A Magic: The Gathering data expert has, after crunching some numbers, declared MTG‘s March of the Machine “the most verbose premier set in Magic history”. Its characters per card face are over 200, and the only set that tops it is the latest Un- set, Unfinity. Magic Data Science, who collated this information, shared their findings via Twitter on April 12.
The results change a little when Magic Data Science doesn’t factor in reminder text, but the numbers still show a high level of wordiness in March of the Machine. Even when the graphs are adjusted to account for relevant wordiness factors (such as MTG planeswalkers), the verbosity of the MTG set remains high.
According to another Magic Data Science study from February 2022, there seems to be an upwards trend in the wordiness of MTG cards. Head designer Mark Rosewater also acknowledged in 2022 that Magic: The Gathering was getting more complex.
However, Rosewater and Magic Date Science’s findings both assert that wordiness doesn’t always mean unnecessary complexity. “If you think about complexity as ‘the total number of unique words used in a set’”, writes Magic Data Science on February 7, 2022, “the trend is down over time”. They hypothesise that Wizards of the Coast is making some attempts to simplify the enormously varied trading card game.
For more digital Magic goodies, check out the newest MTG Arena codes and best MTG Arena decks. We can also tell you all about the MTG 2023 release schedule, which details the sets Magic Data Science will add to their graphs next.
Source: Wargamer
