I like this card a lot, not only is the mechanic really flavorful but its attack trigger is pretty much a reclaim. You could argue whether or not its trigger is better or worse than Sun Titan which is the closest card I can think of at the moment.
My only question is: Can you pay the extort cost multiple times for the same spell or just once? (is it really a mana sink?)
I would like to know this as well, it doesn't seem to say that you can't. The way it is worded makes me lean towards being able to pay as much as you want but I want someone with a lot more understanding of the rules to chime in on this. I like it flavor wise, definitely Orzhov and I think it will make the guild playable depending on what the rest is that comes.
So to make sure I have this right, I can only pay a B/ once for each instance? So I couldn't pay like 5 white or black mana on a single exort trigger correct? Thanks.
Correct. You can only pay once for each trigger, and each instance of Extort triggers separately when you cast a spell.
This seems like a very powerful mechanic as an "add-on" to alraedy good cards - I imagine primarily non-creature spells. If they reprinted O-Ring at 1WB with this for instance, it would enable control to be very grindy and reduce even further the need for dedicated win-conditions
There is a thread that is talking about what the new orzhov o-ring will be. I bet it is 1WB enchantment, extort, and will either be o-ring or pacifism.
That's how you get extort into standard. You put it on already good cards... God this mechanic is bad.
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My favorite flavor text: Time of Heroes
Feel free to tell me yours!
Extort is insane in Esper Control. Late game flash back think twice, lingering souls, azorius charm, even disspate will ensure that you have enough time to find a Sphinx's Revelation.
Rules explination:You can only pay once.It says so on the card.It just like the old life gain artifacts, iron star & co and soul net.It only triggers once per spell and tells you what to pay.
And no the number of the life lose will never be more than 1.This is a keyword,unlike Battalion whice is an ability word and only has a set condition but variable effects.
My only gripe is life loss isn't a thing in mono white.They forced the flavor of the guild instead of trying something that fits for both colors with out breaking color pie.
Unlike New Phyrexia where it was a few non black cards corrupted to have black qualities, its going to be a a hand full of mono white cards in this and DMG that break pie when they didn't need to.
Tax or sac would've fit guild theme and colors.
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WOut of the ground,I rise to grace...W BAfter the lights go out on you, after your worthless life is through. I will remember how you scream...B
I think that one thing that RTR proved is that all of the mechanics are useful and well-balanced (for limited). Even Izzet, which looked like the dud guild early, ended up being quite good because its overload mechanic was put onto some cards that ended up being really, really good. Similarly for Rakdos, where the idea of just adding a +1/+1 counter to a creature being worth that creature being unable to block seemed preposterous; but if you look at the creatures they put unleash on, they actually are very strong.
I think that's the key here - Wizards balanced the guilds; if their guild ability is weak or narrow, they put it on good cards to make up for that. For this reason I expect that Orzhov is going to get some pretty good cards, because Extort by itself is not a mechanic that is going to win games outright like Overload or Populate can.
Agreed. Though i'm not a fan of W/B but the returning is pretty nice on its own. Plus it gives you more spell to cast and trigger extort.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Personal opinion on the mechanic: I don't like it. But it strikes me as a very Spikey mechanic, which is probably the reason why my Timmy mind cannot get excited by it (same reason why I still do not like Unleash). I think it has a lot of potential, and the mana sinks are always welcome (though, granted, this ability is a very limited mana sink, as you need more than one to sink more than one mana into it). Final verdict: I think it will be considered a good mechanic when it gets to be played with, but it is definitely not designed for me (fortunately I have Evolve and Battalion for that )
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Someday, I will own all of the dragons. All of them. 43/111, approximately 39% complete. Over a third done.
(calling it now; there will be a cycle of Legendary dual lands with Basic Land types in Theros block)
... AAAAAAAAND I was wrong
A lot of people are saying this is not powerful outside of multiplayer which I just cannot understand. It's incredibly powerful in multiplayer, but in single player, it transforms dead lands into drainage which can both save you the game and win it for you. lingering souls' flashback is cheap enough that it usually happens on dead turns, so if there's a spare mana open, it puts you two in the lead.
It's incredibly flavourful, and stacks well with other Extorters. It turns you into an Orzhov patrician, sitting back and paying for protection behind your thrulls and ivory towers, slowly winning the game through exhaustion.
I have two minor concerns though. Firstly, could it not simply have been pay 1? That would allow mono-black to reclaim it one day down the track. Unless of course it's templated so that you're paying one of the card's colours. Still, I would have preferred the more open-ended 1.
Secondly, it seems that with the release of New Phyrexia, the idea of giving white that little bit of reach with tiny points of life loss / drain, seems to be something WotC are wanting to bring into white as tertiary.
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Gaymer
Custom Card / Set Reviewer
When reviewing custom cards / sets, I look for (a) flavour, (b) function, and (c) cohesiveness, generally through a risk focus.
There is a thread that is talking about what the new orzhov o-ring will be. I bet it is 1WB enchantment, extort, and will either be o-ring or pacifism.
That's how you get extort into standard. You put it on already good cards... God this mechanic is bad.
I think this is the least inherently powerful mechanic of the GTC guild mechanics spoiled so far, but that's exactly why I think we'll see it added on to cards that are already fine without it. When you make this kind of effect cheap, it becomes good.
2/2 extort for WB, probably uncommon. More along the lines of 2/1s for 1WB and 2/2 fliers for 2WB with extort at common (and probably one common extort card that's a lot better than that, like maybe a Pacifism). I think that's the kind of thing we're going to see.
Personal opinion on the mechanic: I don't like it. But it strikes me as a very Spikey mechanic, which is probably the reason why my Timmy mind cannot get excited by it (same reason why I still do not like Unleash). I think it has a lot of potential, and the mana sinks are always welcome (though, granted, this ability is a very limited mana sink, as you need more than one to sink more than one mana into it). Final verdict: I think it will be considered a good mechanic when it gets to be played with, but it is definitely not designed for me (fortunately I have Evolve and Battalion for that )
In this regard I think wizards was very successful. Some abilities are more appealing to some kinds of players than others. They know how to mix it up.
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My favorite flavor text: Time of Heroes
Feel free to tell me yours!
Giving life-drain to mono-white cards is weird, but has precedent from New Phyrexia. I like how similar this functions to Exalted, but acts on a different axis (direct damage instead of combat). I want to build a Standard deck using both mechanics once Gatecrash is out.
I would like to know this as well, it doesn't seem to say that you can't. The way it is worded makes me lean towards being able to pay as much as you want but I want someone with a lot more understanding of the rules to chime in on this. I like it flavor wise, definitely Orzhov and I think it will make the guild playable depending on what the rest is that comes.
Correct. You can only pay once for each trigger, and each instance of Extort triggers separately when you cast a spell.
Also a side note. We've got over a thousand guests viewing this post. Why don't you guys just register already and join in on the conversation?
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There is a thread that is talking about what the new orzhov o-ring will be. I bet it is 1WB enchantment, extort, and will either be o-ring or pacifism.
That's how you get extort into standard. You put it on already good cards... God this mechanic is bad.
Feel free to tell me yours!
And no the number of the life lose will never be more than 1.This is a keyword,unlike Battalion whice is an ability word and only has a set condition but variable effects.
My only gripe is life loss isn't a thing in mono white.They forced the flavor of the guild instead of trying something that fits for both colors with out breaking color pie.
Unlike New Phyrexia where it was a few non black cards corrupted to have black qualities, its going to be a a hand full of mono white cards in this and DMG that break pie when they didn't need to.
Tax or sac would've fit guild theme and colors.
BAfter the lights go out on you, after your worthless life is through. I will remember how you scream...B
Agreed. Though i'm not a fan of W/B but the returning is pretty nice on its own. Plus it gives you more spell to cast and trigger extort.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
You're right. I don't think it will happen, though. Regardless I'll be building rbw post gatecrash.
43/111, approximately 39% complete. Over a third done.
(calling it now; there will be a cycle of Legendary dual lands with Basic Land types in Theros block)
... AAAAAAAAND I was wrong
The Attention Deficit Guy URGU
I have two minor concerns though. Firstly, could it not simply have been pay 1? That would allow mono-black to reclaim it one day down the track. Unless of course it's templated so that you're paying one of the card's colours. Still, I would have preferred the more open-ended 1.
Secondly, it seems that with the release of New Phyrexia, the idea of giving white that little bit of reach with tiny points of life loss / drain, seems to be something WotC are wanting to bring into white as tertiary.
Custom Card / Set Reviewer
When reviewing custom cards / sets, I look for (a) flavour, (b) function, and (c) cohesiveness, generally through a risk focus.
I am glad there is some love for one of my favorites from old Rav, a new version would be very welcome indeed.
|One Red Mountain - A adventure in MTG Trading|
Good point, this does nothing for creatures with haunt unless you just casted them.
Also whats your name bro? I live in Muncie too, I'm Greg Maxwell or G Max as Dave likes to put on the cards.
I think this is the least inherently powerful mechanic of the GTC guild mechanics spoiled so far, but that's exactly why I think we'll see it added on to cards that are already fine without it. When you make this kind of effect cheap, it becomes good.
2/2 extort for WB, probably uncommon. More along the lines of 2/1s for 1WB and 2/2 fliers for 2WB with extort at common (and probably one common extort card that's a lot better than that, like maybe a Pacifism). I think that's the kind of thing we're going to see.
Someone else noticed it! THANK YOU!
It doesn't. I think it just synergizes with the general bleed cards from Orhov, since Haunt was a ****ty mechanic.
Ravnica was when I first started and is and always will be my favorite set of all time. Return is good but it will never be the same
In this regard I think wizards was very successful. Some abilities are more appealing to some kinds of players than others. They know how to mix it up.
Feel free to tell me yours!
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)