Q&A with Oktagon - Feb/Mar Edition (3/26/18)

Brigby

Hi Everyone,

It's been a whirlwind of activity these past couple of months, and we want to thank everyone for being so patient. While Rivals of Ixalan is already available in-game, and some questions were inherently answered with the recent updates, we still wanted to take some time to provide some of the answers to questions that players had submitted back in February and March.

Without further ado, here is Pedro Rauiz Estrigarriba Gestal to answer some of your questions. Enjoy!
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Your Ixalan blog post talks about pulling cards from the latest Masters set. Will you continue having the Elite cards be playable in Standard, or will these cards be changed to reflect their actual legality of Legacy?
They will be always linked to the set they are released with. Ixalan’s masterpieces, for example, will leave Standard when the Ixalan card set does, as well.

What will Standard block look like after Rivals of Ixalan’s release?
Kaladesh and Aether Revolt will be rotating out of Standard. Since Aether Revolt was a significantly smaller set than Kaladesh as well as dependent on it, removing Kaladesh once Ixalan released would had had a negative impact on the environment. As such we decided to wait until Ixalan’s smaller set is released to remove Kaladesh block as a whole.

How will your team be handling Exclusive cards? Will they all be paid for, or can some be won in events?
As usual, Exclusive cards will join regular packs after the next set release, however some cards will be obtainable in events; case in point, The Immortal Sun in the newest Rivals of Ixalan event.

Are you planning a better way to implement Vigilance? Its current iteration is very poorly designed. Creatures with this ability might as well just have Defender.
We will be gathering feedback, regarding how you feel about the differences between tabletop Magic and MTG PQ, as the game goes on on the forums. This will definitely be on our radar.

Will we eventually be able to see the cards in the deck we’re playing against? // Can we get the option to view the graveyard / exile stack?
Right now we're unable to give you an ETA on when you will be able to see that in-game, since our priority is catching up to Wizards. However, we are aware of those limitations and plan to eventually correct them. As far as seeing the decks you are playing against, for now, we plan to release with every new PvE event, high-level-design deck information for each node.

Can we get an option to disable battle animations?
We plan to eventually add an option that allows players, particularly for experienced veterans, to skip all animations. We also plan to allow newer players an option to allow cards to remain on screen until dismissed, whenever they get focused on during battle. Right now, we are studying ways to add this to the game in a way that benefits both experienced players and newcomers alike.

Are there any improvements planned for making things better for new players? The increase in AI difficulty in particular makes starting this game harder.
The AI is currently being toned down in all content aimed at newer players. Events will continue to have a stronger AI the further into the event the encounter is. However, even then, they will never reach Ixalan’s overwhelming AI gem matching expertise.

What have you learned about game design after releasing Ixalan, and what will you be applying to the development of Rivals of Ixalan?
Mostly, we learned key differences between tabletop Magic and MTGPQ. For more information, check out our post on changes to Ixalan’s cards: 2.5 Release Notes - Card Balance Adjustments

Are there any plans to adjust the QA process, so that more issues are caught before release?
Yes. We are always looking for ways to improve our creative/development processes.

What are your plans for scaling back power creep, and where will we eventually end up on a cost per power/toughness level? // Could you share the list of cards your team thinks eventually needs re-balancing, and how can we provide feedback on them?
As far as Power/Toughness is concerned, we are aiming to be closer to AKH/HOU cards than we would Origins. We will also keep monitoring the forums to gather feedback on problematic cards (Huge payoffs with no setup required, cards that create long extending loops with little to no effort, etc...)

What cards from Ixalan are you having the most fun with?

• Spiritmonger
• Sanguine Bond
• STAR OF EXTINCTION!!!
• Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
• Conqueror’s Galleon // Conqueror’s Foothold
• Dead-eye Tracker
• Lurking Chupacabra
• Queen’s Commission
• Sky Terror
• Legion Conquistador

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We hope you enjoyed the Feb/Mar 2018 Q&A Session! Keep an eye out for the next Q&A Question Submission thread, and as always, thank you for playing Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest!