CCDD 20210629 - Exotic Pet

 

The Many Faces of +1/+1 Counters

There are a number of evergreen archetypes that Wizards goes back to when a color pair doesn't have anything in particular it wants to do in a set. These are especially visible in core set Limited environments, which are designed to both teach new players what color combinations usually do and to "reset" enfranchised players back to basics, so to speak. While there are a number of these with enough history to write about – U/R spells, W/B lifegain, and so on – what I wanted to focus on in this article is the +1/+1 counter archetype, which sets itself apart from its coworkers by its flexibility. What we think of as a "counter theme" is actually several themes that happen to use +1/+1 counters, each of which is worth exploring in some depth.

Signpost Uncommons: A Critique

Besides New World Order, the largest structural change to Magic sets in the last 10 years is the introduction of "signpost uncommons," two-colored uncommons that mark the particular archetype those two colors are associated with. This comes alongside a larger shift in set design from looser draft archetypes to tighter two-color pair strategies (which I will call "the signpost uncommon system".) This has become so ubiquitous that Limited Resources begins every set evaluation by looking at the signpost uncommon cycle. My issue isn't with this structure on its own, but its use in every set, which unnecessarily constrains Magic sets and limits their potential to be great formats.

Designing for Discovery: Test Your Mettle

Designing for Discovery: Test Your Mettle
By Larcent

"What an odd card," I muttered to myself when I first read Path of Mettle and Metzali, Tower of Triumph, when they were spoiled in Rivals of Ixalan.

I was not alone in that reaction. Luis Scott-Vargas called them "bizarre" in his initial set review. Melissa DeTora called it the "weirdest card in the set."

Tesla: Archetype Hype

Hi everybody! Sorry for the late article, but it's a fun one, so I hope it will be worth the wait. This week, we're going to be showing off the prospective archetypes for Tesla, in all their glory!

Tesla: Types of Archetypes

Hello again, everyone! We've been hard at work over at the Magic Multiverse, filling in and polishing up the various archetypes, including the ones we discussed last time. This week, we're going to look extensively not only at the philosophy behind archetypes, but at the different kinds of archetypes - and we're going to use these lessons to design better archetypes, and cards in those archetypes, for Tesla.

Tesla: Archetype for the Taking & Playtesting Plans

Hello again, everyone! Last time, we discussed the recent announcement of an official Kaladesh set, and what that means for us. This week, we're going to discuss potential archetypes, as well as some plans for playtesting in the future.