Water Elemental

Facts on Elementals

Hi MaRo. Today is my birthday! Could I have some trivia on elementals?

Elementals started as truly being creatures made of the four elements (Alpha has an Air Elemental, Earth Elementsl, Fire Elemental and Water Elemental), but over time, we’ve gotten looser and looser with what counts as an element. We now allow Elementals to be made up of just about any substance, some like time aren’t even physical. We also allow Elementals to be of any color, making them one of the tribes that shows up in the most colors.Happy Birthday!

Air Elemental Birthday Colors Creatures Elemental Fire Elemental Mark Rosewater Water Elemental

Common Card Strength

Hi Maro! Thanks for your constant interaction with the community. Do you think Water Elemental (5/4 for 3UU) could be a common in a Standard set nowadays?

My guess is no, but we seem to keep creeping up common creatures.

Creatures Elemental Mark Rosewater Premier Sets Standard Water Elemental

Frosty's Color Analysis

Am I Correct in thinking that Frosty the Snowman isnt a very Blue character? I think hes more red than anything, maybe green or white

He’s green with a splash of red. As a creature he’s have some blue as he’s a water elemental.

Blue Creatures Elemental Green Red Water Elemental White

Favorite Christmas Carol

Regarding today's TftP: there is no way (in my opinion) that Blue's favorite Christmas carol would be Frosty the Snowman. The line "there must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found for when they put it on his head he began to dance around" is a nightmare. It assumes that correlation is causation, a very un-Blue assumption. I imagine 12 days of Christmas fits Blue better because repetition is key to learning and knowledge. Just my opinion, though. Your thoughts on this?

A song about how a magical device brought to life a water elemental? That’s pretty damn Blue. : )

Blue Elemental Nightmare Pop Culture Tales from the Pit Water Elemental

Color Elements

Do you think it's an important feature or a necessary evil that colors have access to their "element" (i.e. Blue getting fish and birds) without necessarily having anything to do with their philosophy (fish aren't big on self-improvement)?

One of the themes of this weekend is colors are bigger than their philosophy. Zombies aren’t selfish, a Water Elemental doesn’t seek perfection, and a Beast doesn’t necessarily seek to maintain the status quo. Philosophy is a component of a color but not the only defining thing,

Beast Bird Blue Colors Elemental Fish Water Elemental Zombie

Justifying Creature Colors

Okay here's a question: you often justify things like Water Elemental or Leviathans as being blue just because they have to do with water (or ice), but something like Hornet Queen shouldn't be green even though it has to do with nature? Forgive me if I'm misinterpreting.

Blue gets large creatures at common built into it’s color pie. It’s not supposed to be a weakness of Blue. That space is often used on water based creatures but it doesn’t have to be. In other words, Blue doesn’t justify the mechanic existence of those cards because of it’s tie to water. Green, on the other hand, is supposed to be weak at flying. Using flavor to override that weakness is wrong.

Blue Color Pie Colors Creatures Elemental Flavor Flying Green Hornet Hornet Queen Leviathan Mechanics Water Elemental Your Hand

Color Pie Flexibility

Re: Master of Waves "It’s a top-down card of a wizard animating waves (aka making small Water Elemental). That top-down flavor is very blue. All five colors have some access to token making, Blue is fifth but it is allowed to do it." Does this mean that it's ok to stretch or break the color pie when it's a top-down design e.g. giving direct damage to green?

No, please read what I said. Blue has access to token making. It might be fifth in it, but it gets to do it. Green doesn’t get direct damage to creature (well, except flyers) so it doesn’t get it no matter what the flavor.

Blue Color Pie Colors Creatures Elemental Flavor Green Master of Waves Tokens Top Down Water Elemental

Color Philosophy

You didn't really answer *why* zombies are black and water elemental are blue; you just said not every creature in a colour has to match the philosophy of a colour. But if not philosophy what then? You yourself have been an ardent opponent of using pure flavour to justify colour choice and now you seem to be contradicting that.

There is more to a color than just philosophy. Some creatures, for example, exemplify other aspects of the color.

Black Blue Colors Creatures Elemental Flavor Water Elemental Zombie

Blue's Sea Creatures

What is the color-pie justification for Blue getting serpents? I know that it fills a role that the color needs to have (common big creature), but they don't seem to embody any of Blue's philosophies, with the exception of tricky ones like Sliptide Serpent. Is "they live in water" really a good enough reason? Cuz I'm pretty sure birds and flying things live in forests.

I think they are creatures of the sea was why Richard stuck them there in the first place. Blue’s air and water elemental nature is part of its identity.

Bird Blue Colors Creatures Elemental Flying Serpent Sliptide Serpent Water Elemental

Elemental Reprints Query

How come Fire Elemental, Air Elemental and Earth Elemental have all been reprinted recently but Water Elemental hasn't since Fourth Edition?

Hmm, so we’ve done earth, wind and fire. I wonder if 70’s music has anything to do with it. : )

Air Elemental Card Printing Earth Elemental Elemental Fire Elemental Fourth Edition Pop Culture Reprints Water Elemental