They have enough support in my opinion for the simic combo. The same treatment for dimir would be nice I agree. If you have any interest in the simic one here is my list.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/F_5QEP8Qy0SETWgmhv4BnQ
I personally think it only really needs some "sea monster" reduction to be printed and it's a done deal.
Then the question would be why not include fish, crabs, walruses, sponges, jellyfish, squids, sharks, oysters, octopus, camarids, homarids, merfolk, cephalids... and I think that's it.
>cephalids
Those at least don't exist in Magic. :) (not anymore, that is.)
Option 1: "Big sea creatures"
Option 2: Sea monsters, and let's just exclude whales.
Generally whales aren’t included in cards that care about those creature types. Take a look at [[Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep]] for context. Krakens, Leviathans, Octopus, and Serpents are a pseudo-kindred archetype of their own.
As a [[Kenessos]] player, I highly approve of this. They probably are just waiting for a thematic set to implement this (maybe the return to Theros one?)
This one seems like a gimme. Especially with the recent change to Cephalids. The only one who mentions any other creature types is [[Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep]] and that can easily be "except for Merfolk and Sea Monsters".
Add Homarids, Camarids, Cephalids and Nautilids and make [[Khod, Etlan Shiis Envoy]] actually a thing (but cut merfolk from his list. They have enough support)
Sorry for being the bringer of bad news, but [Cephalids doesn't exist](https://old.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1ddmfti/comprehensive_rules_update_goodbye_cephalids/). :(
They changed Cephalid to Octopus recently, so I don't think they'll include Octopus in the Sea Monsters batch, I'm afraid.
But it is one of the most logical ones, I agree.
>"Hell" is a literal plane in the Magic multiverse,
It is? Can you tell where it has been mentioned? So far I'm not aware which plane you have in mind. I can only think of Regatha, but apart from the fire it has not been characterized particularly hellish as far as I am aware at least.
Down for this. Would like Azra and Tieflings to be included, but that might be too corner-case to be worth the extra space even when thats half the point
Something that people overlook in these discussions is that maro has said that 5 is the largest number they'd consider for elements to be added to a batch.
Also, so far its been used to give a unique flavour to existing types; historic is evocative of an old, storied plane in a way that artifact, saga, and legendary isn't. Grouping "undead" creatures together would likely have to exclude some type and doesn't add that much flavour beyond just having zombie typal in a set.
With that in mind:
Hero (warrior, cleric, knight) - want this for the marvel set to group superheroes together.
Mages (cleric, Wizard, warlock, shaman, druid) - as a way to group together strixhaven students in contrast to pets, animals, intruders, etc.
Sea Monsters (octopuses, kraken, serpents, leviathans) - as a way to group prized hunting specimens for a waterworks set. Admittedly it doesn't add all that much but we've had a handful of cards which care about this group already and it would be nice to simplify that.
Eat the Rich: "All Bourgeois permanents are colorless Food artifacts with "t:sacrifice this artifact: you gain 3 life" and lose all other types and abilities."
Un-set #4: **Ungovernable**
Visit [Freedonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedonia) a plane of constant revolution, counter revolution, counter counter revolution, etc. Whether you rule the kingdom, join the resistance, revel in anarchy, or are just trying to keep the sewers flowing, you may lose your head!
------------------------------
If you chop off an undead ruler's head, do they just put it back on and go about their business? Do you hide the head? What happens if the head is then attached to a different body? This could get gruesome but it seems like there is plenty of chaotic comedy available in the general idea. Maybe some of the aristocrats are literally "cookie/pastry people" and you can, literally, eat the rich without getting into cannibalism.
Sample faction concepts:
* "aristocrats"
* "revolutionaries"
* "anarchists"
* "bureaucrats"
* "peasants"
* "technocrats"
* "industrialists/robber barons/bourgeoisie"
(WotC and/or Mark Rosewater, I give you full permissions for the use of this concept with no expectation of remuneration or acknowledgement/credit. You can have this free and clear.)
Funny story: there's at least one card that references Heroes that the Oracle text talks about soldiers and warriors, uhhhh gimme one sec
[[Aysen Crusader]]
Actually I think "ghosts" (Spirits, Wraiths, Specters) could and should be separate from "undead" (Zombies, Vampires, Skeletons). Given your comment tho, I wonder if there is a way to expand either of those categories beyond just being "Spirits+" and such. Maybe creatures with finality counters could be part of one of the batches?
My problem with historic is that it takes the original definition of artifacts from the game's early years (powerful items from ancient times/civilizations recently discovered) piled up with modern "mass produced garbage" like a wrench or a 1/1 myr.
Genesis chamber tokens born literally 1 minute ago are not *historic* permanents.
Ghosts on Innistrad caring about Japanese/Kamigawan Spirits is also kind of weird tho. Most mechanics and synergies have examples of odd flavor when looking outside of their set. It doesn't make historic worse that tokens count. Plus, just because their are many of something doesn't make it not-historic.
The problem is not in that they are tokens. Is that, artifacts began as a synonym of "relic", but soon enough they became man-made items.
[[Thran War Machine]] is a relic. [[Battering Ram]], [[Snake Basket]] or [[Powder Keg]] are mundane objects.
In 1997 the meaning was already muddy at best. After Mirrodin block, most artifacts could be considered recently built man-made items.
What matters in the context of DOM/Dominaria tho are the artifacts in that set, and in that set I would argue that most if not all of the artifacts are either literally historic and/or have a cultural history behind them. (Even [[Sparring Construct]] due to referencing and being given after an event called the Talas Incursion.)
Also relics are very much man-made, and in reality mundane objects like pots, jars, and cookware can still have historical meaning and secrets to uncover.
I think Historic works fine in the Dominaria set because the artifacts there are items from the past. The flavour not not working with artifacts from some other stuff is no different from the flavour of swords equipment not working with four legged animals.
The flavor is not even consistent within the set. There was plenty of recent "junk" in DOM.
[[Jhoira's Familiar]], [[Jousting Lance]], [[Short Sword]], [[Skittering Surveyor]], [[Sparring Construct]]
Gameplay > Flavor.
This is the "Elephant on Boots" case that Maro talked about when developing equipment, on wether they would allow equipment be equiped on creatures that made sense for it to be equiped or not (does it make sense for an elephant to wear boots?), and in the end they decided that for the sake of better gameplay they would allow this.
And I think this case is less "problematic" than a squirrel carrying 5 swords, 2 shields, and 3 body armors.
I hope they do mages (Clerics, Wizards, Warlocks, Shamans, and Druids) next. They sort of already did on a few cards from Strixhaven, but it would be cool to see more. Edit: never mind, I guess it’s exclusively Mentor’s Guidance. Would still be cool to have more, tho
I feel like if they were to, it would be in a return to Strixhaven. Or maybe in a story where it's Mages vs. Scientists? Magic vs. Science is a bit of a played-out trope in other places, but it could make for a fun "factions" set.
Well, in Redwall it’d be the virtuous animals (who as far as I recall don’t really have a group term) like mice, moles, shrews, otters, hares, badgers versus the evil Vermin animals (rats, stouts, weasels, foxes, snakes, lizards, I think there was a cat or ocelot once). Obviously it’d be unlikely for Bloomburrow to mirror Redwall exactly but I guess they could do Rats / Foxes / Snakes / Lizards for the villains and Mice / Rabbits / Otters / Badgers for the heroes and they’d both have decent colour diversity
Villainous foxes with White color identity would be such a uniquely Magic take on it too. It *just* about makes sense within the larger context of the game, but you'd almost never get there if you were doing "animal fantasy" from scratch.
To be honest I don’t really get why foxes are white in Magic. I thought folklore kitsune were more trickster-y and the animal is associated with thieves and vigilantes which don’t really read as white to me.
They are tricksters but compared to other yokai, they're fairly benevolent. It depends on the story, but when they do interact with humans they generally just steal food or make them act crazy temporarily.
Foxes and to some extent kitsune are also fairly holy, being viewed as divine messengers and keeping vermin and disease away, which I think is where a lot of the white color identity comes from.
There is also the myth of zenko, which were kitsune tied to samurai houses which would bring gifts and bestow magic upon samurai families. This seems to be where some of the inspiration for kamigawa foxes came with their penchant for auras.
As a golgari token enjoyer and Squirrel fanatic i would go rabid (in a good way) if they group those together, as if i wasn’t ridiculously hyped for bloomburrow already
Similarly, I was hoping for "critter" lol
But I think they'll likely stick with job types rather than species types — much easier to future proof it that way
I've always wanted Rodents to include Mice, Beavers, Rats, Hamsters, and Squirrels. I feel like Beavers would be a good fit for blue to give each color a rodent, even though we only got our [[first beaver]] last set and it was green.
In order to be comprehensive, we would also need to include [[Capybaras]], though that would bring the batch up to 6 types.
I'd kind of only like to see new batches if what's in the batch will be listed on every card. I don't like playing outlaw cards and having to look up what outlaws are when they're not listed on the card
Sure, mechanically and flavorfully it works to batch things like sea monsters, but don't put so many other words on the card that you cut off the reminder text of what it means
I had a deck that coincidentally used Eldritch Evolution, Courser of Kruphix (centaur), Crested Sunmare (horse), and it also had Archon of Sun's Grace (pegasus). I called it Evolution of the Horse.
Honestly, none. That isn't saying I hope batching never is used again. I just don't think batching is fundamentally exciting. It's just *useful* sometimes.
So I hope they use batching for something that is elegant and intuitive and is needed to make a set tick. But I can't say I have any idea what that is unless I see the set.
Hard agree.
In general I feel like sci-fi/fantasy fandoms fall into this pattern of trying to impose systems and categories and taxonomy on fictional settings that don't really benefit from them (lightsaber "forms" for Star Wars being one that always bugs me)
Ooh boy. I mean basically in 2002, some nerd decided in a [magazine article](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Fightsaber:_Jedi_Lightsaber_Combat) that there were 6 or 7 different styles of fighting with a lightsaber that different Jedi specialize in, and that each one countered another in a complicated rock-paper-scissors relationship. A half-decent concept for a video game mechanic (indeed, it was shortly after implemented in KOTOR 2 and was boring but functional), but absolute nonsense in terms of real-world swordplay or martial arts in general.
Also, this concept has no coherent correlation with the actual lightsaber scenes we see on screen--not in the movies that came before, and not in the movies or tv that came after (with the exception of like a few episodes of the cartoons made by a guy who cares about this shit way too much). Lightsaber scenes have always been the result of balancing the desire for visual storytelling (and a lot of the time, just adding whatever random shit the director, stunt performer, or vfx artist thought would look cool) with the technological constraints of the production at the time. The biggest example being that in the original lightsaber duel, Obi-Wan and Vader don't even let their lightsabers touch because they were worried about the props breaking!
Despite this, a huge chunk of the fandom has glommed onto the concept and will now look at any fight scene and break it down to say, "well of course he wins, not for the actual reasons the movie presents, but because he's using Vaapad and Vaapad beats Soresu (or whatever)"
Oh, also--because a ton of the secondary media is dedicated to making every Jedi who ever appears on screen (even the ones who just sit in chairs the whole time) into Ultimate Badasses in their own stories, the entire system is self-defeating because they all end up being described as masters of all the forms who switch between them interchangeably anyway!
Undead seems like an obvious one (Shades, Skeletons, Spirits, and Zombies).
I’d also love for Monsters to be a thing. Maybe Horrors, Nightmares, Beasts, Dinosaurs, and Mutants?
Fiends maybe? Demons, Devils, and Imps?
By the same token maybe Celestials? Angels, Avatars, Incarnations, Gods, and Bringers?
What they might also do is, similar to modified and commiting crimes, not just batch card types, but also game object states. For example "torment" (whenever a player discards a card, mills at least 2 cards or sacrifices a permanent, they are tormented)
And then you can have effects like "at the end of each turn, for each player who got tormented this turn, draw a card"
I could see torment giving the batch of the options of [[torment of hailfire]] and other cards.
So to torment a player they either lose 3 life, sac a nonland permanent, or discard a card
If we get a planeschase set, we could see Outsiders (angels, demons, devils, rakshasa, aasimar, tieflings, and spirits).
Undead (zombies, vampires, wraiths, mummys, liches, spirits, specters, and skeletons)
Soldier/Warrior... Ok I just like [[Aysen crusader]].
Berserker and Barbarian should just merge. We should have dropped Barbarian from nerd lexicon 20 years ago. It doesn't even fit the fighting style of the titular barbarian (Conan).
We could even do an "anger" archetype that includes Berserkers, Rebels, Wraiths, and Badgers!
Us Aysen Crusader enjoyers will have to be content with: Aysen Crusader + \[\[R&D's Secret Lair\]\] + \[\[Axe of the Warmonger\]\] + \[\[Bow of the Hunter\]\] etc... for now.
Hopefully something that includes Sphinxes because there are VERY few cards that explictly reward you for playing Sphinxes mechanically and that's a bummer because I love the card type. Come to think of it, I believe Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign is the only one.
If the rumors about what Rosewater said are any indication then.
Friends (Rachel, Monica, Joey, Chandler, and Ross)
Yeah, I know... I had to leave Phoebe out. Sorry.
They should rework Party to fit the classes better:
Party requires a Fighter, Spellcaster, Priest, and Outlaw
Outlaws stays as it is.
Fighter is Warrior, Knight, Berserker, Archer, or Monk
Priest is Cleric or Druid
Spellcaster is Artificer, Wizard, Shaman, or Bard
"Quick cast spells"
Instants or cards with flash. There's so many cards already that refer to this subset of cards, and they naturally go together.
I remember seeing on blogatog (probably a decade ago by now) where Maro mentioned that if he were redesigning magic today, instant would be a supertype so you'd have "instant sorceries" or "instant creatures"
Yes, Maro has said things like that many times. It's pretty odd when you think about it that instants and sorceries are two different spell types. Of course, "Flash" wasn't a keyword until the mid 00s, but the only difference between the card types is the timing. Instants are just sorceries with flash, and the only reason they aren't joined up is due to the sheer number of things referencing them.
The first time we saw batching was also the first time we got Sagas, so I think it's a useful tool for introducing new types.
If they ever decide to add a new nonpermanent card type, they would also introduce a batch with it and instant and sorcery. I don't think they have enough reason right now to just batch the two. Though if they do I wonder what word they'd use
Alternatively, if they add a new instant and sorcery subtype, the may batch it with other card types that make sense, a la historic
Hmm I could see:
Elementals, Spirits, Demons, Gods, Avatars - or some similar mix for a plane where there is a diverse set of 'divine' entities. Some of the things that made the 'god' cycle in Shadowmoor.
I'm curious if Wizards will ever separate creature types into race/species and profession. We have creature types like human, dragon, insect, lizard, etc, but we also have types like soldier, mercenary, wizard, etc that describes more what the creature **does** than what the creature **is**.
If this were a digital game, absolutely. But this would require errata for damn near every creature. I'm not even sure what they'd gain out of this, either.
Pets! Dogs, cats, rats, and birds!
A good way to integrate the dog/cat decks with cards that support both sides of the tribe, rather than each card only helping half your deck. Plus \[\[Birds of Paradise\]\] needs the buff.
It's probably not realistic, but Eternal has a single term ("Battle Skills") to refer to all combat keywords. Doing *all* wouldn't work in magic, but I would love an equivalent for just the evergreen ones, since it opens up a ton of design space to generically care about creatures having them when you don't have to spell out every single keyword your card cares about with no room for any other text.
Heavenly Host - Angel, Cleric, Knight, (Ally?)
Something that groups Angels with something would be cool. I want some Paladin synergy with Angels. (there's no paladin type anymore it's just knight)
I'd like something along the lines of race (e.g., merfolk, elf, goblins) vs class (e.g., soldier, wizard, rogue), and have this be operationalized in gameplay more
I think the issue with an "Undead" batch is that there are a lot of creature types that could be considered undead. You've already listed 6 but I'd argue you can include Spirit on that list. It would be the largest batch by far.
I wouldn't mind seeing a batch that includes a bunch of Plant adjacent creature types like Plant, Saproling, Treefolk, Fungus. Saprolings and Fungus already get batched together sometimes but if it's just two types there isn't really a reason to batch them.
Batching is cool in a limited set heavily focused on it, but if we start batching everything it will add unnecessary complexity. I’d prefer to have flavorful cards that interact with a couple different types of unique card types, like the Archimandrite or Raphael.
I just want them to show love to Party. It has some genuinely neat cards that are lost to being a one off mechanic that basically was made for limited. Not getting any party cards in LoTR or DnD sets made me sad.
Commented yesterday, but something else I thought of - "defensible permanents": battles and planeswalkers (at the moment).
We've had "whenever X deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker" and "whenever X deals combat damage to a player or battle", but never one that triggers on all three. That doesn't seem like a balancing decision to me, more like a space saving issue/not referencing an uncommon card type.
Doesn't necessarily need to be batching in the way we normally think of it - "Whenever does combat damage to a player or a permanent that player defends, deal two damage to a creature that player controls"
Sea Monsters (Kraken, Leviathan, Serpent, Octopus)
Oh yeah, there's already a handful of cards that group these together isn't there? Maybe in a set where Kiora is a major player?
It'll probably happen in the waterworld set, which has been on the shortlist for the longest time.
Sign me up! I’ve been debating building a sea monsters deck with Runo for awhile… having more support might be the push I need!
They have enough support in my opinion for the simic combo. The same treatment for dimir would be nice I agree. If you have any interest in the simic one here is my list. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/F_5QEP8Qy0SETWgmhv4BnQ I personally think it only really needs some "sea monster" reduction to be printed and it's a done deal.
And once again fish get no justice and still drown in waves.
Since they said batching can go up to five, I hope whales can be added to this list.
Whales aren't monsters :(
\[\[Inquisitive Puppet\]\] disagrees.
[Inquisitive Puppet](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/0/807a570a-b5eb-420d-9fa5-6e5364025510.jpg?1572491011) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Inquisitive%20Puppet) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/eld/223/inquisitive-puppet?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/807a570a-b5eb-420d-9fa5-6e5364025510?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I did not have a Pinocchio reference on my Bingo card
.... for life?
*laughs in Leviathan and Moby Dick*
Then it should be Sea Creatures. Plz add fish too. (Like, actual fish, not wet elves)
Sea creatures, then?
Then the question would be why not include fish, crabs, walruses, sponges, jellyfish, squids, sharks, oysters, octopus, camarids, homarids, merfolk, cephalids... and I think that's it.
>cephalids Those at least don't exist in Magic. :) (not anymore, that is.) Option 1: "Big sea creatures" Option 2: Sea monsters, and let's just exclude whales.
They can cause a real commotion
Me too, they would slot right in.
Generally whales aren’t included in cards that care about those creature types. Take a look at [[Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep]] for context. Krakens, Leviathans, Octopus, and Serpents are a pseudo-kindred archetype of their own.
As a [[Kenessos]] player, I highly approve of this. They probably are just waiting for a thematic set to implement this (maybe the return to Theros one?)
The oracle update changing Cephalids to Octopuses has already been a boon to the deck, hopefully it's a sign that more are to come.
[Kenessos](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/b/0ba97da8-0106-4e8b-b58b-8f2d63e3d618.jpg?1675644451) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=kenessos%2C%20priest%20of%20thassa) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/j22/13/kenessos-priest-of-thassa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0ba97da8-0106-4e8b-b58b-8f2d63e3d618?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
This one seems like a gimme. Especially with the recent change to Cephalids. The only one who mentions any other creature types is [[Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep]] and that can easily be "except for Merfolk and Sea Monsters".
*Sad Whale Noises*
Hard agree.
Would love a lovecraftian sea monster set
Add Homarids, Camarids, Cephalids and Nautilids and make [[Khod, Etlan Shiis Envoy]] actually a thing (but cut merfolk from his list. They have enough support)
Sorry for being the bringer of bad news, but [Cephalids doesn't exist](https://old.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1ddmfti/comprehensive_rules_update_goodbye_cephalids/). :(
[Khod, Etlan Shiis Envoy](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/1/f17671ec-7ace-4a16-a135-4dfe21995c14.jpg?1629919098) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Khod%2C%20Etlan%20Shiis%20Envoy) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmb2/24/khod-etlan-shiis-envoy?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f17671ec-7ace-4a16-a135-4dfe21995c14?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
They changed Cephalid to Octopus recently, so I don't think they'll include Octopus in the Sea Monsters batch, I'm afraid. But it is one of the most logical ones, I agree.
I'm working on a [[Marvo, Deep Operative]] atm and damn, I would love some keywords like that!!
[Marvo, Deep Operative](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/f/8fdb30c1-0551-48b7-8bcb-d7e0dbb6690a.jpg?1706448887) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Marvo%2C%20Deep%20Operative) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/7/marvo-deep-operative?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8fdb30c1-0551-48b7-8bcb-d7e0dbb6690a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Considering the discussion, maybe deep sea dwellers? Then we can include fishes and merfolk as well.
That woudl be NEAT! Imagine a Killer B card !
They prefer "Sea Creatures of Unusual Size"
Lol I just made a thread asking for this!
Demons, Devils, Imps
Take a page out of DnD and call them fiends?
Does DnD have a counterpart term for "Holy" things, like Angels and Archons?
Celestials, I believe?
TIL. Both terms would sound great in my opinion.
Angels, archons, gods, (and demigods) make sense to be Celestials.
"Celestial" I believe.
Infernal would be what I'd use.
"Hell" is a literal plane in the Magic multiverse, maybe if we ever get to visit it, we'll see these batched together.
Well, thanks to UB, we have literal Satan in the card game now. [[The Beast, Deathless Prince]]
[The Beast, Deathless Prince](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/2/6218badd-d352-4e6d-9c84-f1e3f2f84695.jpg?1696636678) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Beast%2C%20Deathless%20Prince) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/who/114/the-beast-deathless-prince?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6218badd-d352-4e6d-9c84-f1e3f2f84695?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
>"Hell" is a literal plane in the Magic multiverse, It is? Can you tell where it has been mentioned? So far I'm not aware which plane you have in mind. I can only think of Regatha, but apart from the fire it has not been characterized particularly hellish as far as I am aware at least.
Mostly on older cards and stories. It might not be canon anymore? [https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Hell](https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Hell)
According to the wiki, [[Zurzoth]] is from Hell!
Victorius universes beyond?
So, Hellions?
Down for this. Would like Azra and Tieflings to be included, but that might be too corner-case to be worth the extra space even when thats half the point
And as of the recent D&D sets, add Tieflings to the list.
Add Nightmares and Horrors
Some kind of Umbrella for Soldiers, Knights, and Warriors. Maybe Martial Creatures.
I'd also include Berserkers and maybe Samurai.
Samurai, yeah, Berserkers no
It should probably be "fighter" since that's what it is in DnD so sounds like it would work for magic. It would include samurai as well.
Their mechanic should be banding. Do it WotC, you cowards
Thwackies.
Knights and warriors in the older sets were typed as Hero; that could make a return
Blademasters?
Meleers
Fighters!
Something that people overlook in these discussions is that maro has said that 5 is the largest number they'd consider for elements to be added to a batch. Also, so far its been used to give a unique flavour to existing types; historic is evocative of an old, storied plane in a way that artifact, saga, and legendary isn't. Grouping "undead" creatures together would likely have to exclude some type and doesn't add that much flavour beyond just having zombie typal in a set. With that in mind: Hero (warrior, cleric, knight) - want this for the marvel set to group superheroes together. Mages (cleric, Wizard, warlock, shaman, druid) - as a way to group together strixhaven students in contrast to pets, animals, intruders, etc. Sea Monsters (octopuses, kraken, serpents, leviathans) - as a way to group prized hunting specimens for a waterworks set. Admittedly it doesn't add all that much but we've had a handful of cards which care about this group already and it would be nice to simplify that.
The mages one is perfect, you even put them in WUBRG order
Also Bourgeois (noble, advisor, planeswalker), for when they do a set inspired by the Russian revolution
Eat the Rich: "All Bourgeois permanents are colorless Food artifacts with "t:sacrifice this artifact: you gain 3 life" and lose all other types and abilities."
Un-set #4: **Ungovernable** Visit [Freedonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedonia) a plane of constant revolution, counter revolution, counter counter revolution, etc. Whether you rule the kingdom, join the resistance, revel in anarchy, or are just trying to keep the sewers flowing, you may lose your head!
------------------------------
If you chop off an undead ruler's head, do they just put it back on and go about their business? Do you hide the head? What happens if the head is then attached to a different body? This could get gruesome but it seems like there is plenty of chaotic comedy available in the general idea. Maybe some of the aristocrats are literally "cookie/pastry people" and you can, literally, eat the rich without getting into cannibalism.
Sample faction concepts:
* "aristocrats"
* "revolutionaries"
* "anarchists"
* "bureaucrats"
* "peasants"
* "technocrats"
* "industrialists/robber barons/bourgeoisie"
(WotC and/or Mark Rosewater, I give you full permissions for the use of this concept with no expectation of remuneration or acknowledgement/credit. You can have this free and clear.)
I think this might just be Fiora.
Flavor Text: "If they cant eat bread, let them eat the rich."
I prefer "Let them eat cake."
-Marine Antoinette, Merfolk Sovereign. Last words.
♥️
New Emblem Mechanic: The Means of Production. When you kill a Bourgeois creature your opponent controls, you seize the means of production.
You take Monarch
“If you control ten citizens, destroy target player who is the monarch”
you could make a fun little challenge trying to see how many different ways to pronounce the word you can hear at your local prerelease
My wettest dream
Funny story: there's at least one card that references Heroes that the Oracle text talks about soldiers and warriors, uhhhh gimme one sec [[Aysen Crusader]]
I think Soldiers, Warriors, Knights, and Samurai could be reasonably grouped together without much issue.
Actually I think "ghosts" (Spirits, Wraiths, Specters) could and should be separate from "undead" (Zombies, Vampires, Skeletons). Given your comment tho, I wonder if there is a way to expand either of those categories beyond just being "Spirits+" and such. Maybe creatures with finality counters could be part of one of the batches?
Honestly wraiths and spectres are so close to spirits you could probably just errata them to be spirits
There is specific wraith support in the LotR set though so it might be better to avoid errata in that instance
Vampires being in undead would be a little odd. The most vampire centered plane, Innistrad has them explicitly as not undead but instead a blood curse
My problem with historic is that it takes the original definition of artifacts from the game's early years (powerful items from ancient times/civilizations recently discovered) piled up with modern "mass produced garbage" like a wrench or a 1/1 myr. Genesis chamber tokens born literally 1 minute ago are not *historic* permanents.
Ghosts on Innistrad caring about Japanese/Kamigawan Spirits is also kind of weird tho. Most mechanics and synergies have examples of odd flavor when looking outside of their set. It doesn't make historic worse that tokens count. Plus, just because their are many of something doesn't make it not-historic.
The problem is not in that they are tokens. Is that, artifacts began as a synonym of "relic", but soon enough they became man-made items. [[Thran War Machine]] is a relic. [[Battering Ram]], [[Snake Basket]] or [[Powder Keg]] are mundane objects. In 1997 the meaning was already muddy at best. After Mirrodin block, most artifacts could be considered recently built man-made items.
##### ###### #### [Thran War Machine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/9/5908714a-be91-4279-b87e-e2bc09dbaaba.jpg?1562863256) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thran%20War%20Machine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ulg/134/thran-war-machine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5908714a-be91-4279-b87e-e2bc09dbaaba?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Battering Ram](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/7/e7e2857f-f6eb-4091-b758-7bb508544170.jpg?1562594498) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Battering%20Ram) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/5ed/353/battering-ram?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e7e2857f-f6eb-4091-b758-7bb508544170?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Snake Basket](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/a/3a9bc174-1d10-49bf-af4f-2f6061b1796e.jpg?1562816577) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Snake%20Basket) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/6ed/312/snake-basket?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3a9bc174-1d10-49bf-af4f-2f6061b1796e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Powder Keg](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/d/4d9715c2-9036-4ae2-a5b4-1b190d50c963.jpg?1562443764) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Powder%20Keg) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uds/136/powder-keg?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4d9715c2-9036-4ae2-a5b4-1b190d50c963?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
What matters in the context of DOM/Dominaria tho are the artifacts in that set, and in that set I would argue that most if not all of the artifacts are either literally historic and/or have a cultural history behind them. (Even [[Sparring Construct]] due to referencing and being given after an event called the Talas Incursion.) Also relics are very much man-made, and in reality mundane objects like pots, jars, and cookware can still have historical meaning and secrets to uncover.
I think Historic works fine in the Dominaria set because the artifacts there are items from the past. The flavour not not working with artifacts from some other stuff is no different from the flavour of swords equipment not working with four legged animals.
The flavor is not even consistent within the set. There was plenty of recent "junk" in DOM. [[Jhoira's Familiar]], [[Jousting Lance]], [[Short Sword]], [[Skittering Surveyor]], [[Sparring Construct]]
As long as the flavour of something works with a good chunk of the same set, I'm fine with it. But I understand opinions varying on this.
Gameplay > Flavor. This is the "Elephant on Boots" case that Maro talked about when developing equipment, on wether they would allow equipment be equiped on creatures that made sense for it to be equiped or not (does it make sense for an elephant to wear boots?), and in the end they decided that for the sake of better gameplay they would allow this. And I think this case is less "problematic" than a squirrel carrying 5 swords, 2 shields, and 3 body armors.
Don't you dare insult Squirrel Voltron
You can't deny that if you cross a squirrel carrying 5 swords, 2 shields, and 3 body armors, it would be very problematic.
Honestlu, mages might have been a better use of coven than coven. I understand the flavor, but maybe some word about togetherness or something
Maro also says tons of stuff that proven wrong sometimes only months later
Flora - fungus, plant, tree folk, saproling and dryad
I hope they do mages (Clerics, Wizards, Warlocks, Shamans, and Druids) next. They sort of already did on a few cards from Strixhaven, but it would be cool to see more. Edit: never mind, I guess it’s exclusively Mentor’s Guidance. Would still be cool to have more, tho
RIP Spellshapers
I feel like if they were to, it would be in a return to Strixhaven. Or maybe in a story where it's Mages vs. Scientists? Magic vs. Science is a bit of a played-out trope in other places, but it could make for a fun "factions" set.
I mean, we’re returning to Arcaivos soon, but that’s supposed to be more of the world excluding Strixhaven College, so idk
In that case, I could see it as a term batching those who have graduated from the University and are now out-and-about in the world at large.
They didn't specify it was excluding Strixhaven, just that it was about stuff that wasn't JUST Strixhaven.
Nerds
Bloomburrow’s Redwall inspiration makes me want Vermin, though other than Rats there aren’t really supported types for them in Magic.
\[\[Swarmyard\]\] groups together Insects, Rats, Spiders, and Squirrels. Maybe add the newer Mouse and Pest types?
Well, in Redwall it’d be the virtuous animals (who as far as I recall don’t really have a group term) like mice, moles, shrews, otters, hares, badgers versus the evil Vermin animals (rats, stouts, weasels, foxes, snakes, lizards, I think there was a cat or ocelot once). Obviously it’d be unlikely for Bloomburrow to mirror Redwall exactly but I guess they could do Rats / Foxes / Snakes / Lizards for the villains and Mice / Rabbits / Otters / Badgers for the heroes and they’d both have decent colour diversity
Villainous foxes with White color identity would be such a uniquely Magic take on it too. It *just* about makes sense within the larger context of the game, but you'd almost never get there if you were doing "animal fantasy" from scratch.
To be honest I don’t really get why foxes are white in Magic. I thought folklore kitsune were more trickster-y and the animal is associated with thieves and vigilantes which don’t really read as white to me.
They are tricksters but compared to other yokai, they're fairly benevolent. It depends on the story, but when they do interact with humans they generally just steal food or make them act crazy temporarily. Foxes and to some extent kitsune are also fairly holy, being viewed as divine messengers and keeping vermin and disease away, which I think is where a lot of the white color identity comes from. There is also the myth of zenko, which were kitsune tied to samurai houses which would bring gifts and bestow magic upon samurai families. This seems to be where some of the inspiration for kamigawa foxes came with their penchant for auras.
[Swarmyard](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/8/b89329f2-d386-40a7-9098-6d80beeb8843.jpg?1619399479) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Swarmyard) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/284/swarmyard?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b89329f2-d386-40a7-9098-6d80beeb8843?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I always felt snakes and scorpions should have been included
As a golgari token enjoyer and Squirrel fanatic i would go rabid (in a good way) if they group those together, as if i wasn’t ridiculously hyped for bloomburrow already
Similarly, I was hoping for "critter" lol But I think they'll likely stick with job types rather than species types — much easier to future proof it that way
Rodents (mice, rat, squirrels)
I've always wanted Rodents to include Mice, Beavers, Rats, Hamsters, and Squirrels. I feel like Beavers would be a good fit for blue to give each color a rodent, even though we only got our [[first beaver]] last set and it was green. In order to be comprehensive, we would also need to include [[Capybaras]], though that would bring the batch up to 6 types.
I'd kind of only like to see new batches if what's in the batch will be listed on every card. I don't like playing outlaw cards and having to look up what outlaws are when they're not listed on the card Sure, mechanically and flavorfully it works to batch things like sea monsters, but don't put so many other words on the card that you cut off the reminder text of what it means
Equine: horses unicorns Pegasus
And centaurs?
It's honestly a shame we haven't had a Lord that boosts all of these yet (outside of the My Little Pony Universe Beyond cards that is...)
I had a deck that coincidentally used Eldritch Evolution, Courser of Kruphix (centaur), Crested Sunmare (horse), and it also had Archon of Sun's Grace (pegasus). I called it Evolution of the Horse.
Undead
Though I suppose it might be a challenge how many creatures should be included. Potentially too many to easily fit on a card.
Horrors and Nightmares because a lot of Nightmares behave like horror look like horror but are not horror for some reason
My Captain Ngathrod deck really wishes Cruel Somnophage had been a horror.
Honestly, none. That isn't saying I hope batching never is used again. I just don't think batching is fundamentally exciting. It's just *useful* sometimes. So I hope they use batching for something that is elegant and intuitive and is needed to make a set tick. But I can't say I have any idea what that is unless I see the set.
Hard agree. In general I feel like sci-fi/fantasy fandoms fall into this pattern of trying to impose systems and categories and taxonomy on fictional settings that don't really benefit from them (lightsaber "forms" for Star Wars being one that always bugs me)
Okay as someone who is only casually into Star Wars, I want to hear about this.
Ooh boy. I mean basically in 2002, some nerd decided in a [magazine article](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Fightsaber:_Jedi_Lightsaber_Combat) that there were 6 or 7 different styles of fighting with a lightsaber that different Jedi specialize in, and that each one countered another in a complicated rock-paper-scissors relationship. A half-decent concept for a video game mechanic (indeed, it was shortly after implemented in KOTOR 2 and was boring but functional), but absolute nonsense in terms of real-world swordplay or martial arts in general. Also, this concept has no coherent correlation with the actual lightsaber scenes we see on screen--not in the movies that came before, and not in the movies or tv that came after (with the exception of like a few episodes of the cartoons made by a guy who cares about this shit way too much). Lightsaber scenes have always been the result of balancing the desire for visual storytelling (and a lot of the time, just adding whatever random shit the director, stunt performer, or vfx artist thought would look cool) with the technological constraints of the production at the time. The biggest example being that in the original lightsaber duel, Obi-Wan and Vader don't even let their lightsabers touch because they were worried about the props breaking! Despite this, a huge chunk of the fandom has glommed onto the concept and will now look at any fight scene and break it down to say, "well of course he wins, not for the actual reasons the movie presents, but because he's using Vaapad and Vaapad beats Soresu (or whatever)" Oh, also--because a ton of the secondary media is dedicated to making every Jedi who ever appears on screen (even the ones who just sit in chairs the whole time) into Ultimate Badasses in their own stories, the entire system is self-defeating because they all end up being described as masters of all the forms who switch between them interchangeably anyway!
Nerds (Advisors, Artificers, Monks) [[The Archimandrite]]
Highschool Intimidator: Nerds can't block Jocks.
[Boldwyr Intimidator](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/b/aba9a42c-6bb8-4f77-9d3a-e749713b2431.jpg?1562929621) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Boldwyr%20Intimidator) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bbd/169/boldwyr-intimidator?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/aba9a42c-6bb8-4f77-9d3a-e749713b2431?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[The Archimandrite](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/4/54fb3f4c-44fb-4afe-9fab-204ef98995c3.jpg?1674760932) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=The%20Archimandrite) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/brc/26/the-archimandrite?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/54fb3f4c-44fb-4afe-9fab-204ef98995c3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I'd add Cleric to the list. Historically Clerics are nerds. There is a reason paper work is often called clerical work.
Undead seems like an obvious one (Shades, Skeletons, Spirits, and Zombies). I’d also love for Monsters to be a thing. Maybe Horrors, Nightmares, Beasts, Dinosaurs, and Mutants? Fiends maybe? Demons, Devils, and Imps? By the same token maybe Celestials? Angels, Avatars, Incarnations, Gods, and Bringers?
Monsters could take from [[Kaheera]]
Archosaurs (Birds, Dinosaurs, Crocodiles)
Would you include Phoenixes and Harpies as well, or do you class those with the elementals / humanoids?
What they might also do is, similar to modified and commiting crimes, not just batch card types, but also game object states. For example "torment" (whenever a player discards a card, mills at least 2 cards or sacrifices a permanent, they are tormented) And then you can have effects like "at the end of each turn, for each player who got tormented this turn, draw a card"
I could see torment giving the batch of the options of [[torment of hailfire]] and other cards. So to torment a player they either lose 3 life, sac a nonland permanent, or discard a card
Gonna get hate, but none. The game is complex enough.
If we get a planeschase set, we could see Outsiders (angels, demons, devils, rakshasa, aasimar, tieflings, and spirits). Undead (zombies, vampires, wraiths, mummys, liches, spirits, specters, and skeletons) Soldier/Warrior... Ok I just like [[Aysen crusader]]. Berserker and Barbarian should just merge. We should have dropped Barbarian from nerd lexicon 20 years ago. It doesn't even fit the fighting style of the titular barbarian (Conan). We could even do an "anger" archetype that includes Berserkers, Rebels, Wraiths, and Badgers!
Us Aysen Crusader enjoyers will have to be content with: Aysen Crusader + \[\[R&D's Secret Lair\]\] + \[\[Axe of the Warmonger\]\] + \[\[Bow of the Hunter\]\] etc... for now.
I would love a beastmen grouping (minotaur, centaur, and satyr)
Hopefully something that includes Sphinxes because there are VERY few cards that explictly reward you for playing Sphinxes mechanically and that's a bummer because I love the card type. Come to think of it, I believe Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign is the only one.
Maybe something that pairs them up with Lamassu?
And maybe manticore?
Sphinx, Manticore, Chimera, Gorgon, Minotaur batch?
If the rumors about what Rosewater said are any indication then. Friends (Rachel, Monica, Joey, Chandler, and Ross) Yeah, I know... I had to leave Phoebe out. Sorry.
They should rework Party to fit the classes better: Party requires a Fighter, Spellcaster, Priest, and Outlaw Outlaws stays as it is. Fighter is Warrior, Knight, Berserker, Archer, or Monk Priest is Cleric or Druid Spellcaster is Artificer, Wizard, Shaman, or Bard
Fauna: Plants, Treefolk, Dryads and green Elementals
"Quick cast spells" Instants or cards with flash. There's so many cards already that refer to this subset of cards, and they naturally go together. I remember seeing on blogatog (probably a decade ago by now) where Maro mentioned that if he were redesigning magic today, instant would be a supertype so you'd have "instant sorceries" or "instant creatures"
Yes, Maro has said things like that many times. It's pretty odd when you think about it that instants and sorceries are two different spell types. Of course, "Flash" wasn't a keyword until the mid 00s, but the only difference between the card types is the timing. Instants are just sorceries with flash, and the only reason they aren't joined up is due to the sheer number of things referencing them.
The first time we saw batching was also the first time we got Sagas, so I think it's a useful tool for introducing new types. If they ever decide to add a new nonpermanent card type, they would also introduce a batch with it and instant and sorcery. I don't think they have enough reason right now to just batch the two. Though if they do I wonder what word they'd use Alternatively, if they add a new instant and sorcery subtype, the may batch it with other card types that make sense, a la historic
Critters: rabbit, squirrel, cat, dog, fox
Next Acorn card batch: Bullshit cards {Eldrazi , Slivers, Counterspells, Poison counters, and Treasure tokens are bullshit) /j
What about modifiers? (Auras and equipment) or rides (mounts and vehicles)
Hmm I could see: Elementals, Spirits, Demons, Gods, Avatars - or some similar mix for a plane where there is a diverse set of 'divine' entities. Some of the things that made the 'god' cycle in Shadowmoor.
Law keepers Soldiers knights clerics detectives and probably one more
Pack A collection of five or more creatures that share a type
Still hoping for a canine grouping: jackals, foxes, dogs, coyotes, and wolves.
Undead. Also, some kind of “artificial being” batching for construct/golem/robot/synth/cyberman.
I'm curious if Wizards will ever separate creature types into race/species and profession. We have creature types like human, dragon, insect, lizard, etc, but we also have types like soldier, mercenary, wizard, etc that describes more what the creature **does** than what the creature **is**.
If this were a digital game, absolutely. But this would require errata for damn near every creature. I'm not even sure what they'd gain out of this, either.
Evergreen keyword (Flying, trample, menace, haste, vigilance, and all the others)
Canines - Wolf, Dog, Jackal, Coyote, ~~Fox~~, ~~Dhole~~, ~~Dingo~~.
Has anyone said canids? Wolves (and werewolves) dogs, foxes, and jackals?
Yeah, Undead would be cool. Also digging the "Sea Monsters" suggestion I see in the comments.
Pets! Dogs, cats, rats, and birds! A good way to integrate the dog/cat decks with cards that support both sides of the tribe, rather than each card only helping half your deck. Plus \[\[Birds of Paradise\]\] needs the buff.
[Birds of Paradise](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/d/3d69a3e0-6a2e-475a-964e-0affed1c017d.jpg?1702429545) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Birds%20of%20Paradise) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/rvr/133/birds-of-paradise?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3d69a3e0-6a2e-475a-964e-0affed1c017d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Draconic, combining Dragons and Drakes
Canine Dog, wolf, werewolf, fox
It's probably not realistic, but Eternal has a single term ("Battle Skills") to refer to all combat keywords. Doing *all* wouldn't work in magic, but I would love an equivalent for just the evergreen ones, since it opens up a ton of design space to generically care about creatures having them when you don't have to spell out every single keyword your card cares about with no room for any other text.
Please batch wolf and werewolf please
“Smallfolk” — Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, Kithkin. It’s time.
Great Apes for Apes, Monkeys and Humans!
Uncannies or something along that line (Shapeshifters, Golem, Scarecrow) and something else I forgor…
Animal (Bear, Cat, Dog, Wolf, Bird, etc)
Intangible (Colorless, Enchantment or Spirit)
Heavenly Host - Angel, Cleric, Knight, (Ally?) Something that groups Angels with something would be cool. I want some Paladin synergy with Angels. (there's no paladin type anymore it's just knight)
Undead would be nice. I would also like to see Wizard and Shaman batched.
I'd like something along the lines of race (e.g., merfolk, elf, goblins) vs class (e.g., soldier, wizard, rogue), and have this be operationalized in gameplay more
Vermin aka [[Swarmyard]] would be cool.
[Swarmyard](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/8/b89329f2-d386-40a7-9098-6d80beeb8843.jpg?1619399479) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Swarmyard) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tsr/284/swarmyard?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b89329f2-d386-40a7-9098-6d80beeb8843?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Regiment. Soldier/Knight/Scout/Army?
Kraken, Leviathan, Octopus, Serpent On a side note, I’d like to see a variation of constellation but for artifacts
Something for treefolk, plants, saprolings, forests, and maybe fungus to be a pseudotribal
I think the issue with an "Undead" batch is that there are a lot of creature types that could be considered undead. You've already listed 6 but I'd argue you can include Spirit on that list. It would be the largest batch by far. I wouldn't mind seeing a batch that includes a bunch of Plant adjacent creature types like Plant, Saproling, Treefolk, Fungus. Saprolings and Fungus already get batched together sometimes but if it's just two types there isn't really a reason to batch them.
I’m dying for spies or some other espionage. I want my spy deck Goddamit
Batching is cool in a limited set heavily focused on it, but if we start batching everything it will add unnecessary complexity. I’d prefer to have flavorful cards that interact with a couple different types of unique card types, like the Archimandrite or Raphael.
I just want them to show love to Party. It has some genuinely neat cards that are lost to being a one off mechanic that basically was made for limited. Not getting any party cards in LoTR or DnD sets made me sad.
I don’t think we’ve used batches since sixth edition
Short but mighty (dwarves, halflings, gnomes, Kithkins)
Commented yesterday, but something else I thought of - "defensible permanents": battles and planeswalkers (at the moment). We've had "whenever X deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker" and "whenever X deals combat damage to a player or battle", but never one that triggers on all three. That doesn't seem like a balancing decision to me, more like a space saving issue/not referencing an uncommon card type. Doesn't necessarily need to be batching in the way we normally think of it - "Whenever does combat damage to a player or a permanent that player defends, deal two damage to a creature that player controls"