Community

Thanks to everyone that chimed into my Magic Game Day thread. I requested that members post their Game Day decklists and give us some stories of their experiences and I'm glad to see so many participated and had a great time. Member Spyritwind posted this decklist on the thread and I wanted to share it as I think it is a great example of how players can be more adventurous with their builds and still see success. Spyrit made top 8 with the following ...

Creatures 16
1 Malakir Bloodwitch
3 Abyssal Persecutor
3 Black Knight
3 Gatekeeper Of Malakir
2 Hypnotic Specter
4 Vampire Nighthawk

Instants 8
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Terminate

Planeswalkers 3
1 Liliana Vess
1 Sarkhan The Mad
1 Sorin Markov

Sorceries 9
4 Blightning
3 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Earthquake

Basic Lands 7
1 Forest
6 Swamp

Lands 18
3 Raging Ravine
3 Dragonskull Summit
4 Savage Land
4 Akoum Refuge
4 Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard:
1 Pithing Needle
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Gatekeeper Of Malakir
2 Malakar Bloodwitch
3 Vampire Hexmage
2 Consuming Vapors
1 Smother
4 Duress

I love seeing Persecutor here putting some mid game pressure on the other player. When Persecutor comes in often he will outclass any non-Baneslayer creature you'll see on the board. Black Knight is an awesome way to get past Wall of Omens and WU spot removal. Coupled with Blightning a resolved Jace can't hide even if using his +2 ability. Green is splashed for Maelstrom Pulse to get problem cards like Gideon off the board and a maindeck'd Sarkhan the Mad can turn those Persecutors into Dragons after you'd got everything all wrapped up.

Congrats Spyrit on your top 8!!!

Rise of the Eldrazi DEV CHAT transcript - 22 April 2010
w/ Brian Tinsman and Erik Lauer

1. <+PhoenixLAU> The "Annihilator" mechanic: were you concerned that its tendency for "slippery slope" gameplay would lead to unfun endgames, where the losing player has to sit there helpless while his board gets grinded away?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It was actually something we were trying to do.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> When you have a giant guy you should be winning soon.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> But we still wanted a way for you to maybe pull out of it.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> With trample for example you are just dead immediately.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> With annihilator you have an extra turn or two to find an answer.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> When you can find an answer and have some tiny chance to come back, it makes amazing epic game stories.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> That was part of the overall idea of the set - high drama, big swings, epic stories.
<@Wotc_Erik> The Eldrazi are devestating and frightening.  They are supposed to make you feel helpless.  However they are expensive, so when they start attacking, that is the crescendo of the game

2. <+Suudsu> For Rise of the Eldrazi limited it seems to be hard to make an aggressive deck. How (if at all) did you try and make aggressive decks possible in RotE while still allowing people to see their eldrazi in play?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It's possible, but hard.
<@Wotc_Erik> There are aggressive creatures, and evokers give a way for the aggressive deck to finish off a game.  Also the leveling mechanic gives the agressive decks some extra punch.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We were willing to shrink the strategy space of aggressive decks in order to open up new strategy territory in fatty decks.
<@Wotc_Erik> The Eldrazi decks have tools to slow down the game, but there is a balance where sometimes the Eldrazi dominate, and sometimes the game is too fast.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> You could ask the opposite question about the Zendikar set.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> How can you make aggressive decks good there while still leaving room for fatty decks.

3. <+belril> How do you see ROE fitting into the current Type 2 metagame?  It seems a lot slower than everything else.  Is the constructed metagame going to be slowing down in the future?
<@Wotc_Erik> ROE has some tools to slow down the standard environment such as Wall of Omens and Consuming Vapors .
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Of course we can't really say too much about the future.
<@Wotc_Erik> RoE also gives more rewards to a deck that creates a longer game.
<@Wotc_Erik> I think there are the tools for slower decks.

4. <+MTGRadio> When designing ROE did you have EDH in mind? If so, how did it augment your decisions in making certain cards, were the "big three" always legendary?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> The big three were always legendary because we wanted them to have distinct characters.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We didn't specifically have EDH in mind although I am a fan.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I remember being pleased when I realized that many cards in the set would shine there.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> And I did try to protect a few cards that might have otherwise died in development.
<@Wotc_Erik> RoE has exciting a lot of exciting cards to play in EDH,  but the big three work well naturally.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I'm interested to see any of them used as a general

5. <+Forgotten_Hope> Why is it that Wizards is so opposed to printing Instant card draw? Shared Discovery has such a steep cost to play it (not the mana, obviously) that it being an Instant wouldn't really change much, would it?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We aren't opposed to it, but we do it less often than we used to.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> In general, sorcery card draw is used when it seems to create an interesting decision. 
<@Wotc_Erik> I think Shared Discovery is more interesting as a sorcery.  You get to draw cards (which is very powerful), but your creatures are tapped and can't protect you or your planeswalkers.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> When you can always play your draw spell at the end of an opponent's turn you never have to make a hard choice about whether to keep mana open for countering.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It's true that it would be stronger as an instant but I don't think it makes that much difference.

6. <+mage24365> What were your favorite three cards to design/develop in ROE and why?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I spent a lot of time on the major mechanics so Emrakul would be one of them.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Really the breakthrough with him was creating an environment where he might actually get played.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It was super gratifying to see him coming out and smashing people in the prerelease.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Wow, when is the last time you saw something like that actually happening?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Linvala was another favorite.
<@Wotc_Erik> During development we noticed that some games were going on for so long that players would run out of cards.  The invokers were supposed to be an answer for these, but people weren't playing them.  So we made Wildheart invoker a 4 mana 4/3.
<@Wotc_Erik> People would play it for its stats, but it would end up winning the game with the invoking ability.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Emrakul's Hatcher wins a prize for looking clunky but playing amazingly.
<@Wotc_Erik> The Kiln Fiend wasn't played for several drafts.  I played against someone who had drafted 3 of them, and found that the format was a lot faster than I expected!

7. <+eriklauerquotes> What are some of the more memorable quotes from the FFL (or limited) games played during development?
<@Wotc_Erik> Save your Vendetta 's to take out an Eldrazi!
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I remember the first time someone gave their Eldrazi Spawn some equipment and won a game beating down.

8. <+onidavin> Unlike the other colors, green got a little bit of everything -- level up, totem armor, and Eldrazi spawn. Any design reason for doing so? Flavorwise, red/black are "evil" in this set, blue/white are "good", and green is playing both sides, which makes sense (unrestrained growth vs. the plane)?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I like green.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It was sort of organic (no pun intended.)
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We tried some of the mechanics in different colors and they sort of ended up where they played the best.
<@Wotc_Erik> Green doesn't have creature removal, so it gets more of everything else

9. <+mtgcolorpie> I rejoice the return of Tribal. I assume you wanted more use out of the Eldrazi theme and used Tribal spells for that reason. Is this a hint that we'll see more Tribal cards in the future without it a return to a tribal themed block?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I don't know if it's a hint but it's true that we'll use tribal as a tool where it makes sense.
<@Wotc_Erik> I think it shows we can use tribal cards when they are a good fit.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We wanted you to be able to play your All is Dust with your Eldrazi Temple .
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It just made sense to us.

10. <+rbquadros> I would like to know more about some of the mythics in this set. More specifically, why is Vengevine one? The top constructed rares in Rise are mostly Mythic and that makes competing a bit difficult, specially with qualifiers only a few weeks from us (less time to draft/find the better trade opportunities), and ripping packs for mythics isn't really viable...
<+rbquadros> Vengevine is topping @ $100 on Ebay, for example
<+rbquadros> and rising :/
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We try to do a good job of balancing power over rarities, but it's not always easy to predict what the constructed environment will be like so far in advance.
<@Wotc_Erik> A lot of the mythics are very mana-costly creatures, and powerful spells such as consume the meek and consuming vapors are rare.

11. <+Riorvard> Save for annihilator and maybe leveling, ROE's keyworded mechanics seem just a bit off. What was the part in the big picture that totem armor and rebound were to play?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> The whole set has a bit of a strange feel.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> And I love it that way.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> The core of the story was two opposing sides - little heroes that get big and huge monsters.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We wanted a nice variety of ways to make your little guys big enough to fight the 8/8s.
<@Wotc_Erik> Annihilator and leveling are creature mechanics.  Totem armor (auras) and rebound (instants and sorceries) give the set appeal out of creatures.  While it is an unusual set of mechanics, I think it is well distributed.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Totem armor was a step in that direction.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It also defies player expectations - everyone knows auras are bad.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Except in this set.
<@Wotc_Erik> Also they break over colors.  For example Blue and Red are on opposite sides of the Leveler / Eldrazi mechanics, they both are spell colors with rebound.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Rebound was something that helped enable the more aggressive strategies such as Staggershock and Distortion Strike .

12. <+Detektor> To what degree did the Cthulhu mythos influence the set?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> lol
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> A decent amount.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I'm a big Lovecraft fan.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I've been waiting for an opportunity to do something in this vein for a while.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Well, the storyline lined up pretty well with the idea of slumbering gods that rise up to devour humanity.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Then the set design emerged out of the story.
<@Wotc_Erik> Since development follows the vision of design, the impact on development was indirect.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> If we were going to make it more Cthulhu-like we would have had to put in a bunch of insanity-type mechanics.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> That's a little too cerebral so we didn't go there.

13. <+rtassicker> When levellers were first previewed a large portion of the community was down on them - sorcery speed, 14 mana serra angel, etc. Now that people have played with them at the prerelease, most people like them a lot! Did you anticipate this initial disappointment, and how did you go about making levellers more 'grokkable'?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We went through many iterations of the card face layout.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I agree that it's hard to appreciate how they play before you've had them on the table.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We basically showed a lot of versions of alternate layouts to random casual players around the company.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> That helped guide us to the current version.
<@Wotc_Erik> We anticipated that these would not impress most people before they played with them.  Since some of them level for 1 mana, that means you can use mana you weren't going to use anyway.
<@Wotc_Erik> We know that this type of flexibility is hard for most people to appreciate when reading a card, but some mechanics surprise people on the up side.
<@Wotc_Erik> We go with what was most fun to play.  Leveling at instant speed meant fewer interesting decisions (you always wait until you need the level, or the end of your opponent's turn), so they are sorcery speed.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> You may notice that they are all humanoid.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Early versions were all different creature types.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It seemed easier for people to understand leveling up on a humanoid than on a beast.

14. <+Cgalcic> Why was it decided that black and red shouldn't get totem armors?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It's easy to overdo it with cycles.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Some mechanics work well in all colors, but if you do that too much you take away decisions.
<@Wotc_Erik> Different colors get different mechanics so they combinatons of colors play differently.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> In any 5-color mechanic, one color will have the best one and the others get played less.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Putting mechanics in only 3 colors helps players make deckbuilding decisions too.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Lastly, the storyline was about the inhabitants of the plane in W, U, and G, fighting the invaders, centered in B, R, and G.
<@Wotc_Erik> Some colors get fewer levelers, or fewer Spawn creation.  Some don't get Totem Armors.  The Totems give a reason to play a green white deck.

15. <+luminumcan> Besides Ancient Stirrings , was there a greater "colorless matters" theme in ROE at some point?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Not really.
<@Wotc_Erik> I only remember that one!
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I see that some people have noticed how Ancient Stirrings may line up well with the upcoming block though.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> That card was a tool to help make certain decks stronger.

16. <+[useless_mancer]> a few questions: so i noticed with the Rise of the eldrazi set, that the entire ally mechanic was missing entirely, why was it and it is gonna return in say the next few sets?  also why is there no more full art in the basic lands, unlike zendikar and worldwake where the lands are full art?
<@Wotc_Erik> We can't say what will or won't show up in future sets.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> We knew that we really wanted to change up the world a lot with Rise.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> In fact, it's pretty jarring that there are so few mechanics continued from the earlier two sets.
<@Wotc_Erik> Rise is really different from Zen.  To get that across, we made it really different.  Ally is gone, but Levelers and Eldrazi are here!
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> But we decided that we wanted to do justice to the mechanics we had here. In some ways it was an experiment.

17. <+EZM> Most of the time concurrent sets feel very connected. But mechanically ROE feels very seperate from Zendikar and Worldwake. Even for a seperate block. Was this intentional?
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Yes. Similar to the last question.
<@Wotc_Erik> Absolutely.
[15:56] <@wotc_brian_tinsman> We wanted to give everything we had to the new mechanics and put the focus there.

18. <+norbert88> How do you explain the absence of birds in RoE, especially with birds featuring prominently in the art of Frostwind Invoker and Umbra Mystic , among others? I checked and RoE is the first birdless expansion since Morningtide.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> What! This is an outrage! j/k
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> I think in the efforts of making sure other creature types were supported, that one got left out.
<@Wotc_Erik> There are birds, they aren't on any cards.  However this really isn't my area
 <@wotc_brian_tinsman> Every creature type has its ups and downs in various sets.

19. <+Ranth> what was the thinking in allowing the Eldrazi Annihilator Mechanic be avialable at common, was the pauper format even given any thought during that process? (I also support more full art lands!)
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Well, the set is about Eldrazi so ... if your set is about something you want it to show up in common.
<@Wotc_Erik> We wanted you to experience Annihilator in your first few packs, such as at the prerelease.  We also wanted them to be a draft strategy.  To make that work out, we put some at common.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> The big challenge was creating ways to make them decent. In many formats 8 drops don't get played.
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Pauper wasn't foremost in mind, but I do keep it on my radar.

<~Gardevi> Time's up!
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> Thank you all so much for coming.
<@Wotc_Erik> Thanks everyone!  I had a great time.  I hope you did too
<~Gardevi> Thakns for coming, Brian, Erik.
<~Gardevi> And thanks for making such a great set!
<+Ranth> thanks for taking time to answer our questions
<@wotc_brian_tinsman> It's super awesomely fun to hear everyone's thoughts on the set.

---Thanks to zammm for help on the missing chunk of text---

Original post by PhoenixLau

Worldwake Devchat w/ Ken Nagle, Mark Rosewater and Mike Turian

<~Gardevi> Welcome to the Worldwake MTG Dev Chat with Nagle, Rosewater, and Turian! (@wotcs: alphabetically sorted, I swear)
<@MarkRosewater> WE're all here.
<@MarkRosewater> Fact: The three of us are all within a ten foot radius.
<@MikeTurian> alphabetically sorted by first and last name

1.  Eye of Ugin - what happened to the design philosophy of "Lands should make mana"?
<@MarkRosewater> Magic is agame where we occasional break the rules.
<@MarkRosewater> In order to do that we have to have rules.
<@KenNagle> Eye of Ugin is super weird on purpose
<@KenNagle> It's a Mythic land!!
<@KenNagle> It can't be ordinary.
<@MarkRosewater> It might be the foreshadowing of something...

2. <+mtgradio> were there any cards in Worldwake designed with EDH in mind? If so what is the story behind them? (I'm guessing Terastodon)
<@MikeTurian> I feel like I'm on the radio
<@KenNagle> Yes
<@KenNagle> Wrexial is completely 100% engineered for EDH
<@MarkRosewater> What's EDH?
<@KenNagle> He is randomly 3UUB to be more EDH instead of 3UUU
<@MarkRosewater> I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
<@KenNagle> it's for casual players :P
<@MikeTurian> We do like to add legends to sets for flavor, and it is a bonus that it makes the card an EDH general
<@KenNagle> also, Terastodon is another that's up there with EDH
<@MarkRosewater> How about Omnath?
<@KenNagle> Comet Storm and Chain Reaction are a promise I made to Joel and some others on the Magic Cruise 2009 - make some good multiplayer red cards!
<@KenNagle> Omnath was just a guy, not EDH in mind
<@MarkRosewater> I can ask question too, right?
<%WotC_Eric> Bojuka Bog makes Karrthus sad though...
<@KenNagle> Bojuka Bog is for Constructed in general
<~Gardevi> @Maro, sure, add yourself to the queue. :p
<@MarkRosewater> Please add me.
<@MikeTurian> Bojuka Bog was made with EDH in mind (at least partially)
<@KenNagle> EDH is Constructed
<%WotC_Eric> I've played EDH with Ken enough to know how he feels about playing around with the graveyard.
<@MikeTurian> Just that the graveyard is such an important element to EDH
<@KenNagle> I mean, why can't people just draw a card off the top and cast it?
<@MarkRosewater> That's for normal Magic, Ken.
<@KenNagle> I've been in 5-player EDH games that went 15 turns straight with graveyard-matters.
<@MikeTurian> and we wanted to have more answers to the graveyard that people could include
<@MikeTurian> I think recently we have upped the graveyard hate so that we can print more awesome graveyard cards!
<@KenNagle> I know it's fun to recur stuff, but it's also good for games to change based on what you topdeck

3. <+CageofPanacakes> What was the reasoning for adding Quicksand to Worldwake, why not design something new to take its place?
<@KenNagle> because Quicksand has an awesome name and topdown flavor
<@KenNagle> I had Terminal Moraine in there
<@MarkRosewater> Believe or not, some players like seeing old fun cards return.
<@KenNagle> for more landfall for all decks to use
<@MikeTurian> we wanted the adventure feel and lands to matter
<@MikeTurian> Quicksand offers both
<@MikeTurian> and the new art is stellar
<@MarkRosewater> The real reason is that's what the dart hit on the dartboard.
<@KenNagle> Quicksand is also famous for killing River Boa s, which are in Zendikar.
<@MikeTurian> Mark!
<@MikeTurian> Don't mention the dartboard
<@MarkRosewater> I was obviously kidding.  Obviously.
<@KenNagle> Quicksand has best flavor text in Worldwake!
<@KenNagle> Not all deaths are etched with mythic meaning and iconic glory.

4. <+MagicRage> why wasn't Vinelasher Kudzu reprinted in Worldwake?  seems to fit PERFECTLY: Landfall + creature type Plant.
<@KenNagle> we did have 5 Kudzus.
<@MikeTurian> We mentioned it in Zendikar
<@MarkRosewater> Believe it or not, not all players like seeing fun old cards return.
<@KenNagle> They did things like first strike and trample and lifelink, etc.
<@MikeTurian> but Allies all have counters on them
<@MikeTurian> and Quests
<@KenNagle> They used up too many slots in the set doing the same thing, though.
<@KenNagle> We thought we could do more and different cards. Sometimes that's how it happens!
<@MarkRosewater> We did talk about Vinelasher Kudzu during early Zendikar design.
<@MikeTurian> If you notice we often reprint commons and uncommons
<@MikeTurian> but not so much with rares and mythics
<@MarkRosewater> Rare repeats have to be worth the reapeat.  It's a higher bar.
<@KenNagle> Players like seeing new cards in their rare slots than "known quantities" or cards they already own.

5. <+belril> Foreshadowing: why do you do it?
<@MarkRosewater> Because it's a time tested staple of modern communication.
<@KenNagle> For da helluvit!
<@MikeTurian> I think people really enjoy it
<@MarkRosewater> The Magic answer is that we tried it in the past and players liked it.
<@MikeTurian> All of the rumors swirl
<@KenNagle> *whisper* *whisper* WHAT'S AN ELDRAZI??!!?!?!?!? *whisper* *whisper*
<@MikeTurian> When people found out there was a new Jace, I think they had a great time speculating on his abilities
<@MarkRosewater> Magic has a metagame and it's important for us to create cards to have people talk about.

6. <+Babylonian> I really love Worldwake, but I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why Bull Rush exists. Isn't it absurdly weak, even in Limited? I know Brute Force is the exception that proves the rule, but between that and Fever Charm , Bull Rush seems strictly worse than so, so many cards.
<@MikeTurian> We like having combat tricks
<@MikeTurian> that you can fill out your deck and create that surprise moment
<@MarkRosewater> THis is a secret we've carefully guarded but for this chat I'm going to spill the beans.
<@MarkRosewater> Some cards in Magic are better than others.
<@MarkRosewater> Ssh, don't tell anyone.
<@KenNagle> I'm glad you noticed you could replace the Bull Rush in your deck with something else, like Brute Force!
<@MikeTurian> That is true also
<@MikeTurian> It is nice to have some cards newer players can say, hey this card is better than that one
<@MikeTurian> and be positive they are correct
<@MarkRosewater> WE call them discriminators.
<@KenNagle> Then they are on their way to improving their deck instead of just adding more cards.
<@KenNagle> which is what I used to do!

7. <+wcbarksdale> How did the unusual draft structure (Worldwake only being drafted as much as a third set) affect the design of Worldwake commons?
<@MikeTurian> One of the big things was knowing that there wasn't the third set coming along
<@MikeTurian> It was a big benefit
<@MikeTurian> because I only needed to play the one limited format
<@MikeTurian> instead of having another set coming along
<@MikeTurian> so it helped the set focus
<@MikeTurian> We have done this before with Lorwyn-Morningtide
<@MikeTurian> and Shadowmoor-Eventide
<@MarkRosewater> And for Ice Age Alliances for many, many years.
<@MikeTurian> One thing it let's us do is pull out all the stops
<@KenNagle> We can actually do crazier stuff than normal. For example, the Apex Hawks , Skitter of Lizards , and Quag Vampires are like " Fireball s" at common kind of 
<@KenNagle> I personally felt like going a bit over on the common power levels to get Worldwake noticed in draft.
<@KenNagle> aka more Multikicker!!

8. <+matahari> with the triple-hybrid bros of sha/eve, woolly thoctar and sprouting thrinax of alara and now leatherback baloth , how far do you think 3-costin' critters can go??
<@MikeTurian> How far can they go?
<@MikeTurian> I don't think any of them are as good as Tarmogoyf
<@MarkRosewater> I know GGG 20/20 is too far so somewhere between there and where we are now.
<@MikeTurian> We have been pressing creatures for sure
<@MikeTurian> We like creatures to be a healthy part of Magic
<@MikeTurian> A lot of people internally thought we were crazy for doing Woolly Thoctar
<@MarkRosewater> Some extrernally.
<@MikeTurian> but it hasn't broken Standard at all
<@KenNagle> 3-drops are in trouble with Smother back in Worldwake! I like to think we gave Leatherback Baloth that fifth toughness for being in the same set as Smother.
<@MikeTurian> just been a strong creature

9. <+dougyfresh> This one is a tribal question:  Two new tribes (Vamps and Allies) saw some amazing success in standard, and for having little to no background would be considered a commercial success.  However, Kor/Goblin/Merfolk seemed to be left to the wayside for the most part.  Was this a concious decision to push the new tribes more?
<@MarkRosewater> Every Magic set has some tribal component.
<@MikeTurian> We wanted Vampires to have a role
<@MarkRosewater> Tribes get pushed in a set when they play into a theme of the set.
<@MarkRosewater> Vampires and allies both had a strong role and thus were pushed.
<@MikeTurian> Black creature decks had not been a part of Magic for a while
<@KenNagle> We definitely tried to open Vampires up with a bang. Allies got a massive boost with Worldwake (thanks to me! OK also Turian)
<@MikeTurian> As far as leaving the other tribes to the wayside, we did give them some good stuff
<@MikeTurian> Merfolk were on a strong pace after Lorwyn block
<@MarkRosewater> The Kor were also pushed some but not as much as vampires and allies.
<@MikeTurian> and we printed Goblin Chieftain and Goblin Guide
<@MikeTurian> to give Goblins some punch
<@MarkRosewater> Remember that Magic to many players is all the cards available so giving just a few good goblins, for example, is helping certain goblion decks.
<@KenNagle> We may or may not have plans for those other tribes you mentioned...but I tend to side with "Wizards knows what they're doing" when I'm in doubt.
<@MarkRosewater> That's what I always tell Ken when he asks questions.
<@MikeTurian> Also, we don't pick the Standard decks the players do
<@MikeTurian> but we really try to have lots of strategies viable
<@KenNagle> Spreading Seas ???!! REALLY?!

10. <+Devinoch> Chain Reaction feels very much like it was designed as "Red's Wrath of God " - unreliable, but quirky and extremely powerful, right down to the 2RR casting cost. It's easily the most elegant card in the set, in my opinion. Was it designed with Wrath in mind, and can we expect to see 2GG and 2UU rare mass, uh, lockdown or something in the future?
<@KenNagle> no and no
<@MarkRosewater> I wouldn't hold your breath for a green Wrath.
<@MarkRosewater> Chain Reaction might have been called Red Wrath in design.
<@MikeTurian> I saw it as a "red Wrath"
<@MikeTurian> but I can't say how it was designed
<@MarkRosewater> I'm a big fan design-wise of Red Wrath.
<@MarkRosewater> I mean Chain Reaction.
<@KenNagle> We could do a "Count your Mountains damage to all creatures" for 2RR if we REALLY wanted to evoke Red Wrath (like Mutilate)
<@MikeTurian> It plays very different than a red Wrath however
<@MikeTurian> which is one feature I really enjoy about it
<@MarkRosewater> Red's more chaotic. That's what I like about it.
<@MikeTurian> normally with Wrath you want them to play more creatures so you can gain more card advantage
<@MikeTurian> with Chain Reaction you need them to play more creatures just to deal enough damage!
<@MarkRosewater> Sort of like Season's Beatings, the other Red Wrath.  Okay, one-sided Red Wrath.
<@KenNagle> Chain Reaction is more for my Kor Firewalkers and multiplayer games but to each his own

11. <+rtassicker> How do you test a card like Amulet of Vigor , which has potentially broken interactions with any number of cards throughout magic history?
<@MikeTurian> haha
<@MarkRosewater> Mike, did you test it?
<@MikeTurian> yes
<@KenNagle> I tested it!
<@MikeTurian> Mons and Ken built lots of decks with it
<@KenNagle> It was broken as a colorless land.
<@MarkRosewater> I just like untapping stuff.  I let development test it.
<@MarkRosewater> It started as a green creature.
<@MikeTurian> A lot of development is art
<@MarkRosewater> I thought development was science.
<@MikeTurian> I know so many Magic cards, and just going through them to see what is what
<@MikeTurian> at the end of the day I had to figure out if I could cost it at 1
<@MikeTurian> it has caused future cards to change though
<@MikeTurian> which is often the way
<@MarkRosewater> IF CARDNAME comes into play untapped, you win the game.  CARDNAME comes into play tapped.
<@KenNagle> Well not that card
<@MarkRosewater> Another card chucked in the bin.
<@KenNagle> 1 is the "dangerous" cost for Amulet of Vigor and Turian is a dangerous man!

12. <+yowzerz> Did the landfall instants ever trigger off of every land that EtB instead of just the first one? What was the reasoning behind the limit?
<@KenNagle> yes they did!
<@KenNagle> It was something like R Instant Until end of turn, whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
<@KenNagle> That card felt bad on turn 1 and when you had just drawn your only Mountain on turn 5
<@KenNagle> They were in general just lamer than a card like Cosi's Ravager that sits there on the battlefield patiently waiting for your landfalls all game
<@MarkRosewater> Scaleable cards are often a pain in the neck in design.
<@MarkRosewater> They have potential but most of the time suck.

13. <+juzamjedi> There are several cards I hoped would be reprinted in WWK because they would fit so well into current Standard.  Could you comment if any of these were in the design file at one time?  River of Tears, Nix, Exploration
<@MikeTurian> No River of Tears
<@MikeTurian> No Nix
<@MikeTurian> No Exploration
<@KenNagle> Exploration was Zendikar, became Oracle of Mul Daya
<@KenNagle> Dryad Arbor was in Worldwake for a time
<@MikeTurian> We had different rare lands in the file coming out of design
<@MarkRosewater> During Zendikar design we spent ten minutes talking about River of Tears cycle.
<@MikeTurian> There was an uncommon cycle also
<@MikeTurian> I combined them in development to make the Dual Land Manlands
<@MikeTurian> and then had Dread Statuary as the uncommon "manland"
<@MarkRosewater> It had some memory issues that made the card not play as well as I had hoped when I made it
<@MarkRosewater> It definitely put the seed of the idea that ended up as landfall.
<@MarkRosewater> Okay, Vinelasher Kudzu did as well.
<@KenNagle> also, "current" Standard is kind of a lame thing to design for because each set should generate a "new" Standard that's different

14. <+coppro> I know at least two of you are big fans of alternate win conditions (as am I!). Worldwake, the 5th out of 6 sets to include a card messing with win conditions, now introduces another twist on winning/losing. Are you guys looking to expand this design space more?
<@MikeTurian> Are you talking about the Demon?
<@MarkRosewater> I know I'm one.  Who's the other?
<@KenNagle> Me.
<@MarkRosewater> Is it Ken?
<+coppro> yeah
<+coppro> and yeah, Ken
<@MarkRosewater> Ken and I have made probably 90% of all alt win designs.
<@MikeTurian> I love the "wow" factor of Abyssal Persecutor
<@MarkRosewater> Isn't he more of an alt lose.
<@MikeTurian> When we come up with a card we like, we include it
<@KenNagle> I suppose we had opportunity to make an alt win condition with some kind of crazy Quest like Helix Pinnacle or something
<@MarkRosewater> I in fact made one that was killed in design.
<@MarkRosewater> It was a quest quest where you got counters for completing quests.

15. <+Riorvard> It is something that I've been noticing from Zendikar and Worldwake continues the trend: Why is Zendikar block so favorable to monocolored after the tight multicolored manabases of Alara block? Doesn't that seem counter-productive in terms of block synergy?
<@MikeTurian> We like to give synergy is some cards
<@MikeTurian> like Knight of the Reliquary
<@MikeTurian> while at the same time giving each set its own unique idenity
<@MarkRosewater> We like block synergy but we also like shaking up the environment.  
<@MikeTurian> while at the same time giving each set its own unique identity
<@KenNagle> well I stuck an uncommon Kird Ape cycle and two gold cards in Worldwake
<@MarkRosewater> The complaint from the public was "enough multicolor"
<@MikeTurian> We love it when you can add to your current deck
<@MikeTurian> but also want to press people to build new decks also
<@MarkRosewater> Zendikar consciously pushed toward mono-color to answer that demand.
<@MarkRosewater> Note that Worldwake added a bunch of multicolor enabling cards (such as the dual creature lands).
<@KenNagle> Sets need "cards for your existing decks" and also "new decks to build."

16. <+MtGColorPie> KenNagle: What was the feeling of opening up your first WWK pack seeing how you went from contest winner to lead designer? Remember the rare? Have it framed?
<@MarkRosewater> IT felt awesome.  Oh, the question isn't for me.
<@KenNagle> um....not really
<@KenNagle> It was more like..."well that sure too a WHOLE LOT OF WORK."
<@MikeTurian> haha
<@MarkRosewater> Ken's loves Worldwake more than some relationships I've witnessed.
<+MtGColorPie> Waiting 45 minutes for you to bust like awesomeness and it's like "Meh?"
<@MikeTurian> haha
<@KenNagle> yeah
<@MarkRosewater> But Ken and Worldwake are taking it slow.
<@KenNagle> I've no wives or babies so all my love is for cardboard
<@MikeTurian> One thing about working on sets is it is surreal
<@MikeTurian> we finish them months in advance
<@MarkRosewater> Ken handed off this file almost a year ago.
<@MikeTurian> and by the time they come out we are onto the next sets
<@MikeTurian> sometimes I'm like I remember arguing about that card
<@MikeTurian> but I don't remember which side of the argument I was on
<@KenNagle> yeah it's ACTION TIME!!! Ken Nagle, DESIGNER OF ACTION!!!!
<@MarkRosewater> It's been a long distance relationship.
<@KenNagle> but it's nice to see I wasn't punk'd
<@MikeTurian> I love all of the sets I've worked on
<@MikeTurian>
<@KenNagle> and the cards are real
<@KenNagle> Omnath and Stone Idol Trap and Terastodon
<@KenNagle> Nagle cards for Nagle players

17. <+yomtgtapsbhj> Why did you decide to do "pooled spoilers" for WWK? Was it due to small set size, a sharp increase in news outlets, or both? Are you planning on giving more exclusive spoilers to more outlets (like Yo! MTG Taps!) with Rise of the Eldrazi?
<@KenNagle> we did quite a few exclusive spoilers
<@KenNagle> Worldwake is kind of high on individual cool cards I must say so myself thank you very much
<@MikeTurian> with the internet, when one site spoils a card it spreads like wildfire
<@KenNagle> the pooled spoilers did turn some sites sour this time around
<@KenNagle> maybe that's the wrong way to do it
<@MarkRosewater> Spoilers are an ever-evolving process.  Kind of like Magic.
<@MarkRosewater> We learn and we adapt for the future.

18. <+ong312> In a column that Mark Rosewater wrote recently he said that he was concerned about Bazaar Trader , would he say what other standard card interactions with the Bazaar Trader worry him most? Also, do any of you expect Selective Memory to see Standard constructed, play? Bonus: Would you ever reprint Tarmogoyf? ...say in the next 5 years
<@MarkRosewater> I was worried because Donate (a card similar to Bazaar Trader) causes a bunch of design problems after we printed it.
<@MikeTurian> That is the reason we included the Bazaar Trader
<@MikeTurian> also he has the built in combo with Abyssal Persecutor
<@KenNagle> right now we can't make a Demon that says "At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose the game" for example
<@MikeTurian> but "Donate" type cards can be more powerful than they look
<@MikeTurian> some people were pressing me to give him haste, but I said no way
<@MarkRosewater> I do love giving my stuff to my opponents (that's why I made Donate in the first place) but I've realized that it's not as innocent as it first sounds.
<@MarkRosewater> It makes it hard to do cards that do bad effects to its controller.
<@MikeTurian> I would be surprised if Selective Memory saw play
<@MikeTurian> although it was featured in one FFL deck
<@MikeTurian> Future Future League
<@KenNagle> on the Magic Cruise I saw a player using Bazaar Trader with Mark of Mutiny , Abyssal Persecutor, and Immortal Coil
<@MikeTurian> I'm not saying it is impossible, I just would be surprised
<@MarkRosewater> I have selectedly chosen to not remember whether the card will see play.  Also, I do design and not development.
<@MarkRosewater> Would we ever reprint Tarmogoyf ?  Maybe.
<@MarkRosewater> I mean, he was from the... FUTURE.
<@MikeTurian> Definitely maybe!
<@KenNagle> Yeah how about Tarmogoyf?! I'm a fan of Lhurgoyfs, the multiplayer tribe!!

19. <+tootatis> Colour pie question. With the changes Blue seems to be getting (in the direction of more narrow and less aggressive counters/ card advantage), how much thought goes into these shifts and are there any other changes planned for the colour pie soon?
<@MarkRosewater> Blue is soon going to get the ability to make tacos.
<@MarkRosewater> I don't even know what that joke means.
<+tootatis> Yay! Jace, the Taco Sculptor!
<%zammm> (Tacos require much forethought and planning, obv.)
<%WotC_Eric> Counter target spell through indigestion?
<@MikeTurian> We spend a lot of time figuring out what the colors do and don't do
<@MikeTurian> and how to make each color shiny to the player who loves that color
<@MarkRosewater> Blue is always going to have counterspells and card drawing.  We're just trying to figure out what the right level is
<@MarkRosewater> Let's just say in the past, the level was higher than it should be.
<@MarkRosewater> Blue mages will be able to counter spells and draw cards just at levels that are fair.
<@KenNagle> color pie usually means abilities. "Worse" counterspells and "worse" card drawing is still the same pie pretty much. Just less tasty pie.
<@MarkRosewater> It is hard when you've tasted cavier to settle for less.

20. <+trappedslider2> Hi,why did you chooe to redo Jace and what made you give him 4 ablities instead of 3 and do you forsee more planeswalkers with 4 ablities?
<@MarkRosewater> 4 abilities is something special that you won't see often.
<@KenNagle> secretly someone in R&D loves blue and printed FOUR (?!) abilities on a new Jace planeswalker card.
<@MarkRosewater> Will we ever do it again?  Maybe.  Okay, probably yes.
<@MikeTurian> We wanted to pull out something special for Jace
<@MikeTurian> and the story focuses on him, so it was natural to include him in Worldwake
<@MarkRosewater> We don't actually hate blue.

21. <+AndreaShubert> How important is multiplayer play to the near future of Magic? With Archenemy and Planechase, it seems like there has been a real movement towards that.
<@MikeTurian> We wanted to find ways to include multiplayer players with our offerings
<@KenNagle> Multiplayer is IMO just something R&D is figuring out how to cater to.
<@MikeTurian> the expansions always keep multiplayer in mind
<@MikeTurian> but it is great to create a totally new format
<@MikeTurian> and let players enjoy playing Magic in a way that they never have before
<@MarkRosewater> We have very purposely been pushing multiplayer Magic more.
<@MarkRosewater> Why?  Because there appears to be a lot of Magic players that play that way.
<@MarkRosewater> Our job is to make the game so people can play the way they want.
<@MarkRosewater> As long as that way isn't illegal.
<@MarkRosewater> Multiplayer's legal, right?
<@KenNagle> Planechase was a strong seller, I'm confidant Archenemy will be to, so we've gotta keep the multiplayers out there satisfied with even more products
<@MarkRosewater> Archenemy rocks, by the way.
<@MikeTurian> Yeah Archenemy is awesome
<%WotC_Lee> Yay Archenemy!
<@MikeTurian> so was Planechase
<@MarkRosewater> Great job Ken.
<@MarkRosewater> And Mike
<@KenNagle> yay WORLDWAKE!!!
<@MikeTurian> yay Worldwake!

<~Gardevi> And that's it? That's that? 
<~Gardevi> Oh, wait!
<~Gardevi> Mark, you had a question. 
22. <@MarkRosewater> Can each of the guests today tell us something about themselves that the audience doesn't know?
<@KenNagle> I don't own a car.
<@MikeTurian> While Mark Rosewater made Tarmogoyf , I made Tarmogoyf what he is today
<@MikeTurian> Blazing Archon was the first Magic card I designed
<@MikeTurian> and I made him the same day I made Grozoth and Lore Broker
<@MarkRosewater> I used to perform Magic as a kid.  I did birthday parties.
<@MarkRosewater> Magic's apparently in my blood.
<@KenNagle> The first Magic card I designed verbatim to print was Merrow Witsniper .
<@MarkRosewater> The first Magic card I designed was Gustha's Scepter .
<@MarkRosewater> Well, first printed.
<@MarkRosewater> First designed was Scragnoth .
<@MikeTurian> Urge to Feed used to have multikicker
<@MarkRosewater> One other fact: I'm late for a meeting.
<~Gardevi> Oh no!
<@KenNagle> yeah me too!
<~Gardevi> Quick, run!
<@KenNagle> GG Worldwake is hot stuff

23. <+Detektor> Goliath Sphinx : the rationale that went into making a giant blue french-vanilla beatstick?
<@MikeTurian> I made Goliath Sphinx because we like to make a "simple" rare 
<@MikeTurian> in each of the colors 
<@MikeTurian> We know we are making Intro decks
<@MikeTurian> and pick out the rare for that deck long in advance
<@MikeTurian> I remember people loving Mahamoti Djinn  
<@MikeTurian> and wanted to do something along those lines
<@MikeTurian> originally Goliath Sphinx had the playtest name "Big Bird"
<@MikeTurian> Just like we did Leatherback Baloth at uncommon
<@MikeTurian> Goliath Sphinx has rare numbers

24. <+Forgotten_Hope> There are a lot of multikicker cards that, whilst great in limited, are not so good in constructed. Were there any cards that got axed that tried to make Multikicker playable in Constructed?
<@MikeTurian> I think the Joraga Warcaller is a Constructed playable Multikicker card
<@MikeTurian> And I think Comet Storm and Bloodhusk Ritualist could both be Constructed cards as well
@MikeTurian> I don't think any cards got axed because of multikicker
<@MikeTurian> but we did rebalance cards after seeing multikicker in action
<@MikeTurian> and yes Everflowing Chalice is quite good as well
<@MikeTurian> we always try to make our new mechanics offer something to both limited and constructed

Thanks to PhoenixLau for providing this transcript!