Morningtide

Prowl Mechanic Discussion

Did you guys use Freerunning instead of Prowl because you could put it on noncreature, non-Kindred cards? Would you consider it a "fixed" Prowl?Personally I like the open-endedness of Prowl. I feel like Freerunning forces you to rename the mechanic every time you want to use it with a different creature type, which could get pretty silly pretty quickly. I don't want to live in the future where we have several nigh-identical mechanics that do basically the same thing but all have different names. But I do understand why you guys want to avoid using Kindred.This is a tangent, but let me ask: Why was Prowl's first outing mostly only put on Rogue cards, when it was worded to work with any variety of creature types?

Because it was designed as a Rogue mechanic in Morningtide that had a class typal theme.

Creatures Freerunning Kindred / Typal Mechanics Morningtide Morningtide Non-creatures Prowl Rogue

Monocolor Set Features

If/(foreseeable future)When: New Monocolored Matters set. I know you already did this with Morningtide/Eventide, and I don't consider Adamant or Devotion to lead to the gameplay patterns we're discussing. Most likely hybrid, colorless, cycling and/or DFC/Split Card focused to support limited.

When for sets with monocolor themes. I’m not quite sure what you want if devotion doesn’t count.

Adamant Colorless Cycling Dual Faced Cards Eventide Game Play Hybrid Limited Monocolor Morningtide Morningtide Split Cards

Rhys the Redeemed Trivia

Hi Mark! It's my birthday! I hereby invoke the sacred rite of Blogatog Birthday Trivia! What is some awesome and preferably previously untold trivia about Rhys the Redeemed? (I think one story you told was about how the card came from experiments of "how do we make a 1 mana legendary creature," so I guess something beyond that)

The Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block was a bout a world that completely changes, so most legendary creatures in Shadowmoor (and Eventide) were new versions of characters you’d already seen on a card in Lorwyn (and Morningtide). The Elves were black and green on Lorwyn and green and white on Shadowmoor. We wanted both Rhys cards to play in the same deck, so we made both castable in a monogreen deck, but then game them elements that showed their second color. As Shadowmoor’s main theme was hybrid, that was the tool we used for Rhys the Redeemed.Rhys the Redeemed’s first ability was aimed towards an Elf deck, something we expected in limited and constructed. The second ability was grander in scale and encouraged a different style of deck, although one that would still work in just the Elf deck.Happy Birthday!

Birthday Black Colors Constructed Creatures Elf Eventide Green Hybrid Legendary Creatures Limited Lorwyn Mana Morningtide Morningtide Rhys the Redeemed Shadowmoor Story / Lore White

Naming Mix-up

"Lorwyn had race typal and Morningtide had class typal. Iona’s Blackguard would have referenced Faeries had in been in Lorwyn, but referenced Rogues because that was the class most associated with Faeries."
Iona's Blackguard? Did an omenpath open between Zendikar and Lorwyn?

I miswrote Oona’s as Iona’s. Sorry.

Faerie Kindred / Typal Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide Omenpaths Rogue Zendikar

Oona's Blackguard Insight

Mark, I invoke the ancient ritual of birthday facts to ask about the first ever alt art I got: Oona's Blackguard from Morningtide

Lorwyn had race typal and Morningtide had class typal. Iona’s Blackguard would have referenced Faeries had in been in Lorwyn, but referenced Rogues because that was the class most associated with Faeries. Happy Birthday!

Art Birthday Faerie Kindred / Typal Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide Oona's Blackguard Rogue

Tribal Card Type Status

Correct me if I'm wrong, but while Tribal was also deciduous, appearing only in Future Sight, Lorwyn, Morningtide, and Rise of the Eldrazi before being retired (it eventually showed up again on Altar of the Goyf in MH2).

The Tribal card type was deciduous when it first appeared.

Altar of the Goyf Card Types Deciduous Eldrazi Future Sight Kindred / Typal Lorwyn Modern Horizons 2 Morningtide Morningtide Rise of the Eldrazi Rise of the Eldrazi

Return to Lorwyn Scope

Hi Mark :D I'm reading a lot of questions about a "return to Lorwyn", but does this include the Shadowmoor+Eventide (loved it sooo much !!) set in the discussion, or just the Lorwyn+Morningtide part ?

Let’s ask. Would a return to Lorwyn include Shadowmoor?

Eventide Lorwyn Morningtide Shadowmoor

Card by Card Requests

Hi Mark!
I noticed you haven’t done a card by card episode since around episode 838 and I was recently listening to your card by card podcasts on Lorwyn and Morningtide. Shadowmoor and Eventide were my favorite sets and I would love for you to finish off the block. Can I request maybe a card by card of both of those sets in the near future?
Thanks for doing the drive to work! I know it’s a project of passion! Hope all is well with you!

I literally did a two-part one last Friday.Part 1:
Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast | #1041: Costless Artifacts, Part 1Part 2:
Magic: The Gathering Drive to Work Podcast | #1042: Costless Artifacts, Part 2I’ll add Shadowmoor and Eventide to the short list.

Artifacts Drive to Work Eventide Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide Shadowmoor The short list

Surveil and Scry Mix

You said you think most sets would pick either Surveil or Scry instead of mixing, but BRO had 9 cards with Scry and 4 cards with Surveil. Is this abnormal or mor indicative that a split is fine?

A split is allowable, but not ideal.

Morningtide Scry Surveil The Brothers' War

Young Players Engagement

*DRIVE TO WORK PODCAST TOPIC IDEA*
Hello,I would really like to hear you explain the reason for the 13+ recommendation for Magic and talk about teaching Magic to those under 13. Is the age recommendation due to the game's complexity, themes/art, or both? I am sure you or your coworkers must have had experiences teaching Magic to their kids as they grew up. One of the things I love about Magic is that, at its core, it is actually a pretty simple game that can be scaled up to something beyond complex. Has there ever been any talk about marketing a product to younger kids? There does not seem to be that much about teaching Magic to younger kids on the internet. I think it would be beneficial for a lot of people if you could share your advice or any stories you might have about teaching younger kids magic. If you have already covered this already, please let me know the episode.(Some background if you have time to read it)
I taught my five-year-old son the basics of the game with 40 card mono color decks with old-school vanilla creatures and basic instant and sorceries. The decks played more than four copies of some cards, so it was easier for him to memorize stuff he could not yet read, and I made the decks to showcase each color's mechanics. The only real issue was finding age-appropriate art, but I was able to dig through all my older cards for weaker-powered things that were not too gruesome, and Lorwyn / Morningtide has a lot more kid-friendly stuff. He was really into it for a bit but transitioned to playing pokemon, although his interest has now renewed at age 7, and now my 4-year-old son really wants to play too. I have put together a giant box of kid-friendly cards, and now they can explore what things they would like to use to build their own decks.(Also, sorry if this message comes up a few times for you. I know you get a million messages every day, and I feel like this is not the most horrible thing to send a few times a week to make sure you get to see it)I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for the game and everything you continue to do. It is truly amazing to me how you interact so much with the magic community and how transparent you are about so many things. We are incredibly lucky to have someone with the ability to brush off the infinite negative comments and continue to listen and share so much with the player base. Thank you

The 13+ designation is all about rules that have to do with packaging laws. It’s not some sign that we believe kids under 13 can’t learn and enjoy Magic. When I met Dana Fischer, for example, she was 6 years old and playing in Grand Prix events.

Appreciation Art Basics Colors Conventions Creatures Drive to Work Giant Instants Lorwyn Mechanics Monocolor Morningtide Morningtide Rules Sorceries Vanilla

Card Names as Sets

I really appreciate the steps you guys have been taking in making every card name into a Magic set, such as Morningtide, Conspiracy, and now March of the Machine(s).

: )

Card Names Humor March of the Machine Morningtide Morningtide

Evoke Creatures' Effects

Noticed that most evoke creatures have an ETB effect, but there's a few that have a leave the battlefield effect. How is this decided?

Lorwyn did enter the battlefield effects and Morningtide did leave battlefield effects.

Creatures Enter The Battlefield Evoke Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide

Love for Lorwyn's Kithkin

I loved Lorwyn's kithkin! I'm a little nostalgic though, one of my first decks was the Morningtide UW prebuilt.

The Kithkin seem to be polarizing, but they definitely have their fans.

Kithkin Morningtide Morningtide

Understanding Card Wordiness

Today I saw a post on the top ten sets by average card wordiness. 6/10 are from the past two years. Of the four others, two are from Time Spiral Block and one is Morningtide, all sets that are considered overly complex, from my understanding. I know that removing vanilla creatures probably affects the average, but even with that, recent sets have apparently been increasingly wordy. Is this something intentional on your end?

It’s intentional in that we’re aware of it. The nature of how players enter the game (a lot through Commander and Arena) has changed and what we feel they can handle is up some. Also, we’re exploring more mechanics that have lengthier reminder text. (I’m curious, did anyone do the data without reminder text?)We’re definitely experimenting with pushing things up a bit and seeing how the various audiences respond. Are people finding things too complex? And for those teaching newer players are you seeing any change in their ability to latch onto the game?

Commander Creatures Magic Arena Mechanics Morningtide Morningtide Time Spiral Vanilla

Creation of New World Order

You said triple shadowmoor was tied for your favorite draft format. I wasn’t playing back then, so correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it SUPER complicated, and is what led to you guys making the new world order?

Lorwyn/Morningtide was the real complicated limited format that spawned New World Order.

Draft Formats Limited Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide Shadowmoor

Morningtide's influence on the sets

I'm surprised that Morningtide didn't make either list of most influential sets! Based on the stories of the employee prerelease and what happened as a result, I would've guessed it was at least in the top 5!

I only listed things that had positives that affected the future. Matt listed sets with negatives. So my list wouldn’t have listed Morningtide. I am surprised Matt didn’t list it.

Employee Morningtide Morningtide Prerelease Sealed Format

Evoke Cards Development

After Morningtide, every new evoke card has always triggered when the creature enters. Have you all forgotten about using leaves triggers, or does it play bad?

It doesn’t play as well.

Creatures Evoke Morningtide Morningtide Triggered Abilities

Praise for Colfenor

I can't believe it. I have waited 13 years to see Colfenor represented in the game. I started playing during Morningtide. My life hit a low point then and mtg really helped pull me out of the hole I was in. Colfenor and Lorwyn, hold a special place in my heart. I can't thank you enough for making this possible. Branch high fives! ✋🌳

High fives (virtual) will applied.

Appreciation High Fives Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide

Plausibility of Class Tribal Set

If/when: A tribal set where the tribes are classic fantasy classes (e.g. wizards, warriors, rouges, etc.) or more generally a new take on "class tribal" from morningtide using modern design philosophy.

I said that’s more when than if.

If/When Kindred / Typal Modern Morningtide Morningtide Warrior

Morningtide Class Decisions

I don't see Morningtide changing to classes as a mistake. You did put a lot of classes in Lorwyn for synergy and it gave some tribes lords that didn't have one before.

Lorwyn should have had a mix of races and classes, and Morningtide should have had more of the same. The all race tribal of Lorwyn and the all class tribal of Mormingtide mixed together made the board way too complex. It directly led to New World Order.

Kindred / Typal Lorwyn Morningtide Morningtide