I have no doubt in my mind that you've probably heard of mechanics like Menace, Fear, or one of my personal favorites, Flying. I know, I know, these evasive creatures always spawn all too abruptly across the table, and when they do, they always make creatures like your pet card, Caelorna, Coral Tyrant, really become just another bad card.

But did you know that before Menace took its rightful place in our hearts, there was a defunct little mechanic called Intimidate? It came, it saw, it quietly terrorized some limited formats, and then it tiptoed off into the distance, never to appear again. Unless, of course, you were rummaging through your bulk rares this past weekend and found a lonely Bladetusk Boar with that italicized word still clinging to its text box.

Now, if you're wondering, "Is Intimidate basically Fear, but with a new name?" you'd be (mostly) correct. You might also be wondering, "So, Intimidate's really just another evasion mechanic, right?" Absolutely! But if you're curious why it's rated a whopping 10 on Mark Rosewater's Storm Scale, stick around.

With all that said, in today's Mechanics Overview Segment, let's chat about how Intimidate worked, why it fell off the face of the Earth, and how you can use this knowledge in your next game of MTG.

What Is Intimidate?

"A creature with intimidate can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it."

Simply put, if you swing in with a Black creature that has Intimidate, your opponent(s) need either an Artifact creature or a Black creature of their own in order to block it. Everybody else (White dorks, Green beaters, random Eldrazi with no color but also not an artifact) must watch helplessly as your intimidator sails right through the red zone.

The History of Intimidate

It's the year 2009, a simpler time: Zendikar (2009) has just come out, everyone's freaking out over Fetchlands returning, and Mark Rosewater is wearing that trademark grin (as he always does) that says, "I promise this set will be fun." Then you crack open a pack and see a creature with this new keyword, Intimidate. Naturally, you do a double-take. Fear was a known quantity, but Intimidate apparently does the same thing for that creature's colors, be it Black, Red, or even (gasp) Colorless? Utter madness!

So, Why Intimidate?

• Fear Was Too Narrow: Fear was locked into Black's color identity. A Black creature with Fear could only be blocked by Black or Artifact creatures. That's awesome in Black-heavy sets but less so when you want to branch out to, say, a mean Green intimidator or a random Red Boar (*cough* Bladetusk Boar *cough cough*).
• Flavor Overhaul: Fear intrinsically implies something that belongs to Black. However, the design teams realized that other colors have ways of spooking the daylights out of opposing creatures. A savage beast of the Gruul persuasion might be "intimidating" but not necessarily "fearsome" in the necromantic sense.
• An Aspiring Evergreen Mechanic: Yes, at one point, Wizards of the Coast actually wanted Intimidate to be evergreen. Then they changed their minds. Why? Because the variance was simply too high. After all, if your deck happens to share a color with the intimidator, great--you can block. If not, well, I guess you're not blocking all game. And that's... not exactly fun for either side at times.

After its initial run, starting in Zendikar, Intimidate continued to pop up in various sets: Scars of Mirrodin (2010), Innistrad (2011), Magic 2014 (2014), and so on. But then it just sort of... vanished. By the time Magic 2015 (2015) rolled around, Wizards said, "We're done here," and replaced it in future designs with Menace. And just like that, Intimidate simply slid into the background, overshadowed by simpler and, honestly, just more consistent mechanics.

Can It Be Intimidated?

If you're a fan of complicated board states and combat phases, here are a few quick things to keep in mind about Intimidate:

1. Multicolored Creatures

   If your intimidator is, say, Rakdos, it can be blocked by any creature that's Red and/or Black, plus Artifact creatures. Now, while that might sound super-liberating, in practice, if your opponent has a Grixis deck that's creature-heavy, then guess what? Your "evasion" is basically a blank line of text.

2. Colorless Intimidators

   A Colorless intimidator can only be blocked by Artifact creatures. This means that if you've put Intimidate on some Eldrazi scion that's Devoid, it's basically unblockable unless your opponent randomly whips out a Myr Superion.

3. Changing Colors Mid-Combat

   If your attacking creature has Intimidate and you cast some color-shifting effect like Mind Bend or Polymorphist's Jest after blockers are declared, it won't retroactively change who's allowed to block. As I learned one fateful evening, the Intimidate check only matters during the declare blockers step. After that, it's too late! Your opponent's already locked in their choice (or lack thereof).

Are We Ever Going to See Intimidate Again?

You know that friend who insists they'll build a Banding-tribal deck? The same friend who thinks Chroma is going to return one day? If that friend leans over and says, "Mark my words, sooner or later, Intimidate is coming back, baby," you can calmly let them know:

"Actually, Mark Rosewater put intimidate at 10 on the Storm Scale, meaning it's about as likely to return as Wizards is to reprint the Power Nine in a Standard booster."

In other words, Intimidate is probably never coming back. The direct, simpler, more robust replacement (Menace) has proven to be a big hit. Turns out players actually like having at least partial agency in how they block. And from a design standpoint, Intimidate's color-based gating is both narrower and less universally satisfying.

Embrace the Intimidation...for Old Times' Sake

In the grand scheme of MTG's storied history, Intimidate is like that side character in a TV series that was written out after two episodes. Sure, it certainly had potential, but the showrunners found a better replacement (Menace) that just tested better with focus groups.

Still, if you want to show off your old-school cred, or if you're simply feeling nostalgic, why not slip in some classic Intimidate creatures like Vela the Night-Clad or Mogis's Marauder into your next brew? Will you Intimidate your table? Maybe. Will you get blocked by random Phyrexian Walkers? Possibly. But I guarantee that at least once, you'll be able to say: "Oh, you didn't realize my creatures are unblockable since you're playing Mono-Red? Huh, that's a shame. Maybe you should play a real deck next time."

And that's it for me this time. As always, happy brewing, and may you always remember that while Intimidate might now be a relic of the past, don't let that Intimidate you into not trying the mechanic out again for old time's sake. Until next time!