tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post2496448907791759524..comments2024-03-11T02:32:15.295-04:00Comments on Goblin Artisans: What makes a major set mechanic?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-8772853695425677612012-12-20T13:37:23.657-05:002012-12-20T13:37:23.657-05:00It seems to me that the most difficult challenge i...It seems to me that the most difficult challenge in designing these pitches is to find a mechanic that changes how Magic plays in a big way and creates a new game experience - something like Infect, DFCs, Level Up, Annihilator, Landfall, Hybrid mana, or Soulbond. <br /><br />Not every mechanic needs to do that - there can be fun but minor mechanics on the side like Cascade or Clash, or utility mechanics like Cycling. But it seems to me that most real-life sets have at least one mechanic that really sculpts new game play. <br /><br />The exception to that might be sets where the structure of the set itself rather than any single mechanic distinguishes the set's game play (such as the faction systems in Return to Ravnica and Lorwyn, or the high density of artifacts in the original Mirrodin).Chahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15574587448667619081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479847193762153273.post-77476124683949097412012-12-20T13:24:11.825-05:002012-12-20T13:24:11.825-05:00One mistake I've seen a lot is to make a mecha...One mistake I've seen a lot is to make a mechanic that doesn't make sense on its own, and then make another mechanic to force the first mechanic to make sense. To make up an example, maybe there's a mechanic that says "Etheral 3 - When this dies, exile the top 3 cards of your library" and then there's another mechanic that says "Aethercast - This spell's X is equal to the converted mana cost of an exiled card you own of your choice."Chahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15574587448667619081noreply@blogger.com