I like to take time every now and then to appreciate beautiful, elegant Magic card designs. Evergreen keywords are game mechanics that regularly appear in Magic, usually in every single set. There are hundreds, if not thousands of cards with these mechanics, so it might be kind of fun to figure out what the most elegant, essential designs for these mechanics might be. In this article, I'll be looking at mechanics in the allied color pairs.

Flying

(This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach.)

Flying has been a keyword since the original set, Alpha, in 1993. Flying has appeared on about 3,000 creatures since then, and is one of the most thematically resonant abilities in the game. Flying is a primary ability of both white and blue.

Winner: Air Elemental

Air Elemental is the quintessential "French vanilla" creature. What does an air elemental do? Maybe a little bit of general fantasy or mythology knowledge is required to answer the question, but... it flies! Simple and powerful, a 4/4 flying creature for five mana is a stat line that has been a very solid draft pick for most of Magic's 30 year history, and in a lot of the early sets you'd be happy to first pick it. The original artwork by Richard Thomas is a banger, like a storytellers drawing on an animal skin unrolled around a campfire. These spirits of the air are are winsome and wild and cannot be truly contained.

Honorable mentions: Cloud Sprite, Air Servant

Cloud Sprite might not be the first flying creature that can only block creatures with flying, but the art and the flavor text really sell the design.

The delicate sprites carry messages for Saprazzans, but they refuse to land in Mercadia City’s filthy markets.

Air Servant, a reimagining of Air Elemental, has an activated ability that taps other fliers. This ability combined with the art and flavor test really shows mastery of the skies, like an air elemental might have. But the overall package doesn't quite match the simple elegance of the original.

Flash

(You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.)

Flash became a keyword in the Time Spiral expansion in 2006, but several cards before then had the flash rules text. The ability is named for the vintage cube all-star, Flash, from the Mirage expansion in 1996. Flash is primary in blue, and also the primary evergreen mechanic for the blue/black color pair.

Winner: Ertai Resurrected

Flash, more that any other evergreen keyword, lends itself to more complicated designs. It's a creature ability that imitates spells, and the complexity demonstrates the elegance. Ertai Resurrected is such a sweet design. I am mostly critical of cards that ignore text boxes (see Patrick Sullivan's rant about Ravenous Chupacabra.) The genius in this design is that its a card that doesn't care what your opponent is doing, it's going to stop them, but in a way that isn't backbreaking. Your opponent gets to play on. It's a rollercoaster to read. I counter their thing or destroy their guy, but they get to draw a card? Is that even good? And it turns out, yeah it's good enough! Ertai Resurrected is one of my favorite "medium" cards in vintage cube.

Honorable mentions: Venser, Shaper Savant, Snapcaster Mage

Going into my research, I was sure I would give this category to Venser, Shaper Savant. But his ability can target lands, which is such a horrendous play pattern in a small percentage of games.

Snapcaster Mage is such a satisfying card to play. It's almost like an Ertai where your opponent doesn't get to draw a card. Rebuy your best card! Kill another creature! Burn them out! Maybe even... Draw a card? And sometimes it's just a 2/1 when you need a 2/1. Snapcaster Mage doesn't ask a lot from you, but you still kind of have to build your deck with Snapcaster in mind.

Menace

(This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)

Menace was introduced as a keyword for Magic Origins in 2015, but as rules text it existed as far back as Fallen Empires in 1994. Menace was designed as a replacement for fear and intimidate, similar evasion mechanics that were more all-or-nothing. Menace is primary in black and red.

Winner: The Infamous Cruelclaw (I guess?)

Menace is a tough category to grade on elegance. It's a mechanic that plays pretty well in practice, but doesn't really have the evocative cache of, say, flying. Looking through the list of Menace creatures, it's kind of unclear as to whether they have menace because they're sneaky, because they're boastful, or because they're scary. The Infamous Cruelclaw is kind of neat, I guess? Evasion and a combat damage trigger is a classic combination.

Trample

(This creature can deal excess combat damage to the player it's attacking.)

Trample was a keyword in Alpha, appearing on six cards in 1993. But for a few years between Sixth and Eighth edition, trample was deemed "too complicated" for new players and was excluded from introductory products. It took until Dominaria in 2017 to come up with the current reminder text, which greatly simplifies understanding the mechanic. Trample is primary in green and also the green/red color pair.

Winner: Ghalta, Primal Hunger

The big, dumb, green trampler is a classic trope. Ghalta is the biggest, dumbest, greenest trampler there is. You might even get to cast her for two mana because of all the other big, dumb, green tramplers you already have. There's a dream to be had here! Just an awesome, awesome design.

Honorable mentions: Tifa Lockhart

Tifa Lockhart wants you to dream big in a different way. Doubling anything has been historically very popular with the player base, and she can double her power over and over again if you can figure out how to get more land drops. She's a fun puzzle to figure out, especially lower power formats where you might have to work for it.

Haste

(This creature can attack and {T} as soon as it comes under your control.)

Haste became a keyword in Classic Sixth Edition printed in 1999, but creatures with haste text existed as far back as Alpha. Haste is primary in red and also primary in the red-green color pair.

Winner: Ball Lightning

Ball Lightning was one of the first, and it will never be done better. Ball Lightning is what happens if a burn spell transmutes itself into a creature. This card gave people nightmares in the 90's. Six is a big chunk of damage, and you know there's more firepower coming. Do you block, knowing your creature will trade for a creature that is going to die at the end of turn anyway? As the Ball Lightning player, do you clear the way? Do you bluff attack? Do you want them to block? That tension is really interesting.

Honorable Mention: Thundermare, Gingerbrute

Thundermare and Gingerbrute both have takes on being too fast to block. Thundermare taps all other creatures, so nothing can catch it, while Gingerbrute leans into the "can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man" trope, with the exception that other creatures that are sufficiently fast can catch up.

Vigilance

(Attacking doesn't cause this creature to tap.)

Vigilance was introduced as a keyword in Champions of Kamigawa in 2004, but has existed as rules text since Alpha. Prior to 2004, it was called the "Serra ability." Vigilance is primary in white, and also in the green/white color pair.

Winner: Serra Angel

All the same things said about Air Elemental apply to Serra Angel. It's 1993, what would you expect an angel to do? Fly, attack the heathens and still protect you. The aura Serra Angel had in the first years of Magic was undeniable. It was deemed too powerful to print for a number of years, though I doubt that was ever truly the case. It's a shame that the Douglas Shuler art never got printed with "Vigilance" in paper, since the art pre-dates the name of the mechanic.

Honorable mention: Celestial Colonnade

Celestial Colonnade is a bit of a cheat. It's white and blue, also not technically a creature, and also at first blush a riff on Serra Angel, which won the category. But it plays offense and defense in a really interesting way. If you attack with it, it doesn't stay a creature to block on your opponent's turn, but it doesn't tap to attack. So you can "tap out" for Colonnade and still "keep mana up" for interaction like Path to Exile or Spell Pierce, as was common during its time in Standard and Modern.

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