Very good subject. Me like lots of possibilities. Me say keep 'em coming, as fast as they can. Me shake head and wake up...

I think they have a strong data base from magic, which continues to add mechanics with each set. I think they know what they are doing, and they will continuously check to make sure they do not break something. I love it.

(It could never be "every other set", or else one side would always get the new stuff.)

well so far, DOR introduced boost really, loyalty was just a old game restriction found in MOR put into bold text.

MSM only had evasion.

and now DSM will bring cosmic and invunerbilty.

only 4 keywords in 4 sets is not bad.

EDIT- forgot transferable in DOR, but that keyword is useless, so lets just forget about it anyway.

Man of Steal? Is that the kleptomaniac Superman? Sorry, couldn't resist. ;)

As long as they have a mechanic that fits into a set, I think it's a good idea to put it in. Look at the different foci a deck can take:

Team based (the common deck)
Team up based (the common enemy deck)
Evasion based (characters with evasion who pump each other)
Invulnerability based (no stun damage all game)
Boost based (yeah, I made one)

With each new mechanic comes the possiblity to team up different teams that have that mechanic. I saw Miracle Man and thought that he's the perfect 5 drop for my evasion deck.

My boost based deck was so much fun, because I never had a consistant drop. New guys were coming out on every turn in every game. Completely unpredictable. (Hawk and Dove are the best 3 drops in the game)

As long as the mechanics are appropriate to the set, I like seeing them. AND as long as they continue to reuse the old ones.

I do agree that over time, the more there are the harder it will be for new players to get involved, because there could be many different mechanics. But so far, no mechanic is more than a 1 sentence description (evasion throws people off because of the combat mechanics, not the ability).

I see no problem with many different keywords.

just a side spectulation, how many keyword mechaincs does magic have right now? i stopped playing after mirage, and they allready had a bunch then and some news ones like phasing and stuff.

502. Keyword Abilities

502.2. First Strike
502.3. Flanking
502.4. Flying
502.5. Haste
502.6. Landwalk
502.7. Protection
502.8. Shadow
502.9. Trample
502.10. Banding
502.11. Bands with Other
502.12. Rampage
502.13. Cumulative Upkeep
502.14. Vigilance
502.15. Phasing
502.16. Buyback
502.17. Horsemanship
502.18. Cycling
502.19. Echo
502.20. Fading
502.21. Kicker
502.22. Flashback
502.23. Threshold
502.24. Madness
502.25. Fear
502.26. Morph
502.27. Amplify
502.28. Double Strike
502.29. Provoke
502.30. Storm
502.31. Affinity
502.32. Entwine
502.33. Equip
502.34. Imprint
502.35. Modular
502.36. Scry
502.37. Sunburst
502.38. Bushido
502.39. Soulshift
502.40. Splice
502.41. Defender

Magic generally comes out with 1 or 2 new ones a year in the base set and then in the two expansions they usually add a twist to them.

wow that is quite abit, and i even remeber some of them.

so are all those stil used commonly, are have some been phased out thanks their block system?

just trying to see what the future state of keywords in vs might look like in 10 years.

These are the ones that appear in Stanard or Type II legal cards.

502. Keyword Abilities

502.2. First Strike
502.4. Flying
502.5. Haste
502.6. Landwalk
502.7. Protection
502.9. Trample
502.14. Vigilance
502.18. Cycling
502.25. Fear
502.26. Morph
502.27. Amplify
502.28. Double Strike
502.29. Provoke
502.30. Storm
502.31. Affinity
502.32. Entwine
502.33. Equip
502.34. Imprint
502.35. Modular
502.36. Scry
502.37. Sunburst
502.38. Bushido
502.39. Soulshift
502.40. Splice
502.41. Defender

Good grief. That's a lot of keywords.

*head swirling...*

*too many keywords...*

*must...focus...*

*Haste...and Trample...and Scry...OH MY! :confused: *

As long as there's reason for them, I say do it. Mechanics shorten wording.

actually you shoudl take out

502.18. Cycling
502.26. Morph
502.27. Amplify
502.29. Provoke

for that block has been rotated out of t2.