Assist

In response to my most recent blog post, about Cost Reduction, my mother reminded us all that most of the costs for God's choicest blessings have already been paid by the Savior. This reminded me almost immediately of another mechanic in Magic, a new one called "Assist."

Assist comes from a new set called Battlebond, which focuses on 2v2 matches. A team of two players play against another team of two players. Teammates are encouraged to work together, covering for each other's weaknesses and following the same plan and strategy. One thing they can normally not do is share resources. No player can give another player their mana, for instance, unless a special ability says otherwise.

Assist is just such an ability. When a player casts a spell with Assist, they still have to pay part of the mana cost, but they can ask another player, like their teammate, to help pay part of the cost. Exactly how much the teammate is allowed to help depends on the spell, but let it suffice to say that the teammate can pay up to almost all of the cost of any spell with Assist. For example, a 7-mana spell would probably allow the other player to pay up to 5 or 6 mana.

While the player casting the spell still has to pay at least 1 or 2 mana, it still somewhat works with my analogy. When we want blessings, there are costs we have to pay. But, as my mom reminded me, we should remember that a large portion of those costs have already been paid by our Teammate.