Invasion

Opinion on Modern Vibe in Duskmourn

Good day, Mark! Just adding yet another lengthy Duskmourn opinion to the stack.Personally, I don’t mind the more modern vibes as long as they’re something used very sparingly across sets as a whole. As in, I’d probably start having problems if we saw another set with a “modern” setting within the next year or two (not counting UB, which I consider a whole separate thing), but getting one every once in a blue moon is a neat little curiosity if nothing else.I actually think the fact that Duskmourn is so horror-focused helps the modern-ness fit better. Like, since the whole vibe of the set is that it’s full of things that are bizarre and out-of-place, modern things like TVs create a fitting contrast with the fantasy characters and concepts. It truly does feel like an invasion from an “alien” world into the one we’re familiar with. Which is kind of perfect!However, there is one thing I’d like to voice a complaint about: the card Chainsaw. It’s not even the fact that it’s a chainsaw that bugs me, but that its name is just… Chainsaw. Even if the setting is more modern, I feel like there should be an underlying level of fantasticalness that never goes away. I think the razorkin from the PW guide are an excellent example of this; taking the Slasher Monster trope and twisting it a bit so it still feels fantastical. But the Chainsaw is just a chainsaw. It’s not even, like, “[Adjective] Chainsaw.” It feels mundane and unexciting. I felt similarly about the Clue weapons in MKM, for what it’s worth. I want every Magic card to feel like it’s something that could only come out of the Magic multiverse.Obviously, that’s just one card, but I’m a tad concerned there are going to be more cards like it revealed later on. It wouldn’t ruin the set or anything, but it would be disappointing to me, especially if I like the mechanics of the cards themselves.

Would an adjective make it feel more fantastical? We made a Chainsaw in original Innistrad and it turned into Trepanation Blade. I still refer to it as Chainsaw. I’m kind of excited to make a set that can have an actual chainsaw. I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts about the name Chainsaw.

Alien Blue Chainsaw Innistrad Invasion Mechanics Modern Murders at Karlov Manor The Stack Trepanation Blade

List of Green Cards

In case anyone was curious about how many Lay of the Land cards are in green:Mono-Green: 58
Analyze the Pollen
Attune with Aether
Borderland Ranger
Boseiju Reaching Skyward
Brave the Wilds
Bushwack
Caravan Vigil
Civic Wayfinder
Cultivate
District Guide
Druid of the Emerald Grove
Elfhame Sanctuary
Evolution Charm
Flare of Cultivation
Flourishing Bloom-Kin
Fork in the Road
Gaea's Bounty
Gatecreeper Vine
Greenseeker
Herd Migration
Horizon Seeker
hunting Cheetah
Journey for the Elixir
Journey of Discovery
Kodama's Reach
Krosan Tusker
Kura, the Boundless Sky
Land Grant
Lay of the Land
Many Partings
Nervous Gardener
Nissa's Encouragement
Nissa's Pilgrimage
Nissa's Triumph
Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Nylea's Intervention
Open the Gates
Outcaster Greenblade
Peregrination
Realm Seekers
Realms Uncharted
Reclaim the Wastes
Rites of Spring
Seek the Horizon
Shard Convergence
Spinewoods Armadillo
Spirit of the Aldergard
Sprouting Vines
Sylvan Ranger
Sylvan Scrying
The Huntsman's Redemption
Thirsting Roots
Trail of Mystery
Traverse the Ulvenwald
Verdant Mastery
Vorinclex
Yavimaya Elder
You Happen On a GladeGreen featuring another colour: 7
Dig Up
Flower // Flourish
Huatli, Poet of Unity
Invasion of Ergamon (flipped to Truga Cliffcharger)
Path to the World Tree
Safewright Quest
Yasharn, Implacable EarthUn-cards: 3
Selfie Preservation (Un-card)
Spirit of the Season (Un-card)
Wild Crocodile (Un-card)(everyone feel free to add any that I've missed!)

FYI

Analyze the Pollen Armadillo Attune with Aether Borderland Ranger Brave the Wilds Caravan Vigil Civic Wayfinder Colors Crocodile Cultivate Dig Up District Guide Druid Druid of the Emerald Grove Elder Elfhame Sanctuary Evolution Charm Flare Flare of Cultivation Flourishing Bloom-Kin Flower // Flourish Fork in the Road Gaea's Bounty Gatecreeper Vine Gates Green Greenseeker Herd Migration Horizon Seeker Hunting Cheetah Invasion Journey for the Elixir Journey of Discovery Kodama's Reach Krosan Tusker Kura, the Boundless Sky Land Grant Lands Lay of the Land Many Partings Nervous Gardener Nissa's Encouragement Nissa's Pilgrimage Nissa's Triumph Nylea's Intervention Open the Gates Outcaster Greenblade Path to the World Tree Peregrination Ranger Realm Seekers Realms Uncharted Reclaim the Wastes Rites of Spring Safewright Quest Seek the Horizon Seeker Selfie Preservation Shard Convergence Spinewoods Armadillo Spirit Spirit of the Aldergard Spirit of the Season Sprouting Vines Sylvan Ranger Sylvan Scrying The Huntsman's Redemption The Wilds The World Tree Thirsting Roots Trail of Mystery Traverse the Ulvenwald Un-sets Verdant Mastery Wild Crocodile Yasharn, Implacable Earth Yavimaya Elder You Happen On a Glade

Phyrexian Invasion

If/when: a premier set on a new plane that was untouched by the Phyrexian invasion?

I assume when.

If/When Invasion Phyrexian Premier Sets

Phyrexian Invasion Feedback

I'd like to add my support to the voices disappointed by the lack of fallout shown from the Phyrexian invasion... of Dominaria. I just checked the cards in Odyssey block, and there's no ruined buildings, no dead Phyrexians, nothing! Sure, the block's entire story comes about as a result of Karn gaining a spark, but I was looking forward to a year of mourning families and civil construction projects. All I got instead was a cool story about pit fighters wrestling over a mysterious artifact.

: 0

Artifacts Dominaria Invasion Mourning Odyssey Phyrexians Story / Lore

Phyrexian Invasion Impact

I would like to add my voice to the group that wanted more visible and lasting consequences of the Phyrexian Invasion. If the consequences aren't visible on the cards without digging for more than a couple of references (liike the Virtue enchantments in WOE) most players IME are just going to miss it. Most players around me don't seem to read the story but still seemed surprised at MOM'S lack of fallout into the next few sets. I think I'd have liked to see that impact clearly on like 20-30 cards to make it loud enough without being a focus of the set, but that's just a gut feeling. It just seems like wanting to do the apocalyptic invasion without giving its fallout similar focus is just destined to limit the perceived impact of doing that story in the first place.

It is on 20+ cards, but if you don’t have the context, it’s hard to see.I often use the word “lenticular” to describe a mechanical component, one where it has advanced strategy, but only to the players that have enough understanding of the game to see it. We also make many “lenticular” flavor cards. If you’re following the story, you can see the references, but if story isn’t your thing, then the story doesn’t get in your way. You can just enjoy the cards in a flavor vacuum.

Enchantments Flavor Invasion Lenticular Phyrexian Story / Lore Wilds of Eldraine

Phyrexian Invasion Implications

About the Phyrexian invasion thing, first, thanks for reading and responding to my novel of an ask. I appreciate that you go out of your way to address this kind of feedback.Second, I recognize that it’s not clear how best to handle things like this when you don’t know how the audience will react, and I respect that you all did what you thought was best with the given information. I sent that ask more to explain how I and (I believe) others feel about how it was handled after the fact, not to try and convince you that it was wrong.I also appreciate the narrative implications of Realmbreaker’s breeching the multiverse, creating the omenpaths, desparking most planeswalkers, and how that has shaped the upcoming arc. Actually I’m really interested in this arc because you’ve been able to do things that were never possible before. I also appreciate that there’s online story content for the vorthoses.In other words, nothing you said is wrong, obviously. I was trying to articulate that there seems to be some kind of disconnect between the expectation that the audience had about how a Phyrexian invasion would play out and what your plans were. There seems to be some missing thing that really sells the idea of “yeah, the invasion was every bit as bad as you thought it would be, and then some.” Maybe it’s because stories like this generally have a “the bad guys won” moment before the good guys win (like Infinity War and Endgame), and March of the Machine seemed to have breezed through both.Also, looking through the comments I see there are plenty of people who don’t want to dwell on the Phyrexians any longer than we have to.

Looking back, I do think we wanted to structure Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine differently. I would have started the war in Phyrexia and had the bad guys are dominating moment be the stinger at the end of that set’s story. (Note: this is all my opinion.)

Invasion March of the Machine Omenpaths Phyrexia: All Will Be One Phyrexian Planeswalkers Story / Lore Vorthos

Story vs Card Disparity

I think the disconnect here really fluctuates if you've read the story or not. For WOE, there was a whole part of the story about Will reuniting the courts but the cards didn't really depict that. In LCI, the epilogue really thinks about the same pieces, but the cards again don't really depict it. MKM suffers from a similar problem. Seanan's story is incredible and really captures the new political tensions following the invasion, but the cards don't necessarily reflect that.

It’s there in the cards if you’re looking for it, but no, it’s not the focus. We’re trying to make compelling sets that excite people and make them want to buy them. We could show you endless cards of the courts having fallen or focus on what’s going on in the wilds. Our market research says more players want the latter.

Invasion Murders at Karlov Manor Story / Lore The Lost Caverns of Ixalan The Wilds Wilds of Eldraine

Phyrexian Invasion Impact

I understand that there are things you can point to that are visible consequences of the Phyrexian invasion like story content and the deaths of Eldraine’s king and queen, but doesn’t it say something that you need to point those out as counter arguments to begin with?The problem with threatening a Phyrexian planar threat is that the damage was implied to be irreversible. Compleation often involved grotesque surgical mutilation, so it doesn’t make sense that compleated characters could return to normal so easily and without any significant scarring. Phyrexian oil is supposed to be so dangerous that a single drop could eventually infect and corrupt an entire plane, so it seems impossible to eradicate. Even ignoring the resilience of the Phyrexians themselves, a large scale military invasion aided by the most powerful beings on each plane should have left those planes in a post-apocalyptic state, yet all of that seems to be off-screen or completely disregarded. We went underground for Ixalan, so we didn’t see the devastation. We went into the wilds for Eldraine, so we didn’t see the courts in shambles. Ravnica seems to be the same as ever, just with more detective hats. And the last set of the year that immediately followed the invasion takes place on a plane nobody even lived on during the invasion, so there were no consequences to show off.I think the real issue isn’t necessarily that there weren’t consequences, but that you guys chose deliberately not to show them on cards, outside of the desparked planeswalkers and a few cards in Aftermath. As it is, it’s difficult to believe that the Phyrexian threat that was built up over decades could be so easily repelled AND completely defeated at the height of their power, but I would argue that the sets directly following the invasion should have all had a blatantly dark, somber, post-apocalyptic theme. Instead, we got a bunch of light hearted costume party sets that seemed chosen specifically to NOT show how much damage was done. I get that you want to have a tone shift after a darker year, but it just feels like instead of getting closure, we all just got whiplash instead. It would have been better to show a struggling multiverse slowly learning to rebuild before diving into the next big arc.

There’s a big difference between did big things happen and do we need to focus on them? For the Vorthoses who read the stories, the Phyrexian War had huge consequences for many worlds. From a game standpoint, it changed how we used a whole card type and allowed us to make sets we couldn’t make before. The impact of the events of March of the Machine on flavor and mechanics was major.The reason we didn’t focus on the outcomes on the cards and have a year of dreary sets is we strongly believed the majority of the players didn’t want that.

Aftermath Card Types Compleated Detective Devastation Eradicate Flavor Infect Into the Wilds Invasion Ixalan March of the Machine Mechanics Phyrexian Planes Planeswalkers Story / Lore The Wilds Vorthos

Siege vs Invasion Subtyping

Hi MaRo. Why were battles subtyped Siege, instead of Invasion? There are only so many battle synonyms, so it bothers me a little that two battle name-concepts were used on the one card

So we can use them in other contexts.

Battles Invasion Mark Rosewater

Definition of Visit

Do you count all the planes that were featured in the Phyrexian Invasion as "visiting" those planes? Or is that an exception to the Scale

I think that was an exception. I think “visit” means it’s the core place visited. I do count the three worlds of Tennis as a visit though.

Invasion Phyrexian Planes

Planes Altered by Invasion

I quite like how the heavily the planes have been affected and changed by the invasion. Eldraine had an extremely fairy tale solution to the invasion with extremely fairy tale complications, Selesnya of all guilds goes on a homicidal rampage, Thunder Junction is only populated at all thanks to the Omenpaths. Planes have been changing is ways totally appropriate to each plane, but are still quite different from what they once were.

I do think the change is there. Maybe it’s not as easy to see if you only play the cards and don’t read the stories.

Invasion Omenpaths Planes Rampage Selesnya (G/W) Two Color

Impact of Phyrexian Invasion

I'm not sure how people aren't feeling the effects of the Phyrexian Invasion. Eldraine's sleep curse? Phyrexian Invasion. Quintorius being on Ixalan to even discover the underground world? His spark ignited during the Phyrexian Invasion. The MURDERS that happened in MKM? Literally happened because of the Phyrexian Invasion. There would be no Outlaws to be at Thunder Junction if it weren't for the Invasion and the Omenpaths it left behind. We lost a great many sparks due to, again, the Phyrexian Invasion. While I think the story beats towards the end of the Invasion plot moved a little bit fast, denying the effects is just ignoring cause and effect.

It’s definitely there. I hear that we’re not being as in your face visually about it on cards.

Invasion Ixalan Murders at Karlov Manor Omenpaths Phyrexian Plot Story / Lore

Invasion's Subtle Effects

I agree with the previous asker talking about how the fallout of the invasion id practically invisible. Yeah there are effects. But by your own admission we wouldn't be able to see it on ixalan due to being underground. MKM is practically irrelevant to the phyrexian war and would have been nearly identical no matter what the overarching cause. Thunder junction can't ilucidate because it's a new plane and thus has only the vague cause but not the war. WOE had some minor effects visible effects

The cards of a set focus on the themes and mechanics of that set. Wilds of Eldraine was about fairy tales and enchantments. Destroyed Eldraine is not a key selling point. There are remnants of the effects of the war on the cards (the twins are fighting, many people are under the sleep spell, the courts are struggling, etc.), but it’s not the focus, so it’s subtle. The story spends a lot more time on it. That’s the place where we can focus on it more.

Enchantments Invasion Ixalan Mechanics Murders at Karlov Manor Phyrexian Question Marks Story / Lore Wilds of Eldraine

Phyrexian Invasion Fallout

The fallout of the Phyrexian Invasion appears to be pretty minor across the planes we've visited. The blockless model really seems to take its toll on Magics storytelling, whereby the consequences of monumentous or pivotal moments have very little room to breath before we move onto other topics making them feel rather insignificant. I realize its a tired drum, but Im unconvinced that mtgs prioritzation of 'player satisfaction' didnt come at the expense of Vorthos. I miss expansive worlds.

Minor? It decimated Eldraine. The king and queen were killed, and almost all the courts were in shambles. We were underground in Ixalan, so we couldn’t see what happened above ground. It nearly broke the guidpact in Ravnica and the Golgari are persons non grata right now. Thunder Junction wasn’t attacked as there wasn’t any people living on it at the time. The impact of the Phyrexian War will vary set to set, but there are many worlds were it was hugely impactful on the world, many of which will play a big role when we revisit.And that’s not even getting into all the stories that will come out of the omenpaths and the impact of them on the multiverse and individual worlds. Trust me, the Phyrexian War has a huge impact on the stories yet to come.I understand that when we spent a year on one world we could spend more time on that world, and yes, that meant creative got to dig deeper, but the players spoke pretty loudly that wasn’t what they wanted. We are doing plenty of revisits though, and we will get to build on worlds as was done with Eldraine and Ixalan last year. I do think over time worlds will get more depth. It is our intent to make the Vorthoses happy, and a lot of time and attention is being spent on story and environment, but yes, as is often the case with Magic, things evolve, meaning how we do stuff changes.

Evolve Golgari (B/G) Invasion Ixalan Omenpaths Phyrexian Planes Story / Lore Vorthos

Phyrexian Invasion Timeline

How long has it been since the events of the Phyrexian Invasion, to the events of Thunder Junction? Will we get a "canon" timeline? Has it been like 3 years or like one year?

I believe it’s been about a year and a half.

Invasion Phyrexian

White Unsummon Potential

Can white get Unsummon? It can bounce its own permanents and can exile-bounce enemy permanents (Invasion of Gobakhan/Soul Partition)

White can’t bounce other player’s creatures, so no.

Creatures Invasion Permanents Soul Partition Unsummon White

Phyrexian Invasion Impact

Hello mark, I was wondering if you could possibly answer my question.Has the phyrexian invasion of the multiverse have any effect on new planes we’re going to? Like we know Thunder junction was apparently uninhabited before the invasion but did Phyrexia still go there? And what about bloomburrow and the rest. (I can understand not being able to answer the bloomburrow part and beyond but at least for thunder junction I’m very curious because so far in the story there hasn’t been any mention of phyrexia’s appearance on the plane)

The Phyrexians invaded many planes (although not every plane). Some new worlds will have been invaded and that will be part of the world building.

Bloomburrow Invasion Phyrexian Planes Story / Lore

Phyrexian War Structure

On the blocks vs single sets thing: I think individual sets are way better than blocks in almost every way. The one place that I think it did feel noticeably worse was March of the Machine. The invasion, which was obviously a huge event, felt really rushed because it was only one set. I think a set showing the start of the invasion (where the Phyrexians feel like they were winning) and a second set for the end (where the heroes save the day) it would have flowed better.I know there were a lot of outside factors surrounding MOM specifically (We only get four premier sets a year, it was the 30th anniversary so you wanted to spend a few sets on Dominaria to honor Magic's past, you wanted an actual return to New Phyrexia set before the climax, etc) so I don't think it was possible without some serious restructuring. And Aftermath was working in this space, but it focused on the end, where I think the pause needed to be in the middle (moving the immediate consequences out of the main set did help some though). WAR, our other recent event set, kind of avoided this by dividing the set into three acts. And the written story basically did this already, with ONE flowing immediately into MOM, it just felt off in the set proper.Not really a question, just some food for thought for future capstone event sets!

With 20/20 hindsight, I think we could have had the Phyrexian War start in Phyrexia: All Will Be One, and have the cliffhanger be the Phyrexians were looking like they were going to win.

Aftermath Dominaria Food Invasion March of the Machine New Phyrexia Phyrexia: All Will Be One Phyrexian Premier Sets Premier Sets Story / Lore

Mechanics Across Sets

How often were named mechanics actually used in more than one set in a block? After looking back at some popular blocks, it appears as though it was the exception rather than the norm. Kicker being in all three Invasion sets seems like the best example, but then Kicker can literally go in any set. Spirit/Arcane were so parasitic that they probably couldn't have functioned without appearing in consecutive sets, but good examples of this seem rare given how often people cite it.

Most of the time. Sometimes if we ran into trouble play designwise, the third set just had one or two.

Invasion Kicker Mechanics Parasitic Rares Spirit

UB Full Sets Ideas

UB Wishlist!
Full sets / commander:Warcraft: such a depth of lore and characters to mechanically build out into magic, enough material to creatively support multiple sets IMO. Such as Horde vs Alliance, Burning Legion’s invasion(s), Light vs Void, General fantasy adventure shenanigans not already covered by dnd, etcNaruto: would result in some oddball designs that I think could be super fun, plus being to tap into the anime market is always nice. Star Wars: it’s Star Wars and it’s amazing.The Last of Us: ticks both the “prestige TV” and “AAA video game” boxes while also melding magic with one of the most emotionally powerful properties in recent memory. Secret Lair:The Simpsons: having cards to pair with your color article about each family member’s color would be the best.Buffy the Vampire Slayer: fun nostalgia vibes and also so I can see the creature type “Slayer.”

Thanks.

Alliance Colors Commander Creatures Dungeons & Dragons Invasion Pop Culture Secret Lairs Shenanigans Story / Lore Tap / Untap Vampire Vampire Slayer