The Stack

Stack Interaction and Color Pie

Why does only blue have the ability to interact with the stack (aside from red copying spells)? Seems like a huge disadvantage to every other colour that they have nothing ressembling a counterspell. It makes sense for blue to be the best at it, but if every colour has creature removal why can't every colour have spell removal? Or even just some other colours?

Different colors have access to different things. It’s key to how the color pie works. Stack interaction is a pretty narrow design space by the way.

Blue Color Pie Colors Creatures Design Space Red Spells The Stack

Opinion on Modern Vibe in Duskmourn

Good day, Mark! Just adding yet another lengthy Duskmourn opinion to the stack.Personally, I don’t mind the more modern vibes as long as they’re something used very sparingly across sets as a whole. As in, I’d probably start having problems if we saw another set with a “modern” setting within the next year or two (not counting UB, which I consider a whole separate thing), but getting one every once in a blue moon is a neat little curiosity if nothing else.I actually think the fact that Duskmourn is so horror-focused helps the modern-ness fit better. Like, since the whole vibe of the set is that it’s full of things that are bizarre and out-of-place, modern things like TVs create a fitting contrast with the fantasy characters and concepts. It truly does feel like an invasion from an “alien” world into the one we’re familiar with. Which is kind of perfect!However, there is one thing I’d like to voice a complaint about: the card Chainsaw. It’s not even the fact that it’s a chainsaw that bugs me, but that its name is just… Chainsaw. Even if the setting is more modern, I feel like there should be an underlying level of fantasticalness that never goes away. I think the razorkin from the PW guide are an excellent example of this; taking the Slasher Monster trope and twisting it a bit so it still feels fantastical. But the Chainsaw is just a chainsaw. It’s not even, like, “[Adjective] Chainsaw.” It feels mundane and unexciting. I felt similarly about the Clue weapons in MKM, for what it’s worth. I want every Magic card to feel like it’s something that could only come out of the Magic multiverse.Obviously, that’s just one card, but I’m a tad concerned there are going to be more cards like it revealed later on. It wouldn’t ruin the set or anything, but it would be disappointing to me, especially if I like the mechanics of the cards themselves.

Would an adjective make it feel more fantastical? We made a Chainsaw in original Innistrad and it turned into Trepanation Blade. I still refer to it as Chainsaw. I’m kind of excited to make a set that can have an actual chainsaw. I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts about the name Chainsaw.

Alien Blue Chainsaw Innistrad Invasion Mechanics Modern Murders at Karlov Manor The Stack Trepanation Blade

Technical Products Feasibility

Do you think a product that's extremely technical (like, references to the stack, layers, obscure rules and complicated cards) could ever come out ?

I don’t think there’s a big enough audience for it.

Rules The Stack

Rule 107.3f Application

With regards to people saying Wheel of Potential et al "don't work as written", they should take a look at rule 107.3f. Specifically: "Sometimes X appears in the text of a spell or ability but not in a mana cost, alternative cost, additional cost, or activation cost. If the value of X isn’t defined, the controller of the spell or ability chooses the value of X at the appropriate time (either as it’s put on the stack or as it resolves)."

FYI

Mana Rules The Stack Wheel of Potential

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

Understanding Copies of Spells

Copies of spells on the stack are apparently not tokens. But they also obviously aren’t cards scince there are no physical cards to represent them so what are they?

They’re spells. A spell doesn’t need to have a physical-ness, like a card, to it.

Spells The Stack Tokens

Drawing Cards Mechanics

why doesn’t drawing cards use the stack?

Because it’s a game action and not a spell.

Card Draw Mechanics The Stack

Physical Stack Rule

If/when make it a rule that you have to physically stack cards on the stack on top of eachother so new players can actually tell why the spells resolve like they do, a metaphorical stack makes it less obvious.

If. Players are free to do that, but I’m skeptical we’re going to force players to.

Beginners If/When Rules Spells The Stack

Copying Spells Mechanics

FYI, since someone asked about why copying a permanent spell doesn't create a token for Doubling Season, since I see this question all the time: the reason is that it's copying the spell on the stack, not the permanent. What's being copied is the spell. The copy of the spell becomes a token as it resolves (just like the non-copied spell becomes a nontoken permanent as it resolves), but it's not created (just like the original spell doesn't create a permanent: it becomes one).To sum it up: copying a spell creates a copy of a spell, not a permanent. The copy of a spell simply becomes a token.

FYI

Doubling Season Mechanics Spells The Stack Tokens

Competitive vs Casual Play

For about a year during COVID, I played cEDH. I find my greater understanding of the stack, interaction, timing, etc make me a much better casual magic player and I enjoy the game more. Do you think players should learn to play competitive magic, even if they want to be casual players?

I think people should play in whatever way makes the game the most enjoyable for them.

Casual Play cEDH Competitive Play The Stack

Green Creature Copy Abilities

Is there any chance for green to copy creature spell when they're on the stack ? Or is green is only allowed to copy token ?

Green can copy creature cards it controls.

Creatures Green The Stack Tokens

Copy Spell Request

Can we get a blue copy spell that copies the stack? Thanks ♡

In Bloomburrow.

Bloomburrow Blue The Stack

Understanding Plot Mechanic

Hi Mark,Excited about the new Plot mechanic! For deckbuilding purposes, is it an activated ability of the card like cycling or a special action like foretell?Thank you!!

Special action. “Both the special action to plot the card from your hand and casting a plotted card from exile are done as a sorcery—again, meaning during your main phase while the stack is empty.”https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/outlaws-of-thunder-junction-mechanics

Appreciation Cycling Foretell Mechanics Plot Sorceries The Exile Zone The Stack Your Hand

Shichifukujin Dragon Rarity

Hi Mark, while looking up the Shichifukujin Dragon I did not see anywhere that it is on the reserve list. Could a functionally identical version be made? I'm assuming the intent of the cards function is not to die with the enters trigger on the stack :p

It is one of two Magic cards that only one exists in the world, so I do not expect it to get reprinted. I do know as the person that designed it, it was more about being cool to read than play.

Card Printing Dragon Rarity Reprints Shichifukujin Dragon The Stack

Meld Mechanic Discussion

Earlier someone mentioned Melded nonpermanent spells. Doesn’t Splice play into that design space?

The concept of meld is two cards coming together to make a bigger card. We have mechanics that adapt spells on the stack.

Adapt Design Space Mechanics Meld Non-permanents Spells Splice The Stack

Stack Rearrangement

can the rules currently handle rearranging the stack?

The rules can handle it, I think. I’m skeptical we’d do it, as it would be more confusing than anything else. Most players do not know what the stack is.

Rules The Stack

Rules Reverse Engineering

Oh, Hi Mark, continuing my quest to identify the 2% of rules that could not be reverse engineered from cards, while I'm sure the stack could be figured out (counterspells don't work without it and split second referencesit specifically) what about special actions? I feel like morph (and all other face down mechanics) would be assumed to use the stack.

The key to finding the 2% is figuring out what rules are never stated or implied on cards. We don’t ever talk about layers, so it’s a hard thing to intuit.

Mechanics Morph Rules Split Second The Stack

Magar Combat Damage

Un-rules question: Regarding Magar of the Magic Strings, when a face-down instant or sorcery deals combat damage to a player, where is the copy of the noted card created and cast from?

The stack is my best guess.

Instants Magar of the Magic Strings Sorceries The Stack Un-sets

Hybrid Split-Card Cycle

Hi Mark,I just wanted to say that I really like the new Hybrid Split-Card cycle in Karlov Manor. So far, I think they have been really elegant designs. I’m excited to play them in the draft environment with the Collect Evidence mechanic!

Split card’s mana value when in zones other than the stack are equal to the combined mana costs of the two mini cards. Interesting. : )

Collect Evidence Draft Formats Humor Hybrid Mana Mana Value Mechanics The Stack

Morph Mechanic Stack

Why do you feel morph should use the stack? Personally I feel players not being able to immediately destroy a morph after they know what it is and before it has unmorphed creates better gameplay.

At the time, it was the only thing to not use the stack. Twenty plus years later, the slippery slope has happen and many things don’t use it, so less of an issue.

Destroy Game Play Mechanics Morph Morph The Stack