Return to the example where I'm drafting Abzan and I open Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
It emphasizes Steels raw strength and Sapphires cunning tempo, giving players a commanding board presence
Backed up by things like Doubling Season this has the potential to get somewhat out of hand, but largely you're liable to get copies of medium to large vanilla beasties because most of the "make a token copy" spells are in blue or red
This change reflects Wizards of the Coast's commitment to expanding the game's horizons and embracing diverse storytelling universes
Not to mention giving a giant creature lifelink and +1/+1 counters is very good, and you can turn any small flier into Baneslayer Angel
Realms and Relics Box Toppers Early in the design process, the design team went through The Lord of the Rings and identified characters, creatures, locations, and items of Middle-earth to plan out how and where each would show up and at which frequency