I have to say Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, and my absolute favorite New Phyrexia. I started playing Magic with the Scars of Mirrodin block but out of the three I really loved New Phyrexia. Everything about it was just so awesome, it felt so right. Also the Phyrexian mana was amazing especially when Vault Skirge got your life back.
Ravnica -Because it got me back into the game and was a lot of fun in Limited.
Kamigawa (Champions)- for pure flavor, because I am a huge Japanese Feudal era nut.
Any of the original sets (Beta, Unlimited, etc.)-Because that's where I started and it has some of the best cards
If I were to build decks using only cards from an expansion + basic lands, I would rank them:
1. Urza's Saga - combo winter
2. Tempest - shadow = short games
3. Mercadian Masques - Rebel deck
Legends tops the list for me, and I freely acknowledge that my opinion is heavily biased by nostalgia. BUT...
-It introduced an epic flavor to the game. Legends, Elder Dragon Legends, Legendary Lands, Enchant World...all these things served to make it seem...grand in scope.
-It goes without saying that some incredibly powerful cards came from this set as well, which added to its epic flavor.
Second place would fall to Zendikar/Worldwake, for many of the same reasons. The "priceless treasures" thing WOTC did for the set's release was genius, IMO, and added effectively to the set's atmosphere.
Last place, I'm still undecided on. I used to give it to The Dark, for flavor that I loved. But, Innistrad just may have it beat.
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EDH UBW Sharuum BR Olivia Voldaren UR Jhoira URG Riku U Vendilion Clique
When did counter spell rotate from standard? Any set before that was good anything after...bad... my favorites are definitely invasion-painlands vindicate deed you name it. Every color was at the very least playable. Odyssey-madness fires reincarnated mono black control Neo rock(oversold cemitary) Gen Isis reprint of buried alive. Lastly onslaught block- I would like to point out that all but 1 storm card was completely unplayable in standard or block. Quite litteraly the only storm card that saw play was wing shards. I ran it in mono white controlltemple. I went 6-1-1 at states only loss was to Gabe playing slide. The draw was to infinite life clerics.
Onslaught, Odyssey and Time Spiral were among my few favorites. Back then, the Odyssey tournament decks were a lot more interesting and didn't cost the world to build.
Onslaught - Around the time I got into Magic, I played this. Awesome tribes, especially elves and kind of set the standard for the tribal decks WotC knows and loves. Also, introduced the white poster child, Akroma.
Odyssey - What Innistrad should've been. Some of the best flashback cards ever printed and really felt GY based. Don't believe me? Try playing Raphel Levy's U/G threshold where every card is begging to get dumped in the GY.
Time Spiral - Lots of nostalgia. I love being able to point out so many references and seeing all the old mechanics I wanted to see again. I often wondered when a set like that was going to happen. More fuel for cycling, threshold and madness decks!
You know, as big a Ravnica fanboy as I am, I think I have to go for Time Spiral. So much of that set just plain worked. All the references to old cards, some really cool new mechanics, pulling old cards from packs, playing with buyback and flashback and madness and morph again...it was just so much fun.
Ravnica still wins the prize for best block as I didn't enjoy Planar Chaos or Future Sight nearly as much.
Really, if it came in 2006, it's probably awesome. Best year in Magic history right there. (And yes, that does include Coldsnap. Haters gonna hate.)
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When you peer long enough through the depths, the depths peer also through you.
I want to just vote for the whole Odyssey block but if I have to pick a single set... maybe Exodus, I dunno. I'd have to look at spoilers and I'm too lazy for that right now but offhand I'll say Exodus
I'd like to start out by saying you can't answer this question straightforwardly 'X' or 'Y'. There are different ways to go about it, so your answer has to include not just which set you vote for, but also what scale are you using/your perspective. I'm going to try to Vote based on EVERY category I know of, and maybe this will give you a Time Capsule of What Magic is, and has been, and will be:
Best Magic Set by 'revolutionized Magic':
Either Invasion Block or Ravnica Block. Interestingly, these are the sets that did a whole lot with Gold and pushed flavor (one pushed Multiverse Awesomeness, one pushed Block Setting awesomeness) to just about the Max and also where we see the most Power Creep- and yet, it mostly seems that Power Creep is a good thing when it's in the context of Goldness, as long as the mana is good/balanced. Vivid Lands were wrong, but they don't do that anymore. Titans were wrong, but I don't think they'll do that again either. In general, our decks have been getting better because every Gold Rush we see new limits for Power, and as long as the Mana Bases are kept operating appropriately, that's a good thing for the game.
Best Magic Set by Game Play (fun-ness, fairness): Limited Edition Alpha, or whatever is the most recent set you played with counting from M10 forward.
I'm not gonna lie- Wizards has gotten VERY good at making their game. I'm glad that Jace, the Mind Sculptor happened as an exception to this, because IN RESPONSE to that failure, Wizards seems to have definitely learned all the lessons they could from that and other issues that have arisen and they've just been making things amazinger and amazinger. Alpha of course, gets a nod for the same reason that Superman gets my Vote for 'Best Superhero'- look, it's where it began. It invented....EVERYTHING. The Color Wheel comes from the Basic Lands and that comes from Alpha and that did so much for gaming. If Alpha weren't fun, we'd never have gotten to Return to Ravnica.
Best Magic Set for Nostalgia: Time Spiral- NOT Alpha. This is an odd one- basically, it combines everything that made Alpha good with everything they'd learned since Alpha- the commons and uncommons in Time Spiral could actually make Limited Decks, the Rares weren't TOO OP. You really love old cards, try mixing up some of the Banned List Rogues Gallery cards- the 'Villains we love to Hate'- with some of the neat-if-weak cards from Time Spiral that do for Dominaria what world-building cards have been doing for every set since about Shards of Alara. Nostalgia is partly innaccurate and rosy-colored lenses in it's way of looking at things-- Rennaissances are when you combine appreciation for the Past with knowledge from the Future and make something that is Just Epic. It does good justice to what you loved about Alpha, and makes the things you didn't love as much more loveable than they were. How can you ask for more?
Best Set for Power: I'mma say....probably Worldwake? Thinking contextually: For a while, Wizards didn't know how to make their game: there are a bunch of stupid busted things in Alpha and there are a bunch of stupid busted things in Urza Block and those were actually fairly close to each other and there were a lot of stupid busted things in between. (like Necropotence.) Stupid and Busted is what Pro Decks Were.
Then, for a long time, we had basically Balance and Fairness in the game.
Then Affinity Ravaged that idea and threw it in the garbage can and set the garbage can on fire, lol.
Then, for more time, we had more Balance- http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/td/209
This article shows how there have always been 'bogeyman' decks, but the difference in power between 'Bogeymen' and 'Not Bogeymen' decks has been as close to Balance as you could hope for except 3 times:
Urza. My God what a Mess. "Ban everything til Necro is good, then Ban Necro." And that's what they did.
Mirrodin. "Apparently, Artifact Lands are kinda like Moxen. Oops."
Worldwake. "Caw-Blade is, by the numbers, more broken than Affinity." In addition to the cards around it that AREN'T broken being more fair, it is by far the deck with the most disparity in power compared to it's opponents. Not just the Baseline Power of cards like Jace or Tinker-Belle or the Blue card advantage spells, but also because of how much more powerful they are than other cards you would compare them to- Worldwake is the Most Powerful Set in Magic.
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
if there are other scales to judge a set by, let me know
Oh wait, duh: Flavor:
Every set in Innistrad Block,
Every set in Ravnica Block,
Every set in Time Spiral Block
I think almost any themes you ever picked up on that you liked about MTG
can be found to have been executed most successfully in one of those 3 Blocks.
They also happen to have in my opinion quite a high number of Legendary Creatures for Commander.
OH and another one! Best Set for Unusual Formats: (anything other than Constructed Standard,Extended,Modern,Legacy,orVintage)
So- Limited play or other Casual Formats like Pauper or Star or Emperor or Archenemy or Planechase- what's the best in those categories?
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
While I love Ravnica, I'd have to say New Phyrexia. This thread is for best set, not best block. Ravnica works best as part of a block; as a set, it feels incomplete because of all the unfinished cycles and imbalanced color combinations. On the other hand, the Scars of Mirrodin block was pretty terrible up until New Phyrexia. Everything about the set feels alive, it has a ton of constructed playable and casual cards, phy mana was tons of fun to play with, and the flavor was exquisite.
Innistrad is also at the top. Some of the best flavor in the game, DFCs were an awesome idea, great limited environment... And then we got the snorefest that was Dark Ascension and the horrible Limited of Avacyn restored.
Other favorites...
Time Spiral
Torment
Champions of Kamigawa
Darksteel (OMG INDESTRUCTIBLE)
Magic 2010
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The wedding is over. Now it's time for the honeymoon.
Honorable mentions are the rest of Time Spiral block, Innistrad, Ravnica block, and ROE.
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
Great, detailed art, and amazing cards.
Kamigawa (Champions)- for pure flavor, because I am a huge Japanese Feudal era nut.
Any of the original sets (Beta, Unlimited, etc.)-Because that's where I started and it has some of the best cards
1. Urza's Saga - combo winter
2. Tempest - shadow = short games
3. Mercadian Masques - Rebel deck
sig by DarkNightCavalier
Avatar by perv90210.
Currently Running
Cryffyl
-It introduced an epic flavor to the game. Legends, Elder Dragon Legends, Legendary Lands, Enchant World...all these things served to make it seem...grand in scope.
-It goes without saying that some incredibly powerful cards came from this set as well, which added to its epic flavor.
Second place would fall to Zendikar/Worldwake, for many of the same reasons. The "priceless treasures" thing WOTC did for the set's release was genius, IMO, and added effectively to the set's atmosphere.
Last place, I'm still undecided on. I used to give it to The Dark, for flavor that I loved. But, Innistrad just may have it beat.
UBW Sharuum
BR Olivia Voldaren
UR Jhoira
URG Riku
U Vendilion Clique
none
Modern
UBG B/U/G control
BBB MBC
WUR Control
WWW Prison
RRR Goblins
Legacy
BBB Pox
UBG B/U/G Control
UWU StoneBlade
UW Miracle Control
Check out my expected lands table at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Airj6A6lYAz_dG05T2JETnVTak1xQ0tqOHNSdEJLWVE&hl=en_US#gid=0
As far as power level goes Urzas' block would take the medal.
Onslaught - Around the time I got into Magic, I played this. Awesome tribes, especially elves and kind of set the standard for the tribal decks WotC knows and loves. Also, introduced the white poster child, Akroma.
Odyssey - What Innistrad should've been. Some of the best flashback cards ever printed and really felt GY based. Don't believe me? Try playing Raphel Levy's U/G threshold where every card is begging to get dumped in the GY.
Time Spiral - Lots of nostalgia. I love being able to point out so many references and seeing all the old mechanics I wanted to see again. I often wondered when a set like that was going to happen. More fuel for cycling, threshold and madness decks!
RGGruul Aggro
WSoul Sisters
WBTokens
BUGRRestore Balance
BMono-Black Infect
EDH:
RGWMayael, the Anima
GWURoon of the Hidden Realm
BDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Ravnica
Urza's Saga
Banner courtesy of Argetlam at Hakai Studios
WU Delverblade
WRG Kibler Pod
WB Lingering Tokens
0 Myr!
Modern:
WUB Esper Delver
Commander:
WUB Zur the Enchanter
Horde Magic:
BB Zombie Apocalypse
Plains.
Needs more Hexproof. No exceptions.
Time Spiral
Innistrad
EDH: Xenagos, God of Revels.
Ravnica still wins the prize for best block as I didn't enjoy Planar Chaos or Future Sight nearly as much.
Really, if it came in 2006, it's probably awesome. Best year in Magic history right there. (And yes, that does include Coldsnap. Haters gonna hate.)
~W
No money for Magic at the moment. Still on here for the community.
ravnica, time spiral, shadowmoor i also like.
2. Lorwyn - restored my faith in magic
3. Ice Age - just when I started
Best Magic Set by 'revolutionized Magic':
Either Invasion Block or Ravnica Block. Interestingly, these are the sets that did a whole lot with Gold and pushed flavor (one pushed Multiverse Awesomeness, one pushed Block Setting awesomeness) to just about the Max and also where we see the most Power Creep- and yet, it mostly seems that Power Creep is a good thing when it's in the context of Goldness, as long as the mana is good/balanced. Vivid Lands were wrong, but they don't do that anymore. Titans were wrong, but I don't think they'll do that again either. In general, our decks have been getting better because every Gold Rush we see new limits for Power, and as long as the Mana Bases are kept operating appropriately, that's a good thing for the game.
Best Magic Set by Game Play (fun-ness, fairness): Limited Edition Alpha, or whatever is the most recent set you played with counting from M10 forward.
I'm not gonna lie- Wizards has gotten VERY good at making their game. I'm glad that Jace, the Mind Sculptor happened as an exception to this, because IN RESPONSE to that failure, Wizards seems to have definitely learned all the lessons they could from that and other issues that have arisen and they've just been making things amazinger and amazinger. Alpha of course, gets a nod for the same reason that Superman gets my Vote for 'Best Superhero'- look, it's where it began. It invented....EVERYTHING. The Color Wheel comes from the Basic Lands and that comes from Alpha and that did so much for gaming. If Alpha weren't fun, we'd never have gotten to Return to Ravnica.
Best Magic Set for Nostalgia: Time Spiral- NOT Alpha. This is an odd one- basically, it combines everything that made Alpha good with everything they'd learned since Alpha- the commons and uncommons in Time Spiral could actually make Limited Decks, the Rares weren't TOO OP. You really love old cards, try mixing up some of the Banned List Rogues Gallery cards- the 'Villains we love to Hate'- with some of the neat-if-weak cards from Time Spiral that do for Dominaria what world-building cards have been doing for every set since about Shards of Alara. Nostalgia is partly innaccurate and rosy-colored lenses in it's way of looking at things-- Rennaissances are when you combine appreciation for the Past with knowledge from the Future and make something that is Just Epic. It does good justice to what you loved about Alpha, and makes the things you didn't love as much more loveable than they were. How can you ask for more?
Best Set for Power: I'mma say....probably Worldwake? Thinking contextually: For a while, Wizards didn't know how to make their game: there are a bunch of stupid busted things in Alpha and there are a bunch of stupid busted things in Urza Block and those were actually fairly close to each other and there were a lot of stupid busted things in between. (like Necropotence.) Stupid and Busted is what Pro Decks Were.
Then, for a long time, we had basically Balance and Fairness in the game.
Then Affinity Ravaged that idea and threw it in the garbage can and set the garbage can on fire, lol.
Then, for more time, we had more Balance- http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/td/209
This article shows how there have always been 'bogeyman' decks, but the difference in power between 'Bogeymen' and 'Not Bogeymen' decks has been as close to Balance as you could hope for except 3 times:
Urza. My God what a Mess. "Ban everything til Necro is good, then Ban Necro." And that's what they did.
Mirrodin. "Apparently, Artifact Lands are kinda like Moxen. Oops."
Worldwake. "Caw-Blade is, by the numbers, more broken than Affinity." In addition to the cards around it that AREN'T broken being more fair, it is by far the deck with the most disparity in power compared to it's opponents. Not just the Baseline Power of cards like Jace or Tinker-Belle or the Blue card advantage spells, but also because of how much more powerful they are than other cards you would compare them to- Worldwake is the Most Powerful Set in Magic.
People need to read this fanfiction, though:
www.hpmor.com
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
Oh wait, duh: Flavor:
Every set in Innistrad Block,
Every set in Ravnica Block,
Every set in Time Spiral Block
I think almost any themes you ever picked up on that you liked about MTG
can be found to have been executed most successfully in one of those 3 Blocks.
They also happen to have in my opinion quite a high number of Legendary Creatures for Commander.
OH and another one! Best Set for Unusual Formats: (anything other than Constructed Standard,Extended,Modern,Legacy,orVintage)
So- Limited play or other Casual Formats like Pauper or Star or Emperor or Archenemy or Planechase- what's the best in those categories?
People need to read this fanfiction, though:
www.hpmor.com
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
Innistrad is also at the top. Some of the best flavor in the game, DFCs were an awesome idea, great limited environment... And then we got the snorefest that was Dark Ascension and the horrible Limited of Avacyn restored.
Other favorites...
Time Spiral
Torment
Champions of Kamigawa
Darksteel (OMG INDESTRUCTIBLE)
Magic 2010
Thanks to Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery Signatures!