This Saturday we will not be meeting at the church. A number of people who talked to me said they had other plans for the weekend, so I figured I'd let Rachel have the weekend off if only 1 or 2 would show up.
If you still wanna play Magic this weekend, though, we usually have a hang-out at Northgate Mall in the food court area next to Belk. And there are no time restrictions on staying there, so feel free to stay until either time to close or security kicks you out. lol.
Have a great weekend, and we'll see you next weekend!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Dragonic M12 Previews! A Returning Keyword plus a Shards of Alara Reprint
(Scans of cards come from Aaron Forsythe's twitter feed @mtgaaron)
Even though spoiler season for M12 doesn't start for nearly another month (officially, anyway), that hasn't stopped Wizards of the Coast from previewing a few M12 cards in the last few days.
Today, we get to look at a couple new reveals. But first, a couple hints.
1) This new mythic rare Dragon brings back a keyword first seen in Ravnica: City of Guilds block and re-appeared in Time Spiral.
2) This reprint rare Dragon was first seen in Shards of Alara block and has the advantage of being the type of dragon you've always thought about in the fantasy world.
Give up?
For our first new card, what keywords could possibly have been in Ravnica block but also in Time Spiral? We have Convoke, Dredge, Transmute, Bloodthirst, and Graft. Of these, which might be the most Core Set-friendly mechanic?
You guessed it. Bloodthirst is probably the easiest on a new player. "I did damage to you? Okay, then I add [insert number here] +1/+1 counters on this."
The new mythic Dragon brings Bloodthirst back into the foray, supposedly replacing Scry as the "Comeback Keyword of the Year" for the Core Set.
Introducing...FURYBORN HELLKITE!
We initially have 7 mana for a 6/6 flier. Normally not that good, right? But if you're on 5 mana and can, I don't know, Lightning Bolt your opponent some damage and have New Phyrexia's Geosurge in hand, it's no longer 6/6 Flying for 7...all of a sudden it's more like 12/12 for 7!
Could it see casual play? Definitely! Could it see tournament play? Standard only, but I could see maybe 1 in a mono-red deck that needs a finisher that's hard to deal with. A lack of Haste hurts, but then that might make it too good for 7 mana?
The other Dragon is a Shards of Alara original. It's a red dragon, it flies, and it firebreathes...literally!
Reintroducing to anyone who wasn't around in Shards of Alara...Flameblast Dragon!!
He's not a bad dragon for casual. 5 power flying in the air isn't anything to sneeze at! But what can be bad is the big, long ability. If you let it attack, your opponent can just dump mana into it and get damage through to you regardless of any blocking! And if they don't block? Well, considering it took 6 mana to cast it, you can expect 5 from the ability and 5 from the attack for a total of 10 damage!
But could it hold up in a tournament? Flameblast Dragon never made waves when it was Standard legal and still doesn't in Extended, so he'll be relegated to the casual tables.
But in casual, if you can't deal with it, good luck surviving!
That's all the previews for now. As more come around, I'll update ASAP. Thanks for reading!
Even though spoiler season for M12 doesn't start for nearly another month (officially, anyway), that hasn't stopped Wizards of the Coast from previewing a few M12 cards in the last few days.
Today, we get to look at a couple new reveals. But first, a couple hints.
1) This new mythic rare Dragon brings back a keyword first seen in Ravnica: City of Guilds block and re-appeared in Time Spiral.
2) This reprint rare Dragon was first seen in Shards of Alara block and has the advantage of being the type of dragon you've always thought about in the fantasy world.
Give up?
For our first new card, what keywords could possibly have been in Ravnica block but also in Time Spiral? We have Convoke, Dredge, Transmute, Bloodthirst, and Graft. Of these, which might be the most Core Set-friendly mechanic?
You guessed it. Bloodthirst is probably the easiest on a new player. "I did damage to you? Okay, then I add [insert number here] +1/+1 counters on this."
The new mythic Dragon brings Bloodthirst back into the foray, supposedly replacing Scry as the "Comeback Keyword of the Year" for the Core Set.
Introducing...FURYBORN HELLKITE!
We initially have 7 mana for a 6/6 flier. Normally not that good, right? But if you're on 5 mana and can, I don't know, Lightning Bolt your opponent some damage and have New Phyrexia's Geosurge in hand, it's no longer 6/6 Flying for 7...all of a sudden it's more like 12/12 for 7!
Could it see casual play? Definitely! Could it see tournament play? Standard only, but I could see maybe 1 in a mono-red deck that needs a finisher that's hard to deal with. A lack of Haste hurts, but then that might make it too good for 7 mana?
The other Dragon is a Shards of Alara original. It's a red dragon, it flies, and it firebreathes...literally!
Reintroducing to anyone who wasn't around in Shards of Alara...Flameblast Dragon!!
He's not a bad dragon for casual. 5 power flying in the air isn't anything to sneeze at! But what can be bad is the big, long ability. If you let it attack, your opponent can just dump mana into it and get damage through to you regardless of any blocking! And if they don't block? Well, considering it took 6 mana to cast it, you can expect 5 from the ability and 5 from the attack for a total of 10 damage!
But could it hold up in a tournament? Flameblast Dragon never made waves when it was Standard legal and still doesn't in Extended, so he'll be relegated to the casual tables.
But in casual, if you can't deal with it, good luck surviving!
That's all the previews for now. As more come around, I'll update ASAP. Thanks for reading!
Monday, May 23, 2011
"New" Keyword and New Shorthand Coming Throughout June PLUS M12 PREVIEWS
(NOTE: All images come from today's front page articles from dailymtg.com)
Today, "the mothership" (well, it sounds better than "the official MTG website", anyway) previewed a few cards in Magic 2012 Core Set. No, there were no leaks this time.
Magic 2012 Core Set will debut a "new" keyword and new terminology shorthand that'll be seen in releases throughout June.
So without further ado, let's get to the new stuff!
First off, let's look at the "new" keyword. You remember when they shorthanded "Can't be the target of spells or abilities" into the more succinct "Shroud" keyword?
They're doing the same thing now for what's been popularly known as "Troll Shroud".
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Hexproof!
Hexproof is the "new" keyword debuting in the Commander Theme Decks and continued in Magic 2012 Core Set. There is no functional change; anything that had "[this] can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control" will just be errata'd to have Hexproof. Further, any future printings of cards like Troll Ascetic will have Hexproof, possibly with the reminder text.
As well, similar to "Exile" and "Cast", we're getting a new verb that's shorthand for a long string of words in Magic.
When a creature goes to the graveyard from the battlefield, what do you normally say? "When it dies...", correct?
Now that's what the official templating will say. Introducing a reprint from Eventide to demonstrate the change!
"When [this] dies" is the exact same as "When [this] is put into a graveyard from the battlefield" and will only apply to creatures. Other permanents will still use "When [this] is put into a graveyard from the battlefield" because, well, when have you ever seen an Enchantment die?
Again, this will work similarly to "Exile" and "Cast": They both refer to old multi-word actions and have no functional changes compared to their original multi-word uses. And it makes casual talk more formal. How's that for change? :p
As a bonus, they've also unveiled one more reprint and one more brand-new card to M12.
First, it was unveiled in a Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 promotional image that the 5 Planeswalkers for the game would be Jace, Chandra, Garruk, Gideon, and Sorin. Also coming with it was the announcement that Magic 2012 Core Set and the new Duels of the Planeswalkers were very closely tied together...so closely together, you can bet every card in Magic 2012 Core Set will see use in the new Duels of the Planeswalkers.
That also meant that the Planeswalkers showcased for Duels of the Planeswalkers would more than likely be the Planeswalkers used for Magic 2012 Core Set.
Today, we got that confirmed. Re-introducing everyone's favorite Vampire Planeswalker, Sorin Markov!
Sorin didn't get through without a facelift, though. Notice his last ability?
In Zendikar, it read simply as "You control target player's next turn." But that leads to rulings issues, like "So what can and can't I do during that player's turn?" Plus, it's kind of incorrect. You never control turns, you control players during that person's turn.
I believe the M12 version seeks to alleviate that a bit. It now reads "You control target player during that player's next turn." Is it as fun to read? Nope. I'll probably be trading M12 versions for Zendikar versions if I can. But at least now it's clear: You control the player, which means anything they could have done you can now do.
We also have a brand new card. It's the cheapest non-Changeling Phoenix in the game now (beating Worldheart Phoenix by 1 total mana), and it references red Planeswalkers as a potential source of damage for its "resurrection" effect. Introducing Chandra's new pet, Chandra's Phoenix!
Chandra's Phoenix is already playable as far as I can see. 3 mana for a 2/2 hasty Flying creature is pretty nice in and of itself! But it gets a little burn help. If a red instant or sorcery or a red Planeswalker you control deals damage to an opponent, you return the Phoenix to your hand from the graveyard! I know, 3 mana for 2 damage may not be a good trade, but if the burn is cheap enough it could buy you a potential blocker so you can burn your opponent out next turn. It may be worth considering...maybe?
That's all I have for you today. Enjoy the previews, and feel free to post a comment about these. I'd like to see your take on the news of the day.
Thanks for reading!
Today, "the mothership" (well, it sounds better than "the official MTG website", anyway) previewed a few cards in Magic 2012 Core Set. No, there were no leaks this time.
Magic 2012 Core Set will debut a "new" keyword and new terminology shorthand that'll be seen in releases throughout June.
So without further ado, let's get to the new stuff!
First off, let's look at the "new" keyword. You remember when they shorthanded "Can't be the target of spells or abilities" into the more succinct "Shroud" keyword?
They're doing the same thing now for what's been popularly known as "Troll Shroud".
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Hexproof!
As well, similar to "Exile" and "Cast", we're getting a new verb that's shorthand for a long string of words in Magic.
When a creature goes to the graveyard from the battlefield, what do you normally say? "When it dies...", correct?
Now that's what the official templating will say. Introducing a reprint from Eventide to demonstrate the change!
Again, this will work similarly to "Exile" and "Cast": They both refer to old multi-word actions and have no functional changes compared to their original multi-word uses. And it makes casual talk more formal. How's that for change? :p
As a bonus, they've also unveiled one more reprint and one more brand-new card to M12.
First, it was unveiled in a Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 promotional image that the 5 Planeswalkers for the game would be Jace, Chandra, Garruk, Gideon, and Sorin. Also coming with it was the announcement that Magic 2012 Core Set and the new Duels of the Planeswalkers were very closely tied together...so closely together, you can bet every card in Magic 2012 Core Set will see use in the new Duels of the Planeswalkers.
That also meant that the Planeswalkers showcased for Duels of the Planeswalkers would more than likely be the Planeswalkers used for Magic 2012 Core Set.
Today, we got that confirmed. Re-introducing everyone's favorite Vampire Planeswalker, Sorin Markov!
In Zendikar, it read simply as "You control target player's next turn." But that leads to rulings issues, like "So what can and can't I do during that player's turn?" Plus, it's kind of incorrect. You never control turns, you control players during that person's turn.
I believe the M12 version seeks to alleviate that a bit. It now reads "You control target player during that player's next turn." Is it as fun to read? Nope. I'll probably be trading M12 versions for Zendikar versions if I can. But at least now it's clear: You control the player, which means anything they could have done you can now do.
We also have a brand new card. It's the cheapest non-Changeling Phoenix in the game now (beating Worldheart Phoenix by 1 total mana), and it references red Planeswalkers as a potential source of damage for its "resurrection" effect. Introducing Chandra's new pet, Chandra's Phoenix!
Chandra's Phoenix is already playable as far as I can see. 3 mana for a 2/2 hasty Flying creature is pretty nice in and of itself! But it gets a little burn help. If a red instant or sorcery or a red Planeswalker you control deals damage to an opponent, you return the Phoenix to your hand from the graveyard! I know, 3 mana for 2 damage may not be a good trade, but if the burn is cheap enough it could buy you a potential blocker so you can burn your opponent out next turn. It may be worth considering...maybe?
That's all I have for you today. Enjoy the previews, and feel free to post a comment about these. I'd like to see your take on the news of the day.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Official Star Time Will NOT Change
After conducting my poll of our start time policy, as well as conferring with Rachel over the situation, I've made my decision.
Our official start time of 10:00 AM will not change. Most responses were "I don't care, but if it's 10:00 I'll make a better effort to get there earlier." As well, to put off the start time would be eating into Rachel's day, so with all of that figured in I've decided we'll keep the 10:00 - 2:00 time frame.
However, this doesn't mean we won't start tournaments earlier.
To get the most out of our tournaments, I'm going to suggest a 10:30 AM start time for tournaments. We'll get packs handed out for drafts/sealed deck, sign-ups started, and any pre-tournament business done then. Around 10:45 will be the actual start of the tournament (meaning drafting and/or deck building for draft/sealed and random pairings for constructed-type events).
I think 10:30 will allow us to get more and/or longer matches in the tournaments, allow some buffer time for overruns in rounds, and allow us to draft and build decks without having to rush so much.
Aside from our "Post-Release" draft next week, the 10:30 tournament start time is a suggestion. If you want to suggest another standard start time for tournaments (not our overall start time), feel free to leave a comment or E-mail me at cardgamenut@gmail.com .
Thank you for all your input. I hope with more input in the future we can make Saturday Morning Magic work well for everyone involved. :)
Our official start time of 10:00 AM will not change. Most responses were "I don't care, but if it's 10:00 I'll make a better effort to get there earlier." As well, to put off the start time would be eating into Rachel's day, so with all of that figured in I've decided we'll keep the 10:00 - 2:00 time frame.
However, this doesn't mean we won't start tournaments earlier.
To get the most out of our tournaments, I'm going to suggest a 10:30 AM start time for tournaments. We'll get packs handed out for drafts/sealed deck, sign-ups started, and any pre-tournament business done then. Around 10:45 will be the actual start of the tournament (meaning drafting and/or deck building for draft/sealed and random pairings for constructed-type events).
I think 10:30 will allow us to get more and/or longer matches in the tournaments, allow some buffer time for overruns in rounds, and allow us to draft and build decks without having to rush so much.
Aside from our "Post-Release" draft next week, the 10:30 tournament start time is a suggestion. If you want to suggest another standard start time for tournaments (not our overall start time), feel free to leave a comment or E-mail me at cardgamenut@gmail.com .
Thank you for all your input. I hope with more input in the future we can make Saturday Morning Magic work well for everyone involved. :)
Sunday, May 8, 2011
New Phyrexia "Post-Release" May 21st!
Hello one and all again!
With every new set comes 3 events. We have your Pre-Releases (did everyone love that new Sheoldred, Whispering One?). And we have your Releases (finally, a playable foil in the form of Phyrexian Metalmorph).
...
"But that's only 2," I hear.
Not in Hixson, it's not.
The 3rd event that takes place with every new set is a local Post-Release Draft!
Let me lay it all out for you.
$9 gets you 3 packs of New Phyrexia with which to draft.
Drafting with us is fairly casual but mostly follows regular drafting rules. The main change is there's no time limits on picking your card (though we do ask to take a reasonable amount of time per pick). You may also view your current pile of cards while deciding your picks. And most of all, we have our pack prize picks.
"Whoah! What's that," you ask.
Pack Prize Picks go like this: When we draft, to help keep the cost down we use the Rares as part of the prize pool at the end of the tournament. Winner gets first pick, 2nd gets second pick, and so on as many times around as it takes to empty the prize pool.
There's one exception, your reserve.
When you open each of your boosters, you write down any Rares and foils you see in each pack you open as you open them. After the tournament ends, in finishing order, you may pick 1 (one) Rare and/or foil that you opened and reserve it as one of your prize picks. After one time around the finishing order, whoever did not reserve a card gets first pick of what's left, still in finishing order, until everyone has 1 (one) card. Then we start going around the table again in finishing order from first to last as many times as it takes until all prizes are picked.
Part of the reason for this is to protect your investment in the packs. If you open a Karn Liberated, for example, and you're not a good draft player, you lose effectively $25 or so profit because you're not a good player (note: at the time, Karn Liberated goes for around $35-$40 non-foil). Instead, it protects your investment in the packs and attempts to ensure everyone leaves happy they got their money's worth.
BUT WAIT! There's more!
Morgan Hardy, owner of Organized Play in Knoxville, is providing us with some of his excess promos from the Pre-Release and Release events he held! I'll be giving these out just for signing up to play! So far he's open to sending us 6 Sheoldred, Whispering One pre-release promos. We'll see what else we get before I determine what our promo distribution will be like.
I will say right now, though, that Sheoldred promos will be given first to those who did not attend a Pre-Release. The point of getting the promos is to help out those who did not make the bigger events earlier in the month. Once those who didn't make it to a Pre-Release get their Sheoldreds, they'll go out on a "first come, first served" basis: The first people who paid in will get theirs, 2nd to sign up gets one 2nd, and so forth. After that, if we get Release promos, I'll switch to those for handouts.
Also, as always, I'll have packs of New Phyrexia available at $2.75 per pack! I've got 3 boxes pre-ordered (again from Organized Play) so we should have enough to go around. I'll also have boosters of Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Beseiged available, also at $2.75 each.
I'll determine a tournament format (swiss, double elimination, single elimination, etc.) before the end of the week.
Because of our time constraints at the place we play, I'm asking all players to be at the church by 10:30 AM on the 21st so we can start as soon as possible. I'll hand out packs at 10:30 and take last-call signups, and we'll start no later than 10:45 AM. The sooner we get the draft and deck building parts done, the more time we'll have for more rounds.
I'll post a more concise version of this announcement later in the week, more than likely when I determine what tournament format we'll use.
If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment here or E-mail me at CardGameNut@gmail.com .
We look forward to seeing anyone who's interested!
With every new set comes 3 events. We have your Pre-Releases (did everyone love that new Sheoldred, Whispering One?). And we have your Releases (finally, a playable foil in the form of Phyrexian Metalmorph).
...
"But that's only 2," I hear.
Not in Hixson, it's not.
The 3rd event that takes place with every new set is a local Post-Release Draft!
Let me lay it all out for you.
$9 gets you 3 packs of New Phyrexia with which to draft.
Drafting with us is fairly casual but mostly follows regular drafting rules. The main change is there's no time limits on picking your card (though we do ask to take a reasonable amount of time per pick). You may also view your current pile of cards while deciding your picks. And most of all, we have our pack prize picks.
"Whoah! What's that," you ask.
Pack Prize Picks go like this: When we draft, to help keep the cost down we use the Rares as part of the prize pool at the end of the tournament. Winner gets first pick, 2nd gets second pick, and so on as many times around as it takes to empty the prize pool.
There's one exception, your reserve.
When you open each of your boosters, you write down any Rares and foils you see in each pack you open as you open them. After the tournament ends, in finishing order, you may pick 1 (one) Rare and/or foil that you opened and reserve it as one of your prize picks. After one time around the finishing order, whoever did not reserve a card gets first pick of what's left, still in finishing order, until everyone has 1 (one) card. Then we start going around the table again in finishing order from first to last as many times as it takes until all prizes are picked.
Part of the reason for this is to protect your investment in the packs. If you open a Karn Liberated, for example, and you're not a good draft player, you lose effectively $25 or so profit because you're not a good player (note: at the time, Karn Liberated goes for around $35-$40 non-foil). Instead, it protects your investment in the packs and attempts to ensure everyone leaves happy they got their money's worth.
BUT WAIT! There's more!
Morgan Hardy, owner of Organized Play in Knoxville, is providing us with some of his excess promos from the Pre-Release and Release events he held! I'll be giving these out just for signing up to play! So far he's open to sending us 6 Sheoldred, Whispering One pre-release promos. We'll see what else we get before I determine what our promo distribution will be like.
I will say right now, though, that Sheoldred promos will be given first to those who did not attend a Pre-Release. The point of getting the promos is to help out those who did not make the bigger events earlier in the month. Once those who didn't make it to a Pre-Release get their Sheoldreds, they'll go out on a "first come, first served" basis: The first people who paid in will get theirs, 2nd to sign up gets one 2nd, and so forth. After that, if we get Release promos, I'll switch to those for handouts.
Also, as always, I'll have packs of New Phyrexia available at $2.75 per pack! I've got 3 boxes pre-ordered (again from Organized Play) so we should have enough to go around. I'll also have boosters of Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Beseiged available, also at $2.75 each.
I'll determine a tournament format (swiss, double elimination, single elimination, etc.) before the end of the week.
Because of our time constraints at the place we play, I'm asking all players to be at the church by 10:30 AM on the 21st so we can start as soon as possible. I'll hand out packs at 10:30 and take last-call signups, and we'll start no later than 10:45 AM. The sooner we get the draft and deck building parts done, the more time we'll have for more rounds.
I'll post a more concise version of this announcement later in the week, more than likely when I determine what tournament format we'll use.
If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment here or E-mail me at CardGameNut@gmail.com .
We look forward to seeing anyone who's interested!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Update to Cancellation: Northgate Mall Food Court 12 PM
A few of the players will be meeting at the Northgate Mall food court (next to Belk and near Lenscrafters) starting at noon. So in a way, we're not cancelled, just moved. If you want to play, do not go to the church. Go to Northgate Mall's food court. (Northgate Mall is less than a mile from the church on Highway 153).
Thursday, May 5, 2011
No League Saturday, May 7th
We will not have league May 7th. Rachel, our Baha'i representative, asked for the weekend off. I apologize for the late notice. It's exam week and I've been studying. I've got no school until the Fall now, so expect some more frequent (and timely) updates until mid to late August.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)