A Test In Reading Comprehension

While what you are about to read is from a Magic forum, this entry is not exclusive to Magic players and you do not need to have any understand of the game to take part in this test.

Here's an excerpt from the Magic reserve list policy:

"Reserved cards will never be printed again in a functionally identical form. A card is considered functionally identical to another card if it has the same card type, subtypes, abilities, mana cost, power, and toughness. No cards will be added to the reserved list in the future. No cards from the Mercadian Masques set and later sets will be reserved. In consideration of past commitments, however, no cards will be removed from this list. The exclusion of any particular card from the reserved list doesn't indicate that there are any plans to reprint that card.

All policies described in this document apply only to non-premium, tournament-legal Magic cards."

Now here is an excerpt from an article on the Wizards of the Coast website today about a new product:

"It is said there were once fifteen Magic: The Gathering cards so potent, they were banned or restricted from the known realms of competition. But in the years that have passed, the game has evolved and these elder cards are once again in play. Master these weapons from ages past and give your opponent a beating of historic proportions.

Contents
15 Premium foil cards, including 8 with new art"

Now here's your test question. Which of the following can be included in the new product:

A. Only cards that are or have been on the banned and restricted list, excluding those on the reserved list.
B. Only cards that are or have been on the banned and restricted list, including those on the reserved list.
C. Cards that are or have been on the banned and restricted list as well as powerful cards that are fan favourites, excluding those on the reserved list.
D. Cards that are or have been on the banned and restricted list as well as powerful cards that are fan favourites, including those on the reserved list.

This probably seems like a weird thing for me to post in my blog, but the announcement about the new product just came out today and there has been a lot of talk about it on the Magic forum that I visit. Unfortunately, 80% of that talk is people incorrectly stating cards that they believe can or can't be including in the set. It's even more annoying because it's hundreds of different people saying the exact same incorrect statement, despite the fact that every time someone says it they are corrected. That means your test is actually harder; you are given this question in a vacuum and don't have 15 pages of people discussing it that you can look at before making the same mistake. If you don't play Magic, there's also a decent chance that you were confused by the quoted passages since they're about something you know nothing about.

By the way, if you read the above question and your answer was B, then you are officially smarter than 80% of people on the Magic forums. It says there are 15 cards so potent they were banned or restricted, and the entire set is 15 premium cards, so they all must be banned or restricted. They are also premium cards and the reserve list says it only applies to non-premium cards.

Oh, and I'll try to be funnier tomorrow.

dr_jeebus@sydlexia.com

Anyone who asks if Force of Will will be in this set will receive one punch in the face, courtesy of me