Recurring Insight: City Of Brass
The Arabian Nights MTG set introduced a powerful new land that could tap for any color of mana…for a price. Patrick Sullivan explores the history and design of City of Brass.
AuthorPatrick Sullivan
Patrick Sullivan is a game designer for Dire Wolf Digital. His resume boasts four Grand Prix Top 8s, a slew of SCG Tour® top 8s (including a win), and an SCG Invitational Top 8 in Indianapolis. He is also one of the most celebrated faces in Magic commentary for his work on SCGLive.
Recurring Insight: Death’s Shadow
Patrick Sullivan analyzes the history and MTG Design behind a card that defined a whole archetype — Death’s Shadow!
Recurring Insight: Siege Rhino
What makes a Standard MTG format great? Patrick Sullivan analyzes a key card behind Khans of Tarkir Standard’s sterling reputation: Siege Rhino.
Recurring Insight: Vindicate
Invasion block was full of gold MTG cards, but one from Apocalypse stood out from the crowd. Patrick Sullivan looks back at the simple yet stunning Vindicate.
Sullivan’s Satchel: Noncreature Tokens, Multicolor Lands, And Odric, Blood-Cursed’s Text Box
Patrick Sullivan answers mailbag questions on Blood and Treasure tokens, designing MTG lands for aggro decks, and why that huge text box on Odric, Blood-Cursed is a problem.
Recurring Insight: Fevered Visions
Most MTG cards that look as if they are symmetrical are nothing of the kind. Patrick Sullivan looks back at a rare exception with true symmetry: Fevered Visions.
Recurring Insight: Boros Charm
Two mana, three options, four damage. Patrick Sullivan breaks down the card that puts the Boros in Modern MTG’s Boros Burn: the one and only Boros Charm.
Sullivan’s Satchel: Sweepers, Wall Of Omens, And Designing Hate Cards
Patrick Sullivan answers mailbag questions on why sweepers tend to concentrate in one color, why Wall of Omens isn’t that great, and why MTG hate cards can become oppressive in their own right.
Recurring Insight: Mutavault
Creature-lands add a ton of depth to Magic, but which one earned PSulli’s highest marks? Patrick Sullivan analyzes the history and MTG Design behind the best-designed creature-land of all time — Mutavault.
Sullivan’s Satchel: Casual Play Design Team, NBA Jerseys, And Mechanics Players Dislike
Patrick Sullivan answers mailbag questions on Magic’s Casual Play Design team, his Top 5 NBA jerseys, and why competitive MTG players disliked miracle so much.
Recurring Insight: Parallax Wave
Remember fading? Patrick Sullivan analyzes the history and MTG design of a card designed to have drawbacks but instead became a flexible catch-all — Parallax Wave.
Sullivan’s Satchel: Restricting Cards, Splice Onto Arcane, And Fun Ways To Lose
Patrick Sullivan answers mailbag questions on banning versus restriction, whether Splice onto Arcane could ever work, and why some ways to lose are just more fun.
Recurring Insight: Lion’s Eye Diamond
Wizards of the Coast tried “fixing” Black Lotus…but still ended up printing a broken card. Patrick Sullivan looks back on the once-reviled, now-revered Lion’s Eye Diamond.
Recurring Insight: Thalia, Guardian Of Thraben
Cheap legendary creatures are hard to balance. Patrick Sullivan analyzes a key example of a cheap legendary creature done well: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben.
Sullivan’s Satchel: Devoid, Ingest, and Doing Color Commentary
Patrick Sullivan answers mailbag questions about devoid and ingest as mechanics, bannings in Standard, and how to do color commentary in Magic.