Views on Playtest and Uncards

"but a lot of time is spent making sure the cards work cohesively and lead to fun play patterns for the players who enjoy stretching the boundaries of what Magic allows. I do believe there are playtest cards that do that, but not consistently." A higher proportion of playtest cards fit this definition than uncards. Too many uncards care about nonsense. Largepox or Sunimret are actual Magic cards (that are also funnier), whereas Vile Bile or Farewell to Arms are neither fun nor functional.

Here’s an important life lesson, and one key to being a good game designer - people want different things out of their games. Just because you don’t personally like something doesn’t make it “neither fun nor functional”. Vile Bile, for example, was a high ranked card from Unhinged. There are a many people that enjoyed playing it. Its existence brought a lot of fun into the world for the players who liked what it added to Magic.It’s fine to say “these are the things I enjoy when I play Magic and I personally would like to see more things like that”. It’s not okay to say, “because I don’t enjoy these things, they’re not Magic”. Denying other people’s reality is a very dangerous habit that can both result in you causing other people pain and can keep you from finding new things they may bring you happiness. My issue with the playtest cards is not that people can’t enjoy them (obviously, many like yourselves do), but that I have a standard of quality that I hold for Magic design that this line of cards fell beneath. Magic, as a brand, is known for excellence of gameplay. That comes from products going through many iterations of designs, being evaluated by a large number of people, and fine-tuned through rigorous playtesting. The crux here is we’re arguing on two different vectors. You dislike that the game includes components that you don’t personally enjoy while I’m defending a work ethic I hold dear. I’m not sure our back and forth is accomplishing much. Let me end with this. One of my truisms is every complaint comes from a kernel of truth. There is a quality of the playtest cards that you enjoy. You like when we push in space that’s more tangibly future black border space. That’s something future sets, potentially even future Un-sets, can explore.