Mix-and-match
Mix-and-match cards are cards that have two or more different named mechanics on them.
Description
Normally when R&D talks about mix-and-match, they don't focus on cards with multiple evergreen keywords, as that's just something every set does. The more interesting mix-and-match cards are ones where neither mechanic is evergreen. These are hard to do because it requires having two mechanics in the same set that can work together on the same card.[1] Of those in regular sets, cycling tends to have the most mechanical overlap and as a deciduous smoothing mechanic.
The first such printed mix-and-match cards appeared in Future Sight. They also appeared in Modern Horizons and Modern Horizons 2, and one or two others in sets with cycling. Going forward, mix-and-match will be a Modern Masters thing with rare exceptions.[2] However, mix-and-match cards also appear quite often in Commander expansions.
List of Mix-and-match cards
Card | Set | Mechanic 1 | Mechanic 2 | Purpose |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arcbound Slasher | Modern Horizons 2 | Modular | Riot | The +1/+1 counter ability from modular can be extended further with riot. |
Ardent Plea | Alara Reborn | Cascade | Exalted | The cheapest cascade permanent, with exalted an elegant bonus on the board. |
Bannerhide Krushok | Modern Horizons 2 | Reinforce | Scavenge | Reinforce then scavenge to increase the amount of +1/+1 counters given. |
Blightbelly Rat, Bloated Contaminator, Tainted Observer | Phyrexia: All Will Be One | Toxic | Proliferate | These creatures can add poison counters to players, then proliferate them. |
Bloodbraid Marauder | Modern Horizons 2 | Cascade | Delirium | A cheap cascade at the cost of needing to have delirium first. |
Bogardan Lancer | Future Sight | Bloodthirst | Flanking | Bloodthirst making the own creature stronger and flanking to make opposing creatures weaker. |
Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos | March of the Machine Commander | Incubate | Proliferate | Incubate stacks counters on dormant artifact tokens, which can then be pumped up with proliferate. |
Clay Golem | Forgotten Realms Commander | Dice rolling | Monstrosity | The dice's result determines how powerful the monstrosity is. |
Core Prowler, Viral Drake | Mirrodin Besieged | Proliferate | Infect | Proliferate the counters placed on players and creatures by infect. |
Contaminant Grafter, Glissa's Retriever, Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa | Phyrexia: All Will Be One Commander | Toxic | Corrupted | These creatures have toxic to put poison counters on opponents, and corrupted triggers to benefit from doing so. |
Cutthroat il-Dal | Future Sight | Hellbent | Shadow | Hellbent allows controller to toggle evasion and blocking of shadow creatures. |
Death-Greeter's Champion | March of the Machine Commander | Dash | Backup | Dash returns the creature to hand at end of turn, allowing its controller to repeat its powerful backup trigger as it enters again. |
Dinosaur Egg | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | Evolve | Discover | The creature's second ability discovers equal to its power, which increases as it evolves. |
Dragon's Rage Channeler | Modern Horizons 2 | Delirium | Surveil | By using the creature's surveil ability, the controller can achieve delirium faster. |
Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth | Midnight Hunt Commander | Investigate | Surveil | Surveil upon sacrificing a Clue, allowing for greater card selection when sacrificing them. |
Ethersworn Sphinx | Modern Horizons 2 | Affinity | Cascade | Affinity to cheapen the costly creature for a strong cascade effect. |
Feaster of Fools | Modern Horizons | Convoke | Devour | Devouring the creatures used to convoke it. |
Foul Watcher | Modern Horizons 2 | Delirium | Surveil | By using Foul Watcher's surveil ability, the controller can achieve delirium faster. |
Funnel-Web Recluse | Modern Horizons 2 | Investigate | Morbid | The morbid ability that causes investigate gives a reason to play a creature with reach as big as Mammoth Spider at the same cost. Flavor-wise, Funnel-Web Recluse invokes a murder investigation. |
Gathan Raiders | Future Sight | Hellbent | Morph | Morph cost is "discard a card" to reach hellbent - makes it a combat trick. |
Gibbering Descent | Future Sight | Hellbent | Madness | Gives a discard outlet to cast other cards with madness, while hellbent gives a bonus. |
Haze of Rage | Future Sight | Storm | Buyback | Up the storm count with buyback. |
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis | Modern Horizons | Convoke | Delve | Alternate ways to cast a creature that can't be cast normally. |
Ichor Slick | Future Sight | Cycling | Madness | Madness to cast the card while cycling. |
Iraxxa, Empress of Mars | Doctor Who | Battle cry | Paradox | The paradox trigger creates tokens to be pumped up with battle cry. |
Kavu Primarch | Future Sight | Kicker | Convoke | Convoke to pay kicker. |
Kaleidoscorch | Modern Horizons 2 | Converge | Flashback | Flashback's higher cost opens up for higher converge numbers. |
Knight of Sursi | Future Sight | Flying | Flanking | An extra hurdle for creatures who can block creatures with flying. |
Lazotep Sliver | Commander Masters | Afflict | Amass | Two keywords associated with the Eternals on a Sliver that is apparently a member of Bolas' undead army. |
Lethal Scheme | New Capenna Commander | Convoke | Connive | Each creature that convoked the spell connives for more filtering. |
Maelstrom Djinn | Future Sight | Morph | Vanishing | A powerful threat that can be put in for cheap with morph, but gains vanishing as a downside. |
Marshaling Cry | Future Sight | Cycling | Flashback | Flashback the card after cycling it. |
Molten Disaster | Future Sight | Kicker | Split second | Split Second as a kicker bonus against sacrifice or protection effects. |
Mystic Speculation | Future Sight | Scry | Buyback | Buyback to turn a card-negative spell - only scrying - into a mana sink. |
Nazgûl | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | The Ring Tempts You | Relentless | The Nazgûl become stronger as their controller is tempted by the Ring, which happens as more Nazgûl enter the battlefield. |
Oketra's Attendant | Amonkhet | Cycling | Embalm | Embalm to bring the creature to the battlefield after cycling it. |
Order of Sacred Dusk | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | Convoke | Exalted | The more creatures you control, the less the card costs, and the more powerful its exalted bonus will be. |
Park Heights Maverick | New Capenna Commander | Dethrone | Proliferate | Dethrone puts counters on itself when it attacks the player with the most life, and those counters are increased with proliferate. |
Ravaging Riftwurm | Future Sight | Kicker | Vanishing | Kicker is to add counters for vanishing. |
Ripples of Potential | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | Proliferate | Phasing | Only permanents that could be proliferated can be protected by the phasing effect. |
Sojourner's Companion | Modern Horizons 2 | Affinity | Artifact landcycling | Cycles to find artifacts, which discounts further copies through Affinity. |
Spirit en-Dal | Future Sight | Shadow | Forecast | Forecast to give shadow as evasion or panic effect. |
Sprout Swarm | Future Sight | Buyback | Convoke | Functionally a creature that helps to convoke and pay buyback. |
Starving Revenant | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | Surveil | Descend | Surveil fills the graveyard, uppinng the descend 8 counter. |
Storm Fleet Negiotiator | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | Parley | Map | The map lets its controller have a higher chance of hitting a nonland for Parley on the next trigger. |
Subterranean Schooner | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan | Crew | Explore | Vehicles need a "driver", while explore can only occur on a creature, letting the two mix. |
Surge of Brilliance | Doctor Who | Paradox | Foretell | Foretell casts from exile, increasing the count of cards cast from outside your hand for the paradox ability. |
The Grim Captain's Locker | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | Surveil | Escape | Surveil fills the graveyard, helping pay the escape cost the artifact grants. |
Thorough Investigation | Forgotten Realms Commander | Investigate | Venture into the dungeon | Sacrifice Clues to venture further into the dungeon. |
Throes of Chaos | Modern Horizons | Cascade | Retrace | Retrace to cascade repeatedly. |
Timeless Dragon | Modern Horizons 2 | Plainscycling | Eternalize | After plainscycling for a Plains, Eternalize Timeless Dragon from the graveyard. |
Tizerus Charger | Modern Horizons 2 | Escape | Keyword counter | By casting with escape, Tizerus Charger can either be bigger or gain flying instead through the use of a keyword counter, which both grants flying and acts as reminder for that. |
Unbounded Potential | Modern Horizons 2 | Entwine | Proliferate | The entwine ability amplifies the first ability with proliferate, the second ability. |
Urban Daggertooth | Modern Horizons 2 | Enrage | Proliferate | The enrage ability that causes proliferate adds the risk of removing Urban Daggertooth via damage alone that doesn't kill it in one shot. |
Viscera Dragger | Shards of Alara | Cycling | Unearth | Unearth the creature after cycling it. |
Vashta Nerada | Doctor Who | Shadow | Morbid | With every morbid trigger, the creature grows, increasing the impact of its unblockable damage with shadow. |
Wavesifter | Modern Horizons 2 | Evoke | Investigate | Wavesifter's evoke ability gives the option for the player who just wants the double clue tokens via its Investigate ability that activates twice upon entry. |
Xavier Sal, Infested Captain | The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander | Proliferate | Populate | When the card proliferates, it creates more counters to fuel its populate ability, and when it populates, it creates creatures to fuel its proliferate ability. |
Zephyrim | Warhammer 40,000 Commander Decks | Squad | Miracle | Miracle discounts the creature, leaving additional mana to pay the squad cost. |
Zephyr Singer | March of the Machine | Convoke | Keyword counters | When the creature enters, it puts a flying counter on each creature that convoked it. |
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 31, 2021). "A Modern Approach, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 26, 2021). "Could I request for more mix and match cards in supplemental sets?". Blogatog. Tumblr.