Cube Poll 2: Brainstorm Version Poll

Hey guys!

Well, by a score of 1-0, Lotus Bloom beat Lion's Eye Diamond for preference in the Cube. So unless I get more input of which would be a better add-in for the Cube, I'm gonna keep Lotus Bloom until I maybe get a Black Lotus.

This Cube Draft poll is pretty simple: Brainstorm will stay in the Cube, but which version would you prefer?

The options are pictured below (all pictures come from MagicCards.info):

A)

 B)

 C)

 D)

(The promo version, D, is the only foil version available)

In a reply here or in an E-mail, select option A, B, C, or D. The version with the highest total gets preference.

Thanks for your input!

Mirrodin Beseiged Spoilers, Part 2: Pre-Release Promos!

With the latest (and final) Magic Player Rewards promos came oversized versions of the Pre-Release cards for the Mirrodin Beseiged Pre-Release event. And since we're looking at possibly getting one (with some strong numbers to show for it), I figured it was pretty important to get these out ASAP.

First off, though, a few teasers...

1) Combined Grave Titan with a form of Exalted, and what do you get?
2) B/G gets some artifact retrieval, the opposite of what this Legendary Elf did in Mirrodin.

See the cards...after the jump!

Attempt at EDH/Commander Saturday

Hey guys!
  While it won't be a tournament format (at least, not yet), we're looking at doing a round of EDH/Commander games this Saturday (January 1st). If you need rules, go here: http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php

Enjoy building!

Legacy Banned List Update: Survival of the Fittest BANNED, Time Spiral UNBANNED

The ban hammer came down on the strongest card in Legacy right now.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Effective January 1, 2011, the following changes occur in Legacy:

BANNED
Survival of the Fittest

Thorn in the side of Legacy players for months. Good riddance!

Basically, the reasons they banned Survival of the Fittest were that it was too resilient to removal and that all decks had to start carrying anti-Survival cards just to have a chance against the decks. If those decks didn't draw their answer to Survival, the game was as good as over.

They contemplated banning Vengevine, but R&D noted that other cards, like Necrotic Ooze, were comboing with Survival of the Fittest so a Vengevine ban would be useless.

The root of the problem was Survival of the Fittest, so now those roots are cut.



UNBANNED
Time Spiral

THIS...oughta be interesting...

Yep. Basically a "free" version of Time Reversal. Or I guess you could say it was an attempt at a free version of Timetwister but double the initial cost. Sounds fair, right? If you've gotta get to 6 lands to make this effectively free, you're trading off time for cost.

Yeah, but when it dominates tournaments, it's anything but fair.

While I don't have a history lesson for this card, I do know Mark Rosewater considered the "free spells" in Urza's Saga to be the absolute worst design decision in the history of the game. Combine it with a piece of the Power 9 and...yeah, it doesn't take long for things to go crazy.

But apparently R&D felt the environment had changed enough in Legacy since it was initially banned to be safe to unban it.

Will it be a powerhouse by itself? Or will another previously-ignored card bring Time Spiral to dominance once again? Find out, starting January 1st.



As for the other formats, no changes.


Enjoy planning your new Legacy decks!

Possibility of Mirrodin Beseiged Pre-Release HERE!

I've got some exciting news for SMM!

Morgan Hardy, the guy who runs Organized Play in Knoxville, has made an offer we can't refuse...if we can get the crowd for it.

Morgan's suggested that he can come down here to run a Mirrodin Beseiged Pre-Release the morning of January 29th!

Yes, you heard that sound in the back of your head right. We're nearing legitimacy as a Hixson gathering ground for Magic players.

Here are the details as best I know them (so all details are subject to change):

SMM Mirrodin Beseiged Pre-Release (Tentative)
Site: Baha'i Faith Center, 2405 Hamill Road, Hixson, TN 37343
Date: January 29, 2010
Time: We'll open the doors at 8:30 AM, Pre-Release at 9 AM. Morgan has to make the run from Knoxville and be back in time to run his Pre-Releases at Organized Play, so we're going to try and accommodate his schedule as best as we can.
Format: Sealed Deck; make a 40-card decks from the contents of 3 Scars of Mirrodin packs, 3 special Mirrodin Beseiged faction-alligned** packs, and basic lands.
Entry Fee: $25-$30, like a normal Pre-Release
What do you get for the Entry Fee: 6 packs (noted above) and a Pre-Release Foil Promo card (card TBA).


**So what are these "faction-alligned" boosters anyway?

The story of Scars of Mirrodin starts with the Phyrexian hordes invading the plane of Mirrodin (the home of planeswalker Karn, Memnarch, Glissa, Slobad, and others from 2003-2004). As the Phyrexians start to take over, the locals of Mirrodin, calling themselves the Mirrans, fight to fend off the poisonous advances of the mechanical lifeforms attempting to convert Mirrodin into a "New Phyrexia".

Specifically for the Pre-Release, Mirrodin Beseiged will have its packs split into two factions: One set of packs for the Mirran side of the conflict, one for Phyrexia. A Mirran pack of Mirrodin Beseiged will have only Mirran-watermarked Mirrodin Beseiged cards in it (basic land and foils notwithstanding), while the Phyrexian pack will have only Phyrexian-watermarked Mirrodin Beseiged cards.

From this Magic Arcana

When you sign up, you'll choose one of these factions: either Mirran (so far, all colors) or Phyrexian (so far, only Black, Green, and artifacts, with some Blue involved). You'll get 3 packs of Scars of Mirrodin, which are normal packs you're used to getting, and 3 packs of either Mirran-aligned or Phyrexian-alligned Mirrodin Beseiged boosters.


Again, all these details are tentative, meaning "subject to change."

HOWEVER, I need to see what kind of interest level we can get for this. If you're interested in having a Pre-Release directly in the Hixson/Chattanooga area, feel free to leave a comment or E-mail me directly at CardGameNut@gmail.com . If I can get enough interest, it just may be worth Morgan's time and effort to join us. And we can finally thank the man face-to-face for all he's able to do for us down here. :)

Mirrodin Beseiged Spoilers from SOM Game Day and Worlds!

(info and pics from Worlds come from this Magic Arcana. Info and pics from SOM Game Day from this Magic Arcana.)

Hey guys! Sorry I'm late with a couple of these spoilers, but school was in the way then so we can focus on some Magic stuff now. :)

Scars of Mirrodin Game Day brought 2 mirrored spoilers, while Worlds this past weekend gave us 2 more mirrored spoilers (including the Buy-A-Box Promo).

How do I mean "mirrored"? Well, you take a Mirran-alligned card, reverse it for Phyrexia's flavor, and you have the Phyrexian version of the card.

You'll see what I mean...after the jump!

Commander Ban List and Rules Update: December 2010

(All information comes from MTGCommander.net)

With the upcoming release of Commander theme decks next year, the EDH Commander rules committee have made some rules changes that will impact deck construction on a few generals now and possibly open up some design space for Wizards of the Coast to work with in future sets. As well, they've gotten rid of a big Eldrazi-sized thorn in the Commander format's side.

BANNED LIST UPDATES
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is now banned.

No more tentacle rape for you!

Emrakul was warping games. And apparently if you built your deck right, it could come out multiple times in a game. If your local group hadn't already banned Emrakul, here's the official update proclaiming "no more!".


RULES UPDATE: "COLOR IDENTITY"
Previous to this update, Commanders had to only have the colors of their mana cost. This meant cards like Bosh, Iron Golem or Thelon of Havenwood couldn't be used as Generals Commanders. The colors in their effects didn't match up with the colors (or lack thereof) in their mana costs.

Now, the "color identity" rule exists.

Along with a creature's mana cost, any costs and/or effects and/or any characteristic-defining abilities will determine the color(s) of a card (and more importantly, a Commander). (This does not include reminder text).

A few examples of potential Commanders this opens up: Memnarch; Bosh, Iron Golem; Thelon of Havenwood; Daughter of Autumn

You know you've always wanted to build around her as a Commander. Admit it!

If there are any other changes because of this rule, I'm oblivious since I don't keep up with EDH/Commander. If anyone out there has further implications of this rules change, feel free to post below.


Enjoy building your new Emrakul-free, "off-color" Commander decks! :)

No More EDH...Kinda...2011's Casual Project Announced!

Well, another year comes and everyone wonders...what's going to be the multiplayer casual release this year?


Well...Let's say it's the first time I remember Wizards of the Coast doing 100-card preconstructed decks. (Not counting two-player releases like the Duel Deck series or Beatdown, etc.).

Let's also say it's a current casual favorite format.

Yes, it's EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) Preconstructed Decks!


But...it's not EDH...kinda.

And they've got some nice surprises, like...

MTGCommander.net Preview

More details...after the jump!