Shadows over Innistrad

Considering Two Set Blocks

New 23 May 2024 Asked by roborabbitart 0 Comments

So I understand that three set blocks tend to wear people out, but has there been any consideration for two set blocks? I've been feeling more and more over the years that a lot of recent mechanics just don't get enough support because they're often one-and-done, and it'll be a miracle to ever see them again. It also feels like recent settings don't get fleshed out and don't get time to breathe, save Eldraine which got revisited surprisingly quickly.


Battle for Zendikar, Shadows over Innistrad, Kaladesh, Amonkhet, and Ixalan were all two set blocks.

Eldrazi and Phyrexians

New 18 May 2024 Asked by tylerja-blog 31 Comments

If R&D strives for mechanical uniqueness in the Eldrazi and Phyrexians, why then do we see such creative homogenization between the two in MH3? The Eldrazi were never borg-like assimilators, thay was very evidently the Phyrexians. Now we have (had?) two antagonists whos primary threat is assimilation. Besides Eldrazi being unintelligible, whats even the difference anymore?


The Eldrazi don’t assimilate. Emarakul can mutate things, as seen in Shadows over Innistrad, block.

Corrupted Cards Opinion

New 18 May 2024 Asked by su92 48 Comments

I understand that MH3 wants to reference famous cards (and that's great!) but I'm getting a bit tired of the "Old card/character but corrupted" trope (referring to the Eldrazi versions). Maybe it's because we just had DMU, ONE *and* MOM do it just last year, or maybe I've played Magic for too long and I still remember SOM and SOI blocks doing that as well. What's the general opinion on this kind of cards?


They’re very popular.

Pack Art Changes

New 16 Jan 2024 Asked by zblasterlosthispassword 27 Comments

Hey Mark, kinda odd question. Why did WotC stop making packs in boxes have multiple arts on them? I remember a fun part of drafting and buying packs being the mysticism of grabbing all of the Jace Packs or Avacyn packs in SOI because of superstition and luck. I'm sad that packs have all had identical art for a while now.


When we started making more variants of boosters, we cut to one image each to lessen confusion.

Innistrad Block Trivia

New 22 Oct 2023 Asked by fizzywizard 44 Comments

it’s my birthday today! could i perchance get some trivia about shadows over innistrad block?


We knew we wanted to do a mechanic called investigate before we knew what it did. We tried card drawing, but it was too good in volume, so we asked ourselves, “Is there a way to draw half a card?”Happy Birthday!

Modern Horror vs Gothic

New 06 Aug 2023 Asked by tporter222 73 Comments

Hi Mark, you said: "Modern horror can’t be done in Innistrad". Not that I mind that Duskmourn is set on its own plane (in fact I prefer it and think it sounds much more compelling), but you've strayed from the Gothic horror theme of Innistrad into cosmic horror before with the SOI block after having a plane-wide change. It seems like you could've similarly had the Phyrexian invasion or the omenpaths make a similar change to make the modern horror theme viable there for a backdrop set.


Cosmic horror has significantly more overlap with gothic horror than modern horror does. For example, you need the modern part.

Learning from Past Sets

New 21 Jun 2023 Asked by paladinofthelosthour 29 Comments

So are we to take from your article, that there were no lessons to be learned from Shadows over Innistrad block?


I didn’t lead the design of Shadows over Innistrad. Mark Gottlieb did.

SOI Remastered Praise

New 15 Apr 2023 Asked by inktog 19 Comments

Hi Mark! Could you give high fives to those responsible for the Shadows over Innistrad Remastered draft environment? It's been a ton of fun, and the rotating Shadows of the Past cards have kept the format fresh and interesting from week to week.


Will do.

Compliments for Arena Team

New 19 Mar 2023 Asked by i-am-nickelbolt 37 Comments

Kudos to the Arena team for Shadows over Innistrad Remastered and the weekly rotating bonus sheets specifically. This is a *way* better way to keep draft fresh and interesting than Alchemy rebalancing, and *also* a better way to get more cards on Arena than those small for purchase only Arena collections. I'm sure it would be logistically difficult to do this kind of thing for every set, or even in paper, but I wish it were possible! Please do more of this!


I’ll pass along your compliments.

Design Iteration Philosophy

New 31 Jan 2023 Asked by dmateodiazp 50 Comments

So, is the new encroaching mycosynth just Mycosynth lattice but weaker? i feel like there is a lot of time spent "fixing" old designs instead of just doing new ones, like emrakul in zendikar vs SOI or Iona shield of emmeria, etc... why not just do new designs?


Because every format is not eternal.

Cosmic Horror Settings

New 27 Dec 2022 Asked by bdiasf 39 Comments

What is more likely: cosmic horror on Innistrad or a brand New cosmic horror plane? (Maybe Tolvada idk, the sky is opening there, people are getting crazy)


Shadows over Innistrad block was cosmic horror.

SOI Remastered Coverage

New 05 Oct 2022 Asked by spaismanspif 24 Comments

Excited for the SOI Remastered announcement (I've been waiting for it since MID was announced)! The article says it covers a whole set, but I assume it covers the whole block like the other Arena remastered sets?


Correct, it covers the whole block.

Set Design Strategy

New 17 Aug 2022 Asked by mysterio797 40 Comments

Hello Mark, I think it is really cool when you guys have a type of card in every pack….Shadows over Innistrad had double sided card, Strixhaven had Mystical Archive, Neon Dynasty had a saga, Modern Horizons 2 had a reprint w/og set watermarked in the textIs putting a specific type of card in every pack something you guys would consider doing every set or only when the flavor/setting is right for it?


We’re doing it more, but a set needs both the right hook and the right amount of cards you’re putting one person pack.

Startled Awake Card Analysis

New 14 Feb 2022 Asked by livefromtheloam 35 Comments

"TDFCs have to be permanents and split cards can’t be permanents." Startled Awake // Persistent Nightmare was one of my favorite Shadows over Innistrad cards. =)


Fair. I guess the front could be a spell.

Navigating Expanding MtG Content

New 19 Jan 2022 Asked by bassimelwakil 60 Comments

FYI: for those wondering how to transition now that MtG is so much bigger than it was that a single person can’t keep up — what I did was I just focused on making MtG what I wanted it to be. I like Social limited formats with high variance and really evocative themes or mechanics I Lovd. What I do is get a box or at least a common/uncommon playset of sets that tick those boxes. Conspiracy, Battlebond, Unstable are all right up my alley, as was Khans of Tarkir as I love morph (and the world’s theme) or Shadows Over Innistrad (I love clues).Now that WotC announces their ENTIRE YEAR, it’s really easy to navigate the year. In the upcoming year, I’m looking at Kamigawa, Capenna, Unfinity and Brothers War. Depending on how they play out, I will buy them. If not, I wait for the next one. And sets that don’t appear my cup of tea, like Dominaria United, I can look at but I don’t need to “keep up” with what it does. I’ve got plenty of mtg to look forward to this year and I’ll be happier focusing on the sets I like the look of than forcing myself to give sets that don’t interest me as much time as those that do. :)


It’s our intent that all Magic players make the game what they want it to be. Choose your style of play. Choose your format. Choose your deck style. Choose your cards. Choose who you play against (whether its a playgroup or more public). To use the buffet analogy, our intent is not that you eat every piece of food we serve (not that you can’t if that’s how you want to interact with the game, but it’s a commitment), but that you create the meal that makes you happiest to eat.

Current State of Evasion

New 06 Jan 2022 Asked by submergedforgottencladogram 35 Comments

My sense is that outside a handful of 'can't be blocked' creatures and flying, there hasn't been a lot of evasion recently in standard sets -- I think the last new evasion keyword was skulk in SOI. If I am not wrong (I might be) is there a reason for this? Is it unsustainable having general methods for evasion beyond flying?


Evasion is healthy, but the best evasion involves answers built into the fabric of the game. Not being able to block unless you’re running a particular answer you wouldn’t otherwise put in your deck leads to imbalanced environments.

SOI and EMN References

New 11 Nov 2021 Asked by lowclasshifi-deactivated2022042 92 Comments

It seems the only direct reference to SOI/EMN in the new Innistrad sets is Ulvenwald Oddity. Given the narrative severity of that block, why isn't this aspect of the plane given more space on the cards themselves? To me, it feels a little like disregarding the past or sweeping it under the rug.


The whole story in Midnight Hunt hinges on the effects of Emrakul being in the moon.

Story's Impact on Set Design

New 08 Nov 2021 Asked by pureferret 38 Comments

Re: Tamiyo in SOI may I request a podcast one day on all the times story influenced set design?


Story influences set design all the time. In an earlier ask today, for example, I explained how Davriel became Kaya (I’m talking card slots) for story reasons.

Criteria for Three-Color Support

New 08 Nov 2021 Asked by wiggin91 38 Comments

"One of the biggest factors is about if the set is built to support the three colors in question." Was SOI in any way buld to support bant (as a color combination)? Because Tamiyo was the only three-color card in the set.


Each set is different and unique, and comes with its own set of criteria for what can and can’t be done easily. Just because set A could do something doesn’t mean set B could do it. You can’t prove we could have done something in Midnight Hunt by referencing something we did in Shadows over Innistrad. They’re different sets with a wide variety of different factors that needed to be accounted for. As for Tamiyo in Shadows over Innistrad, we wanted to add her for story reasons, but had already allocated all of our planeswalkers for the planeswalker grid. Making her three-color was the only way we could balance her in Standard. Because the card was going to be mythic rare (as are most planeswalkers) we felt we lessened limited impact as much as we could.

Compelling Deterrence Judgment

New 06 Oct 2021 Asked by sobek16 41 Comments

Follow up: is Compelling Deterrence from Shadows over Innistrad a bend or break as it’s a mono blue card that can makes a player discard a card?


It’s a pretty big bend.


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