Hey guys!
Just a little reminder that we're Cube Drafting again Saturday! With some new Worldwake and Rise of the Eldrazi updates plus some classic card additions, this should be fairly new experience this time around.
For anyone new to the Cube Draft style, it's a format where we take cards from the best Magic has to offer, shuffle up the pile, and create 3 15- or 20-card "booster packs" to draft from. Normal draft rules follow (except the ability to pick one card from one of your packs to keep).
Entry fee is $2, and prizes will come from Rise of the Eldrazi booster splits.
We hope to see you there Saturday!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
BREAKING: M11 Changes Deathtouch Slightly
New previews means more BREAKING NEWS!
Someone's got their hands on real M11 cards (way ahead of schedule, but they are authentic) and posted a few new Green cards.
Among them (and this is word-for-word, no shorthand notations or simplifications)...
Greater Basilisk
3GG
Creature - Basilisk
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
5/3
Common
So you're wondering, "What does this mean for how Deathtouch works in combat? With the template change, there's no mention of being able to break the "creature queue" set up in M10."
Even though we don't have the official Deathtouch change rules summary, I'd hazard a guess to say there's little to no change.
The current template is way too long. I mean, read it:
Deathtouch (Creatures dealt damage by this creature are destroyed. You can divide this creature's combat damage among any of the creatures blocking or blocked by it.)
The current version explicitly states how you treat Deathtouch damage. Which is nice...if it's the only ability on the card.
On Vampire Nighthawk, that takes a total of 4 lines of text. AND they had to fit Flying and Lifelink (with reminder text on Lifelink) in the same text box. If it were shortened up a bit, it wouldn't look as cluttered and confusing for a creature that basically reads "Flying, deathtouch, lifelink".
Plus, reminder text doesn't catch every little nuance of the rules behind the reminder text. It should, however, give enough to guide you through most situations.
Under the current template, you still get 1 point of damage being able to destroy a creature. That's fine.
But unlike the current Deathtouch template that explicitly breaks the "creature queue" rule, this version is more subtle but does the same thing. Normally, a creature takes lethal damage when it takes damage greater than or equal to its toughness. Deathtouch seems to re-define "lethal damage" ("any amount of damage...is enough to destroy it."). As such, when you have to deal "lethal damage" to creatures in the queue in order to move on to the next creature in line, Deathtouch will say that just 1 damage will be enough and lets you move on.
Whether you'll get to jump around at will or not I don't know. Under the current template, if you have 5 creatures in the queue blocking a Deathtouch creature, that creature could assign its damage to the 4th and 5th creatures in line when it normally had to go straight through the first 3 to even have a chance of hitting that far back.
Either that, or the official rules will take back the ability to skip around in the creature queue and force you to go in order as long as you have enough Power to go through the "queue."
So wait until official word hits about how Deathtouch will work, but also keep in mind this shorter template will be around starting with M11 in July.
Reactions? Leave them in the comments here!
Until later,
Preston
Someone's got their hands on real M11 cards (way ahead of schedule, but they are authentic) and posted a few new Green cards.
Among them (and this is word-for-word, no shorthand notations or simplifications)...
Greater Basilisk
3GG
Creature - Basilisk
Deathtouch (Any amount of damage this deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
5/3
Common
So you're wondering, "What does this mean for how Deathtouch works in combat? With the template change, there's no mention of being able to break the "creature queue" set up in M10."
Even though we don't have the official Deathtouch change rules summary, I'd hazard a guess to say there's little to no change.
The current template is way too long. I mean, read it:
Deathtouch (Creatures dealt damage by this creature are destroyed. You can divide this creature's combat damage among any of the creatures blocking or blocked by it.)
The current version explicitly states how you treat Deathtouch damage. Which is nice...if it's the only ability on the card.
On Vampire Nighthawk, that takes a total of 4 lines of text. AND they had to fit Flying and Lifelink (with reminder text on Lifelink) in the same text box. If it were shortened up a bit, it wouldn't look as cluttered and confusing for a creature that basically reads "Flying, deathtouch, lifelink".
Plus, reminder text doesn't catch every little nuance of the rules behind the reminder text. It should, however, give enough to guide you through most situations.
Under the current template, you still get 1 point of damage being able to destroy a creature. That's fine.
But unlike the current Deathtouch template that explicitly breaks the "creature queue" rule, this version is more subtle but does the same thing. Normally, a creature takes lethal damage when it takes damage greater than or equal to its toughness. Deathtouch seems to re-define "lethal damage" ("any amount of damage...is enough to destroy it."). As such, when you have to deal "lethal damage" to creatures in the queue in order to move on to the next creature in line, Deathtouch will say that just 1 damage will be enough and lets you move on.
Whether you'll get to jump around at will or not I don't know. Under the current template, if you have 5 creatures in the queue blocking a Deathtouch creature, that creature could assign its damage to the 4th and 5th creatures in line when it normally had to go straight through the first 3 to even have a chance of hitting that far back.
Either that, or the official rules will take back the ability to skip around in the creature queue and force you to go in order as long as you have enough Power to go through the "queue."
So wait until official word hits about how Deathtouch will work, but also keep in mind this shorter template will be around starting with M11 in July.
Reactions? Leave them in the comments here!
Until later,
Preston
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
BREAKING: M11 Only Has TWO Cards Printed in Every Core Set
As of Magic 2010, Magic had 8 cards that had survived every Core Set since Alpha.
As of Magic 2011, that field will be whittled down to a full two cards.
What was able to contend for longest-running card in the Core Set?
Go ahead and take your guesses as to the two survivors from all the way back to Alpha, then find the results...do I have to say this after all this time?...after the jump!
As of Magic 2011, that field will be whittled down to a full two cards.
What was able to contend for longest-running card in the Core Set?
Air Elemental
Bog Wraith
Drudge Skeletons
Giant Growth
Giant Spider
Howling Mine
Nightmare
Rod of Ruin
Go ahead and take your guesses as to the two survivors from all the way back to Alpha, then find the results...do I have to say this after all this time?...after the jump!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Some Cube Addition Previews!
Well guys, we're just a few days away from our second Cube Draft! We all had fun playing with cards we normally wouldn't have, and I'm hoping you'll enjoy playing with some of them again...and some for the first time!
I wanted to give you a preview of the fun cards going in! From new stuff to blingy stuff to new old stuff, I've got a bit for you here.
So see what we've got...after the jump!
I wanted to give you a preview of the fun cards going in! From new stuff to blingy stuff to new old stuff, I've got a bit for you here.
So see what we've got...after the jump!
Monday, June 7, 2010
BREAKING: "Scry" Goes Evergreen Starting with M11
Remember when Scry was printed in Mirrodin? Every card with Scry had "Scry 2": Look at the top two cards of your library. Put any number of them on the bottom of your library and the rest on top in any order.
Scry was a fixed amount: 2 cards, each and every time. And it seemed to be a one-off deal for one block only.
Then Future Sight came out with a different take on Scry: vary the number of cards you can Scry at one time. Some cards went as low as Scry 1 and as high as Scry 4, and sometimes with other effects after you Scry.
Some wondered if Scry would ever go "Evergreen"; that is, be used so regularly that they can print some cards with the keyword and not include reminder text (especially on Uncommons and higher rarities).
The DailyMTG twitter account spoiled one M11 card today...and it has Scry.
Augury Owl basically takes Sage Owl and improves it. Instead of just getting to rearrange the top 3 cards, you can choose whether or not any/all of those cards should even be on the top of your library. Aside from that "minor" difference, it's Sage Owl in every other way: A 1U 1/1 Bird creature with flying.
I hope you enjoyed the surprise M11 preview! Let me know what you think about M11 introducing Scry as an "evergreen" keyword by commenting below.
Coming tomorrow...a preview of the additions to the Cube! Remember, our next tournament is a Cube Draft this Saturday, so all you need is yourself and $2 for the entry fee. We hope to see you there!
Scry was a fixed amount: 2 cards, each and every time. And it seemed to be a one-off deal for one block only.
Then Future Sight came out with a different take on Scry: vary the number of cards you can Scry at one time. Some cards went as low as Scry 1 and as high as Scry 4, and sometimes with other effects after you Scry.
Some wondered if Scry would ever go "Evergreen"; that is, be used so regularly that they can print some cards with the keyword and not include reminder text (especially on Uncommons and higher rarities).
The DailyMTG twitter account spoiled one M11 card today...and it has Scry.
Augury Owl basically takes Sage Owl and improves it. Instead of just getting to rearrange the top 3 cards, you can choose whether or not any/all of those cards should even be on the top of your library. Aside from that "minor" difference, it's Sage Owl in every other way: A 1U 1/1 Bird creature with flying.
I hope you enjoyed the surprise M11 preview! Let me know what you think about M11 introducing Scry as an "evergreen" keyword by commenting below.
Coming tomorrow...a preview of the additions to the Cube! Remember, our next tournament is a Cube Draft this Saturday, so all you need is yourself and $2 for the entry fee. We hope to see you there!
Friday, June 4, 2010
More Magic 2011 Previews!
I hope you're ready for the first official onslaught of M11 preview cards!
While I'll mostly be featuring reprints and summaries of why these certain cards made it in (and some of which didn't get asked back from M10), I do have one new card to preview.
See the results...after the jump!
While I'll mostly be featuring reprints and summaries of why these certain cards made it in (and some of which didn't get asked back from M10), I do have one new card to preview.
See the results...after the jump!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
M11 Previews in Archenemy Decks
As promised, I'm here today with the Magic 2011 Core Set preview cards found in the Archenemy decks in a few weeks.
First off, Chandra gets to rage a bit in the Scorch the World with Dragonfire R/G deck...
I think we're seeing Searing Blaze-type burn become somewhat popular with R&D. You know, the kind that deals damage to both a creature and that creature's controller? I like it from that perspective; not only do you usually destroy a creature, but at the same time you get to burn your opponent for a bit. Budget burn will love this, and I wouldn't be surprised to see this in Mono-Red after Shards of Alara rotates.
Next up, Bring About the Undead brings about a cheap, nigh-unkillable Skeleton...
So 1B to get out initially...then 1B to keep getting him back! I can see those "Sacrifice [this] unless you sacrifice a creature" effects becoming easier to pay (and play) as they could now effectively read "Sacrifice [this] unless you pay 1B." I'm kind of surprised there's no other downside, but I guess only getting a 1/1 tapped after you use the effect is downside enough (or so we're supposed to think... >:) ).
Third up! Assemble the Doomsday Machine brings us a luck-based card-drawing artifact...
So it's possible you're wasting 2 mana on nothing...or it could be a mana sink at the end of your opponent's turn when you have nothing better to do: if it hits, you draw 3 cards, and if it doesn't, well, you weren't going to use that mana anyway so what's the harm? If Tezzeret the Seeker gets reprinted in Magic 2011, I wouldn't doubt Sorcerer's Strongbox seeing some play (though I think it'd only be as a 1-of, maybe 2-of, and maybe then only in the rough builds as Standard testing starts).
And finally...the card that may single-handedly tip off that Baneslayer Angel might be in M11 (and found in the Trample Civilization Underfoot deck)...
Baneslayer Angel is usually the creature most decks seem to worry about. It's out of Bituminous Blast range, Bogardan Hellkite can';t damage her, and the whole internet knows that Halo Hunter was a cruel joke (being a Demon with "Destroy target Angel"). But Green now may have a chance...*ahem*if Baneslayer Angel gets reprinted, that is. ;)
So these aren't the best of M11, but then again, neither were Whiplash Trap and Beast Hunt (though Kor Sanctifiers has seen some play and Hideous End isn't exactly hideous itself.).
Archenemy releases June 18th. Each deck comes with 8 Rares (and especially for the Assemble the Doomsday Machine deck, they're not half bad Rares either!) and some decent Common/Uncommon reprints, so think about picking up a deck or two for the value of cards you get.
Until later, take care!
First off, Chandra gets to rage a bit in the Scorch the World with Dragonfire R/G deck...
I think we're seeing Searing Blaze-type burn become somewhat popular with R&D. You know, the kind that deals damage to both a creature and that creature's controller? I like it from that perspective; not only do you usually destroy a creature, but at the same time you get to burn your opponent for a bit. Budget burn will love this, and I wouldn't be surprised to see this in Mono-Red after Shards of Alara rotates.
Next up, Bring About the Undead brings about a cheap, nigh-unkillable Skeleton...
Third up! Assemble the Doomsday Machine brings us a luck-based card-drawing artifact...
And finally...the card that may single-handedly tip off that Baneslayer Angel might be in M11 (and found in the Trample Civilization Underfoot deck)...
Baneslayer Angel is usually the creature most decks seem to worry about. It's out of Bituminous Blast range, Bogardan Hellkite can';t damage her, and the whole internet knows that Halo Hunter was a cruel joke (being a Demon with "Destroy target Angel"). But Green now may have a chance...*ahem*if Baneslayer Angel gets reprinted, that is. ;)
So these aren't the best of M11, but then again, neither were Whiplash Trap and Beast Hunt (though Kor Sanctifiers has seen some play and Hideous End isn't exactly hideous itself.).
Archenemy releases June 18th. Each deck comes with 8 Rares (and especially for the Assemble the Doomsday Machine deck, they're not half bad Rares either!) and some decent Common/Uncommon reprints, so think about picking up a deck or two for the value of cards you get.
Until later, take care!
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