Okay, here is the clincher. I've been waiting to say this.
The "cam girl" this was inspired by was just a girl from a social networking website, Stickam. Her name was TinyTerror and she was just a regular girl who was on her webcam, totally unrelated to any type of adult content.
I hope you all feel really smart now.
This is like someone coming into class with a bloody nose and everyone's like "Jeez what happened to you" and they're like "I ran into a wall" and everyone laughs at them for being an idiot but then at the end of the class they say "HAHA JUST KIDDING I PUNCHED MYSELF IN THE FACE!!!!!! TALK ABOUT OWNED HAHAHAHAHA"
I really enjoy imagining this from Kevin's perspective. Because in Kevin's world, Rosewater actually reads everything he types. Mark is sitting there right now, reading this, and thinking "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled. . ." Or some such. He chuckles low, then clicks on "The Best Of KEVINSET" and says "Yes, this'll do just fine. A busty lady with banding who deals direct damage to Zones!? Why this will be the star of my next set, and no one will ever believe you Kevin." Then he closes his Macbook, so his servant may move it out of the way, while another servant puts a Fetal Richard Garfield Clone lathered in Steak Sauce in front of him. Then Mark Feasts.
Sorin walked into the chamber where his newly wed bride, Vampy, awaited. A beam of moonlight illuminated his brilliant silver hair as he strode with confidence towards the bed. His shirtless body showcased his powerful abdominal muscles and he was wearing jeans with holes in the knees.
I like to be in full control of when I put my Creatures in risk. For Example Doom Blade kills a creature but without its controller knowingly and willingly putting it in risk. On the other hand, When you attack someone, you are willingly put that creature in risk. Magic should be a game of throwing B o m b s
I would totally rather lose to an Enchanted Giest of Saint Traft, then a Mana Leak and Essence Scatter launched at all my spells.
This was my point.
Blocks I liked: (+1)
Invasion Onslaught Mirrodin Time Spiral Lorwyn Zendikar Return to Ravnica
Blocks I disliked: (-1)
Oddesy Champions of Kamigawa Time Echoes Innistrad Any Released Blocks not listed in this Sig
Blocks I neutralize: (+/-0)
Ravnica City of Guilds Shadowmoor Shards of Alara Scars of Mirrodin
Unfortunately, I don't buy that they've really put that much effort into it. The easiest way to explore design space in magic is with keywords. I can count on two fingers, let alone one hand, the number of keywords designed for Auras. "Enchant," and "Totem armor." The thing is, Totem Armor was pretty successful! A direct solution to a problem. That's more of what we should be seeing from R&D.
Keyword vs. nonkeyword is pretty much irrelevant as far as design space goes. They're a shorthand and a tagging mechanism, nothing more.
Yes, you probably should; at the very least, you should exhaust all other options first (something I don't believe they've actually done).
Why should you have to exhaust other options before using an indirect solution? (Speaking in general.)
And while I wouldn't say R&D's exhausted all direct options--that'd be nigh-impossible--I would say that they've given it a darn good scouring. They've tried a lot of ways to fix it. None of them have really worked on a large scale.
The indirect solution is unbalancing. Another weakness of Hexproof as an "Aura fixer" is that every color gets Auras, but not every color gets Hexproof. So, because Hexproof is also treated as a mechanic to be given to specific colors, it makes their Auras better, but doesn't really help the rest. Basically, if the result of current design is, "If you want to run Auras competitively, you have to run Hexproof," then what we actually have is, "If you want to run Auras, you have to run Blue and/or Green." Spectacular.
A partial fix is far better than none at all, as far as I'm concerned.
But really, is that any different from "If you want to run Equipment competitively, you have to run white "? Is it necessarily a problem that one color has better synergy with Auras than another? I wouldn't say so.
I don't think Hexproof is inherently unfair -- I think it can be costed appropriately for the game. I just think it's bad. I dislike it as a mechanic, because I don't like how the game feels with it around (in addition to the other reasons specified above, mostly related to Auras). I recognize this specific point as an opinionated argument, so it is an inherently biased one. It doesn't matter whether the root of the bias is that I'm attached to Shroud, or whether the root of the bias is that I've been psychologically biased through repetition to cringe at anything with the word "Hex" in it. Simply as a customer, were I part of a focus team, I would respond that to me it simply doesn't feel fun.
So we're basically agreed on that point then, right?
And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?" You know, anyone who's read a children's book knows that love makes things real. If you love a word, use it! That makes it real. Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction; it doesn't make the word any more real than any other word. If you love a word, it becomes real. --Erin McKean, Redefining the Dictionary
I thought it was "instantments", or more recently, "substance" (Mirage block) or "flash" (Prophecy block).
Related to auras (and more playable) are licids , equipment, and soulbond . Licids are a rules nightmare no one wants to go back to, but equipment and soulbond are actually playable in comparison to auras and elegant in comparison to licids. But as a twist, equipment is usually costed at more (for also being colorless, and the equip cost): Compare Web to Spidersilk Net . But sometimes it surprises you; Blade of the Bloodchief is, on a vampire, much better than Sadistic Glee .
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