Gavin Verhey asked Twitter for questions on Core Set 2021 and used today’s episode of Good Morning Magic to answer them.
Verhey covers a wide rang of questions ranging from how the rare cycle of lands is determined, whether phasing is coming back after Core Set 2021, basic land art decisions, and the origin story behind Jumpstart and why it is only in English.
Specific questions got more details like how cards are chosen to be reprinted. The cards often are needed for availability in older formats, need to be appropriate for Standard, and the interactions with cards in future Standard sets also have to be considered.
Verhey broke down why Ugin, the Spirit Dragon didn’t get the vertical card cycle with showcase frames like the other planeswalkers. Firstly, a cycle for Ugin would mean having more colorless cards which aren’t great for teaching new players about color identity. Secondly, it would require a Wastes reprint which wasn’t something they wanted in the set.
The video wraps up with some lore on Tinybones, Trinket Thief and its art description.