Please pass my thanks to whomever decided otters should be a thing in Magic.I've carried an otter plushie around with me to events through my entire Magic playing career, so almost 15 years. Ive had an otter along for the ride from pretty much every FNM to PTQs to traveling everywhere I could drive within 8 hours to play Legacy for several years or even trips to the other side of the US for large events a couple of times.I was screeching and immediately tried building an otter deck when Lutri and Theving Otter came out with Ikoria. I was literally babbling with joy at the otters in Wilds of Eldraine for MONTHS. To say I'm beside myself with excitement for Bloomburrow would almost be an understatement.My favorite thing to build or play in Magic are tribal-based decks. I built an angel one as my second ever deck (Shards of Alara/Zendikar standard) so I could teach my mom to play before she passed. I was known for a knight/Sword of _____ and _____ deck for years. I've even played Merfolk and Tribal Lightning Bolt (burn) decks a time or two. But I can now have my beloved otters as a theme for my deck.Literally the only way that it could be more perfect for me would have been if there was an Otter Knight named Rora for my little tournament companion.So thank you for making my love for Magic even stronger by adding otters.

I like making otter people happy. : )

Why do "until the end of the game" effects are not reworded as emblems? The only card that got the treatment is Elspeth, Knight-Errant

We mostly use emblems for planeswalkers.

Hi mark. There were a few people who had commented on the technology and aesthetic of Duskmourne and how it feels too close to the present, referencing planes like Capenna or Neo-kamigawa as other examples of modernity in Magic’s fantasy setting. Because I am the main character and my opinion is the most important one, I thought I’d give my two cents on the topic.Although kamigawa and capenna are obviously more “modern” than a plane like innistrad, they still don’t feel like “now”. By definition, sci-fi is not modern. Although Neon kamigawa doesn’t feel like high fantasy, it doesn’t feel “modern” to me either, it’s too far in the future. In the opposite direction, Capenna feels too far in the past to feel “modern”. Yeah, arc spitter is a Tommy gun and the treasure token is a martini glass, but it still doesn’t feel like the present. My grandpa wasn’t even born until after the end of prohibition. Time period Capenna is based on was literally a century ago. Sure the aesthetic isn’t as far back in history as the aesthetic of a knight in shining armor, but it’s still far enough back that it feels like “another time”, at least to me. I think the reason those two planes pass the vibe check is because they feel different enough from modern day. TV’s have existed since the late 1920’s, so it would have been historically accurate if the plane themed around 1920s America had TVs. but that still *feeeeeels* wrong. The vibes are off. Yeah sci fi japan would probably have cell phones or something, but that just feels wrong. In other words, fantasy (to me) isn’t about looking like lord of the rings, it’s about NOT looking like everyday life.This is where Duskmourne comes in. I wasn’t alive in the 70’s or 80’s. Heck, I’m so young that my parents hadn’t even met until after homelands came out. But the 70’s and 80’s feels like modern day. Screaming nemesis and cursed recording have TVs in their art. The booster fun frame looks like it would be on a ghostbusters poster. I feel like I saw my baby cousin wearing the exact same outfit as Toby just the other day. The term “fear of missing out” is just such a modern day thing, even if that concept isn’t new. I’m withholding my judgement until I see the whole set, but based on what we’ve seen so far, I (somewhat) agree with the sentiment a lot of Duskmourne feels too “real”. I’m sure more detail will be given closer to release, but I would be really interested in learning the whole process of how y’all built this world, even more interested than I would be with any other plane.

We’re trying something new. Some people seem to like it, some don’t. Time will show whether it was overall a good idea. I will say we need time to better gauge it. There are a lot of very popular Magic things that had an initial negative opinion.

Happy birthday Mark! Inverse birthday trivia! Arna Kennerüd, a sky knight quoted in a bunch of flavor texts from Ice Age and Alliances, was the first Magic lore character I designed a fan card for when I was real young. They finally get a real card nearly 30 years later in MH3!Also, I want to thank you personally for The Weatherlight Saga, where my love for Magic's lore truly blossomed.

Thanks.

hi Mark,I wanted to ask about Haste in Black. It just kinda hit me that for a while we had a few hasty creatures in mono-black.

Notably ELD had Rankle, Clackbridge Troll and Deathless Knight (green-black but can be played in mono-black). There's also Banehound in WAR and Vengeful Reaper in Kaldheim (which I probably played in standard more than it should be played tbh).

Was this an intentional experiment? A quirk of design that 'just happened' because its a tool that is always there and happened to be used more than usual? If it was an experiment, it seems like the verdict was 'no haste in black creatures', but I'd be interested in hearing more about it!

Haste is, and has been for a while, secondary in black. It’s used less than green these days which is also secondary in haste.

Does R&D have any plans to harmonize the names and rules text of tokens, similar to what happened to creature types in Llorwyn? For instance, Thopter artifact creature tokens are usually 1/1 fliers, but Leonardo da Vinci makes 0/2 flying Thopters. So the name "thopter token" doesn't uniquely tell you what the rules text is. Likewise, there are 2/2 Knights with firs strike, 2/2 Knights with trample and haste, 1/1 colorless Spirits, 1/1 white Spirits, and many more examples.

We do within any one set, but we allow variance between sets.

Just a minor feedback note: I like having soldiers, warriors, berserkers, knights, etc. They all have a different feel to me. Soldiers more uniform, warriors more independent and savage, berserkers a lot more independent and savage, knights very regal and important. All of these are similar but feel really cool

There is enough fighting and magic casting in our game, that we need a number of creature type classes to capture it all.

Joining in on the UB requestsDiscworld, maybe an Unset, maybe not, I’m just throwing it out thereGuilty Gear, the fighting game, would be more than just legendary fighters, Guilty Gear 2: Overture has plenty of minions, soldiers, knights etc. to use. (I’m currently designing my own custom set on Guilty Gear)Small Warhammer 40k package with things for Horde, Planescape, Archenemy etc?Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm, why not one Blizzard IP but their own crossover game! Includes many fan favourite characters and as a MOBA it as minions and things.DnD Planescape? I just want Eberron honestly.Avatar the Last Airbender.

Thanks.

what makes a magic card have the warrior, knight or soldier type?

Usually flavor, but sometimes typal themes in a set.

Is it possible to have DFCs outside of Acorn where there the backside can vary - Knight of the Kitchen Sink style? If not possible in cards, how about in tokens? It would be cool to have some of the Morph head games, except with a more interesting front half than a Grey Ogre.

The normal rules can’t do that. A front has to have the same unique back.