Prodigal Sorcerer

Appreciating Monty Python Secret Lair

I have to say, the Monty Python Secret Lair is amazing. High Fives to everyone involved, especially those who came up with Tim on Prodigal Sorcerer

: )

High Fives Humor Secret Lairs Prodigal Sorcerer Python

Wizard Subtype Trivia

As it is now the 19th it's my birthday! Given that I share a birthday with Criss Angel, I'm invoking trivia on the Wizard subtype! Any interesting tidbits you can share?

There is only one Wizard in Alpha - Prodigal Sorcerer. The second card printed with a Wizard creature type was Apprentice Wizard in The Dark, Magic’s fourth expansion. It wasn’t until Ice Age, Magic’s sixth expansion, that a non-blue creature was printed with the Wizard creature type (Krovikan Elementalist in black).Happy Birthday!

Angel Apprentice Wizard Birthday Black Card Printing Creatures Krovikan Elementalist Prodigal Sorcerer Subtype

Podcast Request

Can you do a podcast about effects that used to be evergreen / low on the Storm scale but now aren't (and why)? For example, old sets used to always have a take on Samite Healer, Prodigal Sorcerer, Frozen Shade, etc. sometimes with a set mechanic, but now we almost never see those, much less at low rarities.

I’ll add it to the “short” list.

Drive to Work Evergreen Frozen Shade Mechanics Prodigal Sorcerer Samite Healer Shade Storm Scale

Color Pie Consistency

Are color pie bends/breaks allowed for callback cards. Like if a prodigal sorcerer callback cards was made, could it do pinging in blue?

No, if something is out of modern color pie, we wouldn’t make a new card that did that thing, even as a callback.

Blue Color Pie Modern Prodigal Sorcerer

Beret-Wearing Sorcerer

Doesn't the prodigal sorcerer wear a beret? A landmark card!

Blogatog tackling the important issues. Beret or no?

Blogatog / Tumblr Prodigal Sorcerer

Origin of Tim Ability

I heard you call the prodigal sorcerer ability the "Tim" ability in your podcast. I'm old enough I remember playing with that card and calling it that but I'm curious if you know how it got that nick name. I always wondered. My best guess was a reference to the wizard in Monty python.

It is a reference to the wizard in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Drive to Work Prodigal Sorcerer Python

Grandfathered-In Magic Cards

Why is Birds of Paradise grandfathered in but Prodigal Sorcerer is not?

Because green gets flying infrequently while blue does not get direct damage infrequently.

Bird Birds of Paradise Blue Flying Green Prodigal Sorcerer

Recalling Duelist #10

Happy birthday! I first read your stuff in the Duelist #10, May 1996. You hinted at a cool spell in the upcoming set Alliances that could counter a spell before you ever took your first turn. Then, you showed us how to use a Prodigal Sorcerer to block two creatures at once :)

That’s going way back.

Birthday Creatures Prodigal Sorcerer

Color Shift Over Time

"Just because something was printed doesn’t mean it wasn’t a break when it was printed" I think that question was about cards with abilities from before they were color shifted. For example, pinging was in blue, Prodigal Sorcerer and Rootwater Hunter weren't breaks when they were made, but are they now?

Yes, Produgal Sorcerer is a break in blue even though in Alpha it wasn’t.

Alpha Bend / Break Blue Card Printing Colors Prodigal Sorcerer Rootwater Hunter

Wizards' Magic Statues

are there still other statues around Wizards? Have we seen any in the past? Do they have names?

Different Magic statues in the building: Shivan Dragon (Mitzi)
Dakkon Blackblade
Prodigal Sorcerer
Jester’s Cap
Spirit Link
Goblin Bomb
Goblin Rock Sled
Goblin Grenade

Dakkon Blackblade Dragon Goblin Goblin Bomb Goblin Grenade Goblin Rock Sled Prodigal Sorcerer Shivan Dragon Spirit Spirit Link

Blue's Direct Damage

What made blue's direct damage go from "good enough that Prodigal Sorcerer is a staple in every pre-modern core set" to being the worst at it?

We decided the Prodigal Sorcerer was a red ability not a blue one. Note this was fifteen plus years ago.

Blue Modern Prodigal Sorcerer Red

Eternal Masters Color Pie

There were a whole bunch of cards in Eternal Master's the break the color pie. What do you think of such inclusions such Xathrid Swarm, Pyroblast, and even Prodigal Sorcerer?

A set that reprints old cards that only impacts old formats where those cards already exist is where we can show off history.

Card Printing Color Pie Colors Eternal Prodigal Sorcerer Pyroblast Reprints

Prodigal Sorcerer Origins

Why did the Prodigal Sorcerer ability start out in blue and stay there for so long?

Richard created Prodigal Sorcerer top down and made it Blue because that’s what matched the flavor of the concept, as opposed to the mechanic. It lasted maybe five years, which isn’t that long in a game turning twenty-three, because early Magic tended to repeat popular things. As we better got a handle on the color pie, and also realized Blue had too big a slice, we moved it off to another color, Red.

Blue Color Pie Colors Flavor Mechanics Prodigal Sorcerer Red Top Down

Planar Chaos Cards

Regarding that question about planar chaos, you said the plane shifted cards were a mistake. I'm assuming prodigal pyromancer was the exception here given prodigal sorcerer was super out of color pie for blue?

Just because the set was a poor idea doesn’t mean every card was a poor idea. We did use Planar Chais to play around with a few color pie shifts we wanted to make.

Blue Color Pie Colors Planar Chaos Prodigal Pyromancer Prodigal Sorcerer

Flavor Shift Reason

I know mechanically why Prodigal Pyromancer became the standard card, replacing Prodigal Sorcerer (because pinging is out of Blue's color these days), but what's the flavor reason, since Pyromancer came from an alternate reality?

We used Planar Chaos to mess with a few switches we were thinking of making.

Blue Colors Flavor Planar Chaos Prodigal Pyromancer Prodigal Sorcerer Standard

Nickname Etymology

Tim is one of those nicknames that's several abstractions away from the thing it refers to. It comes from Monty Python by way of Prodigal Sorcerer, right?

Correct.

Prodigal Sorcerer

Blue's Damage Ability

Do you think the Tim ability is completely out of U or could it be used sparingly if it was a perfect fit? I ask because I feel like cryomancy would lead to some damage but is basically relegated to tapping down.

The Prodigal Sorcerer ability (aka the Tin ability) is now completely out of Blue. We tend to tie ice to what we call “freezing” (tap target creature and it doesn’t untap next turn).

Blue Creatures Gates Prodigal Sorcerer Tap / Untap

Blue and Direct Damage

So white gets to deal damage to attacking creatures. Black can deal damage as long as it's drain. Red gets to deal damage to whatever it wants and Green can deal damage to fliers (and technically artifact creatures). Is there any circumstance in which Blue can deal damage to things? To stupid things maybe? I know I want to sometimes.

Blue no longer gets any effect that deals direct damage. It once had Prodigal Sorcerer but no longer, it’s been moved to Red.

Artifacts Attacking Black Blue Creatures Deal Damage Green Prodigal Sorcerer Red White

Green Damage Mechanics

Could Prodigal Sorcerer/Pyromancer be printed as a green card since green would be using a creature to deal damage?

No, that is not how green deals damage to creatures.

Card Printing Creatures Deal Damage Green Prodigal Sorcerer

Prodigal Sorcerer's Color Reason

Do you know what the original reasoning for having Prodigal Sorcerer be blue was?

Richard thought blue would be the key wizard color and wizards could do a small amount of direct damage.

Blue Colors Prodigal Sorcerer