Trait Doctoring

More or Less Ban

"(More or Less) is never coming within forty yards of black border" Magic does text replacing effects in black border sometimes, as recently as Trait Doctoring in Dragon's Maze. Why is changing numbers and number words so much worse than changing color words or basic land types?

The power level of a number change can be huge. Changing a color to a different color much less so. We’d never make More or Less in black border because it would get banned immediately.

Bannings Black Black Border Colors Dragon Dragon's Maze Format Legality Lands More or Less Power Level Trait Doctoring

Color Changing Mechanic

You seem to like color pie questions a lot. Many years ago there were a couple of five color cycles or cards like the Laces and Sylvan Paradise that could change the color of one or more things to its own color. Then we got celestial dawn. Then painter's servant. Then trait doctoring. Who gets to change the colors of things now?

Blue is the primary color of changing the color of other things. Green can change itself. And white can make things white. It’s not an ability we use much these days.

Blue Celestial Dawn Color Pie Colors Cycles Green Painter's Servant Primary Sylvan Paradise Trait Doctoring White

Trait Doctoring Effects

I love Trait Doctoring / Mind Bend change the text of color/land type to another, but with protection and landwalk going aside I feel we won't see this effect much?

We’ve been moving away from these style of effects for years.

Bend / Break Colors Lands Landwalk Mind Bend Protection Trait Doctoring

Plainswalker Trivia

The day has come bday trivia. Trivia on 5 color plainswalker or my commander child of alara.

Here’s some five color plainswalking trivia. There are actually cards in every color (and artifact and multicolor) that can have or grant plainswalk:White Aysen Highway (Homelands)Concerted Effort (Ravnica) - must have other plainswalkerGraceful Antelope (Odyssey)Great Wall (Legends)Righteous Avengers (Legends)Blue (okay, other than Greater Morphing, Illusionary Presence or Traveler’s Cloak, you have to already have a land walker to pull this off)Crystal Spray (Invasion)Greater Morphling (Unhinged)Illusionary Presence (Ice Age)Magical Hack (Alpha)Mind Bend (Mirage)Spectral Shift (Fifth Dawn)Trait Doctoring (Dragon’s Maze)Traveler’s Cloak (Invasion)While of Vorrath (Tempest)BlackCairn Wanderer (Lorwyn) - ,must have plainswalker in graveGiant Slug (Legends)RedBarbarian Guides (Ice Age) - can grant snow-covered plainswalkBeggars Arsonists (Shadowmoor)GreenMagnigoth Treefolk (Planeshift) - must have PlainsOld Fogey (Unhinged)Zodiac Rooster (Portal: Three Kingdoms)ArtifactDeath-Mask Duplicate (Darksteel) - must exile plainswalkerExcavator (Tempest) - must sacrifice PlainsMulticolorLord Magnus (Legends) - Green/WhiteThis is the most I’ve ever written about plainswalk on Blogatog. : )Happy Birthday!

Alpha Antelope Artifacts Aysen Highway Barbarian Barbarian Guides Bend / Break Birthday Black Blue Cairn Wanderer Child of Alara Cloak Colors Commander Concerted Effort Crystal Spray Darksteel Dragon Excavator Fifth Dawn Giant Giant Slug Graceful Antelope Great Wall Greater Morphling Green Homelands Ice Age Illusionary Presence Lands Legendary Creatures Lord Magnus Lorwyn Magical Hack Magnigoth Treefolk Mind Bend Mirage Odyssey Old Fogey Planeshift Portal Red Righteous Avengers Sacrifice Selesnya (G/W) Shadowmoor Slug Spectral Shift Tempest The Exile Zone Trait Doctoring Treefolk Unhinged Wall White Zodiac Rooster

Color Hacking Today

I've asked a couple times and I'm beginning to lose hope! Is color hacking (such as Mind Bend and Glamerye) still a part of modern Magic? The last printed color hack card (Trait Doctoring) was much better as a heroic enabler than it was as a color hack card, and protection (the best hack target) is no longer evergreen

We do less color hacking because the game in general has been caring less about color overall. The kinds of cards you would hack are just being done less. The ability is still in Blue’s color pie though.

Bend / Break Blue Card Printing Color Pie Colors Evergreen Heroic Lose Hope Mind Bend Modern Protection Trait Doctoring

Color Identifier

Didn't the color identifier functionally errata cards ? I can't change there colors now like with trait doctoring.

You couldn’t before even though like you felt like you could. Yet another reason for the change.

Colors Errata Trait Doctoring

Altering CMC Mechanic

Hi Mark! Do you think it's possible that a card that alters a permanent's CMC ( e.g. like Trait Doctoring, so you could Birthing Pod said altered permanent for a higher costing dude ) could ever be printed? If so, what color would it be?

If it existed it would be blue, but it is both confusing and has potential power level issues if it can affect cards in the hand.

Birthing Pod Blue Card Printing Colors Mana Value Power Level Trait Doctoring Your Hand

Trait Doctoring Forethought

Was the card Trait Doctoring from DGM made with devotion in mind?

Let’s just say we were aware of the interaction.

Trait Doctoring

Unset Color Devotion

Maybe I'm mistaken, but you've said before that there are 5 legal colors, except in the Unsets, in which all colors are legal? So if I play trait doctoring in a format that has unsets legal, I could change my devotion to any any color? (Devotion to Dry Sea Grass, Devotion to Divine Wine, etc)

Yes, you may.

Colors Trait Doctoring Un-Magic / Silver Border / Acorn Un-sets

Sealed Pool Luck

Ok Mark, we need to talk. I keep seeing everyone thank you for the cool stuff they open. Well I just came in dead last at GP Gothenburg. So I'm blaming you for the trait doctoring and the fireminds thingy in my sealed pool. :)

I apologize. I was busy thinking about some future designs when I was putting those booster packs together.

Appreciation Boosters Conventions Limited Trait Doctoring