Play Boosters

Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel card art

Last month, Wizards announced another change to Magic booster packs. Starting in 2024, with the Murders at Karlov Manor set, "play boosters" will become the new norm.

Two years ago, I wrote about the different kinds of boosters. There were four at the time. That dropped to three (they stopped theme packs), and with this latest announcement, they will be going to two. Draft and set boosters are being consolidated into play boosters.

The linked article explains the concept, so I won't repeat that here. As expected, it is a middle path: 14 cards (vs. 15 or 12, respectively), and a mix of rarities that blends the two approaches. Aside from the annoyance and confusion of frequent change, it is the rarities that intrigue me most.

With the change in packs comes a change in design. From his blog, Magic designer Mark Rosewater notes:

I’m going to get into the majority of the nitty gritty when I write my preview article for Murders at Karlov Manor. The big example I’ve been using today is we moved from 101 commons/80 uncommons to 81 commons/100 uncommons.

Interesting.

When Magic began and life was simple (meaning one type of booster and few, if any, other products), the distribution in a 15-card pack was 1 rare, 3 uncommon, and 11 common cards. Thus it stayed (though some packs contained a mythic rare instead of rare when those rarities were introduced in 2008). The rarity label was accurate; common cards were the most plentiful, uncommon less, and so on. It made sense.

When Magic started introducing all sorts of products—different kinds of boosters, preconstructed decks, and other options—the rarity labels stayed, but could be misleading. Rares placed in preconstructed decks were widely available (and generally cheap). Collector boosters featured a rarity distribution that skewed everything and was not balanced by a 'counterweight': there were no pauper packs made, for example, to ensure that the overall number of common cards printed really were the most plentiful. (Of course, commons were still the most plentiful, but the proportions were off.) In short, the rarity labels become a touch misleading.

I assume the forthcoming shift in set rarities reflects the imbalance. A few thoughts:

- Now, technically, uncommons will be the most common . . . sort of. (If you are collecting exactly one copy of each card in a set, you will end up with more uncommons than commons.) Of course, packs will contain more commons than anything else . . . I think . . . but there will be fewer unique commons, meaning (I assume) that you will get a slew of bulk (meaning more than 4 copies of a common card). I'm not sure that's a good thing. 

- Card rarity is supposed to reflect power level, so I believe that means Magic packs will be getting "more powerful." I wonder how this will affect the power creep that's been a slow but steady march for years now. 

- I wonder if/how this will affect rarity shifts. If they change the rarity makeup of a set but then shift rarity of individual reprinted cards, we might not even notice a change in gameplay—though it will be confusing.

As with any change, we'll see how it goes. My initial reaction to the rarity shift is unfavorable, but I am happy to see them going back to a single "normal" pack (collector's boosters are still out there, for those with expendable income).

Croaking with Grolnok

One of the weirder decks I've played in a while is based on Grolnok, the Omnivore. From Crimson Vow, he has some interesting abilities:

- Whenever a Frog you control attacks, mill three cards [put three cards from the top of your library into your graveyard]

- Whenever a permanent card is put into your graveyard from your library, exile it with a croak counter on it.

- You may play lands and cast spells from among cards you own in exile with croak counters on them.

These abilities scream 'combo deck.' The main creature cards that play well on these abilities are Willow Geist and Slogurk, the Overslime:

Willow Geist pairs exceedingly well with Grolnok. When Grolnok attacks, 3 cards bounce into your graveyard; any permanents will then bounce out with croak counters. Willow Geist's ability will trigger each time this happens, so if 2 permanent cards bounce out, Willow Geist gets two +1/+1 counters.

Slogurk grows with lands going into the graveyard, so he can also get big quickly when paired with Grolnok.

The rest of the deck features:

- Cards that expand upon that milling action (often milling cards and then returning one or more to your hand to trigger Willow Geist's ability): things like Mulch, Turn the Earth, Wasteful Harvest, Eccentric Farmer, Crawling Infestation, and Vivien on the Hunt.

- Card draw with potential milling ability (Consider, Otherworldly Gaze)

- Card draw and ramp (Joint Exploration), and

- Mild interaction (Fading Hope).

It is somewhat fun, though if you don't have at least two pieces of the combo out, it tends to fizzle. The complete decklist follows, in Arena format.

Deck

3 Grolnok, the Omnivore (VOW) 238

4 Willow Geist (MID) 207

3 Slogurk, the Overslime (MID) 242

2 Mulch (VOW) 210

1 Turn the Earth (MID) 205

3 Wasteful Harvest (BRO) 196

2 Eccentric Farmer (MID) 185

1 Crawling Infestation (VOW) 193

2 Vivien on the Hunt (SNC) 162

1 Spectral Adversary (MID) 77

1 Suspicious Stowaway (MID) 80

4 Fading Hope (MID) 51

4 Consider (MID) 44

2 Otherworldly Gaze (MID) 67

2 Joint Exploration (DMU) 56

3 Curate (BRO) 44

8 Island (BRO) 271

9 Forest (BRO) 277

1 Dreamroot Cascade (VOW) 262

2 Yavimaya Coast (DMU) 261

2 Thornwood Falls (ELD) 313

How many cards (2023)?

The Grand Calculatron

How many Magic cards have been made? I looked at that question and the difficulty it creates in this post from 2020. Today, I simply update the numbers. This post will focus on how many unique cards have been made.

As with last year, Scryfall will be our guide. Any commands shown below were typed into the main Scryfall search bar. And all results are accurate only as of this writing—16 November 2023—as the numbers are always changing.

The first query: how many unique Magic cards have been made? Using Scryfall's syntax, we search as follows, and get the result (presented immediately after and copied from Scryfall's explanation):

• not:reprint  
• 27,370 cards where the cards aren’t reprints

Cool. But this includes funny cards . . . let's drop those:

• not:reprint not:funny  
• 26,769 cards where the cards aren’t reprints and the cards aren’t funny

Now let's remove those digital-only cards:

• not:reprint not:funny not:digital  
• 26,212 cards where the cards aren’t reprints and the cards aren’t funny and the cards aren’t digital prints

Great. Now let's look at how many unique cards have appeared in core sets:

• not:reprint st:core  
• 1,685 cards where the cards aren’t reprints and the set type is core

And now expansions:

• not:reprint st:expansion  
• 20,681 cards where the cards aren’t reprints and the set type is expansion

All that remains are cards that weren't in core sets or expansions:

• not:reprint -st:core -st:expansion  
• 5,158 cards where the cards aren’t reprints and the set type is not core and the set type is not expansion

Oops, that includes funny and digital cards. Adjusting:

• not:reprint -st:core -st:expansion not:funny not:digital  
• 4,152 cards where the cards aren’t reprints and the set type is not core and the set type is not expansion and the cards aren’t funny and the cards aren’t digital prints

Alright, I think that's it for today. So in summary, as of today,

• 24,234 unique Magic cards have been released in core sets, expansions, or other special releases that are not funny and not digital only [+1,978 from last year]. The breakdown:
• 1,685 unique Magic cards in core sets [same as last year]
• 19,535 unique Magic cards in expansions [+1,146 from last year]
• 3,134 unique Magic cards in special releases [+2,024 from last year]

The numbers are always changing; here's a screenshot on how the numbers have changed over the past few months. Note that the "-is:" or "-st:" syntax is interchangable with "not:" in some cases:

That's a lot of Magic cards, and quite a jump from last year. Note the increasing percentage of special releases.

Gimmicky

Chandler card art. Looks like he's selling a gimmick. (And RIP, Matthew Perry.)

Some Magic decks are more 'gimmicky' than others. This post explores that concept and provides examples.

Exploring the Concept

Dictionaries (like this one) tend to define 'gimmick' as "a trick or device used to attract business or attention," "an ingenious and usually new scheme or angle," or simply "a catch."

In Magic, players use the term to mean something a little different. From Reddit: "Gimmicks in ccgs tend to be the label for strategies that rely on your opponent's unfamiliarity, unpreparedness, or just plain luck to win. It's like a "fool me once" or "all-in" type of thing." Later in that post, another argues that a gimmick deck is "a deck whose sole win condition relies on 1 or 2 cards." 

I would define a gimmick Magic deck as one that has two characteristics:

1. it has an 'unorthodox' and single/narrow/focused/inflexible win condition
• it does this (but nothing else) very well: it has little means to counter or adjust to opponents' strategies
• it is overly reliant on one card or combo or mechanic
• it often relies on an unusual ability (one that features only in one set or on a few cards all-time)
2. relies on surprise (it is easily defeated once the opponent expects it) 

Basically, a gimmick deck brings Nelson (of Simpsons fame) to my mind. 

The person who wins with such a deck does so with a smirk: "haha, got you!" Then they have to put the deck away because it will be expected and easily defeated next time. Thus, per a coolstuffinc article, "Gimmicks are best used sparingly else fans will tire of them."

Examples

Dimir Rats

This deck relies on two cards: Tetsuko and Rat Colony. The latter violates the "four copies" restriction in its text, enabling you to have as many Rat Colony cards in your desk as you wish. And they get stronger for each one you have on the battlefield. Get out as many rats as possible with card draw spells, then make them unblockable with Tetsuko. 

20 Rat Colony (DAR) 101

4 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive (DAR) 69

4 Negate (M20) 69

4 Opt (DAR) 60

2 Cancel (M21) 46

2 Divination (DAR) 52

2 Thirst for Discovery (VOW) 85

8 Swamp (BRO) 273

8 Island (BRO) 271

4 Drowned Catacomb (XLN) 253

1 Shipwreck Marsh (MID) 267

1 Watery Grave (GRN) 259

Rune for Improvement

This is less of a gimmick deck because it requires a few cards (and has a few means to adjust to opponents' strategies), but the heart of a gimmick is there. For this to be viable, you need Runeforge Champion and Jukai Naturalist (and a bunch of rune cards, which is an enchantment subtype that appeared only in Kaldheim). The Champion makes runes cost 1, Jukai drops that to zero, and the runes themselves let you draw a card, making it possible for this deck to really take off.

4 Runeforge Champion (KHM) 26

4 Rune of Might (KHM) 191

4 Rune of Sustenance (KHM) 25

4 Rune of Speed (KHM) 148

4 Jukai Naturalist (NEO) 225

2 Tamiyo's Safekeeping (NEO) 211

4 Hallowed Haunting (VOW) 17

2 Borrowed Time (MID) 6

1 Showdown of the Skalds (KHM) 229

4 Michiko's Reign of Truth (NEO) 29

4 Generous Visitor (NEO) 185

7 Plains (SLD) 359

4 Cragcrown Pathway (ZNR) 261

4 Branchloft Pathway (ZNR) 258

1 Needleverge Pathway (ZNR) 263

1 Sundown Pass (VOW) 266

1 Mountain (SLD) 362

3 Forest (SLD) 363

2 Rockfall Vale (MID) 266

Zenith Flare

The Ikoria set (2020) featured the cycling mechanic. One deck I saw a lot during this time featured a bunch of cards with cycling (47 appeared in the set) and finished off an opponent with Zenith Flare. If you saw it coming, and had a way to counter Zenith Flare, you were fine.

Concluding Thought

There isn't, technically, anything wrong with a gimmick deck. But a key part of the game is enjoying the game, so if you run decks like this, be prepared for that initial "you got me" followed by "okay, can you play a real deck now?"