Snakes

Poison Counter Mechanic Involvement

New 24 Jul 2024 Asked by inketc 1 Comments

Has there ever been consideration to do a mechanic involving poison counters with non phyrexian creatures? Mainly i was thinking snakes


We’ve had poison cards of things other than Phyrexians, and I believe we’ll make more.

Nature of Serpents in Magic

New 23 Jul 2024 Asked by submergedforgottencladogram 6 Comments

Yes, serpent is a synonym for snake, absolutely (...dragon also means snake). But I presume serpents in Magic are typically not snakes, as those are separate types (which have never occurred on the same card!), and the art typically portrays them as a mix of fish and snake characteristics.


Serpents are sea monsters in Magic. The question that came up with Serpents was we felt a lot of people would say yes “serpents” are an Earth animal as it’s a synonym for snake.

'Serpent' as an Animal Type

New 23 Jul 2024 Asked by submergedforgottencladogram 12 Comments

Mark, I found your animal mega-batch discussion thrilling and charming, and I am sorry it did not convince others, but I guess I do see the downfall already in the list you gave us: it includes serpent typing as an 'animal', but as a biologist/paleontologist I'm not sure there has ever been a real 'serpent' other than very large snakes...


In normal English is “serpent” not a synonym for “snake”?

Unifying Ox and Minotaur Types

New 16 Jul 2024 Asked by josphitia 11 Comments

Has there ever been any thought to combining the Ox and Minotaur creature types? Such as simplifying both to simply "Cow?" I'm a huge fan of bovines in all forms and it would be nice if all of the Ox in magic worked alongside their more anthropomorphic cousins the Minotaur. As it is now we're lucky to really get cards of *either* type printed. There's resonance to the name Minotaur, no doubt, but it also has its share of baggage. It has Greek connotations and that's probably a big reason Minotaurs are almost strictly in Theros (although some favorites, such as Neheb, are from other planes). I was happy that Outlaws had more Ox cards, but it also highlights my dissatisfaction: Holy Cow is an *ox* not a cow, despite the name. It feels like a retread of the Hound or Naga debacle all over again. Hound was simplified to Dog and all Snakes, from rattlesnakes to Naga, are simply the type Snake now. This allows snakes and dogs of all walks benefit from a shared unity. Cats had it right, we didn't need Leonin as a separate type.I just feel like there's unnecessary separation being created by dividing Ox and Minotaur and it has the same resonance failings as all dogs being labeled "hounds" had. If it's important for a particular creature to *be* a minotaur then they can just *have* minotaur in their name, like ~30% of minotaurs already do. There's also the simple fact that Minotaur is a longer average creature type, limiting design space for other types to be included. It's hard to justify why a Minotaur is on a random plane, but much less so if it's simply a "Cow Warrior" for example. As for why I think "Cow" should just be the combined type name, I simply think it fits. Cow is a resonant name. Almost everyone, East to west, knows *of* cows if only because their milk is such a widely used commodity. We don't call it "Ox's milk" after all. More than that, it's fun! Cow is *funny* in the same way *squirrel* is funny. It's amusing to see "Squirrels you control" in this game full of fighting. In that vein, "Cows you control" is an amusing line that can help break up the seriousness of a setting. I know this is making a mountain out of a molehill, but magic is a game of different perspectives coming together and creating something new. Cows are my favorite animal and it's simply dissatisfying, to me, that my Holy Cow can't benefit from a Kragma Warcaller. That Angrath, colloquially named "Cow Dad" in the community, would have the creature type "Minotaur." The only downside I can see is that "Cow" *does* specifically refer to females of a bovine species. But that is a distinction few, if any, seriously take into consideration. If one sees a field of cows, they're not saying "I see lots of cows and 3 bulls!" They're going to say "I see cows!"So to bring the thesis back, has there been any discussion internally to simplifying the Minotaur and Ox creature types under a single banner, such as "Cow?" I would also happily settle for "Cattle" as the new type. I just feel the current Ox vs Minotaur divide has to go, for both flavor and mechanical reasons, and the sooner the better.


I have been on Team Cow (as I was on Team Dog) for many years. I even made Cows in Un-sets. I still believe Minotaur should be its own creature type though.

Classification of Animal Species

New 10 Jul 2024 Asked by storyofawerewolf 9 Comments

Hey Mark, so have a question for you from an ecologists perspective here. Why is it that some classes of animals within magic, such as mammals, amphibians, reptiles are broken down into family classes as archetypes (rabbit, wolf, frog, lizard, snake etc) but birds are just birds and not broken down any further? Just an odd one I've noticed for a while haha


We wanted to make bird lords rather than hawk lords.

Food Chain in Bloomburrow

New 10 Jul 2024 Asked by fanfactorpodcast 6 Comments

If everyone vegetarian in Bloomborrow ? What do the snakes eat?


The animalfolk. The snakes are predators.

Green's Interacting Weakness

New 25 Apr 2021 Asked by cactusbonanza-deactivated202204 36 Comments

I feel like between Allosaurus Shepherd, Heroic Intervention, and Snakeskin Veil... The whole "green is bad at interacting" weakness (and it's supposed creature-based weakness) are nullified. A single card like these that slips though rotation negates any weakness the color has.


Green’s weakness isn’t “ bad at interacting”. Its weakness is an over-reliance on creatures. It’s allowed to protect its creatures though.


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