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A '''wall''' is usually a [[creature descriptions|defensive]] creature that, by default, either has the rule text "walls can't attack", or after an errata, has [[defender]]. This assumption was removed in ''[[Champions of Kamigawa]]'' when defender was added.  Now, any new wall does not automatically have defender, it must say so on the card.  Being a defensive creature, walls in general have a higher toughness then power but there are exceptions like <c>Blistering Barrier</c>.
{{Infobox type
|type=creature
|stats={{stats|W=30|U=33|B=18|R=21|G=19|A=25|GU=1|WU=1|M=1}}
{{stats|Wall creation|W=4|U=2|G=1|A=1|state=collapsed}}
as of ''[[Murders at Karlov Manor]]''
|beeble=2
|beeble_ref=<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/181118290138/|title=I would like to ask where walls and spirits rank on the Beeble Scale.|December 14, 2018}}</ref>
}}
{{TOCright}}
'''Wall''' is a [[creature type]], usually found on defensive creatures. They represent barriers for attackers ranging from physical objects to intangible forces. Being unable to [[attack]], Walls in general have a higher [[toughness]] than [[power]] (if not 0 [[power]]) but there are exceptions, like <c>Blistering Barrier</c>. Walls were introduced in ''[[Alpha]]'', which featured ten of them in all colors.


Walls were removed for a short time after ''[[8th Edition]]'' because in a sense it was hard to fathom how a <c>Wall of Wood</c> which seemed stationary would be able to move to block a creature. In ''[[10th Edition]]'' each color, except black, saw a wall being printed. No explanation was given as to why walls came back to print.
==Introduction of Defender on Walls==
Originally, being a Wall implicitly did not allow the creature to attack.<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/defense-walls-2006-12-07|In Defense of Walls|[[Magic Arcana]]|December 07, 2006}}</ref> This meant that Wall was the only [[creature type]] having a specific rule attached to it and this brought additional rule text on cards like {{card|Mistform Ultimus|Legions}} or <c>Artificial Evolution</c>, forced to have a specific non-wall condition to avoid giving an unwanted ability ([[Defender]]) added to the creature.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/change-better-2004-10-04|Change For the Better|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 04, 2004}}</ref> This was changed with the release of ''[[Champions of Kamigawa]]'' when the ability [[Defender]] was introduced and the creature type Wall was decoupled from it with previously printed Walls getting an [[errata]] adding that ability to them.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/change-better-2004-10-04|Change For the Better|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 04, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/issue-legen—wait-it—dary-2011-05-09|The Issue Is Legen—Wait for It—Dary|[[Mark Rosewater]]|May 09, 2011}}</ref> With the exception of creatures with [[Changeling]], no new Walls have been printed without Defender. This change also meant that changing the subtype of a creature to "Wall" no longer stops them from attacking.
{{CR|glossary|Wall}}


== Notable walls ==
==Absence of Walls==
*<c>Wall of Blossoms</c> {{-}} A green 0/4 Wall that, when it comes into play, allows its controller to [[cantrip|draw a card]]; this wall saw, and, in formats which it is legal in, sees, play in some tournament [[green]] decks.
Walls were removed for a short time after ''[[Eighth Edition]]'' because in a sense it was hard to fathom how a <c>Wall of Wood</c> which seemed stationary would be able to move to block a creature. From a flavor perspective, a wall is either an artifact or land. With this in mind, [[Mark Rosewater]] and [[Brady Dommermuth]] spearheaded their removal from the game for several years, until sentimentality eventually brought them back. Although Walls didn't make much sense creature-wise, they did have an über-logic to them in that they were used as a means to protect the player. This meta-flavor was beloved by enough of [[R&D]] that Walls returned. In ''[[Tenth Edition]]'', each color, except black, saw a wall being printed. Walls are used much more sparingly now, and [[R&D#Creative|Creative]] tries to keep them from feeling like inanimate objects.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/walking-undead-2011-10-17|The Walking Undead|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/fort-abzan-2014-09-30|Fort Abzan|[[Blake Rasmussen]]|September 30, 2014}}</ref><ref name=":0">'''Mark Rosewater''' (August 17, 2023). "[https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/725936052873904128 I’ve been getting a lot of questions that boil down to “I don’t like X, could you stop doing X?”]". ''Blogatog.'' Tumblr.</ref>
*<c>Wall of Mulch</c> {{-}} The closest thing to a "Wall [[Lord]]," this is the only wall that rewards players for putting it in a deck with other Walls.
 
==Notable Walls==
*First [[Legendary]] Wall {{-}} [[Pramikon]]
*<c>Illusionary Wall</c> {{-}} The first Wall to have a power greater than its toughness.
*<c>Sunscape Familiar</c> {{-}} A white Wall that was used in various decks to reduce the mana cost of blue and green spells.
*<c>Tinder Wall</c> {{-}} A green wall that can be sacrificed to add {{R}}{{R}}, thus providing a short term mana boost or acting as a mana battery.
*<c>Wall of Blossoms</c> {{-}} A green 0/4 Wall that, when it enters the battlefield, allows its controller to [[cantrip|draw a card]]; this wall saw and still sees regular tournament play.  It was [[colorshift]]ed to white as <c>Wall of Omens</c> in ''[[Rise of the Eldrazi]]''.
*<c>Wall of Denial</c> {{-}} A very large Wall that can virtually not be removed due to [[shroud]].
*<c>Wall of Glare</c> {{-}} A white 0/5 that can block any number of creatures.
*<c>Wall of Hope</c> {{-}} A small but effective barrier for Weenie rush strategies.
*<c>Wall of Mulch</c> {{-}} The closest thing to a "Wall [[Lord]]," this was the first Wall that rewards players for putting it in a deck with other Walls; while some cards in ''Rise of the Eldrazi'' have similar effects, they are dependent on Defenders rather than Walls themselves.
*<c>Wall of Reverence</c> {{-}} A very large defensive creature that can also block Flyers and continuously replenishes the life total of its controller.
*<c>Wall of Roots</c> {{-}} A green 0/5 Wall which can be shrunk once a turn to add {{G}}. It is notable because it can immediately add mana as it does not use {{T}}, therefore also retaining the ability to block, and it can also produce mana in consecutive turns without the necessity of untapping it in between. It is also one of only two cards to use a deprecated counter (in this case, -0/-1) legal in [[Modern]], the other being <c>Lightning Serpent</c> (+1/+0).


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Number of walls: [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/index.aspx?term=wall&Field_Type=on&setfilter=All%20sets 93].
*<c>Animate Wall</c> was the only [[List of obsolete terminology|Enchant Wall]] printed and the first card to remove the [[defender]] ability from the Walls. Later its [[card type]] was changed in [[Aura]]. <c>Rolling stones</c> grants the same ability to all the Walls.
*Number of walls with subtype [[snow]]: 1 {{-}} <c>Wall of Shards</c>.
*Number of Walls (as of ''[[Strixhaven: School of Mages]]''): 136.
*Number of [[artifact]] walls: [http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/index.aspx?term=wall&Field_Type=on&setfilter=All%20sets&typefilter=Artifacts 13].
*Number of Walls with supertype [[snow]]: 1 {{-}} <c>Wall of Shards</c>.
*Cheapest ([[mana cost]]) wall: <c>Shield Sphere</c> {{-}} {{0}}.
*Number of [[artifact]] Walls (as of ''[[Strixhaven: School of Mages]]''): 26
*Most expensive (mana cost) walls: <c>Dark Maze</c>, <c>Illusionary Wall</c>, <c>Infested Roothold</c>, <c>Necropolis</c>, <c>Snow Fortress</c>, <c>Wall of Opposition</c> {{-}} converted mana cost of 5.
*Cheapest ([[mana cost]]) Wall: <c>Shield Sphere</c> {{-}} {{0}}.
*Most expensive (mana cost) Walls: <c>Roving Keep</c> {{-}} 7.
*Wall with the highest power: <c>Illusionary Wall</c> {{-}} 7.
*Wall with the highest power: <c>Illusionary Wall</c> {{-}} 7.
*Walls with the highest toughness: <c>Wall of Shards</c> and <c>Wall of Stone</c> {{-}} 8.
*Walls with the highest toughness: <c>Wall of Shards</c>, <c>Wall of Stone</c> and <c>Wall of Denial</c> {{-}} 8.
*Walls with the highest combined power and toughness: <c>Illusionary Wall</c> and <c>Sunweb</c> {{-}} 11
*Walls with the highest combined power and toughness: <c>Roving Keep</c> {{-}} 12.
*Walls with the lowest combined power and toughness: <c>Mindbender Spores</c>, <c>Necropolis</c>, <c>Wall of Shadows</c>, <c>Wall of Tombstones</c> and <c>Wall of Vapor</c> {{-}} 1.
*Walls with the lowest combined power and toughness: <c>Mindbender Spores</c>, <c>Necropolis</c>, <c>Wall of Shadows</c>, <c>Wall of Tombstones</c> and <c>Wall of Vapor</c> {{-}} 1.
*Wall printed the most times: <c>Wall of Swords</c> (every [[core set]] except [[9th Edition]] plus [[Portal (set)|Portal]]).
*Wall printed the most times: <c>Wall of Swords</c> (every [[core set]] before ''[[Magic 2010]]'' except ''[[9th Edition]]'' plus ''[[Portal]]'').
*[[:Category:Expansions and sets|Expansion set]] with the most walls: [[Ice Age]] {{-}} 11.
*[[Set]] with the most Walls: ''[[Legends]]'' {{-}} 11.
*<c>Testament of Faith</c> is an [[enchantment]] that can become a X/X Wall [[Enchantment creature]] with defender.
*The reallowance of Walls into the game was partially inspired by the temporary demise and return of [[Demon#History|Demons]].<ref name=":0" />
 
==Tokens==
{{Wall tokens|header=y}}
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Creature types]]
{{Creature types|Races|Walls}}
[[Category:Trivia]]

Latest revision as of 17:07, 8 March 2024

Wall
Creature Type
(Subtype for creature/kindred cards)
Beeble Scale 2[1]
Statistics
149 cards
{W} 20.1% {U} 22.1% {B} 12.1% {R} 14.1% {G} 12.8% {W/U} 0.7% {G/U} 0.7% {M} 0.7% {artifact symbol} 16.8%
8 Wall creation cards
{W} 50% {U} 25% {G} 12.5% {artifact symbol} 12.5%
as of Murders at Karlov Manor
Scryfall Search
type:"Wall"

Wall is a creature type, usually found on defensive creatures. They represent barriers for attackers ranging from physical objects to intangible forces. Being unable to attack, Walls in general have a higher toughness than power (if not 0 power) but there are exceptions, like Blistering Barrier. Walls were introduced in Alpha, which featured ten of them in all colors.

Introduction of Defender on Walls

Originally, being a Wall implicitly did not allow the creature to attack.[2] This meant that Wall was the only creature type having a specific rule attached to it and this brought additional rule text on cards like Mistform Ultimus (Legions) or Artificial Evolution, forced to have a specific non-wall condition to avoid giving an unwanted ability (Defender) added to the creature.[3] This was changed with the release of Champions of Kamigawa when the ability Defender was introduced and the creature type Wall was decoupled from it with previously printed Walls getting an errata adding that ability to them.[4][5] With the exception of creatures with Changeling, no new Walls have been printed without Defender. This change also meant that changing the subtype of a creature to "Wall" no longer stops them from attacking.

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Wall
A creature type with no particular rules meaning. Older cards with the Wall creature type but without defender had an unwritten ability that precluded them from attacking. Those cards have received errata in the Oracle card reference to have defender. Some older cards that referenced the Wall creature type have also received errata. See Defender.

Absence of Walls

Walls were removed for a short time after Eighth Edition because in a sense it was hard to fathom how a Wall of Wood which seemed stationary would be able to move to block a creature. From a flavor perspective, a wall is either an artifact or land. With this in mind, Mark Rosewater and Brady Dommermuth spearheaded their removal from the game for several years, until sentimentality eventually brought them back. Although Walls didn't make much sense creature-wise, they did have an über-logic to them in that they were used as a means to protect the player. This meta-flavor was beloved by enough of R&D that Walls returned. In Tenth Edition, each color, except black, saw a wall being printed. Walls are used much more sparingly now, and Creative tries to keep them from feeling like inanimate objects.[6][7][8]

Notable Walls

  • First Legendary Wall — Pramikon
  • Illusionary Wall — The first Wall to have a power greater than its toughness.
  • Sunscape Familiar — A white Wall that was used in various decks to reduce the mana cost of blue and green spells.
  • Tinder Wall — A green wall that can be sacrificed to add {R}{R}, thus providing a short term mana boost or acting as a mana battery.
  • Wall of Blossoms — A green 0/4 Wall that, when it enters the battlefield, allows its controller to draw a card; this wall saw and still sees regular tournament play. It was colorshifted to white as Wall of Omens in Rise of the Eldrazi.
  • Wall of Denial — A very large Wall that can virtually not be removed due to shroud.
  • Wall of Glare — A white 0/5 that can block any number of creatures.
  • Wall of Hope — A small but effective barrier for Weenie rush strategies.
  • Wall of Mulch — The closest thing to a "Wall Lord," this was the first Wall that rewards players for putting it in a deck with other Walls; while some cards in Rise of the Eldrazi have similar effects, they are dependent on Defenders rather than Walls themselves.
  • Wall of Reverence — A very large defensive creature that can also block Flyers and continuously replenishes the life total of its controller.
  • Wall of Roots — A green 0/5 Wall which can be shrunk once a turn to add {G}. It is notable because it can immediately add mana as it does not use {T}, therefore also retaining the ability to block, and it can also produce mana in consecutive turns without the necessity of untapping it in between. It is also one of only two cards to use a deprecated counter (in this case, -0/-1) legal in Modern, the other being Lightning Serpent (+1/+0).

Trivia

Tokens

Token Name Color Type Line P/T Text Box Source Printings
Wall White Creature — Wall 0/3 Defender
White Creature — Wall 0/4 Defender, Flying
Blue Creature — Wall 5/5 Defender
Colorless Artifact Creature — Wall 0/2 Defender
Colorless Artifact Creature — Wall 0/4 Defender
Wood Green Creature — Wall 0/1 Defender
Kelp Blue Creature — Plant Wall 0/1 Defender

References

  1. ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 14, 2018). "I would like to ask where walls and spirits rank on the Beeble Scale.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  2. ↑ Magic Arcana (December 07, 2006). "In Defense of Walls". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 04, 2004). "Change For the Better". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 04, 2004). "Change For the Better". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 09, 2011). "The Issue Is Legen—Wait for It—Dary". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 17, 2011). "The Walking Undead". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. ↑ Blake Rasmussen (September 30, 2014). "Fort Abzan". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  8. ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (August 17, 2023). "I’ve been getting a lot of questions that boil down to “I don’t like X, could you stop doing X?”". Blogatog. Tumblr.
 
Multicolored {M}
Majority {W}
Majority {U}
Majority {B}
Majority {R}
Majority {G}
Majority {C}
Majority Token
Crossover
 
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