Hurloon Minotaur

Birthday Ulgrotha Trivia

Today’s my birthday Mark, can I get birthday trivia for the best plane ever, Ulgrotha? Perhaps for the Minotaurs on that plane specifically?

A lot of the creative for Ulgrotha was taking elements that were considered popular from Alpha. The Minotaurs from Ulgrotha owe their existence to the perceived popularity of Hurloon Minotaur. It turns out that players really liked the art, but weren’t big fans of the card mechanically.Happy Birthday!

Art Birthday Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur

Minotaurs Design Trivia

Hello Mark, one birthday trivia please!
Any development/design tibits on my favourite creature type? The minoaturs. Cause they dont really seem to show up a lot.

Minotaurs we’re in Homelands because of the perceived popularity of Hurloon Minotaur. Interestingly, market research would later show the players weren’t that fond of the card, they just liked the art (a beautiful piece by Anson Maddocks).

Art Birthday Creatures Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur

Minotaur Trivia

Hey Mark, yesterday was my birthday! For my my sacred rite of birthday trivia, I'd like to ask for some little-known trivia on Minotaurs, my favorite creature type.Happy New Year!!!

In the early days, the Hurloon Minotaur was considered the unofficial Wizards mascot. We made jean jackets of Nightmare to sell to the public, but only Wizards employees could get one with a Hurloon Minotaur. I still have mine.Happy Birthday!

Birthday Creatures Employee Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Nightmare Wizards Employees

Rat, Minotaur, Orc Trivia

Hi Maro! May I please request some birthday trivia on rats, minotaurs, or orcs?

In the early days, Wizards adopted the Hurloon Minotaur as sort of an informal Wizards mascot. For example, the employee only tee-shirts and jacket had Hurloon Minotaur on them. It took R&D a while to convince the rest of the company that Hurloon Minotaur was nowhere as popular outside the building as the card was pretty weak and thus not played a lot.Happy Birthday!

Birthday Employee Hurloon Minotaur Mark Rosewater Minotaur Orc Rat Rat

Holiday Card Misunderstanding

In one of your podcasts, you said something about Hurloon minotaur sending a letter to Serra angel saying something like "You're cut from the 5th edition while I'm still in.". Today, some redditer showed us a holiday card with both illustrated. Is this holiday card is a letter you were talking about?

No, I was talking about an ad, that we never ran, for fifth edition. That was an illustration from an early holiday card.

Angel Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Serra Angel

Hurloon Minotaur Reprint

When will we get a reprint of my favourite card, Hurloon Minotaur?

It was a weak card in Alpha and creatures have gotten a lot better since then.

Alpha Card Printing Creatures Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Reprints

Minotaur Trivia Request

Hi Mark! My birthday was actually a few days ago but I just got the chance to post. could I possibly get some trivia on Minotaurs, my favorite tribe to play at the moment? And may I also put a request in for more Minotaurs in Theros? :)

The Hurloon Minotaur was adopted in the early days as an unofficial mascot for Wizards. As a result a lot of employees falsely believed that the card was much more popular with the players than it was. It took my years to convince people outside of R&D that it was a weak card. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Employee Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur The Moment Theros

Minotaur Representation

Is there a modern day counterpart to Hurloon Minotaur at Wizards?

Not really.

Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Modern

Homelands Creative Process

What was the creative/design process that led to Homelands being so bad? It was the first top-down set, or am I wrong about that?

The first top-down design is either Alpha or Arabian Nights depending on how you define it. Homelands creative was based around taking the perceived popular creative elements from Alpha (Serra Angel, Sengir Vampire, Hurloon Minotaur, etc.) and building a world around them.

Alpha Angel Arabian Nights Homelands Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Sengir Vampire Serra Angel Top Down Vampire

Birthday Card Trivia

Good morning mr rosewater! After following your tumbler and listening to your podcasts since March, my birthday has finally come! Can I please have some birthday trivia about either of my two favorite cards.... royal assassin, or nightmare ? Thanks for everything you and your coworkers do!

When Wizards first printed Magic tee-shirts, there were three public designs and one staff design. The staff design was Hurloon Minotaur (by Anson Maddocks). The public designs were Vesuvan Doppelgänger (by Quinton Hoover), Armageddon Clock (by Amy Weber) and Nightmare (by Melissa Benson).Happy Birthday!

Armageddon Clock Assassin Birthday Card Printing Colleagues Hurloon Minotaur Mark Rosewater Minotaur Nightmare Royal Assassin

Hurloon Minotaur Mascot

How did Hurloon Minotaur manage to become the unofficial wizards mascot? It seems like such a random choice.

I think people at the company just liked the artwork.

Art Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur

Chandra and Hurloon Trivia

Hey, it's my birthday on June 19th, but I'll be without internet around that time. I was hoping that I could ask early for some trivia on my favorite Planeswalker, Chandra. Or my all time favorite nostalgia (even though it's not such a spicy) card, Hurloon Minotaur. I vividly remember getting a Hurloon Minotaur from my first ever pack of Magic (maybe late 1994-early 1995) I can't recall what the rare was, but I remember the Minotaur. Haha. Thanks, take care.

In the early days, Hurloon Minotaur was the unofficial Wizards icon. We had both employee tee-shirts and jean jackets made with the Hurloon Minotaur (nicknamed Hurly). Happy Birthday!

Birthday Employee Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Planeswalkers Rares

Hurloon Minotaur Jacket

Did your Hurloon Minotaur denim jacket inspire Hurloon Wrangler?

Maybe subconsciously.

Hurloon Minotaur Hurloon Wrangler Minotaur

Minotaurs and Chromanticore

Hey MaRo! It's my birthday, so I was wondering if I could have some trivia on either my favorite race - Minotaurs - or my first mythic rare - Chromanticore. Thanks a lot, and I hope Blogatog continues to endure! :)

For many of the early years of Magic, Wizards unofficial mascot was Hurloon Minotaur. I have a jean jacket with Hurloon Minotaur on the back. It took me (and other R&D members) years to convince Brand that the players didn’t really like Hurloon Minotaur because he was so weak. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Chromanticore Hurloon Minotaur Mark Rosewater Minotaur Mythic Rares

Minotaurs Stats

Why are red Minotaurs 2/3 instead of 3/2 (Pensive Minotaur, Flurry of Horns)?

Just because red on average has power equal to or greater than toughness doesn’t mean it can’t get some toughness higher than power creatures conceive a while. Minotaurs are pretty tough creatures as we learned from the Hurloon Minotaur back in the day. : )

Creatures Flurry of Horns Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur Pensive Minotaur Red

Hurloon Minotaur Mascot

How was a card as dull as Hurloon Minotaur ever chosen as the mascot of the entire game?

Because the art was pretty. No, really.

Art Hurloon Minotaur Minotaur

Alpha Cards Modern Potential

Following cards from alpha are not modern legal and have no reserve list, color pie, complexity or power level concerns, think you could see if any can get fit into a set?: Dwarven Warriors, Hurloon Minotaur, Copper Tablet, Conservator, Burrowing, Celestial Prism, Castle, Animate Artifact, Ironclaw Orcs, Ironroot Treefolk, Lance, Living Wall, Obsianus Golem, Orcish Oriflamme, Pearled Unicorn, Plague Rats, Phantom Monster, Phantasmal Forces, Scavenging Ghoul

Interestingly, most of those cards we’ve made better versions of them.

Alpha Animate Artifact Artifacts Burrowing Caves Celestial Prism Color Pie Colors Conservator Copper Tablet Dwarven Warriors Golem Hurloon Minotaur Ironclaw Orcs Ironroot Treefolk Living Wall Minotaur Modern Obsianus Golem Orc Orcish Oriflamme Pearled Unicorn Phantasmal Forces Phantom Monster Plague Rats Power Level Prism Rat Rat Scavenging Ghoul Treefolk Unicorn Wall Warrior

Hurloon Wrangler Inspiration

Was the Hurloon Wrangler intentionally created as a reference to the Hurloon Minotaur denim jacket?

It was definitely a reference to Hurloon Minotaur. I was consciously trying to make fun of the jacket (although I do own one so maybe it was subconscious).

Hurloon Minotaur Hurloon Wrangler Minotaur