Wing Shards

Storm Constraints

I feel storm is a fantastic mechanic with the prerequisite that you don't create spells with it that win the game. Wing Shards, Scattershot, Hindering Touch etc etc are all excellent storm cards. However, do you think this is too restricting?

“You can do any effects you want except ones that can win the game” is quite restrictive.

Hindering Touch Keyword Abilities Mechanics Scattershot Spells Three Color Wing Shards

Fair Storm Cards

I think it's possible to make fair and balanced cards with Storm. Wing Shards, for example.

Reactive storm cards that are incapable of winning the game are probably safe but who wants a mechanic of nothing but that?

Keyword Abilities Mechanics Three Color Wing Shards

Storm Card Safety

I have trouble believing that literally every storm card was "buh-roken." Aren't some effects that have no way of ending the game safe for storm, like Ground Rift, Hindering Touch, and Wing Shards?

Reactive storm cards tend to not be broken. I’m not sure though if players would be happy if storm returned and only appeared on reactive abilities.

Ground Rift Hindering Touch Keyword Abilities Three Color Wing Shards

Storm Mechanic Limits

While I understand storm's potential to be broken, can't the problem be solved by putting it on cards that can't use it's abuse as a win condition? Wing shards and scattershot seem to be perfect examples of this.

I’m not sure the selling point of repeating a mechanic is “all you have to do us avoid anything that can be used to win with”. : )

Keyword Abilities Mechanics Scattershot Solved Three Color Wing Shards

Circumventing Hexproof/Shroud

Can we please get more cards preferably in the form of Instant or Sorcery that can get around Shroud and/or Hexproof? I'm finding it incredibly difficult to stop damage (Not fog effects). Cards like Reverse Damage or Wing Shards that don't target the creature but still stop the damage would be great.

Hexproof is meant to be protection from instants and sorceries. What hexproof is really bad at is protection from other creatures. Yeah, you can’t zap me but you can block me. That’s why we’ve been lessening the hexproof with evasion so that creatures can be an answer to hexproof.

Creatures Evasion Hexproof Instants Protection Reverse Damage Shroud Sorceries Three Color Wing Shards

Exile Cards Controversy

So, white removal usually just imprisons temporarily (Pacifism, Oblivion Ring), punishes people for fighting (Devouring Light, Wing Shards), or compensates people for their loss (Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile). So what's the justification for cards that just plain exile something? Yes, technically they're banishing instead of killing, but in reality they're just killing forever in a way that's much harsher than black.

I am not a fan of those cards and try to stop them when I can.

Black Devouring Light Oblivion Ring Pacifism Path to Exile Swords to Plowshares The Exile Zone Three Color White Wing Shards

Fixing Storm Mechanic

Do you think Storm would have been such a problem if it had been limited to reactive stuff? Like Wing Shards and Flusterstorm (There are only so many attacking creatures/spells at once, after all)

You’re all falling into the trap R&D keeps falling into. Don’t try to fix storm. Look for other non-dysfunctional mechanics.

Attacking Creatures Flusterstorm Keyword Abilities Limited Mechanics Spells Three Color Wing Shards

Storm Mechanic Challenges

I've been lurking on this blog forever, and one point has bugged me enough to post this question. Couldn't storm be designed in such a way that the repeated effect had diminishing returns, thus casting 20 copies of it wouldn't particularly matter. without directly costing them, what if you had a cycle of storm cards where the white one was wing shards, black discarded a card, blue bounced a non-land permament, green gave +1/+1 until EOT, and red destroyed an artifact. How would these be broken?

We keep thinking we can fix storm and solve the problems it has. (“Yeah the relationship went horribly last time, but this time I can fix it.”) After you get burned enough times, walk away! There’s other fish (aka mechanics) in the sea (aka design space).

Artifacts Black Blogatog / Tumblr Blue Cycles Design Space Diminishing Returns Fish Green Keyword Abilities Lands Mechanics Red Three Color White Wing Shards

Storm Mechanic Critique

You keep talking about how storm is overpowered, and I tend to disagree. The problem is the cards printed - when you develop these cards, you just think "How bad is this if there are 20 copies every time?" and go from there. Wing Shards, Sprouting Vines, make for fine, fun limited cards. Flusterstorm, Hunting Pack, and Temporal Fissure (okay, maybe a version that cant hit lands) are all cards that are fun and not broken in standard. I do not see why storm could not come back with no combo cards.

You do understand that storm is the combo card. Also, if we have to nerf something so much to bring it to print, perhaps that’s a sign we’re not supposed to do it in the first place.

Card Printing Flusterstorm Hunting Pack Keyword Abilities Lands Limited Sprouting Vines Standard Temporal Fissure Three Color Wing Shards