Permanents

Simic Cards' Copy Mechanism

I've noticed a lot of simic cards that copy enemy permanents recently, but I was curious about how that works pie-wise, since blue copies permanents all on its own while green rarely has that effect for even their own stuff, but it seems to be a pretty big thing for green+blue recently

Green is allowed to copy its own permanents, but it doesn’t do it a lot.

Blue Green Permanents Simic (G/U)

Trivia About Devotion Mechanic

Hi Mark! It was my birthday recently :) do you have any fun trivia about the Devotion mechanic?

The devotion mechanic was the redoing of chroma, an ability that first appeared (unnamed) in Future Sight and then (named) in Eventide. Aaron Forsythe originally pitched chroma on a single card in Future Sight, but I held it back because I thought it was a whole mechanic. We had high hopes for chroma, but the audience wasn’t too excited by it. Then when we were making original Theros, we needed a mechanic showing a connection to the Gods, and design team member Zac Hill pitched bring back chroma. We cleaned it up (now only caring about the mana cost of permanents on the battlefield) and renamed it, and it went on to be a beloved mechanic. It goes to show how much execution of a mechanic matters. Happy Birthday!

Aaron Forsythe Birthday Chroma Eventide Future Sight Gods Mana Mechanics Permanents Theros

Concept of Aura Tokens

We’ve seen aura tokens in the past in small numbers, but I want to know: do you think aura tokens (probably a predefined one) would do well as a core mechanic to a set? This question is both in terms of potential design space and potential complexity issues of having lots of auras attached to permanents

You should check out Wilds of Eldraine from last year. : )

Auras Design Space Humor Mechanics Permanents Tokens Wilds of Eldraine

Comparison of Game Mechanics

Hey Mark. I was just thinking, lots of players complain about the "once per turn effect", but at least I very rarely hear players complain about the very similar "tap as a cost to activate ability". Of course, there is a very teal functional difference; plenty of cards untap other permanents, yet nothing (that i know of) overrides the "once per turn" effect. Do you think untap effects were a mistake? In the same vein as reclaiming arbitrary cards from exile.

I do not consider that a mistake.

Activate Mechanics Once Per Turn Permanents Tap / Untap The Exile Zone

Future Use of Kindred Type

Hey, Mark! I know there's been a lot of talk recently regarding use of the Kindred type. As a longtime fan of the type, I'd like to raise a fan perspective you probably haven't heard: I would be more than happy if the only time we saw the type in the future was in the case of noncreature permanents that become animated, if ever at all.

We are planning to be pretty miserly with kindred.

Kindred / Typal Non-creatures Permanents

On Permanents Cohesion and Batching

For me, the historic batch is the best as it ties together different kinds of permanents in a cohesive way, which blows my mind. Outlaw was great in limited, but seems less impressive.

Batching is a tool that we can use in different ways. That’s the value of a good design tool.

Batches Historic Limited Permanents

Considerations on Hybrid Mana

A player at my LGS argued against your want of Hybrid mana able to be in mono colored decks was Devotion. If you can count Devotion of a color that your commander doesn't control, it shouldn't be in your deck. Wdyt?

You can have permanents of colors not of your Commander. What’s the difference?

Colors Commander Game Stores Hybrid Mana Permanents

Hexproof and Un-Games

CR 702.1c states that "the same is true for" effects apply to each of a keyword's variants separately. 702.11g states that "hexproof from each " is shorthand for one variant of hexproof per possible quality of that characteristic. This means in non-Un games, discarding Breaker of Creation (which has hexproof from each color) to Indominus Rex, Alpha gives five counters and thus draws five cards. How many cards do you draw in an Un game? (In particular, does every eye color count?)

In Un-games, when counting colors, you count the five normal colors plus any color of permanents you have. You have the gold Dragon token from Sword of Dungeons & Dragons, you’re now at six. You also have a brown Avatar of Me, you’re now at seven. You have a pink Teddy bear counter from Gift Shop, you’re now at eight.

Avatar Avatar of Me Bear Breaker of Creation Colors Dragon Dungeons Eye Gift Shop Hexproof Indominus Rex, Alpha Permanents Teddy Tokens Un-sets

Affinity for Devotion Concept

Is affinity for devotion something we could see one day?

Maybe as a one-of in a Modern Horizons set. Permanents with the same color devotion already want to be in the same deck, so adding affinity doesn’t add much.

Affinity Colors Modern Horizons Permanents

Stun Counter Limitations

Are non-white, non-blue cards that put stun counters on your own permanents as a limitation or drawback (as seen on The Beast, Deathless Prince and Pugnacious Hammerskull) an open design space or one of the "maybe an infrequent bend" cases?

It’s an area we can explore. Exert played in this space.

Beast Bend / Break Design Space Exert Permanents Pugnacious Hammerskull Stun The Beast, Deathless Prince

Volatile Stormdrake's Color Pie Classification

Is Volatile Stormdrake a break/bend?

No. Let me explain. There are two different types of color pie restrictions. The first is mechanical. Printing the card with the ability is a bend or a break. The second is aesthetic. We like to make colors feel different, so there are some things we don’t do in a color to keep it from stepping on another color.We stopped doing Pongify in blue, not because it was a mechanical issue, but an aesthetic one. We want white removal with a consolation to feel different than blue transformation. Also, we didn’t like the word “destroy” in a blue text box as it confused people (as blue doesn’t destroy permanents). Bleeding into aesthetic territory isn’t a bend or break, so no Volatile Stormdrake isn’t a bend/break.

Bend / Break Bend or Break Blue Card Printing Color Pie Colors Destroy Permanents Pongify Volatile Stormdrake White

Elemental Blast and Color Pie

Would any color have an elemental blast that isn't a color pie violation? My hunch is white is the closest

No one color counters spells and destroys permanents.

Color Pie Colors Elemental Permanents Spells White

Constraints on Copy Effects

The next time you want to make something like Doppelgang, how about \we restrict it to that player's side of the board, okay? or restrict it to a certain mana value? Recently, it seems like you guys have decided to have spell intrude on other players' permanents more than usual and it's really getting tiring. Of course, having spells that constantly making tokens is tiring enough. How about we reel it in some more, okay?

Alpha has four cards that can copy something of your opponent’s (Clone, Copy Artifact, Fork, & Vesuvan Doppelganger). Murders of Karlov Manor has three (Doppelgang, Lazav, Wearer of Faces, & Reenact the crime). It has one more card (Kaya, Spirit’s Justice) that copies your own stuff. Copying your opponent’s stuff is not new to Magic. I hear you that we need to be careful how it gets used. Token making, in contrast, has gone way up since the early days. Part of that is the addition of token cards to help manage them. Part of it is the huge popularity of them. And part of it is they allow access to new design space which thirty-one years in is an important tool. But I do hear you that perhaps we’re pushing boundaries with them.

Artifacts Clone Copy Artifact Design Space Doppelgang Lazav, Wearer of Faces Mana Value Permanents Reenact the Crime Spells Spirit Tokens Vesuvan Doppelganger

Non-Player Damage Template

Adding Battles as a permanent that can be dealt damage means that very few damage spells that aren’t “any target” can interact with them, and new spells that R&D doesn’t what to hit players won’t either since they don’t want to call out “target creature, planeswalker or battle”. Would we ever see “deal damage to any non-player target” as a way to make these effects compatible without having to call out battle ms or other future damage able permanents?

That’s most likely to happen in sets with Battles. I’m not sure we’re changing the template in all sets until Battles show up at such a rate that it makes sense to change it.

Battles Creatures Deal Damage Game Design Permanents Planeswalkers Spells Templating

Day/Night Mechanic Simplification

Would a Day/Night errata that removes the need to track it whenever there are no Daybound/Nightbound permanents in play be feasible?

It was then original intent for Day/Night, but it added a bunch of words and didn’t matter a huge amount of the time.

Day/Night Errata Mechanics Permanents

Control Effects Balance

Is there a reason most donate and exchange control effects, especially in recent years, only do creatures? Similarly, is there a reason that almost every exchange control effect requires that the permanents share a card type?

It’s a safety valve for play balance.

Card Types Creatures Donate Exchange Game Balance Permanents

Generic Mana Mechanic

Can a mechanic care how much generic mana is in a permanents mana cost? Like a more flexible devotion

I believe it can. Not 100% sure.

Colorless Mana Mechanics Permanents

Another Non-permanent Type Possibility

since instant, interrupt, and mana source were rolled up together, has there been any talk of another non-permanent type?

I’m not sure what it would do.

Instants Mana Non-permanents

Tokens and Copies

"I don’t even know what [token instants and sorceries] means. Tokens, by definition, are permanents." I think they meant objects that are similar to the copies Isochron Scepter makes

Those aren’t tokens.

Instants Isochron Scepter Permanents Sorceries Tokens

Unclear Arcane Tokens

If/When: Arcane instant/sorcery tokens

If. I don’t even know what that means. Tokens, by definition, are permanents.

If/When Instants Permanents Sorceries Tokens