Description
Multiple Magic: the Gathering cards and mechanics use exclamation marks in their rules text. However, Gatherer is unable to present those exclamation marks, and for no apparent reason. This leads to it having incorrect oracle text for a number of cards. The exclamation mark is not mangled or replaced, it is simply elided.
This issue has been present in Gatherer essentially forever. The web archive dates this issue as far back as 2009 with Stop That (Sept 2009), which continued into the present day with Stop That (Nov 2014) after Gatherer received its current coat of paint. Clock of Doom (Dec 2017) also shows for example that it was impacted this way since the day it appeared on Gatherer.
See also:
- Aetherdrift errata rollout typos, errors, and misses #190
- Un-Set cards are missing exclamation marks #58
Exclamation marks missing in all rules text
A full list of impacted cards is available on Scryfall here, but examples include:
- All cards with Start your engines!
- All cards with For Mirrodin!
- All cards with Gotcha!
- All attractions with claim the prize!
- Several cards with flavor words across PIP, WHO, 40K, and a couple of others. For example, Butch Deloria has the significantly less enthusiastic “Tunnel Snakes Rule” instead of “Tunnel Snakes Rule!”.
- Two spells from 40K, Blood for the Blood God! and Kill! Maim! Burn! have exclamation marks appear in their name, and reference their own name in their text. Although Gatherer can display the name as expected, it cannot display the exclamation marks that appear in the oracle text.
- Clock of DOOOOOOOOOOOOM! incorrectly references a “CRANK counter” instead of a “CRANK! counter”.
Exclamation marks missing in some flavor texts
This also appears to have impacted flavor text for some cards. For example, Drawn Together is meant to have this flavor text:
“My Pete Venters theme deck is nearly complete. Then I shall be unstoppable! Bwahahahaaa!”
—Pete Venters
But instead it says this:
"My Pete Venters theme deck is nearly complete. Then I shall be unstoppable Bwahahahaaa"
—Pete Venters
However, more recent cards with exclamation marks in their flavor text are fine, e.g. Abomination of Llanowar correctly presents is flavor text:
"Run!" screamed its living mouths. "Come!" cried its dead ones.
Screenshots
Start your engines!
For Mirrodin!
Gotcha!
Claim the prize!
Blood for the Blood God!
Kill! Maim! Burn!
Clock of DOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Drawn Together
