Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines

Magic Mothers Trivia

I invoke the ancient rite of birthday trivia. Do you have any trivia on mothers in Magic? If that’s too general, something about Cathartic Reunion or Mother of Runes?

I believe either Mother of Runes or Elesh Norn, Mother Of Machines is the most played mother. When we made Mother of Runes, the brand team at the time questioned having an old woman on a high-end tournament card, but we felt strongly it sent an important message, so it stayed. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Cathartic Reunion Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Mother of Runes

Elesh Norn's Mana Cost

Is there any particular reason why Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is the only Praetor (including Ebon,Sanguine and Gix) to not have double colored pips in her casting cost? is it a card spacing thing? if so is that something that often has mechanical influence?

The card was called Norn, Mother of Machines for most of design. At the slide show, a number of people made the note that the card needed to be called Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines as all the other Praetors had their full name. Adding in “Elesh” meant we only had room for two mana pips, one of which had to be generic mana, so she changed from 3WW to 4W.So, why is Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines the only Praetor with a single color pip? Typography.

Casting Cost Colorless Colors Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Gix Mana Praetor

Card Version Concerns

Happy New Year Mark!

I don't think Magic is releasing too many sets or too many new mechanically unique cards but I do think the number of versions and alternate printings of individual cards is getting out of hand.

It makes it difficult to recognize cards based on their art, it makes each individual version of alternate versions feel less special, it makes identifying and recognizing how scarce/rare each version of each card is relative to each other along with other issues, it makes completing a collection virtually impossible.

I love Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines but her having 10 different collectors number versions seems very excessive and a little disorienting.

Additionally, I feel Magic prints way too many foil cards now, traditional foils don't feel special anymore and they certainly aren't rare any more which was a big part of what made them cool.

I hope you consider this feedback.

Thoughts? Am I in the minority here?

Let’s ask everyone else. How many variants should we be making of desired cards?

Art Card Printing Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines Foils Rares Your Hand

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