#1380: Atogs

So Atog, by the way, for those that don't know, was in, was in Arabian Nights.

It costs, um, one and a red mana.

So two mana, one of which of, is red.

It's a 1/2 creature.

And then it had an activate ability, sac a da- sac an a- artifact, and then, uh, uh, Atog gets +2/+2 until end of turn.

So let's talk about where...

So, um, Antiquities was designed by the East Coast playtesters, Skaff Elias, Jim Lin, Dave Petty, and Chris Page, and I think Joel Mick might have had a little bit, too, um, involvement in that set as well.

Um, so I'm not sure which of them actually designed Atog.

Um, so Atog is an anagram of goat because he likes to eat things, uh, uh, you know, artifact things.

So Antiquities, for those that don't know, was the second-ever Magic expansion, and it was the first Magic expansion to have a mechanical theme.

So Alpha came out, uh, and then, um, uh, Alpha, Beta, you know, uh, Limited and Unlimited.

Um, Arabian Nights was the first set that had sort of a, a theme to it, first expansion, but it had a flavor theme.

It took place in A Thousand and One Arabian Nights.

Um, so, uh, Antiquities was the first set that had a mechanical theme, and that mechanical theme was artifacts, and it hit it very hard.

Um, with the exception of a handful of lands in the set, every single card has... either is an artifact or references artifacts in its rule text, meaning the word artifact is on almost every single card in the set minus, like I said, a couple lands.

Um, and even the lands have colorless and were meant for you to play, you know, artifacts and such.

Um, so one of the little guys they made, this was a common they made in the set, was Atog.

Um, I think they just liked the idea of something that liked, that, you, you, you could sacrifice artifacts to, to give him a temporary boost.

Um, so, uh, it came out, and the audience first initial reaction to Atog was not very positive.

It seemed like a bad card.

It's like, "I have to get rid of a whole artifact, and what do I get? A temporary boost to my creature? That doesn't seem good." Uh, and it was a common.

And then what happened was, um, it got printed in Antiquities, and then Revised came out.

So Revised was kind of like third edition, um, 'cause Alpha and Beta and then the slash Limited were limited edition.

Um, and then there was unlimited edition, and then there was Revised.

So Revised was kind of like third edition.