For a long time i've been unhappy with "color bleed" (colors doing things that they shouldn't be able to do, or do for such low mana cost)
Throne seems to be bringing back a more focused color strategy, at least from the cards i've been seeing.
The devs have , I think been trying back and forth to keep the color bleed to a minimum, but from a design standpoint and making crybabies happy, its a push-pull problem.
I've not read >every single card< but I have read a lot. Is my thinking here in error?
Color bleeding is most often associated with a sets theme being a certain color but bleeding into the other colors because the sets theme can't be focused in just one color. A set like new Phyrexia causes all the colors to get a little black because its theme was very black. Zendiakr makes the colors all a bit green. And so forth. Eldraine is pushing a mono color theme meaning it's more about dividing the colors than merging them resulting in less to no bleeding. Color bleeding is always kept to a minimum because when you bleed to much it becomes a break.
Well, Oko probably shouldn't have a Beast Within mode but I guess they'll use the "Well, Blue does Polymorph effects, so it's technically allowed." That is a pretty convenient defense but it still doesn't excuse the fact MaRo endlessly rails against that sort of thing but then turns around and lets them do it over and over again.
After nearly two decades of MaRo's shifting stances (sometimes total 180's) on all kinds of color pie stuff, I have a hard time taking much of it seriously anymore, tbh. They do whatever the hell they want here and then usually justify it after the fact on the basis of "We needed to make Limited/Creative work." Maybe that's enough and I'm just being crabby.
Well, Oko probably shouldn't have a Beast Within mode but I guess they'll use the "Well, Blue does Polymorph effects, so it's technically allowed." That is a pretty convenient defense but it still doesn't excuse the fact MaRo endlessly rails against that sort of thing but then turns around and lets them do it over and over again.
How is this a "technically allowed"? This is a clear mono-blue ability on a blue-green planeswalker. Now if it was an actual beast within and could target the permanent types that blue doesn't regularly transform I could see why you would have a problem with it, but only hitting creatures and artifacts makes it a shoo-in for blue.
And we are seeing some color bleed. For example Turn into a pumpkin is mono blue card that gains life. Something that hasn't been done in a long time. Granted this card isn't as powerful as Illusions of Grandeur, but it is still color bleed.
Another example is Oathsworn Knight, combining what are traditionally red and green abilities. Though it's not like we've seen the Phantom Tiger ability recently.
Robber of the Rich has reach randomly for flavor reasons. And is also stealing a UB ability. Granted the flavor is pretty good for this card so it probably gets a pass.
Black makes tokens, its considered the second best after white/green. Black is also allows control just not mostly your opponent but we have cards as recent as New Blood.
Robber of the Rich has reach randomly for flavor reasons. And is also stealing a UB ability. Granted the flavor is pretty good for this card so it probably gets a pass.
Reach has been in red since Magic Origins.
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I know that black can make tokens, we just had Boneclad Necromancer in M20. But black rarely gets repeatable token making, and when it does it normally also costs life (or is a planeswalker, but every color has planeswalkers that make tokens). I did miss New Blood as a commander card, fair enough point. Or from a standard pack Captivating Vampire though that was M11.
Since Magic Origins, we have had maybe 5 mono red creatures with reach? The last one was Turret Ogre and that card was notorious for eating unsuspecting fliers because the attacker just forgot it has reach.
It took red a long time to get a 2/2 for 2 and only recently did it start getting ones with an upside (or two) and now there is this guy with 3, only one of which properly feels red.
I'm not saying that any of these designs are bad, the flavor is amazing and the gameplay looks good too. Those examples are just to counteract the point being made in the OP. Color bleed will happen and it is part of what keeps the game interesting. Look at how well rummaging has done in red, or haste in black to see how they have improved the draft and sealed experiences of sets, and even had some constructed impact.
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Throne seems to be bringing back a more focused color strategy, at least from the cards i've been seeing.
The devs have , I think been trying back and forth to keep the color bleed to a minimum, but from a design standpoint and making crybabies happy, its a push-pull problem.
I've not read >every single card< but I have read a lot. Is my thinking here in error?
After nearly two decades of MaRo's shifting stances (sometimes total 180's) on all kinds of color pie stuff, I have a hard time taking much of it seriously anymore, tbh. They do whatever the hell they want here and then usually justify it after the fact on the basis of "We needed to make Limited/Creative work." Maybe that's enough and I'm just being crabby.
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Another example is Oathsworn Knight, combining what are traditionally red and green abilities. Though it's not like we've seen the Phantom Tiger ability recently.
Piper of the Swarm also doesn't seem very black, repeatable token making (without even costing life like Dreadhorde Invasion and Bitterblossom) and Mind Control are not abilities we have seen much of in black (Ritual of the Machine is pretty old precedent to be drawing on).
Robber of the Rich has reach randomly for flavor reasons. And is also stealing a UB ability. Granted the flavor is pretty good for this card so it probably gets a pass.
Black makes tokens, its considered the second best after white/green. Black is also allows control just not mostly your opponent but we have cards as recent as New Blood.
Reach has been in red since Magic Origins.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Since Magic Origins, we have had maybe 5 mono red creatures with reach? The last one was Turret Ogre and that card was notorious for eating unsuspecting fliers because the attacker just forgot it has reach.
It took red a long time to get a 2/2 for 2 and only recently did it start getting ones with an upside (or two) and now there is this guy with 3, only one of which properly feels red.
I'm not saying that any of these designs are bad, the flavor is amazing and the gameplay looks good too. Those examples are just to counteract the point being made in the OP. Color bleed will happen and it is part of what keeps the game interesting. Look at how well rummaging has done in red, or haste in black to see how they have improved the draft and sealed experiences of sets, and even had some constructed impact.