Magic’s Color Pie is one of the game’s most vital design features. Yet, at the same time, it’s also one of the most flexible. Countless set-in-stone rules from the dawn of the game have changed over time as things have evolved, letting colors do things their ancestors never would’ve dreamed of. Some of these changes are praised and others are criticized, as is always the way in Magic. In recent sets, we’ve seen one such change happen in real-time. Blue, shuffle-based removal is being trialed in MTG, and Head Designer Mark Rosewater is none too happy about it.
Blue Shuffle-Based Removal In MTG
This discussion actually started back in February, with the release of Murders at Karlov Manor. The set contained a common enchantment called Dramatic Accusation, pictured above. It doesn’t look very exciting, and most wouldn’t consider it at all outside of Limited. The last line of text on this card, however, is actually a major color pie break.
Why is this? Because blue isn’t meant to have access to removal, and that’s essentially what this is. Bounce effects are different since the opponent still has access to the creature in question. Letting blue cards shuffle creatures into the deck breaks this fundamental rule, making Dramatic Accusation much more significant than it seems. When it was first revealed, Tumblr user namagem1 raised the issue on Mark Rosewater’s Blogatog, resulting in the following response:
“That card caused a lot of internal debate, and, I’ll be honest, I’m personally not happy to see it. I don’t think it’s going to be precedent for blue.”
Mark Rosewater
It’s interesting that a card caused so much internal conflict in the first place, and doubly so that the card in question was a Limited role player and not a constructed powerhouse. Despite this statement, it appears that Rosewater has been outvoted when it comes to blue getting shuffle-based removal in MTG. Fast forward to Duskmourn, and Stay Hidden, Stay Silent, another card in the same vein, has been added.
Another Tumblr user, dude1818, immediately noticed that this card’s printing went against Rosewater’s previous statement. They questioned him about it via Blogatog, resulting in a more measured response than last time:
“It’s an ongoing conversation. Blue needs answers in limited. We’re trying to find those in a way that feels blue.”
Mark Rosewater
While it’s too early to say whether this kind of effect is now “precedent” for blue, as Rosewater rallied against originally, it’s certainly being tested further. Stay Hidden, Stay Silent is, admittedly, a lot less aggressively costed than Dramatic Accusation, and therefore less potentially problematic. Even so, the fact that it exists at all is noteworthy given the historical context.
A Question Of Identity
Seeing these two statements side by side, we can make some predictions about the direction blue is headed in Magic. It’s not unreasonable to think that blue shuffle-based removal will become an MTG staple. Especially, as we’ll get into later, the way things are going in general. Is this a good or a bad thing? Well, depends on your perspective.
Color pie purists are, naturally, not too happy about this change. The delicate balance of color abilities, and the idea that by choosing your colors you’re buying into a set of strengths and weaknesses, is fundamental to Magic for some. These are the players who hate seeing black get enchantment removal in recent sets, even if it’s unreasonably expensive.
On the other side of the coin, many players don’t have a problem with it at all. Shuffling cards back into their owners’ decks has always been a blue-coded ability. Typically it was attached to counterspells like Spell Crumple and therefore dodged the ‘technically removal’ issue, but it has been around for a while. This makes the leap to effects like these more palatable since it doesn’t feel totally out of place except for hardcore color pie loyalists.
“I do not think this is particularly egregious?? blue could always mess with creatures like that.”
Tyabann, r/MagicTCG
When phrased like that, outside the context of designer discussions, these cards look a lot more reasonable. It’s also worth bearing in mind that neither is particularly powerful, with Stay Hidden, Stay Silent needing a whopping eight mana to get a creature off the board. As trifas put it in the r/MagicTCG thread discussing this issue, “Breaks are not only about the rules text but also about the rate for getting the ability. Blue shouldn’t be getting the strong removal, but given proper mana cost, it should be ok.”
Bright Blue Horizons
It’s safe to assume that we’ll be seeing more blue shuffle-based removal in the future, then. Perhaps even at better rates than we have so far. It makes sense as part of blue’s disruptive identity since the creatures can eventually return. It also makes sense given just how powerful creatures are in modern Magic.
Obviously, power has been creeping up slowly over time for all 31 years of the game’s life, but things have really kicked into gear recently. Creatures are more resilient than ever before. Even when you can remove them, they often generate enough value merely by entering to be worth their mana cost anyway.
“Haste and ETB effects (and Ward: sacrifice your firstborn) becoming the norm for limited threats indirectly makes Blue’s normal answer of bouncing significantly weaker. It makes sense that it has to start looking for other responses even though it’s another step along the power creep slope.”
DeusAsmoth, r/MagicTCG
Of course, there are always those who prefer to stick to tradition. Some in the discussion thread for this issue pointed out some of the ways that blue generally deals with threats, and how shuffling isn’t entirely necessary. “What happened to counterspells as answers?” asked TheDeadlyCat, prompting a discussion on the merits of such cards. Philosophile42 had a different take:
“Why not just tap down with an enchantment? Or stun counters? Bounce hasn’t been good because of ETBs, but maybe they could explore phasing, or some kind of stealing limited by mana cost or power. It just seems like there are a lot of potential answers.”
Philosophile42, r/MagicTCG
These are reasonable alternatives, of course, and avenues blue has explored in the past. But these new experiments into shuffling imply that they’re not working quite as well as they used to. Magic is always evolving, and changes like this are almost inevitable. Especially in Limited, where every single card factors into balancing, unlike in constructed.
For now, this is largely a Limited problem and a philosophical one at that. That may not be the case forever, though. Stay Silent, Stay Hidden is one example, but Duskmourn is also bringing us Floodpits Drowner, a much, much more efficient version of the effect at uncommon. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself shuffling a lot more in Standard soon.
Read More: Lack of MTG Duskmourn Curse May Be Thanks to Scrapped Mechanic
