In your head canon, why would an artificer make a stocking tiger? 🙂

For the holidays. : )

Hi Mark. Un-Rules question here. For the purposes of Booster Tutor, Stocking Tiger, and Summon the Pack, which of the following can be used as a "sealed Magic booster pack": a set booster, a collector booster, a theme booster, a themed prerelease booster (e.g. the special booster inside of a Strixhaven prerelease pack for one of the Colleges), a promo pack/foil promo pack, a prerelease promo foil in its wrapper, a box topper, a buy-a-box promo, and a Secret Lair.

The short answer is it has to be a “booster pack”Set booster? Yes, it’s a booster.Collector booster? Yes, it’s a booster.Theme booster? Yes, it’s a booster.Themed prerelease booster? Yes, it’s a booster.Promo pack? No, it’s not a booster.Prerelease promo? No, it’s not a booster.Box topper? No, it’s not a booster.Buy-a-Box promo? No, it’s not a booster.

About the Stocking Tiger/conspiracies question: the rules say that conspiracies cannot enter the game after it has started.

They can’t enter as conspiracies. That’s why I said the Conspiracy part won’t work.

What is your favorite holiday promo so far?

Either Naughty/Nice or Stocking Tiger.

What's your favorite holiday card? For me, it's hard to displace the original Fruitcake Elemental, but I might have to go with Snow Mercy.

I really like Stocking Tiger.

What exactly is there about Booster Tutor and Stocking Tiger (I.e. tutoring from a sealed booster pack) that can't be done in black border?

It creates a lot of questions that would have to be answered for tournament play. Which boosters could you use. Assuming it’s any booster, then you start getting cards into the environment that create rules issues the format normally does not have.

Holiday question! What are some of the design philosophies and principles that go into designing the yearly holiday card? Also, when did this tradition start and are you a part of the execution of them? A little origin about the holiday card would make for a nice Christmas present!

The holiday card started because Elaine Chase, Magic’s Senior Brand Manager, wanted to produce something for us to send our partners for the holidays. The creative team and I agree on a card name and basic card concept. Then after the art comes in, my design team and I design the card. Stocking Tiger was designed by the design team during one if our weekly meetings. The other design we seriously considered gave you a bonus if your opponent was eating cookies so the way the card worked was when you played it you gave cookies to your opponent. It didn’t match the concept quite as well and we were worried we’d make this unfun environment where you had to strategically turn down free cookies.

Silver-bordered ruling: Who chooses what expansion's booster comes into play under Stocking Tiger?

The owner of Stocking Tiger (who also owns the booster).

Was the "Forbidden Mechanic" at all related to Stocking Tiger?

Nope, different mechanic entirely.

If you steal stocking tiger, open its booster, and then have to discard to handsize (or for any other reason, I guess), do the discarded cards go to your graveyard or their owner's? What about shuffling into libraries?

The cards go to their owner’s graveyard just like any stolen object would.