Ertai

Legacy Trivia Gift

MaRo- it's my birthday and I hope to invoke the sacred rite of trivia. I'm the guy that begged and begged until we got Gerrard's Hourglass Pendant on a card, completing the Legacy in game. For my birthday, would you share something new to the community about the Legacy or one of its component pieces?

Gerard and the Weatherlight crew are delayed at the Stronghold. They get the signal from Ertai that the portal is about to close, so they use an item from the Legacy, the Windshaper to speed them through the portal. In the original version of the story, this causes them to crash in Mercadia which leads to the story there. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Crew Ertai Gerrard's Hourglass Pendant Legacy Story / Lore Stronghold Weatherlight Weatherlight

White's Spell Delay

"White can’t just outright counter a spell. It can tax or delay it." So can I hope that what you're saying is that Ertai's Meddling and Delay (and maybe also Suspend(the card, not the mechanic)) are in-pie for White? Can I hope for a spell like those in White?

What white can do in color pie and what play design is willing to do are not the same.

Color Pie Ertai's Meddling Mechanics Play Design Suspend Suspend White

Weatherlight Crew Cards

Can I request modern takes on the remaining members of the Weatherlight crew who haven't gotten them yet? Crovax, Orim, Starke, Takara, pre-Completion Ertai. I would also like new cards for related characters like Eladamri and Selenia.

How about poor Lyna? She’s never even gotten one card (save a Vanguard card). Takara didn’t have one for years.

Crew Crovax Eladamri Ertai Lyna Modern Orim Selenia Starke Takara Vanguard Weatherlight

Pronunciation of Ertai

Maro, what is the correct pronunciation of "Ertai"? Ever since I was a child, I have called him "Er-tie," (as in "necktie") but I just checked the Japanese version of his card (where his name is written phonetically), and it is "Er-tay."

I’ve always pronounced it “ER-tie”.

Ertai Japan Mark Rosewater

Ertai's Evolution

Inspired by Dominaria United, I reread the novel Rath and Storm which seemed written with your original Tempest timeline in mind. At one point, Michael Ryan wrote: "[The old man Ertai] turned to look at the student, his head slowly oscillating from side to side; like some strange creature, the [student] thought, and for a single shocking moment he seemed to see the white-haired old man as something horrible and alien." Did you two plan to compleat Ertai from the very beginning of your story?

We did not.

Alien Creatures Dominaria United Ertai Side to Side Story / Lore Tempest

Ertai Typo Explained

Hello Mark, in your Making Magic column you describe Ertai the Corrupted as UB. If he was made today, I would guess, that that would be his colours, but back than he was made WUB.

Just a typo.

Colors Corrupted Ertai Esper (W/U/B) Making Magic

Ertai's Resurrection

With Ertai being resurrected, does dead no longer mean dead in Magic story?

I think it is a rare exception and not the opening of a floodgate.

Ertai Floodgate Rares Story / Lore

Lapse of Certainty

Hi Mark! Regarding Lapse of Certainty. I've quickly searched and there aren't any mono white card that put permanents on top, bottom, n cards from the top of the library, at least since Ravnica Guilds. And I've read that it isn't something that white does anymore. So Lapse of Certainty actually seems out of the white slice of the pie, for me.

White can delay spells, not unsummon permanents (to the library).

Lapse of Certainty Permanents Spells The Library Two Color Unsummon White

Lapse Certainty's Place

Is Lapse of Certainty still in white's color pie, or is it considered a pie break now?

It’s still in white’s pie. I’m not sure play design wants to print it though.

Card Printing Color Pie Lapse of Certainty Play Design White

Status of Lapse of Certainty

Is Lapse of Certainty considered a break now?Or could white get a similar counterspell that delayed a card for a turn or two?

Lapse of Certainty is fine in white.

Bend / Break Lapse of Certainty White

Desire for More Phyrexian Creatures

There are actually only two 3-color Phyrexian creatures post errata: Volrath in UBG and Ertai in WUB. I would love to see more.

FYI

Creatures Errata Ertai Esper (W/U/B) Phyrexian Volrath

White Counterspells Request

I'd like to request more white counterspells! I really enjoy playing with Mana Tithe and Lapse of Certainty

Here’s the current state of white taxing and delaying counterspells. They’re in color pie, but play design isn’t currently interested in making them.

Color Pie Lapse of Certainty Mana Mana Tithe Play Design Tithe White

Trivia on Character Karn

Hello Mark! My birthday was Sunday, August 1, and I turned 39. (26 years of playing magic now!) My middle name is Karn, and I was wondering if you had any trivia on Karn from your untold weatherlight saga, or if you had any design trivia about my favorite card ever, Karn, Scion of Urza?

Karn was named after the word “cairn”, a heap of stones set up as a monument. During the first year of the Weatherlight Saga, each character was given to a single writer who wrote all their flavor text to give them a voice. I wrote Karn (and Ertai). We included him on the crew because we wanted artifacts represented.Happy Birthday!

Artifacts Birthday Crew Ertai Flavor Text Karn, Scion of Urza Sagas Scions Weatherlight

Addressing Stifle Effects in White

Apologies if you've answered this already! But does white's counterspell-ing being about delays mean that effects like Stifle could (not necessarily *will*!) be in white, since it's just saying "not right now" to that ability? Or is stifling a whooooole other ballgame?

No, I’m talking about effects like Lapse of Certainty.

Lapse of Certainty Stifle White

Lapse of Certainty Class

Is lapse of certainty a bend of break in white?

I don’t believe so.

Bend / Break Lapse of Certainty White

White Counterspells Request

Maybe I am in the minority, but I personally like counterspells and think allowing White to have a few more copies of Lapse of Certainty or Tithe would both be fun and impactful.

When Magic was centered in a format that constantly rotated, it was easier for us to do that as we could make sure certain things just showed up at a set rate. Now that the most dominant format uses all the cards, it’s much trickier for us to have a color just do something a little.

Colors Lapse of Certainty Tithe White

Classification of Lapse of Certainty

Is Lapse of Certainty a break?

No. White is allowed to do that. The reluctance of doing more white soft counters isn’t because of color pie. My guess is it’s for gameplay/play design reasons.

Bend / Break Color Pie Game Play Lapse of Certainty Play Design White

Memory Lapse Color Shift

Any chance Memory Lapse could ever see a direct color shift to white? Or is that no longer within its pie?

White gets the effect, but not at the same cost (Lapse of Certainty).

Colors Lapse of Certainty Memory Lapse White

Trivia on Ertai's Story

Today’s my birthday. Could I have some birthday trivia on Ertai? Maybe the original plan for his story ? Thank you!

Here’s the original plan for Ertai’s story. He gets left behind on Rath because the Weatherlight needs to use the Windshsper to make it through the Rathi portal before it closes. (This happened.) The Weatherlight crew goes through an adventure on Mercadia finally leaving through a new portal to get back to Dominaria and warn the plane of the incoming Phyrexian invasion. Except it’s also a temporal portal and they arrive fifty years later and the Phyrexia invasion has already happened and the Phyrexians won.The Weatherlight crew meets up with the Dominaria resistance led by an old human wizard. It’s Ertai. He’d made it back from Rath many years ago. He’s now a wise old wizard in contrast to the young, prideful wizard they knew. Together with the help of a powerful artifact, the Hourglass pendant that Gerard left behind, they stop the Phyrexians.The narrator for Rath and Storm was intended to be this older, wiser Ertai.Happy Birthday!

Appreciation Artifacts Birthday Crew Dominaria Ertai Human Invasion Phyrexian Story / Lore Weatherlight Weatherlight

White's Counterspell Abilities

Are counterspells still available in white? (Like lapse of certainty)

Delaying and taxing ones, yes, but infrequently.

Lapse of Certainty White