Transmutation

Phyrexian Transformers Speed

What led you to making the Phyrexian Transformers in MOM sorcery speed as opposed to instant speed like adapt, monstrous and the EMN werewolves.

Playtesting the cards. Note that incubate filled the instant transmutation space.

Adapt Eldritch Moon Incubate Instants Phyrexian Playtesting Sorceries Transmutation

Eternal World Design

Listening to Designing for an Eternal World and you missed one really interesting point in effect volume. Adding a extra turn or mindslaver effect every couple years was fine in a rotating format but enough of them come together and a monster can be made. To make matters worst, and each effect has a different threshold to become degenerate. Create enough low cost cantrip creatures in White and it never runs out of cards, print too many 1 mv counterspells and now there are enough for the much reviled draw-go stratagy, to many transformation/transmutation effects in Red and now you have a reverse reanimator.

That’s a good point, although we just let banning deal with that issue. We’re not going to stop making a certain effect because some formats don’t want more.

Bannings Card Printing Creatures Eternal Format Legality Mana Value Mindslaver Red Threshold Transmutation White

Kami of Transmutation: A Bend?

Is Kami of Transmutation a bend?

The artifact part is a little bit of a bend.

Artifacts Bend / Break Kami of Transmutation Transmutation

Representing Transmutation Mechanically

How would you represent a transmutation ability, mechanically?

Given no restraints, I assume with transform.

Transform Transmutation

Blue's Artifact Removal Capabilities

Hey Mark, can you tell us if permanent artifact removal/transmutation is something that Blue will get access from now on? It's a little strange that the color that can freely counter spells and bounce any permanent also can exile more than one type of permanent and leave a small token behind as a "drawback".

Ravenform is not a precedent.

Artifacts Blue Colors Ravenform Spells The Exile Zone Tokens Transmutation

Kasmina's Transmutation Query

Why does Kasmina's Transmutation change the creature to a 1/1 with no abilities, and shows a frog-like creature, but doesn't actual turn it into a Frog like Frogify does?

It’s Frog-like and not actually a Frog. Does that sound like a real answer?

Creatures Frog Frogify Kasmina's Transmutation

Blue Polymorph Discussion

Hi Mark. If you'll indulge me, I'd like to take another crack at the Blue Polymorph issue. In Magic "transform" means to flip a DFC. When you say that exile/destruction leading to transformation is Blue, it sounds like you're using the flavor of what the card is thematically conveying as a vehicle to argue for something you either can't or won't justify by a mechanical perspective. Slightly related:I do appreciate Kasmina's Transmutation and hope Blue's removal gravitates toward that territory.

If text length and complexity weren’t an issue, I’d make all transformation effects auras so they could be undone, but they are an issue so sometimes we have to write it in the most succinct way possible and that includes using the word “destroy”. While I appreciate your passion on this topic, I feel it boils down to “you don’t like the flavor when it uses destroy”. I agree the flavor is a little off but gameplay functionality sometimes has to trump flavor.

Auras Blue Destroy Dual Faced Cards Flavor Game Play Kasmina's Transmutation Polymorph The Exile Zone Transform Vehicles

Polymorph Mechanics

I would appreciate hearing your response to this: Blue's ability to Polymorph isnt a problem. The implementation of it with 'Destroy/Exile' is what's wrong. "Conveying transformation" can be done through many routes: auras, setting indefinite P/T + 'loses all abilities' (a reminder counter can be used), turning facedown/Manifesting, or placing in the library then revealing until a creature is shown. These achieve the desired effect without resorting to giving Blue hard removal, which is a break.

One, all of those things are more complicated and wordier. Sometimes we can use them, but not always. Simplicity of effect often wins the day for gameplay reasons even if the flavor is not as perfect.Two, destruction leading to transmutation is not a color pie break. How do I know this? I run the team responsible for determining what is and is not in color pie. So, I’m telling you, as the person responsible for overseeing that decision that destruction leading to transmutation is in color pie. It’s been so since the early days of Magic and it’s still true today. I understand that you personally don’t like it, but that that doesn’t make it a break.

Auras Bend / Break Blue Color Pie Colors Creatures Destroy Flavor Game Play Polymorph The Exile Zone The Library Transmutation

Rules Intuition

"Right now we’re talking about if there’s a way to tweak the power/toughness swapping rules. They do not match intuition." May I ask what's counter-intuitive? I always thought it was a good call that swapping happens last, so that you don't have to keep track of which P/T modifiers happened before or after the swap. (And clearly it sounded like a good idea when they originally spelled it out on Transmutation.)

Here’s the problem. You have a 1/1 that for W can pump it’s toughness (+0/+1). You pump it once. Then you swap it’s power and toughness. Later in the same turn, you activate it twice and pump it’s toughness two times. What are the stats of the creature? I’ll let people give their answer before saying what happens.

Activate Creatures Rules Transmutation

Transmutation Rule Flavor

Transmutation set the precedent that after switching a creature's power and toughness, effects the change power changed toughness instead and vice versa. What's the reasoning behind that original rule?

I believe it was mostly flavor.

Creatures Flavor Rules Transmutation

Vampire Undeath Clarification

You've said the planeswalker Sorin is undead. I realize this is more a Doug thing, but aren't Innistradi (<- my term) vampires birthed due to a blood curse rather than a state of undeath? Transmutation instead of reanimation, in other words.

Very possible. I was making a vampire = undead assumption.

Blood Planeswalkers Transmutation Vampire