Energy
| Energy | |
|---|---|
|
[[File:{{#setmainimage:E.svg}}|70x70px]] | |
| Mechanic | |
| Introduced | Kaladesh |
| Last used | Jumpstart: Historic Horizons |
| Storm Scale | 6[1] |
| Statistics |
69 Energy creation cards  10.1%  20.3%  10.1%  13%  20.3%  1.4%  1.4%  2.9%  18.8%  1.4% |
| Scryfall Search | |
| fulloracle:"Energy" | |
Energy is a resource and mechanic that was introduced in Kaladesh[2][3] and expanded on in Aether Revolt.[4][5][6] The mechanic enables the production of energy counters, which may be used to pay the costs of activated and triggered abilities.
Energy counters
An energy counter is a counter that, unlike most other counters, is placed on players rather than objects.
Most cards that grant energy counters also provide a way to spend them. However, because they are placed on the player rather than a specific object, energy counters from one card can be saved up and spent on the abilities of other cards. Energy counters don't go away as phases or steps end, or as the turn ends, and no cards printed in the Kaladesh block remove energy counters from other players. They could only be removed when the player chose to spend them. Core Set 2019 added Suncleanser which could remove energy counters.
Flavor
Energy counters represent aether, magical energy that is found throughout the Multiverse. While it is present throughout the Blind Eternities and touches all planes to some extent, on Kaladesh, it is an integral part of the ecosystem.
Examples
Example
Architect of the Untamed 
Creature — Elf Artificer Druid
2/3
Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you get 
(an energy counter).
Pay : Create a 6/6 colorless Beast artifact creature token.
History
Energy was originally designed for Mirrodin, but was not printed in that set.[7] R&D tried it again for the Esper mechanic in Shards of Alara, but it was cut there as well. For many years, it was known only as "Mechanic E", after being mentioned as such by Mark Rosewater.[8] Following that mention, many mechanics were speculated to be "Mechanic E", notably including the colorless mana symbol 
. This occasionally led Mark Rosewater to specifically refute those claims.[9]
Mark Rosewater finally confirmed that "Mechanic E" would be in Kaladesh a few days before the mechanic was officially revealed.[10] It was first previewed on the card Aetherworks Marvel at PAX West 2016.[11]
For Kaladesh, Development built an energy economy to help ensure that any energy expenditure has roughly equal value. In order to create sufficient variety in that economy, both costs and production of energy were doubled relative to the mechanic as produced by the design team.[7] The mechanic has been openly acknowledged as parasitic. However, R&D argues that this is less problematic than some previous mechanics because most energy-using cards serve as both sources and outlets for energy.[12][13]
Another complaint was that Energy was too strong a mechanic, overshadowing other mechanics in Standard. This was also acknowledged by Mark Rosewater, who remarked that R&D had missed on the right power level in their first outing with the mechanic, but that it was not a flaw of the mechanic but rather a matter of costing.[14][15]
Energy symbol
The energy symbol was introduced in Kaladesh to represent a cost for energy counters.[16] A common player complaint concerns the typesetting of those symbols, which are printed in a single line with even spacing throughout the line. On cards that use many energy counters within a single ability, this makes reading the correct number of symbols difficult. Future printings of the mechanic might use small variations in spacing to alleviate the issue.[17][18]
From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- 107.14. The energy symbol is {E}. It represents one energy counter. To pay {E}, a player removes one energy counter from themselves.
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)
- Energy Symbol
- The energy symbol {E} represents one energy counter. To pay {E}, a player removes one energy counter from themselves.
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (2021-08-27). "Where does the energy mechanic currently stand on the storm scale?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Matt Tabak (September 2, 2016). "Kaladesh Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Sam Stoddard (September 15, 2016). "Putting Some Energy Into Kaladesh". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 2, 2017). "A Revolting Development (and Design), Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Matt Tabak (January 2, 2017). "Aether Revolt Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Ben Hayes (January 3, 2017). "Leading Aether Revolt". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (September 5, 2016). "Kaladesh Ingredients, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 23, 2007). "The X Files". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 11, 2015). "Is {C} the old "E" mechanic that didn't make it into Mirrodin?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 30, 2016). "Hang on a sec, did you ever even say...". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Magic Twitch channel (September 2, 2016). Magic at PAX: Kaladesh Debut.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 04, 2016). "Is Energy parasitic?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 5, 2016). "Energy spell having a use outside of energy doesn't make this non-Parasitic.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 05, 2017). "I've seen many complaints over Energy during this Pro Tour Ixalan.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 23, 2017). "Are you still happy with Kaladesh block? And Energy?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (September 16, 2016). "Kaladesh Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 5, 2016). "I have one minor complaint about kaladesh...". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 20, 2017). "Re: Energy costs template.". Blogatog. Tumblr.