

Been there done that. (Okay, it was Planar Chaos, but we could reprint it.)

Angels Blogatog / Tumblr Blue Creatures Flying If/When Mark Rosewater Planar Chaos Reprints Vigilance Serra Angel

Differentiating Rules and Functional Erratas

I don't play Neheb so I have no feelings there, but I am genuinely curious. Why is it okay to change the rules/wording and make a major functional errata to how Neheb works, but not make the nephilim and Godsire legendary in the name of avoiding functional errata? It's not like Companion where it was an emergency thing.

I know we’re looking into this issue.That said, there is a difference between changing a card and changing a rule which results in a card playing differently. The first is functional errata (we’re actively changing how the card works). The latter isn’t. We’re changing how the game works and the relevant cards play with the rules as they now exist. Here’s an example. Lifelink used to stack. If you had two copies of lifelink on a creature you gained twice the life. We then changed how lifelink worked. Every card with lifelink now worked differently, but that wasn’t us specifically redoing any card.

Companion Creatures Errata Functional Errata Lifelink Nephilim Rules Godsire

Reasons for Absent Dogs

There doesn't seem to be any dogs in Bloomburrow. I'm sad.

In my first preview column for Bloomburrow, I talked about the two takes we could do for the anthropomorphic animal genre. Take #1 involved working around a biome, so it was limited to creatures of that biome. Take #2 allowed any animals we wanted as it wasn’t built around a biome. We obviously went with Take #1 which greatly shaped the animal selection options. Had we done Take #2, there probably would have been Dogs, but probably very little typal.

Bloomburrow Creatures Dogs Kindred / Typal Limited Spoilers

Elk versus Deer Dilemma

Hi Mark, I'd like to invoke the sacred rite of birthday trivia. If possible, I'd love a tidbit about my favorite creature type, elk.

There was much talk when we first made Elk whether or not it should be Deer. The majority thought Elk sounded better.Happy Birthday!

Birthday Creatures Elks

Potential Gift Ability Tweak

Could the gift mechanic work as a triggered ability instead of something solely done on cast? Such as "when this creature attacks, you may Gift a Food."

I don’t know if the current version of gift can do that, but as it’s a cost, I assume we could tweak things to make that work. Just a hunch though. I’m not the Rules Manager.

Creatures Food Gift Mechanic Mechanics Rules Manager Triggered Abilities

More Large Creatures Request

HELLO.
I like creatures with big mana costs and I found BLB a bit underwhelming.
Please make more fatty!

Worlds ebb and flow. Bloomburrow is more focused on the animalfolk which are definitionally small. There will be other worlds that lean more towards larger creatures.

Bloomburrow Creatures Mana

Blue's Permanent Effect on Creatures

would it be in pie for blue to permanently remove a creatures abilities with an instant/sorcery? or is that too close to removing and replacing it?

Unlikely. If an instant or sorcery, it would be temporary. For a permanent effect, we’d use an aura.

Auras Blue Creatures Instants Sorceries

Poison Counter Mechanic Involvement

Has there ever been consideration to do a mechanic involving poison counters with non phyrexian creatures? Mainly i was thinking snakes

We’ve had poison cards of things other than Phyrexians, and I believe we’ll make more.

Creatures Mechanics Phyrexians Poison Snakes