Kavu

Desire for More Kavus

I want to throw one in for more kavus. With Magic's unique/original IP big monsters like Kavu, Surrakar, and maybe Sliths (and now Varmints), I'd love to see them show up on more different planes, with reinterpretations and fitting into different settings.

Omenpaths will help this goal a bit, at least as far as seeing them more places. Them adapting might take time.

Kavu Omenpaths Planes Slith Surrakar Varmint

Position of Kavu

Where are Kavu on the beeble scale?

Kavus are a 5.

Beeble Scale Kavu

Grouping Creature Types

With creature types being grouped together like with Party and Outlaw, I imagine this trend will continue if received well. Do you think there is a limit on how many creature types could be grouped together at one? For example, if there was a grouping for "Reptiles" you realistically could include Lizard, Salamander, Turtle, Crocodile, Snake, Hyrda, Dinosaur, Basilisk, and Kavu. There might be some others I'm forgetting, but 9 seems like a lot. Do you think that the amount of possible creature types would prevent potential groupings from being made at all, or would some just be left out?

Our default rule is two to five items in a batch. Getting over that gets unwieldy, both to remember and to fit on the card.

Basilisk Batches Creatures Crocodile Dinosaur Kavu Lizard Rules Salamander Snake Turtle

Unique Creature Types

I would just like to express my lifelong love for some of the unique Magic-ese creatures and creature types we've had through the years. Slivers, Atogs, Llhurgoyfs, Spikes, Beebles, Kavu and so on bring a real charm to Magic that sets it apart from other fantasy settings and can be pointed to as uniquely "ours". I'm sad that many of them don't get printed any more and I hope we don't see a total loss of things like this in favour of more broad/generic terms. Long live the Atogs!

We’re still making unique creatures. It’s not something we’ve stopped.

Atog Beeble Card Printing Colorless Creatures Kavu Sliver Spike

Soul Enervation Query

I'm not good at English, sorry.
Question about Soul Enervation.This reminds me Flametongue Kavu from twenty years ago.I play him, my opponent Repulse his only one creature, then FtK dealt damage to himself.Why Soul Enervation doesn't say like "up to one target ~" or "~ creature an opponent controls"?

We like that black cards occasionally hurt you. It feels very in color.

Black Colors Creatures English Flametongue Kavu Kavu Repulse Soul Enervation

Kavu Trivia

Might I invoke the birthday trivia ritual? Any neat tidbits about my favorite creature type, the kavu?

The Kavu were created in Invasion because we thought it would be cool to make a Beast-like creature something that was uniquely our own.Happy Birthday!

Birthday Creatures Invasion Kavu

Kicker Playtest Story

I vaguely remember a story about you playtesting a kicker card without knowing it had kicker. Can you tell it again please?

We were playtesting Invasion. Randy Buehler built a red/green deck for me. I went 4-0. He then explained the Grizzly Bears in the deck we’re actually Kavu Titans. The next week I went 2-2.

Bear Green Grizzly Bears Gruul (R/G) Invasion Kavu Kicker Playtesting Story / Lore

Handling Variable Costs

A question about set design & codes, but how do you handle cards with alternative/additional costs?An example of this is Kavu Titan that can be a 2/2 for 1G, or a 5/5 trample for 3GG. Does it fill a 2-drop slot, a 5-drop slot, or half of each?

It counts half and half.

Kavu Kavu Titan Set Design Trample

Sticker Sheet Wording

I noticed the Sticky Kavu Daredevil sticker sheet has the wording "When this permanent dies, ..." Is this going to become standard wording for all permanents going from the battlefield to the graveyard? It would really help save a lot of space on a lot of cards, even if the flavor hits slightly wrong.

No, “dies” is still being used for creatures. The sticker is mostly going to be used on creatures and we had space issues.

Creatures Flavor Kavu Permanents Standard Stickers Sticky Kavu Daredevil The Graveyard

Creature Type Consistency

How come Vodalian Mindsinger, with a merfolk riding a kavu, gets to be typed merfolk, while Monstrous War-Leech, with a homarid riding a leech, is just typed leech horror? THIS IS HOMARID DISRESPECT

The Voldalian Mindslinger is the Merfolk while the Monstrous War-Leech is the Leech.

Creatures Homarids Horror Kavu Leech Merfolk Monstrous War-Leech Vodalian Mindsinger

Future of Kavu in Sets

Mark! Can I get a Maybe on there being more Kavu with Dominaria United and followup sets? And can I get an extra Maybe on there being a Legendary RG Kavu?

Maybe. : ) Maybe. : )

Dominaria United Gruul (R/G) Humor Kavu

Unique Creatures Production Frequency

"1) There are also a bunch lower down on the scale. We have a lot of unique things to Magic.2) A bunch you have listed aren’t unique to Magic (like noggle or ouphe)." Which unique creatures are lower on the scale besides Slivers? And even those are only in supplemental sets at this point. I didn't know those weren't unique to magic, but the point is still the same; you guys seem to produce the more interesting looking and less generic creatures less often.

The original Magic creature types: Aetherborn, Assembly-Worker, Atog, Azra, Beeble, Blinkmoth, Bringer, Brushwagg, Camarid, Cephalid, Eldrazi, Fractal, Graveborn, Homarid, Inkling, Kavu, Kithkin, Kor, Lhurgoyf, Licid, Masticore, Metathran, Myr, Nightstalker, Orgg, Pentavite, Pest, Phelddagrif, Phyrexian, Praetor, Rigger, Saproling, Slith, Sliver, Soltari, Spellshaper, Spike, Surrakar, Tetravite, Thalakos, Triskelavite, Vedalken, Viashino, Volver, and Zubera.A bunch of those have appeared on new cards in the last five years.

Aetherborn Assembly-Worker Assembly-Worker Atog Atog Azra Beeble Blinkmoth Bringer Brushwagg Brushwagg Camarid Cephalid Colorless Competitive Play Creatures Eldrazi Fractal Graveborn Homarids Inkling Kavu Kithkin Kor Lhurgoyf Lhurgoyf Licid Masticore Masticore Metathran Myr Nightstalker Noggle Orgg Orgg Ouphe Pentavite Pest Phelddagrif Phelddagrif Phyrexian Praetor Rigger Saprolings Slith Sliver Soltari Spellshaper Spike Surrakar Tetravite Thalakos Triskelavite Vedalken Viashino Volver Zubera

Beeble Scale for Unique Creatures

RE: Unique to magic creatures on the beeble scale. Only four unique to magic creature types have a score of 5 or better: Kavu - 4, Myr - 5, Sliver - 4, and arguably Horror - 2. Overwhelmingly magic's unique creature types get poor scores with 20 types at 6 or worse.

There are many that no one’s asked about and thus aren’t listed. Note that people are more likely to ask about outliers which get ranked higher.

Beeble Scale Creatures Horror Kavu Myr Sliver

Vedalken on the Beeble Scale

Where are vedalken on the Beeble scale? Wherever they are, I'd like to have more Magic-specific creature types done more like them, as opposed to ones like Kavu, where they only show up on a single plane.

Vedalken are a 4. We do them from time to time.

Beeble Scale Creatures Kavu Vedalken

Kavu Chameleon's Color Change

Is Kavu Chameleon still in Green's part of the color pie? (for those unaware, Kavu Chameleon has "G: This creature becomes the color of your choice until end of turn."

Yes. Green can change its own color. Blue can change the color of other creatures (and permanents/spells).

Blue Color Pie Colors Creatures Green Kavu Kavu Chameleon Permanents Spells

Discussion about Printed Cards

Some of the cards you say in your column today didn't make it to print did, in fact, make it to print! Butterfly became Whip-Spine Drake; Spellwild Dog became Spellwild Ouphe; Boss Scragnoth became Quagnoth. Also, Sneaky Goblin seems a lot like Street Wraith, and Veiled Clone like Shapeshifter's Marrow. Also the green common kicker/convoke creature did make it, as Kavu Primarch; Sprout Swarm was in addition. Also, one of the vanishing cycle you say got cut did stay, as Lost Auramancers.

FYI

Card Printing Clone Convoke Creatures Dog Drake Goblin Green Kavu Kavu Primarch Kicker Lost Auramancers Ouphe Primarch Quagnoth Scragnoth Shapeshifter's Marrow Spellwild Ouphe Sprout Swarm Street Wraith Vanishing Vanishing Whip-Spine Drake Wraith

Kavu Titan Playtest Story

Perhaps you could tell the story of your playtest win rate when you discovered that Kavu Titan had kicker?

I’ve told this story many times, but for the newcomers.Many years ago, when the FFL (the Future Future League, the R&D testing of future environments) first started, I was asked to play in it. I said I wasn’t a good enough deck builder, so they said I would be given decks. The first deck I got was red/green and built by Randy Buehler. I went 4-0. After my last game Randy pointed out that the Grizzly Bears in the deck were actually supposed to be played as Kavu Titans (1G 2/2 that can be kicked to be a 3GG 5/5 trampler.) The next week I went 2-2. It taught me an important lesson about the importance of maximizing cards by playing then when you’re able.

Bear Green Grizzly Bears Gruul (R/G) Kavu Kavu Titan Kicker Playtesting Story / Lore

Possibility of Kavus Returning

Mark, Love all the work you. I think you’re a great liaison between the community and R&D. It my birthday today and was wondering, on a scale of 1-10 what is the likelihood of Kavus returning? I know you gave us one in Dominaria but I’m more thinking of a bigger return with stronger tribal support. What colors would you put them in? I only ask all this because I started playing in invasion.

Right now Kavus are a Dominaria-only creature. Luckily, it’s a popular plane so we should return. Also, one day maybe we’ll find them on another plane. They are primarily red and green.

Birthday Colors Creatures Dominaria Game Design Green Invasion Kavu Kindred / Typal Red

More Kavus in Sets

if/when: more than a couple of one-off kavus in a set? :)

Little if. There needs to be a compelling reason.

If/When Kavu

Kavu Creatures Origin

My birthday was a few weeks ago and I never asked any trivia! I was curious if you had any interesting info on the Kavu creatures on Dominaria? They were neat but never seemed fully explored. Thank you!

Kavu came about because we thought it would be neat to invent a new type of animal. Happy Belated Birthday!

Appreciation Birthday Creatures Dominaria Kavu