@@retroprogamer7009 or just "if this." I don't think there is a need to specify what it is. "This" seems like it would be hard to misinterpret, especially when it's about it entering.
Or put up an overhead scanner that also shows cool animated versions of your cards on the battlefield on a screen. You could even make it enormous and stream the games on television, maybe even have a city wide tournament!
@@sirix500111 Let's see if a young and orphaned ceo manages to create hard-light holograms for the sole reason of playing Card Games in the future. Bonus points if he regularly has beef against a kid with weird hair.
Yeah, I thought he was being serious at first and then I started to get it was a joke. But then again, I always have a tough time picking up on sarcasm. :P
Hopefully we don't end up like Yu-Gi-Oh where.. it takes up a whole card reading the entire freaking paragraph of effects..... Yu-Gi-Oh is kind of known for... Is entire. Paragraph worth of effects...
Just call him Byrke 1, and then a future version can be Byrke 2. If we're sacrificing flavor to save card space then legendary names seem like an easy place to start.
Hello fellow American this you should vote me I leave power. Good thank you, thank youuu. If you vote me I'm hot. Taxes, they'll be lower. Son. The democratic vote for me is right thing to do Philadelphia. So do.
The funny thing is, hearthstone already solved this problem. "Battlecry" is a keyword in hearthstone that means "when this creature enters the field from your hand." ETB triggers are so common that it really should have been key-worded by now. Just like with other keywords, commons can have the full rules text in brackets to help new players learn, while rares and mythics don't need the rules text so they can save space. You can imagine it would be something like: Impact: gain 2 life. _(Impact means this ability triggers when this permanent enters the battlefield.)_
That's not a bad idea, but it would require breaking the convention of ability words not having rules meaning, since what you're describing is an ability word rather than a keyword. That might set a bad precedent for making lesser experienced players memorize more interactions (even if some of the printings have reminder text). For example, "Landfall" by itself doesn't have any special meaning in the rules, which is why you see all printings say "Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control target opponent ... etc." rather than "Landfall: target opponent ... etc." Landfall is obviously a well known and loved mechanic, but imagine seeing "Converge: Draw X cards" or "Inspired: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature" on some random rares and mythics.
@@tyronium6950 It does break convention, but there's a big difference between abilities like and landfall and ETB triggers: namely, those other ability only pop up in specific sets while ETB triggers are in every set. Not only that, but they're on a lot of cards in every set. It would be an issue if wizards did this with every ability, but I think ETB triggers are so ubiquitous that it makes perfect sense for them to be the exception.
@@tyronium6950 Rather than giving an ability word meaning, I'd say it's creating a new category of keyword - a trigger keyword, in the same category as keyword actions. Theoretically, it's a word you could also see used inside an ability keyword.
Hahahaha, I do the same. And replace "into the battlefield" for "into play". As for shortening... "destroy target creature, it cannot be regenerated" turns into "bury target creature" in my proxies.
Real talk I would really love it if they changed "library" to "deck". I already sub out the term whenever I'm reading off a card. Library is just such a mouthful.
I also often say "deck" instead of library (which in my language would be even longer: Bibliothek). However "deck" is already being used in (non-silver border) rules text, for example in the companion requirements, or when you can use an unusual amount of a certain cards, such as Relentless Rats.
I don’t know how it would work but a collaboration with TeirZoo and Tolarian Community College would be amazing. Maybe a Pangolin or Coyote video would work?
The one change I'd be fine with them going with. Although I would like them to keep the term "library," if only as a neat flavour thing. We're meant to be Planeswalkers summoning all manner of creatures and casting spells, after all. That said, if they do go with "deck" instead, isn't the end of the world either.
At least we all know what it is. It was honestly a good change that didn't make the understanding of cards any more difficult. WOTC adding two paragraphs to each card for something that's supposed to be a keyword is a better idea?
I never knew that people disliked this change until today and I don't really understand why. Even before the word change, a majority of players were abbreviating "graveyard" to GY in online environments in the ygo community. So it's not like it would've caused any confusion
Yu-Gi-Oh having it's primary competitive format be something like Legacy has seemingly accelerated it ahead of MtG on the need to reduce the game to a power creep slot machine showdown. Every card needs 3 effect, which make it free, a plus on cards, and some benefit when/if it leaves play.
@@martinapochgallegos8949 Is there an in-game reason why it can't be simply "this"? Isn't the object (eg this card, this spell, this creature etc.) implied by the phase of the game?
@@aoay I think being named is relevant as a defining characteristic. Otherwise the self reference could run into problems for example with copying effects.
There's actually precedent for it now, actually. All of the Offspring cards in Bloomburrow say "this creature" when referring to itself in its ability, so it's possible they may be willing to move that direction for more cards in the future
@@aoay Had the same idea. Leaving the name out completely would require a new rule, mutilating it might lead to unwantend interactions with other cards that bear the legends name. But simply saying this as a self-reference should work.
@@faridrodriguez4696 Nadu's original text should sum this up: "Creatures you control have 'whenever an ability targets this creature, reveal the top card of your library. Put it onto the battlefield if it's a land card. Otherwise, put that card into your hand. This ability triggers only twice each turn' "
Also: when suggesting the new text for Proft's Eidetic Memory, the "combat on your turn" turned into "combat" which is relevant because there are ways to draw cards during an opponent's turn that should not trigger the counter effect.
By the thumbnail, I wasnt sure if this video was going to talk about the shortening of keywords, or the hot new game mode of Redacted/Sharpie Cube (or whatever people are calling the "erase lines from cards" meme mode)
was honestly expecting an interesting video about the ways we can improve card text, supported by the profs experience as an english teacher. Didnt expect an unfunny meme video shitting on the efforts of the design team to keep the game readable.
Such a "modest proposal". As a programmer I can actually read those cards. I think triggered abilities should use an arrow instead of a comma, a double-struck E for enters, and we can use set notation to list conditions. So Byrke becomes: Vig 𝔼 ⇒ put a +1/+1 ≤ 2 crts Crts ∈ (ur, w/ a +1/+1) atk ⇒ x2 its +1/+1s. Thassa's Oracle is now (double bar arrow implies trigger, single bar is if/then implication): 𝔼 ⇒ look X(top deck), X == Devotion({U}). Put (≤1, top deck), (rest, rand bot deck). X > size(deck) → win. Truly a formatting system to Niv Mizzet's taste.
I know this is a joke, but half of these don’t feel like jokes, and it also reminds me of how Yu-Gi-Oh cards got so long that they started calling the graveyard the GY
Keep in mind Yugioh is a Japanese game first. Japanese language and alphabet is way shorter, even more so with the use of kanjis. It is that way, because it is designed for that language first. The english translation just have to adapt the way they can.
You are totally right professor. But we solved this problem of representing logics long ago, it’s called math. We can therefore just represent your cards, so that for example memory would become something like: ETB = d1, H = inf, +1/+1cCY = dT-1. Leaving much more space for more rules text, saving wizards to have to reprint in every langauge, and most importantly making the game much easier to understand!
Snark aside, I _am_ surprised that we're still printing out the full names of cards in text boxes, especially in the age of abundant legendary creatures with long names + titles. "When enters..." would be very readable and more consistent across cards.
One of the cards is going to be "Professor's Warning", but using one of Prof's "Don't buy secret lair" thumbnails as the art with his horribly angrified face on it.
I cannot put into words how much I hate "enters". It sounds so lazy. Why doesn't WotC just keyword ETB and LTB effects? Call it Arrival and Departure. Arrival: Something Happens. Departure: Something Else Happens. It's so much cleaner and more elegant than "enters".
Hasbro: if we replace the rules text with a QR code, then we can sell advertising space on the website the rules text is found on, and get even more money!
In the digital card game legends of Runeterra the creatures would reference to themselves by using the first person and saying things like “when i attack draw a card.“
It’s honestly like a kick to the nuts of my soul seeing what this game has become. My excitement for any new product is non existent because it’s either way too expensive or impossible to actually get my hands on at my LGS
@@xolotltolox7626 I got pretty excited when I got Yargle and Multani. Outside of that, not really, you are probably right, but they are nice to use when teaching people or for really casual settings. And they are a useful tool for providing flavor about the world/story.
"Enters" is a bit weird, but I honestly wouldn't object to "On ETB" (or "Battlecry", lol) being a keyphrase. I also find "when does xyz" a bit weird--if your opponent plays a Byrke, your Byrke's ETB doesn't trigger. And there's a whole ton of rules to get name-changing effects to play nicely with abilities with cardname. So, genuine question, why not template it as "When this enters the battlefield"?
We kid, but now I wonder if "this spell" or "this card" would make cards with super long names easier to read. Or at least save enough space for delicious flavor text.
@tlblitz42 It's interesting because my fondness for the templating as is really wars with my approval of the practicality of a lot of these. The battlefield being the only place a thing can enter, and both that and 'this creature' are intuitive for new players to pick up on (perhaps counter to entrenched players' intuitions for the former, who can kinda fall victim to being too clever by half). I get the sense that I'll approve a lot of the changes they tinker with in isolation, but the question as always is how far they'll take it and how vital that space is for card design.
Magic is built a lot like computer code. Using “this card” is non-specific and can introduce weird game implications. For instance if you copy an effect that says “this card” does the effect apply to the copied card or just the original card since the original text says this card. They’d have to make a new rule for that.
As a Hearthstone player beforehand, I did thing that "When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, do X" was needlessly long and clunky for such a common effect, especially when the card had a long name. Double especially when a card like "Bob, the Guy With a Long Title" gets written as "When Bob enters the battlefield" That being said, "When CARDNAME enters" feels like the worst way to shorten that. I feel like either embracing 'this' with "when this enters the battlefield", or keyphrase it with something like "Enter the Battlefield - do X"
@@rotaryking100 That's great for existing players that have the knowledge of the preexisting templates, but an acronym like ETB is very opaque for new players
@@nahguacm a new player already has so much to learn. Explaining what ETB means and explaining menace to a new player really requires no additional effort.
@@zappyxp1575 I'm not opposed yo keywording it, but a good keyword should be pretty self-explanatory. A new player will quickly understand the gist of Flying or First Strike, and will be unlikely to forget what they mean, because they do what they sound like. To a new player, 'ETB' is just three random letters.
Ya know what’s funny? I always have to find a card that DOES explain what a treasure, food, clue, etc., token does because there are so many different things to learn
You’re playing a match at your LGS when you need to make a judge call. The resident rules expert simply points to a newly hung sign with a QR code and the words “scanning the QR code explains the card.” Hesitantly, you grab your phone and point it as directed. A webpage opens in your browser. It’s Scryfall.
I am once again reminded that Wizards could help reduce power creep, complexity creep, and product fatigue all at once by reducing the frequency new sets are released at.
WHAT? Reducing the FOMO ? (Fear Of Missing Out == fear of missing the train and not-buying) Are you __crazy__ ? You would reduce the quarterly profit spreadsheet! Don't you dare try to prove that infinite growth is impossible! /s
I feel like just being disciplined enough to not completely fill up the text box would help too. It seems like a reasonable constraint, and maybe squeezing a couple of extra letters of space out of it isn't actually necessary or a good thing. In this case, even just giving up on the pun and giving the card a shorter name would've solved the problem for the example card.
@@marcoottina654 FOMO is based on how often they STOP selling products, not star. Those two things are completely unrelated as shown in hearthstone. Where you can still buy every single set for the same cost it had on release no exceptions. Despite new sets often being released.
@@algotkristoffersson15 It's where a company releases so many products that customers get overwhelmed and tired from it. It's most relevant for companies like Wizards of the Coast where they are encouraging people to pay close attention to everything they make. Not everyone gets product fatigue, but I personally have met a lot of people online and in person complaining they are fatigued from how many Magic sets are produced.
All creatures gets +1 +1 = continuous effect card All creatures gets +1 +1 counters = even if the card transforms the +1 +1 counters stay on the creature Big difference here this is why we have to be careful with short text or text words on cards
I could see the card name in text boxes being replaced with "this". "When this enters, do a thing. Then this can fight up to one target creatures." Especially with the longer card games, like Byrke. And, for bonus points, it makes Mutate slightly easier to understand!
When Frost Lynx enters, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step Or in hearthstone terms Battlecry : freeze enemy minion
I'm just about to say the same. It's not only fewer words but also less confusion, because referring by name could be interpreted as referring to every card with the same name
A card made today with that ability (made today, so printed in a while, after the Foundations changes) would read "when this creature enters, tap target creature an opponent controls and put a stun counter on it". I'd say it's pretty short, considering it _has_ to be accurate (as this game is often played by humans, not by software).
Why did you make this whole rambling video? This whole meeting could have been an email saying: "Why use lot word when few word do trick, which let put more word on"
@@TheRedKnightOfPain Um yeah no, that is not a good reason. Anything can carry racist overtones even....kindred. When a Native America says to me he's from the Navajo tribe, should I correct him and say "no, you're from the Navajo Kindred People Group"?
Prof, I gotta admit I was with you at the beginning. Shortening the text on cards shouldn't be a bad thing. Enters is perfect to shorten an ETB effect and doesn't make the meaning anymore obscure. Other things like reveal and shuffle after a search should be implied, unless stated otherwise, as the same action is taken after every search card. I didn't realize that this was going to turn into an unhinged rant about shortening card texts. Shortening text isn't a bad thing. I usually agree with most of your takes, but I guess this is one area where you and I differ greatly. Also, yes I realize the video is satire but I think that WOTC could take some inspiration from what Yu-Gi-Oh has done to shorten card texts.
i do think that some of that mountainous molehill, as i feel Prof is alluding to here @@gabrielfeldinger6533, is the fact that the NEED to condense cards because they have more words than fit within standard magic templating is in itself an issue. The dungeons in Adventures of the Forgotten Realms weren't largely seen as "bad designs" but were still poorly received as being far more complex than it was worth having to keep track of. Prof's line about how commanders can't do one thing anymore rings loud. Shortening the cards is only a forgone conclusion if the premise is cards cannot go back to being like classic designs where the text fit in the box. 'you take the initiative' creates an emblem that is traded between players, usually 1 seperately tracked dungeon card per player, and can create both discrete game effects on the stack and tokens with rules text, none of which appears on the card, but if i wanted to read that much i'd re-read the Wheel of Time 😂 i love taking this to the extreme because it is not inherently a problem so much as it hurts that this is the proposed solution to a different problem not discussed enough.
Unironically I think Legends of Runeterra had a good system where a card refers to itself as "I/me", like "When I enter the battlefield, place a +1/+1 counter on me"
"You control" is necessary because "your creature" could mean a creature you "own" which would proc the effect even when that creature is under an opponents control
I would legit be OK with them replacing "When {CARDNAME} comes into play/enters the battlefield/enters" with "Enters: {THING}". Just make it a keyword (ability word?) that means "when this card enters the battlefield, do the thing".
The best part about this is they can start selling us Secret Lairs with original Magic text lingo on them, and make it so they are only available for sale between 12:00pm and 12:01pm, ensuring they sell out ASAP!
I am sorry for yoiur current mental state and hope you recover swiftly. Jokes aside, this was a hillarious video. Well done, Professor. A point well made.
The amount of arguments i get into with friends over how the placement of a comma means a card doesn't do what they think it does means shortening is a terrible idea. People assume cards do lots of things but reading is hard XD
The only issue with that first one is that there could be a Borborygmos scenario if you just name the first name. I'd instead put "When this creature enters, XXX"
using "CARDNAME" when referring to itself has been a stupid ass decision always, that is just confusing to new players. Just write "this card" onto them...
as someone who started playing around the guild maze, i remember when the majority of cards had room to be able to put one of my favorite things about the cards, the flavor text.
Petition for a Tolarian Community College Secret Lair drop with the text you suggested. 😂 Even one that's just a QR code, and every single one of the QR cards is just a completely different random card.
@@rympha3581 Tokens don't go into your deck and only exist on the field, but they're still mechanically cards and function as such. There's no "technical" reason you should believe otherwise.
You're correct, and that is part of the joke. He's taking the piss out of shortening the rules text on card. When it "enters" doesn't imply the battlefield, it could also be the graveyard. This is a warning told in satire.
Those distinctions are just by convention though. You could just as easily say that the possessive is control and ownership is explicitly stated when applicable
Here's why Magic: The Gathering Is Dead: th-cam.com/video/fqow0TfaT44/w-d-xo.html
Can't wait till they shorten "Banding" to "Bands". 🤣
I would not cut Names in half. In case cards share similar Names. I would just go with "If this Card enters" or "if this creature enters"
I thought the Graveyard was gonna be GY just like Yugioh lol
"Please be the joke video, please be the joke video... Yay!"
@@retroprogamer7009 or just "if this." I don't think there is a need to specify what it is. "This" seems like it would be hard to misinterpret, especially when it's about it entering.
They could even do the QR code in different colors as special treatments
Or put up an overhead scanner that also shows cool animated versions of your cards on the battlefield on a screen. You could even make it enormous and stream the games on television, maybe even have a city wide tournament!
@@Earthhorn Oh no. Magic is become TV Yugioh.
Spoiler for the marvel set.
QR code on all cards that link to an ad-supported website. You don’t want ads? Pay a subscription fee.
Thus I have prognosticated.
@@sirix500111 Let's see if a young and orphaned ceo manages to create hard-light holograms for the sole reason of playing Card Games in the future.
Bonus points if he regularly has beef against a kid with weird hair.
I love how passive aggressive Prof is
Is the music faster than normal?
passive?
Makes me wanna poop
More like aggressively helpful!
I thought he was gonna propose emojis. haha
i love how it starts pretty plausible and reasonable then progresses to become more and more unhinged
I started by going "That might make a few rules really muddy... oh I see how far he's taking this"
Yeah, I thought he was being serious at first and then I started to get it was a joke. But then again, I always have a tough time picking up on sarcasm. :P
Working 5 to 9 or something, does this. ❤
At least they haven't resorted to Yu-Gi-Oh font sizes (yet.)
or calling it the GY...
Hopefully they resort to yugioh pricing model
Underrated comment
I mean the once a turn clause is allready here.
Hopefully we don't end up like Yu-Gi-Oh where.. it takes up a whole card reading the entire freaking paragraph of effects..... Yu-Gi-Oh is kind of known for... Is entire. Paragraph worth of effects...
"Why say lot word when few word do trick" 😂😂
So do... so... do
When me President? Then they see...
Chinese in a nutshell
We have been catering to the gruul.
Went full-on Yoda right there 🤣
"why write out Byrke's whole name?" *flashes back to pithing needle Borborygmos*
Just call him Byrke 1, and then a future version can be Byrke 2. If we're sacrificing flavor to save card space then legendary names seem like an easy place to start.
@@TheBizzerker Pls no then we're gonna have Luster Dragon #2 Ozma-Orb 38 Blaster just like Yugioh
@@TheBizzerkerI'm sorry but I hate that
You're right, time to ban needle
@@RainbowblitzFTW the only logical solution.
“You hand? Unlimited!” Made me laugh more than it should have 😂
Hello fellow American this you should vote me I leave power. Good thank you, thank youuu. If you vote me I'm hot. Taxes, they'll be lower. Son. The democratic vote for me is right thing to do Philadelphia. So do.
@@Frog_Cat_ I immediately thought of this lol
This is like 1984 already lol
I'm glad Prof is putting his English degree to good use!
This is time for Prof to shine!
The funny thing is, hearthstone already solved this problem. "Battlecry" is a keyword in hearthstone that means "when this creature enters the field from your hand."
ETB triggers are so common that it really should have been key-worded by now. Just like with other keywords, commons can have the full rules text in brackets to help new players learn, while rares and mythics don't need the rules text so they can save space. You can imagine it would be something like:
Impact: gain 2 life. _(Impact means this ability triggers when this permanent enters the battlefield.)_
That's not a bad idea, but it would require breaking the convention of ability words not having rules meaning, since what you're describing is an ability word rather than a keyword. That might set a bad precedent for making lesser experienced players memorize more interactions (even if some of the printings have reminder text).
For example, "Landfall" by itself doesn't have any special meaning in the rules, which is why you see all printings say "Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control target opponent ... etc." rather than "Landfall: target opponent ... etc." Landfall is obviously a well known and loved mechanic, but imagine seeing "Converge: Draw X cards" or "Inspired: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature" on some random rares and mythics.
@@tyronium6950 It does break convention, but there's a big difference between abilities like and landfall and ETB triggers: namely, those other ability only pop up in specific sets while ETB triggers are in every set. Not only that, but they're on a lot of cards in every set.
It would be an issue if wizards did this with every ability, but I think ETB triggers are so ubiquitous that it makes perfect sense for them to be the exception.
@@bigbrainenergyguy agreed and well said. If they made an exception for just this ability, it would be good 👍
@@bigbrainenergyguy True. And why are giga niche mechanics that only appear in a few sets keyworded anyway?
@@tyronium6950 Rather than giving an ability word meaning, I'd say it's creating a new category of keyword - a trigger keyword, in the same category as keyword actions. Theoretically, it's a word you could also see used inside an ability keyword.
"And Nadu, Winged Wisdom just reads GAME ACTIONS! Good luck!" had me dying.
No no no, make Nadu Winged Wisdom read "GAME ACTIONS! Good luck babe" for when they do a Chappell Roan secret lair, obvs.
Whenever I make a proxy of a card with a mana ability, I add "to your mana pool" back. They'll never take my pool from me.
Hahahaha, I do the same. And replace "into the battlefield" for "into play".
As for shortening... "destroy target creature, it cannot be regenerated" turns into "bury target creature" in my proxies.
I may or may not use the tilted T
@@Mtonazzii guess bury could be confused with sacrifice tho
In your upkeep I tap both of my islands too cast drain power.
It's important too, in case you ever need to print a card that says "to your opponent's mana pool".
I choked on my coffee with the "GAME ACTIONS" and flavor text of "Good luck".
Whoever wrote this episode needs an award
Real talk I would really love it if they changed "library" to "deck". I already sub out the term whenever I'm reading off a card. Library is just such a mouthful.
ofc TZ plays Magic, how can people be this close to perfection?
I suggest book; feels more in flavour for a magic caster to carry a spell book then a library with them into battle. Plus its what I sub in
I also often say "deck" instead of library (which in my language would be even longer: Bibliothek). However "deck" is already being used in (non-silver border) rules text, for example in the companion requirements, or when you can use an unusual amount of a certain cards, such as Relentless Rats.
I don’t know how it would work but a collaboration with TeirZoo and Tolarian Community College would be amazing.
Maybe a Pangolin or Coyote video would work?
The one change I'd be fine with them going with. Although I would like them to keep the term "library," if only as a neat flavour thing. We're meant to be Planeswalkers summoning all manner of creatures and casting spells, after all.
That said, if they do go with "deck" instead, isn't the end of the world either.
Even the prof didn't dare to short Graveyard to just GY.
Came here to see if anyone mentioned that Yu-Gi-Oh nonsense lol.
At least we all know what it is. It was honestly a good change that didn't make the understanding of cards any more difficult. WOTC adding two paragraphs to each card for something that's supposed to be a keyword is a better idea?
Seethe yugicuck
I never knew that people disliked this change until today and I don't really understand why. Even before the word change, a majority of players were abbreviating "graveyard" to GY in online environments in the ygo community. So it's not like it would've caused any confusion
Yu-Gi-Oh having it's primary competitive format be something like Legacy has seemingly accelerated it ahead of MtG on the need to reduce the game to a power creep slot machine showdown.
Every card needs 3 effect, which make it free, a plus on cards, and some benefit when/if it leaves play.
Changing "CARDNAME" to "this creature" would have been a far better way to save space.
Or "this permanent", they won't take my battlefield, my corpse will stay there
@@martinapochgallegos8949 Is there an in-game reason why it can't be simply "this"? Isn't the object (eg this card, this spell, this creature etc.) implied by the phase of the game?
@@aoay I think being named is relevant as a defining characteristic. Otherwise the self reference could run into problems for example with copying effects.
There's actually precedent for it now, actually. All of the Offspring cards in Bloomburrow say "this creature" when referring to itself in its ability, so it's possible they may be willing to move that direction for more cards in the future
@@aoay Had the same idea. Leaving the name out completely would require a new rule, mutilating it might lead to unwantend interactions with other cards that bear the legends name. But simply saying this as a self-reference should work.
"GAME ACTIONS!" lmfao
put that image of Nadu on a shirt, take my money
That’s the one that got me to break. It was all great though.
Mind to explain that one? I would love to laugh along 😂
@@faridrodriguez4696 Nadu's original text should sum this up: "Creatures you control have 'whenever an ability targets this creature, reveal the top card of your library. Put it onto the battlefield if it's a land card. Otherwise, put that card into your hand. This ability triggers only twice each turn' "
Good luck
Would buy
"You hand? Unlimited!." had me on the floor🤣
Surely "creature you control" is different to "your creature" as you may not necessarily be controlling your creature
Also: when suggesting the new text for Proft's Eidetic Memory, the "combat on your turn" turned into "combat" which is relevant because there are ways to draw cards during an opponent's turn that should not trigger the counter effect.
I think you're missing the joke
By the thumbnail, I wasnt sure if this video was going to talk about the shortening of keywords, or the hot new game mode of Redacted/Sharpie Cube (or whatever people are calling the "erase lines from cards" meme mode)
I thought the exact same thing and actually was hoping it was about building a sharpie cube because I think I'm gonna start putting one together.
was honestly expecting an interesting video about the ways we can improve card text, supported by the profs experience as an english teacher. Didnt expect an unfunny meme video shitting on the efforts of the design team to keep the game readable.
speed of lobsters?
Me too
I was totally expecting Sharpie Cube content as well.
"Why say lot word when few word do trick?"
The Nardu had me ROLLING! hahaha
"Scanning the QR code explains the card." rolls off the tongue so nicely.
Such a "modest proposal".
As a programmer I can actually read those cards. I think triggered abilities should use an arrow instead of a comma, a double-struck E for enters, and we can use set notation to list conditions. So Byrke becomes:
Vig
𝔼 ⇒ put a +1/+1 ≤ 2 crts
Crts ∈ (ur, w/ a +1/+1) atk ⇒ x2 its +1/+1s.
Thassa's Oracle is now (double bar arrow implies trigger, single bar is if/then implication):
𝔼 ⇒ look X(top deck), X == Devotion({U}). Put (≤1, top deck), (rest, rand bot deck). X > size(deck) → win.
Truly a formatting system to Niv Mizzet's taste.
Beautiful
This is just… perfection.
Chef’s kiss. 🤣👍🏻
...I find these far more readable than this video's proposal, and possibly more so than the original text. I'm not sure how I should feel about this.
As a Computer Scientist myself and a M:tG lover, I adore this comment!
I know this is a joke, but half of these don’t feel like jokes, and it also reminds me of how Yu-Gi-Oh cards got so long that they started calling the graveyard the GY
Granted, yugioh cards don't use keywords and the real estate of the text box is extremely small because of how the cards are templates
It also doesn't help that Yugioh cards are literally smaller
@yummines that too. Yet other cards that use jp size can do things way better....which is weird
Keep in mind Yugioh is a Japanese game first. Japanese language and alphabet is way shorter, even more so with the use of kanjis. It is that way, because it is designed for that language first. The english translation just have to adapt the way they can.
@@patonnight that is also true
You are totally right professor. But we solved this problem of representing logics long ago, it’s called math. We can therefore just represent your cards, so that for example memory would become something like: ETB = d1, H = inf, +1/+1cCY = dT-1. Leaving much more space for more rules text, saving wizards to have to reprint in every langauge, and most importantly making the game much easier to understand!
Snark aside, I _am_ surprised that we're still printing out the full names of cards in text boxes, especially in the age of abundant legendary creatures with long names + titles. "When enters..." would be very readable and more consistent across cards.
Card names are retired from rules text as of Foundations (see Nine Lives Familiar)
Now I'm expecting wizards of the coast to retaliate with a secret lair like this naming it "The Tolarian Community College set"
They need to make only 100 available, and their system needs to crash for hours if you try to purchase one more than 2 minutes after being offered.
@@ChrisZupancic its their MO...what are you expecting? :P
One of the cards is going to be "Professor's Warning", but using one of Prof's "Don't buy secret lair" thumbnails as the art with his horribly angrified face on it.
Scrt Lr: TCC
I cannot put into words how much I hate "enters". It sounds so lazy. Why doesn't WotC just keyword ETB and LTB effects? Call it Arrival and Departure. Arrival: Something Happens. Departure: Something Else Happens. It's so much cleaner and more elegant than "enters".
The existence of a colon implies a cost is being paid
@@BrockToews True. They could circumvent by: On Arrival -- ....
But honestly, just having less stupid text would help.
Scanning QR code explains the card
Hasbro: if we replace the rules text with a QR code, then we can sell advertising space on the website the rules text is found on, and get even more money!
@@Gzilla313oh god please don't give them ideas
Was genuinely surprised when I scanned the qr code. Expected a rickroll
@@Gzilla313 😂😂
The nadu joke killed me
Yeah 🤣
Yup Nadu is where I lost it
My neighbors 100% heard my outburst at that one! 😆
@@kgoodfarms Yeah i was watching on lunch at work and had to keep from spitting my beverage out my nose
i almost never laugh out loud watching youtube but that had me honestly in stitches
The QR code linking to patreon was a nice touch 😂
"creature with +1/+1 counters" can be shortened to "+1/+1'd creature"
Lopsided counters haven't been printed in decades, could just be a "+1'd creature"
Crtr*
it can't because you can +1/+1 a creature with instants and sorceries until end of turn.
@@siosilvar They also haven't used +2/+2 counters or similar for quite some time, so it could also read just "+'d creature"
this can be shortened even further to just "+er"
In the digital card game legends of Runeterra the creatures would reference to themselves by using the first person and saying things like “when i attack draw a card.“
That's actually kinda awesome
Damn that's actually low-key a great idea
That's cool, I hate it, but that's because I'm a grognard.
It's not great imo. The game is pretty good, but that wasn't great to read
You can also just say "this". Never really understood why Magic always prints the full cardname.
"Your creature" can also be understood as a creature that you own
Okay, Professor. That's enough Internet for your whole life. You're grounded, young man.
You have no idea how much clarification and grammar I'm willing to sacrifice so that we can fit more flavor text.
We can fix that by adding a web address at the bottom of each card that takes you to a page on a wiki.
Settle down Norman
Of course, I'm sure they're not gonna use the space for flavor text, but more complicated card designs...
No, no room for flavor text, must include more keywords and powers. Everything must now make treasures and have ward.
Bold of you assuming we would get moe flavor text instead of just getting even more abilities onto cards
It’s honestly like a kick to the nuts of my soul seeing what this game has become. My excitement for any new product is non existent because it’s either way too expensive or impossible to actually get my hands on at my LGS
A great satire piece. Now we only need an ad roll each time we look up a card's QR code and we're set.
A 30s timer delay during which WotC asks for you to donate just $15 to help cover operating/printing costs
And an option to pay arena gems to gain access to a more powerful rules text page for your card
Don't give them any ideas
Would you like some vanilla ice cream?
WoTC: No thanks, I'm allergic to Vanilla.
don'r pretend anyone ever was happy to pull a vanilla
@@xolotltolox7626
I got pretty excited when I got Yargle and Multani.
Outside of that, not really, you are probably right, but they are nice to use when teaching people or for really casual settings. And they are a useful tool for providing flavor about the world/story.
Theres a deck for vanillas...@@xolotltolox7626
Vanillas suck
oh yay vanillas yay YAYYYYY YAY VANILLAS VANILLAS
Because it’s not cards like dreadmaw have been memed to hell and back for being pack filler…
"Enters" is a bit weird, but I honestly wouldn't object to "On ETB" (or "Battlecry", lol) being a keyphrase. I also find "when does xyz" a bit weird--if your opponent plays a Byrke, your Byrke's ETB doesn't trigger. And there's a whole ton of rules to get name-changing effects to play nicely with abilities with cardname. So, genuine question, why not template it as "When this enters the battlefield"?
We kid, but now I wonder if "this spell" or "this card" would make cards with super long names easier to read.
Or at least save enough space for delicious flavor text.
We’ll find out shortly. As of Foundations we’re officially using “this creature” and so on (see Nine Lives Familiar)
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar
@tlblitz42 It's interesting because my fondness for the templating as is really wars with my approval of the practicality of a lot of these. The battlefield being the only place a thing can enter, and both that and 'this creature' are intuitive for new players to pick up on (perhaps counter to entrenched players' intuitions for the former, who can kinda fall victim to being too clever by half). I get the sense that I'll approve a lot of the changes they tinker with in isolation, but the question as always is how far they'll take it and how vital that space is for card design.
Or "when this spell resolves"
Magic is built a lot like computer code. Using “this card” is non-specific and can introduce weird game implications.
For instance if you copy an effect that says “this card” does the effect apply to the copied card or just the original card since the original text says this card.
They’d have to make a new rule for that.
"When enters the battlefield" could as well be represented by some new icon, saving more space and making it more clear
considering magic's obsession with keywording everything, i am surprsied they haven't keyworded it yet(Battlecry, etc)
Yea tapping ysed to not have a symbal. So it could be a down arrow. Leaving the field could be an up arrow.
They could literally write ETB on the Card and the majority of MTG players would understand ;p
I think they could just use "This creature" or even "This".
That was an amazing rant. When Prof revealed Byrke's "final form" I laughed so hard.
As a Hearthstone player beforehand, I did thing that "When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, do X" was needlessly long and clunky for such a common effect, especially when the card had a long name. Double especially when a card like "Bob, the Guy With a Long Title" gets written as "When Bob enters the battlefield"
That being said, "When CARDNAME enters" feels like the worst way to shorten that. I feel like either embracing 'this' with "when this enters the battlefield", or keyphrase it with something like "Enter the Battlefield - do X"
even better just do ETB: X
@@rotaryking100 That's great for existing players that have the knowledge of the preexisting templates, but an acronym like ETB is very opaque for new players
@@nahguacm They do it now with key words like cascade. either read the help text on the card or look it up lol
@@nahguacm a new player already has so much to learn. Explaining what ETB means and explaining menace to a new player really requires no additional effort.
@@zappyxp1575 I'm not opposed yo keywording it, but a good keyword should be pretty self-explanatory.
A new player will quickly understand the gist of Flying or First Strike, and will be unlikely to forget what they mean, because they do what they sound like. To a new player, 'ETB' is just three random letters.
7:30 at some point, just add a QR code to the card and just remember all the text, or just use all full art cards.
Edit: HOLY! I was not expecting it.
This is why I don't comment until the video is finished, and maybe you should too.
@@StarkMaximum If they'd have done that, this excellent comment would've never seen the light of day.
This change fucks up card searching.
Ya know what’s funny? I always have to find a card that DOES explain what a treasure, food, clue, etc., token does because there are so many different things to learn
I think this whole video was just a vehicle for the nadu joke at 7:41
As long as we never have the Yu-Gi-Oh issue of "it doesn't say it targets, but it does"
That depends on whether or not it is a blanket sweep
"scanning the QR code explains the card" new LGS meme material
You’re playing a match at your LGS when you need to make a judge call. The resident rules expert simply points to a newly hung sign with a QR code and the words “scanning the QR code explains the card.” Hesitantly, you grab your phone and point it as directed. A webpage opens in your browser. It’s Scryfall.
It would kill on a LRR style button complete with a QR code to .. wherever.
This feels like a very "A Modest Proposal" type video and I am SO here for it. That Nadu joke was priceless though 😂
Scanning the qr code explains the card is the new motto
I am once again reminded that Wizards could help reduce power creep, complexity creep, and product fatigue all at once by reducing the frequency new sets are released at.
WHAT?
Reducing the FOMO ? (Fear Of Missing Out == fear of missing the train and not-buying)
Are you __crazy__ ?
You would reduce the quarterly profit spreadsheet!
Don't you dare try to prove that infinite growth is impossible!
/s
I feel like just being disciplined enough to not completely fill up the text box would help too. It seems like a reasonable constraint, and maybe squeezing a couple of extra letters of space out of it isn't actually necessary or a good thing. In this case, even just giving up on the pun and giving the card a shorter name would've solved the problem for the example card.
@@GG-bw5qd WTF is product fatigue
@@marcoottina654 FOMO is based on how often they STOP selling products, not star. Those two things are completely unrelated as shown in hearthstone. Where you can still buy every single set for the same cost it had on release no exceptions. Despite new sets often being released.
@@algotkristoffersson15 It's where a company releases so many products that customers get overwhelmed and tired from it. It's most relevant for companies like Wizards of the Coast where they are encouraging people to pay close attention to everything they make. Not everyone gets product fatigue, but I personally have met a lot of people online and in person complaining they are fatigued from how many Magic sets are produced.
With shorter rule text, we can get flavor text more often. I love flavor text. It's tasty!
All creatures gets +1 +1 = continuous effect card
All creatures gets +1 +1 counters = even if the card transforms the +1 +1 counters stay on the creature
Big difference here this is why we have to be careful with short text or text words on cards
ngl "game actions" really got me. top notch video.
I was on board for a few minutes there.
That’s the problem
@@tc5589-1why is it a problem? Some things being shortened actually works.
We are sowly approaching the Yugioh singularity.
Now you also have to study basic Algebra to read the cards
"Why waste time say lot word, when few word do trick?" Kev from the Off & now Proff.
I came here to comment this, this whole video gives the same energy!!
We need MTG cards for Tarzan, Frankenstein, and Tonto.
Feel same, gr8 cmnt bro
@@LilB0pete thnx u2
dear 1994,
I miss you so much. please come back.
Love,
The Young me
I love how it started as a reasonable critique then devolved into the crazy that's beautiful.
"Your" introduces ambiguity between control and ownership, which are both currently used on existing cards.
I could see the card name in text boxes being replaced with "this". "When this enters, do a thing. Then this can fight up to one target creatures."
Especially with the longer card games, like Byrke. And, for bonus points, it makes Mutate slightly easier to understand!
"this" can replace anytime a card references itself with its own name.
When Frost Lynx enters, tap target creature an opponent controls. That creature doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step
Or in hearthstone terms
Battlecry : freeze enemy minion
I'm just about to say the same. It's not only fewer words but also less confusion, because referring by name could be interpreted as referring to every card with the same name
I also shorthand "this card" when reading the text on the card
I recommend checking out Nine Lives Familiar from Foundations
A card made today with that ability (made today, so printed in a while, after the Foundations changes) would read "when this creature enters, tap target creature an opponent controls and put a stun counter on it". I'd say it's pretty short, considering it _has_ to be accurate (as this game is often played by humans, not by software).
Why did you make this whole rambling video? This whole meeting could have been an email saying: "Why use lot word when few word do trick, which let put more word on"
4:48 i get trying to save words but I feel like it should be when this card enters
I love the background music getting progressively faster as things become chaotic
i almost thought this was gonna be a video about Sharpie Cube where you just cross out parts of cards to make them better or worse lol
I unironically think employing *E.T.B* as a keyphrase would be superior to "enters", maintaining specificity and shortening the text even still.
“You Hand? Unlimited!”
Can we get this on the next version of your deck box?
THE PROFESSOR: also, maybe Orwell was going somewhere with Newspeak
Plus good!
@@TheNavajo0 There IS no war in Ba Sing Se.
Like changing tribal to kindred and typal for no good reason lol
@@mattm7798tribal can carry racist undertones while kindred abd typal do not
@@TheRedKnightOfPain Um yeah no, that is not a good reason. Anything can carry racist overtones even....kindred.
When a Native America says to me he's from the Navajo tribe, should I correct him and say "no, you're from the Navajo Kindred People Group"?
This was excellent. Thank you.
8:35 It sounds like there was supposed to be more of that sentence. Something is just so off about it.
You hand? Unlimited!
5:04 oh god, Prof is getting lost in the sauce
Prof, I gotta admit I was with you at the beginning.
Shortening the text on cards shouldn't be a bad thing. Enters is perfect to shorten an ETB effect and doesn't make the meaning anymore obscure.
Other things like reveal and shuffle after a search should be implied, unless stated otherwise, as the same action is taken after every search card.
I didn't realize that this was going to turn into an unhinged rant about shortening card texts. Shortening text isn't a bad thing. I usually agree with most of your takes, but I guess this is one area where you and I differ greatly.
Also, yes I realize the video is satire but I think that WOTC could take some inspiration from what Yu-Gi-Oh has done to shorten card texts.
I had the exact same reaction. The enters "discourse" is a prime example of the MTG community making a mountain out of a molehill
i do think that some of that mountainous molehill, as i feel Prof is alluding to here @@gabrielfeldinger6533, is the fact that the NEED to condense cards because they have more words than fit within standard magic templating is in itself an issue. The dungeons in Adventures of the Forgotten Realms weren't largely seen as "bad designs" but were still poorly received as being far more complex than it was worth having to keep track of. Prof's line about how commanders can't do one thing anymore rings loud.
Shortening the cards is only a forgone conclusion if the premise is cards cannot go back to being like classic designs where the text fit in the box. 'you take the initiative' creates an emblem that is traded between players, usually 1 seperately tracked dungeon card per player, and can create both discrete game effects on the stack and tokens with rules text, none of which appears on the card, but if i wanted to read that much i'd re-read the Wheel of Time 😂 i love taking this to the extreme because it is not inherently a problem so much as it hurts that this is the proposed solution to a different problem not discussed enough.
“ETB” is a more logical way to shorten it.
Unironically I think Legends of Runeterra had a good system where a card refers to itself as "I/me", like "When I enter the battlefield, place a +1/+1 counter on me"
Had? Did it die while I wasn't looking?
@@CrucibleOfHateIt was murdered
Pretty soon they're gonna be Wizard 101 cards with just symbols.
😂😂 That Episode of "The Office" when Kevin shortens words and everyone is confused 😂😂
True culture right there
"You control" is necessary because "your creature" could mean a creature you "own" which would proc the effect even when that creature is under an opponents control
I would legit be OK with them replacing "When {CARDNAME} comes into play/enters the battlefield/enters" with "Enters: {THING}". Just make it a keyword (ability word?) that means "when this card enters the battlefield, do the thing".
Ability words aren't supposed to have rules meanings, that's why all Landfalls state what they do entirely.
@@Bl4ckDr4co Aren't supposed to... yet. I mean we came a long way from Mono Artifacts ;)
The best part about this is they can start selling us Secret Lairs with original Magic text lingo on them, and make it so they are only available for sale between 12:00pm and 12:01pm, ensuring they sell out ASAP!
I am sorry for yoiur current mental state and hope you recover swiftly.
Jokes aside, this was a hillarious video. Well done, Professor. A point well made.
the longer this video goes, the craziest it gets. love it!
And the aWard for best ideas goes 2...
The Prof! Enjoy your prize.
Ward 2.
The amount of arguments i get into with friends over how the placement of a comma means a card doesn't do what they think it does means shortening is a terrible idea. People assume cards do lots of things but reading is hard XD
"I have seen the future, and it is blank, and digital." Ha!!! Great delivery.
The crazy part is I can see a future where an AR device is required to view the QR codes and automatically overlay art/details of the card
Magic is so close to it already! They have playmate that are "animated" if you use your phone to look at it!
Prof I am HOWLING at new Nadu! Excellent job as usual!
Honestly, beside the fact that “your” isn’t clear on if you control or own the creature, that first change actually seems pretty good
The only issue with that first one is that there could be a Borborygmos scenario if you just name the first name. I'd instead put "When this creature enters, XXX"
I think you're taking this too seriously
I believe someone from WoTC confirmed that change already…maybe starting in Foundations?
using "CARDNAME" when referring to itself has been a stupid ass decision always, that is just confusing to new players. Just write "this card" onto them...
The rule for that got changed so you can actually say whatever you want
@@jacobd1984Correct!
as someone who started playing around the guild maze, i remember when the majority of cards had room to be able to put one of my favorite things about the cards, the flavor text.
i love how it just sounds like an esoteric programming language
Petition for a Tolarian Community College Secret Lair drop with the text you suggested. 😂 Even one that's just a QR code, and every single one of the QR cards is just a completely different random card.
Instead of writing the name, they could just write “this creature” or “this card”.
If we really want to shorten it, it could just be “this”.
They are FINALLY doing this starting with Foundations releasing in November!
The problem with "this card" is when a token of it is made. Tokens are not cards, so its effects technically don't see itself if it says "this card".
@@rympha3581 Tokens don't go into your deck and only exist on the field, but they're still mechanically cards and function as such. There's no "technical" reason you should believe otherwise.
@@AcroxShadow Nope. Tokens, very emphatically, are not cards.
A "card" doesn't exist on the battlefield or stack. A permanent that refers to itself as "this card" doesn't function.
MTG: 2030. 1 red mana, Creature: Goblin. Power / Toughness 3/3. Prowess, Haste, Menace, Trample.
GAME ACTIONS - good luck :)
There is a big difference between “creature you control” and “your creature”. Ownership is different than control, unless I am wildly mistaken.
You're correct, and that is part of the joke. He's taking the piss out of shortening the rules text on card. When it "enters" doesn't imply the battlefield, it could also be the graveyard. This is a warning told in satire.
Virtually all of the shortenings here cannot be done due to rule implications, of course. This is just a joke.
Those distinctions are just by convention though. You could just as easily say that the possessive is control and ownership is explicitly stated when applicable
@@mattcroft You could write a rule saying that, but it would be extremely unintuitive.
@@therealax6 the difference between control and ownership is already unintuitive. They should retemplate it anyway
Prof is clearly a grammar pro.