Shamanism is cool. Brady, are we going to get shaman-centred flavour content somewhere? Like, not the adding of the word on a creature's timeline, but in terms of worldbuilding and -exploring? Say for the Gruul next set, or in a Muraganda block down the line?
If a player's Life Points is knocked to zero, what happens? Do they die. Get knocked out. Live and escape.
We try not to be too literal with the game functions. All the possibilities you listed are viable depending on the needs of storytelling. If you mean *your* games, well, assuming you've lost at least once and played again, I can safely conclude that you didn't die.
I know that Angels do not have reproductive organs, because they are made of magic. Avacyn Restored brought in cards that can change creatures into Angels. So the question is, are those newly transformed angels losing their ability to reproduce?
These sorts of posts are vaguely creepy to me, I must admit. Angels can't reproduce at all and have never been able to (except in cases of extraordinarily powerful magic, etc.).
Is it possible on any of the planes to create an airship like Skyship Weatherlight or Predator, Flagship ? Does artifical plane shifting technology still exist?
Airships are possible, sure, depending on the level of "magetech" on a given plane. Older technologies that enabled non-Planeswalkers to move across the planes were outmoded by the Mending; whether or not replacement technologies can be found hasn't been established yet.
In the Zendikar novel, Nissa Revane 's blood is poisoned so that it would kill Zendikar vampires that tried to drink her blood. So would it have any effect on Vampires on any other plane or if Sorin decided to drink hers?
There's no guarantee of that, since vampire physiology, transmission, etc. differ from plane to plane.
Why is there no equipment in Ravinica? It seems strange that a plane advanced enough to cover everything in city should have battle gear. Is there a specific reason they don't use it?
This is really a mechanical design question, not a flavor one. Ravnica's heart and soul is multicolored cards, and even though it might make sense to include tons of artifacts in a city world, the multicolored cards have stronger needs and squeeze out the artifacts to a large degree.
We've seen Leonin (Catfolk), Minotaurs, Werewolves and more...but is there a reason we haven't seen Gnolls yet? (Hyenafolk). Been wondering that for a while, given they're quite popular throughout the Fantasy genre. Also, there seems to be a lot of focus on the Izzet and the Golgari...will we see some focus eventually on the less well advertised guilds? Orzhov in particular.
(1) Gnolls are a 20th-century invention, and their "hyena-folk" identity is unique to D&D (if you see it elsewhere, it's very likely without permission). Their pre-D&D identity is obscure and pretty vague. And I don't want to include stuff in Magic that's unique to D&D. We like to keep the brand identities separate and distinct. (2) The Izzet do get a little more attention than the other guilds this time around, for reasons that will become increasingly clear. The other nine should be roughly on par (though not exactly), although you'll have to wait for Gatecrash to get that impression, I think.
What sort of limitations does the needs of the standard metagame have on creative's writing?Do you deliberately start brainstorming for a block knowing that you'll have to have about 5 walkers distrubted relatively evenly amongst the colors?How do you determine when the appropriate time is to bring back an old walker (or any character really) or to develop a new one instead?How many walkers are designed with a goal in mind (this character will ultimately do this) and how many are just for fun (wouldn't it be neat if we had a whateveromancy walker?)?How aware is creative of the ongoing plan for Magic? Are you aware of all 7 steps in MaRos current 7-year plan?Will there ever come a time when Chandra wears her goggles on a Magic card?Is it possible for me to convince you to make mass produced Chandra goggles that people can buy?What's the etymology of your last name?Is it more challenging to design mono-colored or multi-colored characters?
Such a griefer. (1) Virtually none; we ignore formats (unless you count block, which of course corresponds to the basic "one year, one plane" model). (2) Sort of? It's more like we know we'll have to do 5 or 6, and we know fairly early which 2 - 3 will be directly involved in the main plot, then we have to fill in the other 3 - 4 later. We're working on that, trying to figure out how many PWs can be central to a plot before it feels too contrived/crowded. (3) It's determine mainly by the needs of the set and block, although considerations of novelty play a part. (Which would players like more: Chandra #4 or a new mono-red PW? What if the choice were Chandra #7 or a new mono-red PW?) (4) I don't know, maybe a ratio of 1 : 3? Having a recognizable "bag of tricks" or "signature style" is more important for cards, and cards, in turn, are more important than narrative potential for the time being. I also feel that compelling stories can be crafted for almost any character, regardless of what motivated their creation. (5) I was at least as responsible for the 7-year plan as Mark was, if I do say so myself. (6) Yes. (7) You'd need to convince a licensed partner of Wizards of the Coast that they could make a profit. Those sorts of products aren't exactly our specialty. (8) "Dommermuth" is Anglicized German for "dumb-head" (domme mut). It basically means "simpleton." (9) Multicolored characters are much easier. Affiliation with only a single color is challenging for depth and realism. As I've said elsewhere, all real human beings are five-color, so the more colors you subtract, the more difficult it is to create a "three-dimensional" character, in my opinion.
Flavorwise, if a Planeswalker has to resort to things like Lich , Nefarious Lich ,Phyrexian Unlife , and Transcendence to become more than mortal. Then are they able to return to normal? If so, anyway how it happens?
Except in very extraordinary circumstances, the spark is lost when life is lost, and that counts undeath.
Why aren't there more cyclops in Magic? What are the other words in the Bloodrock Cyclops language? Is Borborygmos the last cyclops on Ravnica? Do Ravnican cyclops get larger as they get older?
(1) There's a lot of competition for "midrange nonflying red creature," including ogres, giants, and all the nonhumanoid monsters that occupy that slot. (2) We haven't developed the Bloodrock cyclops language. (3) No, but he's by far the most notable. (4) We haven't established that. It seems plausible, although I think Borborygmos owes some of his size to magic, not age.
If Magic had never reintroduced demons, what would black's iconic creature type be?
Probably vampires. If demons weren't an option for "big flying iconic," they would never have competed with vampires for that slot, and vampires in turn would not have been adapted for a lower, more human-proximal power/toughness range.
Thanks as always for taking the time to dig through all these, Brady. Really appreciate it.
And since you asked, your passion for the subject matter really came through in the Simic information, I felt. It's fascinating stuff that manages to upend the guild--and even some of Ravnica--pretty completely while still feeling like a continuous, logical progression. Super psyched to hear you'll be writing some more Simic material for the site. :D
How do you deal with the challenges of creating compelling narratives for a product like Magic? Stories want to have closure, but Magic as a continuous product has no planned end. How do you balance that?
That's a feature-article-length answer, and the response is probably too proprietary and valuable for me to give out for free anyway. Suffice it to say that it's exceedingly difficult, as you can see from almost any other property that has been around for more than a few years, and that I've thought about it A LOT.
what is the flavor explanation for Jotun Grunt 's rules? Is he bringing more allies into the fray to keep him motivated?
Here's a secret: Larger, white-aligned nonflyers are some of the most difficult creatures to concept. In this case I suspect the concepter decided to more or less ignore the flavor of the cumulative upkeep cost (costs are often ignored for purposes of the concept) and to just shoot for "white 4/4" and call it good.
Mainly it's a word that not "signet." Beyond that, it's supposed to very vaguely suggest some relation to the guildgates, although we haven't fully revealed why the guildgates would need such attention.
One cool thing about the guildpact I've noticed is, the Gruul and the Dimir are on exact opposite sides of the color pie but they both want the same thing. Any other odd mirrors like that you've noticed?
Sure. For example, the Izzet and the Golgari both basically want to be left alone to do their work. The Selesnya and Dimir both close ranks around their own when necessary. The Azorius and the Gruul both want to dictate how others live, in a way. Those sorts of loose parallels abound.
How did Signal Pest end up getting the Pest creature type?
There's a story here and I can't remember it. I think maybe Development was concerned about its power level if it had a "buffable" type and requested that it have a unique or nearly unique one. I don't remember for sure, though; my memory is fairly terrible.
What is the flavour department's opinion about dwarves? Have you ever considered switching dwarves into white? What is the flavour department's opinion about orcs? Have you ever considered switching orks into black? Mark rosewater said that all angels in magic are (humanlike) females. Is this correct and if so why and if not, why are all angels printed on cards humanlike females with wings? Or could we see male or non humalike angel in the future? Also if all angels are humanlike female what would that mean if someone enchanted a crawwurm or a male rhox with an enchantment like Angelic destiny? How was the humanless plane of Lorwyn/Shadowmoore recieved (I am specificly talking about the lack of humans)? Well enough to possibly create other humanless planes in the future? How was the goblin and elf-less plane of Inistrad recieved (talking about the lack of goblins and elves)? Well enough to possibly create other planes without goblins or elves in the future? Are there any creature types we probably won't see anymore in the future, like for example cephelids (or dwarves and orcs)? Is it from a flavour perspective possible to create a Shards of Alara like plane with wedge colours (like red-white-blue)? Is it from a flavour perspective possible to create a Shards of Alara like plane with four colours (like red-green-white-blue)?
What a doozy to end on. Alright, here we go. (1) The creative team is mixed on dwarves, but I make most of the high-level calls, and I really dislike them. Either they're randomly Scottish, bearded, and drunk, or their biggest fans won't even accept them as "real" dwarves (which is why Shadowmoor's duergar didn't satisfy the dwarf-lovers). In my opinion they're one of the most stock and uninteresting aspects of the sword-and-sorcery genre. I also don't want Magic to feature every last thing in Tolkein just for the sake of doing so; it bugs me when fantasy properties just steal from each other, as though the genre is just an undifferentiated pile of tropes and cliches. Magic certainly traffics in many tropes, but I want a few touches of uniqueness and distinction. For the time being one of those is that we don't do dwarves. It's also true that the five colors make things difficult for dwarves, who are deeply red in habitat and temperament, but deeply white in social order, importance of lineage, etc. But that's a solveable problem. What's not solveable is that I kind of hate them. I mean, I like them in Tolkein, which is where they should stay, in my opinion -- drinking, singing, stroking their beards, invoking their lineages, and doing all that other stuff that Magic doesn't do. All that said, if and when the golden dwarvish opportunity presents itself, I'll try not to stand in the way.
(2) Some of the same issues with dwarves hold for orcs. Orcs are Tolkein's creation, and Middle Earth is so complete and epic and defining that I don't want Magic (or any other fantasy game) to pillage it for every last detail. I want Magic to have some points of distinction, and that means including things not in Tolkein as well as excluding things that are. I don't mind orcs flavor-wise in the same way I object to dwarves, though, and I feel there's a place for a malevolent, warlike race that at least hits some of the same notes as orcs. The Keldons are an example. They could probably be black-aligned, although "warlike" is traditionally red in Magic.
(3) Angelic Destiny instills a creature with "angelness" but doesn't make it a true angel, in my view. It's a vagary of rules text, not a cosmological precedent. As for the other issues with angels, I've answered that question previously. I'll add this time, though, that Magic angels being female (except for Malach of the Dawn and maybe Melesse Spirit) gives a very clear and simple way of communicating that Magic angels are fantasy creatures distinct from the Judeo-Christian conception of angels, who are all male. I don't think this was intentional from the outset, but it's a side benefit and it's one reason we've maintained the pattern.
(4) The "humanlessness" of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor wasn't popular, per se, but it's very difficult to determine why Lorwyn and Shadowmoor didn't resonate with players as strongly as other planes have. There are many factors. I believe the more distance from the human face and form, the more difficult it is for players to find the figures in a setting resonant and identifiable. Is it possible to tell a compelling story about sentient, sapient viruses and fungi, for example? Of course. But it's difficult, and even more difficult to do so visually.
(5) Innistrad did just fine. That said, I believe that's because of the discomfort between those staple fantasy races and Innistrad's gothic-horror inspiration, and I also believe we deprive players of the "staple" Magic races for too long at our peril. Their familiarity is important to many, and Tribal is a powerful force toward the status quo when it comes to creature types; there are players who have been evolving and adapting their Elf decks for years, and to provide them with no new cards for those decks for a prolonged period carries a risk -- maybe not a huge one, but a risk nonetheless.
(4) The "humanlessness" of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor wasn't popular, per se, but it's very difficult to determine why Lorwyn and Shadowmoor didn't resonate with players as strongly as other planes have. There are many factors. I believe the more distance from the human face and form, the more difficult it is for players to find the figures in a setting resonant and identifiable. Is it possible to tell a compelling story about sentient, sapient viruses and fungi, for example? Of course. But it's difficult, and even more difficult to do so visually.
Honestly, I'd love to hear more about this, but I won't try and weedle it out of you. Plus the answer would likely be horribly complex and I'd feel bad for making you type all of that up.
(5) Innistrad did just fine. That said, I believe that's because of the discomfort between those staple fantasy races and Innistrad's gothic-horror inspiration, and I also believe we deprive players of the "staple" Magic races for too long at our peril. Their familiarity is important to many, and Tribal is a powerful force toward the status quo when it comes to creature types; there are players who have been evolving and adapting their Elf decks for years, and to provide them with no new cards for those decks for a prolonged period carries a risk -- maybe not a huge one, but a risk nonetheless.
I understand those motivations and they make sense, but you could probably stand to be a little more frugal with the creature types showing up so often. Though when I think of it, the Ravnican elves are splendid and I love seeing them there, though it might be because we just had a break from those constants. Still, maybe every fourth block or so you could go light on one of those two tribes. Lots of people really are a bit overwhelmed by the necessity of those creature types appearing.
Anyways, thanks again Brady! It's deeply reassuring to have you make these appearances. Really makes us feel like we have you in our corner keeping our interests safe.
Nooooooo ;-; I was trying to make it easier to read when you did this sort of thing. I don't know why I didn't two just two colors. Maybe I really am a cylon griefer...
There's a lot of competition for "midrange nonflying red creature," including ogres, giants, and all the nonhumanoid monsters that occupy that slot.
Would you say that any one of these races is 'winning' in R&D's mind, or do you deliberately shift which ones get preferential treatment from setting to setting?
It never even occurred to me to give her a trident, honestly.
That genuinely surprises me.
Sure. For example, the Izzet and the Golgari both basically want to be left alone to do their work. The Selesnya and Dimir both close ranks around their own when necessary. The Azorius and the Gruul both want to dictate how others live, in a way. Those sorts of loose parallels abound.
Never really thought about some of those. I was always more aware of the guilds giving other guilds which shared a color grief because it was like "I'm not angry, just disappointed" sort of thing. Sorry for giving you grief about that Bay. OHNOIAMAGRIEFER D:
I don't mind orcs flavor-wise in the same way I object to dwarves, though, and I feel there's a place for a malevolent, warlike race that at least hits some of the same notes as orcs. The Keldons are an example. They could probably be black-aligned, although "warlike" is traditionally red in Magic.
Kind of spooky that I've been toying with the idea of a black-red war machine identity for orcs for a fan set I've been working on. Incedentally, I think it would be really cool if the Keldons (wouldn't it be the Gathans in particular) had been so mutated by the Bloodlines Project and evolution over time, that the next time we saw them they weren't human. Like "Creature-Gathan Warrior" or something like that.
I think it may have been answered earlier in the thread, and if so, I apologize, but the Lilliana question brought another to the forefront to me:
Do you make any efforts/actively concern yourself with the level of diversity among Planeswalkers? As of right now, I believe that a plurality, if not a majority, are human or near human, white and male. There does seem to be a fair percentage of Women as well, but we don't see many non-white races. Obviously, given the demographic, there is an expectation to lean more towards traditional caucasian representations, but do you think there should be an active push for more diversity? Or do you feel it should be entirely based on what fits the character.
Related, how often do you plan to use 'non-human' planeswalkers? In gneral, I think we've seen about 1 new non-human per block (Ajani, Nicol, Karn, Tibalt, maybe you could consider Sorin?). What is your motivation for deciding whether to use non human-like races?
Susan Summerson from the Hell breaks loose Flavorful Voting Game http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/29076567/Hell_breaking_loose:_an_Avacyn_Restored_voting_game?pg=1
Susan Summerson also appeared in the Innistrad Mafia Game http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/28609371/Innistrad_Mafia?pg=1
Writer of Nally Bear from The Gathering Flavorful Voting Game: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/28846821/The_Gathering:_M12_flavorful_voting_game?pg=1
Writer of Phyrex the Myr from Phyrexia Reborn: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/27993097/Phyrexia_Reborn:_A_Flavorful_Voting_Game?pg=1
Writer of Tinker the Myr from Legacy of Karn: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/26647005/Karns_Legacy_(A_flavorful_voting_game)
Writer of Crusader Tolkana, who has appeared in: Eldrazi Awaken: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/24071149/Eldrazi_Awaken:_A_flavorful_voting_game?pg=1
Colors of Magic: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/25352501/Colors_of_Magic:_a_flavor_game?pg=1
Writer of Isaic from Treasures of Zendikar http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75842/22819881/Treasures_of_Zendikar?post_id=402182877#402182877
Do you make any efforts/actively concern yourself with the level of diversity among Planeswalkers? As of right now, I believe that a plurality, if not a majority, are human or near human, white and male. There does seem to be a fair percentage of Women as well, but we don't see many non-white races. Obviously, given the demographic, there is an expectation to lean more towards traditional caucasian representations, but do you think there should be an active push for more diversity? Or do you feel it should be entirely based on what fits the character.
To paraphrase Mark Rosewater, Veil Girl is Middle Eastern and Dragon Dude is Asian. Yeah, um, did they hire George Lucas for diversity details?
Only 6 of them are "human or near human, white and male".
