Why Are the New Constellation Creatures Not Enchantments, Themselves?
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Jan. 4, 2020, 1:05 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
I am very glad to see that the constellation mechanic is returning in Theros: Beyond Death, but, thus far, the two creatures that have it are not enchantments, themselves, which means that they do not synergize with themselves, meaning that it shall be more difficult to derive maximum utility from them.
I am very displeased by that, since WotC in recent years has been excellent with printing cards that synergize with themselves, most notably Rhox Faithmender , Archangel of Thune , The Locust God , and the first three versions of Niv-Mizzet.
What does everyone else say about this? Why are the new creatures with constellation not enchantments, themselves?
DemonDragonJ says... #4
xtechnetia, yes, that may be true, but it means that they cannot form a combo with Rite of Replication , which can be done with all the creatures that had constellation in the original Theros block.
January 4, 2020 10:13 a.m.
Gidgetimer says... #5
Is there a reason that you feel Constellation creatures must form a combo with Rite of Replication ? It is a different design, that is closer to Argothian Enchantress . It isn't even a strictly worse design. With them not triggering themselves it allows them to print stronger Constellation abilities at lower costs. Argothian Enchantress doesn't trigger itself, but being 2 mana makes it playable in a tier 3 Legacy deck instead of being played in only casual decks like Eidolon of Blossoms .
January 4, 2020 11:34 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
Gidgetimer, I am not saying that they must, I am simply saying that it would be nice, akin to how I dearly wish that WotC would print a creature version of Warstorm Surge , because of how awesome a combo such a card would be with Rite of Replication .
January 4, 2020 11:41 p.m.
Gidgetimer says... #7
If you don't think they must synergize with copy effects, why are you trying to use it as a counterpoint to xtechnetia's well reasoned response to the question you posed?
The points already made point to a larger reason that WotC didn't make them enchantments. To open up design space. There are 18 enchantments with Constellation on them and WotC probably felt that there was not enough design space left to create enough new ones to be interesting. So they expanded the design space by allowing the ability word to go on non-enchantment permanents. Now they can experiment with more powerful abilities or abilities that would not work if on an enchantment. "It would be nice" is not a reason to stagnate design.
January 5, 2020 1:44 a.m.
triproberts12 says... #9
I think it would make the mechanic a bit too parasitic. If it's better to just play all the constellation cards with each other, rather than pair them with a broader swath of enchantments, all the decks will begin to look the same, like the days of Wet Mardu and 7 flavors of Abzan when Wizards printed a fetch/shock manabase into a 3-color block standard.
January 5, 2020 11:37 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
triproberts12, I actually believe that that would make them less parasitic, but that is merely my opinion.
xtechnetia, Gidgetimer, perhaps WotC deliberately did that specifically so that they could not be abused with Rite of Replication ?
January 6, 2020 10:03 p.m.
triproberts12 says... #11
DemonDragonJ , Maro confirms the parasitism is the case. Found the article on The Mothership just this afternoon, but Maro talks a lot on his podcast about parasitic mechanics, so it seemed on brand to me.
xtechnetia says... #2
It would probably make little difference to have the Wayfarer (note: no card link is available atm) self-synergize, as its buff is temporary and it is subject to summoning sickness like most creatures.
However, for Setessan Champion , making it also an enchantment would make it akin to the planeswalker design so many of us despise. It would essentially instantly replace itself (making removal a downtrade in cards) and, outside of responding to the ETB trigger, would be difficult to handle with red removal.
Which is fine on its own for a 3 drop, I guess, but this particular one doesn't stop growing and drawing cards. Meaning that it already generated value even if instantly answered, and runs away with the game if not instantly answered - exactly like some other planeswalker we know too well .
The examples you gave of things like the archangel and Niv are 5-6 mana, which is, I'd say, a much fairer mana cost for permanents that both generate immediate value and run away with the game if not answered quickly.
January 4, 2020 2:27 a.m.