Hi Mark, you recently said the new card Quick Study, which is instant-speed Divination, is a positive development, yet it is also an example of power creep. In 2013 you posted, “Trading card games need either rotations or banned lists (probably both) or power creep will eventually kill the game.” Then, in your 2022 State of Design you shared how you are, “now designing [for an] "eternal world," where the core of Magic play involves the full history of the game.” These two statements feel at odds with each other.Would you please share if/how your thoughts on power creep have evolved since moving to an eternal world? Was there any notable debate over the power of Quick Study during set design?

Alpha had Ancestral Recall. I wouldn’t call Quick Study power creep. : )On a more serious note, there’s some give and take on basic effects. We can slightly tweak something without actual power creep.

Regarding Earth in the Multiverse. A quick study of Gatherer reveals 26 cards across 59 printings that reference an IRL William. Faulkner/Yeats/Knox x1 each, Blake x2, and Shakespeare x21 (ref'ing 15 works). Most notable among these is Pay no Heed. The original Torment printing had a unique (if generic) quote while the Magic 2014 printing that came 11 years later and had a quote from Shakespeare's King Henry IV, Part I. Sir, what are your thoughts?

Magic cards exist on Earth. Real world flavor text doesn’t mean Earth is part of the Magic Multiverse.