Friendship is Card Games: Tell Your Tale, Pt. 10 · 1:18pm Jan 2nd, 2023
Time to ring in the new year… through end-of-year holiday content. Ah, the joys and consequences of a backlog. Let’s get started.
I do like the nods to Kenny Loggins in those opening notes. Though Izzy’s definitely the one in the Danger Zone.
Comics Izzy: So sad that she can’t join her flying friends in the air that Discord tries to destroy all magic.
Tell Your Tale Izzy: Build a hang glider out of garbage just because she can.
Unfortunately, Izzy does still need a gliding surface for whatever she’s casting to work. She’s not quite at autolevitation yet.
Izzy’s last words will definitely be along the lines of “Whee!” But not this day.
Of course the remains of the glider nearly hit Posey. The karmic debt of nearly plunging the entire town into the void is not easily paid.
Izzy’s apology is very clearly for making Zipp worry, not risking her own life. Filly has issues, but we’ve known that from the moment we saw her home in Bridlewood and the nearly lifelong isolation that came with it.
“Yeah, it would be amazing if we all could fly, but we can’t,” says the mare who basically reinvented aeronautics in the ruins of an airship port. Though to be fair, Zipp was always more focused on reclaiming natural flight for pegasi than developing a means of artificial flight for all ponies (and even for pegasi, she never really thought about how to get the rest of the tribe proficient in the air. Much like Sunny and intertribal cooperation, Zipp just assumed that the restored magic would solve all her problems without further input.)
Long story short, I’m not surprised that Izzy was the one to propose building a solution. Zipp tends more towards theory and concept than application. Izzy may be mad, but she’s a mad engineer.
Izzy as excited as I am at the prospect of more G5 content that isn’t stuck in Maretime Bay.
“Go Team Zipzy!”
“No nicknames.”
I have the distinct feeling that Pipp’s tried to propose something similar many times in the past.
Izzy’s model does seem to follow the same concept as Zipp’s blueprint. The only difference is that one’s doubling as a Close Encounters of the Third Kind reference. It’s important. It means something.
Don’t get too mad, Zipp. You’re the one who trusted the crazy unicorn dual-wielding acetylene torches.
Also, looks like Izzy’s repaired the tram with a layer of macaroni and cheese. That’s certainly an option.
Something in the pony psyche links nigh-unbreakable optimism and a love of heavy artillery.
Izzy’s lift capacity is very impressive indeed… though I have to wonder where they got that engine block to begin with. And how they got onto that roof. Though we are running up against G5’s issue with plot diversity. They’ve already retreaded the “characters working at loggerheads realize they actually need to coordinate their efforts” story beat several times at this point.
Yes, this whole short contradicts a moment in Winter Wishday, namely the creation of the Marestream. And I much prefer this version. Actually showing the effort that went into the process before magic took over is always more satisfying than all but saying “The plot needs us to have this now.” I do still love the cargo-cult approach to building a flying camper van. Approximate it and friendship magic can take care of the rest.
As I noted during the Winter Wishday review, it’s important to note that in this version of events, they actually did test flights before having everypony else on board. Rather important, those.
… Wait, were they doing all of this on the roof of the Canterlogic building? That could explain where they found that engine block…
I do love the rainbow effect along the edges of the Marestream... and how it points to a critical design flaw with the unsecured, finicky power source.
In the time it took them to discuss the risks of Izzy’s plan, they would’ve already crashed. Thankfully, narrative gravity does not always accelerate at a constant rate.
Excellent delivery from Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on “Izzy we are still falling.” I do love how she snuck in a “We’re alive!” as they parachute into the forest as well. Don’t try this at home, kids.
Oof. Looks like pegasi retained their impact resistance.
This time around, there’s something hilarious about Sunny popping up the moment the credits roll. She has no idea just what her friends were getting up to. Imagining her reaction… It’d probably be a coin flip between fascination at the magic and horror and how often Izzy and Zipp almost died in the process.
Nonsense. This is My Little Pony; the pun is always intended. 
Ah, shades of Holidays Unwrapped. Though now it’s Posey caught in the crossfire of a snowball war. At least nopony else is taking it quite as seriously.
I do love how the Izzy snowpony has a coal bracelet along with the carrot horn. Also nice to see Hitch show some degree of observational capability.
Why did Posey even leave her house today?
“It’s a snow day!”
“The first ever in Maretime Bay!”
I see the unicorns’ accidental climate disaster hasn’t completely worn off. I am hazy on why the entire town is taking the day off to frolic, but this appears to be similar to trying to figure out the economics of Old Equestria: The writers simply didn’t bother with those details, since they won’t matter to the target audience. Still, this is definitely setting up some kids for disappointment once they’re employed…
There’s also the question of why everypony knows about snowponies and snowball fights, but between the other tribes and whatever cultural continuity lies between Old Equestria and Maretime Bay, I can see how the details would be retained. (I do wonder why the earth ponies had cold weather gear on hoof, though.)
“Just because it’s new does not make it good!”
Posey’s entire character expressed in a single sentence. Though you’d think she might change her tune after the aforementioned void-plunging. The novelty does explain why the whole town’s out here, but again, why did Posey? I can only assume it’s because she wanted to grump about the new development and it was even worse than she thought. And in her defense, I can think of some non-fungible support for her argument.
Oh dear. Whatever Posey’s rationale for leaving the house today might have been, she’s definitely regretting it now. I’d be amazed that she hasn’t left town entirely…if it weren’t for the lack of other towns for her to move to.
Yeah, I really don’t know what they expected when they shoved Maretime Bay’s biggest earth pony curmudgeon into the experimental flying machine.
Hitch’s list of snow day activities is impressively incomplete given that he saw snowponies earlier today. I should probably be grateful he didn’t try to fine anypony for performing activities that weren’t already on the list. Thankfully, everything not forbidden is not yet compulsory… though Hitch is making the mistake of thinking that they need to finish the whole list to achieve that frustratingly hard-to-quantify/legislate concept known as “fun.”
Poor Posey. She never asked for this. Valuable as the moral of “Don’t be afraid to try new things” is, I find myself hoping that this one will actually be “Different people have fun in different ways.”
The mountaintop culture being the authoritative voice on what to do with snow makes sense. The pegasi doubly so. I do wonder if we’ll see weather control in this generation.
I really don’t know what Zipp expected when she parked that thing on a cliff.
There’s something off-putting about a snowpony so big that hoof-sized hunks of coal serve as the pupils.
I was wondering about that thing’s stability. Snow isn’t exactly the stuff of skyscrapers.
I see Izzy’s been working on her maniacal laugh. Delightful, but not what Posey needs right now.
Aurora Borealis. At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely at Prancing Point.
Go to 3:10 if you want to see it.
One moral we’re definitely getting with this episode is “Bigger isn’t always better.” Nor is faster.
I definitely have to wonder how the earth ponies had snowboards on hoof.
It’s played out, yes, but I do still love the red-white divide as illustrated Sunny and Hitch. Freedom versus security, individual expression versus comfortable conformity, revolution versus establishment… The two really do express the color conflict very well. (I’d say to never mind how Sunny becomes the establishment, but she’s never comfortable in any leadership role beyond a ragtag band of misfit adventurers or managing a small community garden.
Unsurprisingly, the baby dragon has had his fill of winter and wants nothing more to do with it.
Oh good, they did go for different ways of having fun. I’m glad to see it. Even Posey doesn’t deserve constant suffering.
I do like the use of the Carol of the Bells in the opening. Very nice touch.
Oh dear. Sunny may make a mean breakfast, but desserts appear to be her Achilles heel… aside from smoothies, of course.
Bridlewood apparently has mimes. Clearly they should have burned the place to the ground.
Ah. Trying to make another culture’s cuisine without any recipes or idea of what to do. That certainly makes sense… though I’m sure Hitch could guide her through his grandmother’s recipe down to the microgram.
“They’re never going to taste as good as we remember them anyway.”
I see Izzy’s been hit by nostalgia shock before. And going by her reaction, Sunny hasn’t.
I wonder if Sunny’s turning to Alphabittle for help because he was involved in raising Izzy, or just because he’s her main contact in Bridlewood and also runs a restaurant. (A teahouse, yes, but what better to serve with it than cookies?) Also, very nice to see the Marestream already providing greater setting variety.
“And then I’ll break into the palace at Zephyr Heights to find the top-secret royal recipe… Wait, what?”
Good to see Sunny has some common sense, even if like all ponies her IQ drops by twenty points when she’s in the spotlight. It’s possible she mixed up her cookie plans with her plans to reunify the tribes.
Given how Figgy was clearly ready to eliminate the intruder with her knitting needles, I have to wonder what her life was like. I doubt SMILE was still around when she was in her prime, but I imagine she still has many stories she can’t tell for reasons of national security.
Oh goodness. Sunny definitely wasn’t ready for whatever Figgy has in mind.
Ah. It’s a grandma recipe. Right up there with such classics as “Use 2-8 onions,” “Cook the livers until they’re done” and “Make the frosting. You know how.”
Yes, these are all from my own paternal grandmother’s recipes.
Sunny may be more footloose and fancy-free than Hitch, but she still appreciates having measurements to work with.
Alphabittle does have precise instructions and measurements, but half of them are superstitions. I do appreciate the idea of unicorns’ arcane knowledge degenerating into a blend of half-remembered magical principles and utter nonsense, and how the only way to tell one of from the other is to see which causes magical disasters. It has a fun post-apocalyptic recovery feel… when it isn’t causing Fimbulwinter.
Hmm. An old earth mare bouncing around and baking. I can’t tell if there’s more Granny Smith zap apple ritualism or Pinkie ebullience here. Though depending on just how much time lies between generations, all of the Mane Six could be in that gene pool somewhere.
Okay, comparing Figgy and Alphabittle, he definitely has more zap apple jam-level “What the heck is going on” to his approach. We’re approaching Spongebob bubble-blowing technique there.
Also, I can only assume he has a designated jinxie spoon to contain all the bad luck that might end up spread around his other spoons otherwise.
Sunny is startlingly good at infiltration. Also, she’s still going through with the infiltration. I feel like that’s an unwise move. I do appreciate the generic holiday pop still going in the background. Outstanding contrast.
“Such a lovely day to admire our vault of royal secrets!”
Queen Haven, ladies and gentlemen. A living reminder that a love of the spotlight does not translate into good opsec.
The prevalent rainbows on the clouds are a peculiar detail. One I probably shouldn’t think about too much, but I’m still going to.
Sunny by herself embodies a different color conflict, red-blue. Her analytical and emotional drives vie for supremacy on a moment-to-moment basis, and it’s not always easy for her to get them to get along.
Oh no, the cake ghosts are real.
I’m sure the bubbling marshmallow will settle with time. I’m not sure about the flashes of light Pipp and Zipp’s batch is giving off.
Oof. Izzy did indeed spend time at the teahouse as a filly… and her best friend was a wooden spoon with a pencil glued to its forehead.
Figgy has apparently always been old, at least as far as Hitch’s memories and the animation team’s models are concerned.
Double ouch on Sunny’s cookies. For one, I hope Maretime Bay has a good dentist; it’s not like there any zebras with tooth-growing potions available. Secondly, the others didn’t have anypony to consult for any treasured childhood recipes. Argyle isn’t exactly around for them to ask what goes into unicorn cupcakes.
This was a delight. One of the most adventurous Tell Your Tale shorts thus far, and a great chance for Sunny to stretch her (in this case metaphorical) wings. Here’s hoping it’s a sign of things to come.
An en medias res crash landing wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I said that, but it certainly works. The frantic take on Jingle Bells definitely helps sell the moment.
Oh, are we getting another bit of split continuity? Looks like this is another take on the end of Winter Wishday. I knew we were dealing with a bundle of loosely related timelines—that’s been clear since the Make Your Mark series had no trace of Discord—but I wasn’t expecting them to be so up front about it.
From Nightmare Night to the assorted Hearth’s Warming descendants. Misty’s made perilously little progress in getting Opaline more dragonfire. Perilous for her own sake, specifically. Yes, Opaline doesn’t appear to have anypony else, but I wouldn’t surprised if prolonged withdrawal made her simply not care.
Opaline either has very strong opinions about knit caps or literally doesn’t know what a hat is. I’m not sure which amuses me more.
“Silly ponies and their pointless holiday traditions.”
Bold words from a mare who was alive at the same time as Pinkie Pie.
“It’s sad, really. All their power and no intellect.”
Bolder words from an adversary of Twilight Sparkle who refuses to recognize the magic of friendship.
Yeah, we’re definitely taking a different route from Winter Wishday on this one.
Oh. Oh dear. Yeah, this kind of grandiose yet frivolous display of magic on a celestial scale is not going to go over well with Opaline. It’s genuinely sad. She can’t see the beauty in things, only how they can benefit her. Makes me wonder all the more about how the sun and moon are still moving.
Ah, and we are getting a “Do it or else” ultimatum for Misty. And I get the feeling that the “or else” is a lot worse than never getting a cutie mark. Don’t do dragonfire, kids. Burns your brain from the inside out.
Interesting that Misty’s going for a Trojan Horse gambit. She seemed to leave everypony on good enough terms that she could just ring the doorbell normally. They certainly didn’t seem to suspect her of dragon-napping earlier. Of course, Sparky remembers her attempts, so that may be what’s encouraging the more cartoonish plots. That or the time constraints of the shorts themselves; subtle infiltration takes time to show properly.
Misty is apparently heavier than engine block. Or Izzy’s magic finds it easier to move mechanical objects than other living beings. Or Misty’s packing heavy artillery in there, but that feels unlikely.
“Awwww… sad.”
I could hear Pipp try to pronounce an emoji there. Outstanding delivery.
Inconveniently enough, everypony is asleep in the foyer and not, you know, their beds.
It is nice to see the seeds of doubt flourish in Misty’s mind, but it’ll take more than that for her to turn away from the dark side. A wicked stepmother is still a mother, even if Opaline would likely object to framing her relationship with Misty in any kind of parental sense.
A sleepwalking baby dragon feels even more dangerous than a fully awake one. I get the sense we’re about to get proof of that.
Where did Misty find a donut? Did she go into town, turn on a deep-fryer without anypony noticing, or just have one for dragon-baiting emergencies?
Eh, this is basically a Coyote/Roadrunner cartoon right now. It might as well have come from the Acme Corporation. And Misty’s lucky it didn’t attract Izzy.
I won’t lie, Sparky eating the stick out of the trap made me laugh out loud. Good subversion done well.
Interesting choice with the chiptunes in the score. I could certainly see this being a notoriously frustrating minigame.
I do love a good example of a villain who isn’t so above it all. Heck, that a hat with a single bell on it might even be from the same haberdashery tradition as Star Swirl’s.
Odd choice to have a door going directly outside from Opaline’s throne room. Pretty sure this is the first time we’ve seen it in 2D, so maybe they didn’t have time to model a hallway.
Misty, the correct answer is “No, ma’am, I didn’t hear you singing carols again, ma’am!” And knock next time.
Also, Opaline never missing a chance to gaslight Misty with that “You must have been hearing things again.”
“The most powerful fire alicorn in history” implies there are others. Celestia seems obvious, but let’s not forget the Fire of Friendship, especially not during the winter holidays. Heck, Twilight was showing signs of that sort of thing even before she got her wings.
Ah. I was wondering why Cloudpuff was there.
Alas, poor Misty. She’ll likely come around in time, but it’s going to take a lot more emotional abuse (and possibly a narrowly averted apocalypse) before she does.
In all, a good batch. It does feel like the writers are really hitting their stride, even if they’re following in some of their own footsteps. (I don’t want to say that the near-absence of Pipp actively contributed to my enjoyment, but that is a concerning data point.) Now to see where I can tread:
Slice of Summer 1W
Instant
You gain protection from snow until end of turn. (You can’t be targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything snow.)
Draw a card.
One mare’s moment of respite is another’s burning agony.
Skyseeker 1W
Creature — Pony Scout
Skyseeker has flying as long as you control a Pegasus.
Few earth ponies handled heights well, but the exceptions were eager to join their winged brethren.
2/1
Enthusiastic Aviator 2W
Creature — Unicorn Artificer
Lifelink
Enthusiastic Aviator has flying as long as it’s attacking.
Falling with style is still better than what most wingless ponies can get away with.
3/1
Pastrify U
Instant
Counter target instant spell, sorcery spell, activated ability, or triggered ability. Its controller creates two Food tokens. (They're artifacts with “2, T, Sacrifice this artifact: You gain 3 life.”)
One sneeze, and Misty’s ambitions crumbled into fondant.
Necessary Amendment 2U
Instant
Addendum — You may cast this spell without paying its mana cost during your main phase.
You may choose new targets for target spell.
No law survives contact with the populace.
Wing Cobbler 2U
Creature — Unicorn Artificer
When Wing Cobbler enters the battlefield, you may draw a card. If you do, reveal it. If it isn’t an artifact card, discard a card.
Equipped creatures you control have flying.
“The pegasi must be lonely up there.”
2/2
Crown Appropriator 3U
Creature — Pony Ninja
Ninjutsu 2U (2U, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.)
When Crown Appropriator enters the battlefield, you become the monarch.
Crown Appropriator can’t be blocked by creatures the monarch controls.
2/5
Veteran Assassin 1B
Creature — Pony Assassin
Whenever another creature dies, put a level counter on Veteran Assassin.
2/1
Level 1-3: Deathtouch
2/3
Level 4+: First strike, deathtouch
3/4
Oven-Ash Wailer 2B
Creature — Spirit
When Oven-Ash Wailer enters the battlefield, create a Food token.
Whenever you sacrifice a permanent, target opponent loses 1 life.
The greatest atrocities leave the angriest geists.
3/1
Opaline’s Infiltrator 4B
Creature — Unicorn Ninja
Ninjutsu 1BB
Whenever Opaline’s Infiltrator deals combat damage to a player, destroy target creature that player controls that isn’t a Pony Pegasus Unicorn.
3/2
Aeronaut Trainee 1R
Creature — Pegasus Pilot
Whenever Aeronaut Trainee crews a Vehicle, you may have that Vehicle get +2/+0 and gain flying until end of turn. If you do, at the beginning of the next end step, flip a coin. If you lose the flip, sacrifice that Vehicle.
“Well, the seat belts work.”
2/1
Rain of Scrap 2R
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice an artifact.
Rain of Scrap deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of targets, where X is the mana value of the sacrificed artifact.
Cloudy with a chance of falling debris.
Outstanding Excess 1RRR
Instant
If target spell or permanent would deal damage to a permanent or player this turn, it deals triple that damage to that permanent or player instead.
“Excess is what small minds call big plans.”
—Trixie Lulamoon, Memoirs
Caught in the Crossfire 3RR
Instant
Cast this spell only during combat after blockers are declared.
Caught in the Crossfire deals X damage to each creature controlled by an attacking or defending player that isn’t attacking or blocking, where X is the number of attacking creatures plus the number of blocking creatures.
Bridlewood Mime 1GG
Creature — Unicorn Mime
You can cast spells only during your own turn.
The Bridlewood tradition of pantomime began with a single mare so depressed that she refused to speak, an inspiration to the forest’s most jaded residents.
5/5
Taste of Nostalgia 2G
Enchantment
When Taste of Nostalgia enters the battlefield, create a Food token.
Whenever you sacrifice a Food, return a nonartifact card at random from your graveyard to your hand.
Unexpected Improvements 2G
Instant
Untap target creature or Vehicle. Put a +1/+1 counter, a vigilance counter, and a reach counter on it.
“Magic changes everything it touches. I’m still working on how and why.”
—Princess Zipp Storm
Neophobe Reactionary 3G
Creature — Pony Rogue
Protection from artifacts
Whenever an artifact enters the battlefield under an opponent’s control, put a +1/+1 counter on Neophobe Reactionary.
Years of mistrust aren’t easily forgotten.
3/2
Tumbling Snowball 1S
Snow Creature — Elemental
(S can be paid with one mana from a snow source.)
Whenever Tumbling Snowball attacks, you may pay SS. If you do, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
At its core is a single ice crystal imbued with just enough will to enjoy crushing all in its wake.
2/2
Scampering Snowpony 3
Snow Artifact Creature — Pony
S: Scampering Snowpony gains your choice of haste, vigilance, or menace until end of turn.
Making them move was simple. Getting them to stop proved a bit trickier.
3/2
Throne of Winter 4
Snow Artifact
3, T, Tap an untapped snow creature you control: Creatures you control get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the tapped creature’s power.
A throne of pure crystal pleases those spirits who still remember the Empire.
Underworld Baking BR
Sorcery
You may sacrifice two Foods. If you do, target creature deals 6 damage to itself. Otherwise, create two Food tokens.
Flashback — (br), Discard a card. (You may cast this spell from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Improbable Mending 2(wb)U
Sorcery
As an additional cast to cast this spell, exile an artifact you control.
Return target artifact card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It has all abilities of the exiled artifact and “When this artifact leaves the battlefield, put the exiled card into its owner’s graveyard.”
Celestial Confluence 2WU
Instant
Choose three. You may choose the same mode more than once.
• Target player creates a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying.
• Two or more target players each draw a card.
• Tap target creature.
Glittering Maelstrom 2RG
Snow Enchantment
The first spell you spend S to cast each turn has cascade. (When you cast that spell, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order. S is mana from a snow source.)
Opaline’s Command 2BRG
Sorcery
Choose two —
• Target player discards two cards.
• Opaline’s Command deals 5 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
• Destroy target artifact, enchantment, or nonbasic land.
• The next creature spell you cast this turn has blitz 0.
It’s funny. Were it not for how many times they’re recycled most of their stock plots, I would certainly feel some of these are among the best. Instead, they have to combat a weary fatigue of “been there, done that”, where though, for instance, this short of Misty trying and failing to nab Sparky is for sure better than most past ones (and only makes her out to be partially incompetent, as opposed to fully), it’s just more fatigue.
And improving over time is fine and all, but even apart from us paying for it without their training exercises earlier, it’s only marginal improvement within the general whiffs disposable quality of these shorts – even the best ones only come somewhat close to “eh” EqG shorts.
I do agree on a few key points here, though: the near-absence of Pipp was a godsend; Posey getting to have her way was great though it would have worked better had it not been proceeded by 4 minutes of the Mane 5 being their passive-aggressive “only our way is right!” selves; the Sunny baking short was nice enough; this depiction of the Marestream’s construction is much better, yes, though softened somewhat by how irritating post-movie Izzy continues to be (and geez, does the rushed audio mixing ever muffle some of her dialogue’s enunciation sometimes).
I will say in Tell Your Tale’s favour, though: it might just be from getting numb to the fluffy nothingness of its stories and narrative style, and this generation’s approach to “characterisation”, but the shorts actively aggregate far less now than they used to when they started out. Heck, they aggravate quite a bit less than the main CG series. They’re also too short to actively bore, so while they lack energy, they don’t really have a chance to induce drowsiness.
Eh, I guess we’ll see what’s in store for the remaining 28 (of the initial ordered batch of 70) shorts left to air at the time of writing.
Izzy's madness continues to be both endearing, anoying and terrifying. I simultaneously want to hug her and stick her in a padded cell.
You've got two "Opaline's Command"s there.
Stupid Complicated Game Alert: Improbable Mending seems like something that might end up in the acorn part of the set once the Rules Manager gets a look. It's very simple for a human to parse but I'm not sure linked abilities are allowed to work that way.
This was indeed a good batch. For all that the shorts suffer from being shorts, sharply limiting what they can do, a lot of them do it well. It may be fun-sized, but it is still fun.
Posey saying "take me home" implies that she was invited out on a snow date by the entire
polyculeherdgang. Not sure how to feel about thatShe got a lot of practice back when she was sneaking into the Canter Logic factory every year.
Queen Haven continues to be my favorite character in g5. I wonder if the Sneaksy is in that vault...
"I don't understand why the whole town shuts down for a little snow and goes frolicking." - How to tell me you live above latitude 35 without actually saying so
5706648
This to be honest. It's not just "a little snow", it's snow in a place that hasn't gotten it within living memory. Like that time it snowed in Florida a few years back and we all laughed at how they were completely unable to handle something that happens to us every year.
Don't you know how jinxie it is to throw away a jinxie spoon?!
From "Taking Flight": The phrase should not be "hoof five." The phrase logically would be "high hoof." In their haste to ponify every common phrase in existence, they ponified the wrong half.
Misty's drawn-on cutie mark reads better in this style of animation than it did on the 3-D model.
Obviously the Marestream was introduced solely so Hasbro would have another playset to sell. But where's the Señor Butterscotch toy?
5706635
>Improbable Mending
The simplest (but fun ruining) fix would be restricting it to activated abilities. And I can see it being not great for humans to parse either- having to dive into timestamps and layers to figure out two p/t setting abilities, or the like. And i think the rules team just woke up screaming, because I thought the phrase "Artifact Mutate" trying to describe the card to a buddy.
5706811
Again, the real problem isn't any of that. It's that I'm not sure the revived artifact will be able to tell what "the exiled card" actually is in an ability granted by another card when it was directly exiled by that second card instead of a different granted ability. Linked abilities also kill a lot of things you might think you'd be able to do with this card but can't, which making it acorn won't fix.
5706839
So it would have to make the returned card exile it, or have a stopgap exiled with a token nonsense? Eew.
5706842
Exactly, that's why we cheat and just put an acorn stamp on it instead. We can do that because FoME has put openly silver-bordered cards in these before.