Squadron Hawk

Chances for White Squad Hawk

What do you think is more likely: white using token making to get a Squadron Hawk type effect that actually worked in Commander, or white getting something more akin to Relentless Rats?

Both could happen, although the token version would be French vanilla.

Commander France French Vanilla Rat Rat Relentless Rats Squad Squadron Hawk Tokens Vanilla White

Power of White Abilities

How does r&d feel about upping the power of whites ability to have creatures that fetch copies of themselves to answer its lack of card advantage? Is legion angel an experiment in that? Do you think a squadron hawk like effect could be put on noncreatures?

It’s not something we want to do a lot of in any color, but white does get to do it.

Angel Colors Creatures Game Design Legion Angel Squadron Hawk White

White's Card Draw Mechanics

Where do cards like squadron hawk fall in the white card draw discussion

They’re fair game for white.

Card Draw Squadron Hawk White

White Card Draw

To support drawing cards, could white get more creatures such as Squadron Hawk, Battalion Footsoldier, and Inspiring Commander? Builds the feel of having an army of little dudes and helps with white's drawing problem.

It’s in color pie. There are shuffling and play design issues to deal with.

Army Battalion Card Draw Color Pie Colors Commander Creatures Inspiring Commander Keyword Actions Play Design Squadron Hawk White

Squadron Hawk's Swords

How can a squadron hawk hold 5 different swords

Practice.

Squadron Hawk

Squadron Hawk's Color Identity

Sans the fact they're flying birds, Squadron Hawk feels very green to me. I mean, Green straight up did it in the past with Howling Wolf, Nesting Wurm, Pack Hunt, and Skyshroud Sentinel (granted, all within the same block). Is this something we'll see in green again, perhaps more aggressively costed along the lines of the modern Squadron Hawk?

It’s something white and green can do as the two group-oriented colors.

Bird Colors Flying Green Howling Wolf Modern Nesting Wurm Pack Hunt Skyshroud Sentinel Squadron Hawk White Wolf Wurm

Squadron Hawk vs. Howling Wolf

How is Squadron Hawk broken but Howling Wolf is cool?

It’s all about costing. EDIT: Okay *and* environment.

Howling Wolf Squadron Hawk Wolf

Bird Flocking Mechanics

As for the iconic bird mechanic.... Eyes in the skys, squadran hawk, call, battle screech, dovescape, fable of wolf and own, flurry of wings, emeria angel, Jötun Owl Keeper, Ordered Migration, Pride of the clouds, scion of vitu-ghazi all either come in multiples, or set you up to put out multiples. Birds in magic FLOCK. And I think they have some interesting mechanics to make that happen. I'm a big fan of squadron hawk and beck // call, anything similar down the pike.

Flocks are bird related and yes we do a lot of “numerous birds” mechanical nods. To me that means more than just you can get more out of your deck.

Angel Battle Screech Battles Beck // Call Bird Dovescape Emeria Angel Eye Flurry of Wings Jötun Owl Keeper Mechanics Ordered Migration Pride of the Clouds Scion Scion of Vitu-Ghazi Squadron Hawk Wolf

Iconic Bird Abilities

Besides flying, what to you is the more iconic bird ability. The Magpie draw card on damage ability or the Welkin/Squadron Hawk fetch others in your flock.

Neither is particularly bird iconic to me.

Bird Flying Squadron Hawk

Squadron Hawk Signature

I have an FNM squadron hawk promo, my favorite card, that I would love to have signed by its designer. Who would that be, and how could I get that done?

I’m not sure. I think Aaron oversaw that design so I can ask him.

Promos Squadron Hawk

Free Mechanic Origin

You said earlier today about the Squadron Hawk (I love those, and yes, broken), and other cards that wouldn't be printed the way they were if you had the knowledge of now, but does the Urza's block free cards have a serious explanation? Like, when they were designed, what was meant when they did it?

I created the “free mechanic” in Urza’s block. At the time, there was a belief that cantrips (cards that draw you a card when you play them) wasn’t something that was evergreen but something we saved up to do every once in a while. As such, we weren’t allowed to have cantrips in Urza’s Saga. I decided to turn the idea on its ear. Instead of negating the card disadvantage of a spell, I thought about negating the mana cost. If you could pay for it then you didn’t have to. I honestly didn’t realize how bonkers broken the mechanic was when I created it and obviously we didn’t figure it our until it was too late. And that is how the “free mechanic” came to be.

Card Printing Evergreen Mana Mechanics Sagas Squadron Hawk Urza

Squadron Hawk Retrospective

Aaron Forsythe recently counted Squadron Hawk as a mistake along with other stuff like Urza Block free cards, Batterskull, JTMS, etc. Was Squadron Hawk really that bad or was it its interactions with other broken cards that did it? Would another card (creature or otherwise) ever get printed with Squawk's ability in the future?

Usually when Aaron talks about things being a mistake what he means is with hindsight we wouldn’t have made the card. I believe that had we known what we know now about Squadron Hawks we wouldn’t have printed them as we did. This doesn’t mean the mechanic is inherently broken. It just means it costs a little more than we realized. So yes, you could see another card like it more appropriately costed.

Aaron Forsythe Batterskull Card Printing Creatures Mechanics Squadron Hawk Urza