Kindred

Kindred
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Card Type
Subtype	Creature type
Storm Scale	9
Statistics	57 cards 8.8% 15.8% 17.5% 21.1% 12.3% 14% 10.5%
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type:"Kindred"

For tribal in a broader sense, see Typal.

Kindred is a card type first introduced as Tribal in Future Sight, and expanded upon in the Lorwyn block. Creatures and kindreds/tribals share the same set of subtypes. Cards referring to specific creature types may also affect kindreds/tribals.

Kindred (in the form of Tribal) has been coupled with Instants, Sorceries, Enchantments and Artifacts.

Retirement

R&D no longer supports the kindred / tribal card type. Mark Rosewater announced the death knell of tribal, when it wasn't used in Innistrad (which had a strong typal subtheme). He stated that tribal was problematic everywhere R&D used it because they couldn't go half in, which resulted in a lot of extra words for very little actual use. On the other hand, he noted that mechanically caring about creature types is still very much alive.

Tribal was seen last in Rise of the Eldrazi as a relevant mechanic. It made a small reappearance on the test card Form of the Mulldrifter, in the Mystery Booster set, and another small reappearance on the card Altar of the Goyf, in the Modern Horizons 2 set. Mark Rosewater then stated that special sets that can make use of retired mechanics can also make use of the kindred card type.

Change from Tribal to Kindred

Wizards of the Coast confirmed during Wilds of Eldraine previews that the company was moving away from the use of "tribal" for cultural reasons. "Typal" is a replacement for internal R&D slang that means “mechanically cares about creature type(s)”. However, it was stated that the word “typal” would never appear on cards, and that it was not a replacement for the card type Tribal.

Later that year, R&D reviewed its stance towards the Tribal card type as part of the digital release of Khans of Tarkir on Magic: The Gathering Arena. The decision was made to rename the type to "Kindred," with the terminology change scheduled for a future Oracle update. Two cards on Arena retain the card type: Bitterblossom and Altar of the Goyf. The first new card to feature the printed word "Kindred" appeared in Modern Horizons 3. This also made it an official change in the Comprehensive Rules.

The name change allows R&D to do the occasional one-off design in the appropriate product that they might not have done before.

Rules

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

Tribal (Obsolete)

An obsolete card type that has been renamed. See rule 308, “Kindreds.”

Subtypes

The subtype for kindreds is called creature type and shared with creatures.

Rulings

• Kindred is not a permanent type. However, a kindred card can become a permanent if another of its types allows it to do so.
• Many Lorwyn cards refer to specific creature types. These cards may affect kindreds, depending on what they say and what they do. For example, using "Goblin" as our creature type:
  • If a card uses "Goblin" as a noun (that is, without following it with a word like "card" or "spell"), it actually means "Goblin permanent." It can affect any Goblin permanent in play, including a Goblin kindred.
  • If a card says just "Goblin creature," it can affect only a Goblin creature in play. It can't affect a kindred.
  • If a card says "Goblin card," it can affect any Goblin card not in play, including a Goblin kindred card.
• If a spell asks whether you control a Goblin, it's asking whether you control a Goblin permanent. It won't count Goblin spells you control (including itself).
• If a card with multiple types has one or more subtypes, each subtype is correlated to its appropriate type.
• When one or more of a permanent's subtypes changes, the new subtype(s) replace any existing subtypes from the appropriate set (creature types, land types, artifact types, enchantment types, spell types, or planeswalker types). It won't affect the subtypes from any other set, and it won't affect the permanent's types.
• If a permanent ceases to be one of its types, the subtypes correlated with that type will remain if they are also the subtypes of a type the permanent currently has; otherwise, they are also removed for the entire time the permanent's type is removed.
• The Onslaught card Artificial Evolution can change the creature types of a kindred.
• Many older cards have received errata in the Oracle card database to work sensibly with kindreds. For example, instant and sorcery cards can't come into play. If an older card was printed with a wording that allowed you to put a Goblin card into play, it now specifies that you can put a Goblin permanent card into play.

Trivia

A considered indicator for Elf kindred

• Kindred, under its original name "Tribal," was featured as rules card 5 of 5 in the Lorwyn set.
• There are 55 kindred cards, featuring seventeen creature types (Eldrazi, Elemental, Elf, Faerie, Giant, Goblin, Kithkin, Lhurgoyf, Merfolk, Rebel, Rogue, Shaman, Shapeshifter, Soldier, Treefolk, Warrior, and Wizard).
• When kindred was being used regularly, R&D went from saying “Goblin” to “Goblin creature card” for non-kindred effects. After they stopped regularly making Kindred cards they switched the template back as it’s less wordy.
• Early on, there was some exploration into other versions of the Kindred card type that used Kindred indicators in the type line of a card.
• The upcoming name change from Tribal to Kindred (and ongoing confusion) was reflected in two card names for Lost Caverns Commander: Kindred Boon and Kindred Discovery, which were essentially typal cards.