Max Speed is, by far, the most controversial aspect of MTG Aetherdrift. Players first criticized this speed-based for being a flavor fail due to being slow on principle. Playing with normal cards, it takes three turns at an absolute minimum to crank Max Speed to four. You need to be damaging your opponent during your turn for three straight turns after Starting Your Engines to accomplish this.
Then, MTG players found a workaround. It turns out you can get to Max Speed in just one turn, but the cards required aren’t very practical, dooming this synergy to Commander. While this innovation has helped speed things up, it appears that Max Speed continues to confuse players.
To try and bring some clarity to the rulings, an MTG designer just clarified a confusing concept for Max Speed. This will have a direct impact on potential Standard shenanigans.
Copying Max Speed Abilities
This Max Speed change, or clarification, will affect how cards gain Max Speed abilities through other additive effects. Don’t worry, copying the Max Speed trigger with effects like Vantress Visions still gives you 2 Speed on one turn. This instead affects how cards like Agatha’s Soul Cauldron gives activated Max Speed abilities to other creatures.
Previously, MTG designer Matt Tibak allegedly stated that, if a creature has an activated ability from Max Speed, cards like Agatha’s Soul Cauldron could give it to other creatures. Following some rules research, it appears that this is not the case.
The clarification appeared on renowned MTG personality Fireshoes‘s Twitter account. Here, it is made explicitly clear that cards that gain a Max Speed ability only do so on the battlefield. This means that even if you have Max Speed, that activated ability will not be granted in other zones like exile or the deck.
Howlsquad Heavy, the best red Limited card in MTG Aetherdrift, is used as an example to demonstrate this. Its activated Max Speed ability adds a red mana for each Goblin you control. Even if you have Max Speed, Howlsquad Heavy will not have this ability when in exile. This means that Agatha’s Soul Cauldron does not recognize the ability, and cannot give the ability to creatures.
Howlsquad Heavy also doesn’t have the Max Speed effect when on top of your library. This means that Conspicuous Snoop cannot gain the mana ability, even if you have Max Speed. Finally, cards that copy the activated abilities of cards in the graveyard, like Necrotic Ooze, cannot gain activated Max Speed abilities in the grave, regardless of your Speed count.
Copying Still Works
Copying a creature, in comparison, can still gain and apply Max Speed abilities. Even if the creature being copied isn’t in play, the copied card is. This means that Max Speed can be recognized, and the ability will be granted to your creature.
Mimeoplasm, Revered One, for example, can gain the Max Speed ability of Howlsquad Heavy if you choose for Mimeoplasm to become a copy of it. This is because Mimeoplasm itself is in play, where Max Speed is recognized. While Mimeoplasm will have the Max Speed ability, the Howlsquad Heavy in exile will not gain the ability because it cannot recognize you have Max Speed.
What Does This Mean?
This is undeniably a nerf for Max Speed enjoyers. Currently, it is unclear if this ruling was actually changed or just clarified. Either way, the ability to move Max Speed abilities to creatures in play from other zones is no longer applicable. Players were experiencing a lot of confusion from trying to apply the rulings on virtual platforms, only for things to play out differently.
This is, honestly, a shame. Max Speed already requires the player to jump through a ton of hoops to make it worthwhile. The reward for getting to Max Speed was just made even more obsolete due to this clarification. Even if players get to use some extra shenanigans, Max Speed is still very difficult to actually acquire. This would have provided more incentive for getting there.
While I am not a fan of this, it does appear that this is how Max Speed was intended to work from the beginning. It’s nice that players have the option to get up to Speed quicker than expected, but what’s the point if the payoff is lackluster?
