The Cheese Stands Alone

Sentient Food Planes

I have to imagine a sentient food plane is already there in the Un-iverse and that's where the Cheese ("The Cheese Stands Alone") lives.

In the Un-iverse there are many sentient food planes.

Food Planes The Cheese Stands Alone

Silver-Bordered Card Status

Will existing silver-bordered cards all receive errata to become acorn cards with Unfinity's release, or will the ones that work within the rules become eternal-legal? (like The Cheese Stands Alone)

Nothing is being done currently to make any silver-bordered cards eternal.

Errata Eternal Rules The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Existing Card Use

I get that you don't like people bugging you for black bordered versions of cards, but I'm imagining a world where acorn already was in effect and Barren Glory (a beautiful and somber card) never got made because The Cheese Stands Alone already existed. For me at least, that world is worse.

My issue isn’t that people are bugging me (I get bugged everyday about a large number of things). My issue is players feel that can’t use cards already printed that they want to play with. In the world where The Cheese Stands Alone was eternal legal from its printing, that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have ever made Barren Glory. It just means more players could have enjoyed it.

Barren Glory Black Card Printing Eternal The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Transitioning Silver-Bordered Cards

"If an acorn card or an old silver border card later becomes possible in black border/main magic, are you more likely to just create a new card, or reuse the secret lair equivalency tech? We haven’t done it (yet), so that discussion has not happened." The Cheese Stands Alone was nearly 1:1 reprinted as a black border card in Barren Glory.

We clearly can just make a new card with a new name. The question is can we say an silver-bordered card is no longer silver-bordered and now Eternal legal? We haven’t done it, but that’s the hypothetical I was discussing.

Barren Glory Black Border Eternal Reprints Secret Lairs The Cheese Stands Alone The Secret Lair Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Water Gun Balloon Game Misprint

The preview of the release promo Water Gun Balloon Game has an oval stamp and a black border. Will that promo be actually printed with an acorn stamp? As printed, it technically legalizes the original silver-bordered printing of Water Gun Balloon Game in the Eternal formats, which calls back to why The Cheese Stands Alone couldn't be reprinted in Eighth Edition.

The original card image in the article (which I think has been fixed) was in error. The printed card will have an acorn security stamp.

Balloon Black Border Eighth Edition Eternal Promos Reprints Spoilers The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets Water Gun Balloon Game

Achieving 'The Cheese Stands Alone'

I recently pulled off my first win with Barren Glory with my ultra-jank commander deck and it got me thinking. I am wondering whether it was possible to pull off “The Cheese Stands Alone” win in limited environment of Unglued or if that was a card intended for a constructed play?

It was intended for constructed play.

Barren Glory Commander Decks Constructed Limited The Cheese Stands Alone

Silver-bordered to Black-bordered

Your recent Tales of the Pit reminds me to ask: Can I get a maybe on any recent Silver bordered designs appearing in a future black bordered set anytime soon??

You mean the actual card like The Cheese Stands Alone became Barren Glory?

Barren Glory Black Black Border The Cheese Stands Alone The Pit Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn

Un-Mechanic Transition

If the game advanced to the point that an Un-mechanic was allowed in black border, would it be possible that a card that was originally silver-border could get a black border reprint? Or would it need to be a functional "reprint"? For example, I could see As Luck Would Have It and Three-Headed Goblin feeling flavorfully at home in black border if their mechancis were supported/supportable.

It can’t as we have two rules - one that you can play any copy of a card legal in a format and another saying that you can’t play a silver-bordered card in a non-Un tournament. That is why The Cheese Stands Alone became Barren Glory when it transitioned to black border.

As Luck Would Have It Barren Glory Black Black Border Card Printing Format Legality Goblin Mechanics Reprints Rules The Cheese Stands Alone Three-Headed Goblin Un-sets

Potential Food Creatures

I think there is potential for food creatures, since we already know that there are cheese people (The Cheese Stands Alone), and possibly there is room in artifacts, perhaps in the form of very old bread or pot of honey or something like that. Maybe is this more silver border than black border.

I could see artifacts being food.

Artifacts Black Black Border Creatures Food The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Card Border Errata

Can card borders receive errata? For example, if replacing cards on the battlefield with ones in your hand becomes a thing black-border Magic can do, could Mary O'Kill be reprinted in a black-border set?

Silver border cards can’t appear exactly in black border. It could be renamed and flavored (provided the card actually worked in black border). The Cheese Stands Alone, for instance, was redone as Barren Glory.

Barren Glory Black Black Border Card Borders Card Printing Errata Mary O'Kill Reprints The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets Your Hand

Set and Playmat Joy

Thanks for fighting to make Dominaria awesome! Also just got my playmat, time to rebuild my The Cheese Stands Alone deck (The trick is that I sprinkle Chaos Confetti all over my own stuff)

I’m happy to hear you like the set and the playmat.

Chaos Confetti Dominaria The Cheese Stands Alone

Silver to Black Reprints

It would be easier to reprint a card into black border from silver border by making an identicle card with a different name.

Yes, that’s what we did with The Cheese Stands Alone (redone as Barren Glory).

Barren Glory Black Black Border Card Printing Reprints The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Un Sets Mechanics

Some other mechanics that started in Un sets and moved to BB: Teammates matter (Organ Harvest->Surge), The Cheese Stands Alone->Barren Glory, Changing Names of things (____->Spy Kit)

FYI

Barren Glory Mechanics Organ Harvest Spy Spy Kit Surge The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Contraption Likelihood

On a scale from ”the cheese stands alone" to "gotcha" what is the likelihood of contraptions in black boarder 10 years from now?

I need to see the set actually get played by all of you before I can make that prediction.

Black Contraptions The Cheese Stands Alone

Un-cards to Black Borders

Can Un-cards that don't break or even bend the rules of Magic - e.g. Uktabi Kong, The Cheese Stands Alone, etc. - never see print in a black-bordered set? Or has R&D just chosen to avoid it?

We’ve made an equivalent version of The Cheese Stands Alone in black border. Uktabi Kong’s flavor we probably wouldn’t do so blatantly in black border. : )As time goes by, more and more things that were once silver border become black border.

Bend / Break Black Black Border Card Printing Flavor Game Design Rules The Cheese Stands Alone Uktabi Kong Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Reprinting Silver Cards

Is there a specific rule against reprinting silver-bordered cards as black-bordered, or is it an implication of a more general rule?

It’s an actual rule. Well, an intersection of two rules: Rule #1: All cards with the same name are mechanically identical. Rule #2: Silver border cards can’t be played in sanctioned tournaments (well, except specific silver border tournaments). Making silver border cards black border forces you to break one of those two rules, neither of which we wish to break. You can change the name though as we did with The Cheese Stands Alone and Barren Glory.

Barren Glory Black Black Border Card Printing Reprints Rules The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Eighth Edition Promotion

"I tried very hard to get Booster Tutor into Eighth Edition as part of the “a card from every set” promotion." Except that Booster Tutor is from Unhinged, which is post-Eighth Edition. I thought the Un-card you tried to get into Eighth Edition was The Cheese Stands Alone. (Also, Zur's Weirding is from Ice Age.)

You are correct. It was the Cheese Stands Alone.

Booster Tutor Boosters Eighth Edition Ice Age The Cheese Stands Alone Tutoring Unhinged Zur's Weirding

Silver-bordered to Black

Theoretically, if a silver-bordered card is later acceptable in black border, could it be reprinted in black border?

Not with the same name. It can be printed mechanically identical with a new name though. This is what happened with The Cheese Stands Alone and Barren Glory (which technically isn’t identical but very close).

Barren Glory Black Black Border Card Printing Reprints The Cheese Stands Alone

Un-sets' Impact

Around '98 '99 my brother collected the game and I played occasionally with him. He described some crazy cards to me (Chaos Confetti, The Cheese Stands Alone and later AWOL). I didn't know these were joke cards at the time so, a decade later when I was reminded of the game, I already knew how awesome it is. I'm walking evidence that Un-sets sell MtG.

: ) : )

Chaos Confetti Humor The Cheese Stands Alone Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Card Reprint Mix-Up

I think you're misremembering something re: black-bordered Booster Tutor. Unhinged came out after 8th Edition, so how would you have tried to reprint it? When you told this story before I think it was The Cheese Stands Alone.

You’re correct. It was the Cheese Stands Alone. I did try to get Booster Tutor into a core set but not Eighth Edition.

Black Booster Tutor Boosters Card Printing Eighth Edition Reprints Story / Lore The Cheese Stands Alone Tutoring Unhinged