Friday, April 20, 2012
Reminders About Upcoming Events
Hey guys!
I just wanted to remind you about some of the bigger events coming up in the next few weeks for us...
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! :)
2) Post-Release Draft for Avacyn Restored 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.
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. ALSO, since the intent is to allow people to use whatever combination of Innistrad and/or Dark Ascension and/or Avacyn Restored 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. :)
Pre-pays are heavily encouraged 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 can pay day-of on all of this, but at that point I can't help if I run short on supplies.
I hope to see a number of you Saturday for the Charity tournament! :)
(Don't forget we're meeting at Keven and Jenn's place. The information should be a few posts below this one)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Avacyn 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 Avacyn Restored previews!
Since it's been a while since some of the previews I wanted to do have been out and discussed to death, probably, I wanted to focus some attention on newer previews.
First off, we have a new Mythic Griffin to show you. Yes, you heard me right...Mythic Rare Griffin! And the nice thing is, he works wonderfully with another Mythic from Innistrad.
Introducing...Misthollow Griffin!
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.
But read the next part.
Yes...it can be cast from Exile! Yes, that's right. When using him to fuel cards like Skaab Ruinator 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!
As well, this has a few potentials for yourself. If you're desperate for mana or life, for example, you could always Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares (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-Leyline of the Void card.
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.
Next, it's no huge 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!"
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.
Let me introduce you to one. He's a 6/6 for 4GG and has Trample...sound familiar? But instead of a Harrow-like effect, we get a Glimpse of Nature-type of effect.
Oh, and did I mention this card is only a Rare?
Presenting...Soul of the Harvest!
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. :)
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?
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!
Let me introduce to you...Tamiyo, the Moon Sage!
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 Tezzeret the Seeker to not be a Jace of some kind.
So why did I clump her in with the "Titan-esque" cards? Because...well, her first effect is pretty much Frost Titan's "When this enters the battlefield or attacks..." effect. And we know how powerful that is. :)
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! (EDIT: ...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. :)
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 if 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 Rite of Flame/Grapeshot stuff you could do if your deck is built in a "slowly but surely" manner. I ain't a-skeered of no Counterspells! :p
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 Avacyn Restored product page link about halfway down the page, then go to the card image gallery to get most of the preview updates.
Until Saturday (for the charity tournament), see you all later! :)
Since it's been a while since some of the previews I wanted to do have been out and discussed to death, probably, I wanted to focus some attention on newer previews.
First off, we have a new Mythic Griffin to show you. Yes, you heard me right...Mythic Rare Griffin! And the nice thing is, he works wonderfully with another Mythic from Innistrad.
Introducing...Misthollow Griffin!
 |
| From MTGSalvation.com |
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.
But read the next part.
Yes...it can be cast from Exile! Yes, that's right. When using him to fuel cards like Skaab Ruinator 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!
As well, this has a few potentials for yourself. If you're desperate for mana or life, for example, you could always Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares (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-Leyline of the Void card.
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.
Next, it's no huge 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!"
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.
Let me introduce you to one. He's a 6/6 for 4GG and has Trample...sound familiar? But instead of a Harrow-like effect, we get a Glimpse of Nature-type of effect.
Oh, and did I mention this card is only a Rare?
Presenting...Soul of the Harvest!
 |
| From DailyMTG.com |
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. :)
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?
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!
Let me introduce to you...Tamiyo, the Moon Sage!
 |
| From DailyMTG.com |
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 Tezzeret the Seeker to not be a Jace of some kind.
So why did I clump her in with the "Titan-esque" cards? Because...well, her first effect is pretty much Frost Titan's "When this enters the battlefield or attacks..." effect. And we know how powerful that is. :)
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! (EDIT: ...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. :)
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 if 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 Rite of Flame/Grapeshot stuff you could do if your deck is built in a "slowly but surely" manner. I ain't a-skeered of no Counterspells! :p
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 Avacyn Restored product page link about halfway down the page, then go to the card image gallery to get most of the preview updates.
Until Saturday (for the charity tournament), see you all later! :)
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Upcoming Expenses for Tournaments and Leagues: Pre-Pay Encouraged
Hey all!
I just wanted to break down the upcoming costs of tournaments we'll be having for the next few months (yes, months. But that's because of a new Innistrad-based League starting 3 weeks after the set releases).
* 2ND ANNUAL SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC OF HIXSON CHARITY TOURNAMENT
DATE: April 21st
LOCATION: 1494 Bahlsprings Lane, Hixson TN 37343 (The Baha'i are needing the church for their business)
ENTRY FEE: I'm looking for a minimum of $5 from everyone who plays. You may bring more. 100% of the entry fee will go to the Chattanooga-area Food Bank.
* AVACYN RESTORED POST-RELEASE
DATE: May 12th
LOCATION: Baha'i Faith Center (address is as the top of the blog)
ENTRY FEE: $9. This gets you 3 packs of Avacyn Restored 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.
NOTE: 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.
* 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)
DATE: May 26th - August 18th (6 periods of roughly 2 weeks each)
LOCATION: Baha'i Faith Center
ENTRY FEE: One of 2 ways you can pay...
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).
OR
2) $43.50 up front
NOTE: When paying, please let me know what 6-pack arrangement (eg: 6x Avacyn Restored, 2x of each set, 3x Dark Ascension and 3x Innistrad, etc.) you'd like to start out with so I can see what I need to order.
I do encourage early payment so I can secure the boxes we'll need. 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.
Thank you for your time, and enjoy these events when they come up! I know I will. :)
I just wanted to break down the upcoming costs of tournaments we'll be having for the next few months (yes, months. But that's because of a new Innistrad-based League starting 3 weeks after the set releases).
* 2ND ANNUAL SATURDAY MORNING MAGIC OF HIXSON CHARITY TOURNAMENT
DATE: April 21st
LOCATION: 1494 Bahlsprings Lane, Hixson TN 37343 (The Baha'i are needing the church for their business)
ENTRY FEE: I'm looking for a minimum of $5 from everyone who plays. You may bring more. 100% of the entry fee will go to the Chattanooga-area Food Bank.
* AVACYN RESTORED POST-RELEASE
DATE: May 12th
LOCATION: Baha'i Faith Center (address is as the top of the blog)
ENTRY FEE: $9. This gets you 3 packs of Avacyn Restored 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.
NOTE: 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.
* 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)
DATE: May 26th - August 18th (6 periods of roughly 2 weeks each)
LOCATION: Baha'i Faith Center
ENTRY FEE: One of 2 ways you can pay...
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).
OR
2) $43.50 up front
NOTE: When paying, please let me know what 6-pack arrangement (eg: 6x Avacyn Restored, 2x of each set, 3x Dark Ascension and 3x Innistrad, etc.) you'd like to start out with so I can see what I need to order.
I do encourage early payment so I can secure the boxes we'll need. 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.
Thank you for your time, and enjoy these events when they come up! I know I will. :)
Charity Tournament Update: New Location, More Prizes!
Hey all!
I wanted to make a few updates to our 2nd Annual Saturday Morning Magic of Hixson Charity Tournament (previous details: http://cglhixson.blogspot.com/2012/04/2nd-annual-saturday-morning-magic.html).
1) Because the Baha'i are needing the church for a meeting, we will have to meet elsewhere. One of our regulars has volunteered to let us use his place to play. We will not be limited to time there except by the earlier leave time of anyone who's playing. If you plan on playing in the charity tournament, we'll hold it at:
1494 Dahl Springs Lane
Hixson, TN 37343
If you need directions, you can type the address into Google Maps or call Jennifer Legacy at 423-704-7273.
Jennifer has offered to cook for us if we'll all chip in a little extra money, maybe upwards of $5 to help with dinner but only give what you can afford. She can either cook out or we can chip in on something she can order and bring back to us. It's our call on that, but she's willing to help.
2) We have a few more prizes to add into the prize pool! Up for grabs from Wayne Eanes is a Frost Titan, Trepanation Blade, and a Scotty McCreary CD (I kid you not...lol.)
3) We'll be playing for the Chattanooga-area Food Bank. All donations will go straight to them.
If there are any more updates, I'll post them here. Hopefully by Monday I can get another batch of Avacyn Restored previews up for your musings and judgments.
Until then, take care everyone! :)
I wanted to make a few updates to our 2nd Annual Saturday Morning Magic of Hixson Charity Tournament (previous details: http://cglhixson.blogspot.com/2012/04/2nd-annual-saturday-morning-magic.html).
1) Because the Baha'i are needing the church for a meeting, we will have to meet elsewhere. One of our regulars has volunteered to let us use his place to play. We will not be limited to time there except by the earlier leave time of anyone who's playing. If you plan on playing in the charity tournament, we'll hold it at:
1494 Dahl Springs Lane
Hixson, TN 37343
If you need directions, you can type the address into Google Maps or call Jennifer Legacy at 423-704-7273.
Jennifer has offered to cook for us if we'll all chip in a little extra money, maybe upwards of $5 to help with dinner but only give what you can afford. She can either cook out or we can chip in on something she can order and bring back to us. It's our call on that, but she's willing to help.
2) We have a few more prizes to add into the prize pool! Up for grabs from Wayne Eanes is a Frost Titan, Trepanation Blade, and a Scotty McCreary CD (I kid you not...lol.)
3) We'll be playing for the Chattanooga-area Food Bank. All donations will go straight to them.
If there are any more updates, I'll post them here. Hopefully by Monday I can get another batch of Avacyn Restored previews up for your musings and judgments.
Until then, take care everyone! :)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Avacyn Restored Previews Have Started! New Keywords, New Legends!
Hey all!
This past week kicked off the start of Avacyn Restored previews (you know, that pesky expansion that comes out before Return to Ravnica. :p )
Today's articles were focused on showing off the new and returning mechanics of Avacyn Restored, and this weekend's PAX East convention showed off even more previews, mostly of Legendary Creatures.
Here are some of the general themes of the set, with previews to follow in order:
1) New Keyword Miracle, that gives an alternate casting condition when you draw it as the first card of the turn.
2) New Keyword Soulbond, which gives Humans a modern day version of Banding but for effects rather than combat.
3) Legendary Creatures galore exist in this set, most at Mythic Rare, and Angels are a heavy theme.
4) Wolves are back, as are a certain keyword from Dark Ascension.
Let the Previews begin!
1) As with almost all sets, we have at least one new keyword to contend with knowing. This set, one of them is Miracle. Miracle means "You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn."
So you'd want to set this up with either Brainstorm or Preordain or Sensei's Divining Top to ensure that if it's in your next 3 cards you'll get a good effect very cheaply.
Oh...you want an example of a card that has Miracle? Well, geez. What else do you want from me, a Mythic Rare that gives an extra turn for 2 mana?
...
Well...why not have both?
Introducing...Temporal Mastery!!!
Okay, okay. "It's a Sorcery, so how can you cast it in your draw step?" Remember, rules text overrides general gameplay rules. Yes, normally you can't cast a Sorcery outside of your Main Phase when you don't have priority. Miracle, though, changes your allowed timing. It specifically says you're allowed so long as it's the first card you draw this turn and you cast it when you draw it.
Here's another question I'm sure will come up. "But how will we know when a person has drawn a Miracle card and wants to cast it for its Miracle cost? Could they not draw and claim they drew the card as their first card?"
That's where part of Miracle's effect text comes into play (no pun intended. :p).
Here's the proper way of casting a Miracle spell:
A) Draw your first card of the turn and look at it before putting it into your hand.
B) If it's a Miracle card (did you tell the border is slightly different? That's to help you realize you drew a Miracle card.) and you intend to cast it for its Miracle cost, you reveal it and then cast it.
C) If you're in the middle of an effect [like a Brainstorm cast on your Upkeep], then you'll still reveal the Miracle card if you intend to cast it and it's the first card you draw of the turn [which in Brainstorm's case would be the first of your 3 card draws], but you'll wait until after the effect that drew it resolves before casting your revealed Miracle card [in this case, you'll have to wait until Brainstorm puts 2 cards on top of your library before you cast your Miracle card].
If you choose not to cast it when it's drawn as your first card of the game, the Miracle effect will basically mean nothing. In Temporal Mastery's case, if you don't pay 1U when it's the first card you drew of a turn, it might as well just say "5UU, Sorcery. Take an extra turn after this one. Exile Temporal Mastery."
Is this a good card? let's put it this way...Personal Tutor has sold out of most online retailers in expectation that Temporal Mastery will effectively be a 3-mana Time Walk (1 mana for Personal Tutor, then 2 mana for Temporal Mastery). It's expected to be that good. At any other time? Well, it's the only extra turn card in Standard at the moment. Without Preordain or a Brainstorm-like effect to help nearly guarantee your Miracle card is the first one drawn of the turn, I'd almost have to evaluate the card based on its regular mana cost. And at 7 mana, I think blue can find other things to do (like cast Geist of Saint Traft and leave mana open for a counterspell).
Still, it'll be popular just because it's another blue "take an extra turn" card. I'd expect around $5 for this once excitement dies down. If you can pick it up for $2-$3, I'd take it in a heartbeat and use it at least in Commander.
2) Another new keyword has popped up in Avacyn Restored. You know about Banding and that you can't give all creatures Flying when you band a Flying creature or not all creatures get Double Strike just because 1 in the Band has it.
Well, we don't get a fixed form of Banding as far as combat stuff is concerned. We do, however, get one that allows abilities to be shared.
Introducing...Soulbond and its preview card from PAX East, Silverblade Paladin!
So here's a new term as well as a new keyword: "Paired" and "unpaired". This is meant to tell you that a Soulbond'ed creature can only Soulbond with one other creature, no more and no less. The Soulbond only works on a pair of creatures. Once 2 creatures are Soulbonded, a new Soulbond creature will need another creature to make a pair.
So Soulbond works when either the creature with Soulbond or another unpaired creature (meaning one that hasn't already been decided to pair with another Soulbond creature) enters the battlefield, and both get a bonus as long as they're Soulbond'ed (I don't like the term "paired" as it doesn't specifically answer "paired with what?"). Here, both the Knight and whatever it pairs with will have Double Strike.
There will be cards that reference paired creatures. For example, there's one that gives a target creature +2/+2 and gives the paired creature +2/+2 if there's a paired/Soulbond'ed creature with the original target.
3) Legendary creatures will be a theme of the Mythic Rares (and possibly some Rares) in this set. Since most know of Avacyn's preview as a creature herself, let's go with an Angel you don't possibly already know about ((unless you lurk the internet alot).
Introducing...Sigarda, Host of Herons!!
This shows us a couple of things about the set: 1) Angels will be a heavy theme (Avacyn was previewed last week, and there's already a Rare Angel previewed over the weekend), and 2) All Angels will be White but not necessarily all White. Oh, and 3) They can be pretty insane...on the good side.
If you had given this to me at 2GWW with Flying and Hexproof and 5/5 on its own, I'd have taken it. The fact that you can't make me sacrifice permanents? Put on a Darksteel Plate and say "Oh hi Eldrazi titans!" :)
I guess this is what we're getting instead of Titans...efficient and good Angels. I don't know if she'll show up in every deck, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her at least as a 1-of in White decks that can at least splash Green. (Honestly, as good as Hexproof is, I think I'd want 3 or 4 so that should one die I'd have another ready to go).
I said we had more than Angels as Legendary Creatures, right? Right...well, how about one that can draw you 7 cards...on a regular basis!
Meet our new lord and master of the underworld...Griselbrand!
Whew dang! 8- mana for a 7/7 flying lifelink creature is good enough as-is, I think. But then you tack on its activated ability? And it's Legendary, meaning it could make a good Commander in mono-black. *facepalm* Wizards, Wizards, Wizards...don't give black card draw with a payment if we can just recoup it back! Plus put a sword on this guy and you'll be making life and drawing cards on each battle.
*facepalm* Just...just get you at least 1 of these, maybe 2-3 if you're a reanimator deck. This card will be sick. Downright...sick. I'd be surprised if it goes the way of Abyssal Persecutor: eventually $5 or under. This card, to me, is by far superior.
Oh, and as to why it's not "7 for a 7/7 that gains 7 life and draws 7 cards for that 7 life"? Playtesting showed 7 mana to be too strong. Can you believe that?
4) And last but not least, some things do stay the same from Innistrad and Dark Ascension. While we won't be getting any new Transform cards, we are seeing some returning themes and at least one returning keyword.
For example, check out Howlgeist!
It's not a bad card to start off. A 4-power creature that can't be blocked by 3's or less. Then, if it dies, it can no longer be blocked by 4's or less.
It dies to a lot of stuff, of course. And it's 6 mana to get out. But that 6 mana gets you a 4/2 and a 5/3. Disregarding exile effects, it's going to take your opponent 2 blocks or 2 cards (or 1 of each) to deal with it. It can help complete out an Undying deck.
Will it be a tournament Uncommon? I doubt it, at least not in multiples. Will it see Block Constructed play? I think there are enough semi-evasives to warrant looking at it, but I don't know all the cards in the format by heart so its use there may be limited as well. But overall I think it's a decent card with artwork that should be amazing as a foil. :)
I have more I can share later in the week, but for now that's all I have time to do. We hope to see you for the charity tournament a week from Saturday! I'll update with prize support updates in the middle of the week.
Until then, take care and enjoy Avacyn Restored previews!
This past week kicked off the start of Avacyn Restored previews (you know, that pesky expansion that comes out before Return to Ravnica. :p )
Today's articles were focused on showing off the new and returning mechanics of Avacyn Restored, and this weekend's PAX East convention showed off even more previews, mostly of Legendary Creatures.
Here are some of the general themes of the set, with previews to follow in order:
1) New Keyword Miracle, that gives an alternate casting condition when you draw it as the first card of the turn.
2) New Keyword Soulbond, which gives Humans a modern day version of Banding but for effects rather than combat.
3) Legendary Creatures galore exist in this set, most at Mythic Rare, and Angels are a heavy theme.
4) Wolves are back, as are a certain keyword from Dark Ascension.
Let the Previews begin!
1) As with almost all sets, we have at least one new keyword to contend with knowing. This set, one of them is Miracle. Miracle means "You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn."
So you'd want to set this up with either Brainstorm or Preordain or Sensei's Divining Top to ensure that if it's in your next 3 cards you'll get a good effect very cheaply.
Oh...you want an example of a card that has Miracle? Well, geez. What else do you want from me, a Mythic Rare that gives an extra turn for 2 mana?
...
Well...why not have both?
Introducing...Temporal Mastery!!!
 |
| From DailyMTG.com |
Okay, okay. "It's a Sorcery, so how can you cast it in your draw step?" Remember, rules text overrides general gameplay rules. Yes, normally you can't cast a Sorcery outside of your Main Phase when you don't have priority. Miracle, though, changes your allowed timing. It specifically says you're allowed so long as it's the first card you draw this turn and you cast it when you draw it.
Here's another question I'm sure will come up. "But how will we know when a person has drawn a Miracle card and wants to cast it for its Miracle cost? Could they not draw and claim they drew the card as their first card?"
That's where part of Miracle's effect text comes into play (no pun intended. :p).
Here's the proper way of casting a Miracle spell:
A) Draw your first card of the turn and look at it before putting it into your hand.
B) If it's a Miracle card (did you tell the border is slightly different? That's to help you realize you drew a Miracle card.) and you intend to cast it for its Miracle cost, you reveal it and then cast it.
C) If you're in the middle of an effect [like a Brainstorm cast on your Upkeep], then you'll still reveal the Miracle card if you intend to cast it and it's the first card you draw of the turn [which in Brainstorm's case would be the first of your 3 card draws], but you'll wait until after the effect that drew it resolves before casting your revealed Miracle card [in this case, you'll have to wait until Brainstorm puts 2 cards on top of your library before you cast your Miracle card].
If you choose not to cast it when it's drawn as your first card of the game, the Miracle effect will basically mean nothing. In Temporal Mastery's case, if you don't pay 1U when it's the first card you drew of a turn, it might as well just say "5UU, Sorcery. Take an extra turn after this one. Exile Temporal Mastery."
Is this a good card? let's put it this way...Personal Tutor has sold out of most online retailers in expectation that Temporal Mastery will effectively be a 3-mana Time Walk (1 mana for Personal Tutor, then 2 mana for Temporal Mastery). It's expected to be that good. At any other time? Well, it's the only extra turn card in Standard at the moment. Without Preordain or a Brainstorm-like effect to help nearly guarantee your Miracle card is the first one drawn of the turn, I'd almost have to evaluate the card based on its regular mana cost. And at 7 mana, I think blue can find other things to do (like cast Geist of Saint Traft and leave mana open for a counterspell).
Still, it'll be popular just because it's another blue "take an extra turn" card. I'd expect around $5 for this once excitement dies down. If you can pick it up for $2-$3, I'd take it in a heartbeat and use it at least in Commander.
2) Another new keyword has popped up in Avacyn Restored. You know about Banding and that you can't give all creatures Flying when you band a Flying creature or not all creatures get Double Strike just because 1 in the Band has it.
Well, we don't get a fixed form of Banding as far as combat stuff is concerned. We do, however, get one that allows abilities to be shared.
Introducing...Soulbond and its preview card from PAX East, Silverblade Paladin!
So here's a new term as well as a new keyword: "Paired" and "unpaired". This is meant to tell you that a Soulbond'ed creature can only Soulbond with one other creature, no more and no less. The Soulbond only works on a pair of creatures. Once 2 creatures are Soulbonded, a new Soulbond creature will need another creature to make a pair.
So Soulbond works when either the creature with Soulbond or another unpaired creature (meaning one that hasn't already been decided to pair with another Soulbond creature) enters the battlefield, and both get a bonus as long as they're Soulbond'ed (I don't like the term "paired" as it doesn't specifically answer "paired with what?"). Here, both the Knight and whatever it pairs with will have Double Strike.
There will be cards that reference paired creatures. For example, there's one that gives a target creature +2/+2 and gives the paired creature +2/+2 if there's a paired/Soulbond'ed creature with the original target.
3) Legendary creatures will be a theme of the Mythic Rares (and possibly some Rares) in this set. Since most know of Avacyn's preview as a creature herself, let's go with an Angel you don't possibly already know about ((unless you lurk the internet alot).
Introducing...Sigarda, Host of Herons!!
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| From DailyMTG.com |
This shows us a couple of things about the set: 1) Angels will be a heavy theme (Avacyn was previewed last week, and there's already a Rare Angel previewed over the weekend), and 2) All Angels will be White but not necessarily all White. Oh, and 3) They can be pretty insane...on the good side.
If you had given this to me at 2GWW with Flying and Hexproof and 5/5 on its own, I'd have taken it. The fact that you can't make me sacrifice permanents? Put on a Darksteel Plate and say "Oh hi Eldrazi titans!" :)
I guess this is what we're getting instead of Titans...efficient and good Angels. I don't know if she'll show up in every deck, but I wouldn't be surprised to see her at least as a 1-of in White decks that can at least splash Green. (Honestly, as good as Hexproof is, I think I'd want 3 or 4 so that should one die I'd have another ready to go).
I said we had more than Angels as Legendary Creatures, right? Right...well, how about one that can draw you 7 cards...on a regular basis!
Meet our new lord and master of the underworld...Griselbrand!
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| From DailyMTG.com |
Whew dang! 8- mana for a 7/7 flying lifelink creature is good enough as-is, I think. But then you tack on its activated ability? And it's Legendary, meaning it could make a good Commander in mono-black. *facepalm* Wizards, Wizards, Wizards...don't give black card draw with a payment if we can just recoup it back! Plus put a sword on this guy and you'll be making life and drawing cards on each battle.
*facepalm* Just...just get you at least 1 of these, maybe 2-3 if you're a reanimator deck. This card will be sick. Downright...sick. I'd be surprised if it goes the way of Abyssal Persecutor: eventually $5 or under. This card, to me, is by far superior.
Oh, and as to why it's not "7 for a 7/7 that gains 7 life and draws 7 cards for that 7 life"? Playtesting showed 7 mana to be too strong. Can you believe that?
4) And last but not least, some things do stay the same from Innistrad and Dark Ascension. While we won't be getting any new Transform cards, we are seeing some returning themes and at least one returning keyword.
For example, check out Howlgeist!
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| From DailyMTG.com |
It's not a bad card to start off. A 4-power creature that can't be blocked by 3's or less. Then, if it dies, it can no longer be blocked by 4's or less.
It dies to a lot of stuff, of course. And it's 6 mana to get out. But that 6 mana gets you a 4/2 and a 5/3. Disregarding exile effects, it's going to take your opponent 2 blocks or 2 cards (or 1 of each) to deal with it. It can help complete out an Undying deck.
Will it be a tournament Uncommon? I doubt it, at least not in multiples. Will it see Block Constructed play? I think there are enough semi-evasives to warrant looking at it, but I don't know all the cards in the format by heart so its use there may be limited as well. But overall I think it's a decent card with artwork that should be amazing as a foil. :)
I have more I can share later in the week, but for now that's all I have time to do. We hope to see you for the charity tournament a week from Saturday! I'll update with prize support updates in the middle of the week.
Until then, take care and enjoy Avacyn Restored previews!
Monday, April 2, 2012
2nd Annual Saturday Morning Magic Charity Tournament!
I am pleased to announce that I have decided on a time, format, and some prizes for the 2nd Annual Saturday Morning Magic of Hixson Charity Tournament!
DATE: April 21st, 2012
TIME: 10:50 for announcements (no more than what's here), 11:00 AM for first round. We'll stop around 1:45 PM to distribute prizes and announce our tally for how much we'll be donating.
FORMAT: 100-card Singleton Pauper
Details: 100-card Singleton Pauper breaks down into 3 separate rules for deck-building.
1) You must have 100 cards in your deck. No more, no less.
2) Aside from Basic Lands, you may only use one (1) card of any name.
3) You may only use cards that have been released as Commons in physical form.
Nitpicks: I know this will come up, so I'll go ahead and answer some of your current questions:
1) You may use any rarity version of a card that has been released as a Common. If you do, be sure to look up the card to make sure it was released as a Common at some point in physical form.
2) The baseline for "what is a Common" for the older sets will be a search on http://gatherer.wizards.com .
3) "Physical form" is needed because some cards got rarity downgrades for their transition to Magic Online. Specifically, they did this in the Master's Edition online-only sets. When you search for what cards are Commons, do not include any Master's Edition results! Other than that, you should be okay to rely on whatever sets are mentioned in the search.
Example 1: Adarkar Sentinel is listed as a Common in Master's Edition II but an Uncommon in Ice Age. Ignore the Master's Edition II piece. Therefore, Adarkar Sentinel is an Uncommon and cannot be used.
Example 2: Atog is listed as a Common in Master's Edition IV but an Uncommon in Fifth Edition and Mirrodin and a Common in Antiquities and Revised. Ignore the Master's Edition IV result. Even though Atog has been printed in physical form at Uncommon twice in more recent times, it was at one point a Common in physical form. Therefore, Atog is legal.
TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE: Multiplayer games. If at least 6 people show up, we will take a vote for 3-way and 4-way games or, with enough people, Two-Headed Giant multiplayer (whatever is the crowd's preference). If fewer than 6 show up, we'll do at least 2 games of X-way Multiplayer (where X is how many people show up).
FINISHING ORDER: Finishing order will be determined on a points basis, with game points determined by the lowest number of people in an X-way game for any given round. For example, if 4 people are in one game and 5 in another, the points structure will go 4, 3, 2, and 1 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively. This way no winners are at a disadvantage because they were put into a lower-numbered X-way than another winner.
At the end of the day, points will be totaled up and the player with the most points wins and gets first pick of the available prizes.
PRIZES:
We are having prizes donated in, so all of your entry fee is donated to a charity of our choosing. (If someone has a good idea for what charity to go for, please feel free to suggest. otherwise I may go with the Chattanooga Food Bank or the Red Cross. I'd like to keep the money local, though.)
Here's what we have in the prize pool as of April 2nd:
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 playset of promo Stormblood Berserker
1 Morningtide toboggan (well, the person who donated it said it's a "beanie", but I don't know)
1 mono-White 9th Edition deck with Glorious Anthem included.
1 mono-blue 9th Edition deck with Mahamoti Djinn, Mana Leak, and Sleight of Hand.
More may be added as I get more donations to the prize pool.
ENTRY FEE: I'm asking everyone to bring a minimum $5. This will go 100% to the charity of our choosing. The prizes are donated, so none of it goes to repaying for cards in the prize pool or into my pocket as profit.
If you have any questions, let me know. I hope we can get a lot of people in! We donated $100 last year to the Red Cross, which doubled our money to $200 and sent it to Japan. While I can't realistically expect $200 (lol), I would like to get to $100 again, if not more.
Please help in any way you can. Donating prizes, money, and/or playing. Whatever you can give, I ask that you do. We'd love to keep making this a yearly tradition. :)
DATE: April 21st, 2012
TIME: 10:50 for announcements (no more than what's here), 11:00 AM for first round. We'll stop around 1:45 PM to distribute prizes and announce our tally for how much we'll be donating.
FORMAT: 100-card Singleton Pauper
Details: 100-card Singleton Pauper breaks down into 3 separate rules for deck-building.
1) You must have 100 cards in your deck. No more, no less.
2) Aside from Basic Lands, you may only use one (1) card of any name.
3) You may only use cards that have been released as Commons in physical form.
Nitpicks: I know this will come up, so I'll go ahead and answer some of your current questions:
1) You may use any rarity version of a card that has been released as a Common. If you do, be sure to look up the card to make sure it was released as a Common at some point in physical form.
2) The baseline for "what is a Common" for the older sets will be a search on http://gatherer.wizards.com .
3) "Physical form" is needed because some cards got rarity downgrades for their transition to Magic Online. Specifically, they did this in the Master's Edition online-only sets. When you search for what cards are Commons, do not include any Master's Edition results! Other than that, you should be okay to rely on whatever sets are mentioned in the search.
Example 1: Adarkar Sentinel is listed as a Common in Master's Edition II but an Uncommon in Ice Age. Ignore the Master's Edition II piece. Therefore, Adarkar Sentinel is an Uncommon and cannot be used.
Example 2: Atog is listed as a Common in Master's Edition IV but an Uncommon in Fifth Edition and Mirrodin and a Common in Antiquities and Revised. Ignore the Master's Edition IV result. Even though Atog has been printed in physical form at Uncommon twice in more recent times, it was at one point a Common in physical form. Therefore, Atog is legal.
TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE: Multiplayer games. If at least 6 people show up, we will take a vote for 3-way and 4-way games or, with enough people, Two-Headed Giant multiplayer (whatever is the crowd's preference). If fewer than 6 show up, we'll do at least 2 games of X-way Multiplayer (where X is how many people show up).
FINISHING ORDER: Finishing order will be determined on a points basis, with game points determined by the lowest number of people in an X-way game for any given round. For example, if 4 people are in one game and 5 in another, the points structure will go 4, 3, 2, and 1 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively. This way no winners are at a disadvantage because they were put into a lower-numbered X-way than another winner.
At the end of the day, points will be totaled up and the player with the most points wins and gets first pick of the available prizes.
PRIZES:
We are having prizes donated in, so all of your entry fee is donated to a charity of our choosing. (If someone has a good idea for what charity to go for, please feel free to suggest. otherwise I may go with the Chattanooga Food Bank or the Red Cross. I'd like to keep the money local, though.)
Here's what we have in the prize pool as of April 2nd:
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 playset of promo Stormblood Berserker
1 Morningtide toboggan (well, the person who donated it said it's a "beanie", but I don't know)
1 mono-White 9th Edition deck with Glorious Anthem included.
1 mono-blue 9th Edition deck with Mahamoti Djinn, Mana Leak, and Sleight of Hand.
More may be added as I get more donations to the prize pool.
ENTRY FEE: I'm asking everyone to bring a minimum $5. This will go 100% to the charity of our choosing. The prizes are donated, so none of it goes to repaying for cards in the prize pool or into my pocket as profit.
If you have any questions, let me know. I hope we can get a lot of people in! We donated $100 last year to the Red Cross, which doubled our money to $200 and sent it to Japan. While I can't realistically expect $200 (lol), I would like to get to $100 again, if not more.
Please help in any way you can. Donating prizes, money, and/or playing. Whatever you can give, I ask that you do. We'd love to keep making this a yearly tradition. :)
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