Pillar of Flame

Removing Shock & Lightning

What makes you guys think getting rid of Shock and Lightning Strike will make "more interesting" two-mana Shocks and three-mana bolts see play? Even with an upside, three + mana for three damage isn't very good (with the exception of Prophetic Bolt and Fiery Temper, and Temper is only good in a dedicated Madness deck). Also, what exactly is not interesting about Atarka's Command, Skullcrack, Pillar of Flame or Wild Slash? They are/were by no means too powerful either.

Keeping control of the answers is about making the threats more interesting.

Atarka's Command Fiery Temper Lightning Strike Madness Mana Pillar of Flame Prophetic Bolt Skullcrack Wild Slash

Complex Commons

In response to the person asking about NWO, here are some commons that are not only in competitive decks right now, but also very complex in most situations and lead to a lot of decisions: Doomed Traveler, Tragic Slip, Delver of Secrets, Faithless Looting, Duress, Fog, Mulch, Young Wolf, Arbor Elf, Smite, Zhur-Taa Druid, Negate, Farseek, Goblin Electromancer, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Pilfered Plans, Cloudfin Raptor, Grisly Salvage, Thought Scour, Centaur Healer, Elvish Visionary, Pillar of Flame, etc.

FYI

Arbor Elf Avacyn's Pilgrim Centaur Centaur Healer Cloudfin Raptor Commons Competitive Play Doomed Traveler Druid Elf Elvish Visionary Faithless Looting Farseek Gates Goblin Goblin Electromancer Grisly Salvage Mulch Negate Pilfered Plans Pillar of Flame Thought Scour Tragic Slip Wolf Young Wolf Zhur-Taa Druid

Red's Graveyard Interaction

Why doesn't red get more graveyard hate? Grim Lavamancer, Harvest Pyre, Past in Flames, Incinerate and Pillar of Flame all exist. What prevents red from getting cards like cremate / purify the grave, and/or mass graveyard removal?

Red tends to keep things from going to the graveyard rather than remove them from the graveyard.

Grim Lavamancer Harvest Pyre Incinerate Past in Flames Pillar of Flame Purify the Grave Red The Graveyard

Constructing Effective Cards

I enjoyed your article about bad cards, but I fail to see one aspect - Why not make niche cards instead? For example, Shock, Electrostatic bolt, Burning Cloak, Firebolt, Seal of Fire, & Pillar of flame. Those are 8 well-known and powerful cards... all of which deal exactly 2 damage for 1 mana, but are each different. Instead of making them bad, make them fantastic in very specific situations. For example, Selesnya Sentry regenerating off of discarding a green card instead of 5G?

A key component of good game design is making players overcome obstacles. Sometimes those obstacles can be the cards themselves.

Burning Cloak Cloak Electrostatic Bolt Firebolt Game Design Green Making Magic Mana Pillar of Flame Seal of Fire Selesnya (G/W) Selesnya Sentry

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