![mtg card sets from the 90s mtg card sets from the 90s](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Yl4AAOSwVH1fvGy4/s-l400.jpg)
I see a strong correlation between choosing a fun theme for a set, in this case fairytales, and wonderful fluffy designs. It’s one of the strongest flavor sets I’ve ever seen. Even more important, the cards spoiled so far are off the charts in terms of the synergy between name, flavor, art, and gameplay. So far, I haven’t seen cards that break any of my rules. With that said, I’d like to highlight what I absolutely LOVE about the flavor designs from Throne of Eldraine so far. Cards that should be exciting that disappoint.Art and flavor have nothing to do with the card.If the card was called Grave Durdle Dragon I would have been less offended because at least then the lack of effort is honest and upfront. It doesn’t even do Skeleton stuff like regenerate. Have you heard a story or seen a game with a skeleton dragon that was lame? Of course not! It’s fine to have a mediocre, non-Constructed Mythic for Limited play, but don’t make it a unique creature type that doesn’t match the flavor. What would you assume the name of the card was? I wouldn’t guess Mortify. Imagine you see the image and flavor text. In fact, a savvy reader of context might assume it means to get in a Vampire’s way and have your head explode and elbow blown away. If an 11-year-old saw this card, there is no context to figure out what the word even means. I learned new vocabulary, mythology, encountered different styles of artwork, and was even prompted to read the classics. When I was an 11-year-old experiencing cards for the first time I learned a lot from them. Not “horrified,” (stricken with horror or fear), but mortified (stricken/weakened by humiliation). Then, I’d round out the card with an image depicting a person who is mortified to be in the presence of Sorin.
![mtg card sets from the 90s mtg card sets from the 90s](https://pm1.narvii.com/6321/6fcc1e98133800c6ce99f4cf0810d34dc2f84b7c_hq.jpg)
Then, prepare to suffer the indignity of just plain suffering.” “If you cross Sorin be prepared to suffer the humiliation that nothing you can do, no protection charm, or incantation will outlast or escape the thousand-year-old vampire’s retribution. What does the artwork have to do with the name or the flavor text? We see a warrior whose head is smoking and possibly exploding while his elbow is inexplicably blowing away in a fashion that reminds me of Thanos’s finger snap in Endgame. Also, why is only “many” who cross Sorin? Is the thousand-year-old Vampire lacking in time to track down some double-crossers? What does being in the way have to do with mortification? The flavor fails to directly invoke any of these and it’s a stretch to say it hits them indirectly. To be affected by gangrene or necrosis.The verb “mortify” has several definitions: The flavor has little to do with what the card is, or what it does.