Hi mark. There were a few people who had commented on the technology and aesthetic of Duskmourne and how it feels too close to the present, referencing planes like Capenna or Neo-kamigawa as other examples of modernity in Magic’s fantasy setting. Because I am the main character and my opinion is the most important one, I thought I’d give my two cents on the topic.Although kamigawa and capenna are obviously more “modern” than a plane like innistrad, they still don’t feel like “now”. By definition, sci-fi is not modern. Although Neon kamigawa doesn’t feel like high fantasy, it doesn’t feel “modern” to me either, it’s too far in the future. In the opposite direction, Capenna feels too far in the past to feel “modern”. Yeah, arc spitter is a Tommy gun and the treasure token is a martini glass, but it still doesn’t feel like the present. My grandpa wasn’t even born until after the end of prohibition. Time period Capenna is based on was literally a century ago. Sure the aesthetic isn’t as far back in history as the aesthetic of a knight in shining armor, but it’s still far enough back that it feels like “another time”, at least to me. I think the reason those two planes pass the vibe check is because they feel different enough from modern day. TV’s have existed since the late 1920’s, so it would have been historically accurate if the plane themed around 1920s America had TVs. but that still *feeeeeels* wrong. The vibes are off. Yeah sci fi japan would probably have cell phones or something, but that just feels wrong. In other words, fantasy (to me) isn’t about looking like lord of the rings, it’s about NOT looking like everyday life.This is where Duskmourne comes in. I wasn’t alive in the 70’s or 80’s. Heck, I’m so young that my parents hadn’t even met until after homelands came out. But the 70’s and 80’s feels like modern day. Screaming nemesis and cursed recording have TVs in their art. The booster fun frame looks like it would be on a ghostbusters poster. I feel like I saw my baby cousin wearing the exact same outfit as Toby just the other day. The term “fear of missing out” is just such a modern day thing, even if that concept isn’t new. I’m withholding my judgement until I see the whole set, but based on what we’ve seen so far, I (somewhat) agree with the sentiment a lot of Duskmourne feels too “real”. I’m sure more detail will be given closer to release, but I would be really interested in learning the whole process of how y’all built this world, even more interested than I would be with any other plane.

We’re trying something new. Some people seem to like it, some don’t. Time will show whether it was overall a good idea. I will say we need time to better gauge it. There are a lot of very popular Magic things that had an initial negative opinion.

Hi Mark!
Love your drives to work so much. I especially love you talking designs about each set and I may have missed it but have you done Nemesis block yet? If not could you? I know it’s somewhat of a forgotten block for the most part.
Thanks!

I don’t think I have. I can add it to the “short” list.

Silkenfist Fighter from Nemesis has a haiku as flavor text.

FYI.

Since you answered the colors of spiderman, what are the colors of his mortal nemesis, the one and only J. Jonah Jameson?

Red/white.

With Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis making human tokens I assume that was to tie into Ikorias human tribe. It always felt odd when previous Elspeths (or any other card for that matter) only made "soldier" tokens without any real creature type (i.e. human goblin elf etc.) Is the plan moving forward to have Elspeth (or other cards that make soldiers) to make distinct soldiers rather than just the generic tokens we've seen prior to THB?

She’ll make the tokens that match what makes sense for the card in its environment.

Hey Mark, I just wanted to thank you for answering Silver Border rules questions. I'm always delighted to read rulings like "Phoebe only cares about flavor text from Magic cards" and "No you can't use Stet to get around True Name Nemesis" Have a high five!

High five myself!

I recently read that Mike Elliott designed a card for Belbe for Nemesis that never saw print. Is it possible that you could share with us his original design since it's been nearly 20 years?

I’m touched you think I’m so organized that I could find an unprinted card someone else designed over twenty years ago. Unless Mike has a record of it, I believe it is lost to time.

May I request you to an Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis wallpaper? Seen Ashiok and Calix but would love one of Elspeth.

There’s a high percentage chance of that happening.

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!

Would not the phrase "Can't die" be viable for the problem? It literally means "Can't be put into a graveyard from the battlefield". With a little support from your Rules Manager nemesis, it seems to work.

It wouldn’t stop exiling though. We’ve thought a lot about this. It’s a hard problem to solve.