Aaron's Random Card Comment of the Day #6, 10/4/10
Here’s an odd card… It’s a sometimes-better-sometimes-worse Holy Strength that costs one more than Holy Strength and is at a higher rarity than Holy Strength.
All that extra text does, really, is make the card more “interesting”--and let me warn you that we consider that word, air-quotes and all, a bad one here in R&D. In general it is amateurish design to slap multiple lines of text on a card just to make the card more difficult to evaluate. In any deck that cares, the “if it’s white” clause is always turned on. The “controls another creature” line has a bit more potential for good game play, but the total package just doesn’t come together.
I do like the attempt at making cards that play differently depending on the game state when you draw them, but creature Auras already do a fine job of that by themselves. Holy Strength on a Drudge Skeletons has a much different feel that Holy Strength on a Crypt Rats or on a Serra Angel; all that extra text does is pigeonhole and create extra variance beyond what Auras already do.
So what’s the story behind this card? Luckily Bill Rose, the lead designer of Mirage, is my current boss.
“I guarantee you this, it wasn’t in the set I handed off,” stated Bill after a long time staring at Favorable Destiny. Bill is a huge fan of simplicity, and this card clearly rubs him the wrong way, even a decade later. “We designed the set out of house (as contractors) and then the guys here all got to put their own cards in. Just tell everyone I’m sorry.”
He tracked me down later in the day with further thoughts on what the card was trying to do. “Even then, we were trying to figure out how to make Auras good, but we just didn’t get it. That thing needed to be for +1/+2 and your opponents can’t target enchanted creature, all the time. That would have been worth it.”
I don’t think I’ve ever played this card, but I have played against it. When my college roommate Jake slapped it on his Asmira, Holy Avenger and beat the daylights out of me with it, I guess it didn’t matter how awkward the design was… it did it’s job. That’s the beauty of the game.
demongodshinma
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
Besides what might be the actual intent of the card, id have to say it was one of the original cards directed towards white weenie decks
KnightOfSerra
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I like this card. Cool sort of flavor to it. I use it in my soldier deck to protect King Darien or another important character.
Cheza
★★☆☆☆ (2.4/5.0)(5 votes)
@ Aaron: There are two interesting points in your reply and I like to comment both:
@ Simplicity: The word derives from "single" meaning that a thing is all about one issue. But in many cases, simplicity means emptiness or dullness. If you would succeed in your quest for simplicity, it would end in vanilla creatures bashing each other. Plain Simple. Boring. Forgetable.
Humans are based around two attributes: curiosity and convenience. Think about it. It isn't simplicity, but convenience you're searching for. Simplicity is contrary to curiosity, but not contrary to convenience. A movie film is a convenient way to satisfy your nosiness, that's why this medium is so successful.
Favorable Destiny is a wonderful card. The drawbacks or overhead as you might call it, don't make the card difficult, but opens interesting options. What if I could change the color of that creature instantaneously? - It's a mind game to satisfy my curiosity.
As MaRo once said, but never really understood (I believe), is that a thing is defined by what it can't do. I would take another step and say: Weaknesses define a character. And WotC takes away all weaknesses/drawbacks to make the game "simple"... BTW: I call someone a friend, who was drunk with me. Why? Because we shared a weakness (drawback). He knows me and I know him. Nobody has to "fear" the other... and it's a memorable occasion.
@ Aura-Power: What WotC doesn't understand is the fact that Auras have an implicit "you can't cast this spell unless you control a/another creature". Therefore Holy Strength and Unholy Strength are just not good enough.
Another important fact is that you will NEVER EVER balance auras by changing the auras themself. What you have to change are the cost and speed of creature-destruction spells. If I can destroy a creature and all enchanting auras at instant speed, why shall I ever use an aura? But I believe that all persons at R&D are so fixed to player wishes that they can't even imagine a game without cmc1 destruction spells.... nor at sorcery speed. They rather think about "skipping" auras completely (see TGDS 2).
bay_falconer
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Hmm...Where to put this? Flavor-wise, auras really depend on what it is enchanting.
Mechanics-wise, this card depends on, but at least it avoids much of the problem of auras by making it harder for your opponent to kill the creature. Have two of these in play (on different creatures) and your opponent's really boned.
Starry_Night
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@Cheza: Brilliant, brilliant comment. You should be in R&D instead of a lot of the people we have now.
Aaron's comment makes a lot of sense when you consider stuff that Rosewater's said in the past about sales issues: they'd rather make a "blockbuster" than an "arthouse." Favorable Destiny will stand forever as an example of what Magic could have been, and what Magic should have been.
Yukikah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ironically the white creature clause definitely matters to me; With a white and green Elf deck a majority of the creatures are not white. And a lot of the time there are green creatures that I would love to give shroud to with this that could definitely use the power and toughness boost as well. Being able to put this on Elvish Piper and not only protect it from spot removal but also cards like Pyroclasm or Steam Blast.
It doesn't mean there aren't white creatures I won't put it on or that it'll always make a difference, but that's one of the beautiful things about Magic; a lot of the times it ends up being the little things that matter.
idrinkyourmilkshake
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
As long as enchanted creatures controller controls enchanted controllers creature's controllers, all enchanted creature's creatures enchant the controller of enchanted controller's creatures. Also it gets +1/+2.
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I would just like to remind you all that, I'm 99% certain you all went to see, and fricking loved, "The Avengers".
While I think a LITTLE bit of art house-y-ness does need to come back to the game, (See Time Spiral Block),
Magic had BETTER keep making Block Busters.
Magic is getting big. The bigger it gets, the more it starts following in the footsteps of other media before it. Right now it's somewhere in one of the phases of Hollywood after 1939 (I was going to list a film...then realized I should just put the year instead), and before The Avengers. Yes, movies are more advanced than Trading Card Games right now. Go figure, they had like over a 150 years head start. Maybe only 100? Still I mean seriously
I consider Time Spiral Block to be the Star Wars of Magic: the Gathering. Considered on the inside as an almost-flop that was too artsy, guess what?
Kinda has a cult-following and is sorta responsible for helping keep all the Pre-Otaria Lore alive and well. Apparently even the AURORA and the CONFLUX are due to the Mending's aftershocks, If I remember my history right. WOTC sure isn't remembering, just like Lucas lost his way on Star Wars sometime when he asked himself 'how am I going to start the Clone Wars?' -Duh, we should have been in the middle of the Clone Wars, just like we started in the middle of the Galactic Civil War and had the cause of it revealed over 3 films. But whatever.
LETS get back to Magic. And the Avengers. And lets get back to Star Wars already. Know what they have in common?
They're all massively awesome huge Block Busters, that happen to have, on a good day, just the right twinge of Artsy Fartsy 'Crack for your Curiosity', just a little bit spiced in here and there. And maybe some of us decide we really like spicy. Maybe so much that we start getting snooty about cake.
Hey. HEY GUYS. Make a SWEET-SPICE CAKE. Like Christmas flavored, alright? Oh wait, what's that?
MODERN MASTERS? that's a thing? I believe that Modern Masters is going to give WOTC FLOODS AND FLOODS AND FLOODS of -really good- useful Feedback, and GP Vegas' numbers will FORCE them to listen. Modern Masters is the Iron Man 1 of Magic the Gathering, I believe.
They are going to try to do a bunch of huge big things. FTV: 20 I hope will be like the second Incredible Hulk Movie (the better one). It will show us Nick Fury AGAIN, making us wonder "wait...maybe they're serious about this".
If all goes well, Commander 2014 will be THOR (and probably way better than FTV: 20). Now, that's the first wave. That's what's already planned and printed. Theros Block will (hopefully) be AGONIZING to wait for- because they'll keep filling their 'preview' articles (I HOPE) with TONS of little references to "Something Huge" coming...that's not Theros...that's after Theros. that they wish they could talk about but they have to talk about Theros.
WAVE 2: With the FEEDBACK we give them on Modern Masters, I hope we can expect either the year 2014 or the year 2015 to contain the equivalent of THE AVENGERS to Magic: the Gathering. And Vorthos and Timmy and Johnny and Melvin and Spike will all shake hands, be friends, team up and dress up like Mighty Morphin Planeswalker Rangers, and it will be The Best Thing, Literally, Ever.
I think Modern Masters is partly such an awesome set because it really has History to it. It could have worn the name "Chronicles" well, if that hadn't already been used. It's a lot like Nostalgia Lane. Although it could use some improvement. People are already clamoring for literally exactly "Modern Masters for Legacy" "Modern Masters for Vintage" "Modern Masters for Standard" (we just want better commons, really ;) )
What Wizards can't do: Modern Masters for pre-Modern. Why: The Reserved List.
What Wizards CAN do: Modern Masters for Commander Why: Why not? Because DUH! This is the OBVIOUS step to go in.
I know it would be kind of an insane thing, but does anyone feel like they could be up for ....Commander Limited? Think Guild Prerelease Packs, with a guaranteed Commander of the Colors you want, and two packs worth of cards guaranteed to be those colors, plus the more randomized set packs. With 3 color Legends, and Artifacts, MOST of the cards you get passed will be useable enough. Eh? Eh?
Or what about a Commander Limited format, that, "Because Limited" SUSPENDS the "Color Identity" Rule? You can CHOOSE to follow it for fun, flavor, strategy, synergy, but it's not a law? That would be....the Best Possible Magic Ever, correct? :D
Comments (12)
Here’s an odd card… It’s a sometimes-better-sometimes-worse Holy Strength that costs one more than Holy Strength and is at a higher rarity than Holy Strength.
All that extra text does, really, is make the card more “interesting”--and let me warn you that we consider that word, air-quotes and all, a bad one here in R&D. In general it is amateurish design to slap multiple lines of text on a card just to make the card more difficult to evaluate. In any deck that cares, the “if it’s white” clause is always turned on. The “controls another creature” line has a bit more potential for good game play, but the total package just doesn’t come together.
I do like the attempt at making cards that play differently depending on the game state when you draw them, but creature Auras already do a fine job of that by themselves. Holy Strength on a Drudge Skeletons has a much different feel that Holy Strength on a Crypt Rats or on a Serra Angel; all that extra text does is pigeonhole and create extra variance beyond what Auras already do.
So what’s the story behind this card? Luckily Bill Rose, the lead designer of Mirage, is my current boss.
“I guarantee you this, it wasn’t in the set I handed off,” stated Bill after a long time staring at Favorable Destiny. Bill is a huge fan of simplicity, and this card clearly rubs him the wrong way, even a decade later. “We designed the set out of house (as contractors) and then the guys here all got to put their own cards in. Just tell everyone I’m sorry.”
He tracked me down later in the day with further thoughts on what the card was trying to do. “Even then, we were trying to figure out how to make Auras good, but we just didn’t get it. That thing needed to be
I don’t think I’ve ever played this card, but I have played against it. When my college roommate Jake slapped it on his Asmira, Holy Avenger and beat the daylights out of me with it, I guess it didn’t matter how awkward the design was… it did it’s job. That’s the beauty of the game.
There are two interesting points in your reply and I like to comment both:
@ Simplicity:
The word derives from "single" meaning that a thing is all about one issue. But in many cases, simplicity means emptiness or dullness. If you would succeed in your quest for simplicity, it would end in vanilla creatures bashing each other. Plain Simple. Boring. Forgetable.
Humans are based around two attributes: curiosity and convenience. Think about it.
It isn't simplicity, but convenience you're searching for. Simplicity is contrary to curiosity, but not contrary to convenience. A movie film is a convenient way to satisfy your nosiness, that's why this medium is so successful.
Favorable Destiny is a wonderful card. The drawbacks or overhead as you might call it, don't make the card difficult, but opens interesting options. What if I could change the color of that creature instantaneously? - It's a mind game to satisfy my curiosity.
As MaRo once said, but never really understood (I believe), is that a thing is defined by what it can't do. I would take another step and say: Weaknesses define a character. And WotC takes away all weaknesses/drawbacks to make the game "simple"...
BTW: I call someone a friend, who was drunk with me. Why? Because we shared a weakness (drawback). He knows me and I know him. Nobody has to "fear" the other... and it's a memorable occasion.
@ Aura-Power:
What WotC doesn't understand is the fact that Auras have an implicit "you can't cast this spell unless you control a/another creature". Therefore Holy Strength and Unholy Strength are just not good enough.
Another important fact is that you will NEVER EVER balance auras by changing the auras themself. What you have to change are the cost and speed of creature-destruction spells. If I can destroy a creature and all enchanting auras at instant speed, why shall I ever use an aura?
But I believe that all persons at R&D are so fixed to player wishes that they can't even imagine a game without cmc1 destruction spells.... nor at sorcery speed. They rather think about "skipping" auras completely (see TGDS 2).
Mechanics-wise, this card depends on, but at least it avoids much of the problem of auras by making it harder for your opponent to kill the creature. Have two of these in play (on different creatures) and your opponent's really boned.
Aaron's comment makes a lot of sense when you consider stuff that Rosewater's said in the past about sales issues: they'd rather make a "blockbuster" than an "arthouse." Favorable Destiny will stand forever as an example of what Magic could have been, and what Magic should have been.
It doesn't mean there aren't white creatures I won't put it on or that it'll always make a difference, but that's one of the beautiful things about Magic; a lot of the times it ends up being the little things that matter.
While I think a LITTLE bit of art house-y-ness does need to come back to the game, (See Time Spiral Block),
Magic had BETTER keep making Block Busters.
Magic is getting big. The bigger it gets, the more it starts following in the footsteps of other media before it. Right now it's somewhere in one of the phases of Hollywood after 1939 (I was going to list a film...then realized I should just put the year instead), and before The Avengers. Yes, movies are more advanced than Trading Card Games right now.
Go figure, they had like over a 150 years head start. Maybe only 100? Still I mean seriously
I consider Time Spiral Block to be the Star Wars of Magic: the Gathering. Considered on the inside as an almost-flop that was too artsy, guess what?
Kinda has a cult-following and is sorta responsible for helping keep all the Pre-Otaria Lore alive and well. Apparently even the AURORA and the CONFLUX are due to the Mending's aftershocks, If I remember my history right. WOTC sure isn't remembering, just like Lucas lost his way on Star Wars sometime when he asked himself 'how am I going to start the Clone Wars?' -Duh, we should have been in the middle of the Clone Wars, just like we started in the middle of the Galactic Civil War and had the cause of it revealed over 3 films. But whatever.
LETS get back to Magic. And the Avengers. And lets get back to Star Wars already. Know what they have in common?
They're all massively awesome huge Block Busters, that happen to have, on a good day, just the right twinge of Artsy Fartsy 'Crack for your Curiosity', just a little bit spiced in here and there. And maybe some of us decide we really like spicy. Maybe so much that we start getting snooty about cake.
Hey. HEY GUYS. Make a SWEET-SPICE CAKE. Like Christmas flavored, alright? Oh wait, what's that?
MODERN MASTERS? that's a thing? I believe that Modern Masters is going to give WOTC FLOODS AND FLOODS AND FLOODS of -really good- useful Feedback, and GP Vegas' numbers will FORCE them to listen. Modern Masters is the Iron Man 1 of Magic the Gathering, I believe.
They are going to try to do a bunch of huge big things. FTV: 20 I hope will be like the second Incredible Hulk Movie (the better one). It will show us Nick Fury AGAIN, making us wonder "wait...maybe they're serious about this".
If all goes well, Commander 2014 will be THOR (and probably way better than FTV: 20). Now, that's the first wave. That's what's already planned and printed. Theros Block will (hopefully) be AGONIZING to wait for- because they'll keep filling their 'preview' articles (I HOPE) with TONS of little references to "Something Huge" coming...that's not Theros...that's after Theros. that they wish they could talk about but they have to talk about Theros.
WAVE 2: With the FEEDBACK we give them on Modern Masters, I hope we can expect either the year 2014 or the year 2015 to contain the equivalent of THE AVENGERS to Magic: the Gathering. And Vorthos and Timmy and Johnny and Melvin and Spike will all shake hands, be friends, team up and dress up like Mighty Morphin Planeswalker Rangers, and it will be The Best Thing, Literally, Ever.
I think Modern Masters is partly such an awesome set because it really has History to it. It could have worn the name "Chronicles" well, if that hadn't already been used. It's a lot like Nostalgia Lane. Although it could use some improvement. People are already clamoring for literally exactly "Modern Masters for Legacy" "Modern Masters for Vintage" "Modern Masters for Standard" (we just want better commons, really ;) )
What Wizards can't do: Modern Masters for pre-Modern.
Why: The Reserved List.
What Wizards CAN do: Modern Masters for Commander
Why: Why not? Because DUH! This is the OBVIOUS step to go in.
I know it would be kind of an insane thing, but does anyone feel like they could be up for ....Commander Limited? Think Guild Prerelease Packs, with a guaranteed Commander of the Colors you want, and two packs worth of cards guaranteed to be those colors, plus the more randomized set packs. With 3 color Legends, and Artifacts, MOST of the cards you get passed will be useable enough. Eh? Eh?
Or what about a Commander Limited format, that, "Because Limited" SUSPENDS the "Color Identity" Rule? You can CHOOSE to follow it for fun, flavor, strategy, synergy, but it's not a law? That would be....the Best Possible Magic Ever, correct? :D