Why Do Some Creatures Not Place +1/+1 Counters on Themselves?
General forum
Posted on March 30, 2025, 11:56 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
The new canopy gargantuan from Tarkir: Dragonstorm can place +1/+1 counters on other creatures, but not on itself, and it is not the only creature that has that restriction, with Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn being another noteworthy example, and I wonder why those creatures have that restriction; the dragon, at least, is a 7/7 creature with flying and ward 2, but Lathiel is very unremarkable without other creatures on the battlefield, and I understand that cooperation is a major aspect of green/white's color identity, both philosophically and mechanically, but I fail to see why Lathiel could not have the ability to place +1/+1 counters on themselves (is Lathiel male or female?). For this reason, I am very glad that both Archangel of Thune and Shalai, Voice of Plenty are able to place +1/+1 counters on themselves, which is a major part of the reason for which I use both of them in many of my decks.
What does everyone else say, about this? Why do certain creatures not place +1/+1 counters on themselves? Would they be too powerful, if they did so? I certainly am very interested to hear your thoughts, on this matter.
RiotRunner789 says... #3
Having played Lathiel, this would dramatically make the card more powerful. Lathiel already has lifelink and can therefore feed into its ability already. The challenge becomes not having your 2/2 die which becomes less of a problem when it's going to get 10+ counters a turn.
Having something not be able to pump itself is fine, especially if there already a large flying dragon.
March 31, 2025 7:31 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #4
wallisface, RiotRunner789, those explanations make sense.
wallisface says... #2
Not every design has to do the same thing. Cards can try different effects, for flavour or just trying a different design direction (or both). Cards shouldn’t all be the same - it’s the differences that make things interesting.
March 31, 2025 5:49 a.m.