serra sphinx is one thing, but when are we getting that golgari 5 mana 4/4 flying vigilance?

I have faith it will eventually happen.

Concerning power creep, there may be a comparison and distinction to be made between distorting a format and adding relevant cards to a format. If a card is relevant, it shows up in decks, right? Maybe even a lot of decks. That's good for a format-relevant product. Otherwise, why even make the product?But then what is the delineating mark between format change (good) and format distortion (bad)?One could argue that Serra Angel is an example of format change. Arguably obsolete, nobody is really objecting to the card's irrelevance in eternal formats.So. What is that dividing line? Is formst chsnge just 'distortion over time'? I would argue that healthful change is oft misperceived as power creep, but it took a lot of cards in Commander before we figured out that '2 MV ramp and repeating value' were the prime culprits in accelerating the casual format beyond its 'battlecruiser Magic' roots.I'm not making a big argument one way or another, just trying to stimulate a brain or two..

For starters you’re not using “power creep” as I use it on this blog, but for the sake of saying the same thing for the tenth time, I understand you mean the increase of cards impacting older environments. You bring up the other thing we haven’t been talking about. Card influx talks in neutral terms. Add N relevant cards and impact the environment a particular amount. The faster you add N, the quicker it changes. The sets designed for older formats aren’t adding in cards neutrally though. They are adding in suites of cards built around particular mechanical themes. Adding in whole suites of cards changes environments more quickly as the threshold to make a deck theme relevant gets hit more quickly. That’s the other big impact of designing for a format. It causes you to impact it faster as you are designing whole swaths of mechanical pieces, not just cards. That’s very relevant to the topic at hand.

With the new Jace getting the Serra Avenger effect of "you cant cast this spell on your first, second, or third turns of the game", could the rules allow for a card that said the inverse? "You can only cast this spell on your first, second, or third turn of the game"

The restriction makes us lower the power level, so the inability to cast it later doesn’t have much reason.

I know Partner has some issues, but I do hope we continue to see them in small doses. The Vorthos in me can't play them without strong thematic/lore-appropriate pairings. This is especially true of the Commander Legends ones, which feature favorites of mine from the lore that I would love to play, like Sengir, the Dark Baron and Serra, Radiant Archangel

Partner with is still a tool available to us.

Hi Mark, Thanks for continuously answering questions! It has become my daily routine to your blog. I've two questions regarding the Heroes of the Realm card Treizeci, Sun of Serra. What exactly is a retro frame? Can a card from e.g Onslaught be considered a retro frame card, or are only new, unique cards with an old border considered retro framed? How would you define the card type Legends? Creatures w the subtype Legend or any legendary card? Thank you!

I believe they mean legendary creatures and are using the old term for it, back when legendary was a supertype. I believe retro frame means any card in that frame including old cards originally printed in it.

Did you have any work crafting any of the cards with Song of All in their text box, like the Urza block cards Congregate, Planar Birth, Serra’s Embrace, or the Voice of [ideal] mega cycle? Easily my favorite flavor texts as they were one of the first things I read when I was learning Magic that alluded to the broader lore, and it hooked me.

I had a hand in most of those card’s designs, but didn’t have anything to do with the Song of All flavor text.

Do the rules require that when changing a permanent's name (in the way that Witness Protection does) to an existing card name, it becomes a copy of that card?Like if an effect said "Target creature's name becomes Serra Angel" would it also become a 4/4 angel with flying and vigilance?

I don’t believe changing a name grants those card’s abilities.

Hello Mark! Reading an article on the set “Power Lunch”, it was mentioned that the baseline for creatures was fireball (e.g. Serra Angel was a 4/4 for 3WW). Is there any similar rule of thumb today to keep power creep in check? Thank you and wish you Happy Holidays!

The idea behind “Power Lunch” was the baseline for spells was Ancestral Recall. Note it was never a real product, just humorous musings.

Not a question, and I know this is old news, but I just wanted to thank y'all for printing Serra the Benevolent. I had wanted a planeswalker card for her since Lorwyn and the result was exactly what I wanted. She's best friends with Lyra in my angel deck ^_^

I’m happy you’re enjoying it.

What did R&D call vigilance before it was keyworded?

The “Serra” ability.