Mo' Forests, Mo' Problems

This article is a long answer to the short question:
“What upsets you about Sylvan Primordial?”

CCDD 032813—Universal Twine

Cool Card Design of the Day
3/28/2013 - Dear Johnny, I know how you like wacky effects like Mind Bend, Artificial Evolution or overload that change the text of spells and let you do things no one ever intended or expected. Universal Twine does let you change how an entire class of cards works, but it really just makes them do more, rather than different.

I understand if you're mad that this card is for other people. But don't be mad at Spike or Melvin; they didn't even know you and I were together. Instead, be mad at me. I'm the one to blame. Even so, I do hope you'll be able to forgive me one day, because I still care about you. I always will.

CCDD 032713—Mecha

Cool Card Design of the Day
3/27/2013 - Today is more about trying to visually demonstrate a really crazy idea we were discussing for Ekkremes than focusing on a particular card design. The very brief version is: What if there were dual-faced artifacts and the reverse sides combine in pairs to form a new card…and the reverse is a split so that you can combine those two cards in multiple ways?

I know that makes no sense to read, and that's why I've mocked up the back side of two such cards.

Set Design: Unanswered Question #9

We're back in Egypt for another important question about Ankh-Theb. The single most iconic Egyptian creature is, of course, the mummy. Magic hasn't made many cards in this vein before, possibly because they're so evocative of a specific flavor, which doesn't always fit into magepunk fantasy. Cyclopean Mummy and Vengeful Pharaoh are the two exceptions.

Many of our Ankh-Theb pitches have had some version of a Mummify mechanic, but I don't think any of them is a slam dunk. "Vanillification" isn't likely to be a crowd-pleaser, and reincarnating DFCs feel more Indian that Egyptian. It's also possible, as Wobbles suggested, that mummies simply aren't scary unless you take them out of ancient Egypt. Readers, can you build a better mummy?

CCDD 032613—Genovese Syndrome

Cool Card Design of the Day
3/26/2013 - Originally, I designed a card that was functionally identical to Awe Strike. Fortunately, a second attempt to find it in Gatherer was successful. I'm looking for white removal that feels old school white. I'm not entirely convinced Genovese Syndrome is white—I'd love to hear your opinion on that—but it is where this exploration took me for now, and an interesting card just the same.

CCDD 032513—Slavedriver

Cool Card Design of the Day
3/25/2013 - I'm not entirely sure this idea was already presented, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Regardless, I wanted to get your opinion on this version of oppress for Ankh-Theb. It wouldn't be a major keyword for the set, just a smaller one with the purpose of communicating another theme of the plane. Maybe appearing on just 10 cards between common and mythic.

Ekkremes: The Colour of Magic

HV: This pitch is by Antny.  Here are the pitches from rounds one, two, and three.

What are the major mechanical themes in the set according to your vision?

Ekremes Tech driven colorless artifacts vs returning magical coloured creatures of myth and legend
Tech – metalcraft, operate, buildings
Magic – Anti-artifact/building spells and abilities, enchantments
Mixed – Metalcast – an option to allow players to use the card either
as a colorless artifact or a coloured non-artifact depending on what
suits their deck, hybrid coloured/colourless mana.