The Magic Show Special Edition - Discussions with Aaron Forsythe

[mikolajknm]

So, apparently, control decks are not *cool*? :(

[TrollOvGrimness]

If the list was gone, the older cards that were not on it would be more collectible, as people will drastically revalue the true scarcity of the cards. City Of Brass from Arabian Nights are over $40 is a good example of where the pricing on old cards should be more predictable

[TrollOvGrimness]

I dont buy that you couldnt get rid of the list because its been changed more than once, so often that it holds no water for being in place anymore anyway

[TrollOvGrimness]

Maybe if you'd get rid of the reserved list you could bring back some of the more balanced cards, which are increasingly hard to find... when Legacy becomes too hard to get cards for the game will end. So get rid of the reserved list you're strangling yourselves.

[tgva8889]

So here's a better way to stop Phyrexian Mana.

Mental Misstep P/U

Instant

Counter target spell if life was paid as part of the cost to cast it.

Actually does what you want, instead of not.

[jvdthwip]

Didn't Aaron say in another snippet on your show that Liliana "had to be good" ? Granted, she doesn't look broken on the surface, which is good, but he just said they internally needed to stop saying "this card needs to be good" before starting design.

[CougarBen02]

Thanks for the peek behind the curtain, Evan. And thanks Aaron for being candid and available.

[gemore]

He admits to mistake. I actually like this guy alot because of that

[tomathan88]

even SFM... maybe.

[tomathan88]

someone tell AF that he can unban preordain, misstep, gsz, visions, dread return, even jace tms in modern.

[Lunco]

Get a better microphone already...

[Lunco]

Get a better microphone already...

[CTastic1]

"i'm game for nuts!" I bet you are Aaron, i bet you are.

[0verbeing]

Us EDH players LOVE our foils... Give us foil commander products!!!

[nathones]

REPRINT SHOCKLANDS!!!! GD IT!!

[Nyzzeh]

why dont they screw up the color pie for artifact and enchantment removal so monoblack can destroy those?? Nooo... you let the other colors do what black does instead.

[TrollAndStuff]

@Nyzzeh Thats why most black decks play Ratchet Bomb in there sideboards. If you don't wanna pay a dollar more stop complaining.

[Guaranteed2fail]

They should have put a fail safe on the swords and stoneforge, should have made a really good removal spell against equipment/equipped creatures, like a cantrip or something.

[weihoozie]

@Guaranteed2fail Standard had really good artifact removal, and like Aaron said nobody wanted to play Shatters for swords. They would play 2 mana removal like Go for the Throat, but they think a 2 mana artifact removal for a card that just destroys them to no end (swords) is not good enough.

[ParentheticalMagic]

@weihoozie thing is, its exactly like he said. decks like valakut didnt run swords so artifact hate in your deck was awkward. the thing with caw-blade was that it had counterspells to deal with the removal. it was effectively the "survival deck" of standard, running win conditions A, B, C, and D. so no, shatter wasn't good enough.

[weihoozie]

@ParentheticalMagic

With Stoneforge Mystic dominating the format, more and more decks (every white deck worth a look runs stoneforge) had equipments and artifacts that demanded removal. Plus, the issue I was replying to was fighting swords/equipment which shatter and other artifact destruction deals with just fine. Saying that it's bad because it gets countered is just dumb because that can be said for any card.

[goodshipzion]

the REAL reason why Zendikar block sold so well? Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic. END OF STORY!

[buckeyeboi42]

@goodshipzion Stoneforge Mystic was a dollar rare until scars came out. Zendikar block sold well because of Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Fetches, Man-Lands, a sick limited environment, and excellent flavor.

[ratchet1215]

@buckeyeboi42 Don't forget the "priceless treasures."

[BrandonCerelius]

Best Magic Show I've seen in years.

[Lazris59]

I like alra more, I just like multicolor. Thought, zendikar was really cool. How you were adventuring in a new land, hated the mechanic change in RoE? But yeah, the story was awesome. IDK about mirrodin's story. But zendikar's sotry was cool, real fantasy-ish. Hope innistrad is like zendikar in that way :)

[DefenestrateWindows]

Zendikar sold well at first because you put hidden treasures in packs. 

[Mightypoo007]

this is by far the most interesting insight on powercreep of Magic lately. I just love the information, and how humble Aaron is. Thanks for explaining so much I was confused about.

[Lazris59]

@Mightypoo007 Yeah, home Evan does more of these from time to time. Nice to get to know what R&D was thinking or think about things.

[gibson1789]

thanks for posting this.

[PoketoMtg]

Commander decks are working because people accept the fact you put crap 1-ofs in it.

[JamesIsStone]

Despite a few missteps along the way, New Phyrexia was a great expansion, and its grandeur shouldn't be overshadowed by its flaws.

[Lazris59]

@JamesIsStone I liked that set and the whole block. A lot of it was NOT broken, the mythics were though. I love phyrexian mana. My color is black so I LOOOOVE the idea of paying life for something. Life is a resource, that you should use, hehe. But I did the prerelease and some drafts, loved the monsters that when they did damage you could sac to draw, deal damage or make them discard or w/e, real fun. Makes you think "do i sac it now? or wait". Over all great set, better then SoM,but I <3 MB

[KilliaK]

+1 for Evan again, thank you for this vid.

The hardest thing is to make sets Intresting (so have to contain some powerfull cards) but not make rediculous cards. In all honesty I think they should have waited for the living weapon or wait with Worldwake since that would have solved the T2 problems. Ah well..

[MrPeebuddy]

The argument for why WotC printed Batterskull is BS. Basically, he doesn't have an answer other than "we f*cked up".

[wolfv22]

@MrPeebuddy but atleast he agreed they made a mistake.

[brothir]

Aaron Forsythe is an awesome guy.

[auhosj877]

I really am very appreciative about how open the R&D department is with the consumers. Its good that everything isn't very secretive and hushed up so if they make a mistake, they'll just come out and say it, and explain why it happened

[dstarblaster123]

how long would it take to ship a innistrad variety pack to archdale nc

[SummaPlusANumberGrrr]

But you didn't make modern fun now :(

[iamnotmatt]

18:22 .... tee hee

[SurgingChaos19]

As much as I respect Forsythe, when is R&D ever going to learn that free spells ruin the game more than help it? The untap mechanic in Urza's block was completely busted, Affinity also broke Standard, Cascade was responsible for turning Hypergenesis into an overpowered spell overnight, and just recently the Phyrexian mana mechanic resulted in the banning of Mental Misstep in Legacy + Modern.

Time to shelve the free spells for a while, Wizards.

[TheOuph]

Aaron should get more sleep

[dartakaum]

So, let me put some chapters: 0:35 Phyrexian Mana (mental misstep and such) 3:00 Stoneforge Mystic (swords, ...) 7:40 Modern (legacy talk too, and reprints) 14:40 Modern @ PT Philly 16:00 Innistrad 19:01 Twitter (Aaron) 20:36 Great Formats 21:50 Liliana of the Vess 22:58 Garruk Rentless 24:30 Fight (mechanic) 25:50 Commander 27:17 Zendikar 28:15 Rise of Eldrazi

[ColonelSchafer]

@dartakaum what you just did there should be something the maker of the video can set up beforehand. So convenient.

[DJBranden]

@dartakaum

Liliana of the VESS

Liliana of the Veil <------

[Brodaddy1000]

He looked like a guilty suspect at a police interrigation the first half... ..

Having said that, it's easy to make a mistake, but it takes courage to admit that you're wrong to everybody...

[HRRNighthawk]

@Brodaddy1000 You have a reporter come in with a camera and ask you to admit all your mistakes to everyone that cares about them and see how you look lol.  Think he did remarkably well with that honestly. Most people would never do that.

[DJCr0ssify]

@Brodaddy1000 I mean he certainly had some explaining to do on behalf of the "Phyrexian fuck up" but he did a good job and hopefully people will get off his back about it. No set is perfect.

[Xiaofuzhouming]

Thank you for that great episode!

[pelletier1986]

the only thing i would like to see as double-faced cards are tokens. Something relevant, like Angel one side and Bird on the other. It would make less tokens to carry around, and still be cool.

[manudosde]

Awesome interview. I love Aaron's "no bullshit" approach.

[fartfizer]

>don't reprint reserve list because the shops would cry tears of blood on their huge profit losses

>we have to print op cards so we sell tons of lottery boxes to make investors happy

The state of magic folks

[Geno6662000]

"We didn't neuter combo."

B.S.

[JEvanRaitt]

Evan, how about pressing him and the others you interview on their decisions and thoughts? It's really awesome to hear from these Magic higher-ups, but you have probably the only opportunity to actually get some answers on the pressing questions of Magic, and he and others give very lackadaisical answers that don't really say much. Just saying.

[Stillson14]

This video is fantastic. It's really interesting to see how invested Mr. Forsythe is in his craft. I mean some of his reactions just look painful. I'm a big fan of the honesty.

[USAgent88]

All I heard that entire conversation was "We want legacy to die, so play Modern!"

Just swallow your pride and Reprint the Reserve list! Not all of use can afford 1000$ for the mana base alone!

[tchynerd]

This was really informative! It's always good to hear that R&D listens to the players

[Maelstrom777]

So most of the entire MTG world buys and uses single one sided visible card sleeves. And you wonder why dual sided cards, especially plainswalkers that cost $30-$40 a pop, would have issues. Why does this feel like a marketing ploy ... because it is.

[BKwakman]

He doesn't always like the fatties anymore?

[PaulYall27]

Hey, how about a they print a black Noble Hierarch? Or a red Dark Confidant? Oh! I got it! A green Brainstorm! ... just some ideas

[maxtheice]

@PaulYall27 because of the color pie. the edition planar chaos played with your idea about cards that appear in unusual colors

[KarateKidX]

comon, reprint goyf in m13

[DJCr0ssify]

@KarateKidX Good luck with that.

[thramagen]

these people arent as smart as I thought

[InOzWeTrust]

I laughed so hard when he said Mental Misstep is made as the counter to Mutagenic Growth not to fuck over all formats.

[sakonhagakure]

Am I wrong for really hating this man?

[battlexon]

@sakonhagakure Hate's a really strong word...

[joshuago90]

I really like these videos where instead of Evan talking, we get other viewpoints. Not sure whether it's a dig at Evan or not yet personally.

[Pringlesman]

It's interesting. Early in the interview Aaron says it's bad when they design a card with the understanding that it has to be good. When Evan talks to him again he mentions abouthow they designed Lilianna with the understanding it has to be good.



[donotfeedthetroll]

is it me or does he seem like he just doesn't give a FUCK!

[sakonhagakure]

@donotfeedthetroll

This is the same douche bag who bragged for a year as to how good Jace The Mind Sculptor was before banning him a couple of months ago. I also love how he says control just doesn't know the format yet but how can we (control players) know the format when they keep banning every deck besides zoo that does well? Nevermind the fact that he neutered our resources coming right out of the gate. had they unbanned mental misstep they wouldn't need to ban a bunch of cards 3 days ago.

[terakahn]

@sakonhagakure What's zoo?

[sakonhagakure]

@terakahn

red white green aggro. basically naya.

[duckinmypants]

Evan, you are rocking it with consistent quality content as of late! Thank you!

[kagegakureproduction]

lmao when he talks about mental misstep he sounds like a war vet talking about life on the front lines XDDD

[TheLeafhopper]

@kagegakureproduction Magic

Serious FUCKING business.

[kagegakureproduction]

@TheLeafhopper all i have to say is argentum armor on a balefire dragon

[TheLeafhopper]

@kagegakureproduction Balefire is that new Red Dragon in innistrad right? Wait Argentum Armor on...OH GOD.

[kagegakureproduction]

@TheLeafhopper now let's kick a rite of rep on it B)

[Jhimbob]

These interviews are my favourite magic content, the R&D of Magic is crazy intense.

[Scarecrow5507]

Thanks for posting this. These straight-forward interviews with big names are some of my favorite pieces you've put out.

[CAl3vara]

"We didn't anticipate the sword thing being that good" I seriously don't have words.....

[vanfanel150]

@CAl3vara When they have sets designed months ahead, it's hard for me to believe that. Yes, Tinker is kind of a benchmark for cards to see if they're broken.

[kamiloarkham]

third :P

[Theismisacrime]

Second?

[ItsOopsy]

Love it... wait.. first? O_o