Thicket Basilisk

Booster Pack Memory

What’s a fond memory you have of opening a booster pack?

I first bought Magic cards at a convention. They were Alpha cards. I liked the game and wanted to get more, only to discover they were sold out everywhere. When Beta came out, I bought two boxes of boosters and two boxes of starters. I would open one booster each day. One day I opened up my pack and found Thicket Basilisk. I was blown away by it. It could kill anything it fought? That seemed so powerful to me at the time. It really made me realize that anything was possible, and it’s an experience I always think about when designing new cards. I want to design cards that have that mind blowing aspect on other players.

Basilisk Boosters Thicket Basilisk

Birthday Combo Trivia

Hi Mark. I was sick during my birthday a week ago and forgot to message you. As a Spike limited player I was reminiscing earlier about simpler times. I started in Revised, and still love MTG after all these years. When I first started playing as a kid, I was in love with the combo of Bog Wraith and Evil Presence (so much flavor). Can you give me fun trivia about a combo that YOU enjoy?

The first combo that fascinated me was Lure and Thicket Basilisk. The first deck I made was monogreen as my first Starter deck had a Craw Wurm.Happy Belated Birthday!

Basilisk Birthday Bog Wraith Competitive Play Craw Wurm Evil Presence Flavor Limited Lure Spike Thicket Basilisk Wraith Wurm

Birthday Trivia Turntimber Basilisk

Hey Mark! Can I invoke birthday trivia on one of my favorite cards?
Turntimber Basilisk is the top, but Vault Skirge and Mourning Thrull are my backups :)

Turntimber Baslisk was a nod to an old combo from Alpha - Thicket Basilisk and Lure. We had to weaken it a little as luring all the creatures was too much.Happy Birthday!

Basilisk Birthday Creatures Lure Mourning Mourning Thrull Thicket Basilisk Thrull Turntimber Basilisk Vault Skirge

Magic Home Era

Hi Mark,I think it's fair to say some players have had their feathers ruffled with recent design choices and printing decisions. I've seen someone describe all of the tention around the idea, "You can never truly return home." In Magic context, it's the fact that in a vacuum, it's very hard to recreate the conditions players fell in love with the game and their magic 'golden ages'. It's caused me to really thing about recent changes differently.But my questions for you is, what is your magic 'home'? Or what's the period of magic that you find yourself yearning for the most? What does the magic you fell in love with look like?

When Beta came out, I knew that it was going to sell out immediately, so I bought a bunch of booster boxes. I then restricted myself to opening one booster pack a day. At the time, Wizards had decided to keep the contents secret, and the Internet was young, so it didn’t have the means of making the contents known. This meant every day when I opened my booster pack I would see cards for the first time. The thing I fell in love with Magic was that I was constantly surprised. I didn’t know what the game was capable of, so whenever it went a place I hadn’t thought of, it truly felt magical. That’s been my touchstone as Head Designer. I want the game to keep surprising, to keep pushing its boundaries. I want players to see things they never thought possible and share that same feeling I had the first time I saw a Thicket Basilisk. “They can do that?!” Which means to me, the constant evolution is home.

Basilisk Boosters Head Designer Thicket Basilisk Touchstone

Thicket Basilisk and Deathtouch

Do Creatures like Thicket Basilisk count as deathtouch? For example, would they trigger Fynn, the Fangbearer ability?

No. While the Thicket Basilisk was one of the inspirations for the ability, it technically works differently than deathtouch and thus can’t use the deathtouch keyword.

Basilisk Creatures Deathtouch Fynn, the Fangbearer Keywords Thicket Basilisk

Thicket Basilisk Printability

Re: Thicket Basilisk. Let me rephrase my last question: could Thicket Basilisk be printed today even though it’s ability is kind of like Deathtouch but not quite?

I doubt we’d reprint it with deathtouch being evergreen. Too many people would play it as if it has deathtouch and it doesn’t.

Basilisk Card Printing Deathtouch Evergreen Reprints Thicket Basilisk

Alternative to Deathtouch

I know that we now have Deathtoich, but could a creature with the Thicket Basilisk ability be printed today? As an alternative to Deathtouch? Or would it having an ability so close to Deathtouch be a problem?

No, we don’t do “close to evergreen abilities but just slightly different”. It would just cause confusion.

Basilisk Card Printing Creatures Deathtouch Evergreen Thicket Basilisk

Favorite Alpha Card

Hello Mark, take 2 on my Birthday Question. Not really trivia but do you have a favorite card from Alpha and what was it when you started playing? Thanks!

The first card I ever fell in love with was Thicket Basilisk. I thought it’s ability was crazy when I first saw it.Happy Birthday!

Alpha Basilisk Birthday Thicket Basilisk

Primal Clay Trivia

Is the answer to that trivia question Primal Clay?

It is. The first time you play it, it’s a 3/3 or 2/2 flier. The second time, it’s a 0/6 Wall and Thicket Basilisk doesn’t destroy Walls.

Basilisk Birthday Destroy Primal Clay Thicket Basilisk Wall

Unique Birthday Trivia

It's my birthday! Rather than ask about a certain topic, can I just ask what your favorite piece of trivia is?

This puzzle: You’re playing with just Revised Edition cards. You and your opponent each have nothing but basic lands in play. Your opponent plays a Thicket Basilisk. You then play a creature. Your opponent attacks on the next turn with the Thivket Basilusk. You block. Your creature dies. Then on your turn you cast Raise Dead and put the creature back into your hand. You then cast it again. On your opponent’s next turn, he attacks again with the Thicket Basilisk. You block again with your creature, but this time it doesn’t die.What creature is it? Happy Birthday!

Basilisk Birthday Cast Creatures Lands Raise Dead Revised Edition Thicket Basilisk Your Hand

Deathtouch Variants Phaseout

Are we likely to ever see more of Thicket Basilisk's ability that destroys creatures blocking or blocked by it, where it's not actually contingent on the creature dealing damage? It seems like deathtouch has taken that space.

We no longer do deathtouch variants now that deathtouch is keyworded.

Basilisk Blocking Creatures Deathtouch Thicket Basilisk

Primal Clay Trivia

My birthday trivia fell through the, so I'm giving it another shot! Anything interesting to say on Primal Clay, or its alternate cousin, Primal Plasma?

When Alpha first came out, Primal Clay was the only creature that could both die to and not die to blocking Thicket Basilisk depending on what form it took. Happy Belated Birthday!

Alpha Basilisk Birthday Blocking Creatures Primal Clay Primal Plasma Thicket Basilisk

Birthday Card Memories

It's my birthday! yay! So my Trivia question is about the first magic card I ever saw Lowland Basilisk from Stronghold. I could not read at the time but the artwork and the description of "this kills everything it fights with" got me in to magic. If there is not much to talk about that card you could go with my favorite magic card Birthing Pod. :) Anyways thanks for so may cool magic cards!

One of my absolute favorite cards when I first started playing in Alpha was Thicket Basilisk. When I made Tempest, I made a slightly cheaper, slightly smaller Basilisk and put it in the set so others could have the same joy when they first opened it. Happy Birthday!

Alpha Art Basilisk Birthday Birthing Pod Lowland Basilisk Stronghold Tempest Thicket Basilisk

Primal Clay Trivia

In honor of Henry Clay's birthday, could we get some trivia on Primal Clay?

Primal Clay is special in that it is a creature that dies to Thicket Basilisk only some of the time. Happy Birthday Henry Clay!

Basilisk Birthday Creatures Primal Clay Thicket Basilisk