Could we see a variant of ward with a cost similar to Gift? i.e. to target this creature, its controller gets the stated reward. Either as a set specific mechanic or just written out

Ward has to be a cost. We can’t do “ward: opponent gets to draw a card” as that isn’t a cost.

I also find the wording of Gift a little strange in that it doesn't explicitly define the "cost" like Ward does. "Gift — Create a 1/1 blue Fish creature token," doesn't sound as nice, I suppose. And maybe that's a good enough reason.

We could have written it more in “Magic-speak”, but we preferred making it sound more like normal English. It mechanically works just fine.

Could "Ward - Gift..." work as a cost?

You giving something to the opponent is a cost, I think. I’m not 100% sure though.

Is there anything in the rules stopping Ward costs that give opponents (ie the controller) something instead of paying a cost? Like "Ward - Each other player draws 2 cards". Or "Ward - Each other player searches for a basic land. It enters tapped and then they shuffle."

Yes. Wards, by definitions, have to be costs.

Hello, I heard something interesting about MH3 where you retried EVERY mechanic to see what would work with a new context or be interesting. You (WoTC) revisited many of my favorite mechanics like grandeur but didn't for probably my favorite. That mechanic is absorb, and while it has only been keyworded on one card "Lymph Sliver" it did see a continuation on my favorite card of all "Valkmira, Protector's Shield" alongside what would only a few sets later become ward. I wanted to know if you could share any insights on the designs taken with absorb or any other of your favorite mechanics? Thank you very much for your time.

I designed Lymph Sliver and absorb. If I remember correctly, I was riffing off of a shield mechanic from the Star Wars TCG. (It was a trading card game design lead by Richard Garfield that I was on the initial design team for.)

Why is sharazad a sorcery instead of a creature with an ETB and Ward cost both of which make you play sub games when the latter is more accurate to her lore.

Enter the battlefield effects didn’t exist when Arabian Nights was published.

Please send high fives to whoever designed the card for Edward Kenway. It's everything I wanted from a grixis pirate commander!

Will do.

Countably infinite does NOT mean finite. If you shuffled an infinite number of Clown tokens into your library, you would never draw another kind of card in that game. Infinity plus however many cards were in your library is still infinity. Imagine if you didn't shuffle. How many cards would be on top of the first real card? Infinite cards are on top, so you'd never draw the card. If you shuffled the deck, that would still be the case. There would be an infinite number of Clown tokens before and after each real card, because the chance of getting a Clown token between any two cards while shuffling is 100%. Not 99%, not 99.999...%, just 100%. Infinity divided by the cards in your library is infinity. You can never draw any real cards, because even if you took off the top card, infinity minus one is still infinity.Grenzo, Dungeon Warden would always hit, since there are an infinite number of Clown creature token cards on the bottom of your library. Since tokens have 0 mana value, you can't cascade into any real cards. You could mill out if you got hit by Tasha's Hideous Laughter. If you chose Land for Abundant Harvest, you would get one if you had a land in your library. However, if you got hit by Cut Your Losses, you would only mill Clown tokens, and no cards from your library. Infinity plus the number of real cards in your library divided in half is infinity, so you'd never get to the first real card, and you'd still have an infinite number of Clown tokens on top. Finally, if you happened to play Braingeyser with X equal to infinity, you would STILL not draw any real cards. Infinity minus infinity is infinity. You would have an infinite number of Clown tokens in your hand, and an infinite number of Clown tokens on top of your library.It's easier if you think of infinity as a description or a quality rather than a number. Treating it like a number infects whatever math you're doing with odd-looking results.

FYI

Dear Sir, It appears I've happened fortuitously to visit your blog on your birthday. Felicitations! In honour of the occasion, you have been granted the Devour Food ability until the next time it becomes Day. However, you may also need to pay Cumulative Upkeep. My question: what is your favourite creature whose power and toughness as numerals together form your new age?

I’ll say Ancient Greenwarden. I enjoy both Elementals and doubling things.

Do the rules allow for players to gain ward if it were to appear on a card?

I think so, but not 100% sure.