MTG head designer Mark Rosewater said Sylvan Anthem’s cost or effect would be tweaked
Wizards of the Coast has revealed a bunch of brand new Magic: The Gathering cards that will be legal in Modern Constructed format, and there are pretty powerful ones that will most likely make an impact in the Modern meta, so fans are concerned that some of the new cards may be too powerful, just like how the first Modern Horizons set introduced Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis and got banned in the format just a few months after it was released.
History may repeat itself, and one of the most talked-about cards that has a high potential of being “broken” is Sylvan Athem, a two-to-cast green Enchantment that gives green creatures you control +1+1, and reads “Whenever a green creature enters the battlefield under your control, scry 1”.
It turns out that there appears to be a dispute over the design of Sylvan Anthem, and Magic head designer Mark Rosewater recently opened up about it on his Blogatog.
“I do want to say one other thing about Sylvan Anthem,” Rosewater wrote. “I’ve been talking a lot about whether its effects are in color pie or not. (They are.) There is another conversation about rate – is it too strong given where the color sits in the color pie for that effect.? The Council of Colors, for example, did think it was too strong, but the Council sets color pie (what colors can do), not rate (how powerful it is for its cost).”
Given that the rate is intrinsically tied to color pie, perhaps the Council of Colors should have a stronger say on the rate of cards.
“I do think if we had the card to do over again, either it’s cost or effect would be tweaked,” Rosewater added.
Being able to boost all green creatures you control by 1 power and toughness while giving you the ability to scry 1 when a green creature enters the battlefield under your control, provides so much value for a card that costs only two mana.
Do you think Sylvan Anthem is too powerful in Modern? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
If you’re excited for Modern Horizons 2, you can now preorder Draft Boosters, Collector Boosters, Set Boosters, and Bundles online .
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4 New Modern Horizons 2 Magic: The Gathering Dragons Revealed
Modern Horizons 2 is scheduled to release on June 18, 2021. The official preview season for Modern Horizons 2 is set to begin, and you can check out the list of outlets where you can find them here. You can check out spoiler section here.
