With the sheer volume of new Magic: The Gathering mechanics that are introduced each year due to the current set cadence, it’s no surprise that most are one-and-done affairs. We haven’t seen the likes of Collect Evidence, Crime, or Offspring again since their debuts, for example. While it could be years, if not longer, before these mechanics return, some mechanics are luckier. Last week, among the huge batch of surprise MTG Avatar previews, Wizards revealed that the Exhaust mechanic is coming back already.
First introduced back in February’s Aetherdrift, Exhaust is one of the most interesting mechanics the game has seen in a while. It’s also the rare mechanic that ties into its home set while also being open enough to reappear elsewhere. Clearly, Wizards is taking advantage of this fact already, with a number of new Avatar cards making use of Exhaust. While Mark Rosewater hasn’t confirmed its deciduous status yet, all signs are pointing to Exhaust being part of Magic for the foreseeable future.
The MTG Exhaust Mechanic Is Locking In!
The return of the Exhaust mechanic to MTG was revealed with little fanfare. Last week, after the expected First Look previews for Avatar, we got a huge dump of Beginner Box cards for the set as well. Among this selection were three new cards with Exhaust.
These cards aren’t super-exciting by any means. All three look like bulk Limited commons and little else. That said, the fact that they exist is exciting in its own right, since it means Exhaust will be part of the set in some capacity. When quizzed about these cards on Blogatog, Mark Rosewater confirmed that the mechanic is becoming part of Wizards’ regular toolbox.
“Dude1818: There were a bunch of cards in Avatar previewed this week with exhaust. Is that officially deciduous now?
Mark Rosewater: It’s approaching deciduousness.”
Via Blogatog
For the uninitiated, ‘deciduous’ is a category of mechanic in Magic. Mechanics in this category can be used in sets where appropriate, but generally won’t show up all the time. They stand in contrast to evergreen mechanics, which can be used in any set.
So, Rosewater is saying that Exhaust is close to becoming a mechanic that they roll out every now and then in sets. Of course, the fact that they’re already doing so in Avatar, just nine months after its debut, implies that it’s already there to an extent. It’s possible that Exhaust is just a cameo mechanic in the set, but that seems unlikely. So far, all the mechanical cameos we’ve seen have been on high-rarity cards, not bulk commons.
This is great news, but in many ways it isn’t hugely surprising. Rosewater noted that he “expected to see Exhaust again” back in April. He also mentioned that it had a “decent chance of becoming deciduous” just a couple of weeks ago.
One For The Fans
“It’s been one of the most immediately evocative new abilities I’ve played with since I started playing magic a few years ago.”
Beanwater-blues, via Blogatog
For many MTG players, the fact that the Exhaust mechanic appears to be sticking around is excellent news. This has been one of the better-received mechanics in recent years, for a number of reasons.
For starters, the flavor here is a cunning blend of generality and specificity. In Aetherdrift, Exhaust referred to the exhausts of cars. In other sets, however, it can easily refer to the physical exhaustion of characters instead. The Avatar Exhaust cards are mostly benders, for example, which is a physically and mentally demanding process in-universe. It makes sense to tie it to Exhaust, in other words.
Originally, Wizards was going to call the mechanic Turbo instead, but pivoted to the more widely applicable version we have now. Players have lauded this double-use as “super clever” online, and it’s a big part of the mechanic’s appeal. Past mechanics like Collect Evidence would likely have been better received if similar care had been put into their flavor.
The other major component is, naturally, the gameplay implications. While Exhaust, as some have pointed out, is similar to older mechanics like Adapt and Monstrosity, it brings its own identity to the table as well. Early reactions to the mechanic back in January praised it for opening up new design space for Wizards. While there were some concerns about memory issues, those didn’t really factor in once it was in players’ hands.
Once it was out in the wild, it was well-received, performing very well in Limited and even powering a successful Standard deck for a time. The mechanic doesn’t see a ton of widespread play, a fact undoubtedly not helped by only having 30 playable cards, but Loot, the Pathfinder is a pretty solid cEDH option.
A Fantastic Choice
On a personal level, I’m thrilled that Wizards appears to be pursuing the MTG Exhaust mechanic further. It’s one of the most elegant pieces of design we’ve seen from the company recently, and it opens up a ton of interesting doors for future sets.
Perhaps the best thing about Exhaust is how generic it is. A lot of modern Magic mechanics are parasitic in nature, only playing well with a critical mass of peers. Exhaust, in contrast, works perfectly fine in a vacuum. It really just represents a powerful activated ability, which is something any card or set can have. Of course, this doesn’t mean Wizards can’t print specific Exhaust support cards. What’s important, however, is that the mechanic doesn’t need cards like this to function.
Exhaust is also, surprisingly enough, quite an innately exciting mechanic. Despite being a restriction, strictly worse than the much-bemoaned ‘once per turn,’ Exhaust hits totally differently. Having an ability you can only use once, period, gives it a real sense of weight and gravitas. It also lets Wizards push the boat out further in terms of power level. Loot is the best example of this so far, featuring literal Ancestral Recall as an Exhaust ability.
This restrictive nature is one of Exhaust’s biggest strengths, but paradoxically so is subverting it. Since you can reset Exhaust via blink and bounce effects, it becomes a kind of puzzle to be solved. Mechanics that play well with other Magic elements like this almost always feel richer than those that don’t.
Overall, Exhaust is a stellar mechanic, and I’m excited to see what Wizards does with it next, in Avatar and beyond.
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