Don't you know about the word?
November 29th 2009 02:40
I’ve discussed Magic players’ predilection for annoying jargon once or twice, but I was reminded of the problem in Borders the other day. There was a book on sale which purported to help you uncover hidden or deeper meaning in the names of people, places, and things. Did you know that Clint Eastwood is an anagram of “Old West Action?” Yeah, I didn’t think it was relevant either.
But like a Rihanna song, the idea was stuck in my head, whether I liked it or not. Sifting through even one expansion for anagrams would take way too long, even for me, but my thoughts turned to one particular set that is everyone’s favorite.
Sacred Foundry and the other rare lands from the Ravnica block are commonly referred to as “shocklands,” because their optional comes-into-play ability does the same amount of damage as the staple red card Shock. It’s supposed to be “cute.” Equally, though, a cynical individual might say that all ten of these lands are shockingly expensive. Every one of them passed the dreaded $20 point in the singles market of their day, and barely lost value when they rotated out of Standard.
Now, many people, ranging from casual FNM-goers to head of Magic development Aaron Forsythe, claimed they didn’t know the Ravnica lands were going to be as expensive as they ended up being. But if I saw the bad pun you could make with the nickname, someone else could have too – even if unconsciously. Spelling conventions change, and acronyms are coincidental. Coincidences are not. The next time someone talks about Faeries being The Deck That Never Loses, or describes a card as being “unfair” as a synonym for “powerful,” you may be able to write it off as just a joke. But you might not.
But like a Rihanna song, the idea was stuck in my head, whether I liked it or not. Sifting through even one expansion for anagrams would take way too long, even for me, but my thoughts turned to one particular set that is everyone’s favorite.
Well, almost everyone’s favorite.
Sacred Foundry and the other rare lands from the Ravnica block are commonly referred to as “shocklands,” because their optional comes-into-play ability does the same amount of damage as the staple red card Shock. It’s supposed to be “cute.” Equally, though, a cynical individual might say that all ten of these lands are shockingly expensive. Every one of them passed the dreaded $20 point in the singles market of their day, and barely lost value when they rotated out of Standard.
A sixteen-hour flight for a bad pun? Yes. - Stan Smith
Now, many people, ranging from casual FNM-goers to head of Magic development Aaron Forsythe, claimed they didn’t know the Ravnica lands were going to be as expensive as they ended up being. But if I saw the bad pun you could make with the nickname, someone else could have too – even if unconsciously. Spelling conventions change, and acronyms are coincidental. Coincidences are not. The next time someone talks about Faeries being The Deck That Never Loses, or describes a card as being “unfair” as a synonym for “powerful,” you may be able to write it off as just a joke. But you might not.
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