An Argument for Runeclaw Bear over Grizzly Bears
July 14, 2009 | Posted by Dee
Runeclaw Bear vs Grizzly Bears?
Initially, I thought, “What’s the point?” with the functional reprints in M10 that just have different names.
You know, Essence Scatter vs Remove Soul, Blinding Mage vs Master Decoy, Divine Verdict vs Neck Snap, etc.
However, parakkum has a good point about changing the names to improve the fantasy theme environment. He writes:
Once I started buying packs, I was happy to get my own Sengir (Sengir Vampire), as well as Serra Angel and other badass creatures. But I was never happy to pull a Grizzly Bears.
Grizzly Bears? Really? It was just so normal and utterly non-fantastic. I mean, I know that’s what was up with my high-school-age mind, because I happily played Gray Ogre, which is the same creature for more mana.
But it was an ogre.
I even like bears as animals. But Grizzly Bears just wrenched me from “fantastic mage duel” into “Mutual of Omaha.”
In contrast, I know I would have played Runeclaw Bear.
Runeclaw. That is a badass name. And it generates an appropriately badass picture. And it’s fantastic. If you wander through the fantasy woods and meet a grizzly, then you stand still like you’ve been taught in Boy Scouts and wait for it to leave. If you meet a Runeclaw, you better have some magic in your back pocket ready to defend you.
While most of the reprints have more flavorful names, I still think Remove Soul has more flavor than Essence Scatter.
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