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[explodet]

I just wanted to post the Harmless Offering art again.

Lookit it

 

[charlequin]

[*]Gideon: Middle-eastern/Greek?

Should be swarthy Greek and they have made some efforts to actually depict him this way lately.

[*]Chandra: White

Mixed race but phenotypically pretty white. (As a side note, all the stuff about how she must be adopted is kind of messed up. Red hair on a mixed-race person of white and south Asian descent is possible even in the real world where magic doesn't come into things like hair color.)

[*]Liliana: White

Originally supposed to be Persian although given that her main plotline is about a veil it's maybe just as well they pretty much cemented her as white with Origins.

[*]Dack Fayden: Italian

Most places this counts as white these days.

[*]Ob Nixilis: Demon (White)

idk he has kind of a Vin Diesel thing going on in Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath.

They're working on it and I'm sure there's more (these are all off the top of my head), but damn if there isn't enough representation.

One of the hard lessons they've learned is that if you vaguely intend to make someone kind-of-sort-of darker skinned, 99% of artists will depict them as straight-up white unless given explicit instructions otherwise. The last few years or so they've been making a much more conscious effort to address this (giving Teferi a PW card, re-emphasizing Sarkhan's and Gideon's ethnicity, introducing Narset and Saheeli) but it's still a bit of an uphill climb, especially now that they can only introduce about one new PW a block.

 

[kirblar]

Mixed race but phenotypically pretty white. (As a side note, all the stuff about how she must be adopted is kind of messed up. Red hair on a mixed-race person of white and south Asian descent is possible even in the real world where magic doesn't come into things like hair color.)

Thought the adoption thing was canon?

 

[charlequin]

Thought the adoption thing was canon?

It's not mentioned in either version of her origin story, at least.

 

[Ashodin]

It HAS to be real though.

No other planeswalker has made any mention of their parents a focus of their story at ALL.

Liliana has a brother who dies to set her off
Gideon was an orphan
Jace has no memories
Nissa is an elf (lol), their parents are the forest or some shit

Only Chandra's background has made a huge fuckin' deal over her parents AND the fact she has Jaya Ballard's goggles.

C'MON SON.

You can't tell me you can't see it when you look at these two depictions:

also wtf at Jaya's clothes with the random ass tears

 

[Yeef]

It HAS to be real though.

No other planeswalker has made any mention of their parents a focus of their story at ALL.

Liliana has a brother who dies to set her off
Gideon was an orphan
Jace has no memories
Nissa is an elf (lol), their parents are the forest or some shit

Only Chandra's background has made a huge fuckin' deal over her parents AND the fact she has Jaya Ballard's goggles.

C'MON SON.

She doesn't have Jaya Ballard's goggles; they were just at Keral Keep.

 

[kirblar]

It HAS to be real though.

No other planeswalker has made any mention of their parents a focus of their story at ALL.

Liliana has a brother who dies to set her off
Gideon was an orphan
Jace has no memories
Nissa is an elf (lol), their parents are the forest or some shit

Only Chandra's background has made a huge fuckin' deal over her parents AND the fact she has Jaya Ballard's goggles.

C'MON SON.

You can't tell me you can't see it when you look at these two depictions:

It's also a gender swap of a traditionally male trope.

 

[HK-47]

What is the status of Pia and Kiran? Are they still alive? Cause I love that card.

Also I wish Wizards would stop it with the boob armor. Christ.

 

[Ashodin]

What is the status of Pia and Kiran? Are they still alive? Cause I love that card.

I think the mom may still be alive

Or else they're both deader than doornails

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Why did you pick the 2nd worst chandra art

Also I wish Wizards would stop it with the boob armor. Christ.

you and me

 

[HK-47]

It would be nice if some major character had a functional family.

 

[Ashodin]

Why did you pick the 2nd worst chandra art

The hair.

I'm mad they went from chainmail cutie

To boob fuckin' plate

It would be nice if some major character had a functional family.

Would be nice. Actually raise stakes in blocks. Their family might die or something. Every planeswalker right now has zero familial attachments, so they can uproot and leave at will to go anywhere.

 

[Haly]

Would be cool if, after battling some multidimensional reality warping threat, a PW can walk home to have dinner with the family.

 

[HK-47]

Would be cool if, after battling some multidimensional reality warping threat, a PW can walk home to have dinner with the family.

I smell the theme of a new take on Planechase.

Planechase 2017: Get Home in Time for Dinner

 

[kirblar]

They need to issue an explicit edict on it.

 

[Ashodin]

Would be cool if, after battling some multidimensional reality warping threat, a PW can walk home to have dinner with the family.

The depiction of Jace planeswalking back into his mom's basementSecret Sanctum on Ravnica for some time alone is the type of characterization I want in stories.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

The hair.

I'm mad they went from chainmail cutie

To boob fuckin' plate

Ah

Boob plate was necessary for elspeth to get laid of course.

 

[Ashodin]

Ah

Boob plate was necessary for elspeth to get laid of course.

She did get it with Daxos, right?

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Yes and she traded her life for his, and got played by Erebos in the process, like the stupid damsel in love she is. It's so cliche a story it's embarrassing to even think about.

 

[Ashodin]

Yes and she traded her life for his like the stupid damsel in love she is.

Love man, it makes you do stupid shit

 

[SigmasonicX]

Kiora has a living sister, who I was amazed didn't end up dying during the BFZ story, though I forget the status of their parents.

I think this might actually be the source for a discrepancy between the Zendikar artbook and the BFZ story in regard to Kiora. The artbook claims that Kiora gave up fighting as soon as Kozilek destroyed the Sea Gate, while the actual story had her take part in the final battle. I'm thinking they planned for Kiora's sister to be killed by Kozilek, but decided not to when they realized having a living family member was unique.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Shifting power level depending on the target audience

kidror asked:
Do you ever lower the power level on a card so that it will appeal to its intended fans but not to the competitive scene?

From Erik Lauer:

Yes, when we lower the power level of a card, we try do take enough away to accomplish our goals, but not more. We do that so, as you say, it will still appeal to the intended fans.

Sometimes the cards still see constructed play, but at a smaller rate. For example, Engulf the Shore was creating problems at 3 mana. When we added a mana, we thought it would still be fun for casual mono blue players. In fact, it still saw a bit of constructed play; Frank Karsten finished 15th at Grand Prix San Jose!

Adding colors vs. increasing cost

lawd-what-a-booty asked:
When balancing cards, are you more apt to add additional colorless mana (say, going from 2G to 3G) or to turn colorless costs into colored costs (say, going from 2G to 1GG)? What situations warrant one method over the other?

We don’t use colored mana symbols to strengthen or weaken cards very often, since usually the fundamental problem with a card being too strong is how much total mana it costs, not how reliably a multicolor deck can cast it. If we change a card from 2G to 1GG, it’s still just as strong in the heavy/mono green deck as it was before.

Instead, we use colored mana as a knob to tune how many different decks have access to a card. If we want a card to be a reward for going heavily into a color, we’ll give it more colored mana symbols. Usually we’ll do that with “rate” cards, which are just powerful but not very build-aroundy. Conversely, we make a lot of the Johnny/combo cards a single colored mana, so that creative deckbuilders have more variety in what they can do with them.

-Ian

MaRo on the legendary discrepancy

s0lidlyksnak3 asked: I've seen you reply that Legendary isn't really used as a drawback for balancing. Dave Humphrey on the Development blog recently stated it is and can be (using original Thalia as an example).

Dave Humpherys and Erik Lauer argue about this often. Clearly it can be done but there is big debate about how often it’s truly relevant. The argument ranges from sometime to seldom.

Emrakul was planned for Innistrad before original Innistrad was even released

trifas asked: How much of current story was already decided when we first saw Innistrad?

All of it. Story works ahead just like design.

Confirming that Emrakul was going to be in the third set of BFZ and in SOI block

mail-order-raptor-bride asked: I'm confused, in a tweet from yesterday you said that it was decided that Emrakul would be on Innistrad before you decided to return to Zendikar but in response to an ask on here from January you said that before the shift to 2 blocks it was planned that the return to Zendikar would have three block with one devoted to each titan. These can't both be true.

They can both be true because they were.

 

[The Technomancer]

Huh some weird answers in there

 

[Ashodin]

I'm calling bullshit on Innistrad with Emrakul all the way back on first Innistrad.

 

[SigmasonicX]

I'm calling bullshit on Innistrad with Emrakul all the way back on first Innistrad.

Reconfirmed here

crazychucky asked: "How much of current story was already decided when we first saw Innistrad?" "All of it. Story works ahead just like design." I think the asker meant how much of the Shadows story was planned when we saw the original Innistrad block.

We knew the role of Emrakul if that’s what you’re asking.

 

[Ashodin]

Still calling bullshit. No way it was planned that far in advance.

They may have had IDEAS but not full actual planning done.

 

[Haines]

Draft went good last night but as expected many signals were fucked and many bombs were passed.

Let's put it this way. P1p1 she picked thing on the ice.

She was also blue. And I noticed the signal but still had so many great blue passes to me 2 packs from her it took up 18 cards in my deck lol.


Kinda bummed lsv isn't on the LR shows for the real ones right now instead of the fillers but I understand and happy for him.


I'm still in the strong belief this set was very much designed around ending up being a pack 3 in draft. So many cards are looked at as pick up late or pick up when you know you are in that archetype.

Hoping blue is a lil stronger this next set.

 

[Yeef]

Still calling bullshit. No way it was planned that far in advance.

They may have had IDEAS but not full actual planning done.

Original Innistrad was only 4~5 years ago. R&D works like 2~3 years out. It's not hard to imagine that creative had the Emrakul plan already back when Innistrad was first released.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I think the mom may still be alive

Or else they're both deader than doornails

Kiran is dead, Pia is alive.

The hair.

I'm mad they went from chainmail cutie

To boob fuckin' plate

Would be nice. Actually raise stakes in blocks. Their family might die or something. Every planeswalker right now has zero familial attachments, so they can uproot and leave at will to go anywhere.

Elspeth is the only character in the entire series in the last ~8 years of storyline to even have a boyfriend and he died literally a few hours after they fucked.

Jace is the only other character that seems interested in the opposite sex; he was with Liliana for a bit, but that's mostly because she was using him for an ulterior motive.

 

[Ashodin]

Jace and those hunky shoulders on Gideon tho

😍

 

[Angry Grimace]

Also in the Elspeth story they made sure to explain that Daxos was like the hunkiest harem master ever and like all the chicks including Nylea were all competing for him because he was such a cool tattooed badass sorta-athiest dude.

 

[Ashodin]

Also in the Elspeth story they made sure to explain that Daxos was like the hunkiest harem master ever and like all the chicks including Nylea were all competing for him because he was such a cool tattooed badass sorta-athiest dude.

Marty Stu the fuck out of him for the MTG fanbase!

 

[Angry Grimace]

IDK the Gatewatch seems pretty primed for some kind of crazy interpersonal relationships by adding Liliana to the mix.

They already got Jace and Nissa doing way too personal mind melds, Gideon and Chandra being all tsundere for each other, and Jace constantly checking Gideon out.

I fully expect Liliana/Gideon FoeYay.

 

[charlequin]

You can't tell me you can't see it when you look at these two depictions:

They literally created Chandra because they wanted to have a character like Jaya but not have it be Jaya so they just made a fangirl for her instead.

What is the status of Pia and Kiran? Are they still alive? Cause I love that card.

Kiran is dead dead.

Pia is died-offscreen "dead" a.k.a. 100% vigorously alive.

It would be nice if some major character had a functional family.

The X-Men never have functional families because then they can't be the X-Men.

Confirming that Emrakul was going to be in the third set of BFZ and in SOI block

I mean this makes sense if the original plan wasn't to do these sets back to back (which we know it wasn't, since this was year 6 of the 7-year plan and an Innistrad return definitely wasn't in that 7-year plan.)

Still calling bullshit. No way it was planned that far in advance.

They may have had IDEAS but not full actual planning done.

It's just like the Mirrodin thing where they knew the source of trouble in the original block was Phyrexia but they didn't work out literally anything beyond that.

 

[Ashodin]

It's just like the Mirrodin thing where they knew the source of trouble in the original block was Phyrexia but they didn't work out literally anything beyond that.

That you could see coming because they seeded Karn and the oil a long time ago. Innistrad had literally nothing going on for it outside of Nahiri knowing Sorin.

 

[SigmasonicX]

I mean this makes sense if the original plan wasn't to do these sets back to back (which we know it wasn't, since this was year 6 of the 7-year plan and an Innistrad return definitely wasn't in that 7-year plan.)

Confirmed, Emrakul in Innistrad was decided separately from the scheduling

corveroth asked: To lock this subject: Emrakul's presence in the current (Shadows over Innistrad) block was decided by the story team at some point in between R&D wrapping up work on Innistrad 1 and the release of the same?

You are conflating two things. Emrakul being in Shadows over Innistrad block was decided before we knew when the block was going to be put into the schedule.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Oooh man eldritch evolution is so good, you can goblin dark dwellers it for a 7 drop and go ham

Spoiler

/s

You know that's actually a good play right

play 3 drop, turn 4 play evolution into GDD, flash back evolution into Dragonlord Atarka, Gaia's Revenge or Sphinx of the Final Word

If your 3 drop is a human or angel you can turn it into bruna and get it right back.

 

[charlequin]

That you could see coming because they seeded Karn and the oil a long time ago. Innistrad had literally nothing going on for it outside of Nahiri knowing Sorin.

Right, because in Mirrodin the entire sequence of events in the first block were caused by the Phyrexian oil before the block started, while in Innistrad the story of the first block triggered the series of events that led Emrakul there in the second.

 

[keeblerdrow]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";209029783]You know that's actually a good play right

play 3 drop, turn 4 play evolution into GDD, flash back evolution into Dragonlord Atarka, Gaia's Revenge or Sphinx of the Final Word[/QUOTE]

Reread the last sentence of Eldritch Evolution. It's the reason for his "/s". It's a no-go.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Reread the last sentence of Eldritch Evolution. It's the reason for his "/s". It's a no-go.

RIP

satyr wayfinder pls

 

[HK-47]

The X-Men never have functional families because then they can't be the X-Men.

Hey at least most of the X-men still have living family members.

 

[Ashodin]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";209030068]RIP

satyr wayfinder pls[/QUOTE]

GOTCHA

 

[Angry Grimace]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";209029783]You know that's actually a good play right

play 3 drop, turn 4 play evolution into GDD, flash back evolution into Dragonlord Atarka, Gaia's Revenge or Sphinx of the Final Word

If your 3 drop is a human or angel you can turn it into bruna and get it right back.[/QUOTE]

Eldritch Evolution exiles itself. Bruna's trigger is on cast.

But that's the reason why each of those cards works that way.

 

[Ozigizo]

I can't help but feel a stifle effect might be coming soon.

There's sooo much on cast.

 

[Metroidvania]

Eh...having the helvault be a thing isn't the same as the oil in Mirrodin, though.

One's a chekhov's gun, the other is literally 'there could be anything in here, so of COURSE Nahiri was in there the whole time'

The Mirrodin stuff feels like setup (though I'm admittedly rusty on any sort of specifcs), the Innistrad stuff is a pivot.

Not saying it's necessarily bad, but it's noticeable.

 

[Mega Spooky]

If this isn't a playmat, Wizards is fucking up so bad.

 

[Toxi]

Eh...having the helvault be a thing isn't the same as the oil in Mirrodin, though.

One's a chekhov's gun, the other is literally 'there could be anything in here, so of COURSE Nahiri was in there the whole time'

The Mirrodin stuff feels like setup (though I'm admittedly rusty on any sort of specifcs), the Innistrad stuff is a pivot.

Not saying it's necessarily bad, but it's noticeable.

Scars of Mirrodin block required the entire ending to Mirrodin block to be retconned. The original use of Phyrexian oil was there to explain how Memnarch went crazy, not to set up a future block.

Innistrad->Shadows Over Innistrad was a much smoother transition.

 

[FreedomFrisbee]

Scars of Mirrodin block required the entire ending to Mirrodin block to be retconned. The original use of Phyrexian oil was there to explain how Memnarch went crazy, not to set up a future block.

Innistrad->Shadows Over Innistrad was a much smoother transition.

Phyrexian oil didn't set up the future block, the mycosynth did. Mycosynth was a large prominently featured thing that was never explained, then was later revealed to be an oil construct. The thing that got most retconned was the population of the plane after Memnarch's defeat. Most everyone should have been teleported back to their home planes when he died, but when we come back there's enough to have a war. There was a logical workaround, but THAT was the general retcon, not the oil.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Hanweir Garrison reminds me a lot of Goblin Rabblemaster. It's also like 3 dollars.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

could we see a red coco variant with it?