Dark Depths

Art Trigger Conditions

Do nonland cards with arts like Dark Depths (Coldsnap) trigger Ignacio on "water". The "water" is implied to be under the ice, but I'm friends with a pedant who argues there is no water in the art from the perspective of the art. Help :(

There has to be actual water seen in the art, not implied to be behind or under something in the art.

Art Coldsnap Dark Depths

Marit Lage Design Origins

Nearly ten years ago, as a birthday present for the individual most crucial to introducing me to Magic, I procured and gifted a Dark Depths and a Marit Lage Token. This was my earliest birthday-related Magic experience.May I request birthday trivia on any of these topics?

There was a lot of discussion internally how to represent Marit Lage. We loved the idea that it was buried in the ice, and the design came from capturing that flavor. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Dark Depths Flavor Tokens

Snow Commander Insight

For all the vague questions about snow in commander that have been asked tody, there are two legendary snow cards, Dark Depths (A Land) and Merit Lage's Slumber (Enchantment) and one Legendary Creature who mentions Snow (Heidar, Rimewind Master.) It's worth noting that Heidar lets you bounce a thing if you control 4 snow permanents, which is... something. But, FYI on snow i guess?

FYI

Commander Creatures Dark Depths Enchantments Heidar, Rimewind Master Lands Permanents

Dark Depths Design

If it were printed today, would Dark depths be a double-faced card?

Magic has many cards with two states. Any of them could have been done double-sided if the technology had existed and the set allowed it.

Card Printing Dark Depths

Dark Depths Transformation

If you had the technology back then, would Dark Depths // Marit Lage have been a DFC, a la Westvale Abbey?

Very possibly.

Dark Depths Dual Faced Cards

Double-Faced Card Use

If you had DFC technology back in Coldsnap, would Dark Depths have used it (a la Westvale Abbey)?

Lots of cards have the flavor of changing from one state to another. Most of those could be done with double-faced technology. The bigger issue is double-faced cards have logistics and printing issues that keep us from doing them often.

Card Printing Coldsnap Dark Depths Dual Faced Cards Flavor

Dark Depths DFC Idea

Would dark depths have been a DFC if that was possible at the time?

Many designs would be a double-faced card if possible.

Dark Depths Dual Faced Cards

Dark Depths Design

How do you feel about Dark Depths? If you were to redo it, would you have counters be added instead of removed?

It was fine as is. Let players have their fun. : )

Dark Depths

Lands Producing Mana

How do you feel about Dark Depths? Does it, or any other non-mana-producing land sway you from that view?

I believe all lands should produce mana or get you other lands which will produce mana. That’s a key part of their identity.

Dark Depths Lands Mana

Squid Exclusion Reasoning

Live the blog. I've been wondering why Squids weren't included in the Whelming Wave avoidance as a creature of the dark depths?

I live it every day. : ) As for why we drew the kind where we did, we couldn’t include everything so we picked the stuff we felt mattered most.

Blogatog / Tumblr Creatures Dark Depths Squid The Dark Whelming Wave

Dark Depths Uniqueness

What do you think about Dark Depths? It doesn't produce mana nor does it get you anything that produces mana. Let me say that is unusual for a land.

Magic is a game that breaks its own rules so every once in a blue moon we will make a land, usually something super flavorful, that breaks the land rule but it is something we do very infrequently.

Blue Dark Depths Flavor Lands Mana Rules

Banned List Complexity

Has there been any thought on allowing the use of most cards on any banned list, but banning them instead from being used in the same deck? For instance, legalizing dark depths in modern but you can't have vampire hexmage in the same deck?

Two of the most important parts of a banned list is simplicity and ease to verify. Your suggestion is less simple and harder to verify.

Bannings Dark Depths Format Legality Format Legality Modern Vampire Vampire Hexmage

Double-Faced Cards Future

I remember reading in one of your articles ("Here’s the Kicker" June 2007) that "R&D jokes that 90% of cards are kicker or split cards" when you talked about how kicker takes up too much design space. How do you limit what double-faced cards can do? At first I thought they would all turn back to the original form, but after seeing Ludevic's Test Subject I wonder if that couldn't have been handled like Dark Depths, using a token. Is double-faced the new standard for cards like that?

One of the most exciting things for me as Head Designer about double-faced cards is that they open up a very interesting vein of design space. Note that we still have to establish whether or not they are worth the effort. This block is dipping our toes into this new design space to see if it is worth the extra investment.

Dark Depths Design Space Game Design Head Designer Humor Kicker Making Magic Split Cards Standard Tokens