Harmless Offering

Donate Ability Colors

Hi Mark - If/When more spells or creatures that donate other permanents (like Harmless Offering) in Red and Black? It's obviously a pretty niche thing, but my poor guy Blim is having to carry so much weight at the moment with only about three other cards that help.

The Donate ability is blue and red, so I don’t expect black to do a lot in that area. We don’t do a lot of it overall because it makes it harder to create creatures with drawbacks.

Black Blue Colors Creatures Donate Harmless Offering If/When Offering Permanents Red Spells

Exploration of Reverse-Threaten Concept

Red can give away control of its permanents (Harmless Offering) and can do temporary stealing (Threaten etc). Would temporarily giving away its permanents like a reverse-Threaten be within colour pie for red too? It's probably mostly relevant for multiplayer ("Here, have a blocker") but I'm sure it would be an interesting Johnny/Jenny idea too.

It’s something that could be explored.

Colors Commander Harmless Offering Johnny / Jenny Offering Permanents Red Threaten

Ceiling of Control Donation

Follow up to my Donate question, I hadn't heard of Harmless Offering before; what colors can give away their own permanents?

Blue and red, the main colors of stealing, can also give away control.

Blue Colors Donate Harmless Offering Offering Permanents Red

Legality of Reprinting Harmless Offering

“Could donate ever be reprinted in a standard set?” Not too long ago we had harmless offering, which is just color shifted donate

That was my rationale for why it was okay.

Colors Donate Harmless Offering Offering Premier Sets Reprints Standard

Popularity of Negative Effect Cards

How much design space is there for creatures (or any perm.really) that get given to an opponent and have a negative effect? Or cards that make harmless offering good?

You’re asking about cards with downsides. We make some of them, but they’re pretty unpopular. Luckily, for Eternal formats, early Magic made a lot of them.

Creatures Design Space Eternal Harmless Offering Offering

Hope for More Adorable Cards

Is it reasonable to hope for more of the adorable cards? Harmless Offering, the otters in Ikoria, the dogs. I love the arts that make you go 'aww' <3

There is reason to hope.

Dog Harmless Offering Offering Otter

Contraption Ownership

If I give someone a contraption with Donate or Harmless Offering do I pick which one of their sockets it goes on or do they?

They decide.

Contraptions Harmless Offering Offering

Limited Relevance Rarity

The thing about sword of Dungeons and Dragons isnt aboit making cards op but making sure they have limited relevence. Sword is ok because it still makes Dragon tokens but people get upset by cards like Harmless Offering that have no limited relevance. So to make this a question, why was Mindrack Demon the only card in SOI block that even remotely had synerfy with harmless offering?

Not every rare and mythic rare card is made with limited in mind. Sometimes we make a card that is fun for some constructed use and it has to go somewhere in the booster.

Boosters Constructed Demon Dragon Dungeons Dungeons & Dragons Harmless Offering Limited Offering Rares Tokens

Color Restrictions

"It’s not big enough to appear in more than two colors." And yet Donate did appear in 2 colors, its original blue printing and then in red as Harmless Offering.

*More* than two colors.

Blue Card Printing Colors Harmless Offering Offering Red

Reserve List Consideration

I don't mean to keep the reserve list questions going but what about Harmless Offering?

Color shifted is not functionally identical. Color shifting is allowed.

Colors Harmless Offering Offering

Comedy Art Reprints

...But if we do get a new Un set, I really think we need to see comedy art reprints of non silver bordered cards. Storm Crow for sure, and Harmless Offering and Phelddagrif and Maro are all on my list. (I know, there is some 'rules thingy' that makes this 'impossible' but everyone knows its not ACTUALLY impossible!)

Even assuming we wanted to mix black border and silver border cards, the logistics are tricky because our normal processes mean they can’t appear on the same sheet.

Art Black Black Border Card Printing Harmless Offering Humor Keyword Abilities Mark Rosewater Offering Phelddagrif Reprints Rules Storm Crow Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Harmless Offering Role

What was the point of releasing Harmless Offering in Eldrich Moon? It seems like a joke and a card to make people mad in draft.

Not every card is for every player. Harmless Offering has plenty of fans.

Harmless Offering Humor Limited Offering

Playtesting Scope

Question about harmless offering and playtesting. You guys only playtest for the current standard and future standard, right? Not for modern.

That is mostly true, yes. #WotCStaff

Harmless Offering Modern Offering Playtesting Standard

Harmless Offering Logic

What was the rationale behind making Harmless Offering red?

The ability to give control of your permanent to another has appeared in Blue and Red.

Blue Harmless Offering Offering Red

Harmless Offering's Design Process

Hi Mark, regarding Harmless Offering in EMN, I thought you said Donate was too problematic to see print again. What happened?

I’m not the sole decision maker. Other people thought it was okay. I will stress they tested it to make sure it didn’t break anything. One of the things about collaborative design is that you sometimes do things that you personally might not have done. As the designer of Donate, I will say it is a fun effect that you can do cool things with.

Card Printing Harmless Offering Offering

Donate vs Harmless Offering

In regards to donate/harmless offering, the text is different as well as the colour. "Target player" vs "target opponent". Whilst very similar cards, they have slight differences that will affect game play. Not really a functional reprint as others are saying.

You’re correct that there’s a subtle change. From a Reserved List standpoint, a color-shifted card (requiring a different color to cast) is a different card.

Card Printing Cast Colors Game Play Harmless Offering Offering Reprints The Reserved List

Color Pie Mechanics

Really love the 'Harmless Offering' spoiler, and would like to know if the 'Opponent gets control of one of your things' ability is still partially in Blue's section of the color pie from 'Donate', or if it's just in red now. Really looking forward to the new set, by the way!

Colorpiewise, both Blue and Red can do it.

Blue Color Pie Colors Harmless Offering Offering Red Spoilers

Harmless Offering Inquiry

Allow me to be the first of many to ask how Harmless Offering is different enough to allow it to be a functional Donate reprint when Donate is on the Reserve list

One requires Blue mana and one Red. That fundamentally changes what kind of decks can play the card.

Blue Card Printing Harmless Offering Mana Offering Red Reprints

Harmless Offering Explanation

Any comment on Harmless Offering, aka redshifted Donate? Last I checked Donate was on the reserved list and you yourself said that functional reprints aren't allowed.

Functional includes color.

Card Printing Colors Harmless Offering Offering Reprints The Reserved List