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Mark Rosewater tweeted about infect, the new Scars of Mirrodin mechanic. We have collected them, as well as those that were Q&A between him and someone else. Enjoy!
Let's begin by recapping for those that don't know what I'm talking about. Yesterday, we had a little spoiler on magicthegathering.com. - Link
There was a picture of a ten-sided die at the bottom of all the articles. If you clicked it, it started counting up. When it got to 10... - Link
It revealed a new mechanic from Scars of Mirrodin: Infect. - Link
Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.) - Link
For those that don't know, the game has a rule that says if you have 10 poison counters, you lose the game. - Link
A few points I've been dying to make since we revealed this yesterday: 1) Infect is not strictly better than wither. - Link
Creatures with wither damage players. Creatures with infect don't. Thus a creature with wither has +'s and -'s over a creature with infect. - Link
Technically, creatures with infect do damage players. It's just in the form of poison counters. - Link
Creatures with infect damage planeswalkers as normal because only damage to players is in the form of poison counters. - Link
Why didn't we use poisonous? We did. Scars design started with poisonous. It wasn't working like we needed it to. - Link
For flavor reasons, we added wither to all the poison creatures but it was awkward as the two abilities don't work the same. - Link
We decided to change poisonous to a mechanic that lined up with how wither worked. Damage turned into poison. - Link
We then decided it was dumb to have every creature have this new poison ability and wither so we combined them into a single ability. - Link
This, by the way, does not mean wither is dead as a mechanic. Wither could very well come back one day all by itself. - Link
Note that the ability is infect not infest. I can't explain why right now but check out a dictionary for a clue on what's going on in Scars. - Link
I'm not going to answer rules questions for two reasons. 1) I'm not supposed to and 2) I suck at the rules. - Link
I will point out though that all damage to players by a creature with infect is dealt in poison counters. *All* damage. - Link
The first set I tried to put poison in as a major element of the set was Tempest. That was 13 years ago! - Link
My first Scars article is going to be all about the journey of poison. It is long and twisted. The story not my article. - Link
Will poison play a major role in the block? Yes. Will it have an impact on limited? Yes. Might you die to poison in the next year? YES! - Link
I'm not at liberty to explain why infect is in the set from a big picture standpoint but once all is revealed you will see it's important. - Link
Older creatures with poison will not be errattaed to have infect. - Link
Here's a factoid to discuss among yourselves: I personally despise the card Leeches. - Link
One of the goals of making poison work was making sure that it wasn't just another life total. - Link
Infect also fixes another major problem with poison, that the creatures tended to kill you with damage before they killed you with poison. - Link
The other thing I love about infect is how it interacts so nicely with many other factes of the game that pump power. - Link
When a 1/1 that gave you 1 poison attacked, you just weren't worried unless you already had 9 poison. - Link
Infect is parasitic in that it likes playing with other infect creatures but as I just explained it als combos with a lot of "normal" Magic. - Link
Be aware that the set's design is very much aware of infect. There just might be a few things stuck in to help you get your opponent to 10. - Link
The thing I enjoy most about infect is that it makes poison scary. I remember a playtest I had 4 poison & was attacked with a 1/1 infect. - Link
I realized I was honestly panicked. I wasn't sure what to do. Infect adds a lot of unpredictability that old poison lacked. - Link
I'll take a few questions. Be aware that there is a lot I can't say. Also, I do not have a preview card to show you today. Sorry. - Link
Q&A
@Trigunner @maro254 Will Poisonous be errataed so its a replacement effect or will it remain a triggered ability? How about creatures like Marsh Viper? - Link
@Trigunner As far as I know (and I don't know much ruleswise) we are doing nothing to change old cards with poison. They are what they are. - Link
@Dr_Jeebus @maro254 Were creatures with infect required to be costed like creatures with double strike,as they both effectively target a 10 life total? - Link
@Dr_Jeebus You are asking me a development question. Infect was costed to be good but fair. - Link
@Milky_Joe2158 @maro254 how long have u known scars would be the return of poison - Link
@Milky_Joe2158 I knew Scars was going to be the return of poison for many years, but I'd tried many times before so who knew if I'd succeed. - Link
@jakpul @maro254 will there be auras that give infect to a creature? if you can't answer, am i right that the poison part is basically poison x? - Link
@jakpul Will there be ways to grant things infect? Maybe. :) - Link
@pirsqed @maro254 Has Infect changed what pump cards you were willing to print? - Link
@pirsqed Yes, infect has very much affected what development could do in sets around it. - Link
@elektrotal @maro254 if i giant growth a 1/1 infect, you get four poison counters? - Link
@elektrotal Yes, if you Giant Growth a 1/1 with infect, it will give the defending player 4 poison if it damages them. - Link
@greatseth @maro254 I don't like how poison counters change an otherwise consistent fundamental rule of the game. it's a wart. - Link
@greatseth Magic is a game of change. Give Scars a try. I think you might actually like it. - Link
@YomuYume @maro254 Do you think we'll see a infest deck in standard? or do you think it will go like cascade and only see one or two cards played? - Link
@YomuYume I have no ability to gauge what will or won't be in Standard. I can say I hope infect shows up. - Link
@surmem @maro254 Will there be interesting ways to combat Infect in the set? - Link
@surmem Obviously every element of the game needs answers. Removing poison counters though might not be that answer. - Link
@BakabakaDesign @maro254 I guess poison counters will still be unaffected by things that add or remove counters (Power Conduit, Doubling Season)? - Link
@BakabakaDesign I suggest waiting and seeing what else the set has to offer. - Link
Infect (and wither) is rather good against creatures with indestructible. Just a little factoid to mull over. No reason I mentioned it. - Link
@jsmu @maro254 how does infect interact with trample? Where is infect in the color pie? How much infect cards will be in the set? - Link
@jsmu How does infect interact with Blah? Just like it interacts with any normal creature damage. - Link
@MikeXIV @maro254 aside from you, who in R&D was rooting for poison all these years? Who kept shooting it down? - Link
@MikeXIV I will explain all in my column. Let's say that my passion for poison was not shared by all. - Link
So many of you want answers about how we are doing things. For those answers, you are going to have to wait and see the set. - Link
I have to go write my article, so let me leave you with one last tease. - Link
When we made Mirrdon many years ago, we had the story of Scars in our mind. What happens in Scars is foreshadowed in Mirrodin block. - Link
