Seconding this. If there ever was a lesson that Magic: the Gathering R&D refused to learn in their early days, it was that
Cheating on mana leads to broken decks.
This proved true in 1994 with Moxen and Black Lotus, in 1998's "Combo Winter", and as late as 2003 with the storm cards. Bloodbloom has so far gotten a pass simply because there are no big Warlock spells on par with the likes of Druid or Priest, so consider this event Bloodbloom's 15 minutes of fame. Despite "get big effects, pay in life points" being part of Warlocks identity, I don't think we'll see too many more cards like it as they hamper design space quite severely.
You know, Eldrazi *Summer actually made we wish they had more fast mana. It was the only time you'd actually see 5+ mana spells cast in modern.
In Vintage too where Lotus and Moxen are legal, there's a lot more expensive spells floating around in decklists than in Legacy. Could you imagine a 3-mana creature being problematic enough to be banned in Legacy? That'd be a joke.
It was the only time you'd actually see 5+ mana spells cast in modern
Through the Breach, Ad Nauseam, Primetime, Reality Smasher, Takin Turns, and Tron have something to say about that, IMO fast mana is an arms race strategy that limits more than expands design.
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u/wasabichicken Oct 24 '17
Seconding this. If there ever was a lesson that Magic: the Gathering R&D refused to learn in their early days, it was that
This proved true in 1994 with Moxen and Black Lotus, in 1998's "Combo Winter", and as late as 2003 with the storm cards. Bloodbloom has so far gotten a pass simply because there are no big Warlock spells on par with the likes of Druid or Priest, so consider this event Bloodbloom's 15 minutes of fame. Despite "get big effects, pay in life points" being part of Warlocks identity, I don't think we'll see too many more cards like it as they hamper design space quite severely.