Has there ever been any thought to combining the Ox and Minotaur creature types? Such as simplifying both to simply "Cow?" I'm a huge fan of bovines in all forms and it would be nice if all of the Ox in magic worked alongside their more anthropomorphic cousins the Minotaur. As it is now we're lucky to really get cards of *either* type printed. There's resonance to the name Minotaur, no doubt, but it also has its share of baggage. It has Greek connotations and that's probably a big reason Minotaurs are almost strictly in Theros (although some favorites, such as Neheb, are from other planes). I was happy that Outlaws had more Ox cards, but it also highlights my dissatisfaction: Holy Cow is an *ox* not a cow, despite the name. It feels like a retread of the Hound or Naga debacle all over again. Hound was simplified to Dog and all Snakes, from rattlesnakes to Naga, are simply the type Snake now. This allows snakes and dogs of all walks benefit from a shared unity. Cats had it right, we didn't need Leonin as a separate type.I just feel like there's unnecessary separation being created by dividing Ox and Minotaur and it has the same resonance failings as all dogs being labeled "hounds" had. If it's important for a particular creature to *be* a minotaur then they can just *have* minotaur in their name, like ~30% of minotaurs already do. There's also the simple fact that Minotaur is a longer average creature type, limiting design space for other types to be included. It's hard to justify why a Minotaur is on a random plane, but much less so if it's simply a "Cow Warrior" for example. As for why I think "Cow" should just be the combined type name, I simply think it fits. Cow is a resonant name. Almost everyone, East to west, knows *of* cows if only because their milk is such a widely used commodity. We don't call it "Ox's milk" after all. More than that, it's fun! Cow is *funny* in the same way *squirrel* is funny. It's amusing to see "Squirrels you control" in this game full of fighting. In that vein, "Cows you control" is an amusing line that can help break up the seriousness of a setting. I know this is making a mountain out of a molehill, but magic is a game of different perspectives coming together and creating something new. Cows are my favorite animal and it's simply dissatisfying, to me, that my Holy Cow can't benefit from a Kragma Warcaller. That Angrath, colloquially named "Cow Dad" in the community, would have the creature type "Minotaur." The only downside I can see is that "Cow" *does* specifically refer to females of a bovine species. But that is a distinction few, if any, seriously take into consideration. If one sees a field of cows, they're not saying "I see lots of cows and 3 bulls!" They're going to say "I see cows!"So to bring the thesis back, has there been any discussion internally to simplifying the Minotaur and Ox creature types under a single banner, such as "Cow?" I would also happily settle for "Cattle" as the new type. I just feel the current Ox vs Minotaur divide has to go, for both flavor and mechanical reasons, and the sooner the better.

I have been on Team Cow (as I was on Team Dog) for many years. I even made Cows in Un-sets. I still believe Minotaur should be its own creature type though.

Now that Bloomburrow is in preview season, feels like a great opportunity to ask a question about magic which has always bugged me. How come birds get to fly but moles and other similar creatures don't get an evasion mechanic called "burrow" (i.e. flying but underground)?

Because we have an evergreen mechanic called flying and not one called burrowing. : )The closest we have to burrowing is “target creature with power 2 or less is unblockable” first seen on Dwarven Warriors in Alpha.

So Outlaw is a grouping (Warlocks, Pirates, Rogues, Merceneries, Assassins), along with Party (Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, Warrior)If/When do we get Sea Monsters for Kraken, Leviathan, Octopus, Serpents as a grouping?

If, but small if.

Is aysen crusader, retroactively, the first creature to use batching? Heroes are defined as soldiers and warriors. If you wanted to batch soldiers and warriors again would you use the word heroes?

Batching involves not only grouping items, but also giving a word to reference that grouping. Soldiers and Warriors would not necessarily be called Heroes if they were batched.

What's the story behind the cards "Viashino Warrior" and "Lizard Warrior"? They have very similar art and identical MVs and P/Ts. Seems too similar to just be a coincidence. Does it have something to do with "Lizard Warrior" being a Portal card?

Portal had some cards that were reskins of existing cards, but simplified creatively (aka removed proper names new players wouldn’t know).

Do you remember the other four movies Mark Gottlieb listed when he first pitched New Capenna?

The Obscura - Oceans ElevenThe Maestros - John WickThe Riveteers - The WarriorsThe Cabaretti - The GodfatherThe Brokers - LA ConfidentialI give more detail in my first Streets of New Capenna preview article:

Hitting the Streets of New Capenna, Part 1 | Magic: The GatheringNote, a lot changed about some of the families from their initial pitch.

Outlaws (and the oft-suggested 'Sea monsters' batching) seem like a great hit. In retrospect, do you think that - with appropriate modifications to the rest of the set accordingly - Party in ZNR would have been better received as say, 'Party members (Clerics, Rogues, Warriors and Wizards are party members)'?

Party needed you to have one of each which is slightly different than batching.

Hi Mark, On the teaser list was 'Creature - Rhino Brawler' and today we saw a Rhino Warrior with 'Brawler' in the name. Was there a last minute change in typing?

It was me messing up when I was making my teaser.

Can Blue alter creature types in permanents? For example, Blue changes Lovisa Coldeyes to "Each creature that’s a Barbarian, a Warrior, or a FISH gets +2/+2 and has haste."

It could hack creature types in rules text.

Just a minor feedback note: I like having soldiers, warriors, berserkers, knights, etc. They all have a different feel to me. Soldiers more uniform, warriors more independent and savage, berserkers a lot more independent and savage, knights very regal and important. All of these are similar but feel really cool

There is enough fighting and magic casting in our game, that we need a number of creature type classes to capture it all.