Storm Scale

The Storm Scale is a ranking of the likelihood that a given mechanic will be reprinted in any future Standard-legal set. Mechanics are ranked from 1 (very likely) to 10 (very unlikely). The scale is created and used by Mark Rosewater as his assessment and is not an official policy or guarantee.
After this system proved popular, it spawned a whole series of other "Rosewater Scales". The Rabiah Scale offers analogous ratings for planes, the Beeble Scale provides ratings for creature types, the Venser Scale does it for planeswalkers, and the Gotcha Scale rates Silver-bordered mechanics.
==History==
The Storm Scale was created on Mark Rosewater's blog, Blogatog, in response to a question asking for the odds of cascade being reprinted "on a scale of storm-10". It is named for the storm mechanic, which Rosewater describes as the most broken mechanic ever printed, and which will almost certainly never be reprinted in a Standard-legal set.
Mark Rosewater has stated that the Scale is only a reflection of his willingness, as Head Designer, to reprint mechanics. It does not account for any plans in the future or the opinions of other R&D members. He has also asked that it be considered a form of entertainment and taken with a grain of salt. Any rankings higher than 10 are strictly humorous.
Although the Storm Scale was originally phrased in the context of reprinting mechanics, it has since been used to ask for the likelihood of a variety of other things, including the eventual printing of known but unreleased mechanics, and new cards fitting a specific niche.
As of 2023, cameo mechanics, non-deciduous and non-evergreen mechanics that only occur on one or few cards in a set, have thrown a wrench in the Storm Scale.
==Descriptive rankings==
In 2016, Mark Rosewater began writing articles about the Storm Scale on magicthegathering.com. Starting with the first such article, he offered a brief explanation of the odds represented by each numeric point on the Storm Scale.
*Level 1: Will definitely see again, most likely in the next set (evergreen)
*Level 2: Will definitely see again, but not necessarily right away (deciduous design tools)
*Level 3: Will most likely do again, probably many times (deciduous named keywords/ability words)
*Level 4: Will most likely do again, but they have issues that make them less of a guarantee
*Level 5: We need to find the right place to bring it back, but I'm optimistic
*Level 6: We need to find the right place to bring it back, but I'm a little less optimistic
*Level 7: It's unlikely to return, but possible if the right environment comes along
*Level 8: It's unlikely to return, but possible if the stars align
*Level 9: I never say never, but this would require a minor miracle
*Level 10: I never say never, but this would require a major miracle
*Level 11: Never
==Ratings for reprinting mechanics==
==Other Storm Scale requests==
Although originally used for evaluating the odds of mechanics being reprinted, the Storm Scale has evolved into a catch-all for asking for the odds of anything being printed, including entirely novel cards, mechanics, and themes.
===New mechanics===
*The "E" mechanic, previously mentioned by that name only, was rated at a 5 in August 2014. It was later revealed to be energy counters, and printed for the first time, in Kaladesh.
*Spells requiring two cards, like Unglued's <c>B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster)</c>, were ranked at a 7 in March 2013. A similar mechanic, by the name of link, was known to have been scrapped from the design of New Phyrexia. A mechanic matching this description, meld, was finally printed in Eldritch Moon.
*Turning cards face-down, outside of the morph mechanic, was rated at 6. Manifest and megamorph have since used face-down cards, as has <c>Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist</c>. 
*Further cards in the vein of <c>Ghostfire</c> were rated at 6. This space was later explored with the devoid cards in Battle for Zendikar block.
*Inserting cards into another player's deck was rated at 10 on the Storm Scale.
*Lands that can be played during an opponent's turn are rated at 10.
*A sixth color is rated at 9.
*A (not U) mana symbol is also rated at 9.
*Triple-faced cards are rated as a 9.
*"New Rampage" (where you count all blockers and not just the ones beyond the first) is rated a 7.
===Creature types===
Characteristic typal mechanics are listed in the Beeble Scale.
===Specific cards===
====Reprints====
*<c>Angelic Destiny</c> was rated a 4.
*<c>Baneslayer Angel</c> was rated a 3. <c>Lyra Dawnbringer</c> was later printed in Dominaria with much of the same effect, and Baneslayer itself was reprinted in Core 2021.
*<c>Birds of Paradise</c> was rated a 6. 
*<c>Dark Ritual</c> was rated a 10. Multiple times. Even if colorshifted to red.
*<c>Doubling Season</c> was rated a 10, due to the strength of its interaction with planeswalkers. After the downturn of planeswalkers through War of the Spark and the Desparkening, Doubling Season was reprinted in Standard through Magic: The Gathering Foundations.
*<c>Giant Growth</c> was rated a 2. It was later reprinted in War of the Spark.
*<c>Healing Salve</c> was rated a 6. 
*<c>Isochron Scepter</c> was rated a 4.
*<c>Lightning Bolt</c> was previously rated a 2, but more recently rated an 8.
*The Laces were rated an 8.
*<c>Maro</c> was rated either a 3 or a 4.
*<c>Mishra's Factory</c> was rated a 9.
*<c>Mother of Runes</c> was rated an 8.
*The Future Sight Pact cycle, including cards such as <c>Pact of Negation</c>, was rated a 7.
*Pain lands were rated a 5. The enemy-colored variants were reprinted in Magic 2015, and the full set was shared between Dominaria United and The Brothers' War, solving the issue of the lands having plane-specific names by reprinting them in sets which returned to Dominaria.
*<c>Path to Exile</c> was rated a 5.
*<c>Shichifukujin Dragon</c> was rated a 10.
*<c>Skullclamp</c> was rated "as 10 as they get".
*<c>Storm Crow</c> was rated a 1.
*<c>Swords to Plowshares</c> was rated a 10.
*<c>Sylvan Library</c> was rated a 10. As a new card in the right colors, it rates a 5.
*<c>Volcanic Hammer</c> was rated a 3.
*<c>Winter Orb</c> was rated a 9.
====New cards====
*A new variant of Jace was rated a 1. The fifth iteration of Jace was <c>Jace, The Living Guildpact</c> and has semi-regular printings since.
*A new bear lord was rated a 3. Though non-standard, <c>Ayula, Queen Among Bears</c> is a bear Lord from Modern Horizons.
*A goblin planeswalker was rated a 5. Since then, <c>Daretti, Scrap Savant</c> and <c>Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast</c> were released in non-Standard sets Commander 2014 and Conspiracy: Take the Crown respectively.
*Further land creatures, like <c>Dryad Arbor</c>, were rated a 9.
*A new mox was rated a 4. Since then, <c>Mox Amber</c> has been printed in Dominaria and <c>Mox Tantalite</c> in Modern Horizons.
*A new lotus was rated an 8. <c>Nyx Lotus</c> in Theros Beyond Death and <c>Lotus Field</c> in Core Set 2020 were since printed.
*A new card with negative power or toughness was rated a 4.
*More nonbasic lands with basic land subtypes were rated a 2. The Battle lands and the Amonkhet Cycling lands were printed in the next year.
*An ooze lord was rated a 4. Since then, <c>Biogenic Ooze</c> was printed in Ravnica Allegiance.
*A Phyrexian planeswalker was rated a 10, as they are incapable of holding a spark. Since then, seven planeswalkers have been printed as compleated.
*A card capable of removing counters from an arbitrary permanent, like <c>Vampire Hexmage</c>, was rated a 3. was the most appropriate card of this capacity, but <c>Quarry Hauler</c> was the next printed after the ask.
*Planeswalker cards for Serra and Urza were rated a 10, due to both characters being definitively dead. However, since that response, Commander 2014 was released, featuring planeswalker and creature cards for several similarly deceased characters. In addition, the card <c>Urza, Academy Headmaster</c> was later released in Unstable, <c>Serra the Benevolent</c> in Modern Horizons, and the meld card <c>Urza, Planeswalker</c> in the flashback set The Brothers' War.
*Sorceries that can be cast at instant-speed for a higher cost were rated a 5.
*Timeshifted legendary creatures were rated a 10.
*A vanilla rare or mythic rare creature was rated a 1. Since then, <c>Infinity Elemental</c> was released in Unstable. In Core Set 2019, <c>Gigantosaurus</c> was the first vanilla rare in black border released for a decade (last seen with <c>Indomitable Ancients</c> in Morningtide). 
*A wall without defender was rated a 10.
*Named token makers like <c>Goldmeadow Lookout</c> and <c>Llanowar Mentor</c> were rated about an 8. While several legendary-token makers have been printed (<c>Verix Bladewing</c>, <c>Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves</c>), <c>Ajani, Strength of the Pride</c> in Core Set 2020 made a token that existed as a previous card .
*New Titans were rated a 4, or a 7 at the original power. The definition for this is vague; Mythic rarity cycles of non-legendary, high-costed, monocolored creatures of the same creature type have been done twice before the asking date (the Souls in Magic 2015, the Gearhulks of Kaladesh) and once after (the Cavaliers of Core Set 2020). Two literal "Titans" were printed in Theros Beyond Death, complete with being 6/6 creatures with attack/entry triggers.
*Alternate win cards are a 3. <c>Simic Ascendancy</c> was released in Ravnica Allegiance not two months later.
**They would later become a 5.
*Enchantment creatures were rated a 4. A revisit to Theros in Theros Beyond Death supplied many more enchantment creatures, though the rating would later become a 5 and then a 6. Duskmourn: House of Horror would be the next major Enchantment Creature themed set.
*More red Rituals are rated a 5. <c>Irencrag Feat</c> was the next printed Ritual effect in Standard.
*Barry's Land is rated a 10.
*One or two high-rarity cards using -1/-1 counters is a 5. <c>Massacre Girl, Known Killer</c> brought back wither as a cameo mechanic in Murders at Karlov Manor.
===Sets and themes===
*An all-creature set was rated at 9.
**In the same vein, gimmick sets are rated a 10.
*An artifact block was rated at 1. Since then, Kaladesh block was released.
*A block set in the past was rated at 6. Less than a year later, Fate Reforged was released, though due to time travel the narrative was still forward-progressing. Magic Origins and Core Set 2019 were both sets where the narrative was historical, setting up origin stories for major characters. The Brothers' War will cover the titular event, one of the first in Magic's storyline.
*A block focusing on creature class-centric typal synergies was rated a 5. It is a 7 if that focus excluded non-class based typal in the same set. Since then, Ixalan has been released, but only Pirates fit the definition of "class". Zendikar Rising took the Dungeons & Dragons party concept as four classes, each with minor support, and no other forms of typal.
*Color-imbalanced sets, such as Judgment and Torment, were rated at 9 and 10.
*Revisiting Dominaria was rated at 5. Dominaria was since released in April 2018. Plane-related ratings are now measured on the Rabiah Scale.
*An enchantment block or theme has most often been rated at 1. However, the only response following the release of Theros instead rated it at 4, and stated that a future block is more likely to use enchantments as a component, rather than the sole theme. Theros Beyond Death has enchantments as part of the flavor but the theme is less explored, again receiving a rating of 4. Wilds of Eldraine is another such example, with roles.
*A goblin theme was rated at 2.
*Graveyard-matters was rated at 1. Ultimate Masters was originally designed as that set, nicknamed Immortal Masters.
**However, graveyard order matters was rated at 10.
*Human typal themes are rated at 1. Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths has a small Human theme that is linked to tokens and sacrifice payoffs.
*A set with a strong sense of nostalgia, in the creative vein of Time Spiral block, was rated at 5 or 6. Dominaria had a design influenced on history and folklore, and Sagas specifically referred to many events in the Weatherlight and Urza storylines.
**However, a set with more mechanical similarities to Time Spiral instead rates a 9 or 10. The Modern Horizons series blends nostalgia with mechanical creativity in a way inappropriate for Standard but resembles the keyword potpourri of Time Spiral block.
*The return of the Phyrexians was rated at 2. <c>Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider</c> made a mysterious appearance in Kaldheim, a prelude for their widespread return in Dominaria United.
*A "pirate world" was first rated at 9, but has since improved in likelihood to 7 and then 6. The creative world of Ixalan block has a typal pirate theme, as one of four competing factions.
*A new Planechase product was rated at 5. March of the Machine printed new plane cards as a thematic link with the multiversal invasion.
*Both a planeswalker-heavy and a planeswalker-less set were rated 10s.
 Since then, War of the Spark has been released as a 36-planeswalker set, though many with simpler designs than normal. Phyrexia: All Will Be One had ten planeswalkers in a single set, most at full capacity. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth had no planeswalkers as R&D decided Universes Beyond products were an ill fit for them.
*A return to Rabiah was rated 10 multiple times, eventually leading to the creation of the Rabiah Scale. However, a world with similar Persian-inspired themes was rated "less than 10".
*A block containing six planeswalker cards was rated a 3. Kaladesh block, and later Core Set 2019, met this criterion.
*A Star Wars set was rated a 10, due to Wizards of the Coast's prior unwillingness to use outside intellectual property. Universes Beyond brings other properties to Magic, but Star Wars is one yet to be announced. Edge of Eternities is an in-universe set of the same space opera genre.
*A third Un-set was rated a 4. Unstable was since released in December 2017, and Unfinity was released in October 2022.
*More World Championship Decks were rated a 9.
*A prequel set rated a 6. The Brothers' War covers the same event as in Antiquities, but as Antiquities framed the War as though it was information derived from an archeological dig, this would make The Brothers' War effectively a prequel set for all of Magic.
===Assorted inquiries===
*Another "You Make the Card" event was variously scored at a 3 or 4. These ratings predated the most recent such event. Afterwards, it became a 6.
*A change to the size of the cards was scored at an 11.
*Explicit references to the stack in card text were scored at an 8.
*Textless lands were scored at a 1. The next usage was in Battle for Zendikar.
*Textless vanilla creatures, like those printed in Future Sight, were scored at a 5. This design later returned with the full-art treatment of in Magic: The Gathering Foundations.
*The promotion of an existing mechanic to evergreen was scored a 3. Since then, both scry and prowess have achieved that status, although prowess later lost it. Ward and Mill were promoted to evergreen, though while they previously existed they were not yet named.
*Scratch-off cards scored a 9 "to keep from crushing hopes and dreams".
*White-bordered cards, like those of some early core sets, score a 10. An April Fool's Secret Lair product used a with a white border as a joke, as were a collection of cards from Mystery Booster 2.
*The chance of more storm scale articles was rated a 1.
*The chance of Mark Rosewater being involved in a future Standard release is rated a 1. Erik Lauer is also pretty low.
*A card with an exclamation point in its name is a 4. was later printed in the Warhammer 40,000 Commander Decks.
*The chances of Phyrexian becoming a creature type is 10. However, Kaldheim introduced Phyrexian as a creature type, i.e., <c>Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider</c>. In June 2021, all Phyrexian creatures got errata to add a new type "Phyrexian".
*Cards that grant extra turns or extra combat phases are both a 1½. Both were originally rated a 4, where the next iterations of these effects were <c>Teferi, Master of Time</c> in Core Set 2021, <c>Alrund's Epiphany</c> in Kaldheim, and <c>Moraug, Fury of Akoum</c> in Zendikar Rising.
*Cards with a (M/N)(O) mana cost, like the <c>Esper Stormblade</c> of the Alara Reborn "Blade" cycle, are a 9. Strixhaven: School of Mages brings (M)(M/N)(N) costs, though Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths had (M/N)(O)(O) mutate costs (such as for <c>Vadrok, Apex of Thunder</c>) and Streets of New Capenna featured a cycle of (M/N)(N)(N/O) costs.
*Cards with exactly four colors are a 5.
*"Enchant in graveyard" is a 9.
*An edge mechanic (like Monarch) where players fight over a singular resource is a 5. Initiative was later printed in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.
*Cycles like the Tainted lands or Innistrad Angels are a 6.
*Generic mana cost spells are deciduous (a 2).
*"Built-in combo cards" are a 3 or 4, depending on how they are defined.
*Colorless enchantments are a 4. Enchantments with a tap cost are a 10.
*Another white creature with haste is a 9.
*"Heckbent" is a 5.
*"Rarity Matters" is acorn, and thus a 10 for a premier set.
*Desserts, due to Wilds of Eldraine, are a 7. 
*New side deck mechanics are 10.,
*Face down mechanics (Morph, Manifest, Disguise, and Cloak) are a 4.
*"Destroy target player", like on <c>Baron Von Count</c>, is a 10.
*Abilities with the "any player may activate this ability" rider, like on <c>Xantcha, Sleeper Agent</c>, are an 8.
==Major miracles==
All the ratings on the scale are phrased to allow some leeway; the mechanics could return even at the high end of the scale. However, the maximum rating of 10 is the least permissive about this possibility, stating it would require a major miracle. Nonetheless, the following mechanics did appear in a standard set after being rated 10:
*Artifact lands were rated 10 in 2018, but <c>Treasure Vault</c> was printed in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms in 2021. It may have been deemed acceptable due to being a one-off in a set with less artifact synergy than the original cycle in the Mirrodin block, and how Modern had been overhauled in the interim, like with the banning of <c>Mox Opal</c>.
**Later, in 2024, was printed for Murders at Karlov Manor as an artifact land with an artifact subtype in Clue. Its incentives (enters tapped, draws a card for mana, needs creatures to produce colored mana) leant it towards decks with different payouts (Clue decks, for example) than the typical high-density affinity decks.
*Dice rolling was rated a 10 in 2018, with Rosewater stating it wasn't allowed on black-bordered cards, in contrast to silver-bordered ones which had already included several d6 rolling abilities. Rolling d20s became a notable mechanic in Forgotten Realms, and later that year Rosewater stated d20s were now a 5 on the scale, with d6s as a 7. 
*Storm, being namesake of the scale, got a small cameo comeback as a part of ultimate ability of <c>Ral, Crackling Wit</c> in Bloomburrow. 
These concepts are less clearly defined as "mechanics", but were also given a 10 rating before being printed in standard:
*Planeswalkers at rarity as low as uncommon was stated to be 10 in 2014, but they were extensively used this way in 2019's planeswalker-focused War of the Spark, with noticeably lower power level.
*Phyrexian as a creature type was called a 10 in 2019, but appeared in Kaldheim in 2021 with , with the creature type retroactively applied to many past creatures later that year. Rosewater's explanation for the initial rating was that too much time had passed since many Phyrexian-related cards had been printed without the subtype. With the renewed focus on Phyrexia in the storyline, it appears it was deemed justified to issue errata for cards going back over 25 years (to 1994's Antiquities).
*A Phyrexian planeswalker was rated a 10 in 2014, as being unable to hold a planeswalker spark was believed to be "a key part of their race’s character". However, the Phyrexians eventually overcame this limitation in-story during 2022's Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, resulting in .
**The introduction of Phyrexian planeswalkers also saw the return of the Phyrexian mana symbol to premier sets, albeit with extremely limited usage compared to its last appearance in New Phyrexia, and always with the Compleated keyword. Phyrexian mana was previously rated 9 on the Storm Scale; it remains to be seen what impact the new usage will have on its rating.
All of the above releases occurred without Rosewater revising their scale rating downward beforehand. Some other abilities have been downrated from 10s, although none of them have yet been printed/reprinted in standard-legal sets:
*Annihilator has ranged from 7 to 10 in various ratings, and currently sits at 9. It has only seen printing on Masters series and Commander series cards since being rated 10.
*Dice rolling of d6s was downgraded from 10 to 7 after Forgotten Realms, seemingly in connection to the success of d20 rolls in that set.
*World enchantments have ranged from 8 to 10, and were most recently rated 8.
==References==
Category:Mechanics
Category:Rosewater scales