Dear Man-o’-War, 

<3

You are what I love about Magic. You have such an elegant design. With so much depth. There is so much more to discover than what you offer at first glance. You do not simply return a creature to its owner’s hand. You temporise the game. You free your buddies from a Pacifism. You reuse, or should I say abuse, the enters triggers of your buddies like Mulldrifter. But the most satisfying thing you do: you recycle yourself over and over again. Powering engines like Aluren, creating an infinite combo with Soul Warden in PreModern. Or in cubes, powering funky cards like Beast Whisperer, Primeval Bounty or Warstorm Surge. 

People have argued against your design. The only downside you have is that new players have to learn the hard way, that playing you on an empty board, means you have to bounce yourself. As a result, since 2019 every blue creature that resembles you, either only returns opponents creatures, or returns “up to one other creature”. By trying to make Magic more accessible and safe, I think they are ruining it. Adding a simple “may” would have fixed the problem while keeping your depth. Now they are killing that depth. I think they are doing this on purpose to close off self bounce loops. 

What I love about cube is that I don’t have to care about Wizards doing this. I can just play you in my cubes. I think one of the most beautiful things about Magic is that depth about cards you discover along the way. The layers you have to peel of to see the real you. 

And I see the real you Man-o’-War, and I love you. 

With love, 

Hanjo