Champions of Kamigawa common. While many cards were made Arcane for mechanic-based reasons, this one was strictly due to flavor. (It’s hard to get more Arcane than only killing non-spirits!)
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Champions of Kamigawa common. The splice mechanic went through many different incarnations during design playtesting. The first card designed for the version of splice you see today (called ???Piggyback??? during design) was Glacial Ray, which Mark Rosewater used to demonstrate the proposed mechanic to the rest of the team.
Saviors of Kamigawa uncommon. While the Maro series of creatures is named after Mark Rosewater, it’s complete coincidence that this one’s name starts with ???Adam??? ??? the name of Mark Rosewater’s son. That’s what he says anyway. If Wizards ever prints a card called ???Rachelmaro??? you’ll know differently.
Saviors of Kamigawa uncommon. The second card ever printed without a mana cost, Evermind is the first time it was actually done on purpose.
Saviors of Kamigawa common. While finishing up the set’s initial design roster nobody could come to agreement on the last card. When this one was considered someone said: ???Tyler would like to eat now.??? The card made it onto the roster, and R&D member Tyler Bielman was not-so-immortalized by its playtest name: ???Tyler Would Like to Eat Now.???
Saviors of Kamigawa common. This card had been in the design files for years, but never managed to make it into a set. It finally got its shot with Saviors because it interacted so well with the set???s wisdom (???Hand Size Matters???) mechanic.
Saviors of Kamigawa rare. During design this card (at a different cost) was actually a 5/6 monster as well. During testing the effect was so popular that the creature part felt like a distraction and was dropped so that the card could be costed lower.
Mirage common. This card was actually designed for Mirage as part of a cycle of cards that were the opposite of cantrips. Rather than you drawing an extra card, your opponent ended up with one less card. The card was moved to Homelands to fill an empty slot. Examples of the reverse-cantrip cycle that did make it to Mirage are Disempower, Fallow Earth, Ether Well, and Painful Memories.
Mirage rare. Ancestral Recall, one of the most powerful cards ever printed, was actually named Ancestral Memories during the design of Alpha. The Mirage card???s name was a reference to that original Alpha playtest name.
Exodus rare. This card was originally slated for the Tempest set. However, that put it in the same set as the Medallion cycle. Because their effects felt somewhat similar, Memory Crystal was moved to the third set to give it some space from the medallions.
