Rabiah Scale

Definition of One On Rabiah Scale

Hey Mark, exactly what would it take for a plane to be a 1 on the rabiah scale? And has there ever been a plane, besides maybe dominaria, that has been a 1 at any point?

Ravnica is a 1.

Dominaria Rabiah Scale

Bloomburrow's Early Reception

I know the set hasn't come out yet, but given how folks are reacting to the world so far, what would you say your super-tentative early thoughts on Bloomburrow's position on the Rabiah scale?

Initial responses are good, but let’s wait for people to play with it. My gut is it will be on the lower side (which is good on the Rabiah Scale).

Rabiah Scale

Xerex on the Rabiah Scale

Mark, it's my birthday this week, and I'd like to thank y'all for timing Bloomburrow prerelease to nearly occur on my personal day of celebration, a set I have been very jazzed about since it was announced. I really love the possum druid in particular.

For my question though, where is Xerex on the Rabiah scale? I really enjoyed the glimpses of surreal Escher geometries and the alien beings that live there.

Xerex is a 9. “World that’s hard to comprehend” is not an ideal premier setting.

Aliens Birthday Bloomburrow Celebration Druids Possums Prerelease Rabiah Scale Sealed Format

Bloomburrow Appreciation

Less a question and more just feedback. Bloomburrow has been -amazing- so far. It's by far my favorite set in years, and definitely my favorite plane. I'm one of those big Lorwyn fans, and honestly it Bloomburrow feels a lot like Lorwyn with a lot of its issues weeded out. Kudos to the whole team, from flavor to mechanical design. I'm hoping it's a 1 on the Rabiah scale and that the return to Lorwyn can tide me over until a hopeful return to Bloomburrow.

Glad you’re enjoying it.

Appreciation Appreciation Bloomburrow Flavor Lorwyn Rabiah Scale

Outlaws of Thunder Junction Reception

Now that we're looking at Bloomburrow, can I ask how Outlaws of Thunder Junction was received by players, and where the plane sits on the Rabiah Scale?Thanks Mark!

I’d call the plane a 6.

Bloomburrow Outlaws of Thunder Junction Rabiah Scale

Firm 1 on Rabiah Scale

Are there any planes that are a firm 1 on the Rabiah Scale?

Dominaria, Innistrad, and Ravnica.

Dominaria Innistrad Planes Rabiah Scale

Theros Rating on Rabiah Scale

Why is Theros a 4 now on the Rabiah scale? It was always a 3 from all the other times you shared the Rabiah scale.

Theros Beyond Death didn’t to quite as well as we’d hoped.

Rabiah Scale Theros Theros Beyond Death

Rabiah Scale for Theros

Hey Mark, I was wondering what the Rabiah scale for Theros would be?

It’s a 4.

Rabiah Scale Theros

Ulgrotha's Position on Rabiah Scale

Where is Ulgrotha on the Rabiah Scale these days?

Still a 9.

Rabiah Scale

Renaming the Rabiah Scale

Would you seriously not rename the Rabiah scale if you did Rabiah and it was a massive hit that went down to a 3 on the scale? :)

I would seriously not rename the scale. It’s what people know it as.

Rabiah Scale

Rabiah Scale Today

Question about the Rabiah Scale. It seems that returning to planes is getting easier these days and we're going back to planes like Kamigawa and Lorwyn with high Rabiah scores. Given that a set might be a backdrop (like Ixalan) or one of a few sets visited (like the racing set) or reimagined like Kamigawa. Given that, is it fair to say that the Rabiah Scale indicates less "if" we'll return and more "how frequently"?

I do believe the current system means we’re more likely to return to worlds, but there are a lot of worlds and only so many opportunities for returns, especially as we continue to make new worlds.

Ixalan Lorwyn Planes Rabiah Scale

Ikoria Release Timing

Does R&D take into account that Ikoria was released at the height of the pandemic? Does that effect the Rabiah scale?

It’s a factor we do take into account.

Game Design Rabiah Scale

Set Return Factors

Thank you for your informative update of the Rabiah scale. One thing puzzled me - is it really the case that a strong mechanical identity automatically makes a return more likely, while a weak one makes it less likely? I wondered if a strong mechanical identity that has been well explored might actually make it harder to return. Conversely, might a weak mechanical identity offer more room for exploration (and, in fact, the possibility of developing a strong mechanical identity that could carry forwards)?

Having a strong mechanical identity makes a return more likely rather than less. A set with a weak mechanical identity is just more work on a return, and is more unpredictable of what players will think of it. It’s just one factor, so it’s not the thing that decides.

Appreciation Rabiah Scale

Creature Type Love

I just wanted to voice how much I love both Azra and Aetherborn as creature types. I just saw how Kylem was rates as an 8 on the Rabiah scale, I hope that doesn't mean we won't be getting more Azra named characters in the future. Luckily due to Omenpaths there's a little more flexibility, as we can have one-offs show up on different planes.

I think we’ll see other Aetherborn and Azra.

Aetherborn Azra Creatures Omenpaths Planes Rabiah Scale

MOM Planes Familiarity

Do you have a sense where the new planes introduced on MOM sit on the Rabiah Scale?

No planes in March of the Machine were new as of the set. Every plane referenced in it had been referenced in other places before.

March of the Machine Planes Rabiah Scale

New Capenna Unpopularity

Hey Mark, I was reading the Rabiah scale article and was a bit sad to see New Capenna had a low popularity among players. It's my favorite plane, so I have a bit of a bias. I was wondering if you knew what players disliked about it? Was it because of the limited environment? Were the cards just weak overall in the set? Or did players just not like modern concepts in magic lore? (That last one I struggle to believe because of the popularity of NEO, but that could just be because of Japanese culture)

I can’t always explain the why of the data.

Japan Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Limited Modern Rabiah Scale Story / Lore

Thunder Junction Update

Hi Mark! Will you update Thunder Junction's Rabiah scale rating once the metaphorical dust has settled?

I can.

Rabiah Scale

Ikoria's Creative Identity

Hey Mark,I just read your Rabiah Scale article, very interesting read. I do have a remark about your blurb on Ikoria’s creative identity, and I feel like it would be notable to mention the initial perception of how the we thought the monsters of the set would be vs. how they turned out, what I mean by that is we thought there would be a lot of huge creatures like Rise of the Eldrazi, but it turned out it was much more of an emphasis on mutate which while does have fans we do wish there still were more bigger creatures, and I think that affected how people thought of the plane. Do you think that’s relevant to this Rabiah scale grade, and will it affect a future return to Ikoria?

We have the data we have. Understanding factors that led to the data is good to have, but doesn’t inherently change the data.

Creatures Eldrazi Mutate Rabiah Scale Rise of the Eldrazi

Rabiah Scale Updates

Just read your latest Rebiah Scale article, and you mentioned unpopular sets sometimes having a huge resurgence like with Kamigawa. I was wondering if in these articles you might update whether a planes Rabiah rating has been changed by new sets, and whether Kamigawa's may have changed. Thanks for your time! :)

Kamigawa is now a 4 thanks to the success of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Planes Rabiah Scale

Cross-Over Sets Impact

I love the Rabiah Scale articles, Mark. I was wondering if you could talk about how that might impact cross-over sets like Thunder Junction and Death Race?

I’ll talk about that when we get to them.

Rabiah Scale