Sign of the times
December 4th 2010 00:17
Symbols are the key to telepathy. The mind wraps its secrets in symbols; when we discover the symbols that shape our enemy's thought, we can penetrate the vault of his mind.
-- Lady Deirdre Skye, "Our Secret War"
From Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Magic has always had icons. When Limited Edition Alpha was released, the high-end creatures Serra Angel and Shivan Dragon were admired for their beauty and elegance, not to mention their ability to take over a game. At the same time, the much lower-power Hurloon Minotaur was a fan favorite, possibly because of his flavor text. (Modern powergamers, take note.)
It’s not only creatures where you see this, of course – artifacts, spells, and lands can become equally famous, as proven by the Moxes, Black Lotus, Lightning Bolt, and Library of Alexandria. However, since creatures take such a central place in gameplay, and their art depicts a unique character, it is easy to form attachments to them. Nowadays, people do the same thing with planeswalkers, and the iconic creatures are even more powerful.
But there is a difference. For all of the Serra Angel’s prominence and dominance in Magic’s early years, no-one felt like the game was only about her. You didn’t have to put her in every deck if you wanted to win, or even play – red decks and green decks were faster than her, blue cards had the potential to take back control of the game even if she hit the table, and black decks were able to deal with creatures of any cost and power.
When people feel that certain cards are not only iconic but necessary to stand any chance in the game, as evidenced by the demand for and debate about Primeval Titan and Jace the Mind Sculptor, you have a problem. You have a problem when they give up Standard because they can’t deal with these cards without playing them themselves, and you have an even bigger problem when they give up Magic because they feel like 95% of the cards in the sets aren’t relevant.
-- Lady Deirdre Skye, "Our Secret War"
From Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Magic has always had icons. When Limited Edition Alpha was released, the high-end creatures Serra Angel and Shivan Dragon were admired for their beauty and elegance, not to mention their ability to take over a game. At the same time, the much lower-power Hurloon Minotaur was a fan favorite, possibly because of his flavor text. (Modern powergamers, take note.)
It’s not only creatures where you see this, of course – artifacts, spells, and lands can become equally famous, as proven by the Moxes, Black Lotus, Lightning Bolt, and Library of Alexandria. However, since creatures take such a central place in gameplay, and their art depicts a unique character, it is easy to form attachments to them. Nowadays, people do the same thing with planeswalkers, and the iconic creatures are even more powerful.
But there is a difference. For all of the Serra Angel’s prominence and dominance in Magic’s early years, no-one felt like the game was only about her. You didn’t have to put her in every deck if you wanted to win, or even play – red decks and green decks were faster than her, blue cards had the potential to take back control of the game even if she hit the table, and black decks were able to deal with creatures of any cost and power.
When people feel that certain cards are not only iconic but necessary to stand any chance in the game, as evidenced by the demand for and debate about Primeval Titan and Jace the Mind Sculptor, you have a problem. You have a problem when they give up Standard because they can’t deal with these cards without playing them themselves, and you have an even bigger problem when they give up Magic because they feel like 95% of the cards in the sets aren’t relevant.
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