Sometimes, when playing Magic on a digital platform, you can experience some oddities that would never occur in paper. A common example, especially on Magic Online, is when a card is bugged.
As many know well, bugs are nothing new to Magic Online or MTG Arena. Sometimes, bugs can have major effects on the outcome of a game. Just recently, a powerful Pauper staple got temporarily banned during the holidays as it didn’t function correctly.
Yesterday, one player discovered a rather unusual bug associated with one of the strongest cards in Modern. This bug only makes the card even more powerful than it should be under normal circumstances. If you’re looking to boot up Magic Online in the near future, it’s good to be aware of what’s going on.
Ocelot Pride Gets Better
The card in question that was affected by the bug is none other than Ocelot Pride. This Energy staple can run away with the game if left unchecked. You’ll flood the board with tokens once you get the City’s Blessing.
This brings us to the issue brought up with Ocelot Pride on Magic Online. The City’s Blessing specifically counts the number of permanents you control. However, one player noticed that they were given the City’s Blessing with only nine permanents in play alongside the day/night tracker associated with cards like Graveyard Trespasser.
From the looks of the picture posted on Twitter, the player attacked with Ocelot Pride with exactly eight permanents in play. Then, Ocelot Pride’s ability triggered at their end step. They created a Cat token (ninth permanent), then another Cat token via City’s Blessing when they shouldn’t have Ascended in the first place.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a relatively minor bug, especially because Ocelot Pride’s most popular homes (like Modern Energy shells) don’t typically utilize cards with the day/night mechanic. Still, this bug can easily come up again in environments like Vintage Cube, where it’s not uncommon to draft Ocelot Pride and Reckless Stormseeker when playing Boros.
Other Potential Issues?
While the only bug reported thus far has specifically involved Ocelot Pride and the day/night indicator, it wouldn’t be shocking if players ran into similar issues involving other cards. For instance, if the day/night tracker is being counted as a permanent for the sake of Ocelot Pride, it’s possible other cards that rely on total permanent count may be affected. Regal Bunnicorn is an example that also sees Constructed play.
Beyond that, seeing if any other indicators pose problems will be interesting. Imagine if a player’s Energy counter ends up causing them to reach the City’s Blessing ahead of schedule, too. This could have a big impact in Modern events on the platform, considering Guide of Souls and Ocelot Pride are often featured in the same decks.
Of course, anything beyond the day/night bug is speculative. Regardless, it’s worth looking out for any other potential bugs that arise. For now, if you enjoy playing with Ocelot Pride or transforming Werewolves, it’s important to be weary of this bug moving forward.
