Lunge

Plunge into Winter Query

How is Plunge into Winter not blue?

Tapping creatures is primary white. Blue can do it, but it more often taps or untaps (aka Twiddle) or taps and stuns. All colors can scry 1 and cantrip, with white being number two, behind blue, in both.

Blue Colors Creatures Plunge into Winter Primary Scry Twiddle White

Unstable vs Unfinity

Hi Mark, yesterday we drafted a stashed box of Unstable. It involved "As Luck Would Have It" as high as 61 counters; a Five-Fingers Discount on Rules Lawyer to turn a game around and win at a negative life total; round 1 getting overtime because one player had to play two games at once due to Better Than One; and a player without a board state topdecking Over My Dead Bodies for a massive attack that left the opponent just one life short of lethal, fitting for a horror villain's last lunge.All in all a good time for everyone, and for what it's worth it confirmed that I liked Unstable more than Unfinity. Contraptions play better than stickers, and the "silly themes" feel more scattered in Unfinity, which makes the draft a bit more daunting as it's harder to get a feel for whether your deck will "get there" in terms of playability. The puns and flavour and individual cards are still solid, though! I just enjoy Unstable more.

I think Attractions are the closer thing to compare Contraptions to. Which you prefer depends on how much you enjoy planning ahead. Contraptions are Spike-ier and Attractions are Timmy/Tammy-ier.I’m glad you enjoy Unstable. I spent a lot of time on that too, and am always happy to hear people enjoying it. Stickers ended up being more polarizing than I expected. Part of it was logistical issues that we didn’t have a lot of control over.

As Luck Would Have It Attractions Better Than One Contraptions Draft Formats Flavor Horror Humor Lunge Over My Dead Bodies Rules Rules Lawyer Stickers Timmy / Tammy

Single Release vs. Block System

"I haven't felt much by way of story or that we really got to feel shady a new plane was about since the blocks ended. Having a few sets to really explore the new plane made it feel fleshed out. Now with the single releases they feel lunge beta testing or focus grouping. We don't get to come back to a plane if it doesn't market well and that just feels kinda gross. "-- brom-stormcrowThis is exactly how I was feeling, I dont understand how shifting out of blocks led to such a "one and done" philosophy on new planes

We are very much led by how the audience acts. Based on various metrics, players are much more engaged in the current system than in the block system. We don’t do things because we want them that way, we do them because you (the players in aggregate) want them that way. Trust me, if the block system drove the most play, sales, social interaction, etc, that’s what we’d be doing.

Lunge Planes Story / Lore

Red Sacrifice Ability

You say Culling the Weak effects are not red, but Infernal Plunge was printed in Innistrad, and Satyr Hedonist also has a similar effect activated by red mana.

I misspoke a little. The ability can be done in Black or Red.

Black Card Printing Culling the Weak Infernal Plunge Innistrad Mana Red Satyr Satyr Hedonist

Black Mana Changes

Is the reason black doesn't have cards like Dark Ritual any more solely about the amount of mana gained or because it doesn't have a drawback like Infernal Plunge? Why aren't there more black mana gain effects like there used to be?

Because one shot mana abilities moved to red. Like ten years ago.

Black Dark Ritual Infernal Plunge Mana Red

Card Comparisons

So what's the deal with Zealous Strike and Skillful Lunge?

Magic makes strictly better cards all the time. (That is cards in which one is in almost all cases better than the other.) The cards were in different limited environments so we didn’t think it was a big issue.

Limited Power Level Skillful Lunge Zealous Strike

Card Power Ebb

A couple of cards in Avacyn Restored are "strictly superior" (as always, we need quotes here because no card is always superior to another in all circumstances in Magic) to others in Dark Ascension, even at the same rarity. I'm thinking of Zealous Strike > Skillful Lunge, and Midnight Duelist > Sanctuary Cat. Is the reasoning here that Avacyn Restored won't be played with Dark Ascension in Limited, so this is okay? It's hard to avoid comparisons when the cards are within the same block.

To make a trading card game work, there is going to be an ebb and flow of card power. I get that it’s more noticeable when it’s in the same block, but as the sets weren’t going to be drafted together and the cards in question are more limited cards, we felt that it would be okay.

Avacyn Restored Cat Dark Ascension Limited Midnight Duelist Power Level Rarity Sanctuary Cat Skillful Lunge Zealous Strike