Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques Reflections

I liked Mercadian Masques but perhaps its downfall is not the set itself, but the fact it came after the infamous Urza block. This meant 1.) the players compared power level 2.) the designers were especially cautious to limit power levelSo the set was good, but had external forces leading to poor sales. I would like to revisit Mercadia, now with new technology/design tools without the external forces. Pretty please?

I would argue the set had some additional design missteps. When we ask players worlds they want to return to, Mercadia scores pretty low.

Mercadian Masques Power Level Reflection Urza

Mercadian Masques Praise

I know that Mercadian Masques wasn't the most well recieved set, but as a Pauper player, I adore the wealth of interesting designs in the set. I enjoy a sneaky Snuff Out over a Deadly Rolick any day.My (very belated) high fives to all who worked on it!

*Very* belated high five.

High Fives Mercadian Masques Pauper Snuff Out

Aftermath vs Mercadian

How does Aftermath compare to Mercadian Masques?

I assume you’re asking about player dislike of the set. Mercadian Masques was strongly disliked. Aftermath was hated. Significantly lower scores than Mercadian Masques.

Aftermath Mercadian Masques

Mechanics Evaluation Recap

FYI you actually did your worst 10 mechanics once before in Drive to Work #693 and this was your list at the time:10. Haunt - Guildpact9. Radiance - Ravnica8. Ripple - Coldsnap7. Processors - Battle for Zendikar6. Annihilator - Rise of the Eldrazi5. Epic - Saviors of Kamigawa4. Rebel Mercenary - Mercadian Masques3. Gotcha - Unhinged2. Rhystic - Prophecy1. Bands with Others - Legends

FYI

Annihilator Battle for Zendikar Coldsnap Drive to Work Eldrazi Epic Guildpact Haunt Legendary Creatures Mechanics Mercadian Masques Mercenary Processor Prophecy Prophecy Radiance Rebel Ripple Rise of the Eldrazi Rise of the Eldrazi Saviors of Kamigawa Zendikar

Sets Without Keywords

If/when: a set with no keywords, the cards do what they say

Mercadian Masques would like to have a word with you. : )

Humor If/When Keywords Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques Evaluation

You have said that R&D made Mercadian Masque a "weak" block,but its a block with free spells, rebel, Brainstorm, spell shapers, if it was printed into Standard today it would probably be the most dominant set being played. How in R&D's eyes was the block made "weaker"?

It was significantly weaker than Urza’s Saga Block. : )

Brainstorm Card Printing Eye Free Spells Game Design Humor Mercadian Masques Rebel Sagas Spells Standard Urza

Mercadian Masques Pitch

You and Michael pitched the plane where Mercadian Masques was placed… but say it changed in many ways. What was your original pitch?

I have an upcoming column that touches upon this.

Mercadian Masques

Urza's Block Survival Impact

Dear Mark, I don't get why Urza's Block was such a great risk for the survival of the game. All the LGS owners I know always told me that the block sold very well. (Btw, I was already playing at the time and loved the block..., and do not know of any acquaintaince complaining about that block...while I could not say the same about many more recent sets...)

Ask them about Mercadian Masques block. That’s where the impact of the problems of Urza’s Saga block were felt. Power creep’s impact has a time delay.

Game Stores Mercadian Masques Sagas Urza's Saga Urza's Saga

Possibility of Lin Sivvi's Unban

With the current Legendary rule, can I get a maybe on Lin Sivvi being unbanned from Mercadian Masques block construcked?

Is anyone playing Mercadian Masques block constructed?

Block Constructed Constructed Format Legality Format Legality Format Legality Mercadian Masques Rules

Absence of Chinese Traditional Foils

In 1999 there were three expansions released that contained premium cards, Urza's Legacy, Destiny and Mercadian Masques.

There were eight possible languages, but foils for only seven.
Chinese Traditional product included English foils.

Why did this happen?

I’m not sure, but my guess is the volume wasn’t high enough to do premiums/foils at the proper ratio.

China English Foils Legacy Mercadian Masques Urza's Legacy

Request for Saprazzan Visir Card

Dear Mark,Looking back at mercadian masques I was intrigued about the Saprazzan Visir (and its multiple card references, the most iconic being Counterspell and Brainstorm). Could I request a creature card for him/her please? :)

I can add him to the lengthy list of characters players have requested get a card.

Creatures Mercadian Masques

Issue on Canine Terminologies

Re: "Will the new Un set have Who, What, When or Why wolves? We’ll have to wait and see." Why-luli Wolf was in Arabian Nights, How-ling Wolf was in Mercadian Masques, and What-chwolf was in Ravnica. The cycle is closer to complete than you'd think.

: )

Cycles Humor Mercadian Masques Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets Wolf

Comparing Mercadian Masques Sales

Did Mercadian Masques sell significantly worse than both Urza's Saga and Invasion?

Yes.

Invasion Mercadian Masques Sagas Urza's Saga Urza's Saga

Reserved List Vs. Card Value

Hi Mark! Not sure if you can get into it but if the Reserved List promise is so important why did the list go away after Masques? Jace, Goyf, Mana Crypt, lands all still hold value.

The Reserved List covers the period of time where Magic was produced in much smaller quantities of cards. By Mercadian Masques, we were printing a much larger amount of cards per set.

Lands Mana Mana Crypt Mercadian Masques The Reserved List

No Return to Ulgrotha

I understand not revisiting Ulgrotha; why not Mercadia, though? Was Mercadian Masques just poorly received?

We do market research asking about returns to worlds from old sets. Mercadia never does well.

Mercadian Masques

Prospects of Future Rebels and Mercenaries

Could we see rebels and/or mercenaries in a future set? Either with or without the gimmick

We could possibly see the creature type, but it’s highly unlikely it would have the Mercadian Masques abilities.

Creatures Mercadian Masques Mercenaries Rebel

Trivia on Spellshapers

Heya Mark! It was my birthday yesterday and I was wondering if you have any trivia on my favourite (mechanical) creature type Spellshapers!

If we had Mercadian Masques to do over, Spellshapers would have been ability worded. It’s shocking how many players, playing at the time, didn’t get it was a connected mechanic.Happy Belated Birthday!

Birthday Creatures Mechanics Mercadian Masques Spellshaper

Returning to the Game

Happy birthday, Mark! I started playing Magic around the time of Tempest and stopped at around Invasion (I was one of the casualties of Mercadian Masques). Many years later, my friends and I went on vacation and found out about a pre release happening nearby. We had never gone to one before, but decided we'd give it a try. It was Mirrodin Besieged and I was immediately hooked by seeing the phyrexians and Karn back. I opened a Blightsteel Colossus and actually put it in my deck. We still play. :)

: )

Birthday Blightsteel Colossus Humor Invasion Mercadian Masques Mirrodin Besieged Phyrexians Prerelease Sealed Format Tempest

Worlds in Sets Correction

"[Having] three different worlds in three different sets back to back ... wasn't something we'd ever done before." Yes, you have: Mercadian Masques was set on Mercadia, Nemesis was set on Rath, and Prophecy was set on Dominaria. (Urza Block also featured multiple planes--Dominaria, Phyrexia, Rath and Serra's Realm.)

Good catch.

Dominaria Mercadian Masques Nemesis Planes Prophecy Urza

Nemesis Trivia

It's my birthday! I was hoping I could get some trivia on one of my favorite sets Nemesis?

Mercadian Masques block is interesting in that each set takes place on a different plane. Mercadisn Masques is set on Mercadia, Nemesis is set on Rath, and Prophecy is set on Dominaria. Nemesis is also the first set to have a second version of a legendary creature (Crovax), but now changed due to the story. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Creatures Crovax Dominaria Mercadian Masques Nemesis Prophecy Story / Lore