Is Epic a Bad Mechanic? P3 Check the bottom to find part 1 and 2 if you haven't read them Before we continue talking about Epic, there's one other thing that needs to be addressed. That, of course, being Paradigm. Released in Secrets of Strixhaven, this mechanics appears on 5 expensive cards and had the powerful effect that after casting them, you could cast a copy of them each upkeep. Sounds familiar, right. MTG fans were quick to label it as fixed Epic, which isn't necessarily wrong. However, the inability to cast spells was part of what made Epic so intriguing. Removing a fundamental part of the game is exciting because it can open up so many possibilities. It's basically a chance to completely change the rules of MTG temporarily. Paradigm, on the other hand, is basically just untargetable enchantments that have an effect on your upkeep. Not only that, but Paradigm cards are designed to be playable in a wide variety of decks, and many have quickly become format staples, whereas the Epic cycle was always intended to be niche cards that were played in only a few decks as gimmicky wincons. Potential Solutions: These can be combined with each other as needed to make interesting cards. 1. A Commander with Epic Having a commander with Epic makes building around the card more rewarding. It allows it to be always available, since the chances of drawing it otherwise are low, making it less rewarding to build a deck around maximizing its potential. 2. Land Synergy Having it synergize with lands allows the player interesting choices and pushes the players deck building back into relevance. Some examples might include searching out lands from your deck for a fairly cheap cost, or animating your lands and giving them counters based on the amount of them you control. 3. Search any permanent This would need to toe the line between expensive enough while not too expensive, but it would allow for a card that could be played in a wide variety of ways. For example, it could be fun in Gates (as is the previous suggestion) or combo decks. 4. Explore Explore would be a great way to add some randomness to an Epic card, allowing a cheaper card to be made. It's also has a maximum, giving another number to fine tune. This option lacks giving the player choice but heavily rewards deck-building. 5. Multiple Options A modal Epic spell would add more choice and you can combine any number of the above effects. 6. End Epic The ability to choose to end the Epic effect would make such cards much more appealing. You'd never get stuck in a position where you slowly lost because you couldn't cast spells. This works great with modal spells. In conclusion, fun, powerful Epic spells are difficult to create. They need to fulfill a wide variety of criteria. However, Epic is not an inherently bad mechanic and has lots of untapped potential. Thanks for reading, and remember that everything has potentially epic untapped potential. Check the Studio for other articles: Part 1 Link: Part 2 Link:
