Wizards reasoning behind dumb commons
General forum
Posted on Nov. 9, 2012, 2:05 a.m. by The_Darkhorse
Why does Wizards print cards like Pillarfield Ox when its obvious theres no reason to play them?
AeternusEclipse says... #3
They want to not only appeal to all sorts of formats (even formats you and your friends can make), they want to fill the gaps. They have to make cards that are both good and bad, to teach newer players what is good vs not good. Obviously Pillarfield Ox might help in a draft or sealed event, but no in any other type of sanctioned format.
November 9, 2012 2:12 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #4
1) Flavor. Commons are a great way to establish the flavor and background of a set within the game itself (as opposed to using external materials like novels).
2) Balance. Not every card should be a powerhouse. There will need to be bad cards to balance the good. You can't print 200+ bombs in a set because it degrades the game and the quality of everything. A lot of cards are good because they're better than other cards; take that away and you suddenly have mediocre everything and a broken game.
3) Someone out there plays them. Pauper and peasant are formats, and lots of casual players don't have the time or budget to devote to making a $200 deck with all the relevant rares and mythics. Commons and uncommons are still fun to play, given the right setting. Also, limited pretty much comes down to the synergy you can squeeze out of your commons (assuming you don't open every bomb in the set and win anyway).
November 9, 2012 2:16 a.m.
ChaosParadox says... #5
my god, you have inspired me to make an ox deck, please people help me in this journey!! i need to know more ox cards
November 9, 2012 2:17 a.m.
Every Ox card:
November 9, 2012 2:23 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
@ChaosParadox: There are only 7. List of Oxen in MTG.
November 9, 2012 2:24 a.m.
ChaosParadox says... #8
hmm 3color deck, 7 cards. that would be 28 if i had all of them. i wonder what spells would fit in an ox deck lol
November 9, 2012 2:25 a.m.
Epoch - Hive Mind
Chaos - Some ideas could be Phantasmal Image , Phyrexian Metamorph , Clone , Chromatic Lantern , Coat of Arms , Door of Destinies
November 9, 2012 2:27 a.m.
gatherer on ox cards, unfortunately foxes snuck in and I'm too lazy to figure out how to get them out of the search, but it's only 2 pages of cards.
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?page=0&type=+%5Box%5D+%5BCreature%5D%7C%7Csubtype=+%5Box%5D
As for why bad cards exist here's a recent article by MARO.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/218
November 9, 2012 2:29 a.m.
I recently read that article and was gonna find the link and post it but got to the very end and saw that Demarge had beaten me to it. It is a great article for understanding exactly what you are asking and does a much better job than anyone here could hope to explain without writing an article themselves.
November 9, 2012 3:35 a.m.
cartwheelnurd says... #12
back to the main point:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mr5
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/ld/164
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/218
Read
November 9, 2012 8:48 a.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #13
Pillarfield Ox is actually really awesome in Limited play. Zendikar Limited was extremely fast with lots of small creatures, and his 4 toughness made him really good for combat, both attacking and blocking. In M13 Limited, if you're able to pull together enough Exalted his toughness also makes him a very good lone attacker, and your opponent will probably have to gang-block to get rid of him.
November 9, 2012 9:26 a.m.
U/W is also always a good combination pairing and there will always be cards like Twisted Image .
November 9, 2012 1:53 p.m.
Also, please remember that a deck of just Pillarfield Ox win's against the deck of just Jace, the Mind Sculptor every time (Assume there is also land). Important stuff, important stuff.
November 9, 2012 2:54 p.m.
Twisted Image was amazing with Precursor Golem ... just saying.
PasorofMuppets says... #2
I imagine part of it is that without stuff that seem like duds, awesome things wouldn't seem as powerful. If everything was great then they would be forced to make a few things "greater" and so on. I believe that's called power creep.
There are also cards that are really shitty in constructed but absolute houses in limited forums like drafting or sealed. And then you even need cards that are passable in limited, I imagine Pillarfield Ox falls into that category.
November 9, 2012 2:12 a.m.