tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33854425005634415922024-03-14T04:10:45.095-04:00Saturday Morning Magic of HixsonWe are a small group of Magic the Gathering players in Hixson, TN.Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-27856274396560174372014-12-29T18:34:00.000-05:002014-12-29T18:34:56.704-05:00Fate Reforged Spoilers: Mechanics IntroductionToday was the official start to Spoiler Season for Fate Reforged! Woo hoo!<br />
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As with the official start of every "spoiler season", we got an article detailing the mechanics of the new set.<br />
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I won't post every spoiled card; you can read those in the article yourself. Plus, there are too many new ones today. I will, though, post the more interesting ones.<br />
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The article: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/mechanics-fate-reforged-2014-12-29<br />
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First, background...Sarkhan Vol has traveled form the time of a Dragon-less Tarkir to the time when Dragons ruled about 1300 years prior (...okay, I think it's 1,280. So sue me!). The mechanics of this set either copy <i>Khans of Tarkir</i> OR set up precursors to those mechanics.<br />
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Let's get started!<br />
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RETURNING MECHANICS<br />
1) Prowess<br />
2) Delve<br />
3) Ferocious<br />
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Sorry, Abzan (Outlast) and Mardu (Raid). You're not getting these fun mechanics this time. Also, Morph seems to be out for Fate Reforged.<br />
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4) Hybrid Mana Symbols: These hybrid mana symbols are back, but they won't be in casting costs. They'll usually be in abilities. Because of this, the Commander "Color Identity" rule kicks in; for example, Yasova Dragonclaw only has Green in its mana cost but shows hybrid U/R symbols in its card text. Using it as a Commander for a mono-green deck isn't a problem; no one says you have to use the U/R abilities or pack in U/R mana producers. If it's not used as a Commander, though, it can only be used in Temur-colored (RUG) Commander decks. (Remember, Extort is an exception to the rule since Reminder Text isn't considered rules text; it's just there as a quick reminder for what the ability does.)<br />
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5) Modal Spells: Since they put bullet points on modal spells (for examples, Cryptic Command or practically any Charm in the game), WotC has been taking full advantage of the simpler templating. Since Fate Reforged deals with how choices will affect the outcome of the future, "modal" spells (where you get to choose between 1 of 2 or 3 alternatives) are a theme.<br />
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HOWEVER...however...we get new precursor mechanics to make up for it. (These mechanics are supposed to be "prequels" to mechanics we saw in <i>Khans of Tarkir</i> and didn't get reused for <i>Fate Reforged</i>.)<br />
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NEW MECHANICS<br />
1) Bolster --> This is the new Abzan ability word. "Bolster X" means "Choose a creature you control with the lowest toughness and put X +1/+1 counters on it." (more or less). Bolster will always have a number beside it (Bolster 2 or Bolster 5, for example). For example...<br />
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2) Dash --> The new Mardu keyword is Dash. "Dash [cost]" means you can cast it for that cost, the creature gains haste, and returns to your hand at the end of the turn. (This is being nicknamed the "Viashino" effect, named after various Viashino in the game that are cast, have haste, and return to hand at end of turn.) Some Dash costs are right in line with the normal mana cost, while others are cheaper. I wouldn't doubt we'd see one that's more expensive with Dash BUT comes with something else (for example, a creature costing 3W can be Dashed for 5W BUT it gets your choice of Flying, Lifelink, or Double Strike if Dashed, perhaps?)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDqJJHdEZNA/VKHhmpu5eWI/AAAAAAAAAvE/02-XG7AShu0/s1600/Kolaghan%2BALLIED%2BPAIR%2BDRAGON%2BDASHER%2BDAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDqJJHdEZNA/VKHhmpu5eWI/AAAAAAAAAvE/02-XG7AShu0/s1600/Kolaghan%2BALLIED%2BPAIR%2BDRAGON%2BDASHER%2BDAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a 2-color Dragon for each Allied color pair, each with Dash and granting a Bonus for each Dragon you control when it attacks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And it's not just the Dragons...</td></tr>
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3) Manifest --> This seems to belong to all clans, or at least can go outside the G/U ones. Manifest takes the place of Morph in Fate Reforged, but it can be used with Morph from Khans of Tarkir. "Manifest the top X cards of your library" means to put the top X cards of your library onto the battlefield face-down as 2/2 creatures; if the face-down card is a creature [whether or not it has Morph], you can turn it face-up at any time for its mana cost."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S5OemvHxkwE/VKHiRVVQEZI/AAAAAAAAAvU/vy_PfvqRdik/s1600/Soul%2BSummons%2BMANIFEST%2BPREVIEW%2BDAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S5OemvHxkwE/VKHiRVVQEZI/AAAAAAAAAvU/vy_PfvqRdik/s1600/Soul%2BSummons%2BMANIFEST%2BPREVIEW%2BDAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simple "Manifest" card...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSQa_qjcWhU/VKHiXV-eODI/AAAAAAAAAvc/K-07B_OTrLs/s1600/Whisperwood%2BElemental%2BMANIFEST%2BMORE%2BCOMPLEX%2BDAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jSQa_qjcWhU/VKHiXV-eODI/AAAAAAAAAvc/K-07B_OTrLs/s1600/Whisperwood%2BElemental%2BMANIFEST%2BMORE%2BCOMPLEX%2BDAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and more complex "Manifest" card to show off what it <i style="font-weight: bold;"> can</i> do.</td></tr>
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Now I don't know about you, but depending on the card...this could blur the lines between token armies and self-milling to get benefit. If you can Manifest, say, 3 cards at a time, that's 6 power's worth of creatures ready to block. And if they already are creatures? Morph creatures or not, those may come in as a nasty surprise for your opponent. ;)<br />
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Since Manifest works somewhat differently from Morph, there are new Overlay cards for Manifested cards that have rules text pertaining to what a Manifested card can do.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P3Mq7lAp6M8/VKHimb5pGgI/AAAAAAAAAvk/-bNnLl33bH0/s1600/Manifest%2BOverlay%2BCard%2BDAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P3Mq7lAp6M8/VKHimb5pGgI/AAAAAAAAAvk/-bNnLl33bH0/s1600/Manifest%2BOverlay%2BCard%2BDAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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4) Modal Spells: Wait...didn't I talk about these just above? Yes...and no! A bit different this time around is that permanents will now have modal choices. Examples include:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gORj-NkUUrU/VKHixQ_zxvI/AAAAAAAAAvs/0XHIdTDSdt4/s1600/Hooded%2BAssassin%2BMODAL%2BCREATURE%2BDAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gORj-NkUUrU/VKHixQ_zxvI/AAAAAAAAAvs/0XHIdTDSdt4/s1600/Hooded%2BAssassin%2BMODAL%2BCREATURE%2BDAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Modal" creature....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8DGQkzv8ELU/VKHjAH7zVaI/AAAAAAAAAv0/bhGg-Go0E_A/s1600/Outpost%2BSeige%2BMODAL%2BENCHANTMENT%2BDAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8DGQkzv8ELU/VKHjAH7zVaI/AAAAAAAAAv0/bhGg-Go0E_A/s1600/Outpost%2BSeige%2BMODAL%2BENCHANTMENT%2BDAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and "Modal" enchantment!</td></tr>
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I particularly love Outpost Seige. It's like saying, "Now, planeswalker....CHOOSE YOUR SIDE!!!" There will be a cycle of these "Seige"-type enchantments: 1 for each color. Seems they'll also have 1 cycle of Instants at Uncommon, 1 cycle of Instants/Sorceries at Rare, and 1 cycle at Common.</div>
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So far, what do you think? That's not every spoiler, but DailyMTG.com will be keeping an updated Card Image Gallery going, updating with the previous weekday's spoilers each weekday around 11 AM Eastern.</div>
Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-36045876745209327212014-07-18T16:20:00.001-04:002014-07-18T16:20:11.811-04:00Sealed Help: What Could I Have Done? --> M15 VersionOkay, guys. Think you can build a better sealed pool?<div>
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Oh, really!? Okay, fine. Prove it!</div>
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Below are pictures of the M15 Pre-release Sealed Pool I had. I got the White box, so Resolute Archangel was guaranteed. That seeded pack came with a Spectra Ward.</div>
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I 0-3 dropped the Pre-release (I had plans anyway, so no point in going to a 4th round). I was 1-7 in games.</div>
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I started with a B/G/w deck, but when it wasn't too effective I switched in the very next game to a W/U/r deck. The only Red card was Heat Ray.</div>
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Feel free to take a look at this and if you could build something better, please let me know. I'm curious where I went wrong.</div>
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Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-7736322903394497052014-07-03T23:32:00.003-04:002014-07-03T23:32:42.843-04:00M15 Previews! Some of the Last...The Chain Veil, 5-Color Sliver, Hornets, and Tokens!Hey everyone!<br />
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We're about a week away from the Pre-release and we still have a few previews to go. I want to look today at a couple Mythics, an interesting Rare, and the new look of Tokens and Emblems.<br />
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(All pictures come from either the M15 card image gallery or an article from the WotC site)<br />
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First off, let's get a preview that goes well with our Planeswalkers because...well, it's a Planeswalker-themed card! You ever wanted to use more than one Loyalty ability in a turn on a single Planeswalker? Ooooh boy, is this preview for you.<br />
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Introducing, for the first time in card form since we were exposed to it in <i>Innistrad</i>...<b>The Chain Veil!</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pdjgVjLZZEA/U7V8umWBGEI/AAAAAAAAAsc/tqfKkX-QMTw/s1600/The+Chain+Veil+DAILYMTG+Card+Image+Gallery.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pdjgVjLZZEA/U7V8umWBGEI/AAAAAAAAAsc/tqfKkX-QMTw/s1600/The+Chain+Veil+DAILYMTG+Card+Image+Gallery.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just what Planeswalkers have wanted for...well, their Planeswalkers. :p</td></tr>
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Okay, so some lore first...the Chain Veil is what Liliana used to corrupt Garruk in <i>Innistrad</i>. We see the fruits of that corruption in <i>M15</i>'s Garruk, Apex Predator.<br />
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So game-wise, what's this card doing? First off, you better have a Planeswalker and using one of its abilities each turn. If you don't, you're being zapped for 2 life each turn you don't do that. Ouch! But if you can gain life, it's not that bad a drawback.<br />
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I think its second effect is well worth the risk. For 4 mana and tapping The Chain Veil, you get to activate 1 Loyaly ability on <i style="font-weight: bold;">each</i> Planeswalker you control <b><i>as if you hadn't activated one this turn yet!</i></b><br />
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Now, now, I know what you're thinking..."I can ultimate a Planeswalker with this ability!" Eh...not quite. You'll still need enough Loyalty counters, even with this ability.<br />
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Here's what it does do...let's say you have Ajani Steadfast at 3 Loyaly counters and Liliana Vess at 7. You use Ajani's -2 ability to give all your creatures a +1/+1 counter and Liliana Vess a Loyalty Counter (putting her at 8 and Ajani at 1). Liliana activates her +1 ability, discarding a card from your opponent's hand (Vess at 9 counters). You pay 4 mana and tap The Chain Veil. Ajani, if he uses one of his abilities, can only use his +1 (give a creature +1/+1, flying, vigilance, and lifelink until end of turn) because he doesn't have enough counters for the other abilities. Liliana Vess, though, can use any of her abilities since she has plenty of Loyaly Counters.<br />
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This will be a casual powerhouse. Use your Planeswalkers twice in a turn!? And what if you use a card that can untap The Chain Veil and you have enough mana to use it again? Or if you can copy its effect? You can keep using Loyalty abilities as long as you can activate The Chain Veil. Just look back on the history of Planeswalkers and the possibilities are limitless.<br />
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For Standard, the uses are a little more limited but still potentially devastating. With enough mana and an ability to untap The Chain Veil, Planeswalkers like Elspeth, Sun's Champion go from being difficult to deal with to "wow, did they design her knowing she could use abilities 2-3 times a turn!?"<br />
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Next up, we're getting 6 Slivers in this set (not counting the Sliver land). We're getting a new 5-color Sliver. It's a Legendary Creature, so add it to the list of "I just wanna play it all" possible Commanders. Without further delay...<u style="font-weight: bold;">Sliver Hivelord</u>!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iWsp5qHta0c/U7YcHs3frKI/AAAAAAAAAso/IhQPEtdMM-A/s1600/Sliver+Hivelord+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iWsp5qHta0c/U7YcHs3frKI/AAAAAAAAAso/IhQPEtdMM-A/s1600/Sliver+Hivelord+DAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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Yes...yes, you read that right. The most efficient way of dealing with Slivers...is now gone if he's on the board. I don't think I need to share the ramifications of this. Just do remember we have exiling cards, so Sliver Hivelord isn't unbeatable. But you'll need to bounce it back to the hand or exile it to stand a chance against other threatening Slivers.<br />
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In Standard, I can see an attempt at a 5-color Sliver deck that runs 4 copies of this to try and get it going ASAP. But that's only really useful for about 2 months. When <i>Khans of Tarkir</i> releases, 4 sets rotate out of Standard: <i>Magic 2014 Core Set</i>, <i>Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, </i>and <i>Dragon's Maze</i>. M14 had the most Slivers we've had in a while, so come October we'll be down to 6 Slivers...this being one of them.<br />
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In Modern, I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. The decks doing the best against it at this point will be those that can sideboard exile cards easily. And you've got some nice old Slivers that can do quite a bit of damage (especially <a href="http://magiccards.info/fut/en/155.html">Virulent Sliver</a>...and especially in multiples.).<br />
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Finally, how about something that doesn't seem so bad...until you read the effect closer. We're getting a <a href="http://magiccards.info/cmd/en/159.html">Hornet Queen</a> reprint, which is nice and all. But that's the only card (at least in recent memory) that made green 1/1 Insect tokens with flying <i>and</i> deathtouch. It's no longer the only one. Take a look at<br />
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Oooooh....soooo nice! Go ahead, attack me with your 6-power creature. You'll deal 6 damage to the nest, breaking it and putting 6 1/1 flying deathtouching Insects out, only one of which needs to block your 6-power dude to get revenge. Very very nice!<br />
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Defender-based decks will love this. It's an extra Defender, and when it <i>needs</i> to block it can give you some attackers that can be used either offensively (against non-flying boards) or defensively (just going up against creatures with too much power to make it worth attacking).<br />
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In Standard...we'll see. Exiling may be so prevalent it won't matter. If it dies to a non-damaging removal spell, you'll get nothing. You may really only want this against red decks where killing a creature mostly happens through damage.<br />
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In Modern, I don't doubt this'll see play at the kitchen table, especially in a Defender-themed deck. I just don't see the ability being relevant with Path to Exile, Oblivion Ring/Banishing Light, and other exile effects possibly running rampant. Also, combos like Kiki-Jiki + Pestermite or Valakut + Scapeshift + Mountains mean this guy may see no combat, thus pose no threat for their kill spells to focus on.<br />
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Finally, we have some token redesign going on. I'll post a couple tokens and an Emblem, then post a couple old tokens and Emblems so you can see the differences.<br />
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NEW<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9jM2N62qY7k/U7YfWsesC0I/AAAAAAAAAs8/to9mOmtTNnE/s1600/Ajani+Steadfast+Emblem+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9jM2N62qY7k/U7YfWsesC0I/AAAAAAAAAs8/to9mOmtTNnE/s1600/Ajani+Steadfast+Emblem+DAILYMTG.png" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiL-QgEA42A/U7YfWn1pXtI/AAAAAAAAAs4/oGpA_FKAEi8/s1600/Goblin+Token+M15+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiL-QgEA42A/U7YfWn1pXtI/AAAAAAAAAs4/oGpA_FKAEi8/s1600/Goblin+Token+M15+DAILYMTG.png" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OkTl_FKygh8/U7YfWrdlj9I/AAAAAAAAAtA/sYY62CFiayw/s1600/Sliver+Token+M15+Version+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OkTl_FKygh8/U7YfWrdlj9I/AAAAAAAAAtA/sYY62CFiayw/s1600/Sliver+Token+M15+Version+DAILYMTG.png" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
OLD (from store.tcgplayer.com)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jOkIExETcFU/U7Yfis4ygrI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/NLnobUyhhQM/s1600/Elspeth+Knight+Errant+Modern+Masters+store+tcgplayer+dot+com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jOkIExETcFU/U7Yfis4ygrI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/NLnobUyhhQM/s1600/Elspeth+Knight+Errant+Modern+Masters+store+tcgplayer+dot+com.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zwHBRR6Yczw/U7YfikH1G4I/AAAAAAAAAtc/RAD2xwG2vIs/s1600/Goblin+Token+M14+League+store+dot+tcgplayer+dot+com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zwHBRR6Yczw/U7YfikH1G4I/AAAAAAAAAtc/RAD2xwG2vIs/s1600/Goblin+Token+M14+League+store+dot+tcgplayer+dot+com.jpg" /></a></div>
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Not too shabby! I think it's actually an improvement. Sometimes the name of the token would get washed out against the background. Now, there's so much of a gold and black contrast it'd be difficult to NOT see the token's name.<br />
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Second, they all got the new frame treatment.<br />
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Third...is that "token creature" in the typeline? And Emblems got a typeline that doesn't use the Planeswalker's full name? I wonder if that'll mean anything to the rules or if "token" and "emblem" being in type lines is just a helper to distinguish between cards and noncards, tokens and nontokens. ??<br />
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That's all I've got! The M15 Release Notes (FAQ) will release next week, so I'll probably be back for a couple day to show off the Pre-Release cards and run down any confusing rules from the Release Notes.<br />
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Until then, take care and enjoy <i>M15</i>previews!Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-56461875810787219012014-06-30T16:04:00.001-04:002014-06-30T16:04:03.012-04:00M15 Previews, Part 3! Planeswalkers, Planeswalkers, Planeswalkers!Welcome back to M15 previews! The previews today are the 6 Planeswalkers in <i>M15.</i><br />
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Yes...6 Planeswalkers.<br />
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Let's get started!<br />
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(NOTE: All but 1 image are from the <a href="http://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-2015-core-set-card-set-archive-products-game-info">M15 Card Image Gallery at the bottom of the product page.</a> The final Planeswalker comes from <a href="http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/hunter-2014-06-30">the Arcana "The Hunter."</a>)<br />
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The White Planeswalker you already know. But allow me to re-introduce <b><u>Ajani Steadfast</u></b>!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cnKxdJY75Yk/U7GScP_rOaI/AAAAAAAAArM/H7CBXkM3zR4/s1600/Ajani+Steadfast+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cnKxdJY75Yk/U7GScP_rOaI/AAAAAAAAArM/H7CBXkM3zR4/s1600/Ajani+Steadfast+DAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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You can read my thoughts on Ajani in a previous blog post.<br />
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In Blue, we have the return of a Jace!...<i>only</i> the...uh...*still is counting*...5th Jace. Ha ha! This is the 2nd one where we know the setting: Jace became the Living Guildpact at the end of <i>Return to Ravnica</i> block. So let's introduce...<u style="font-weight: bold;">Jace, the Living Guildpact</u>!<br />
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Okay, okay...I know, it seems even less interesting than <a href="http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/44.html">Jace, Architect of Thought</a>. It's not even a milling Jace!<br />
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But let's consider the following:<br />
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1) <a href="http://magiccards.info/mma/en/141.html">Doubling Season</a> test: If Doubling Season is out when Jace, the Living Guildpact enters the battlefield, he'll have 10 Loyalty Counters. So for -8, I get to <a href="http://magiccards.info/vma/en/3.html">Timetwister</a> with 1 exception: I'm the only one who draws 7 cards! Combined with <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/60.html">Jace's Erasure</a> it's more like "Timetwister except you mill 7 instead of drawing 7."<br />
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2) +1 ability: If blue decks ever do some kind of Graveyard strategy (Flashback-based decks, perhaps?), this will be a house. You get to look at the top 2 cards, effectively setting up your next draw and possibly putting something in the graveyard to Flashback (either through the Sorcery or Instant's inherent Flashback or <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/78.html">Snapcaster Mage</a>).<br />
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3) For -3, you get to return a nonland permanent to someone's hand. At -3...that may be too steep. But it was effectively -1 on <a href="http://magiccards.info/vma/en/74.html">Jace, the Mind Sculptor</a> and it only hit a creature so maybe this isn't too terrible...maybe?<br />
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4) If you can't Doubling Season, I don't see the value in the -8. It basically self-mills you after you shuffling everything in! And we know Jace was a milling-based Planeswalker, so this is a bit baffling. Perhaps they're seeing how much of the old Power 9 they can push onto a Planeswalker and make it balanced? Who knows.<br />
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For Modern or Legacy, I could see this being used for its +1 ability. The -8 would just be the icing on the cake. I don't see this being Standard-viable unless a U/B reanimation deck comes to prominence (or returning a nonland permanent to hand for 4 mana and leaving a 1-Loyalty damage soaker is stronger than I think).<br />
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Next up for Black, we start hitting reprints. Garruk is the focus of this Core Set, so we're revisiting the Planeswalker that made him the Veil-Cursed Planeswalker he is now. No, we're not getting <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/105.html">Liliana of the Veil</a>. It's been deemed too powerful in the current Standard environment. So we're going way back to...<u style="font-weight: bold;">Liliana Vess</u>!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u4syIAoKgJI/U7GVuE1vMuI/AAAAAAAAArk/rotp_-WyxDA/s1600/Liliana+Vess+M15+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u4syIAoKgJI/U7GVuE1vMuI/AAAAAAAAArk/rotp_-WyxDA/s1600/Liliana+Vess+M15+DAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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So let's recap a few things...<br />
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1) Doubling Season test: Liliana also doubles to 10 with Doubling Season out. Considering Doubling Season and Liliana Vess are at earliest 5th- or 6th-turn drops, you're decently into the game already when she hits. If you've been protecting yourself by destroying creatures or milling them, get ready for your army: Activate her ultimate, get back all those nice creatures to <i style="font-weight: bold;">your</i> side, and still have a 2-Loyalty Planeswalker that can get you any card next turn or can start building back up for another run at her ultimate. :)<br />
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2) +1 to discard this late may be useful. But once your opponent sees her, they'll know their hand is in "use it or lose it" mode and will just start casting and top-decking as often as possible. On the plus side, you only have to target a player, not necessarily one that has a card in their hand so you can always +1 her. :)<br />
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3) -2 to <a href="http://magiccards.info/al/en/13.html">Demonic Tutor</a> is extremely powerful, especially when it leaves her with 3 Loyalty and she could do it again next turn!<br />
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4) Her -8 is just going to practically end games no matter how you get there. End of story...unless that story involves a bunch of cheap, low-power creatures. Then good luck winning. :p<br />
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Red provides another reprint. Re-introducing...<u style="font-weight: bold;">Chandra, Pyromaster</u>!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DT2qwPspVz8/U7GW1KF2UqI/AAAAAAAAArw/gxt2uiqL_yg/s1600/Chandra+Pyromaster+M15+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DT2qwPspVz8/U7GW1KF2UqI/AAAAAAAAArw/gxt2uiqL_yg/s1600/Chandra+Pyromaster+M15+DAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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1) Doubling Season test: So Chandra, Pyromaster comes up and get 8 Loyalty counters, enough to get her Ultimate off the turn she enters. But a random chance to get an instant or sorcery to cast for nothing? Some of the better Red spells I'd cast probably have X in their cost, and being a Red/Green deck she'd go into I'd be mana-ramping to take advantage of that X. Also included would be damage preventers, so I'd really just be getting an 8-Loyalty Planeswalker that can keepa creature from blocking and deals 1 damage to my opponent.<br />
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2) +1 can be useful at times. Hit your opponent and their biggest creature to have a better chance of taking out some of their other creatures in combat or forcing them to use combat tricks to keep their smaller creatures alive. But it only hits 1 creature. Just...keep that in mind.<br />
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3) +/- 0...really depends. Drawing your card and using the 0 ability could effectively mean you've drawn 2 cards. Not bad for Red, but the condition is you'd need to cast that card to get use out of it. Exiled a Fog? Sorry! Exiled a Magma Spray you otherwise wouldn't have had until next turn? Better. Exiling Sould of Shandalahr (sp?) and getting to cast it a turn earlier than you otherwise could have? Priceless. :)<br />
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4) -7 again is just too risky for my taste. It exiles all 10 cards, then you better hope that Instant or Sorcery is worth copying. Most burn spells in Standard are nice enough to copy, as they'll either do 2 damage and exile each OR just deal 3 damage...which tripled will be 9..OR in <a href="http://magiccards.info/bng/en/94.html">Fated Conflagration</a>'s case could take out 3 creatures while letting you Scry up to 6 if needed. Hmm...maybe I should reconsider this. :p But outside of Standard, again, the better spells sometimes are the ones with X in their cost. Especially with Miracles like <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/129.html">Bonfire of the Damned</a> or <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/20.html">Entreat the Angels</a>, you hit one of those with this and if it's the only thing you hit you'll be facepalming from here to<i> M16</i>. :P Now...in an "extra turns" deck, hitting <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/81.html">Temporal Mastery</a> or <a href="http://magiccards.info/m10/en/75.html">Time Warp</a> could about be leathal in itself. Put another way...in 4 total turns (current + 3 extra), you better be able to win. ;)<br />
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Next up (and 2nd to last, only because of the way we go around the color wheel. :p), we've seen <a href="http://magiccards.info/zen/en/170.html">Nissa Revane</a> only once since <i>Zendikar</i> (which makes her only a few months older than Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Whoah!) as an Elf-centered Planeswalker. After the Eldrazi were freed, she was badly injured and on the border of dying. Rescued by fellow Zendikar inhabitants, she eventually heals up and takes on some of the smaller Eldrazi threats (well...smaller than, say, Kozilek!)...revealing new powers in the battle.<br />
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Presenting...<u style="font-weight: bold;">Nissa, Worldwaker</u>!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zXrS65G9QhM/U7G7_Vfj2CI/AAAAAAAAAsA/6l2LdJF-dIA/s1600/Nissa+Worldwaker+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zXrS65G9QhM/U7G7_Vfj2CI/AAAAAAAAAsA/6l2LdJF-dIA/s1600/Nissa+Worldwaker+DAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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1) Doubling Season test: At 6 Loyalty when doubled....Gah! I'll have to activate one of her +1 abilities and wait a turn or run her with Ajani Steadfast to get the ultimate in the same turn. Considering her 2nd "+1" is to untap 4 Forests, though, this means if you're using all Forests she effectively only costs 1 mana. I can't complain at that point. I could run some Proliferate artifacts and use the now-freed-up mana to put 1 more counter on her.<br />
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2) The first +1 is pretty nice. "Oh, hey guys! I'm a 4-Loyalty Planeswalker that gives my controller a 4/4 body to deal with if you want to attack. Even if his/her field is clear, as long as my controller has an untapped land after I hit the field he/she <i>will</i> have a creature."<br />
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3) The second +1 again effectively makes her cost only 1 mana. Combine this with lands like <a href="http://magiccards.info/di/en/172.html">Breeding Pool</a> and you can make sure you have your second color ready to go in case your opponent tries to deal with her.<br />
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4) Her -7...wow! So by this time, perhaps you don't <i>need</i> basic lands. Cool, that's fine. But could you always use 4/4 Elementals with trample? I'd say the answer is YES! And read carefully...they don't enter tapped. You have even 6 basic lands left in your deck? Nah...that's 6 4/4 creatures that just happen to be lands! ;)<br />
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Casually, she'll be a favorite. Tournament-level, we'll see but I doubt she'll be an obscure Planeswalker. Her "untap 4 Forests" +1 is very reminiscent of <a href="http://magiccards.info/cmd/en/157.html">Garruk Wildspeaker</a>'s "untap 2 lands" +1. He was seeing play widely <i>partially because of that!</i> Now apply that to Nissa. Yeah...as long as you're running Forests, you get to untap 4 of them a turn. While <i>Return to Ravnica</i> block is legal, you really have no reason <i>not </i>to be playing her in a 2- or 3-color deck where your non-basics are "Land - Forest [land type]." Price wise? I'd expect $20 early on, not going below $15 while Ravnica is in Standard, then possibly dipping closer to $10 depending on the themes in <i>Khans of Tarkir</i> in October.<br />
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Finally (WHEW! That's a lot of typing! lol!), and speaking of Garruk, we have our 6th Planeswalker. Last Thursday, I previewed a Garruk that we'd be using during the Pre-release as an activity thing. He had 4 abilities and was a Black/Green Planeswalker.<br />
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Well...guess what? Our actual in-set Garruk is also Black/Green...and comes with 4 abilities! Presenting, last but certainly not least (by a long shot)...<u style="font-weight: bold;">GARRUK, APEX PREDATOR</u>!<br />
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So I need to note this...officially (as in, for regular-sized Magic cards) this is only the 2nd...or perhaps 3rd... Planeswalker to have 4 or more abilities. The previous 2? One we know for sure, the ever popular Jace, the Mind Sculptor! The other, it depends on your definition of a singular Planeswalker. I'm looking back at <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/181a.html">Garruk Relentless/Garruk, the Veil-Cursed</a>. Although two slightly-different Planeswalkers, you can't have one without the other as it's a Flip Card. So counting both sides, his Planeswalker card has 5 abilities. However, only 2-3 are usable at a time.<br />
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1) Doubling Season test: Yes, yes please give me that ultimate the 1st turn he hits! I want my <a href="http://magiccards.info/al/en/119.html">Llanowar Elves</a> to be 6/6 creatures attacking! Yes, since he's 7 mana I've probably already cast <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/188.html">Primeval Titan</a> so let's make him an 11/11 on attacking! Oh, can I get that up to ultimate twice? Why thanks for not attacking! I'll make my few creatures that late into the game a <i>minimum </i>of 11/11 (1/1 creature with 2 Emblems triggering) and perhaps at most a 16/16 (Primeval Titan). Not...too...shabby. :)<br />
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2) His first +1 ability is just plain scary. "Destroy another target Planeswalker." I...I really don't see Planeswalker control decks doing too hot against this Garruk. I know 7 mana's expensive, but considering he starts at 5 and instantly goes up to 6, I think being able to destroy an <a href="http://magiccards.info/jou/en/145.html">Ajani, Mentor of Heroes</a> threatening to launch off his ultimate for +100 life is well worth it at that stage. Without mana ramp, though, don't expect this to be of any use until right near when any good Planeswalker can use its ultimate ability (if it hasn't already).<br />
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3) His second +1 harkens back to just about every other version of him. This time the token he gives you is a 3/3 Beast with Deathtouch. Fine, let that Trampler come in. It's the last time it'll be doing anything. :) Definitely worth using once Garruk hits. Just blow up a Planeswalker next turn!<br />
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4) The -3 ability can be a life saver. You're facing down an Emrakul that's having to wait a turn to attack. No problem! Cast Garruk, -3, destroy Emarkul and gain 15 life. REalistically, though, I'd say you'll be doing good to gain 4-6 life on using this ability. The life gain isn't quite as important, though. You can just decide to get rid of the biggest threat to your board the turn he hits. Again, not...too...shabby.<br />
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5) I've already made my thoughts clear on the 4th, "ultimate" ability. Outside of Doubling Season, I can see it being used...exactly once. But at +5/+5 and Trample on even a set of 4/4 creatures, that's still a ton of damage the opponent has to either soak up or say "GG" to.<br />
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And there you have them! All 6 Planeswalkers. We have 2 reprints and 4 new ones. If you've got opinions, please feel free to share them here or on the group's Facebook page.<br />
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I may get some more updates in before the end of the week, but the spoiler goes fully revealed either Friday or next Monday so there's not a lot of new stuff left. Take care and catch you all later!Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-5906324358463096792014-06-27T11:37:00.003-04:002014-06-27T11:37:34.357-04:00M15 Previews Continue! Land Previews, A Little More on New Card Frames, and Garruk Pre-Release Activity.Welcome back to the 2nd day of CGLHixson.Blogspot.com's revitalization! I can do a bit more here with editing and creating so for the rest of the summer if I need to post images I'll post here I think.<br />
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I have quite a few previews today. Most of them are lands (but I think you'll enjoy them. ;) ), and toward the end I'll detail the Garruk activity that'll be part of the Pre-Release (set for July 12-13, 2014).<br />
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First up, with the <a href="http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/241.html">Shocklands</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/gtc/en/249.html">going</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/238.html">out</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/gtc/en/247.html">of</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/248.html">Standard</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/gtc/en/242.html">in</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/gtc/en/245.html">October</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/247.html">of</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/gtc/en/240.html">this</a> <a href="http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/243.html">year</a>, and the <a href="http://magiccards.info/jou/en/164.html">"Scrylands"</a> being the only duals (which only help more control-like strategies since they must come onto the battlefield tapped), what would the Core Set give decks to help them in the new Standard?<br />
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Well...according to <a href="http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-mana-2014-06-27">Sam Stoddard</a>, they decided to bring back the <i>Apocalypse</i> painlands!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-epwS2hj9XOM/U62ICsObywI/AAAAAAAAAqk/uSgF9nPq_yg/s1600/Apocalypse+Painlands+M15+DAILYMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-epwS2hj9XOM/U62ICsObywI/AAAAAAAAAqk/uSgF9nPq_yg/s1600/Apocalypse+Painlands+M15+DAILYMTG.jpg" height="313" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from Sam Stoddard's article linked above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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"Hey, what's the foil sticker thingy near the bottom of those M15 lands? Not all of your previews yesterday had that."<br />
<br />
Ahhh...that's an authenticity sticker basically. Any Rares or Mythic Rares printed from this point on will have that foil sticker-looking thing that cuts into the text box a little bit. High-end fakes of popular Rares and Mythic Rares are starting to proliferate through the MTG trading community. Since those are the most likely to get faked, this little sticker will help ensure what you're getting is an authentic WotC-printed Magic card.<br />
<br />
It doesn't matter if the card is a foil card or a regular card. <b><i><u>Only the Rares and Mythic Rares, foil or not, will have the authenticity sticker. No Commons or Uncommons, foil or not, will have that.</u></i></b><br />
<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b>
<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b>
So why did they bring back the Painlands? Although they prefer the "Pay 1 life" clause as opposed to the "deals 1 damage" clause for the current design philosophy, these were already available and didn't create duplicates that'd have to be reprinted as a full set of 10.<br />
<br />
"But what happened to them saying 'the Core Set isn't the place for Painlands or any land that requires a life payment'?" I guess they've decided that players have grown up; if they're playing with Shocklands, "noob" and veteran alike, then Painlands are fair game again.<br />
<br />
Will some players still prefer "enters the battlefield tapped" as opposed to the Shocklands or Painlands? Yes! That's not bad. But this opens up options to those who don't mind that life payment. (And if you're playing a Lifelink-based deck, do you really care? lol!)<br />
<br />
<br />
Speaking of Rare lands, I've been in love with a certain Swamp-transforming land since it was first released in <i>Planar Chaos</i>. I was even happy it got a foil reprint in <i>From the Vault: Realms</i>. For a year (starting July 18th and ending October 2015), we'll have a land that helps multi-colored decks that use Black as a key color...as long as your opponent isn't also running Black.<br />
<br />
Re-introducing (and now in new frame)...Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUMD1aaipqE/U62KFN94jfI/AAAAAAAAAqw/6JTRSmKCBZc/s1600/Spanish+Urborg+Tomb+of+Yawgmoth+Magic+Espana+Twitter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUMD1aaipqE/U62KFN94jfI/AAAAAAAAAqw/6JTRSmKCBZc/s1600/Spanish+Urborg+Tomb+of+Yawgmoth+Magic+Espana+Twitter.png" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From "Magic Espana" Twitter feed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It's been a while, so here's the English text for Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth:<br />
<br />
"<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15.552000045776367px;">Each land is a Swamp in addition to its other land types.</b>" (text from Magiccards.info, which gets its text from Oracle)<br />
<br />
Nice! So all your lands are Swamps, meaning Urborg and any other land you have (even if it's a Hallowed Fountain) can make a single Black mana each.<br />
<br />
...Oh, but it makes <i style="font-weight: bold;">each</i> land a Swamp. This can benefit your opponent too. If they're running anything with Black in it, you just helped out their manabase. Even their basic Forests, where once they'd be mana screwed if that's all they have, now enables them to cast the cards in their hand. Yikes! Use this wisely.<br />
<br />
One big thing to remember with Urborg, especially if you're playing in Modern-format tournaments: The phrase "in addition to its other land types" doesn't remove any abilities of any other land on the battlefield. It's like it tacks on, "Oh, btw, all lands can also tap to add a single Black mana to your mana pool."<br />
<br />
How is this different than, say, <a href="http://magiccards.info/mma/en/106.html">Blood Moon</a>? Simple. Blood Moon doesn't say "in addition to its other land types." Blood Moon completely overwrites all non-Basic lands and says, "Oh, hey Hallowed Fountain [for example]! You now are a basic Mountain and can only provide a single Red mana. That's it. I burned up your fountain! MWA-HA-HA-HA-H*COUGHCOUGHGAAAAG*"<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"Okay, enough chatter about reprints. What's the Garruk activity!?" Fine, fine. Let's get to it. :)<br />
<br />
Well...you know how flavor-wise <i style="font-weight: bold;">we</i> are the Planeswalker? Yeah...well, this gives you the chance to finally use Planeswalker abilities <b><i><u>as the Planeswalker!</u></i></b><br />
<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b>
May I introduce, the oversized (so not legal anywhere else) <u style="font-weight: bold;">Garruk the Slayer</u>!<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-efz00u_-tE8/U62MvLbIwBI/AAAAAAAAAq8/JvdIyW6_QFc/s1600/Oversized+Garruk+M15+Prerelease+Activity+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-efz00u_-tE8/U62MvLbIwBI/AAAAAAAAAq8/JvdIyW6_QFc/s1600/Oversized+Garruk+M15+Prerelease+Activity+DAILYMTG.png" height="400" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/win-ultimate-trophy-2014-06-22<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here's how playing as Garruk works: For each game of the Pre-release, one player plays as Garruk. The other plays his or her deck as normal. The player playing their Pre-release deck always goes first. Garruk starts with 20 Loyalty Counters, and when he hits 0 he loses. He is a Planeswalker, so he's limited to using only 1 Planeswalker ability per turn and must do it at Sorcery speed (when the stack is empty and it's your turn and you have priority). [This makes your first turn mostly obvious: make a 2/2 Wolf!]<br />
<br />
Now, does this mean it's Garruk PLUS your deck? I don't believe so. It makes it sound like the player that plays as Garruk only does that...plays as Garruk. No library, no draw phases, just Garruk having 4 abilities, 3 of which he could do on the first turn if needed. We'll need further clarification just to be sure.<br />
<br />
Personally...I'd like to be Garruk once, but if I can't use my deck alongside him that's about all I'd like to do it. I don't feel comfortable being that vulnerable with only action per turn (aside from attack and block choices). At least his +4 feels more like life gain, so after you get your first 2/2 Wolf you could start gaining life as long as that Wolf exists. I also like the -10's ability to put Loyalty Counters back on Garruk, so you're not ever losing the full 10 Loyalty: If you use the -10 to kill a 5-toughness creature, you really only effectively lose 5 Loyalty. But watch out for Red! IF they can burn you out after you activate the -10 (remember, the ability goes on the stack; it doesn't automatically resolve.), you still lose. [I'd love to see someone use the -10 on an 11+-toughness creature, though. Adding Loyalty FTW! ha ha.]<br />
<br />
So how would I play Garruk? I'd probably make 1-2 Wolves, then give one +1/+0 and Deathtouch a few times. I'd use the -10 only if it was necessary, and I wouldn't use the -25 unless I was absolutely desperate and wasn't up against a Red deck. (If I could get to upwards of 50 Loyalty, though, I wouldn't be afraid to use it. lol! But at that point you're probably not a threat anyway.)<br />
<br />
I think it's interesting to note this is the only other 4-ability Planeswalker to be printed in any way. The only other 4-ability Planeswalker? The ever-broken <a href="http://magiccards.info/v13/en/18.html">Jace, the Mind Sculptor</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
I hope you enjoyed these previews! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or on Facebook and I'll get back to it ASAP. Until then, take care! I'll try to post some preview(s) over the weekend.Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-76824315858852232652014-06-26T11:33:00.001-04:002014-06-26T12:46:37.339-04:00M15 Previews! Including highlights of differences in card frames.Hello all, and welcome back to CGLHixson.Blogspot.com! While the info about our group is out of date (2012 was the last post. Come on! Give a little understanding here. :p), the group itself is far from dead. :)<br />
<br />
<br />
Today, I have M15 previews! Yes, yes, we're already gearing up for a new set not long after <i>Conspiracy</i> came crashing on our doorstop and said, "I Know What You Did Last Summer with Modern Masters! And I want to be part of it!"<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
Am I the only one who thought that? Oh, well.<br />
<br />
Onto the previews!<br />
<br />
We'll start with a preview of a couple reprints, one of which I'll use to show the differences in the card frames used from <i>8th Edition</i> up through <i>Conspiracy</i>. RIP, first major card frame change in Magic.<br />
<br />
July 28, 2003 - April 26, 2014 (Intro packs of <i>Journey into Nyx</i> started giving away <i>M15</i> basic lands with the new card frame)<br />
<br />
<br />
So what card did I use to show the difference in card frame? Well...it's a bit of a shock, really. No...2.5x worse than Shock (if you're on the receiving end), but it takes sacrificing an Artifact to do it.<br />
<br />
Re-introducing....Shrapnel Blast! (using the Friday Night Magic/<i>Modern Masters</i> artwork)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iYuttu9gmfU/U6wuBpl3CaI/AAAAAAAAApQ/ELGexEl0HFs/s1600/Shrapnel+Blast+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iYuttu9gmfU/U6wuBpl3CaI/AAAAAAAAApQ/ELGexEl0HFs/s1600/Shrapnel+Blast+DAILYMTG.png" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice card frame, bro.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So you're looking at it without your other Magic cards around and you're going, "...and what's so special about the new card frame?"<br />
<br />
Here's a side-by-side (or perhaps top-and-bottom, depending on how this publishes) comparison.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FlM2zJKd_yI/U6wuRBFJScI/AAAAAAAAApc/-LIhp0v_Gds/s1600/Shrapnel+Blast+Modern+Masters+MAGICCARDS+DOT+INFO+Modified+to+show+changes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FlM2zJKd_yI/U6wuRBFJScI/AAAAAAAAApc/-LIhp0v_Gds/s1600/Shrapnel+Blast+Modern+Masters+MAGICCARDS+DOT+INFO+Modified+to+show+changes.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ugzXQPT4apg/U6wuRCQNYhI/AAAAAAAAApY/aNmVR3OkaRY/s1600/Shrapnel+Blast+DAILYMTG+Modified+to+Show+Changes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ugzXQPT4apg/U6wuRCQNYhI/AAAAAAAAApY/aNmVR3OkaRY/s1600/Shrapnel+Blast+DAILYMTG+Modified+to+Show+Changes.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In green, you see we have the name line. Look carefully at the new (left) and old (right) fonts. Wizards of the Coast has decided to use its own proprietary font to give Magic a better fantasy feel, make it feel like you're in the world of Magic rather than reading a card that's based on the world of Magic...I think. :p<br />
<br />
The font changes apply to the type line as well (where the card says "Instant", in this case). I didn't see a big enough change in the font to warrant showing it as a change, but especially when you see creature cards that are reprinted I think you'll notice the difference fairly quickly.<br />
<br />
In blue, you see how they brought the colored border back into the text box. This makes for more black space at the bottom of the card and I believe actually let them expand the text box just a bit. While it's difficult to see in this picture, you may also notice (once you get your hands on these cards) that the text box still contains its sharp rectangular edges at the bottom. They're a lot more pronounced though <i>because</i> the colored border doesn't extend all the way to the bottom of the card now.<br />
<br />
Not used to that? You should be. It's been done on every planeswalker since they were released. ;)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gfp2Mm7sDRM/U6w961z_ByI/AAAAAAAAAqU/juqVr5d9RVU/s1600/Jace+Beleren+Lorwyn+MAGICCARDS+DOT+INFO+used+to+show+border+differences.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gfp2Mm7sDRM/U6w961z_ByI/AAAAAAAAAqU/juqVr5d9RVU/s1600/Jace+Beleren+Lorwyn+MAGICCARDS+DOT+INFO+used+to+show+border+differences.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Finally, in purple, you see the miscellaneous information.<br />
* In the old frame (the <i>Modern Masters</i> Shrapnel Blast here), you see the artist and...that's about it. Good luck trying to read the collector number and copyright information from that.<br />
* In the new frame, we can more clearly see the artist and collector number (left) and copyright information (right). But wait...what is all that other information?<br />
--> You see a "U" next to the collector number. That's the card's rarity. "C" is Common, "U" is Uncommon, "R" is Rare, "M" is Mythic, and "P" I believe will be used for promotional cards. No more having to remember what color of set symbol goes with which rarity or figuring out if that foil you have is a promotional card or from the set itself.<br />
--> Below the collector number, you see "M15 * EN." Cards will now indicate what set they came from with a 3-alphanumeric code. If <i>Conspiracy</i> had used this format, the set would be "CNS," for example. The "EN" is the language abbreviation. This is obviously an English card. But how many times have you looked at a foreign card and not recognized the language or wondered if it was Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese (assuming you don't know the difference already, just that there are two Chinese writing styles)? This should alleviate a lot of that problem.<br />
<br />
<br />
Okay, great, so how can we guarantee we have an artifact to sacrifice? Glad you asked! Apparently Artifact Lands aren't too difficult for a Core Set. Re-introducing, for the first printing since <i>Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret</i> (back in 2010!)...Darksteel Citadel! (and I'm putting a Duel Deck version next to it for comparison. What? If you're going to have to deal with new card frames, best to catch the differences now, amirite?)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eOrqHBrjRjQ/U6w19m1jlMI/AAAAAAAAApw/c0ORIZ1TzT0/s1600/Darksteel+Citadel+DD+EVT+GATHERER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eOrqHBrjRjQ/U6w19m1jlMI/AAAAAAAAApw/c0ORIZ1TzT0/s1600/Darksteel+Citadel+DD+EVT+GATHERER.jpg" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sZJu02_pcMg/U6w193C4UFI/AAAAAAAAAp0/MjYW73VhDOg/s1600/Darksteel+Citadel+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sZJu02_pcMg/U6w193C4UFI/AAAAAAAAAp0/MjYW73VhDOg/s1600/Darksteel+Citadel+DAILYMTG.png" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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So I think we see here they're trying to reprint as many often-used cards as possible that used to simply state "[Card Name] is indestructible" with the keyword version that just says "Indescructible." But in this case, it also helps the price of the card. Darksteel Citadels, which were only Commons before <i>M15</i>, were pushing closer to $1.50 <i>per copy!</i> Some Rares don't go for that much! Ha ha! But really, it's very useful if you don't mind the mana investment. In case your opponent loves to play "destroy target land" or "destroy all lands", this will at least leave you with the Citadel to re-start on artifacts or cheap colored spells if you can draw into/have a land ready to play.<br />
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For Standard...I don't know. It depends on how deep the "artifacts matter" sub-theme of <i>M15 </i>goes and what kinds of artifacts <i>Khans of Tarkir</i> gives us. But it'll help alleviate some of the Citadel needs in other formats, that's for sure. HINT: If you're drafting and you've already picked up a Shrapnel Blast, why you wouldn't take this is beyond me. ;)<br />
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<br />
Finally, I want to touch on a new Planeswalker that I find extremely fun...and it gets around some of the Doubling Season issues with Planeswalkers (aside from Proliferate, there's very little ability for Doubling Season to double counters on Planeswalkers past their initial entry to the battlefield).<br />
<br />
Introducing...Ajani Steadfast!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dm6qQLE1gTI/U6w4BBndLYI/AAAAAAAAAqE/mx00PNFOmMk/s1600/Ajani+Steadfast+DAILYMTG.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dm6qQLE1gTI/U6w4BBndLYI/AAAAAAAAAqE/mx00PNFOmMk/s1600/Ajani+Steadfast+DAILYMTG.png" height="320" width="229" /></a></div>
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Now I'll be honest...I do a "Doubling Season check" of every new Planeswalker I see. What's this "check"? If I take the starting loyalty and double it, do I get to use the Planeswalker's ultimate the turn it enters the battlefield? If that's a "yes", then I think about using it in a Doubling Season build.<br />
<br />
And Ajani comes through on that check! In fact, it's extremely beneficial for the late game. So with Doubling Season, Ajani Steadfast comes in with 8 loyalty counters. Remove 7 of those and you get an Emblem. What does this do? "If a source would deal damage to you or a planeswalker you control, prevent all but 1 of that damage."<br />
<br />
Read again...ALL BUT 1!<br />
<br />
"How is that useful with Ajani? He'll be down to 1 Loyalty anyway!" First, a good Doubling Season casual build will use 4 Fogs...at least! But look at the longer game. You put a few Ajani Steadfast in and a few other planeswalkers that add 2 Loyalty at a time. If your opponent can only get in with one creature or damage spell at a time, they can only deal 1 damage at a time. You'll net a +1 Loyaly Counter per turn. Again, this assumes they don't use multiple sources to damage your planeswalkers. But I think we'll agree that having a <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=193452">15/15 Eldrazi </a>hit you for only 1 per turn is pretty sick!<br />
<br />
The middle ability is what'll most likely help your planeswalkers out the most. Take 2 loyalty counters off of Ajani Steadfast and you get to put a +1/+1 counter on each of your creatures <i style="font-weight: bold;">and</i> a loyalty counter on each other planeswalker you control. Think about that...<a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=373649">Elspeth, Sun's Champion</a> can get her ultimate off in 2 turns rather than 4 or so. The same goes for <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=378521">Kiora</a> giving you Krakens and <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=366367">Domri Rade</a> making all your creatures Double Striking Hexproof beatdown sticks! Add in Doubling Season, though...Ajani would come in with 8 counters, and he'd give 2 additional counters to everyone else. Imagine a <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=382979">Jace, the Mind Sculptor</a> coming in at 6 Loyalty counters, using its +2 ability to Scry yourself or Fateseal someone's top of the deck, then using Ajani's 2nd ability. That puts Jace at 10 Loyaly Counters <i style="font-weight: bold;">on his first turn on the battlefield!</i> Next turn, use Ajani's 2nd ability again to get Jace to 12, then use Jace's ultimate to exile your opponent's library and make their hand their library instead. Jace, the Mind Sculptor ultimate in his first couple of turns!? Yeesh! Find other Planeswalkers and experiment. I think at least a few of them could do their ultimate <i>and</i> get another couple of loyalty counters to help their ability to survive with this Doubling Season + Ajani Seteadfast combo. :)<br />
<br />
His +1 is okay. It helps a ton that the creature gets Vigilance so it can block in the next turn. Lifelink is amazing on almost any creature, I feel, and First Strike is just what the doctor ordered on those Deathtouchers. Oh, and the extra +1/+1 is also nice. ;)<br />
<br />
Overall, I love this Ajani. I'll rebuild a Doubling Season deck using him and Kiora at minimum. I do want to live that Jace, the Mind Sculptor dream, though, and ultimate him the 2nd turn he's on the battlefield. lol. And look closely at his artwork. In the Theros story, Ajani and Elspeth were very close. So when Elspeth died, Ajani took it hard. How hard? He's wearing Elspeth's cloak over his right shoulder. :-_(<br />
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<br />
That's all the time I have for now. Let me know if you like having preview posts done on here or on Facebook directly more. These take more time, but during the summer if it helps more I'll do a few more through the blog. :)<br />
<br />
I'll definitely give details on the Garruk activity at Pre-Release tomorrow.<br />
<br />
(NOTE: All M15 images come from dailymtg.com . All non-M15 images come from magiccards.info . )Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-27579405359707850672012-10-09T11:51:00.001-04:002012-10-09T12:03:12.220-04:00Return to Ravnica Draft and League DetailsHey all!<br />
We're closing in on our <i>Return to Ravnica</i> Post-Release Draft and soon after that the <i>Return to Ravnica </i>League. Yay!<br />
<br />
So I wanted to share a few details with you (with more extensive details on League coming later):<br />
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<b><i><u>RETURN TO RAVNICA DRAFT</u></i></b><br />
<u>WHEN:</u> October 27th. We'll start announcements at 11:00, with drafting immediately after.<br />
<u>WHERE:</u> Time Warp Games, formerly called Packard's Games and Movies, in Northgate Mall in Hixson, TN<br />
<u>RULES:</u> <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pubJhnGHtZIe3zWpY4Qfzw47jIqtehCBhKfCY5xbdpA/edit">Full Rules for Return to Ravnica Draft</a><br />
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<b><i><u>RETURN TO RAVNICA LEAGUE</u></i></b><br />
<u>DURATION</u>: November 10th - January 5th<br />
<u>TOURNAMENT TYPE:</u> Modified version of Sealed Deck. Specific deck building rules TBA.<br />
<u>COST:</u> $46 if paid up-front <b><i>OR</i></b> $20 first period + $9 each additional period after if on a period-to-period basis.<br />
<u>BASIC STRUCTURE:</u><br />
1) The <i>Return to Ravnica</i> League will run for only 2 months (instead of the traditional 3).<br />
2) We will run the League in 2-week increments, or "periods."<br />
3) First period, you'll get 6 <i>Return to Ravnica</i> packs to use in building a 40-card (still unofficially) deck.<br />
Every period thereafter, you'll get 2 packs of <i>Return to Ravnica</i> as additional help in strengthening your deck.<br />
4) Trading of cards from your League pool into someone else's League pool is allowed. As such, you are constrained to 4 copies of any non-Basic Land card in your deck. Details on legal trades TBA.<br />
5) Every so often, the deck size minimum will go up until we hit 60 cards. Specific details TBA, including if we'll up it to the full 60 or only to 50.<br />
6) Prizes will come from splitting up a <i>Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari</i> deck set and/or <i>Return to Ravnica</i> pack splits and/or any promo cards I have.<br />
7) There is a points system. Points (for prize distribution and bragging rights) are done on a period <i>and</i> overall basis. Details TBA.<br />
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<br />
I'll have more details toward the end of the week or beginning next week. I'm just excited to get to play with the new cards! :)Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-69581406421287945502012-09-02T13:35:00.000-04:002012-09-02T23:57:21.639-04:00How It Seems Return to Ravnica Pre-Release Will WorkWith all the information from last night about Shocklands and new previews, what got glossed over was how the Pre-Release will work for <i>Return to Ravnica</i>.<br />
<br />
From the start, we were told of "Guild Packs" that will serve as the 6th pack of a Sealed Deck Pre-Release. It was assumed from the chatter that you would pick one of the 5 <i>Return to Ravnica</i> guilds and, along with your 5 normal packs of <i>Return to Ravncia</i>, you'd get 1 "Guild Pack" of 15 cards: 14 cards exclusively in the colors of the Guild you chose <i>plus</i> a Pre-Release promo tied to that Guild.<br />
<br />
However, last night we not only got the Pre-Release promos for the set spoiled but also the way these packs will actually work.<br />
<br />
First, let's see how the Pre-Release will work.<br />
<br />
(Details are from <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=mtgcom/events/prerelease-facts">http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=mtgcom/events/prerelease-facts</a>)<br />
<br />
When you go to the Pre-Release, you'll choose 1 of the 5 <i>Return to Ravnica </i>Guilds:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Azorius (White/Blue)</li>
<li>Izzet (Blue/Red)</li>
<li>Rakdos (Red/Black)</li>
<li>Golgari (Black/Green)</li>
<li>Selesnya (Green/White)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
You will receive a collection of stuff called a "Guild Prerelease Pack". It contains the following:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>5 normal <i>Return to Ravnica</i> boosters.</li>
<li>1 14-card Guild-specific pack</li>
<ul>
<li>These 14 cards that fit your Guild's colors (mono-color cards could be included, but they will fit your Guild's colors. Also, I assume nothing with even a loose affiliation with another Guild would be included)</li>
</ul>
<li>1 Prerelease card specific to your Guild.</li>
<li>1 Spindown Life Counter (I would assume "20" is the Guild symbol of your chosen Guild)</li>
<li>1 Achievment Card (probably similar to the last few Pre-Releases)</li>
<li>1 Guild Symbol Sticker</li>
<li>1 Letter from your chosen Guild's Guildmaster</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's not too shabby, is it? :) As usual, it's a Sealed Deck tournament, meaning you build your deck from the 6 packs you get <i>plus</i> any Basic Lands you need (usually provided by the tournament venue).</div>
<div>
<br />
Why don't we look at the Pre-Release cards now? Perhaps what they do is important to what you'll pick for the Pre-Release (and it gives me a good excuse to post a few Spoilers this afternoon. ;) )</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(NOTE: All images from <a href="http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/returntoravnica/cig">Wizards of the Coast's Return to Ravnica Card Image Gallery</a> and may or may not be the artwork used for the Pre-Release promo versions)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>AZORIUS</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iBenpwTKayY/UEOOjdkUleI/AAAAAAAAAmA/1lNqF_x3YKg/s1600/Archon+of+the+Triumverate+AZORIUS+PRERELEASE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iBenpwTKayY/UEOOjdkUleI/AAAAAAAAAmA/1lNqF_x3YKg/s400/Archon+of+the+Triumverate+AZORIUS+PRERELEASE.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<br />
If you're reading and going "Wait...the reminder text sounds familiar." Well...that's because it's normally been on cards. Look at Arrest (oddly enough, from the block <i>Return to Ravnica</i> will replace in about a month!):<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4qJFc0JGSA/UEOPp2Ge-CI/AAAAAAAAAmI/zcBX5DKRcmw/s1600/Arrest+is+DETAIN+for+Azorius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4qJFc0JGSA/UEOPp2Ge-CI/AAAAAAAAAmI/zcBX5DKRcmw/s320/Arrest+is+DETAIN+for+Azorius.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
<a href="http://magiccards.info/som/en/2.html">http://magiccards.info/som/en/2.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So this also gives me a good excuse to preview Azorius' new keyword, Detain.<br />
<br />
When a creature with Detain gets to use its Detain ability, it allows that player to choose a certain number of opponent's nonland permanents (it'll be specific how many in the text) and keeps that/those permanent(s) from doing 3 things:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>No attacking.</li>
<li>No blocking.</li>
<li>No activating their activated abilities (Anything with a colon [:] before the actual effect is an activated ability)</li>
</ul>
<div>
The effect usually lasts for a turn, so it's kind of like getting a <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/55.html">Frost Titan</a> effect when the Detain trigger happens.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Detain's trigger isn't the same for every creature. For Archon of the Triumverate, it's on attacking. For Lyev Skyknight, though, (another preview card from the Card Image Gallery), it's when he enters the battlefield.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>IZZET</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2A1yKCowoaA/UEOQ0MJVLhI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/iDooKSSlCM0/s1600/Hypersonic+Dragon+IZZET+PRERELEASE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2A1yKCowoaA/UEOQ0MJVLhI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/iDooKSSlCM0/s400/Hypersonic+Dragon+IZZET+PRERELEASE.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
So we have a 4/4 Flying Haste dragon for 5 mana. Not bad as-is. But this lets you cast Sorceries as if they were Instants! Imagine being able to cast <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/155.html">Past in Flames</a> on your opponent's turn to set up a win on your very next turn, or casting <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/151.html">Reforge the Soul</a> to refill your hand while your opponent can't use what he drew because he didn't think to keep some lands untapped to gain mana from them.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Though I'm sure some pro will be much more sinister than I with their plans. ;)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>RAKDOS</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzBnPz4Bn58/UEOSfYNIroI/AAAAAAAAAmY/MOpcDJpjqFM/s1600/Carnival+Hellsteed+RAKDOS+PRERELEASE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzBnPz4Bn58/UEOSfYNIroI/AAAAAAAAAmY/MOpcDJpjqFM/s400/Carnival+Hellsteed+RAKDOS+PRERELEASE.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yesterday one of our player's reactions to "Unleash" was one word: "Lame." Why? It was on a 1/1 creature.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
AHem...perhaps to explain Unleash. It's a pretty simple mechanic really. You can bring the creature onto the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it. As long as it has a +1/+1 counter on it, though, <i style="font-weight: bold;">it can't block</i>. Yes, you're basically forcing your Unleash creature to focus on attacking only.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So why would you ever do this? Look at Carnival Hellsteed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For 6 mana, he's a 5/4 with First Strike and Haste. 5 power with First Strike is very helpful, but what if you're not focused on defense? What if your opponent has an empty field and you can hold off any other creature threat he's got?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Give the Hellsteed a +1/+1 counter and let it attack for 6 each turn, duh! And if your opponent happens to get something out to block, then Hellsteed will just First Strike it to death with 6 power vs. what will most likely be a relatively smaller-toughness creature.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's important to note, though, that if you do give an Unleash creature a +1/+1 counter <u style="font-weight: bold;">FOR ANY REASON</u>, it will not be able to block. This might be where you'd favor casting a <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/168.html">Blessings of Nature</a> and giving an Unleash creature a +1/+1 counter. This way, if you have a big creature you didn't want stopped, it won't be a problem now. (Of course, you'll then have to deal with a stronger creature next turn, so be careful about doing that!)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>GOLGARI</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jWoYNImoZGg/UEOT6jlfZmI/AAAAAAAAAmg/nWcK68KDcmQ/s1600/Corpsejack+Menace+GOLGARI+PRERELEASE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jWoYNImoZGg/UEOT6jlfZmI/AAAAAAAAAmg/nWcK68KDcmQ/s400/Corpsejack+Menace+GOLGARI+PRERELEASE.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So perhaps we won't get <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/158.html">Doubling Season</a> reprinted, but honestly we've got half the card in <i>Innistrad</i>'s <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/199.html">Parallel Lives</a>. This gives us, for the most part, the other half of Doubling Season.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If any creatures you control would get any +1/+1 counters, double them up! Hmm...Blessings of Nature looks better and better now, eh? lol!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well, think of it this way...working <i>with</i> Unleash you get a creature in with 2 +1/+1 counters instead of 1. If you use it <i>against</i> Unleash (as I was talking about just a couple paragraphs above), your Unleash target only gets 1 +1/+1 counter while, in total, your other creatures would get 6 total +1/+1s! (Either 1 creature gets 6, or 1 gets 4 while another gets 2, or each gets 2, etc.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I imagine with <a href="http://cglhixson.blogspot.com/2012/09/shocklands-confirmation-and-some.html">Shocklands being back</a> we'll see Rakdos and Golgari team up in this fashion. Or perhaps it could just be a Golgari beatdown deck using effects that gives +1/+1 counters...including Scavenge! Or because of Shocklands, why limit ourselves? When <i>Gatecrash</i> comes out, we'll have <a href="http://magiccards.info/di/en/172.html">Breeding Pool</a> so we could go with <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/60.html">Inivisible Stalker</a> Counters (using Scavenge and the 1- or 2-of Blessings of Nature to make 1 huge Invisible Stalker that's difficult to handle.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is a potentially Standard-playable card, but I feel it'll find a lot more favor at the casual table as 4-toughness creatures aren't as easy to handle in and of themselves.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>SELESNYA</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1b3v_9df4ec/UEOWY8E22wI/AAAAAAAAAm0/TMmlS3u7iHA/s1600/Grove+of+the+Guardian+SELESNYA+PRERELEASE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1b3v_9df4ec/UEOWY8E22wI/AAAAAAAAAm0/TMmlS3u7iHA/s400/Grove+of+the+Guardian+SELESNYA+PRERELEASE.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Okay...so I'll be honest. This feels like a kick to Selesnya. Every other color gets a decent creature while Grove of the Guardian gets a land?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Perhaps it's not as bad as it looks. Remember, Selesnya's new keyword is Populate, which lets you make copies of tokens. It's plausible that this effectively reads as:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Elemental</div>
<div>
4GW (remember, you have to tap Grove of the Guardian itself, so that's like using the mana from itself)</div>
<div>
As an additional cost to cast this creature, tap two untapped creatures you control.</div>
<div>
Vigilance</div>
<div>
8/8</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So from that perspective, perhaps it's not too bad. And if there are cards that can get lands back, even if it's just 1 or 2, that'll possibly net you two of these guys. Unfortunately, we don't know of any yet so I have to judge off a 1-time activation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
An 8/8 is scary! Add to that it can attack <i>and</i> block with no problems and this can be a menace.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But what I'm also seeing is what's termed "power creep" in creatures. No longer is a 3-mana creature a 2/2 with a decent ability. It's usually a 3/3 with a keyword or 5/4 with nothing else. This increases the chances your 8/8 could be killed on it attacking. Add to it that we have 2 guilds with Red and 2 with Black and there can be some decent damage or toughness-lowering abilities that ends up killing this humongous 8/8 before it actually deals a ton of damage.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If it had Trample as well (that way White would be Vigilance and Green would be Trample, making it a White/Green creature), I'd be more willing to try it. As it stands now, though, I'd like to see more of the set before passing judgment.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As a Legacy and Modern note, though, remember that Green has <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/172.html">Life from the Loam</a> and can use <a href="http://magiccards.info/10e/en/319.html">Crucible of Worlds</a> so perhaps there it might make a better casual card for playgroups that play those formats but don't use tournament decks.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope you enjoyed the run through the Pre-Release promos! Hopefully over the next few days I can get more previews posted for you. Until then, take care and enjoy <i>Return to Ravnica</i> preview season!</div>
Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-70982397147406059182012-09-02T00:01:00.002-04:002012-09-02T18:32:32.992-04:00Shocklands: Confirmation! And Some History and RulesToday is a good news day if you've been playing Magic since at least <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i> block.<br />
<br />
There was speculation based on art and very artful dodging of questions about the matter, but at tonight's PAX Prime MTG Party, there was no question.<br />
<br />
They..<br />
<br />
<br />
Are..<br />
<br />
<br />
Coming...<br />
<br />
<br />
BACK!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t7bN8xZcFdM/UELF-ChvHHI/AAAAAAAAAko/cQ9Gv5xcnQE/s1600/Overgrown+Tomb+REPRINT+Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t7bN8xZcFdM/UELF-ChvHHI/AAAAAAAAAko/cQ9Gv5xcnQE/s400/Overgrown+Tomb+REPRINT+Twitter.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
<a href="https://twitter.com/mtgcolorpie/status/242083449048006657">https://twitter.com/mtgcolorpie/status/242083449048006657</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Yes, sir! The original <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i> block "Shocklands" are back in Standard for 2 years! Woot!<br />
<br />
*crickets chirp*<br />
<br />
*they keep chirping*<br />
<br />
(KAPOW!!!)<br />
<br />
*No more chirping*<br />
<br />
Okay, okay...so you're fairly new to the game and you're wondering "So...what's the big deal?"<br />
<br />
<br />
Let me tell you a story...a story of the original "Dual Lands"...<br />
<br />
When Magic: The Gathering's first set (now named <i>Alpha</i>) first came out, there was a "cycle" of 10 lands called "Dual Lands."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1-ffcYczXDY/UELGmTSKv3I/AAAAAAAAAkw/u0HU3leW_xQ/s1600/Bayou+FOR+COMPARISON+MTGInfo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1-ffcYczXDY/UELGmTSKv3I/AAAAAAAAAkw/u0HU3leW_xQ/s400/Bayou+FOR+COMPARISON+MTGInfo.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
<a href="http://magiccards.info/al/en/278.html">http://magiccards.info/al/en/278.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These were non-basic lands that had basic land types. In Bayou's case, it's Forest and Swamp. While it *was* part of the effect, it later got errata'd to always have those land types (so the type line would read "Land- Forest Swamp").<br />
<br />
These cards are so good for a single reason: they do have the basic land <i style="font-weight: bold;">types</i>.<br />
<br />
"So they're basic lands!...Right?"<br />
<br />
Oh, if it were that simple! You can have unlimited numbers of Basic Lands in your deck. But there are only 5 cards (constantly reprinted) that are Basic Lands. They are named Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. They also have the type line read "Basic Land - Plains" or "Basic Land - Island", for example. So these original Dual Lands were, later in the game's history and like most other cards since, limited to 4 copies in a deck.<br />
<br />
No, having basic land <i style="font-weight: bold;">types</i> made them easily searchable! Look at Farseek (recently reprinted in <i>Magic 2013 Core Set</i>):<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SlhbFmr2bC8/UELHkpIwh5I/AAAAAAAAAk4/5S5g04EUMOA/s1600/Farseek+EXAMPLE+USEAGE+MTGcards+dot+info.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SlhbFmr2bC8/UELHkpIwh5I/AAAAAAAAAk4/5S5g04EUMOA/s400/Farseek+EXAMPLE+USEAGE+MTGcards+dot+info.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
<a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/170.html">http://magiccards.info/m13/en/170.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Look at the wording..."a Plains, Island, Swamp or Mountain." It doesn't say a <i style="font-weight: bold;">basic</i> Plains, Island, Swamp, or Mountain. So let's look at Bayou.<br />
<br />
If you wanted to search for Bayou, you could search for a Swamp, go get Bayou, and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Not too shabby!<br />
<br />
So when <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i> came out, we got the first preview of the "new Duals", called collectively as "Shocklands".<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FdzAbpPiys/UELNHms56UI/AAAAAAAAAlI/iTU-9-lWtA4/s1600/Temple+Garden+ORIGINAL+RAVNICA+PREVIEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FdzAbpPiys/UELNHms56UI/AAAAAAAAAlI/iTU-9-lWtA4/s400/Temple+Garden+ORIGINAL+RAVNICA+PREVIEW.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/arcana/887" target="_blank">A Special Ravnica Preview, August 18 2005</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These are closer to "true Duals", a re-creation of the original <i>Alpha/Beta/Unlimited/Revised</i> Bayou-type duals that have 2 basic land <i style="font-weight: bold;">types</i> in their typeline. But by this time, the "Reserved List" had been put in to prevent reprinting of old Rares (for the most part). So this was the fix.<br />
<br />
Why are they called "Shocklands", though? Unlike the "true Duals", these lands had a clause universal to all 10:<br />
"As [card name] enters the battlefield, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, [card name] enters the battlefield tapped instead."<br />
<br />
So basically, you were doing a self-<a href="http://magiccards.info/sh/en/98.html" target="_blank">Shock</a> just to get to use the land the same turn you played it.<br />
<br />
"Soooo not worth it!", some claim. "2 life to get to use it?"<br />
<br />
Yep...but look at cards like Wild Nacatl (HINT: Shocklands seemed to be the reason it was banned in Modern):<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i2NjBdm1FvA/UELOOtoDFyI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/TgqgdxNdUP8/s1600/Wild+Nacatl+EXAMPLE+OF+DUAL+LAND+USE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i2NjBdm1FvA/UELOOtoDFyI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/TgqgdxNdUP8/s400/Wild+Nacatl+EXAMPLE+OF+DUAL+LAND+USE.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
<a href="http://magiccards.info/ddh/en/4.html">http://magiccards.info/ddh/en/4.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now look at Temple Garden again:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WLWLy75CW6o/UEPdvrXItGI/AAAAAAAAAnI/9XviHXkAQrA/s1600/Temple+Garden+NEW+RAVNICA+PREVIEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WLWLy75CW6o/UEPdvrXItGI/AAAAAAAAAnI/9XviHXkAQrA/s400/Temple+Garden+NEW+RAVNICA+PREVIEW.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New art in <i>Return to Ravnica</i>. From <a href="http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/products.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/products/returntoravnica">Return to Ravnica card image gallery</a>.</td></tr>
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So you pay 2 life on turn 1, right? Then pay G for Wild Nacatl. Congrats! You now have a 3/3 creature! Temple Garden is a Forest, so that's +1/+1 to Nacatl's 1/1. Then, it's also a Plains, so Wild Nacatl goes from 2/2 to 3/3. Feel powerful that you have a Turn 1 3/3. That's not easy to accomplish, no matter what generation of cards you were looking at. (EDIT: Or what could also usually happen in Modern was Turn 1 Stomping Ground to cast Nacatl [now 2/2 because you have a Forest], then Turn 2 you play a Temple Garden or Sacred Foundry to have a Plains and make him 3/3. Either way, you have a 3/3 creature attacking on Turn 2 of the game while the opponent probably has a 1/1 or 2/2 if they're not playing the same deck.)<br />
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So back to the history of these...so you notice how generic the names are? "Stomping Ground", "Temple Garden", "Watery Grave" (for Blue/Black), etc. The intent was indeed to make them re-printable in non-<i>Ravnica</i>-themed sets. (REFERENCE: <a href="http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db47">http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db47</a>)<br />
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So what happened? At one time "Painlands" (you tap for 1 colorless mana OR you tap to get 1 of 2 colors of mana for a 1-life payment) were the go-to lands for Core Sets. It was speculated these "Shocklands" would replace them.<br />
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Instead, we got 5 lands like Glacial Fortress (with the entire 10-card cycle finally finished out in <i>Innistrad</i>):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ecvoUxucfHQ/UELUstivu-I/AAAAAAAAAls/-K7wx6q3TKY/s1600/Glacial+Fortress+EXAMPLE+MagicCards+dot+Info.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ecvoUxucfHQ/UELUstivu-I/AAAAAAAAAls/-K7wx6q3TKY/s400/Glacial+Fortress+EXAMPLE+MagicCards+dot+Info.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From
<a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/225.html">http://magiccards.info/m13/en/225.html</a></td></tr>
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Why did we not get Shocklands? Well, it seems players were not looking at the "Painlands" and seeing the power of paying life for mana. It wasn't "obvious" why advanced players were willing to give up life to get one of 2 colors of mana off their land. So this was the response (SOURCE: <a href="http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/45">http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/45</a>)<br />
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So we figured "Okay...goodbye Shocklands! We'll see you in Legacy...NOT!" Well, along came a format called "Modern", which basically said any card in an Expansion from around 2003 onward (<i>Mirrodin </i>block and <i>8th Edition</i> start the run for Expansions and Core Sets, respectively) was legal (save for a ban list). So what happens when you combine a new format with lands that eerily simulate the "real Duals" that are widely used in Legacy?<br />
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PRICE HIKES!<br />
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At some point (and I can't remember when, so I apologize), WotC said it was their plan to reprint certain Modern cards where they were more easily available to the masses. Combine this with the fact that the "Shocklands" had generic names and it meant that any Core Set from the onset of Modern forward <i>could</i> have had the "Shocklands". But that one paragraph about players not liking to pay life for lands kept ringing in our heads.<br />
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...Until today. With <i>Return to Ravnica</i> being an Expansion set, I feel Wizards of the Coast felt it was safe to reprint the Shocklands here.<br />
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1) Players who pick up <i>Return to Ravnica</i> are partially doing so for nostalgia's sake. They remember the Shocklands so it's a familiar thing to them to pick more up, or some perhaps for the first time as they couldn't get their hands on them before.<br />
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2) As an Expansion, it's naturally geared toward higher-level playing players than complete "noobies", for lack of a better word.<br />
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3) Perhaps they felt with the popularity of the <i>Zendikar</i> fetch lands (which finished out a 5-card cycle from <i>Onslaught</i> with the other 5 color pairs) it was safer to allow players to pay life for their lands as more saw the benefit of doing such just a few years ago.<br />
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For whatever reason, I am very glad WotC has reprinted the "Shocklands." I'm sure many veterans from that era are more than happy to dust off their old "new Duals", plop down some Farseeks or <a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/205.html">Gem of Becoming</a>s to help fetch them out, and let the multicolored goodness fly much more easily. And for newer players? The Shocklands here have an advantage the older ones didn't: Magic is played much more frequently, and therefore bought more frequently, than it was in the past. Add to that regular Rares are easier to get thanks to the introduction of Mythic Rare in <i>Shards of Alara</i> in roughly 2007 and we should see a lowering in Shockland prices. This means your dollar could buy more "new Duals" that function very closely to the "old Duals" of days gone by. :)<br />
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SO NOW...which ones will be legal when?<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">RETURN TO RAVNICA</i> (releases October 5, 2012*)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/di/en/174.html">Hallowed Fountain</a> (Azorius)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/gp/en/164.html">Steam Vents</a> (Izzet)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/di/en/171.html">Blood Crypt</a> (Rakdos)<br />
Overgrown Tomb (Golgari) (previewed at very top)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/284.html">Temple Garden</a> (Selesnya)<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">GATECRASH</u> (releases February 1, 2013)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/gp/en/157.html">Godless Shrine</a> (Orzhov)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/286.html">Watery Grave</a> (Dimir)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/di/en/172.html">Breeding Pool</a> (Simic)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/gp/en/165.html">Stomping Ground</a> (Gruul)<br />
<a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/280.html">Sacred Foundry</a> (Boros)<br />
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So yes, there is nearly a 4-month wait until you can use the other 5 lands. But once February 1st of next year comes up, enjoy having both the Shocklands <i>and</i> <i>Magic 2010/Innistrad </i>duals legal at the same time until October 2013. :)<br />
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(PS: Yes, cards like Glacial Fortress or <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/242.html">Isolated Chapel</a> will look at the land types on the Shocklands to determine if they can enter the battlefield untapped. Source: <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=221919">http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=221919</a> and scroll down just a bit to the rulings)Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-77596260927038510962012-08-30T13:38:00.006-04:002012-08-30T13:38:56.249-04:00Ravnica Spoilers from Duel Decks: Izzet vs. GolgariHey hey hey again!<br />
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Today I come with actual card previews. Yay!!! lol.<br />
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Last year, when we got <i>Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas</i>, we learned that the order of Duel Deck releases was getting switched. Normally, in the Spring of a year we'd get some oddly-themed Duel Deck (Phyrexia vs. The Coalition, Elves vs. Goblins, etc.) while in the Fall we'd get a Planeswalker-themed Duel Deck (Elspeth vs. Tezzeret, Jace vs. Chandra, etc.). They decided to change it up so that the Fall Duel Deck could serve as a preview of the upcoming block.<br />
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And preview is more than the right word!<br />
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<i>Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari</i> gives us more <i>Return to Ravnica</i> spoilers than just Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. Each deck contains a few <i>Return to Ravnica</i> previews for your insatiable hunger for the return to the plane of Ravnica!<br />
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First off, let's start off with the new guild leader, <b><u>Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord</u></b>!<br />
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(NOTE: all images come from this article on the Duel Decks: <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/210" target="_blank">Playing with Izzet vs. Golgari</a>)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Abql_qxF_0/UD-X46N7IGI/AAAAAAAAAkE/sBEx911Ql5M/s1600/jarad+Golgari+Lich+Lord+DailyMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Abql_qxF_0/UD-X46N7IGI/AAAAAAAAAkE/sBEx911Ql5M/s400/jarad+Golgari+Lich+Lord+DailyMTG.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
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Jarad is only the 3rd Zombie Elf to be printed (less than 2 years ago was <a href="http://magiccards.info/mbs/en/96.html" target="_blank">Glissa, the Traitor</a> and back in <i>Apocalypse</i> was <a href="http://magiccards.info/ap/en/109.html" target="_blank">Llanowar Dead</a>) and the 2nd one that could be a Commander.<br />
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You'll see a theme among the guilds in <i>Return to Ravnica</i>...in some way, they can work with the mechanics from <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i> block. Jarad is no different. He starts off getting +1/+1 for each creature in your graveyard. Hmm...Dredge shenanigans, anyone? And at 4 cost, that's not a bad deal. Depending on when he comes out, if you mill yourself or do a lot of discard effects, he can be quite the bargain at 4 mana.<br />
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For 1GB and sacrificing <i style="font-weight: bold;">another</i> creature, you can have each opponent lose life equal to that creature's power. Hmm...<a href="http://magiccards.info/shm/en/112.html" target="_blank">Drove of Elves</a>, a ton of green permanents...no, that won't swing the game at all... *rolls eyes* lol.<br />
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Then comes his "semi-reanimation" effect. You have to sacrifice a Swamp <i>and</i> a Forest to return him to your hand from your graveyard. <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/172.html" target="_blank">Life from the Loam</a> would be very interested in this. "I sacrifice a Blood Crypt and Temple Garden to bring Jarad back to my hand. Now I play Life from the Loam, getting back Blood Crypt and Temple Garden." Not as much of a loss then, eh?<br />
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In Standard, I don't know how he'll fare. Golgari won't get Dredge back (in fact, none of the Guilds get their original abilities back), so it'll be tougher to get creatures to the graveyard on purpose without a lot of sacrifice outlets. And even then, why get rid of an army for a single big creature with no protection, no evasion or semi-evasion (like Trample), and returns to the <i>hand</i> for sacrificing a Swamp and Forest?<br />
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No...Standard won't be this Lich Lord's playground, not without a lot of help from the Golgari guild in general. But on first blush, I just don't see it. In Modern, though, where Dredge can work quite nicely and all 5 Mirrodin-based Swords are legal...I wouldn't doubt it, honestly.<br />
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Next up, we have the Guildmage cycle previewed in Golgari. I'll introduce...<b><u>Korozda Guildmage</u></b>!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHPeDnlD51c/UD-X4HhxEeI/AAAAAAAAAj0/l0qcA-P3MsE/s1600/Korozda+Guildmage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DHPeDnlD51c/UD-X4HhxEeI/AAAAAAAAAj0/l0qcA-P3MsE/s400/Korozda+Guildmage.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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(BTW, Korozda is the new location for the Golgari's guild house)<br />
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So we already see some changes over, say, <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/248.html" target="_blank">Golgari Guildmage</a>. For one, he's not hybrid; his casting cost is strictly 1 Black and 1 Green. He's also got 2 non-hybrid abilities that are still multi-colored. (I figure WotC didn't want Guildmages going into decks that didn't support the Guild it came from, at least in part). So how good could this Guildmage be?<br />
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Quite good, in fact. For 1BG, you can give one of your creatures +1/+1 <i>and Intimidate</i>! Imagine that! If <i>Scars of Mirrodin </i>block were legal for Standard after <i>Return to Ravncia</i> releases, you'd see Poison decks jump 10-fold, I think. However, <i>Return to Ravnica</i>'s release will push <i>Scars of Mirrodin</i> (and <i>Magic 2012</i>) out of Standard, so that's no issue anymore. Still, though, in a B/G beatdown where U/R or U/W may live on as competitive Standard deck colors, I'd imagine a Korozda Guildmage can deliver quite a beating on bigger creatures. As well, as long as you have the mana, you can do this as many times as you want: either give a big creature an even bigger boost, or allow another of your creatures to get slightly bigger and perhaps become unblockable. Really not too shabby, even outside of Standard.<br />
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As for its second ability, <i>Saprolings are back!!!</i> If one of your creatures is about to die, just pay 4 mana and sacrifice it (you were going to lose it anyway, remember? ;) ) and get some tokens to replace it. Oh, and while we may or may not get a <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/158.html" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a> reprint, we do have its cousin in <i>Innistrad</i>, <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/199.html" target="_blank">Parallel Lives</a>. Hmm...possible combo if the right cards come out?<br />
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I think you'll love playing Korozda Guildmage. It's got power and who doesn't love tokens, right? :)<br />
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NEXT UP!...an example of the Scavange mechanic (replacing Dredge for Golgari) used on a very decent creature. I give you...<b>Dreg Mangler!</b><br />
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Dreg Mangler returns Plants to the forefront of Magic (as they were in <i>Ravnica</i>), this time with a decent creature.<br />
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For 1BG, you get a 3/3 with Haste. Not too shabby of a 3rd turn play! But goodness, it died the turn it came out due to some double-blocking! What a waste!<br />
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OR...or...you could get some decent-sized creature out and use Scavenge to make it bigger.<br />
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Scavenge is a sorcery-speed ability (meaning you can only use it when the stack is empty and on one of your Main Phases only) that allows you to exile the creature card and pay the Scavenge cost (usually 2 colorless more than its casting cost) to put a number of +1/+1 tokens on a creature equal to the Scavenge'd creature's power.<br />
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So in this instance, let's say you are using Jarad mixed with the Korozda Guildmage. Jarad's a 2/2, but with the Mangler in the graveyard it's a 3/3. Psh! Scavenge that Mangler and make Jarad instead a 5/5! With enough mana, you can use the Guildmage to give it another +1/+1 and let it attack through for 6!<br />
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But that's not all. <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/171.html" target="_blank">Champion of Lambholt</a> <i>loves</i> Scavenge! Make your creatures most likely unblockable after a Scavenge or two? Are you crazy!? ... Yes, yes I am. :)<br />
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Finally, let's say your opponent has an Undying creature you just can't stand. You can destroy it outright, but it'll just come back. Uh...Scavenge says "target creature", not "target creature you control." Yes, let him have 3 +1/+1 counters...then <a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/101.html" target="_blank">Murder</a> it! No self-reanimation there, folks.<br />
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With all the Golgari previews out of the way, let's move on to Izzet. This is the guild I'm most interested in, as I loved the flavor of Izzet when it came out but wasn't overly enthused by the power of most of its cards.<br />
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This time, though, it looks like WotC is out to strengthen the Izzet guild.<br />
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There is no preview for the Guild leader here, but it <i>will</i> be Niv-Mizzet. The version of him in this Duel Deck is the original <i>Guildpact</i> one, the version we all know and love...to hate. :p<br />
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However, we do get some preview cards from the Izzet side of the deck. The first shows off the new Overload mechanic. Let me show you...<b>Street Spasm!</b><br />
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Okay, so another "X" spell for Red that deals X damge to target creature without flying you don't control. So yeah, a removal spell to boot! But eh...not too exciting.<br />
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That is, until you read Overload. If you pay the Overload cost (which, I'll assume, is always exactly double the original casting cost) instead of the original mana cost, you get to change all instances of "target" to "each."<br />
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WHOAH! HUUUGE difference!<br />
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Let's say you do end up battling an army of Saproling tokens. Yeah, XR to target isn't going to be of much good. Instead, though, pay perhaps 11RR, or 4 total (where X = 1), to deal 1 damage to <i>each</i> Saproling instead. See how powerful Overload <i>can</i> be?<br />
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It's Izzet's new ability, which is reminiscent to Replicate. Replicate allowed you to pay a cost (usually just its mana cost) as many times as you wanted as you were casting the spell in order to make copies of that spell. Overload in a way is kind of a Replicate in that you could just see the spell copying itself and hitting every non-flying creature you don't control. (Of course, technically it's not targeting if you Overload. Remember, you replaced "target" with "each").<br />
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I honestly don't see Street Spasm being good unless tokens take over. Even then, it's creatures without flying, so White will prefer <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/22.html" target="_blank">Midnight Haunting</a> and <a href="http://magiccards.info/dka/en/12.html" target="_blank">Lingering Souls</a>. This will make Street Spasm at best a Side Deck card in Standard. In older formats, again unless tokens take a lead or you have a ton of mana, I bet you'll be using it more for its normal cost to take out a single non-flying creature.<br />
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(Two more and I'm done, I promise! lol!)<br />
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Next up we have a cycle of Charms, one for each guild (the fact that there will be one of each is spoiled in today's Card of the Day on the dailymtg.com website). Izzet got the Charm preview. Welcome...well...<b>Izzet Charm!</b><br />
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It seems the Charms from Alara block were quite popular, enough to bring a Charm cycle back for <i>Return to Ravnica</i> and <i>Gatecrash</i>.<br />
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(For the record, a "Charm" is any spell where you can choose 1 option from a list of 3).<br />
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So off the bat, Izzet gets a counterspell similar to <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/63.html" target="_blank">Mana Leak</a>. Countering noncreature spells I feel will be a must soon, so this is a good reactive spell.<br />
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But what if creatures start becoming an issue? The 2nd option allows you to do 2 damage to a creature.<br />
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Need to draw? This is where Blue meets Red. You can draw 2 cards (Blue)...but then you have to discard 2 cards (Red). Not bad if you have stuff you <i>need</i> to get rid of, but on an otherwise empty hand...yeah...lol.<br />
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Again, there will be a cycle of these, 1 for each Guild, so look for a Selesnya, Rakdos, Azorious, and Golgari version in <i>Return to Ravnica</i> in a bit over a month.<br />
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Finally, we have the last Izzet preview card of the bunch. Wanted to pay less for your spells but never liked the mana cost for doing so? How's about a cheap alternative in <b>Goblin Electromancer?</b><br />
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Goodness! 2 mana for a 2/2 already? That's not too shabby on the 2nd turn. But what's this?<br />
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"Instant and Sorcery spells you cast cost 1 less to cast"? Are you insane!?<br />
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Yes, for the record this lets your normally turn 4 <a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/65.html" target="_blank">Rewind</a> work on Turn 3 (and consequently basically <i>make</i> 1 mana). Or perhaps that late-game <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/130.html" target="_blank">Burn at the Stake</a> that needs to be followed up by an <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/146.html" target="_blank">Incinerate</a> for the win? That now costs a total of 1RRRR.<br />
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Can you say "way too good"? I knew you could! lol.<br />
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Oh...wait...I lied! I have 1 more preview...well, more like 2, but once you see one we see them all really.<br />
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With <i>Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari</i> currently available to view on Magic Online, we saw some new artwork for the Izzet and Golgari Signets (2-mana artifacts that, for 1 and tapping them, make one of each color of that Guild). For example...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NaqtEalJF0s/UD-kL3iaANI/AAAAAAAAAkY/3e5GZ3Iytfo/s1600/Izzet-signet+MTGSalvation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NaqtEalJF0s/UD-kL3iaANI/AAAAAAAAAkY/3e5GZ3Iytfo/s400/Izzet-signet+MTGSalvation.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
(Image from <a href="http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=443059" target="_blank">http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=443059</a>)<br />
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Golgari Signet also got new art.<br />
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"So what? They do new art all the time in these Duel Decks. What makes the Signets so special?"<br />
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Well...last night I posted a link to some artwork of, among other things, the Guild leaders, the Guildmages, and...well lookie here! This is one of those artworks!<br />
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Since WotC wouldn't put out a lot of art that didn't come from actual cards, especially mixed in with artwork that <i>is</i> from cards we know, we can be safe to assume that <b><i><u>all 10 original Signets will be in Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash!</u></i></b><br />
<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b>
It's far from actual proof, though. No one's holding a <i>Return to Ravnica</i> copy of Izzet Signet or Golgari Signet. But all evidence kind of leads to the conclusion that we're getting some of our favorite "mana rocks" back for 2 years of Standard action. :)<br />
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*pant pant pant*...And that's all I have...literally! lol! There is a storyline update on the guilds here: <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/210a">http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/210a</a> Watch for a ton of typos, though, as I don't think an editor re-read it before being published. :(<br />
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<br />
SO...impressions? Is <i>Return to Ravnica</i> living up to your expectations so far? Don't like it? Feel free to share below!Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-13913888977409444052012-08-29T23:44:00.003-04:002012-08-29T23:47:16.310-04:00A Few More Return to Ravnica Tidbits and RumorsHey guys!<br />
I'll post the preview cards from <i>Izzet vs. Golgari</i> tomorrow, but tonight the Magic Player's Championship and online copies of <i>Izzet vs. Golgari</i> seems to have brought some interesting developments.<br />
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First off, the link that's about to follow has artwork for 4-5 cycles of Guild-based cards among both <i>Return to Ravnica</i> and <i>Gatecrash</i>. <a href="http://imgur.com/a/T9wjh">http://imgur.com/a/T9wjh</a><br />
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While there are no specific names (except for already-spoiled cards from <i>Izzet vs. Golgari</i>), it does break down to the following (in order):<br />
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10 Guildmages (sorry, no reprints from the original <i>Ravnica</i> block. These Guildmages are 2-color, non-hybrid 2/2's with 2 multi-color abilities.)<br />
10 Guild Leaders (yes, you see Isperia, what seems to be a Ghost Council, and Jarad)<br />
10 Signets (so yes, we're getting Simic Signet, Gruul Signet, Orzhov Signet, etc. all back in Standard for 2 years!)<br />
10 "Charms" (from the spoiled Izzet Charm art last night...which I'll post tomorrow. lol!)<br />
10 "Death to [Guild]" (which isn't noted as such, but Evan Erwin's Twitter calls it that: <a href="https://twitter.com/misterorange/status/241000829899919361">https://twitter.com/misterorange/status/241000829899919361</a>)<br />
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As well, some interesting artwork came up while Featured Matches from the Magic Player's Championship were airing online. Look at these images (from MTGSalvation.com) and see what you think:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PziwiPnlIg8/UD7avsjt-SI/AAAAAAAAAi4/uZ6e1zTvhis/s1600/Possibly+Hallowed+Fountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PziwiPnlIg8/UD7avsjt-SI/AAAAAAAAAi4/uZ6e1zTvhis/s320/Possibly+Hallowed+Fountain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8-tAWaj5xX4/UD7awc6DV9I/AAAAAAAAAi8/K4aVVb88KmA/s1600/Possibly+Sacred+Foundry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8-tAWaj5xX4/UD7awc6DV9I/AAAAAAAAAi8/K4aVVb88KmA/s320/Possibly+Sacred+Foundry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hmm...I see a fountain sitting by itself and an anvil with molten something pouring out of it.<br />
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Kind of sounds like a <a href="http://magiccards.info/di/en/174.html" target="_blank">Hallowed Fountain</a> and a <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/280.html" target="_blank">Sacred Foundry</a>, eh? ;)<br />
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While it doesn't prove the existence of "Shocklands" (lands that enter the battlefield tapped unless you pay 2 life, like a self-<a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/154.html" target="_blank">Shock</a>), keep these in mind...<br />
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1) WotC has said time and time again that <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">new players</u> don't like having life loss tacked onto their lands. Well...Shocklands aren't meant for the new player, they're meant for the strategic player who can either make back the 2-life investment or don't mind taking 2 life payment for having a land with 2 land types enter in. And Expansion sets aren't the place to be picking up new players, really...<br />
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2) <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/163.html" target="_blank">Farseek</a>'s reprinting, along with new cards like <a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/98.html" target="_blank">Liliana's Shade</a> and <a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/205.html" target="_blank">Gem of Becoming</a>, show an interesting pattern...these cards say to search for "a Mountain card" or "a Swamp card" but <i style="font-weight: bold;">not</i> a "basic Swamp card", for example. Well...Shocklands have basic land <i>types</i> on them, meaning Farseek, Liliana's Shade, and Gem of Becoming can each search out, say, a <a href="http://magiccards.info/rav/en/286.html" target="_blank">Watery Grave</a>.<br />
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3) WotC has had plans on reprinting these babies since when they came out. That's why they had fairly generic names such as "Watery Grave". You could set this on Zendikar, for example, in the swamps of Nephalia, so "Watery Grave" is not a plane-specific location. Their original intent was to put them into Core Sets, or at least that was the idea (to replace "Painlands" [Lands where you tapped for 1 Colorless mana OR got 1 of 2 colors for a 1-life payment] supposedly), and Core Sets at the time needed non-planar names moving forward. Instead, we got lands like <a href="http://magiccards.info/m13/en/228.html" target="_blank">Rootbound Crag</a> as a direct result of Issue #1.<br />
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4) Wizards of the Coast has also said since Modern started as a format that they want to reprint staples at easier-to-get venues. Shocklands are just as helpful there as the original Dual Lands are for Legacy, so this would be a perfect avenue to reprint them: in a set that returns to where they came from!<br />
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Granted, it's all circumstantial evidence, but the timing is either all to coincidental or one big trolling. lol!<br />
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Finally, there are pictures of the supposedly-fake-but-could-be-real Rootborn Defenses being signed by the <i>Return to Ravnica</i> design team. I doubt they'd sign a completely fake card, so Rootborn Defenses is real.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp2JOJID9gk/UD7eAOzmsEI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/1Ki1Znx_DYw/s1600/M13-Misprint-from-Ravnica-615x839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp2JOJID9gk/UD7eAOzmsEI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/1Ki1Znx_DYw/s400/M13-Misprint-from-Ravnica-615x839.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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This confirms now 3 new keywords for the Guilds in <i>Return to Ravnica</i>:<br />
<b>SELESNYA:</b> Populate (To populate, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of a creature token you control.) (works with <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i>' Convoke, which lets you effectively treat creatures as mana)<br />
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<b>GOLGARI:</b> Scavenge [COST] ([COST], exile this card from your graveyard: Put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to this card's power on target creature. Scavenge only as a sorcery.) (works with <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds'</i><b> </b>Dredge, which let you get back cards by replacing your draw with milling yourself for a certain amount of cards. If a Scavenge card ends up in your graveyard from Dredging, well...)<br />
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<b>IZZET:</b> Overload [COST] (You may cast this spell for its overload cost. If you do, change its test by replacing all instance of "target" with "each".) (Kind of works similarly to <i>Guildpact</i>'s Replicate, which let you make copies of the spell for any number of times you could pay the Replicate cost [usually equal to the original mana cost])<br />
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We do not know what Azorius and Gruul's will be, but their originals were Forecast (on the upkeep, you could reveal the card from your hand and pay the Forecast cost to get a certain effect) and Bloodthirst (if this creature comes into play after an opponent took damage, you put a certain number of +1/+1 counters on it).<br />
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That's all I have time for tonight, but tomorrow I'll be back with a more thorough card update of what we know about <i>Return to Ravnica</i>, as well as some storyline links for you. :)Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-2141788024745059952012-08-27T02:20:00.000-04:002012-08-27T02:21:44.261-04:00A Few Early Morning Return to Ravnica ImpressionsHey, I'm finally updating the blog! Yay!!!<br />
<br />
(EDIT: I'll post article links later to give credit where credit's due, but they're on the main page of dailymtg.com throughout the day Monday, 8/27)<br />
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This morning came a lot of information about <i>Return to Ravnica</i>, which is exactly as it sounds: Magic's first run back to <i>Ravnica</i> since the plane was first explored in <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i> block.<br />
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While I don't have a lot of time (after all, it's 2:04 AM here as I type. lol!), I can give you a few highlights to chew on...<br />
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1) <i>Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari</i> is not just <i>Ravnica</i>-block reprints. Actually, like <i>Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Tezzeret</i>, each deck will have preview cards from <i>Return to Ravnica</i>! Yes...preview card<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">s</u>!<br />
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2) The return to Ravnica will be much more kind and gentle than recent returns to planes. Whereas Dominaria had been through wars and an Armageddon and Mirrodin was invaded and changed, Ravnica will be relatively unharmed and unchanged from its previous incarnation. Consider this a check-up to see how everyone's doing.<br />
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3) NEW MECHANIC: Scavenge seems to replace Dredge in the Golgari colors (B/G). What is Scavenge?<br />
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"Scavenge 4GG", for example, means "4GG, exile this card from your graveyard: Put a number of +1/+1 counters equal to this card's power on target creature. Scavenge only as a sorcery."<br />
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Take for example a 5/5 creature with Scavenge 4GG. When it's in your graveyard, on your turn at any time you could normally cast a Sorcery card, you can activate its Scavenge ability by paying 4GG and exiling this creature card from the graveyard to put 5 +1/+1 counters on any creature.<br />
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I can see Doubling Season getting a reprint or a lot more casual play. And you thought the price was high already...yeesh! ;)<br />
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4) NEW MECHANIC: Overload goes on Instants and Sorceries aligned with Izzet (U/R).<br />
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Take a new card in the Duel Decks, Street Spasm<br />
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Street Spasm<br />
XR<br />
Instant<br />
Street Spasm deals X damage to target creature without flying you don't control.<br />
Overload XXRR<br />
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"Overload [Cost]" is an alternative way to pay for the spell. If you pay the Overload cost instead of the mana cost, you change each instance of "target" to "each" instead.<br />
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So let's take Street Spasm and say we have 8 mana.<br />
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Cast it for its normal cost. That's 7R, so X = 7. How does Street Spasm read?<br />
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"Street Spasm deals 7 damage to target creature without flying you don't control."<br />
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Instead, cast it for its Overload cost. You pay 33RR, or a total of 8 mana (6 generic {X=3 and X = 3} and 2 Reds).<br />
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It now reads<br />
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"Street Spasm deals 3 damage to each creature without flying you don't control."<br />
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Notice the subtle but important difference? You do less damage, sure, <i style="font-weight: bold;">but</i> you deal that damage to <u style="font-style: italic;">each</u> creature now instead of <u style="font-style: italic;">just one</u> creature.<br />
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I don't doubt we'll see cards that have normal casting costs but alternate Overload costs to change all instances of "target" to "each." For example...<br />
<br />
MADE UP IZZET DAMAGE + DRAW CARD<br />
3RU<br />
Instant<br />
MADE UP IZZET DAMAGE + DRAW CARD deals 4 damage to target creature and target player draws 3 cards.<br />
Overload 6RRUU<br />
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But the point is...NEW MECHANIC! And it still fits the Izzet's theme of copying and its old version, Replicate. Changing "target" to "each" is kind of like saying "copy this spell as many times as there are targets and choose only 1 target that hasn't been targeted yet."....or something like that. That's what I get for doing this at 2:00 AM! lol!<br />
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4) GUILDMAGES ARE BACK: They're not your hybrid-color Guildmages, though. A Golgari-themed one in the Duel Decks has a casting cost of BG but is called Korozda Guildmage.<br />
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At this early an hour, that's all I have for you. If I can find time before Wednesday I'll post the preview images for all to adore. :)<br />
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Until then, may the wait for <i>Return to Ravnica</i> spoilers be short!Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-74186212447930592672012-07-09T10:22:00.000-04:002012-07-09T10:22:54.952-04:00M13 Post-Release Details!<span style="background-color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">(WARNING: LOOOONG post! But if you've played in our Post-Releases before, this is nothing new except for the location and entry fee)</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Coming up two Saturdays from now (on July 21st) is our M13 Post-Release Draft! Woot!</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">If you're unfamiliar with our Post-Release Drafts, it's just like a normal draft except for the following:</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">1) When you open a pack of M13, be sure to write down any Rares and/or Foils you open.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">2) Draft as normal: Pick 1 card and pass the rest to the left for the 1st pack, then right on the 2nd pack, then left again on the 3rd pack. Your deck size minimum is 40 cards, like normal.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">3) Rounds will be a sort of double-elimination. After the each round, the losers and winners of that round are separated out into their own bracket (from the 1st round and winner's brackets only.). The highest position anyone in a split-off loser's bracket could get is one position below half that round's total number of players (for example, a round of 5 people who were going for 1st through 5th will separate into a winner's bracket for 1st-3rd and a loser's bracket to determine 4th and 5th). Anyone who loses 2 matches is done for the tournament. </span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">3) When we do prizes, we'll do a number of packs of M13 being split (usually by opening the packs and everyone getting a turn choosing 1 card from the pack) AND we'll use the Rares and/or Foils from the draft packs as part of the prizes.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">"That 3rd rule sucks!", I hear someone saying. Actually, it's not as bad as it seems.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">See, when we started drafting at SMM, we had to pay full retail price. So to let people get their money's worth, we made the Rares and/or Foils part of the prizes BUT ALSO let them keep one of their opened Rares/Foils.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Let me explain how this will work: When we get ready to pick our prizes, all the Rares and/or Foils go onto the table we'll use for distributing prizes. In finishing order, each person will decide if they want to keep one of the Rares/foils they opened. If they do, that is considered their first pick around the table. Then, whoever did NOT "reserve" a Rare/foil gets first crack at whatever prizes are left on the table. Once everyone has 1 prize, we'll start back with the winner and pick out the remaining prizes one at a time until all the prizes are gone.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">The entry fee is $10. $9 of this goes to cover the packs you use for the draft, while $1 goes toward prizes. For every 3rd person who enters, we'll put 1 pack of M13 into the prize pool along with the Rares/foils from the packs.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I'll also have loose packs available for sale after all the drafters have been entered. Individual packs will be $3 each.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><b><u>LOCATION:</u></b> We'll meet at Packard's Movies and Games inside Northgate Mall (at the old Gamestop near JC Penny). </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=100000406322487" href="https://www.facebook.com/josh.merritt.96" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Josh Merritt</a><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"> will hand out packs while Wayne Eanes takes up the entry fee as well as any cash paid for loose packs.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><b><u>TIME:</u></b> We'll start around 11:00 AM and stay as long as needed to finish the tournament. Deck build time will be 30 minutes or whenever everyone is done, whichever comes first. Rounds will be 30 minutes. The tournament should be over around 2:30, and with prize picks around 3:00.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"><b style="text-decoration: underline;">PLAYING BONUS:</b> Players will all get a promo card. IF YOU PREPAY, you'll be guaranteed a promo card. If you did not go to a Pre-Release, you get first dibs on the Xathrid Gorgon Pre-Release card (Pre-pays get priority). If you did go, you get first dibs on the Staff of Nin FNM/Launch promo (Pre-pays get priority). (All while supplies last) (You can see the 2 promo cards here: </span><a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg%2Fdaily%2Farcana%2F998" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.wizards.com/Magic/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>Magazine/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>Article.aspx?x=mtg%2Fdaily%2Far<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>cana%2F998</a><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">)</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I won't be at the Post-Release. I have some teaching licensure testing I have to do. But I wish everyone else good luck and lots of fun with the M13 Post-Release Draft! :)</span></span>Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-55120348824432611572012-06-29T10:40:00.002-04:002012-06-29T10:40:13.226-04:00Some Interesting M13 Previews!Hey all!<br />
I know I said I'd be back on Monday...of <i style="font-weight: bold;">last</i> week. I apologize. I got busy and didn't get back to the blog.<br />
<br />
With enough of <i>M13 </i>spoiled to show off some cards, I'd like to start showing off stuff I think might be interesting to see in Standard and possibly even Legacy, or perhaps just some cool casual stuff hitting for the first time.<br />
<br />
First off, we have the return of some beloved <i>Time Spiral</i>-block Angels...er rather, an Angel and a memorial to an Angel.<br />
<br />
Welcome back to Standard <i style="font-weight: bold;">Serra Avenger</i> and <i style="font-weight: bold;">Akroma's Memorial</i>!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--PSeROe84xg/T-23Zq0VkBI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/Htf-UEqIDOU/s1600/Serra+Avenger+DailyMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--PSeROe84xg/T-23Zq0VkBI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/Htf-UEqIDOU/s400/Serra+Avenger+DailyMTG.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yrLKNcPe6UY/T-23a-K3DoI/AAAAAAAAAiY/5tGsZ2oMFvM/s1600/Akroma's+Memorial+DailyMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yrLKNcPe6UY/T-23a-K3DoI/AAAAAAAAAiY/5tGsZ2oMFvM/s400/Akroma's+Memorial+DailyMTG.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images from DailyMTG.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I <i>love</i> these cards! Serra Avenger is forced into being a Turn 4 play, but the ability to play 2 of them then or to play one and have enough mana left over for, say, a <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/72.html" target="_blank">Phantasmal Image</a> both on Turn 4, I think the mana savings over something very similar (Serra Angel) is well worth the wait. In fact, I'll be surprised if Serra's Avenger does <i>not</i> find a home in Standard over the next year or so.<br />
<br />
As for Akroma's Memorial, this is either a mana ramp deck's dream come true <i>or</i> a casual player's dream of a cheap one come true. Running right now in the $15-$20 range, the one from <i>Future Sight</i> is highly sought-after. With a Mythic reprint in <i>M13</i>, Akroma's Memorial will probably go down in price but it'll still be pricey. As for playability...so what it's 7 mana to get out? Look at what all you get! <i style="font-weight: bold;">All</i> your creatures are mini-Akromas (or in some cases with fatties, major-Akromas!). How can you turn that down?<br />
<br />
<br />
Next up, we have a card that may mimic cards like <a href="http://magiccards.info/sh/en/28.html" target="_blank">Dream Halls</a>, or perhaps will be used alongside it to help big <a href="http://magiccards.info/cfx/en/102.html" target="_blank">Conflux</a> big win decks. Presenting <i style="font-weight: bold;">Omniscience</i>!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOhgb0tFAN4/T-25lpy1iLI/AAAAAAAAAig/79dAF_Q9FLc/s1600/Omniscience+dailyMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOhgb0tFAN4/T-25lpy1iLI/AAAAAAAAAig/79dAF_Q9FLc/s400/Omniscience+dailyMTG.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From DailyMTG.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay, okay...I know what you're saying. "10 mana!!' Yes, I don't see people hard-casting this either. I do, however, see cheating it into play. And Legacy has plenty of options: <a href="http://magiccards.info/ud/en/1.html" target="_blank">Academy Rector</a>, Dream Halls, <a href="http://magiccards.info/ts/en/201.html" target="_blank">Hypergenesis</a>, <a href="http://magiccards.info/lg/en/99.html" target="_blank">Eureka</a>, and <a href="http://magiccards.info/us/en/96.html" target="_blank">Show and Tell</a> are the most likely ways. After that, who needs to give your opponents chances to put more stuff down? Just either Conflux up a bunch of cards or get your fatties or 1-turn combo pieces into play and go at it!<br />
<br />
This will have casual appeal. <i>Anything</i> that lets you cast cards for nothing can be broken given the right circumstances, I feel. The question is, who latches on and who thinks it's not worth the time or effort?<br />
<br />
<br />
Finally today, I'd like to look at a Red card I feel will be a sleeper hit...no pun intended. :) It's a 1-mana Dragon. <i style="font-weight: bold;">1-mana Dragon!!</i> However, it takes a while to build him up...thus the unintended pun. Let's look at <i style="font-weight: bold;">Slumbering Dragon</i>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5hHLJkpY70/T-29ADnWHkI/AAAAAAAAAis/FUHBpE6wb3M/s1600/Slumbering+Dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--5hHLJkpY70/T-29ADnWHkI/AAAAAAAAAis/FUHBpE6wb3M/s400/Slumbering+Dragon.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From DailyMTG.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yes, you get a 1-mana 3/3, so he's most efficient as a first-turn drop. But it's got a downside...it can't attack until it has 5 +1/+1 counters! 5!! And how does he get those? Well...you gotta be attacked. *CRINGE!* Well...perhaps it's not that bad. You're gonna get attacked anyway, right? So unless your opponent has something to deal with it soon, they're either gonna hold off their attacks or wait until they draw a removal spell to deal with the Dragon. After all, who wants an 8/8 Dragon to hit them? Green and Red may have issues as most of their destruction is either A) limited to a few cards, or B) limited to "x damage to target."<br />
<br />
It'll be a huge causal favorite, I feel. It takes a drawback and turns it into a potentially huge gain. In Constructed, though? I wouldn't expect it to last too long, and with a lot of targeted "destroy/exile/return target creature/permanent" effects your opponent can just attack as normal and deal with the dragon before it hits 5 counters. But what do I know? I'm just a lowly casual player. :p<br />
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<br />
That's what I have time for today, so hopefully next week I can get a few more previews in before <i>M13</i> Pre-Releases hit. Look for the full spoiler on DailyMTG.com next Friday, though, as they usually do a full spoil of the set ahead of the Pre-Release.<br />
<br />
Take care everyone! And feel free to post comments here on what you think may be sleeper hits or huge Standard-playable cards in the set. :)<br />
<br />
<br />Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-78706815088490071572012-06-15T21:48:00.002-04:002012-06-15T21:48:29.216-04:00Some M13 NuggetsHey guys!<br />
This will be sort of short and sweet tonight as spoilers have come in left and right on MTGSalvation as to what is and isn't in <i>Magic Core Set 2013</i>. For those who are returning to the game, <i>M13</i> is a part of a yearly release of <i>Core Set</i> product that both reprints and brings in new cards to the Standard and Modern environments (okay...technically Extended, Legacy, and Vintage too, but it has bigger impacts in Standard and Modern generally).<br />
<br />
If you've not had access to the previews or have been lazy about looking around, I'll make a few highlights here before starting actual previews Monday.<br />
<br />
<b><i>ADDED TO M13:</i></b><br />
- Vampire Nocturnus makes its vampiric return in the <i>Core Set</i>...and makes for one of the 3 promos given for purchasing <i>Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013. </i>Joining him and partying like it's <i>Zendikar Reborn</i>? Vamprie Nighthawk!<br />
- Serra Avatar gets a much-needed reprint as a Mythic Rare in M13. Now for some big lifegain cards. Oh, wait...there <i>is </i>a 2/2 creature with Lifelink for WW too, and it's <i>Common</i>!<br />
- There are <i style="font-weight: bold;">six</i> Planeswalkers in this set: Reprints of Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker; Chandra, the Firebrand; Garruk, Primal Hunter; and Jace, Memory Adept. The other two?<br />
- There are <i style="font-weight: bold;">two </i><u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">brand-new</u> Planeswalkers: Ajani, Caller of the Pride (1WW and starts at 4) and Liliana of the Dark Realms (2BB and starts at 3).<br />
- A card that says "Destroy target creature"...with no restriction.<br />
- Mill gets some super-mill cards and a creature that grows similarly to Isleback Spawn.<br />
- Exalted...yes, Exalted is the returning mechanic for <i>M13</i>! And there's a land that has Exalted at only Rare.<br />
- Legendary Creatures return in <i>M13</i>! There are 5 Legends, 1 for each color, and they're literally the face cards of the Intro Packs for <i>M13</i>.<br />
-...and more!<br />
<br />
<b><i>REMOVED FROM M13:</i></b><br />
- The Titans will <i>not</i> be returning to <i>M13</i>. WotC learned a lesson: Powerful cards don't necessarily need to stick around for 2 years as if they were in the old 2-year <i>Core Set </i>cycle.<br />
- Day of Judgment does not come back for the first time since <i>M11</i>.<br />
- For the first time since the span from <i>Fourth Edition </i>to <i>Eighth Edition</i>, Royal Assassin will not make a Core Set appearance.<br />
- Giant Spider, the last card from <i>Alpha</i> to see print in all <i>Core Sets</i> released since then, has lost that title. There are now no cards that have made <i>every</i> <i>Core Set </i>appearance since <i>Alpha</i>.<br />
- Apparently 1R for 3 damage and no regeneration is too much, so Incinerate gets replaced by a new card: Searing Spear. It's a 1R Instant that deals 3 damage to a target...and that's it. Basically, a Volcanic Hammer as an Instant instead of Sorcery.<br />
- For the first time since <i>9th Edition</i>, Birds of Paradise will be left out of a <i>Core Set</i>. Interesting factoid, though: The next block to release after <i>9th Edition</i> was <i>Ravnica: City of Guilds</i>. Birds of Paradise was moved from the <i>Core Set </i>to <i>Ravnica</i> at the time. Now? What's the set after <i>M13</i>? <i>Return to Ravnica</i>. The bet? Birds of Paradise will be in <i>Return to Ravnica</i>, making it for sure legal for 2 years instead of a tenuous 1 year in a <i>Core Set</i>.<br />
....and more as we know more, I'm sure!<br />
<br />
<br />
This week marks the end of official spoilers until the week of the 25th, so next week I'll take some time to catch up on spoilers on here and anxiously await the final bits in about a week and a half. Join me then and see what you think!<br />
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I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. :) See you here Monday!Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-65720426328181919602012-06-07T22:34:00.002-04:002012-06-07T22:34:43.117-04:00<span style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">For those who used to play Yu-Gi-Oh! or Magic at the </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1144418032" href="https://www.facebook.com/edward.b.hawkins" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">B</a><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">aha'i Faith Center on Hamill Road in Hixson, we're having a going away lunch for Rachel this Saturday. Her house beside the church has been sold, and there's a good chance she's leaving the area which also means no more league there. :( But I'm asking everyone who did play there to come by Saturday afternoon after 2:30 for a going away lunch party thing. I'm asking everyone who can to donate $5 toward some present for Rachel + $5 OR a dish/snack for everyone to munch on the rest of the day. There's no planned end time, just probably until Rachel gets tired of us. lol! Thanks! :)</span></span>Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-658527654604000682012-05-26T13:29:00.000-04:002012-05-26T13:29:10.150-04:00Some Sad News Followed By Good News<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black; line-height: 14px;">(Forgive the attrocious font size and placement. I'm copying this directly from my Facebook post and it doesn't translate well to Blogger.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px;">I have some bad news to be followed immediately by good news.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">It's with great sadness that I have to announce June 9th, 2012 will be our last weekend of play at the Baha'i Faith Center. Our Baha'i watcher, Rachel, will be moving out of town and won't be able to continue her role as Baha'i's watcher over the group. The Baha'i Faith Center will not put another person in to watch over us.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">HOWEVER...we are not homeless. One of our players has offered some empty space in his apartment for us to use. However, he is going to wait to check his lease agreement and get some neighbors' opinions before finalizing his intent with us. If worst came to worst and we could not use his place, we'd meet at Packard's Games and Movies inside Northgate Mall (in the old GameStop store). Stay tuned for more details on this front, but WE WILL HAVE A PLACE TO PLAY PAST JUNE 9TH.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">I'll post an event for June 9th for everyone to get together for a farewell lunch and/or dinner to say goodbye to Rachel and our Baha'i home of around 10 years. If you can make it out this way that day, I'd encourage you to swing by and wish our "adopted mother" farewell and good luck. :)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">While this ends an era, it is the start of a new age. We may not be as encumbered by time limits, we don't have to have as strict a set of behavioral rules, and we get to stay local and casual, the intent of Saturday Morning Magic of Hixson. :)</span>Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-2654001815016978332012-05-24T03:33:00.003-04:002012-05-24T03:33:53.512-04:00REPEAL: Cavern of Souls RulingIn the post below I said it was ruled that you must declare Cavern of Souls' colored mana to make the creature uncounterable.<br />
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After a week or so and review among different judges and players, the ruling is reversed.<br />
<br />
The <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">NEW</u> ruling is this: The only time it matters is if you're casting a creature of the named creature type (otherwise you can only use the colorless ability). When you do cast a creature of the named creature type, <i style="font-weight: bold;">the assumption will be that you're choosing the (generally) most favorable ability, </i>which in this case is to use the colored mana therefore making your creature uncounterable.<br />
<br />
How will <i>we</i> handle this? Basically...the same. The only time colorless goes into a creature of the named creature type is if the player casting the spell says so. Otherwise, it's assumed he chose the (generally) more favorable "make colored mana and it's uncounterable."<br />
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Clear as mud? :P lol.Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-70920823596491909372012-05-19T02:38:00.003-04:002012-05-19T02:38:30.835-04:00A Few Rulings Notes: Cavern of Souls and Missed TriggersHey all!<br />
<br />
I wanted to go over a couple rulings issues that we're bound to encounter in the weeks to come, and one includes certain effects that are being re-templated due to some Profeesional-level events rules changes.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">1) Cavern of Souls: How do I know the creature being cast is counterable or not?</span></u></b><br />
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First, let's look at Cavern of Souls (image from magiccards.info):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tAaWjshnGiQ/T7cr9t5ThxI/AAAAAAAAAiE/rbRuil0C26g/s1600/Cavern+of+Souls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tAaWjshnGiQ/T7cr9t5ThxI/AAAAAAAAAiE/rbRuil0C26g/s400/Cavern+of+Souls.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
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So at first glance, it's an easy card to comprehend, right? Name a creature type when it enters the battlefield, then you either get 1 colorless mana <i>or</i> a colored mana that makes your named creature type spell uncounterable. Not too shabby!<br />
<br />
BUT...it came up as one of the biggest controversies at Pro Tour: Avacyn Restored.<br />
<br />
A player attempted to cast a <a href="http://magiccards.info/dka/en/140a.html" target="_blank">Huntmaster of the Fells</a> by tapping a Forest, Mountain, Mountain, and Cavern of Souls (with Cavern set on Human, most likely).<br />
<br />
His opponent immediately cast <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/53.html" target="_blank">Dissipate</a> to counter the Huntmaster.<br />
<br />
The first player called a judge. After explaining the situation, the judge ruled that the opponent can attempt to Dissipate the Huntmaster <b><i><u>because the player didn't specify if he was adding Colorless or colored mana in for Huntmaster's casting.</u></i></b><br />
<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b><br />
So why was the announcement so important? Look at the tapping order of his lands. By putting in Forest and Mountain, he's already signaled he's got the colored part of the casting cost taken care of.<br />
<br />
The extra Mountain obviously went to Colorless.<br />
<br />
But the Cavern of Souls tapping could have been either for colorless <i style="font-weight: bold;">or</i> colored mana. And that's a very important distinction. One that was not communicated clearly.<br />
<br />
So you know how it turned out. Since the player casting Huntmaster didn't declare which part of Cavern of Souls he was using, it was assumed colorless and Huntmaster could be countered by Dissipate.<br />
<br />
<br />
So how will we work this at League? We have 2 options, either of which are just as good as the other.<br />
<br />
A) You can announce the use of colored mana as you cast each creature. If you decide to do this, then any lack of announcement may be taken as you not using the colored mana, therefore opening your creature spell up to be countered.<br />
<br />
B) Both you and your opponent can agree at the start of a game/match that you will <i>always</i> use the Cavern of Souls' second ability to make the named creature type uncounterable. This way, there is no question of the intentions and doesn't have to be checked on for each casting.<br />
<br />
C) If a creature with only colored costs (ie: Colorless mana symbols don't appear anywhere in the cost(s)) is being cast and Cavern of Souls is being tapped to pay any costs for the creature, use the KISS method: It's obvious he/she got the colored mana from the Cavern of Souls, so it's uncounterable. Keep it simple, stupid! (For example: Cavern of Souls calling Elf and being used to pay for a Llanowar Elves should be clear that the Llanowar Elves is uncounterable, whether the casting players says it or not)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">2) Missed Triggers Policy</span></u></b><br />
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This section of the rules deals with how to handle an opponent missing triggers that don't have <i style="font-weight: bold;">may</i> in the ability. For example, dealing with effects like <a href="http://magiccards.info/nph/en/152.html" target="_blank">Shrine of Boundless Growth</a> versus stuff like <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/81.html" target="_blank">Blood Seeker</a>.<br />
<br />
At Professional REL (Rules Enforcement Level), which I believe is mostly for Grand Prix and Pro Tour events, the rules on handling missed triggers changed a bit.<br />
<br />
While under previous rules it'd been either a Communication issue or Failure to Maintain Game State problem (I forget which, or it could have been either depending on the situation), at Profession REL the updated rules have stated that you are no longer responsible for your opponent missing Triggered Effect triggers that don't use "may" in their effect. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">You</u> missing your <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">own</u> triggers is considered a "VBT", or Very Bad Thing, though, and can get a penalty levied against you.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">However</i>, at Regular REL (which is mostly Pre-Releases, FNMs, basically lower-level events), the rules are unchanged from before: If a mandatory trigger (one that doesn't use the word "may") should trigger and either player notices it before the other, they are <i>obligated</i> to point it out. It <i>could</i> result in penalties, I'm not clear on that, for Failure to Maintain Game State if it's not pointed out.<br />
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At Saturday Morning Magic of Hixson, even though we're not DCI-sanctioned we do like to try and stick as close as possible to the spirit of most DCI rules (for example, our matches being 30 minutes is to help with the time constraints we have at the Baha'i Center), even if we don't follow them exactly, while still allowing for flexibility, in part for that we're not sanctioned and mostly for being more about fun than competitiveness. (for example, if someone looks at extra cards by accident you're free to just let it go or deal with it how you see fit, or if someone wants a take-back you may grant it but are under no obligation to do so in a tournament setting).<br />
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So we have 2 disparate policies, both of which are legal. So how do will we handle situations concerning missed triggers at SMM tournaments?<br />
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We're going to stick closer to the Regular REL rule with a few changes.<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">MISSED TRIGGERS, MANDATORY:</u> If you notice an opponent has missed their mandatory trigger(s) (those that don't have "may" written in them), you are obligated to point out to your opponent the trigger was missed <i>as soon as you notice it </i>(also note I said "if you notice". It happens that both players miss mandatory triggers, so it's a bit of a draw if both just flat miss it/them). The reason for this is to keep the game state as accurate as possible at all times. You and your opponent may agree to have the missed mandatory trigger go on the stack X times, with X being the number of times <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">both</u> players can agree the effect should have triggered. (You may both agree on 0 and just make note of it for future triggers, especially if it's been quite a few turns since the triggers should have gone on the stack).<br />
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Should a judge call be needed to resolve the missed triggers issue, both players may get warnings/penalties for Failure to Maintain Game State as the judge sees fit. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">IMPORTANT:</u> Should someone be found to have ignored opponent's missed mandatory triggers and not told their opponent, warnings/penalties will be given in this order: Warning, Warning, Game Loss, Match Loss, Disqualification. Do not tempt repeated intentional offenses in other tournaments. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">IMPORTANT 2:</u> I'm sure I'll never have to go to even a Game Loss on anyone. This group is good about correcting in-game mistakes once they're noticed. :) I'm just putting it there to avoid anyone possibly going "but if all we get is a Warning, what good is it to have the rule in the first place?"<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">MISSED TRIGGERS, OPTIONAL (MAY):</u> If you or your opponent misses an optional trigger (one that says "you may..."), the player under whom it activates is the only player responsible for pointing out the trigger and resolving it. <i style="font-weight: bold;">The opponent has no obligation to point out missed optional triggers.</i> When a "may" effect is ignored, it's assumed the player chose not to carry out the effect once the trigger came up for resolution. Should a judge be called to resolve a situation like this, the judge will usually favor the opponent and you'll get nothing off the call. Both players may, however, choose to put the trigger on the stack X times if they can both agree on how many times the trigger was missed. (You may both agree on 0 and just make note of it for future triggers, especially if it's been quite a few turns since the triggers should have gone on the stack). <b><i>The opponent is under no obligation to grant this request, so it works similar to asking for a take-back in one of our tournaments.</i></b><br />
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A couple important notes in this section:<br />
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1) Even though we're a much more casual League, we do still need rules so that if things go wrong we can fix them and help provide correction for the future.<br />
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2) These rules are meant to <i>help you</i>. If you miss some triggers that are beneficial to you, you're gonna get sick and tired of your opponent going "*sigh* You forgot the trigger...again! Grr..." lol.<br />
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3) You will probably never <i>need</i> a judge to fix the game state. I've provided an out for you in that you can either choose to fix the game state as close as possible or just keep in mind you have the triggers coming up in future turns. It's when both players don't agree that a judge needs called, and I've tried to explain what you can expect the outcome to be when that happens.<br />
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These were 2 big rulings issues of the past month that have caused a bit of confusion even among pros about how they should be handled. Hopefully the rules are clear for our group now (Cavern of Souls should be clear as day. The Missed Triggers, not so much possibly).<br />
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If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment here or E-mail me.<br />
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Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you for the <i>Avacyn Restored</i> League starting next Saturday! :)Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-86651979386272659482012-05-09T23:23:00.003-04:002012-05-09T23:23:49.696-04:00Soulbond and Miracle and How To Play ThemHey everyone!<br />
I wanted to give a bit of an introductory lesson on how to use the two new mechanics in <i>Avacyn Restored</i>, Souldbond and Miracle. Hopefully this will answer a lot of questions before Saturday, but I'll still go over a demonstration of the effects Saturday just to be sure everyone is up to speed.<br />
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First off, let's look at <b><i><u>Soulbond.</u></i></b><br />
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(And before I start off, let me say that I'll emphasize a lot of rulings by using bold, italicize, underline, and/or ALL CAPS! I do this only to make <i>sure</i> certain rules points hit home. It's not because I think everyone's dumb or anything. lol!)<br />
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As you see, Soulbond has some lengthy reminder text. But what it basically boils down to is when the Soulbond creature or another creature enters the battlefield, they may pair up. When they do, both creatures get whatever bonus(es) the Soulbond creature gives to itself and the other creature. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">This is a triggered ability</u> and can be responded to.<br />
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For example, take Llanowar Elves coming onto the battlefield while Wolfir Silverheart is also out. Normally, you have a 4/4 and a 1/1. But you choose to pair the Llanowar Elves with the Wolfir Silverheart. Now, because both are paired to each other, the Llanowar Elves is now a 5/5 creature while Wolfir Silverheart is an 8/8. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BUT</u>...as it's a triggered ability for pairing the creatures, you could Lightning Bolt the Llanowar Elves and destroy it before the Soulbond would get a chance to up its toughness.<br />
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Now, how do you signal which creatures are being paired when one enters the battlefield? I've asked this question of the Rules Manager at Wizards of the Coast and here's the response: You can overlay one with the other and simply say "these are together." That's it. You don't have to explicitly say "These are paired" or "These are soulbound" or anything.<br />
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What I would <i>not</i> suggest, however, is to keep the cards separate and declare that they are paired. If you get to moving creatures around and they get separated from each other, while technically they are still paired together it makes it difficult to accurately read the board state.<br />
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A few other quick highlights of the Soulbond mechanic:<br />
1) If one of the pair dies, gets returned to the hand, is no longer a creature (perhaps you animated a Treetop Villiage and cast Wolfir Silverheart to give it +4/+4), etc, the pairing goes away and you can make a new pair with a new creature that enters the battlefield. In other words, <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">cards are either paired or they're not.</u> If they were once paired but something happened to one creature in the pair, the leftover creature is no longer paired.<br />
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2) You get a couple of chances to respond to make sure a pair doesn't happen.<br />
A) Technically, there's no time where you have to declare your pair for your opponent to know what you're up to. In other words, when you cast the creature you're wanting to use in a pair, you don't have to declare it then. Also, when the triggered ability for the pairing comes up (technically, it's a "When this enters the battlefield..." trigger), you do not have to announce the pair when it goes on the stack. You only declare the actual pair <b><i>on resolution of the triggered "enters the battlefield" ability.</i></b><br />
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B) The two creatures in a pair are individual creatures in every other way. In other words, just because one attacks, the other does not necessarily have to.<br />
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3) A "pair" is exactly that: 2 creatures. You cannot Soulbond onto a creature that's paired with another. So let's say all you have is a Soulbond creature already paired with any other creature. When you bring in another Soulbond creature, it cannot pair with either of the first 2 as they are already in a pair. The new Soulbond creature would then just have to wait for another creature to enter before being able to pair with it.<br />
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Next up we have another new mechanic, one that changes the timing of when you can cast certain spells. We have for you a recap of <b><i><u>Miracle!</u></i></b><br />
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Miracle basically is an effect that lets you play certain spells earlier than normal for a reduced cost...as long as it's the <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">very first card you draw</u> for <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">any</u> turn. (Yes, this even includes your opponent's turns, for stuff like <a href="http://magiccards.info/dka/en/87.html" target="_blank">Faithless Looting</a> that can be done at Instant speed).<br />
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In fact, I'm sure you've noticed the border of the card looks a bit different than normal. This is so you'll be able to quickly identify the card as a Miracle card instead of having to see the text box to be sure.<br />
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Miracle cards are a tricky bunch because normally when you draw a card it goes straight to your hand.</div>
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"Then how will we know if someone who plays a Miracle for its Miracle cost really drew it as their first card?"</div>
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Here's how casting a Miracle card will work: When you draw your <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">very first card for the turn</u>, look at it. If it's a Miracle card, think about whether you want to use it or not. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">IF YOU DO WANT TO CAST FOR ITS MIRACLE COST</u>, go ahead and reveal it. Then, once everything else tied to the card being drawn is complete (example: for Faithless Looting, you've drawn you 2 cards and then discarded 2), you can cast it for its Miracle cost. <b><i><u>This is your ONLY chance in a turn to get the reduced miracle cost!</u></i></b></div>
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If you pass up paying the Miracle cost after you draw it as your first card of the turn, there's no turning back. After you decide not to cast it for its Miracle cost at the right timing, you have to look at the regular casting cost from there on out. (Barring effects that can put a card in your hand back on top of your deck and drawing it as your first card <i>next</i> turn, of course.)</div>
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Also, <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Miracle changes the timing of casting the card.</u> Sorceries and Instants alike can be cast when the card is first drawn. This follows a basic rule of the game: "Card text overrides normal rules." Normally, you couldn't cast a Sorcery until it's your Main Phase and the stack is clear. Miracle, on the other hand, like <a href="http://magiccards.info/ts/en/48.html" target="_blank">Suspend in <i>Time Spiral </i>block</a>, ignores the conventional timings and allows you an earlier play than normal for Sorceries that have Miracle. <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Again, though, YOU MUST CAST YOUR MIRACLE SORCERY WHEN IT'S THE FIRST CARD DRAWN TO GET THE BENEFIT OF PLAYING "OUT OF ORDER"!</u> If you do not, then it's just a regular ol' Sorcery and you can only cast it for its normal cost on your turn in one of your Main Phases when the stack is empty.</div>
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Another question that's bound to come up: "Let's say a card lets you draw 2 cards. Assume those are the first 2 cards drawn for the turn by that player. You draw 2 Miracle cards. What happens?"</div>
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This is fairly easy if you're familiar with how the game treats multiple draws. If an effect would tell you to draw X cards, you are really drawing 1 card X times. So for our example, "draw 2 cards" means more like "draw 1 card, then draw 1 card."</div>
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So, knowing that, here you're drawing 2 cards. Both happen to be Miracles. First off, you've just passed up your ability to play any Miracle cards. Why? You drew past the 1st card of the turn. If you do that, you're acknowledging you're not wanting to play any Miracles for their reduced cost.</div>
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So let's say you are more careful. What then? Well, same as before of course! Draw the first card in that chain of drawing cards. Look at it. If it's a Miracle, delcare your intention to cast it (remember, by the full technicality of the rules, you never cast anything <i>during</i> an effect's resolution. You always wait until <i>after</i>. Anything that would happen <i>during</i> a resolution happens <i>after</i> instead.)<br />
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Finally, I'm sure we'll have this come up because some of Red's "Looting" (a mix of drawing cards and discarding in the same effect): "What happens if I have no cards in my hand, I use <a href="http://magiccards.info/avr/en/227.html" target="_blank">Desolate Lighthouse</a>'s ability on my opponent's turn, and draw a Miracle card. Do I still get to use it?" Unfortunately, the answer is "no", and here's why. If, during the resolution of a spell or effect, you have anything come up that could go on the stack, you have to wait for the whole spell/effect to resolve before putting anything on the stack. Then, if everything's still okay for putting the new effect on the stack, you do so.<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SO...</u>let's get back to our example: You have an empty hand and 5 lands (an Island, Mountain, Forest, Plains, and Desolate Lighthouse, let's say). You tap an Island, Moutain, Forest, and Desolate Lighthouse to use the Lighthouse's effect. You draw your first card...GASP! It's a Terminus! You immediately think "I'll reveal it and I'll get to cast it for 1 and wipe the board. Sweet!"<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Unfortunately</u>, you forgot the other part of Desolate Lighthouse. You still have to discard a card. :(<br />
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So now you have to discard the Terminus. Then, Miracle checks. "Cast this card from your hand for its Miracle cost...*game looks at your hand*...your hand's empty, so nothing happens."<br />
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So in short: If you activate a "draw, then discard" effect and end up with no cards in your hand, you can't use a Miracle card because by the time you <i>could </i>cast the card it's no longer in your hand.<br />
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Again, I'll do a recap of these rules when we do our pre-draft announcements Saturday morning around 11:00 AM. If there's something you don't understand, feel free to ask it now or you can wait until Saturday if you wish.<br />
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So until then or sooner, take care everyone! :)</div>Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-33505890607071686002012-05-09T03:13:00.001-04:002012-05-09T03:13:46.561-04:00Avacyn Restored Post-Release Promo DistributionHey guys!<br />
The regulars at SMM are familiar with how I handle promo card distribution for the Post-Releases we do. Basically, if you have been to a Pre-Release you get more priority to get a Release promo and if you haven't you generally get the Release promo or a pick of the promos.<br />
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Below will be the policy for <i>Avacyn Restored</i> Post-Release this Saturday. I have had to do the policy this way to better safeguard that, if I get a limited number of promos, my pre-pays and non-Pre-Release players can get their hands on something good they missed out on.<br />
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<span style="background-color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">1) If someone pre-paid their entry fee, they get the first crack at the promos. Then, once they each have 1 promo, those who did not pre-pay get their turn at the promos.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">2) As I regrettably don't have the order in which people pre-paid, I'll simply have a list of pre-pays and go from that list in some order.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">(Before the next 2 bits, let me say why I did it this way: Those who went to a Pre-Release got a certain promo. I give first priority of that promo to those who did NOT go to a Pre-Release. If they choose to pass it up, NORMALLY I give the Release Promo instead. However, I am afraid I'll have limited quantities of both. Thus, why this rule may seem like a change in the normal way we do things.)</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">3) Anyone who did NOT go to a Pre-Release gets first crack at the Pre-Release promo Moonsilver Spear. You may pass it up, but it doesn't guarantee you a Restoration Angel FNM/Release promo later.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">4) Anyone who DID go to a Pre-Release gets first crack at the FNM/Release promo Restoration Angel. You may pass it up, bit it doesn't guarantee you a Moonsilver Spear later.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">5) Once the Pre-Pays are taken care of, the non-Pre-Pays will get their choice of promos in the same fashion (those who went to a Pre-Release will get first crack at Restoration Angel while those who didn't will get first crack at Moonsilver Spear, then with whatever's left if you turned down one you'll get the other).</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">So for example, say A B C and D all pre-paid while E and F did not. A, C, and F went to a Pre-Release, while B D, and E did not. I get 3 of each promo to distribute.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">First choice will go to A, B, C, and D. They Pre-Paid.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">A and C get first crack at a Restoration Angel (of the pre-pays, they went to a Pre-Release). A passes but C takes the Angel. (promos now 3 Spears and 2 Angels). A gets nothing yet.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">B and D get first crack at a Moonsilver Spear promo (of the pre-pays, they did not go to a Pre-Release). B and D both pass.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">A gets first crack at either promo now. Let's say A chooses a Spear (now 2 of each left). B and D now choose the Restoration Angel promo. (now 2 Spears and 0 Angels).</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Normally, E and F would then make their choices in the same manner. However, with only 2 Spears left they'll get Spears for their promos.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">If you have any questions or need anything re-explained, feel free to post here or at the blog.</span><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><br style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Until then or Saturday, take care! :)</span></span></span>Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-84722718874790040522012-05-07T16:01:00.001-04:002012-05-07T16:01:24.208-04:00Avacyn Restored Post-Release THIS SATURDAY! Details Included Here<div>
Hey all!</div>
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This upcoming weekend is the weekend many of us have been waiting for: The local Avacyn Restored Post-Release!</div>
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Since I tend to ramble a lot and put stuff willy-nilly in my posts, I'll instead break everything down so anyone who's interested only in certain details can find it with ease (if you've never drafted with us or need a refresher, though, I'd suggest you read the whole blog post).</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">EVENT:</u> <i>Avacyn Restored</i> Post-Release Draft</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TIME:</u> Doors open at 10:30 AM. We'll do announcements around 11:00 AM. After announcements, we'll draft. <i style="font-weight: bold;">As you come in, try to go ahead and pay me the entry fee and then get 3 packs of Avacyn Restored.</i> This will reduce the set-up time we'll need before we draft. We expect to be done around 3:30 PM, but we'll try and get done before that.</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ENTRY FEE:</u> $9 ($8.25 for the 3 packs you'll use for drafting + $.75 to go into a prize pool for more prizes from packs of <i>Avacyn Restored</i>).</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">WILL LOOSE PACKS BE SOLD?</u> I'll have 2 boxes of Avacyn Restored for drafting and regular pack buying. Regular pack purchases are $2.75 per pack. I'll start selling loose packs after I'm sure I'll have enough packs to let anyone who wants to draft to do so.</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">DRAFT PROCEDURE:</u> In case you've never drafted with the<u><b> Saturday Morning Magic</b></u> clan, here's how it works: </div>
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1) Actual drafting works just like you'd expect. Open your first pack, pick a card, and pass to the left. You keep passing cards until everyone has 15 cards. Then open the 2nd pack, pass to the right and continue until all 15 of those are gone. Then open the 3rd pack, pass to the left, and continue until all the cards are gone. </div>
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2) Deck minimum is 40 cards, and we'll have basic land piles for you to use.</div>
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3) Here's where our drafts are different: <b><u><i>We don't keep all the Rares/foils we draft.</i></u></b> That's right! Part of the low cost for the draft is that we use the Rares/foils from the packs as part of the prizes. "But what if I open a Tamiyo or Avacyn? I want to keep it!" That's the beauty of our system! Read into the next section to find out how we use the Rares/foils.</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PRIZES:</u> When you open a pack in the draft, write down any Rares and foils you open. Then draft as normal until the 2nd pack. On the 2nd pack, again write down any Rares and foils you open. Same for the 3rd pack.</div>
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When the tournament is over, <u><b><i>everyone may pick 1 (ONE) Rare/foil they opened and choose to keep it out of the prize pool and keep it. This is referred to as "reserving" a card.</i></b></u> So yes, if you open a Tamiyo and want to keep it, it's yours with no worries! :) The only time you'll run into problems is if you open 2 cards you really want to keep. :(</div>
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<b><i>The option to reserve a Rare/foil is optional</i></b>, so if you do this it'll be considered your first pick from the prize pool. </div>
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After anyone who wanted to "reserve" a Rare/foil has theirs, <b><i>anyone who did NOT "reserve" gets first pick of what's left (in finishing order) but only 1 prize per person.</i></b> Then, once everyone has one prize picked out, we start with the winner and go down the finishing order for a 2nd round of picks from the prize pool. Then we'll do a 3rd and a 4th pass until either everyone's done or all the prizes are picked out.</div>
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE:</u> It's a double elimination system in a way.</div>
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1) The first round is paired randomly among all players.</div>
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2) When the first round ends, all winners will be put into one bracket and all the losers will be put into another bracket. The winners run for 1st - whatever half the field would be (so if we get 10 players, the winner's bracket is for 1st - 5th). The losers bracket is for the bottom half of positions (6th - 10th, in our example).</div>
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3) After each round, a new "losers" bracket will be put in to determine the bottom half of the placings left after that round. For example, in our 10-person tournament, after the 2nd round 3 players get to advance on. They're playing for 1st - 3rd. That leaves 4th and 5th to be determined by the 2 losers Round 2.</div>
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4) The overall winner, after all reserves are picked and everyone has picked up 1 prize, gets 1st pick of prizes. 2nd gets 2nd pick, and so on.</div>
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5) We have a document outlining what happens with match rounds and what happens with overtime rules. Please refer to it here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m5i_x-BI3n78sCbdpwCc6HBAu77uyibTceOyRL-Wprw/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m5i_x-BI3n78sCbdpwCc6HBAu77uyibTceOyRL-Wprw/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1</a></div>
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6) Match rounds will be 30 minutes in an attempt to finish as soon as possible.</div>
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I think that's most of what needs to be said. If there's anything else, I'll cover it in the announcements or, if you want to post a question here, I'll answer it here.</div>
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I'll put up another post this week outlining a few specific rulings issues related to <i>Avacyn Restored</i>, especially regarding Miracles and Soulbond as those issues have come up a bit from stories I've read and heard.</div>
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Until then or Saturday, have a good week! We hope to see you for the draft. :)</div>
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<br /></div>Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-43037850037383017702012-04-20T13:25:00.000-04:002012-04-20T13:25:07.371-04:00Reminders About Upcoming Events<br />
Hey guys!<br />
<br />
I just wanted to remind you about some of the bigger events coming up in the next few weeks for us...<br />
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1) Charity Tournament: This is TOMORROW!!! 100-card Singleton Pauper and it'll be a mulitplayer format. $5 minimum entry fee, and all proceeds go to the Chattanooga area Food Bank. Prizes include a promo Tectonic Edge, a couple of beginner decks that have some good cards in them, a Morningtide mini-tobogan/beanie, stacks of foils, Scotty McCreery CD, and more! :)<br />
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2) Post-Release Draft for<i> Avacyn Restored</i> is May 12th. $9 entry, and pre-pays are encouraged to help me out with getting the boxes we need. You can also pre-pay for loose packs (packs not used for drafting) at $2.75 per pack.<br />
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3) Innistrad League 2.0! We're starting up a new Innistrad League 2 weeks after the Post-Release. Cost will be either A) $18.50 up front + $5 every 2 weeks for about 6 periods of 2 weeks OR B) $43.50 to cover everything for the entire run. It's encouraged you pre-pay the $43.50 since that's almost half the price of a box up front, but $18.50 will work as well. <b><u><i>ALSO</i></u></b>, since the intent is to allow people to use whatever combination of<i> Innistrad</i> and/or <i>Dark Ascension</i> and/or <i>Avacyn Restored</i> you want, I need to know what you'd like to do for your 6-pack mix so I know what box(es) I need to buy. Currently 3 of us are going with 6x Avacyn Restored packs (and most likely adding Avacyn Restored every 2 weeks), but it's your choice what you wish to do and I'll see what I can do to accomodate. :)<br />
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Pre-pays are <b style="font-style: italic;">heavily encouraged</b> to help me in paying for all the stuff we'll need and knowing just how much I need to get so I don't over-order. You <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">can</u> pay day-of on all of this, but at that point I can't help if I run short on supplies.<br />
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I hope to see a number of you Saturday for the Charity tournament! :)<br />
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(Don't forget we're meeting at Keven and Jenn's place. The information should be a few posts below this one)<br />Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-44109479335422519192012-04-19T21:38:00.001-04:002012-04-19T22:46:00.308-04:00Avacyn Restored Previews Part 2! Casting from Exile? Titan-esque Cards? Geist of Saint Traft as an Equip?Hello again, and welcome to another round of <i>Avacyn Restored </i>previews!<br />
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Since it's been a while since some of the previews I <i>wanted</i> to do have been out and discussed to death, probably, I wanted to focus some attention on newer previews.<br />
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First off, we have a new Mythic Griffin to show you. Yes, you heard me right...Mythic Rare <i>Griffin!</i> And the nice thing is, he works wonderfully with another Mythic from <i>Innistrad</i>.<br />
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Introducing...<b><i>Misthollow Griffin!</i></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t5NHyGkCVzs/T5C3qfi_MAI/AAAAAAAAAhU/f-AQMkRrI9s/s1600/Mishollow+Griffin+MTGSALVATION.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t5NHyGkCVzs/T5C3qfi_MAI/AAAAAAAAAhU/f-AQMkRrI9s/s400/Mishollow+Griffin+MTGSALVATION.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From MTGSalvation.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
Okay...so you may not be a big fan of it off the bat. 4 mana for a 3/3 Flier is kinda under the radar.<br />
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But read the next part.<br />
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Yes...it can be cast <i>from Exile!</i> Yes, that's right. When using him to fuel cards like <a href="http://magiccards.info/isd/en/77.html" target="_blank">Skaab Ruinator</a> you're effectively not losing anything because you can always cast him later. And if they counter him? Just 1 more for the Ruinator feeding frenzy for Ruinator #2!<br />
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As well, this has a few potentials for yourself. If you're desperate for mana or life, for example, you could always <a href="http://magiccards.info/ddi/en/23.html" target="_blank">Path to Exile</a> or <a href="http://magiccards.info/ddf/en/22.html" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a> (respectively) your own Misthollow Griffin and re-cast it, effectively netting you advantage where otherwise you'd have none. As well, for blue deck it's a good anti-<a href="http://magiccards.info/gp/en/52.html" target="_blank">Leyline of the Void</a> card.<br />
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I feel this is a card that will be undervalued at first. But when people realize the power of casting a creature that otherwise should have never again seen the light of day, I'd expect a bump in play accordingly.<br />
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Next, it's no <i style="font-weight: bold;">huge</i> secret the Titans from M11/M12 won't be back in M13 (initially, WotC was worried about players feeling cheated to have powerful cards in a Core Set only be legal for 1 year. Instead, they found the opposite was true thanks to the Titans). So the community was thinking "The Titan reign is over!"<br />
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Well...for the most part, yes. But WotC seems to be looking at a new generation of "Titans", or cards loosely based on how the Titans became so powerful.<br />
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Let me introduce you to one. He's a 6/6 for 4GG and has Trample...sound familiar? But instead of a <a href="http://magiccards.info/pvc/en/57.html" target="_blank">Harrow</a>-like effect, we get a <a href="http://magiccards.info/chk/en/210.html" target="_blank">Glimpse of Nature</a>-type of effect.<br />
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Oh, and did I mention this card is only a <i>Rare</i>?<br />
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Presenting...<b><i>Soul of the Harvest!</i></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p0U2nELNLDc/T5C5ogVh42I/AAAAAAAAAhc/HyseBWvWW7E/s1600/Soul+of+the+Harvest+DAILYMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p0U2nELNLDc/T5C5ogVh42I/AAAAAAAAAhc/HyseBWvWW7E/s400/Soul+of+the+Harvest+DAILYMTG.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From DailyMTG.com</td></tr>
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Oh yeah! I'd definitely play this. 6/6 for 6 with Trample is good in and of itself. But then I get to draw cards whenever a regular ol' creature of mine enters the battlefield? Well, considering green doesn't generally get good draw cards I'd have to say this is a wonderful treat at an affordable price. :)<br />
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Legacy won't go for it. It's too slow. But I wouldn't be surprised to see him in some kind of B/W Reanimator deck in Standard. Then again, it may be doing enough good things already and won't need this. Perhaps G/B?<br />
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And finally tonight (yeah, I know. Short spoilers. But life gets in the way, unfortunately. :( ), we have the other Titan-esque card. It's not a creature card. It's not an Artifact that costs 2 extra to target it. No...it's a new Planeswalker!<br />
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Let me introduce to you...<b><i>Tamiyo, the Moon Sage!</i></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hf7DybWPXs4/T5C71zAuCGI/AAAAAAAAAhk/Tq4WX-Z-0-k/s1600/Tamiyo+DAILYMTG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hf7DybWPXs4/T5C71zAuCGI/AAAAAAAAAhk/Tq4WX-Z-0-k/s400/Tamiyo+DAILYMTG.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From DailyMTG.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><i><br />
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If you're like me, you're probably thinking "Wait...what's she doing on a Jace frame?" lol. Indeed, this is the first mono-blue Planeswalker since <a href="http://magiccards.info/ala/en/60.html" target="_blank">Tezzeret the Seeker</a> to <u style="font-style: italic;">not</u> be a Jace of some kind.<br />
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So why did I clump her in with the "Titan-esque" cards? Because...well, her first effect is pretty much <a href="http://magiccards.info/m12/en/55.html" target="_blank">Frost Titan</a>'s "When this enters the battlefield or attacks..." effect. And we know how powerful that is. :)<br />
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As for her other effects, they're all very nice. Her -2 is very powerful. Just tap all your lands (adding all that mana to your mana pool), then do -2 to refill your hand. Assuming you cast her off your lands, that's a minimum of 5 cards drawn! (<i style="font-weight: bold;">EDIT: </i>...Ahem, that's if all your lands are creatures, anyway. -_-'') But still, opponent gets an attack going and you stop it? Next turn, draw you a ton of cards from a failed alpha strike. :)<br />
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As for her final ability, let me be clear that while I think it's a cool effect it's probably not going to matter much. I'd think that once you got to 8 loyalty you'd have been locking down their best creature for 4 turns while you're attacking as much as possible. But <i>if</i> you get it, not only do you get an unlimited hand size but anything that goes to your graveyard comes back! Yes, that includes Instants and Sorceries you cast. Imagine some of the <a href="http://magiccards.info/cs/en/96.html" target="_blank">Rite of Flame</a>/<a href="http://magiccards.info/ts/en/160.html" target="_blank">Grapeshot</a> stuff you could do if your deck is built in a "slowly but surely" manner. I ain't a-skeered of no Counterspells! :p<br />
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That's it for tonight. I may do one more round of previews before the set Pre-Releases or gets spoiled. But generally, you can go to DailyMTG.com and look for the <i>Avacyn Restored </i>product page link about halfway down the page, then go to the card image gallery to get most of the preview updates.<br />
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Until Saturday (for the charity tournament), see you all later! :)Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385442500563441592.post-78439912677947637122012-04-14T00:32:00.000-04:002012-04-14T00:32:11.080-04:00Upcoming Expenses for Tournaments and Leagues: Pre-Pay EncouragedHey all!<br />
I just wanted to break down the upcoming costs of tournaments we'll be having for the next few months (yes, <i>months</i>. But that's because of a new Innistrad-based League starting 3 weeks after the set releases).<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">* </i><u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">2ND ANNUAL SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC OF HIXSON CHARITY TOURNAMENT</u><br />
DATE: April 21st<br />
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LOCATION: 1494 Bahlsprings Lane, Hixson TN 37343 (The Baha'i are needing the church for their business)<br />
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ENTRY FEE: I'm looking for a <i><b>minimum</b></i> of $5 from everyone who plays. You may bring more. <b><i><u>100% of the entry fee will go to the Chattanooga-area Food Bank.</u></i></b><br />
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<b><i>*<u> AVACYN RESTORED POST-RELEASE</u></i></b><br />
DATE: May 12th<br />
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LOCATION: Baha'i Faith Center (address is as the top of the blog)<br />
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ENTRY FEE: $9. This gets you 3 packs of <i>Avacyn Restored</i> for drafting plus puts a little into the prize pool for additional packs. Pre-pays get priority on the promos ahead of those who show up and pay day-of.<br />
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<b>NOTE:</b> I do allow people to pre-pay for "loose packs" (packs that were not used in the draft). However, first priority to pack buying comes after I'm sure there's enough packs to go around for draft.<br />
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<b><i>* <u>INNISTRAD LEAGUE 2.0 (where players can take their pick among all of Innistrad for their pack choices IF I can get enough money to afford 3 total boxes ahead of time)</u></i></b><br />
DATE: May 26th - August 18th (6 periods of roughly 2 weeks each)<br />
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LOCATION: Baha'i Faith Center<br />
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ENTRY FEE: One of 2 ways you can pay...<br />
1) Pay for each period that comes up. Broken down, this is a) $18.50 for the initial entry ($16.50 for your 6 packs + $2 into the 1st period prize pool), then b) $5 roughly every 2 weeks after that ($2.75 toward your 1 new pack + $2.25 toward the 2nd period prize pool).<br />
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OR<br />
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2) $43.50 up front<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">NOTE:</u> When paying, please let me know what 6-pack arrangement (eg: 6x <i>Avacyn Restored</i>, 2x of each set, 3x <i>Dark Ascension</i> and 3x <i>Innistrad</i>, etc.) you'd like to start out with so I can see what I need to order.<br />
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I do encourage early payment <u><i>so I can secure the boxes we'll need.</i></u> Without at least some early payers, it's a financial hardship on me at the moment. So I'm asking to please pre-pay so it'll be easier to help afford all the things we'll need for these tournaments.<br />
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Thank you for your time, and enjoy these events when they come up! I know I will. :)Card Game Nuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12207910092250482472noreply@blogger.com0