Rosewater Says Limited-Only Sets Would Have Weaker Rares and Mythics

Mark Rosewater says rares and mythics would have lower average power if designers built a set for Draft and Sealed alone. Asked whether their power would go up or down without Constructed as a design target, he answered on Blogatog: “They would go down. Constructed power levels are higher than limited.”

That does not mean every rare is meant to be a Constructed powerhouse. In his rarity guide, Rosewater says cards that cause problems in Limited when designed for Constructed tend to be placed at higher rarities, while cards that Limited needs tend toward common. Rare can also hold a powerful Limited bomb; mythic can keep a disruptive card from appearing as often. Rosewater’s older examples include Darigaaz, the Igniter and Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor, which could overpower Limited despite not being tournament-worthy in Constructed. Rarity helps control how often those cards show up in Draft and Sealed.