Deconstructing Theros: Heroic

Theros is focused on three major groups from classical mythology: gods, monsters, and heroes. We've already discussed enchantment creatures and Monstrosity; today, I'd like to talk about Heroic. All cards in this post have been officially previewed by Wizards.

    

Heroic in an Enchantment Set

Let's talk about Heroic's role as a support mechanic for Theros' enchantment theme. Lots of enchantments means lots of auras. Although auras are a popular card type, skilled players have avoided them for much of the game's history. "Don't play any Enchant Creatures," they'd tell people at their first prerelease or FNM, "they're a sure way to get 2-for-1ed."

Granted, things have changed substantially in the last few years. Auras have gotten better: Ethereal Armor was a force to be reckoned with in Return to Ravnica limited, and Rancor has made quite a splash in constructed. Reliable, cheap removal is harder to come by: Doom Blade was first replaced by Murder, then brought back as an uncommon, and Lightning Bolt and Path to Exile are out of the picture. But the fundamental problem is unchanged. Pumping up your own creatures with auras is still begging for card disadvantage.

In an enchantment-themed set, however, auras need to be actually good, not just fun. Thus, the designers need ways to mitigate the inherent card disadvantage of auras. A few years ago, Totem Armor was their answer. Today's answers are Bestow and Heroic. Heroic grants a bonus for casting an aura spell even if your creature is removed in response. In particular, most of the Heroic effects we've seen (and I suspect most of them, period) are designed to work through a Doom Blade.

Of course, Heroic will trigger for any spell you cast on your own creature, not just auras. But in a set like Theros, you can bet your last drachma that this mechanic is intended to help auras shine.

Heroic-type Mechanics and Incidental Rewards

More broadly, Heroic is what I would call an active incidental reward mechanic. That is to say, it has the form:

Whenever you take action X, some desirable effect Y happens.

In the above formulation, X is necessarily an action that you might choose to take even without the promise of Y, which is what makes the reward incidental. (This distinguishes such mechanics from kicker-esque mechanics, where the player is incurring some extra cost to make Y happen.)

The reason I'm bothering to invent terminology for this class of mechanics is that R&D makes lots of them! Just in the last few years, we've seen Battalion, Evolve, Cipher, Transform, Exalted, and Battle Cry. Why are there so many?

There are two major reasons. First, needing to take action X provides direction for the player, both during the game and in deckbuilding. Want to flip your Villagers of Estwald? Spend a turn pumping that Darkthicket Wolf instead of casting a spell. Want to helix some fools with Firemane Avenger? Better bring a Skyknight Legionnaire or Act of Treason for a surprise third attacker. Heroic creatures will make positive auras and combat tricks substantially more valuable in Theros.

Second, the times when an active incidental reward mechanic will trigger are hard to predict. When you cast something like Goblin Assault or Ajani's Mantra, both players know exactly what these cards will do in the future. But how many tokens will an Akroan Crusader make? How big will a Wingsteed Rider get? The opponent certainly doesn't know, and even the player only has partial information. Every card they draw could be an aura or combat trick that yields an additional bonus. This sort of randomness is why lotteries and slot machines (and their game relatives, such as Candy Crush Saga and Peggle) are so addictive. Finding out "How good can this get for me?" is compelling and makes people eager to play more.