Boros Reckoner

Just Desserts Tactic

Does Just Desserts and Boros Reckoner result in an instant win? Your opponent would lose for infinitely delaying the game while they tried to accurately recorded their life total.

No, the FAQ says you can abbreviate with 3.14 for Pi.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Instants Just Desserts The FAQ

Hybrid Cards Explanation

Even though hybrid cards can be cast with only a single colour, they aren't a single colour. When you have Balefire Liege on the battlefield and cast a Boros Reckoner, you get to bolt an opponent and gain 3 life, regardless of whether you're in a mono-white deck, mono-red deck, or a RW deck. Commander isn't about what cards you can cast, it's a deckbuilding restriction on colour identity, and Boros Reckoner is always Red and White, even if you're only planning to cast it with a single colour.

Color identity is about what colors are required to cast or activate you. There are plenty of cards that can become a color that is different from what cast them (Caldera Kavu, Kavu Chameleon, Painter’s Servant, Rainbow Crow, Scrapbasket, Spiritmonger,Wild Mongrel, etc.) that don’t require you playing a five-color commander.

Activate Balefire Liege Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Caldera Kavu Cast Color Identity Colors Commander Hybrid Kavu Kavu Chameleon Rainbow Crow Red Scrapbasket Spiritmonger White Wild Mongrel

Boros Commanders Diversity

Is R&D aware of how bad/boring Boros commanders are as a whole? The vast majority of playable ones focus on dealing damage to opponents, which tends to scale badly in a 40 life multiplayer format, and it's also gotten really redundant for selecting a commander. RW has gotten all sorts of cool effects - sunforger, boros battleshaper, blaze commando, boros reckoner, master warcraft, searing meditation - does R&D have any plans to provide more diversity for boros commanders?

It’s becoming a louder issue, so we have become more aware of it.

Blaze Commando Boros (R/W) Boros Battleshaper Boros Reckoner Commander Commander Game Design Master Warcraft Searing Meditation Sunforger

Green's Power Dynamics

Counterpoint to everyone saying green is strong systematically, mono blue devotion was one of the top tier decks just a year or two ago and before that, the Boros Reckoner deck was really strong. I agree with you, its just the cards making green good

FYI

Blue Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Counterpoint Green

Commander Deck Rules

If you could change the commander deck construction rules to ignore color identity and simply have the rule be that you can't generate mana outside of your commander's color identity, would you? This has some advantages (Noble Hierarch or Boros Reckoner in a GW deck, for example) and some disadvantages (flavor mostly).

You have to take all my suggestions about Commander with a grain of salt. I do not play the format. I just make suggestions about how it could be a bit more intuitive to learn and play.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Color Identity Colors Commander Flavor Mana Noble Noble Hierarch Rules Selesnya (G/W)

Hybrid Card Functions

Do hybrid cards sometimes do something that one color could not do on it's own? The example I'm thinking of is Boros Reckoner, which could probably not get printed as a mono-white card. Is this a problem, or simply part of the nature of hybrid pushing the boundries of where colors overlap?

Hybrid cards aren’t supposed to do that but it happens from time to time.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Card Printing Colors Hybrid White

Hybrid Mana Mechanics

If hybrid mana cards have to be doable I'm both colors, is Boros Reckoner an egregious color pie violation or can white do direct damage sometimes?

White has what we call the “eye for an eye” mechanic where it can damage things that damage it in equal volume.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Color Pie Colors Eye Eye for an Eye Hybrid Mana Mechanics White

Iroas and Boros Reckoner

Does Iroas not work well with Boros Reckoner because the Reckoner reminds him of his brother?

Iroas still has some issues to work out.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner

Devotion and Hybrid Design

Were RTR block cards like Boros Reckoner and Nightveil Spectre with a high density of hybrid symbols designed with devotion in mind, or was that decision made prior to devotion's creation?

We chose devotion knowing hybrid would be in the environment. Hybrid was in Return to Ravnica block because it was in Ravnica block.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Hybrid Return to Ravnica

Boros Reckoner Devotion

Isn't it a little weird and counter-intuitive that with Boros Reckoner, your 'Devotion to Red' is 3, your 'Devotion to White' is 3, yet your 'Devotion to Red and White' is also 3?

You only have three mana symbols. How can it be anything larger than 3?

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Mana Red White

Gift Signature Preference

For my works Secret Santa, I bought my giftee a Weatherlight Booster and a Boros Reckoner. Would you rather I put it as from "MaRo" or from "Mark Rosewater"?

Either us fine. : )

Boosters Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Mark Rosewater Weatherlight

Boros Reckoner Praise

FYI, Boros Reckoner is a Minotaur seeing heavy play. I'm sure something can be made with him, since he's not exactly a trash rare.

No, he is not.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Minotaur Rares

Boros Reckoner and Devotion

Was the designer of Boros Reckoner aware of the devotion mechanic?

The designers of Return to Ravnica block were all aware.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Mechanics Return to Ravnica

Hercules Trials Humor

You're right. One of the Twelve trials of Hercules was to slay an Auratog. Now all we have to do is make sure he doesn't mistake Ajani for the Nemetian Lion, mistake Voice of Resurgance for the Golden Hind and stop him before he tries to capture the Boros Reckoner as the Cretan Bull.

: )

Auratog Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Golden Hind

Minotaurs and Villainy

"I doubt we’ve seen the last of minotaurs. February 09, 2012" as you wrote that response, were you slowly petting a cat on your lap like a james bond villian ready to unleash the boros reckoner on the world?

“No, Mr. thejonze, I expect you to die… trying to fit Boros Reckoner in a deck.”

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Cat Minotaur Unleash

Hybrid Cards in RTR/GCR

I'm very disappointed with hybrid in RTR and GCR. In today's development article, they said they made hybrid intensive cards (like Boros Reckoner) to push decks with fewer colors. But hybrid should be played in many decks. The Reckoner, for example, can only be reasonably played in monowhite, monored or Boros, not Azorius or Rakdos. And you only do three per color pair so it seems like a wasted opportunity. I'd understand if you had no other way, but gold intensive cards could have done the same

Ravnica blocks really aren’t the place where we push hybrid in the way you’re talking about. In Ravnica, hybrid is a tool to help us make cool guild cards not make cards that go in any deck using one of the two colors. There will be blocks where hyrbid does that (Shadowmoor block being the historical high point) but not here. That’s not its purpose in this block.

Azorius (W/U) Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Colors Hybrid Rakdos (B/R) Shadowmoor Two Color

Boros Reckoner's Abilities

You've stated many times that cards (esp. creatures) should not have abilities that clash with one another, or at least avoid synergy (regenerate and first strike, for example). This was even a question on the GDS2 test, if I'm not mistaken. Why, then, is there Boros Reckoner, a Spitemare that gains first strike?

Every rule has an exception. Remember the Great Designer Search is about the basics and knowing the defaults.

Basics Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner Clash Creatures First Strike Regenerate Rules Search Spitemare

Boros Reckoner Traits

What is the deal with Boros Reckoner? He wants to be dealt damage to damage an opponent, but he also can gain first strike until end of turn to prevent being dealt damage.

He’s a complicated individual.

Boros (R/W) Boros Reckoner First Strike