GDS3 Multiple Choice Test

MIRROR. This is for discussion purposes. The actual exam has ended.

This is the second trial, the multiple-choice test. You are free to do any research for this test (look up articles and such), but you're not allowed to get any help from other people. Using outside help will be grounds for removal from the Great Designer Search 3.

Please verify your email and then answer the 75 multiple-choice questions below. Please be sure to submit before January 27, 2018 at 6:00am (PST) or you will be disqualified. To advance to the third trial, you will need to be among the top scorers. Good luck!

1. What is the most appropriate color for this card?

Scrappy Survivor
[converted mana cost (CMC): 6]
Creature —
5/5
Menace, prowess

Green

Black

White

Red

Blue

2. What is the most appropriate rarity for this card?

Scrappy Survivor
[CMC: 6]
Creature —
5/5
Menace, prowess

Uncommon

Mythic Rare

Rare

Common

3. You are changing one of Scrappy Survivor's keywords to another one. Which of the following combinations would result in a card that couldn't be monocolor?

Scrappy Survivor
[CMC: 6]
Creature —
5/5
Menace, prowess

Lifelink, menace

Hexproof, prowess

First strike, prowess

Menace, vigilance

4. What is the most appropriate color combination for this multicolor card?

Come Work for Me Temporarily
[CMC: 4]
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap it. It gets +1/+1 and gains haste, hexproof, and trample until end of turn.

Black-green

Red-green

Blue-red

Red-white

White-black

5. What is the most appropriate rarity for this card?

Come Work for Me Temporarily
[CMC: 4]
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap it. It gets +1/+1 and gains haste, hexproof, and trample until end of turn.

Mythic rare

Rare

Common

Uncommon

6. If we aren’t planning to change the color combination, which change are we least likely to make to this card?

Come Work for Me Temporarily
[CMC: 4]
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Untap it. It gets +1/+1 and gains haste, hexproof, and trample until end of turn.

Change "sorcery" to "instant."

Change "haste" to "double strike".

Change "+1/+1" to "+2/+2."

Change from "trample" to "this creature can't be blocked by creatures with power 2 or less."

Change from "hexproof" to "this creature must be blocked this turn if able."

7. Which of these phrases is a follower of white's philosophy least likely to say?

"Evil must be preemptively stopped."

"Violence is never preferred but is occasionally necessary."

"A system without structure is a system asking to fail."

"Sometimes the individual suffers so that the larger group can thrive."

"Nothing can go wrong if you act from your heart."

8. Which of these phrases is a follower of blue's philosophy least likely to say?

"You are shaped more by your genes than your experience."

"Every person has the ability to become anything."

"Action should only follow thought."

"Tools are an important part of any society."

"A fear of change is dangerous.”

9. Which of these phrases is a follower of black's philosophy least likely to say?

"Sometimes you have to put others ahead of yourself."

"The difference between success and failure is a willingness to do what needs to be done."

"The weak serve a purpose; they are a resource of the strong."

"Only I choose what path I walk."

"I didn't create the system, I just understand how to take advantage of it."

10. Which of these phrases is a follower of red's philosophy least likely to say?

"The fewer rules, the better."

"A life without passion is a life unlived."

"Life is messy."

"Mistakes should be avoided at all costs."

"The greatest regrets are about things you didn't do, not things you did."

11. Which of these phrases is a follower of green's philosophy least likely to say?

"The key to happiness is accepting that the world is as it's meant to be"

"Adaptation is a slow process."

"All life is interconnected."

"You are born into your role."

"Killing for sport is just a part of life."

12. If we were to bring back the battle cry mechanic in a Ravnica set, which guild would be the best match for the mechanic?

Selesnya

Boros

Rakdos

Azorius

Gruul

13. Which effect is usually seen on more instants than sorceries?

Discard effects

Land destruction

Land fetching (getting a land out of your library)

Direct damage

Reanimation (putting creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield)

14. What is the biggest problem design-wise with this card?

Long-Acting Giant Growth
2G
Sorcery
Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of the turn. At the beginning of your next upkeep, that creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. At the beginning of your next upkeep after that, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

The spell should be an instant so that it can work in combat.

The spell requires you track things for three turns without any way to mark it.

The spell should let you target different creatures because the first one might die.

The spell should get bigger over time, not smaller, to build in excitement.

The spell is too cheap.

15. If this card was a hybrid creature, what colors would it be?

Mysterio
[CMC: 4]
*/*
Flash
CARDNAME's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your hand.

Blue-black

White-blue

Blue-red

Black-red

Green-blue

16. What is the most likely rarity for this card?

Mysterio [CMC: 4]
*/*
Flash
CARDNAME's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your hand.

Mythic rare

Common

Uncommon

Rare

17. What ability could be added to this creature without changing its colors? Use your answer from question 15.

Mysterio
[CMC: 4]
*/*
Flash
CARDNAME's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your hand.

CARDNAME can't be blocked by more than one creature.

At the end of your turn, untap CARDNAME.

Whenever CARDNAME deals damage to an opponent, draw a card.

CARDNAME must be blocked if able.

Whenever a creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on CARDNAME.

18. A player finishes their first game of Magic. Which of the following do we care most about?

They have a favorite card.

They understand the cards in their deck.

They see the potential depth of the game.

They want to play again.

They have seen most of the card types, and most of the evergreen keywords.

19. When designing a card for Spike, which of the following is most important:

The card tells Spike what the deck is about.

The card has a low casting cost.

The card lets Spike feel they outplayed their opponent.

The card is very open ended.

The card produces card advantage.

20. Design considers a card “too slow for tournament play.” What does that mean?

The card will make too many matches run over time in tournaments.

The player with this card will monopolize too much of the play time in tournaments.

The card will cause problems for coverage, as it will require too much commentary devoted to it.

The card will make games take more than fifteen turns.

The opponent will call the judge too often with a request of “slow play”.

21. You're working on the next Commander decks. Which is the most important goal?

The commanders inspire people to build new decks.

The decks are based on popular Commander decks.

Designing new cards for Legacy and Vintage.

The colors are equally represented.

Each deck has a brand-new theme.

22. Which of the following creatures is the weakest in a typical Standard-legal Draft format?

1G 2/2

9G 10/10

5G 6/6

3G 4/4

7G 8/8

23. Which of the following creatures is the strongest in a typical Standard-legal Draft format?

7G 8/8

9G 10/10

5G 6/6

1G 2/2

3G 4/4

24. The lead of a set has removed a black instant removal spell from their set, and asks you to create potential replacement designs. Which of these qualities is most important for your designs?

It's a powerful card.

It's an instant.

It's a black card.

It's a removal card.

It's an innovative card.

25. Why do green's common creatures tend to be a bit more efficient than white creatures?

White is the enemy of black and red.

Green is the enemy of blue and black.

Green players love powerful creatures.

This is the way it has always been.

White has stronger removal.

27. Which of these green keywords does design have to be the most careful when using?

Trample

Vigilance

Deathtouch

Hexproof

Reach

28. We try to avoid making two-color cards where the card could be done as a monocolor card in one of the two colors. Given that, suppose you have a two-color 4/4 creature with flying and vigilance (and no other abilities). Which of the following color combinations would be the best choice for this card?

Black-green

Blue-black

White-black

Green-white

White-blue

29. Which of these is the most important quality for a set to have?

It matches the story.

It has great strategic depth.

It has powerful cards.

It's fun to play.

It's easy to learn.

30. Which of these creature keywords tends to have the most value in a control deck?

First strike

Menace

Lifelink

Haste

Trample

31. When Set Design holds a draft, most of the time there are exactly eight drafters. Why?

Our teams have eight people.

Our smaller booster boxes hold 24 booster packs.

We have tables that sit eight drafters.

We want four Spikes, three Timmies/Tammies, and one Johnny/Jenny.

That's the most common number of drafters in the real world.

32. You've designed a card, and you want the Play Design team to like it. How should you choose your casting cost?

Use your intuition.

Find a similar card as a basis for the casting cost and then make it one cheaper.

Pick the strongest cost that isn't broken.

Ask someone from the Play Design team to choose the casting cost.

It doesn't matter; they'll fix the cost if you get it wrong.

33. Which of these evergreen keyword abilities is most likely to be put on a common white creature?

Double strike

Indestructible

Trample

Flash

Vigilance

34. Which of the following best describes how a counterspell-based blue deck should contribute to a Standard environment?

Standard is the most fun when the counterspell deck is the strongest deck in Standard.

Standard is the most fun when the counterspell deck is mono-blue.

Standard is the most fun when the counterspell player has a way to win quickly and efficiently once they take control.

Standard is the most fun when the counterspell player has the ability to stop the opponent from doing anything.

Standard is the most fun when counterspell decks aren’t competitive.

35. Assuming the creature is strong enough to see Standard play, which of the following isn't a good quality for a green creature to have?

It can destroy an artifact or enchantment.

It can tap to produce mana.

It uses +1/+1 counters to grow to very large sizes.

It has larger stats than other creatures at its mana cost.

It draws multiple cards without attacking or blocking.

36. If we were to bring back the storm mechanic in a Ravnica set, which guild would be the best match for the mechanic?

Rakdos

Selesnya

Simic

Izzet

Orzhov

37. A synergy theme in a set needs you to draw specific cards for it to work. This isn't happening frequently enough. Which of the following mechanics would not help increase the frequency of these interactions?

Investigate

Kicker

Transmute

Cycling

Scry

38. Which of the following designs from Legends would be the most reasonable to recost into a competitive Standard card?

Mana Drain

Acid Rain

Presence of the Master

Arboria

Land Tax

39. Which category of player most dislikes high variance in gameplay, with “high variance” defined as larger swings in outcome possibilities for individual cards outside of the player’s control?

Spike

A player who prefers multiplayer

Timmy/Tammy

A new player

Johnny/Jenny

40. Which of the following cards is typically the strongest in Limited play?

Duress

Cowl Prowler

Wind Drake

Pacifism

Lava Axe

41. Which of the following are not generally aimed at competitive Standard play?

Mass creature kill

Direct damage that can hit either creatures or players

One-shot mana acceleration

Card draw

Counterspells

42. Which of the following iconic white cards is most reasonable to reprint in a Standard-legal set?

Karma

Swords to Plowshares

Armageddon

Land Tax

Baneslayer Angel

43. Which of the following iconic black cards is most reasonable to reprint in a Standard-legal set?

Sinkhole

Underworld Dreams

Demonic Tutor

Infernal Darkness

Demonic Consultation

44. The card Felidar Guardian was banned last year in Standard because of an unintended interaction with the planeswalker card Saheeli Rai. If this interaction were realized late in design, what would have been the best solution?

Add "Felidar Guardian enters the battlefield tapped."

Add one colorless mana to the cost of Felidar Guardian.

Change Saheeli Rai's mana cost to UUR so that she is harder to cast in a three-color deck.

Keep both cards as is, but add a flexible instant that can destroy either one of Felidar Guardian and Saheeli Rai.

Change Felidar Guardian's ability to return the permanent to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.

45. Assuming all of the following designs are costed at an appropriate power level and win rate in Standard, which would be the least fun to show up in competitive play?

An artifact that causes each player to lose 2 life during their upkeep.

An enchantment that stops all creatures from attacking.

An artifact that taps to add three mana to your mana pool.

An enchantment that lets you name a card, then stops the named card from being cast.

A sorcery that destroys all nonland permanents.

46. Which of the following cards would we be most likely to reprint in a Standard-legal set?

Dark Ritual

Llanowar Elves

Swords to Plowshares

Counterspell

Lightning Bolt

47. From a design standpoint, what is the biggest problem with this card?

Mega Bolt
3R
Instant
CARDNAME deals 8 damage to target creature.

7 is a more aesthetic number than 8.

It blurs the line between black and red.

A card dealing this much damage should be a sorcery.

It’s too much damage for four mana.

Players might find ways to redirect the damage to their opponents.

48. Which of these text boxes would most likely be red-flagged as highly complex for a common creature?

1R: CARDNAME gets +2/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.

Whenever CARDNAME attacks, creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, target creature gets +2/+2 and gains trample until end of turn.

Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, CARDNAME gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

2W: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

49. You're playing a multiplayer game. Which pair of mechanics would cause the most confusion if they frequently appeared together in a play environment?

Modular and scavenge

Miracle and cycling

Devour and exploit

Fabricate and formidable

Myriad and battalion

50. If we printed an enchantment with the same text as Stabilizer ("Players can't cycle cards."), which color should it be?

Black

Green

Blue

Red

White

51. What are the most appropriate colors for this card?

Junkpile Engineer
[CMC: 3]
Creature — Human Artificer
3/2
2, Sacrifice an artifact: Look at the top X cards of your library, where X is the converted mana cost of the sacrificed artifact. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in random order.

Red-white

White-black

Blue-red

Black-red

Green-blue

52. What is the most appropriate rarity for this card?

Junkpile Engineer
[CMC: 3]
Creature — Human Artificer
3/2
2, Sacrifice an artifact: Look at the top X cards of your library where X is the converted mana cost of the sacrificed artifact. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.

Uncommon

Rare

Mythic rare

Common

53. Which of the following changes is Set Design most likely to make to this card?

Junkpile Engineer
[CMC: 3]
Creature — Human Artificer
3/2
2, Sacrifice an artifact: Look at the top X cards of your library, where X is the converted mana cost of the sacrificed artifact. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.

Give the creature haste.

Add the ability “2,T: Put an artifact card from your hand onto the battlefield.”

Make the power and toughness the same.

Change the number of cards looked at to a locked number rather than caring about converted mana cost.

Put the cards revealed into the graveyard.

54. What are the most appropriate colors for this card?

Dead Man Walking
[CMC: 7]
Creature — Shapeshifter Wizard
1/1
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, return target creature card from any graveyard to the battlefield under your control. All your creatures then become copies of that creature.

Blue-black

Green-blue

Red-green

Blue-red

Black-green

55. What is the most appropriate rarity for this card?

Dead Man Walking
[CMC: 7]
Creature — Shapeshifter Wizard
1/1
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, return target creature card from any graveyard to the battlefield under your control. All your creatures then become copies of that creature.

Uncommon

Mythic rare

Rare

Common

56. What change would design not make?

Dead Man Walking
[CMC: 7]
Creature — Shapeshifter Wizard
1/1
When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, return target creature card from any graveyard to the battlefield under your control. All your creatures then become copies of that creature.

Have the returned creature be sacrificed at end of turn.

Have it only get creatures from out of your graveyard.

Give the creature flash.

Make it a 0/0 creature.

Have it only get creatures out of the opponent's graveyard.

57. You're designing a set that returns to a plane we've been to before and plan to have Humans, Wolves, and Spirits. Which world would be most appropriate?

Kaladesh

Zendikar

Innistrad

Ixalan

Amonkhet

58. Which of the following attributes can a card in a Standard-legal set not mechanically care about?

Mana cost

Expansion symbol

Card supertypes

Card subtypes

Power/toughness

59. Which of the following abilities is R&D least likely to put on a mono-red creature in an upcoming set?

When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may return target sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.

[MANA]: CARDNAME gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

Creatures you control have haste.

T: Draw a card, then discard a card.

CARDNAME must attack if able.

60. According to current design standards, which of the following "enters-the-battlefield" effects is least likely to be on a common creature?

"Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn."

"Destroy target enchantment an opponent controls."

"You may return target creature to its owner's hand."

"Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand."

"Target creature can't block this turn."

62. Which of the following mechanics would be the best fit for the Simic guild from Ravnica?

Proliferate

Dash

Entwine

Undying

Rebound

63. Secondary—This is the color (or colors) that an ability shows up in on a somewhat regular basis, but not as often as the primary and not always in as low of rarity as the primary. If the effect is something we do a lot of, the secondary color will usually get the ability in most sets.

Which color is secondary at trample?

Red

Black

White

Blue

Green

64. Secondary—This is the color (or colors) that an ability shows up in on a somewhat regular basis, but not as often as the primary and not always in as low of rarity as the primary. If the effect is something we do a lot of, the secondary color will usually get the ability in most sets.

Which color is secondary at haste?

Red

Black

Blue

White

Green

65. Secondary—This is the color (or colors) that an ability shows up in on a somewhat regular basis, but not as often as the primary and not always in as low of rarity as the primary. If the effect is something we do a lot of, the secondary color will usually get the ability in most sets.

Which color is secondary at vigilance?

Red

Green

Blue

White

Black

66. What kinds of creatures can green destroy?

Blue creatures and black creatures

White creatures and red creatures

Tapped creatures and enchanted creatures

Artifact creatures and flying creatures

Attacking creatures and blocking creatures

68. Why doesn’t common often have seven-mana instants and sorceries?

It’s too impactful for common.

It’s too complex for beginners.

Common creatures need to be more expensive than the instants and sorceries.

They are hard to design.

It makes the math too hard.

70. A linear mechanic is one that encourages players to build around a specific aspect. Which of the following mechanics is the least linear?

Delirium

Energy

Transform

Rally

Morph

71. Which of the following formats can't the card Power Conduit from Mirrodin be played in?

Modern

Legacy

Pauper

Vintage

Commander

72. Which of the following is the most important reason that some cards' mana costs are higher than others?

So that people will play them later in the game

To encourage players to put more lands in their decks

Higher mana costs are a hint to new players that the cards are more powerful

To make the cards different

To encourage players to "splash" an additional color in their decks

73. Which of the following is the most important reason for the color pie to exist?

It increases the number of distinct cards that can be designed.

It encourages deck and gameplay diversity.

It allows a wider variety of costs.

It adds more symbols to the game.

It expands the color palette usable in the art.

74. Which of the following effects is design allowed to use on a Standard-legal black-bordered card?

Affecting a future game with the same opponent

Putting a card in your hand you do not own

Making a choice secret from the other player(s)

Having a card coexist in more than one zone

Rolling a six-sided die

75. You're designing a card with a converted mana cost of 10. Which of these card types is it least likely to be?

Instant

Sorcery

Enchantment

Artifact

Creature