Generated on 10 Jul 2024
Based on 402 answers
One of the hot topics in the Magic: The Gathering community has always been the design, implementation, and power levels of dual lands. Over the years, Mark Rosewater has provided extensive insights into dual lands, covering everything from the intricacies of their design to behind-the-scenes stories, and has even addressed various controversies surrounding them.
Origins and Evolution of Dual Lands
The concept of dual lands goes back to Alpha, where they made their debut as some of the most powerful and coveted cards due to their ability to provide multiple colors of mana without much of a drawback. These original Alpha dual lands are often seen as a quintessential part of the game’s history but are also a point of contention due to their place on the Reserved List, barring them from reprints.
According to Mark, the idea behind the original dual lands was to facilitate multi-color deck building, but they might have been too effective at their job. “As the biggest fan of the color wheel, I don’t think the original dual lands are good for the game. It just makes splashing colors too easy,” he noted, reflecting on how the ease of accessing multiple colors could dilute the strategic importance of color identity in decks.
Design Philosophy and Constraints
Over the years, Magic has seen numerous cycles of dual lands with different mechanics and drawbacks. The design space for dual lands is quite narrow, as Mark has pointed out multiple times. Designing a dual land that feels fresh, balanced, and does not overshadow basic lands is no small feat.
“Dual lands are getting harder to design because we’ve used up so much of the design space,” Mark admitted. Each new cycle of dual lands is carefully considered for its impact on gameplay, with a focus on maintaining a balance between making multicolor decks possible but not too easy. Furthermore, Mark acknowledges that while elegant new designs are becoming scarcer, reintroducing older cycles is a viable approach to maintaining variety in mana fixing without overwhelming the game with novelty.
Impact on Various Formats
- Legacy & Vintage: The consensus among players is that access to powerful dual lands makes formats like Legacy and Vintage more accessible for deck-building but also more prohibitive cost-wise. Mark has often highlighted that the Reserved List complicates the reprinting of these powerful mana-fixers to facilitate more equitable entry into these formats.
- Standard: In Standard, dual lands play a crucial role in shaping the meta, allowing players to build functional multi-colored decks that can compete at various power levels. The inclusion of different cycles, like the "shock lands" and "check lands," is often carefully timed to ensure color balance in the format.
- Modern Horizons & Supplemental Sets: There has been much speculation about the potential for more powerful dual lands in supplemental sets like Modern Horizons. Mark has indicated skepticism about creating duals that approach the power level of Alpha duals but acknowledges that the creative team does explore such possibilities within development constraints.
Mark also remarked on fetchlands and their interaction with dual lands, stating, “Fetch lands plus dual lands with basic land types was probably a mistake. Together they make it a little too easy to get access to multiple colors,” highlighting how the synergy between these card types can sometimes simplify mana bases in ways R&D did not fully anticipate.
Player Preferences and Potential Improvements
One recurring question is why certain dual land cycles are printed at rare, despite the near-universal need for them. Mark explained, “Players have told us time and again that they want to have rare cards that they’re excited to open, and dual lands hit that for a large portion of the player base.” The rarity of dual lands helps to balance their desirability against their availability, ensuring they remain chase cards that generate excitement when opened in booster packs.
Regarding common dual lands, Mark clarified that they tend to support limited environments more than constructed. “Common dual lands are ETB tapped, usually with a small bonus. ETB untapped ones are held for higher rarities,” he noted, emphasizing that the power level and utility of lands often dictate their rarity and availability in different play formats.
Trivia and Behind-the-Scenes Insights
Mark often shares anecdotes that provide a deeper understanding of how certain dual land designs came to be. For instance, the “Shock Lands” from the original Ravnica block are a point of personal pride for Mark, having advocated for them despite initial skepticism. “I designed them in Ravnica and I was very happy with their design. They are probably my personal best design for dual lands,” he revealed.
Another interesting point is the concept of the "poison dual land" from Future Sight, which was ultimately scrapped for being deemed too powerful in older formats. “The black/blue timeshifted dual land was originally a poison land. Development changed it because they felt it was overpowered in older formats where poison didn’t mean anything,” Mark shared.
Future Prospects and Final Thoughts
As with any evolving game, the design and implementation of dual lands in Magic: The Gathering will continue to be a point of ongoing development and player interest. While the narrow design space for new dual lands presents challenges, it also offers opportunities for creative solutions and thoughtful reprints.
Ultimately, the goal remains to strike a balance between enabling multi-color strategies and preserving the importance of the color pie, ensuring that each game of Magic: The Gathering offers a rich and varied play experience.
As Mark succinctly puts it, "Eternal formats will continually rise in power and consistency over time. There’s no way to avoid that if we continue to make new product. As I like to say, we can’t hold the present hostage of the past."
One of the hot topics in the Magic: The Gathering community has always been the design, implementation, and power levels of dual lands. Over the years, Mark Rosewater has provided extensive insights into dual lands, covering everything from the intricacies of their design to behind-the-scenes stories, and has even addressed various controversies surrounding them.
Origins and Evolution of Dual Lands
The concept of dual lands goes back to Alpha, where they made their debut as some of the most powerful and coveted cards due to their ability to provide multiple colors of mana without much of a drawback. These original Alpha dual lands are often seen as a quintessential part of the game’s history but are also a point of contention due to their place on the Reserved List, barring them from reprints.
According to Mark, the idea behind the original dual lands was to facilitate multi-color deck building, but they might have been too effective at their job. “As the biggest fan of the color wheel, I don’t think the original dual lands are good for the game. It just makes splashing colors too easy,” he noted, reflecting on how the ease of accessing multiple colors could dilute the strategic importance of color identity in decks.
Design Philosophy and Constraints
Over the years, Magic has seen numerous cycles of dual lands with different mechanics and drawbacks. The design space for dual lands is quite narrow, as Mark has pointed out multiple times. Designing a dual land that feels fresh, balanced, and does not overshadow basic lands is no small feat.
“Dual lands are getting harder to design because we’ve used up so much of the design space,” Mark admitted. Each new cycle of dual lands is carefully considered for its impact on gameplay, with a focus on maintaining a balance between making multicolor decks possible but not too easy. Furthermore, Mark acknowledges that while elegant new designs are becoming scarcer, reintroducing older cycles is a viable approach to maintaining variety in mana fixing without overwhelming the game with novelty.
Impact on Various Formats
- Legacy & Vintage: The consensus among players is that access to powerful dual lands makes formats like Legacy and Vintage more accessible for deck-building but also more prohibitive cost-wise. Mark has often highlighted that the Reserved List complicates the reprinting of these powerful mana-fixers to facilitate more equitable entry into these formats.
- Standard: In Standard, dual lands play a crucial role in shaping the meta, allowing players to build functional multi-colored decks that can compete at various power levels. The inclusion of different cycles, like the "shock lands" and "check lands," is often carefully timed to ensure color balance in the format.
- Modern Horizons & Supplemental Sets: There has been much speculation about the potential for more powerful dual lands in supplemental sets like Modern Horizons. Mark has indicated skepticism about creating duals that approach the power level of Alpha duals but acknowledges that the creative team does explore such possibilities within development constraints.
Mark also remarked on fetchlands and their interaction with dual lands, stating, “Fetch lands plus dual lands with basic land types was probably a mistake. Together they make it a little too easy to get access to multiple colors,” highlighting how the synergy between these card types can sometimes simplify mana bases in ways R&D did not fully anticipate.
Player Preferences and Potential Improvements
One recurring question is why certain dual land cycles are printed at rare, despite the near-universal need for them. Mark explained, “Players have told us time and again that they want to have rare cards that they’re excited to open, and dual lands hit that for a large portion of the player base.” The rarity of dual lands helps to balance their desirability against their availability, ensuring they remain chase cards that generate excitement when opened in booster packs.
Regarding common dual lands, Mark clarified that they tend to support limited environments more than constructed. “Common dual lands are ETB tapped, usually with a small bonus. ETB untapped ones are held for higher rarities,” he noted, emphasizing that the power level and utility of lands often dictate their rarity and availability in different play formats.
Trivia and Behind-the-Scenes Insights
Mark often shares anecdotes that provide a deeper understanding of how certain dual land designs came to be. For instance, the “Shock Lands” from the original Ravnica block are a point of personal pride for Mark, having advocated for them despite initial skepticism. “I designed them in Ravnica and I was very happy with their design. They are probably my personal best design for dual lands,” he revealed.
Another interesting point is the concept of the "poison dual land" from Future Sight, which was ultimately scrapped for being deemed too powerful in older formats. “The black/blue timeshifted dual land was originally a poison land. Development changed it because they felt it was overpowered in older formats where poison didn’t mean anything,” Mark shared.
Future Prospects and Final Thoughts
As with any evolving game, the design and implementation of dual lands in Magic: The Gathering will continue to be a point of ongoing development and player interest. While the narrow design space for new dual lands presents challenges, it also offers opportunities for creative solutions and thoughtful reprints.
Ultimately, the goal remains to strike a balance between enabling multi-color strategies and preserving the importance of the color pie, ensuring that each game of Magic: The Gathering offers a rich and varied play experience.
As Mark succinctly puts it, "Eternal formats will continually rise in power and consistency over time. There’s no way to avoid that if we continue to make new product. As I like to say, we can’t hold the present hostage of the past."