Well, actually, red is the secondary equipment color after white. None of the other colors even come close. I assume it's the whole "blacksmith forge" aspect of red.
I still would love to see more CD/E cards, but it's not as likely in a set that isn't expressly tricolor. I never assumed that wedge was going to play as large of a role in FRF or DTK as it did in KTK, since MaRo spelled out quite clearly from the get go that KTK is not a wedge block. But surely a cycle of Mythic wedge dragons, preferably legendary, would not subvert the prior assertions? Whatever they're planning for DTK will need to be super exciting, because people have wanted proper wedge representation for a long time and a set simply about dragons might not be enough to counteract the possible disappointment of a not-fully-wedge block. We'll just have to wait and see.
Of course red's the best color for the card; that's the point of twobrid mana. But six mana for an extra three damage in any other color is more than worth it in limited.
The reason I give it the default boost of +1/+1 is because I felt it should grant some kind of built-in bonus and +1/+0 or even +2/+0 combined with firebreathing just felt weird. A symmetric boost not only felt better but also kept in line with previous Equipment such as Leonin Scimitar. I could bump the bonus up to +2/+2 a la the Mirrodin Swords and various enchantments like Shiv's Embrace and Volcanic Strength, but then the total cost is definitely going up.
Dragonfire Blade(2/R)(2/R)
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has "(2/R): This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Equip (2/R)
This is an old design of mine brought back with the intent of showcasing the currently underused monocolor hybrid mana mechanic. It's a flashy version of the classic flaming sword trope, the most basic possible version of which was already done as an Aura. A pure colorless version would probably be more reprint-friendly, but there's also only so many cards that want to use monocolor hybrid.
Dragonfire Blade(2/R)
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has "(2/R): This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Equip (2/R)
Personally, I'd love a new cycle of Fastlands, one for each color pair. I realize that Seachrome Coast and its respective cycle make new ally fastlands less likely, so we'll probably have to settle for enemy fastlands. At any rate, DTK would be the perfect environment in which to print them, especially for the more aggressive wedges.
Walls make a lot of sense as artifact creatures, but one can also look at them in a context similar to Elementals, especially in the case of stone or plant walls. Colored artifacts are usually reserved for sets where they're absolutely needed, such as in Shards of Alara to provide Esper with its identity, New Phyrexia to showcase phyrexian mana, or in Theros to support devotion. My hope is that monocolor hybrid mana will come to be the popular mechanic for colored artifacts barring cases where hard color costs are needed or where odd number cmcs are desired.
I still do not like how is is too negative and acts as if every idea that he has is so awesome and perfect, even when they are not; he shall not be around forever, so I am certain that when he eventually resigns from WotC, many of the restrictions that he has placed upon this game shall be lifted, which shall be great for everyone.
Okay, first of all, MaRo doesn't act like every idea of his is perfect. He himself has admitted to making many mistakes as a designer in the past, he even wrote an entire article about it back in 2002 and another in 2003. In 2009, he wrote the article "Achieving Zendikar, Part II" where he flat-out states not all his ideas are good, and that's why it's a good thing he has to defer to other people when trying to get an idea through.
So even when he is gone (how nice of you to assume that he will resign from a job he enjoys and works in order to make money for his family), the game is not necessarily going to change a whole lot because people have paid attention to the numerous articles he has written on the color pie and on good game design; you might want to give those a read sometime.
Again, this is evidence of why Mark Rosewater is not a good person to be designing for this game; Richard Garfield should return to this game and design many interesting cards to replace any boring ones that may exist.
What makes Richard so much better at the job than Mark? So he created the genre. He also created some of the games' most broken and degenerate cards, most infamously the Power Nine. He's learned since then, and so has Mark.
Did I not already state that nimbus maze provides an additional dual land for white/blue decks? And what makes graven cairns so special that it received an entire cycle of its own? And if a player cannot remember all abilities on their opponent's lands, that is their problem, not WotC's, in my opinion.
Graven Cairns received a cycle because it fit the set they printed it in flavorfully and mechanically and because it was the best designed of the Future Sight lands.
I will have to argue against your opinion here. The job of a game designer is to make sure the game is fun, otherwise it isn't a game. Nimbus Maze is not the most complex of lands, but neither is it a particularly elegant land compared to Mystic Gate or Glacial Fortress, both of which quite frankly do its job better. Actually complex lands that your opponents have to keep track of among all the other permanents on the board do little to make the game more fun for the majority of players.
I recommend you spend some time asking Magic designers and developers questions about why things are the way they are in the game, because right now your opinions sound rather uninformed and focused on a small subgroup of the player base. You can pitch questions to MaRo on Blogatog and maybe ask for an explanation of why he designs the way he does rather than make assumptions as you did in these past couple posts.
@Gutterstorm: Actually, I believe they said they cheated in Conflux with the five colors matter theme represented by Domain. The hybrid in Alara Reborn was a clever way to create three-color cards that could be played in two-color decks; if only the set's theme had been shards mixing rather than being all gold.
Theros pushed monocolor with devotion and Shadowmoor/Eventide both had a color matters theme that allowed monocolor decks. My recommendation is to reward players for playing cards of the same color without requiring that they be only one color, and include a few hybrid or gold cards so limited still has some two color options. Monocolor hybrid is a good idea as well so long as you bear in mind that not all effects are meant to be available to all colors, counterspells being a big one.
I just so happened to have thought of a template for such a land:
Valeron Field
Land - Plains
( : Add to your mana pool.)
~ enters the battlefield tapped. : Add or to your mana pool.
It's worth noting that Murmuring Bosk was made a Forest to work with the Treefolk's particular brand of tribal which included Forests as well as Treefolk. See Treefolk Harbinger for example.
It also allows you to steal a card right out of their hand or graveyard and it requires fewer colors to cast. I would have considered something closer to Plasm Capture but with Delve as a Sultai mechanic that would feel a little unnecessary.
The reason I give it the default boost of +1/+1 is because I felt it should grant some kind of built-in bonus and +1/+0 or even +2/+0 combined with firebreathing just felt weird. A symmetric boost not only felt better but also kept in line with previous Equipment such as Leonin Scimitar. I could bump the bonus up to +2/+2 a la the Mirrodin Swords and various enchantments like Shiv's Embrace and Volcanic Strength, but then the total cost is definitely going up.
Dragonfire Blade (2/R)(2/R)
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has "(2/R): This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Equip (2/R)
Dragonfire Blade (2/R)
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has "(2/R): This creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Equip (2/R)
Okay, first of all, MaRo doesn't act like every idea of his is perfect. He himself has admitted to making many mistakes as a designer in the past, he even wrote an entire article about it back in 2002 and another in 2003. In 2009, he wrote the article "Achieving Zendikar, Part II" where he flat-out states not all his ideas are good, and that's why it's a good thing he has to defer to other people when trying to get an idea through.
So even when he is gone (how nice of you to assume that he will resign from a job he enjoys and works in order to make money for his family), the game is not necessarily going to change a whole lot because people have paid attention to the numerous articles he has written on the color pie and on good game design; you might want to give those a read sometime.
What makes Richard so much better at the job than Mark? So he created the genre. He also created some of the games' most broken and degenerate cards, most infamously the Power Nine. He's learned since then, and so has Mark.
"You say Richard is happy with the way the game has evolved but I feel like I have read that there are things like planeswalkers as a card type that he didn't like. Is this ever a point of contention or does he just accept that times change?
Richard being happy with the game doesn’t mean he agrees with 100% of our choices. Richard’s comments on planeswalkers is that they seem overly complex but he admits he doesn’t understand the role they play in the game to pass judgment."
Graven Cairns received a cycle because it fit the set they printed it in flavorfully and mechanically and because it was the best designed of the Future Sight lands.
I will have to argue against your opinion here. The job of a game designer is to make sure the game is fun, otherwise it isn't a game. Nimbus Maze is not the most complex of lands, but neither is it a particularly elegant land compared to Mystic Gate or Glacial Fortress, both of which quite frankly do its job better. Actually complex lands that your opponents have to keep track of among all the other permanents on the board do little to make the game more fun for the majority of players.
I recommend you spend some time asking Magic designers and developers questions about why things are the way they are in the game, because right now your opinions sound rather uninformed and focused on a small subgroup of the player base. You can pitch questions to MaRo on Blogatog and maybe ask for an explanation of why he designs the way he does rather than make assumptions as you did in these past couple posts.
Valeron Field
Land - Plains
(
~ enters the battlefield tapped.
It's worth noting that Murmuring Bosk was made a Forest to work with the Treefolk's particular brand of tribal which included Forests as well as Treefolk. See Treefolk Harbinger for example.