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Motion Sickness and the Un-sets' Rule-Bending Design
If you’ve ever cracked open a deck from the Un-sets and felt a grin tugging at the corners of your mouth, you know the heartbeat of the design philosophy here: playful, clever, and relentlessly inventive without breaking the game. Motion Sickness is a perfect ambassador for that spirit. This blue Aura from Unfinity embodies the idea that turning the rules into a stage for spectacle can be both entertaining and technically sound. It doesn’t just disrupt the board; it choreographs a tiny, park-themed ballet of taps, attachments, and “visitations” that makes every round feel like a themed ride you’re headlining. 🧙♂️🔥💎
Rule-Bending by Gentle Design, Not Rampant Power
Un-sets treat “rule-bending” as a design constraint, not a trapdoor to broken strategies. Motion Sickness is a 4-mana blue enchantment—Aura that reads as a classic though its edge is anything but. Its baseline effect—Enchant creature; when it enters, tap the enchanted creature; it doesn’t untap during its controller’s untap step—resembles familiar aura homework, but with a crucial twist: the lens is perspective-based. You’re not locking a creature down forever; you’re nudging it into a perpetual nap, with the real action waiting in the wings. The real twist arrives through the Attraction trigger: “Whenever you visit an Attraction, you may attach this Aura to target tapped creature.” The aura can hop across the battlefield, chasing the theme of motion and spectacle rather than simply locking pieces down. This keeps the game healthy while delivering the mood of a carnival ride. 🎨🎢
From a design standpoint, Motion Sickness demonstrates a few core Un-set principles in action:
- Accessible humor meets complex timing: The joke lands only when you parse the trigger and the untap nuance, not on a casual glance. That layered humor invites players to explore timing windows and interaction with other “Attraction” cards.
- Contextual flavor without chaos: The card speaks to its park-like world, but the effects stay within conventional MTG rules—tapped creatures, untap steps, and aura attachment—all while letting the theme shine through.
- Encouraged interaction with a broader mechanic: The “Attraction” mechanic is central to Unfinity, a mechanic that rewards clever, board-wide play states rather than single-card power spikes. Motion Sickness leans into that communal feel, creating moments where players trade control of the aura as the park changes hands. ⚔️
- Low as-valued power, high as-playvalue: This is a common rarity card with a reasonable mana cost. In a set built for goofy, memorable moments, its value isn’t in raw power but in the resonance of a well-timed swing or a surprising aura shuffle. The foil version in particular can become a collectible nostalgia piece for fans of the Un-sets. 💎
How It Fits in the Unfinity Landscape
Unfinity is a set designed to celebrate whimsy, spectacle, and the social rituals of gathering with friends to draft, trade, and laugh at goofy interactions. Motion Sickness epitomizes the theme park vibe: a magic spell that makes creatures ride the rides of the battlefield. The card’s emblematic flavor comes alive when you pair it with Attractions—enchantment cards that create dwell-time and spectacle across turns. The aura’s ability to “attach to target tapped creature” after you visit an Attraction makes you plan several turns ahead: you position your Attraction and Terrain to ensure the aura slides from creature to creature at just the right moment, provoking reactions from opponents and allies alike. It’s a playful reminder that MTG can be a stage as much as a battlefield. 🧙♂️🎲
“In the Un-sets, the rules are the stage, not the script. Motion Sickness teaches us to choreograph chaos with timing, wit, and a little blue sparkle.”
Flavorful Mechanics and Strategic Nuance
Let’s break down the mechanical skeleton and what gameplay actually feels like at the table. You cast Motion Sickness on a creature. The aura enters the battlefield and immediately taps that creature, starting its “sleep” for the turn. The enchantment also bars untapping in each untap step, effectively creating a window of control for as long as you maintain the On-Board presence of the aura or until you swap it to a new target via an Attraction visit. That dynamic creates two kinds of tension: you want to hold the aura on a creature that will benefit most from being tapped, and you want to leverage the Attraction trigger to reposition it for future turns. It’s a little like passing a baton in a relay race—only you’re passing a glowing, blue tether that can yank you into a new passer mid-stride. 🧙♂️💨
Because Motion Sickness is blue, it sits in the color identity of counterplay, tempo, and card-draw synergy. It’s not a finisher; it’s a tempo knife that reshapes the battlefield over several turns. The card’s rarity and mana cost invite casuals to experiment with clever “visit an Attraction” sequences, rather than building raw speed or overwhelming combos. That restraint is exactly what keeps Unfinity’s humor from tipping into actual game-breaking territory—fun first, balance second, with a wink. 🔷⚖️
Art, Lore, and Collector Echoes
Raluca Marinescu’s illustration on Motion Sickness captures the playful energy of a chaos-filled fairground. The palette and composition evoke motion, with sparkling blues and kinetic lines that imply movement even when the aura sits on a creature. It’s the kind of art that makes you grin at the level of detail, and it’s a perfect match for the Unfinity aesthetic—where the border between a joke and a clever game mechanic blurs in the best possible way. The card’s status as a common with foil and nonfoil options adds a layer of accessibility for players who want to collect a set of memorable Un-lands and Un-cards without needing a banker’s wallet. The price points on Scryfall reflect a friendly entry into the set’s humor, while foils offer a splash of rare spark for dedicated collectors. 🔎🎨
Practical Insights for Your Table
- Aura management matters: You’ll want to time your moves so that the aura’s reattachment aligns with your Attraction tempo, not just your board state.
- Coordinate with Attractions: Look for synergy with other Attraction cards on the battlefield to maximize the “move the aura” moments.
- Mind the untap step: The delayed untap is what makes the effect valuable; if you skip reattaching, you lose the tempo edge.
- Casual-friendly but clever: This card shines in multiplayer casual tables where players enjoy storytelling and playful interactions as much as the win condition. 🧩
For fans who relish the cross-pollination of design ideas—where humor, strategy, and rule-bending coexist—Motion Sickness is a compact case study. It shows how an Un-set card can be both a meaningful gameplay element and a memorable cultural artifact, inviting players to craft stories around pull-downs, taps, and quick, carnival-like reversals. If you’re chasing the vibe of a park-inspired, rule-twisting experience, this blue aura is a petite masterclass in how to engineer a moment of magic that’s equal parts clever and charming. ⚔️
On a practical note for collectors and players alike, you can explore further buying options and deck-building avenues through community hubs and respected retailers referenced in Scryfall and related marketplaces. And if you’re looking to complement your MTG table with something that nods to that same spirit of whimsy, consider upgrading your desk and gear with a premium, non-slip mouse pad—the kind of product that keeps your play space as organized as your mana base. The exact product link below is a gentle nudge toward that vibe. 🧙♂️🔥