Anchor word
| Anchor word | |
|---|---|
| Mechanic | |
| Introduced | Fate Reforged |
| Last used | Deciduous |
An anchor word is a word that precedes a choice on a permanent with modal abilities, to give the respective abilities a bit of flavor and signify the choice when it enters the battlefield. Anchor words don't have a specific rule attached to them, but always tie the existence of a continuous effect to the choice.[1]
History
Anchor words were introduced in Fate Reforged, where the "Siege"-cycle featured the choice between "Khans" and "Dragons".[2][3]
Anchor words also appeared in Unstable and Modern Horizons. The flavor words from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms have a similar function. Those involving a modal choice can be accounted as anchor words as well.[4][5] However, many of those do not meet the condition of it being an enter ability.
Anchor words are now considered to be deciduous.[4]
Examples of anchor words
| Anchor words | Card(s) | Set | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Self" and "Others" | Feed the Machine, May Civilization Collapse, Surrender Your Thoughts, The Fate of the Flammable | Archenemy | |
| "Khans" and "Dragons" | Citadel Siege, Monastery Siege, Palace Siege, Outpost Siege, Frontier Siege | Fate Reforged | |
| "Abzan, "Jeskai", "Sultai", "Mardu" and "Temur" | Barrensteppe Siege, Frostcliff Siege, Hollowmurk Siege, Windcrag Siege, Glacierwood Siege | Tarkir: Dragonstorm | Five combinations based off shared enemy color pairs |
| "Flavorful" and "Bland" | Ineffable Blessing | Unstable[6] | Acorn |
| "Whack", "Doodle" and "Buzz" | Buzzing Whack-a-Doodle | Unstable[7] | Acorn |
| "Mirran" and "Phyrexian" | Mirrodin Besieged | Modern Horizons | |
| "NCR" and "Legion" | Battle of Hoover Dam | Fallout | Factions from a Universes Beyond IP |
| "Brotherhood" and "Enclave" | Struggle for Project Purity | Fallout | Factions from a Universes Beyond IP |
| "Believe" and "Doubt" | Phenomenon Investigators | Duskmourn Commander |
Examples of Flavor-anchor words
Rules
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (September 19, 2025—Marvel's Spider-Man)
- Anchor Word
- A word that precedes one of two abilities a permanent may enter the battlefield with. See rule 614.12b.
From the Comprehensive Rules (September 19, 2025—Marvel's Spider-Man)
- 614.12b If multiple replacement effects that require choices from a player would modify how multiple permanents enter the battlefield simultaneously, that player may not make choices for those effects that would cause the combined costs of those effects to not be payable.
Rulings
- The anchor word "Dragons" has no connection to the creature type Dragon.[8]
- Will of the council options from Conspiracy, and Council's dilemma options from Conspiracy: Take the Crown are not anchor words, because they don't represent a modal choice.[1] The voting is just voting for arbitrary words and referring to how many times certain votes were received.
References
- ↑ a b Ethan Fleischer (July 30, 2019). "Know Your Anchor Words.". Twitter.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 12, 2015). "Fate-ful Stories, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22.
- ↑ Matt Tabak (January 15, 2015). "Fate Reforged Update Bulletin — Comprehensive Rule Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (March 28, 2022). "Deciduous". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 29, 2022). "You seem to count flavor words as anchor words. Is that correct?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Adam Styborski (November 14, 2017). "Welcome to Flavortown! (Or Not)". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2017-11-14.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 27, 2017). "Unstable Scraps, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (January 14, 2015). "Fate Reforged Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-05-31.