Rhystic Study

Reprints in New Sets

Hey Mark,

Fairly recently, on one of your podcasts you were talking about when designing new sets how important it is to generate hype and excitement among the audience with new mechanics/cards/ideas. To me, it feels like in many of the recent sets with bonus sheets, reprints of 10+ year old cards that many enfranchised players have already played with or against are the aspects of the sets that are causing the most enthusiasm. Similarly, these cards often strongly influence Limited games to the point where games are won or lost because of old cards rather than new designs.To me it feels kind of underwhelming that the most powerful cards I can encounter in a draft or collector booster for a brand new Premier set aren't new cards but instead old staples (i.e. think Smothering Tithe and Rhystic Study in Wilds of Eldraine).

Reprints are important and players enjoy them, especially veteran players, but I do feel they take away the spotlight and attention when it comes to new premier sets.

Magic has tons of ways to reprint highly sought after cards (i.e. Secret Lairs, "The List", Reprint exclusive Masters sets, Commander pre-constructed decks) so why has there been an increased proliferation of lots of highly sought after reprints in new premier sets?

It has proven to be the means players enjoy the most. You get the reprints in the sets you’re already purchasing instead of having to buy other products specifically for the reprints.

Bonus Sheets Boosters Card Printing Collector Boosters Commander Draft Formats Experienced / Enfranchised Players Limited Mechanics Premier Sets Premier Sets Reprints Rhystic Study Secret Lairs Smothering Tithe Tithe Wilds of Eldraine

Prelease Enjoyment

WOE prerelease was great. The roles and adventures were great, and I think this is my favorite bonus sheet so far. My Rhystic Study against my opponent's Smothering Tithe, and the guy next to me played Forced Fruition lol

Glad you enjoyed it.

Bonus Sheets Forced Fruition Fruition Prerelease Rhystic Study Sealed Format Smothering Tithe Tithe Wilds of Eldraine

Rhystic Study Design

If it were designed under the current philosophy at WotC, could Rhystic Study Be a mono white card? If not, are there small tweaks that could be done to make it in pie, or would the base concept of the card (opponent is offered a choice between paying a tax or me drawing cards) Be out of white's color pie?

My gut is it’s too efficient a card drawer for white. It also doesn’t have the once per turn limitation. Is there a taxing card that could use drawing a card as a tax? Possibly, but it would require other elements and would most likely be narrower than “cast a spell”.

Card Draw Color Pie Once Per Turn Rhystic Study White Wizards of the Coast

White Cards Drawing Multiple Times

Could white theoretically get a card that lets them draw more than 1 time a turn, but only if the trigger is based on the opponent doing something? Maybe like an inverse Rhystic Study, where the opponent can draw more cards, but you get more cards at the same time?

We do allow white to have taxing cards where you stop your opponent with a buyout that they let you draw cards. That is not necessarily limited to once per turn.

Card Draw Limited Once Per Turn Rhystic Study White

Rhystic Study Redesign Possibility

If it limited you to only drawing once per turn, could Rhystic Study be a white card under the new design philosophy?

Yes.

Limited Once Per Turn Rhystic Study White

Future of Rhystic Cards

If or when? More Rhystic cards like Rhystic Study or Rhystic Tutor?

If. Rhystic was a very unpopular mechanic, so I would call the chances of it’s return quite low.

If/When Mechanics Rhystic Study Rhystic Tutor Tutoring

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