Design Diaries: Embracing Shorthand

In updating cards while revisiting Onyx design, we've occasionally looked at things with an updated game design sensibility, and have leaned into the idea of "more keywords as design shorthand". In 2022 I participated in a few "free booster" events for Magic: The Gathering at GenCon, having literally not played the game in close to 20 years. Before going to the con, I did some research and found the sheer number of introduced keywords and effects daunting -- overlapping, occasionally complex, but also frequently interesting. The game had introduced (and abandoned) a staggering array of keyword concepts, but it had also taken effects which had existed in the earliest parts of the game and codified them eternally as keyword effects -- for example, the Reach keyword, which means "This creature can block as if it had Flying". It had been introduced with the longer text in the earliest cards in the game, with Giant Spider, but now the entire mechanic could be added to cards with a single keyword.

It is that sensibility which we embraced in revisiting Onyx. We brought back keywords like Elite and Reserve as well as the Tactical designator, all of which saved us space on cards (either to add abilities or to extend flavor text) at the expense of a short rules explanation. If the granddaddy of CCGs could go crazy with it, we had no reason to run away from keywording -- or, for that matter, symbology. If Magic could make a special symbol for Phyrexian Mana, our use of the Favor Icon wasn't going to burn the whole thing down. To be fair, there are some discussions where we've gone deep into the weeds on how far this idea could be taken, and we have stepped back from the abyss more than once.

All of which brings us to Renew. This keyword was born of the realization that we had two cards slated for reprint in Onyx with the same fundamental mechanic: Famous Bazaar and Jade Bazaar. The effect was simple: when the purchased Dynasty card entered play from a Province, the Province would be refilled face-up. This was a powerful effect when Famous Bazaar arrived in the late Samurai arc, continuing on through its reprinting in multiple subsequent editions. The effect was not wholly new, but Famous Bazaar was its purest form. The Design discussion on one day became: what if we keyworded the effect? After some discussion over naming, we arrived on Renew as having the least-clunky sounding name (R.I.P. "Replenish"), a word not out of line with titles of existing L5R cards.

The intent of the mechanic is to provide more Dynasty flow, particularly in mid- and late-game when you have sufficient (or more than sufficient) Gold Production on the table, or by flipping cards in Provinces which you would then discard during your Dynasty Phase as they do not serve you well on your next turn. To this end, we created a suite of "cheap bodies" for several clans across Rise of Jigoku and Road to Ruin, such as Doji Saomi, Yogo Inoue, Chuda Shidare, and Moto Qatun -- Renew was best suited for cheaper Personalities which you wouldn't mind buying, but would like to see more of your Dynasty flips afterward if you had the gold to spare. It would occasionally become part of more expensive support cards, such as Isawa Shunryu.

We also dabbled, adding the mechanic to other holdings such as Young Kohai (rounding out the suite with a 1f1 Renew to go along with Famous Bazaar and Spirit's Essence Dojo, the latter printed before the keyword) and to Events we felt could use the boost (Confront Your Truth).

Renew does what it was intended to do -- create a shorthand for a not-uncommon game mechanic -- while also opening that space to us to attempt to improve the middle-game experience for players, at least a little. It joins Kharmic and Duty as keywords which tailor a deck's Dynasty flow, and will certainly see future use.

PLEASE PARDON OUR DUST

This article originally appeared on Facebook as a work-in-progress description of changes made during our initial Onyx Lives! design phases. The information in it may be outdated, but it is presented here as part of an ongoing attempt to consolidate all of the various public writings we have made along the way.