Pattern Recognition #201 - Kismet

Features Opinion Pattern Recognition

berryjon

24 June 2021

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Hello everyone! This is Pattern Recognition, TappedOut.Net's longest running article series as written by myself, berryjon. I am something of an Old Fogey who has been around the block quite a few times where Magic is concerned, as as such, I use this series to talk about the various aspects of this game, be it deck design, card construction, mechanics chat, in-universe characters and history. Or whatever happens to cross my mind this week. Please, feel free to dissent in the comments below the article, add suggestions or just plain correct me! I am a Smart Ass, so I can take it.

And welcome back! Today's subject is one that came up for two reasons. The first was that I was bored, and thus was flicking though the Random Card option on Gatherer until I found something interesting.

Look, I admit, I use that far more often than you guys think. But During my search, I was randomly given Kismet, and my thoughts immediately went to the nature of control. And given that I'm designing a set, and that there will inevitably be cards that are designed for this archetype, no matter how much I may dislike feeding the bear, so to speak.

So, I figure, why not talk about one subject and knock a couple of things out of the way in the process? It's convenient, and I think people can weigh in with their own opinions as well. It's only natural and right.

And with that out of the way, let's talk the Kismet and its colour-shifted version from Planar Chaos, the Frozen Aether. These are enchantments that cost (colour for your version) and read: Artifacts, creatures, and lands your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped.

It's a very simple card, and the ability is very simple. Artifacts, Creatures, and Lands that your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped. They come into play tapped.

This simple little effect has collossal affects on the game, and enumerating all the cases will take too long, so let me start with the most important and work my way down from there.

First, in my opinion is Lands. All of your opponents lands come into play tapped with this card, and I'm not just talking about the Shock Lands or the Check Lands or the other lands that can conditionally enter tapped or not. I'm also talking about lands that enter tapped by default, such as the Trinomes, or enter untapped regardless, such as with Fabled Passage, or... I dunno....

Basic Lands.

And now you should begin to understand why I think that this is the most important effect on these two cards, and the one that is most often chopped out when this effect is reprinted. Take, for example, Thalia, Heretic Cathar. She does much of the same thing, but she doesn't affect artifacts, and she doesn't affect Basic Lands either.

Part of this is that Wizards has recognized that if there should be any 'protected' card on the battlefield, it's Basic Lands. They are loathe in general to target lands in any way (DOO EEET!), especially for destruction, and when they do do that, it's usually in such a manner that basics are either ignored or used as a replacement. Cards like Field of Ruin or Cleansing Wildfire destroy a land and replace it with a Basic Land in the process.

But regardless, entering tapped for lands is a huge setback for anyone, as you are effectively denying them a turn in terms of mana production, if not more depending on the card pool you are playing with. In addition, it also shuts down cards like Fabled Passage that still require that they be tapped in order to activate.

Look, messing around with lands is a huge can of worms that Wizards doesn't like to crack open, but when they do, they tend to put it onto cards.

Moving on, the next aspect is Creatures. Having creatures come into play tapped is something of a hit-or-miss option, and that boils down to a single aspect. Well, two actually. Because I like to contradict myself in the same sentence.

The first issue is timing. For the most part, creatures come down on their owners turn, and that means that the player in question will have to wait the full turn cycle before using their creatures for whatever reason. Against Aggro Decks, this, plus the land-tapping is a massive one-two punch to their tempo as they're a turn behind on mana, and a turn behind on being able to swing with their creatures as they come into play tapped as well!

Is it any wonder then, that this specific card, and this effect in general happens mostly in , the colour that is probably the second best at getting the most out of having the opponent's creatures tapped and unable to block? And that it's best for and against ?

Ah, for days when Wizards didn't have to treat the playerbase like idiots who needed to have their hands held with regards to how they wanted the game to be played. There were synergies that made sense, if you only knew how to look.

Regardless, the issue of timing is one that can be easily sidestepped for those that care for such things. To whit, even if you're not playing with a Vedalken Orrery, creatures with Flash, unless you're using them for body-blocking in combat, don't really care when they come down as they tend to have enters-the-battlefield effects that are resolved independently of the status of tapped or untapped.

And honestly, the last time I saw a Rhys the Redeemed Commander deck care about when they made tokens, it was strictly in the end-step of other players turns as they untapped everything they had. Because Seedborn Muse is a good card in 1-v-1, but horrible to play against in a 4-payer game.

KILL IT!

But that's the thing though. Coming into play Tapped has a limited field of usefulness. Not because it's useless, far from it, but rather because being tapped is either not a detriment at all, or because the timing makes it irrelevant.

That's why I place it as being less effective than forcing lands to come into play tapped.

Lastly, Artifacts.

Here, we reach a curious case where we get the worst of creatures and lands, as mana rocks come into play tapped, making them useless, while artifact creatures get the exact same treatment as their non-artifact brethren.

But where things get interesting, and let me pull back the veil on something for the rest of you people who aren't old folks like me. If you know what Mono, Poly and Continuous means, skip ahead. If you don't? Well, are you in for a shock.

Look at Ankh of Mishra - which as a side note, has the Multiverse ID of "1" - that is, it's the first card put into the modern Gatherer system from Limited Edition Alpha. In this case, it is a Continuous Artifact, a card whose effect is always active, regardless of its tapped or untapped state.

A Poly Artifact was an artifact that had an activated ability, one that could be activated as many times as you could pay the cost for it, and it didn't matter if it was tapped or not. And a Mono artifact required that you tap it for its activated ability. Then around Revised, someone realized this was all STUPID, and consolidated the cards into something sane and put the symbol onto Artifacts.

That person gets my thanks.

Compare those previous, misbegotten supertypes to the text on Howling Mine, a card that only works when it is untapped, but has to inherent activated ability. And yes, this does mean that people have done weird things to tap the Howling Mine so their opponent doesn't gain the benefit of them but they do as the card untaps before the draw step. You know, Untap - Upkeep - Draw?

The Improvise Mechanic is the most reliable method for that I've seen, but not the only one.

What I'm trying to say is that outside of Artifact Creatures, which can be filed under Creatures, and Mana Rocks, which can be added into Lands, artifacts don't really care about coming into play tapped. But it's just a comprehensive selection to make things more interesting.

This sort of effect as it were, is a... soft effect. Let me elaborate.

The difference here between how and treats this shared aspect of the Control archetype is in how they approach it. will take the approach of a passive ability, be it on Authority of the Consuls through Blind Obedience. They will, as described elsewhere so I'm just borrowing someone else's words, change the rules of the game. Things come into play untapped? Not any more!

This plays to 's portion of the Colour Pie. Large, sweeping changes to the fundamental functionality of the game, and from there we can see how this contrasts with .

also loves to tap things down, and to be honest, I am surprised by the serious lack of cards that actively share those colours that do this. No, seriously, have a look for yourself. It's silly!

But that's because, I think, that likes to be precise when it does such a thing. It will cast Twiddle, but it won't...

Look, whereas makes sweeping effects the norm, and it does dabble in it relentlessly with Giant Killer] and the like - , when it taps something down, does so with gusto. It makes up for the sheer sweep that its partner in crime and control does, and it has taken up ... let's call it Freezing a card. Where excels at is tapping something down and keeping it tapped. Cards like Frost Breath or Capture Sphere. They tap a creature and it stays tapped, either for a full turn or more with an Instant or Sorcery, or as long as a permanent is in play. But it's precise and direct, which is not how likes to do things.

But together? Nothing is safe. Resource denial and its non-destructive finest. Control writ passive.

And yet, how does this tie into how my set is developing? Well, when I was giving out examples of how I wanted to make my mechanics effective, I created this as a place-holder demonstration:

Uncommon Renown Noble

Creature - Kor Noble
Renown 1 - Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, and it is not Renowned, put 1 +1/+1 counter on it, and it becomes Renowned.
Creatures you control that are Renowned have Flying.
2/2

But, what if I changed that last line to this instead?
Whenever a creature you control becomes Renowned, tap target creature. It doesn't untap as long as you control this creature.

Sure, the phrasing would need work, but this is a synergy between aggro-combat with the Renown mechanic, and Control with the tapping. Obviously more work would need to be done, and I might even bump this up to the Rare Renown Legendary, but it's another stable tool in the toolbox to use. I won't say safe, but it is a recognized factor, and as I'm doing the work of whole teams by myself, anything to ease the burden would be appreciated.

Join me next week when I talk a bit more about my set, and start to work on the Setting Bible, or the background that will help keep the set cohesive and moving in the same direction. And reveal the Planeswalkers! I think you'll enjoy my choices. I think they'll fit right in with the edge of civilization.

Until then please consider donating to my Pattern Recognition Patreon. Yeah, I have a job, but more income is always better. I still have plans to do a audio Pattern Recognition at some point, or perhaps a Twitch stream. And you can bribe your way to the front of the line to have your questions, comments and observations answered!