Time for Scars of Mirrodin spoilers!
The next few days, I'll get one card each at Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Mythic Rare to preview per post.
We've already had a few hints as to what'll come around, so here are a few teasers for you over the next few days to keep you watching:
1) An original Mirrodin mechanic comes back.
2) Of course we have new Planeswalkers! One may even use a recent new templating to allow you to do something Celestial Purge could only do conditionally.
3) A small creature that's never been done before. (HINT: It might involve the word "Free" in one way or another)
4) Of course we have new mechanics, too. One even requires you to keep track of your artifact count.
5) The Pre-Release promo is an upgrade on a recent Magic 2011 new card.
We present you with the first batch of official spoilers...after the jump!
(Images from MTG-JP.com)
First off, let's show everyone what the Pre-Release card is to build some interest in our Scars of Mirrodin post-Release draft:
(this is the normal version, not the Pre-Release version)
So Mitotic Slime is already out of date. :( For one more mana, you get a an extra 2 Power, 2 Toughness, and you trade off further token separations for Deathtouch and Lifelink.
But I gotta say...DAY-UM!!!
Okay, so maybe Deathtouch on a 6/6 is generally worthless (most creatures are destroyable being 5 or less toughness), but Lifelink...for any color deck? When was the last time we saw that? :)
But that's not all! Like Mitotic Slime, if he dies he separates into semi-equal components: You get 2 3/3's for sure, but one gets Deathtouch while the other gets Lifelink.
Yep. Mythic feeling power-wise for sure. :)
Next Up! How about the Release card? What happens when you combine the most broken mass-removal in Magic with a standard Dragon?
If you can get it going fast enough, Steel Hellkite looks to be a potential problem. At 6 mana for a 5/5 flier in artifact form, I don't think that's too bad. It requires 2 mana to get its Firebreathing on, but its the last effect I'm loving.
For X mana, you get an Engineered Explosives effect but don't Sunburst to determine what gets destroyed (and you don't sacrifice either. Yay!). Instead, you just, well, PAY X! Then, whoever took combat damage from Steel Hellkite loses all permanents that player controls (or rather, controlled, I guess!). And yes, looking at the text, it looks like if multiple players took combat damage they'll all have those permanents destroyed.
Are the most expensive permanents hard to pay for? Remember what ROE gave us to help with that? Training Grounds will help you out and you'll just have to pay a minimum of 1 if you get to reduce the cost enough.
It may or may not be worth trying out, I don't know. But when you get the potential for mass removal, I say test the HELL out of it before tossing it to the side. (Pun was unintended...then I changed my mind.)
Let's just continue in rarity order. Remember we've got a returning mechanic directly from Mirrodin.
No, it's not Sunburst.
No, it's not Modular.
And no, Indestrucible doesn't really count.
But I'll show you it's in anyway!
Yep, because we're in the same plane as the original Mirrodin they're free to use planar references. We know by now "Darksteel" basically means "Indestructible" in the realm of Mirrodin, so why not have some equipment from that area?
So it's not that exciting in some ways. Take Bonesplitter, add 1 to its Equip cost and make it Indestructible and BOOM! Darksteel Axe is born!
But remember you have a new M11 Zombie that cares about Artifacts, so the longer they stay around the better. ;)
And finally, the Common! Goblins do return in Scars of Mirrodin. What set would be complete without those lovable brainless goofs?
This one, though, isn't much of a goof. He actually harnesses one of the themes of the set for some potentially spectacular results.
Woot! A 1/1 for 1 mana with Trample! What a waste!
(Re-reads)
Wait...
(Thinks of halfway decent Equips)
NICE!
Remember Maha Vailo from Yu-Gi-Oh! For each Equip Card on him he gained 500 ATK but started at a sub-part 1550 ATK. This guy has the same function. Sure, he starts out subpar at 1/1, but as you add more decent Equips to him he gets +2/+0 for each Equipment attached to him. And built-in Trample? Okay, so Loxodon Warhamer only gives the +3 power boost and Lifelink then. Wait, that's still pretty damn good.
He'll die to just about any removal, sure. But hopefully you're A) running Blue to help it out, B) using "Protection from" abilities on him, or C) making him tougher to kill anyway.
I hope you enjoyed those previews! I'll be back tomorrow with 4 more cards. Hints specifically for tomorrow?
1) One new mechanic
2) One new Planeswalker (hint: It's a returning character that may or may not currently have a Planeswalker form)
3) One returning theme.
4) A new measure for free creatures.
Stay tuned for more previews! And enjoy the new cards at our Scars of Mirrodin post-Release local draft October 9th. $8 entry for 3 packs to draft, you keep 1 Rare and the prizes consist of the rest of the Rares. And I tell you, the Rares look nice already. It's be well worth it I think. (But then again, I'm biased. ;) )
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