Sorceries

Blue's Permanent Effect on Creatures

would it be in pie for blue to permanently remove a creatures abilities with an instant/sorcery? or is that too close to removing and replacing it?

Unlikely. If an instant or sorcery, it would be temporary. For a permanent effect, we’d use an aura.

Auras Blue Creatures Instants Sorceries

Rules and Subtypes for Land Creatures

Is there a rules reason Omo cannot give all creature types to land creatures? Was that too confusing? Did it break something on arena? I’ve been pondering this and can’t figure it out.

You can’t give a subtype of a specific card type to a different type (with the exception that instants and sorceries share subtypes).

Card Types Creatures Instants Lands Magic Arena Rules Sorceries Subtypes

Sorcery Speed Pingers Implication

Would sorcery speed pingers solve the problem of too much complexity in combat and allow pingers to be printed in standard?

They don’t change the math much. Yes, it’s different for first strike/double strike.

Double Strike First Strike Pingers Sorceries Standard

Rules Distinction in Gift

First of all, LOVE Bloomburrow! Especially the otters, frogs, and rabbits. Re: Gift a tapped fishGift is like Haunt in that the instant/sorcery version and permanent version do different things. The spell gifts the fish before other effects. The permanent gifts when it enters. I see this having similar challenges with Haunt. Also the rules text doesn’t specify a 1/1 blue fish. Reminder text isn’t technically part of the rules. Can I gift my opponent other kinds of fish? I see the “gift a tapped fish” as being potentially “rules-challenging”.

Rules text has meaning beyond what’s on the card. Reminder text is telling you relevant information. That is real information that has rules weight. Reminder text just isn’t written in technical Magic templating.

Bloomburrow Blue Fish Frogs Gift Mechanic Haunt Instants Otters Rabbits Rules Sorceries Templating

Design of Brave-Kin Duo

The recently spoiled Brave-Kin Duo having both a mana cost and a sorcery restriction on its ability seems unnecessarily cautious.Some of my all-time favorite cards are the cheap combat-tricks on a body like Angelic Page, Ghost Warden, Infantry Veteran, Anointer of Champions, etc. Is there a reason we don't see those much anymore? They make for super interesting combat. As they're not really competitively viable cards these days, it would be cool to see a more pushed version (like a 1MV Ghost Warden).Or if it has to have a mana cost, why not a +1/+1 *counter* like a Cenn's Tactician that can target any creature? That would be super fun.

This is a common card designed for limited. The power level is adjusted to that goal.

Creatures Limited Mana Power Level Sorceries Angelic Page Anointer of Champions Brave-Kin Duo Cenn's Tactician Ghost Warden Infantry Veteran

Changeling Role in Typal Sets

Does Bloomburrow prove that a typal-themed set doesn’t need changeling to work? Or will Changeling stick around for typal sets with heavier creature type emphasis?

The as-fan of typal themes is a lot lower than sets like Lorwyn or Ixalan. “Here’s a snippet from my article today that touches upon this:To give you a sense of what I mean by a sprinkling, here are the typal rewards for Frogs:
A common that costs less if you have a Frog
An uncommon sorcery with a rider if you have a Frog
An uncommon land with an effect that helps Frogs
An uncommon land and a rare creature that cares if a Frog entered the battlefield this turn
An uncommon creature and a rare creature that grant Frogs an ability
A rare creature that cares about casting Frogs
The number of typal cards can vary slightly, but that will give you a rough idea of the as-fan I’m talking about.”Here’s a link to the whole article:
The Bloom of the Burrow, Part 1

As-fan Bloomburrow Changeling Creatures Exploratory Design Frog Ixalan Kindred / Typal Lands Lorwyn Rares Sorceries Spoilers Story / Lore Uncommons

Possibility of New Frames

Hi Mark,If or when: Instants/Sorceries getting their own frame like Artifacts and (nyx-bordered) enchantments do, possibly in a limited capacity to start with, as a trial run perhaps?

If, but it’s been discussed.

Artifacts Card Frames Enchantments If/When Instants Limited Sorceries

Boldness in Spell Restrictions

I just listened to your restrictions podcast. But restricted spell casting and even abilities were baked into the game in Alpha, Sirens Call, Camouflage, False Orders could only be played at specific times, Neteling Imp could only be activated at a specific time and Veteran Body Guard only dud his Kevin Cosner impression if untapped. Not to mention the interupt, instant and sorcery timing rules.

There have always been restrictions. We’ve just been more bold in where and how often we can use them.

Camouflage Drive to Work False Orders Imp Instants Rules Siren Sorceries

Understanding Instant and Sorcery

Someone asked for "instant that becomes stronger or gains an additional effect when cast at a time you could cast a sorcery" and you've made those already in Born of the Gods with the Fated cycle.

Yes.

Born of the Gods God Instants Sorceries

Speculating on Future Game Mechanics

If/when: An instant that becomes stronger or gains an additional effect when cast at a time you could cast a sorcery - similar to Addendum, but requiring an empty stack as well?

If. I’m skeptical we’ll ever require an empty stack.

Addendum If/When Instants Mechanics Sorceries

Freerunning versus Prowl

Do you have any insight as to why the team for ACR went with "freerunning" as the mechanic vs using "prowl" and making the spells "kindred instant/sorcery - Assassin"? Obviously with the commander clause its different, but they've talked about how that was added later on.

We use kindred very infrequently.

Assassin Assassin's Creed Commander Freerunning Instants Kindred / Typal Mechanics Prowl Sorceries Spells

Unique Frame Treatments

With enchantments getting Nyx frames, any chance creatures or instants and sorceries will get unique frame treatments so every card type has its own?

No current plans, but I would have said the same thing about enchantments if you asked in the past.

Card Frames Card Types Creatures Enchantments Instants Sorceries

Steps to Magic for Beginners

Following up on my "magic for beginners" question. I think jumpstart is great, but I'm envisioning a set that exists in a way that can add complexity for each level. Like you break out the set and it starts ok here are two 30 card decks with just creatures (and those creatures just have say, haste and flying), once you're good with that, you add in 10 sorcery cards that are easy to understand, then 10 enchantments, then 10 instants. I just feel like magic throws people in the deep end.

The interesting thing we’ve learned having explored this topic for over thirty years is players are more likely to continue playing if it’s a little above them, if they feel like there’s more things to learn. When we strip a lot of things out to simplify it, many players go, “That’s it?” and leave never to explore any deeper.

Beginners Creatures Enchantments Flying Haste Instants Sorceries

Balance and Color Distribution

I was reading your trivia article and I was displeased at the color distribution for sorcery and instant cards. Blue should have more sorceries as it is the number 1 color in spells not just instants. I would still like red to have the most sorceries. Also give white some more instants and give black less instants. Is this distribution concerning to you and are you trying to balance this better?

The balance is what it is because the game plays best that way. I’m not big on changing numbers for the sake of changing numbers.

Birthday Black Blue Colors Instants Red Sorceries Spells White

Two Typelines in Magic

Do you think if magic started again, it would have 2 typelines instead of one, to acomodate for more types, supertypes and subtypes in a single card (specially if instant turned into a supertype)?

I don’t. Instant being a supertype doesn’t make lengthy lines as it would mostly just be Instant Sorcery.

Instants Sorceries Subtype Supertype

Concerns on Card Naming

Is there any concern to having newly printed cards named things like Bridgeworks Battle when it’s a sorcery and not a battle, long term?

I agree we have to be more careful with the word battle, but Universes Beyond add the difficulty of that being the thing it’s called.

Battles Card Printing Sorceries Universes Beyond

Sharazad Card Interpretation

Why is sharazad a sorcery instead of a creature with an ETB and Ward cost both of which make you play sub games when the latter is more accurate to her lore.

Enter the battlefield effects didn’t exist when Arabian Nights was published.

Creatures Enter The Battlefield Sorceries Story / Lore Ward

Historic's Impact on Legendary Cards

Does the success of historic help the Legendary Instants/Sorceries?

Not really.

Historic Instants Sorceries

Wheel of Potential Card Issue

Re: how should wheel of potential workThe way wheel of potential *TECHNICALLY* works right now is a 3 mana sorcery that says exile your hand and draw any number of cards. The way it’s currently worded works like this: 1. I cast wheel of potential2. I begin to resolve wheel of potential. First I get three energy3. Next declare a value for X. This is where the card starts to break.4. Once I declare a value for X, two things happen based on that value, completely independent of eachother.4a. I am given permission to pay X energy4b. Each player is given permission to exile their hand and draw X cards.
The issue here is that step 4b is tied to step 3, not 4a. It’s obvious that the intended design for this card is for the amount you draw to be determined by the amount of energy you pay. But with its current wording, you can declare X to be any number you want, and you get to draw X cards regardless of whether you pay any energy. I think you see the problem.

To quote Matt Tabak on Twitter:“No, if you don’t pay the energy, you don’t draw the cards. We may have to tweak that template, but the card doesn’t work that way.” #WotCstaff

Mana Matt Tabak Sorceries Templating The Exile Zone Wheel of Potential Your Hand

Power of Blue in Design

Suppose you have to design Power Lunch. In such an environment, blue is extraordinarily powerful because it can interact with spells on the stack, a privelige other colors can only approximate (red could copy an instant/sorcery spell and resolve it first, white can tax/bounce the spell). This (at least gives me the impression that it) means no decks would lack these colors, which goes against the purpose of the color pie. How would you solve this problem?

There are many formats where blue is the only one with counterspells and other colors function just fine. I don’t believe it is as mandatory a thing to play with as you think.

Blue Color Pie Colors Instants Red Sorceries Spells The Stack White