Troll

Trivia for Silvos, Rogue Elemental

New 30 May 2024 Asked by jellobrand 34 Comments

Hello Mark, hope all is well!I'm about to celebrate my 32nd birthday and would like to invoke the sacred rite of trivia from you! I got into this game when I was eight years old, someone in my class showed up with the iconic plastic baggy filled with a rubber band bound stack of little cardboard rectangles. I saw the card Root Elemental and was transfixed with the game ever since.Shortly after I found my way in a card shop and saw the absolutely mesmerizing Silvos, Rogue Elemental. I still to this day get a feeling of awe looking at that big green guy.So, do you have any hidden trivia on the pit fighter Silvos?Thanks for all you do for this game and for what you have done for me. Magic has been a very large part of my life for a long time, I appreciate your work and the work of everyone who has made it what it is.


Silvia is the largest regenerating creature at 8/5. The only other 8-power regenerator is Hunted Troll and it’s an 8/4 without trample (and gives the opponent four 1/1 blockers).Happy Birthday!

Beeble Scale Ranking

New 16 Apr 2024 Asked by vitorsly 31 Comments

Hey, big fan of some of the more "monstrous humanoid" types here, particularly around Red, and I was wondering where in the Beeble Scale would Ogres, Trolls, Cyclopses and Giants be?


Giants are a 1, Ogres a 2, Trolls a 3, and Cyclops a 4.

Haste in Black Creatures

New 12 Apr 2024 Asked by crusadingeggplant 35 Comments

hi Mark,I wanted to ask about Haste in Black. It just kinda hit me that for a while we had a few hasty creatures in mono-black.

Notably ELD had Rankle, Clackbridge Troll and Deathless Knight (green-black but can be played in mono-black). There's also Banehound in WAR and Vengeful Reaper in Kaldheim (which I probably played in standard more than it should be played tbh).

Was this an intentional experiment? A quirk of design that 'just happened' because its a tool that is always there and happened to be used more than usual? If it was an experiment, it seems like the verdict was 'no haste in black creatures', but I'd be interested in hearing more about it!


Haste is, and has been for a while, secondary in black. It’s used less than green these days which is also secondary in haste.

Creature Type Uniqueness

New 04 Apr 2024 Asked by bcrazy713 111 Comments

Hey Mark, on the topic of players being worried about creature types losing their distinctiveness by being added in with the broader type rather than a specific race (ex. Viashino(Lizard) or Naga(Snake)), I looked to see how many are already currently templated this way and there are ALOT more than I realized.Archaic (Avatar), Aven (Bird), Leonin (Cat), Malamet (Cat), Nishoba (Cat Beast), Daemogoth (Demon), Ainok (Dog), Flamekin (Elemental), Loxodon (Elephant), Mycoid (Fungus), Thallid (Fungus), Akki (Goblin), Boggart (Goblin), Mogg (Goblin), Redcaps (Goblin), Eumidian (Insect), Kraul (Insect), Nantuko (Insect), Khenra (Jackal), Kitsune (Fox), Merrow (Merfolk), Selkie (Merfolk), Triton (Merfolk), Onakke (Ogre), Caryatid (Plant), Nezume (Rat), Rhox (Rhino), Amphin (Salamander), Orochi (Snake), Kami (Spirit), Drogskol (Spirit), Eidolon (Spirit), Ent (LoTR) (Treefolk), Trow (Troll), Kappa (Turtle), Liche (Zombie), Eternal (Zombie), Draugr (Zombie), Nim (Zombie), Skaab (Zombie)


Yep. Most of the ones that didn’t do it entered the game before we made this the default.

Trolls and Skeletons

New 13 Mar 2024 Asked by sjk9000 32 Comments

You guys more or less phased out "regenerate" with temporary indestructiblity, right? Does that mean we can expect Trolls and Skeletons to have that ability going forward?


With a few exceptions, we try not to tie creature types exclusively to a single mechanic. Some Trolls and Skeletons could do that.

Perspective on Land Destruction

New 21 Feb 2024 Asked by lavilledieu 30 Comments

Each time land destruction becomes the topic, you put this playstyle away as unfun because people don't get to play the game. Yet we get powerful counterspells and powerful tax effects (including ward). In standard, I've had games on the draw where I did nothing because of Thalia followed by Anointed Peackeeper or Elite Spellbinder. Thalia is basically like -1 land if you wanted to play one noncreature, worse if you wanted to play more. It gets even worse: Thalia or the other creatures mentioned do win games, unlike a Stone Rain or similar. Now, I do share the belief we don't need more stone rains, it's too much all eggs in one basket, but cards like Waking the Trolls did a step in the good direction of being interesting and disruptive without being oppressive.
So my take is: people overestimate land destruction, don't let that stop you, as there is a lot of design space here.


We are very careful with counterspells, discard, and taxing for the very reasons you state. Long ago there existed a “permissions deck” which was basically nothing but counterspells and countered almost every spell. We don’t allow that (or a discard deck that makes you discard every spell) anymore.

Birthday Trivia Request

New 05 Dec 2023 Asked by exclusionmage 37 Comments

I invoke the right of birthday trivia! (Also congrats on 20 years as head designer) Can you tell me anything about the card "grey ogres"? Failing that, how about trivia on orcs and/or ogres in magic in general?


Grey Ogre has an interesting distinction. It’s a card in Alpha with three other cards that are “strictly better”: Granite Gargoyle, Sedge Troll, and Uthden Troll.Happy Birthday!

Un-Blogatog Card Names

New 26 Jan 2023 Asked by bordergeist 49 Comments

Possible Un-Blogatog card names:Maybe:)High FiveBirthday GiftSally, Squirrel GeniusHe Finally Killed ItGrizzled VeteranBitter TrollWell-meaning TrollConfused Trolland I think there should be a vertical cycle of Maro cards representing your evolution over time (like the Urza/Mishra cards in Brother’s War):Maro, Timmy DeckmasterMaro, PuzzlemakerMaro, in the Inner CircleMaro, Transcendent Leader


Some good stuff.

Story Chapter Limits

New 15 Jan 2023 Asked by depressed-icarus 30 Comments

Why do sets stories have to be limited to five chapters? Wouldn't it be better if it would be more or have some chapters between sets? Love your attitude and old don't engage trolls.


I did a podcast last week talking about set budgets and the implications on game design. The creative team has the same issue.

Off-Color Bonus Cards

New 20 Nov 2022 Asked by su92 36 Comments

Can you do a podcast or article about cards with off-color bonuses (Sedge Troll, Cliffrunner Behemoth, Ancient Grudge, etc.)? Like, what role do they serve? How do designers use them? What do they do different from traditional gold? How are they counted in the design skeleton?


That’s a good topic. Thanks. I’ll add it to the short list.

Legends Tidbits Appreciation

New 02 Sep 2022 Asked by phantomarcadianae 42 Comments

High fives to everyone who wrote the legends tidbits in todays article. I went from caring zero about most of these characters I didn’t already know to really feeling for some of them. WE LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU BORTUK!!! JUSTICE FOR THE TROLLS!!!


Glad you enjoyed it.

Cryptic Spires Comparison

New 18 Jun 2022 Asked by caitsith4 37 Comments

Re: Cryptic Spires. It feels a little disingenuous to start comparing a common tapland (less powerful than a guildgate) with similar rarity to a basic land to Chaos Confetti, etc. Can we limit handwringing about the subject to maybe cool feedback that takes the facts into account, maybe just this once? It feels like people are just trying to troll you sometimes.


Some players are trying to troll me every day. : )

Troll Shield Counters

New 14 Jun 2022 Asked by ratking-usurper 37 Comments

Would troll creatures printed in future sets have access to shield counters since that feels like an iteration in the more complex regenerate, or is that out of green colour pie?


Green can have shield counters in sets that have them. It’s in pie.

Slivers and Licids Comparison

New 22 Jul 2021 Asked by baron-von-lucas 50 Comments

"Without the thing that definitionally makes them Licids?". Trolls historically had ties to regeneration that has since been separated. What makes Licids different?


Trolls have existed in pop culture for centuries. People have associations beyond just the game. Licids mean nothing outside the context of Magic. Would you like a new set with Slivers that don’t grant abilities to one another?

Unique Kaldheim Worlds

New 23 Jan 2021 Asked by jstaal 66 Comments

Continued from my last comment - the unique worlds of Kaldheim are the homes of the trolls (though clearly inspired by Jotunheim, the land of the giants) demons (Norse mythology has none, but clearly a MTG pallet swap with the Fire Giant’s Muspel), the shapeshifters (totally unique!), valkyries (interestingly Marvel Comics made one when added a 10th realm in the Thor comics), and zombies (Hel is a place on the frost giants’ world and Valhalla is on the gods’).


FYI

Stalking/Challenger Troll Ability Usage

New 10 Aug 2020 Asked by popcornbunni 20 Comments

Could the stalking/challenger troll ability see use in other colors? It seems like it would make sense in White looking for a "fair" 1-on-1 fight, or in Black as a way to prove its superiority.


We don’t use it enough to justify putting it into a second color.

Five-Color Commander Feedback

New 11 Mar 2020 Asked by cursedereaper 61 Comments

The overall notion about 5c commanders is: less 5c commanders and narrower themes if you print new 5c commanders. 89% Accurate: 66 votes for less commanders (many that want them more restricted). 7 want same ratio if more restricted. 6 want less that have manacost like Golos, Sisay, Tazir and more that cost WUBRG. 4 Keep going (1 troll). 2 more 4c instead. The opinion on 5c good stuff differs. Kenrith and Golos were named the most. Niv was quite polarizing.


FYIThanks for compiling the results.

Troll Shroud to Hexproof

New 30 Dec 2019 Asked by blaze-1013 35 Comments

Another slang term for later keyword abilities, Troll Shroud which went on to become Hexproof.


Yes.

Desire for Novel Mechanics

New 24 Nov 2019 Asked by heshotmeagain 90 Comments

Do people actually want "vanilla matters, layers matter, sorceries with flash" or are they just trolls?


People actually want these things. Conceptual ideas are sexy. For example, whenever I talk about a failed mechanic that didn’t work out, I get players writing in about how it sounds fun and they hope to see it one day, A big part of R&D’s job is to separate things that sound found from things that actually are fun.

Goblin Politics Humor

New 27 Sep 2019 Asked by uberplatt 60 Comments

Hi Mark, How come the Feasting Troll King is a noble, but Goblin King is not (he was not updated)


I try not to mess with Goblin politics. : )I can ask Doug when I’m in the office next week, but I have no idea.


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