Flying
Let My t:Spirit Carry Me!
Sorry for the delay by a week. Jetlag.
Every kid at some point dreams of flying. Hell, it’s the most printed keyword in Magic, according to Gavin Verhey himself. A couple months back, we took a bit of a swerve and looked at its cousin, horsemanship. And while that mechanic is one few Magic players have interacted directly with, Flying hold a distinct place as a premiere tool for winning games of limited and constructed alike. It’s the most evocative mechanic in the game, and routinely shows up on best of lists by folks who are fans of the game design side of Magic.
Flying is relatively simple. All it says is that a creature with the keyword Flying can’t be blocked unless the blocking creature also has Flying (or Reach, Flying’s weird estranged cousin). Simple, elegant. One of the first designs in the history of the game, dating all the way back to Alpha itself. Flying has been providing the difference for control decks in limited as long as draft has existed, and has been the scourge of decks looking to just grind out a few more turns of board stall for just as long.
Flying as a flavor-driven mechanic, is often associated with certain creature types, but also can appear as conditional effects due to its broad utility in combat. Two of the most iconic fliers, Shivan Dragon and Serra Angel, have been in Magic since the beginning, and are often among the cards the particularly older players of the game consider the most iconic. Cantrips like Leap or equipment like Maul of the Skyclaves give temporary flying to a creature until the endo f the turn, allowing for a change in the number of attackers or blockers on the flying axis, which can change at a moment’s notice whether or not it can be advantageous for you to attack. Some cards provide flying as a payoff, as with Serra Ascendant (intended as a payoff for gaining 10 or more life, but flipped from default off to default on by rules modifications such as those in EDH).
As you can see, some of the more common creature type associated with flying are the ones you would expect like dragons, angels, and birds, many of which exist on the white end of the color spectrum, while also appearing in red and blue fairly regularly as well. In recent years, black has also recevied its fair share of fliers (usually as demons), but green remains lacking (usually opting for reach as a way to deal with threats in the air).
Speaking of which, there’s a part 2 to this discussion due to reach you very soon as well: