Boo, dailymtg is down. I'm really looking forward to reading the guide, since Theros is the new world that most appeals to me since the original Ravnica block.
Considering there isn't any "flame" depicted, I doubt it. Magma Spray makes the most sense, especially since red needs another way to deal with Voice of Resurgence. But I really really hope it's a Volcanic Hammer that exiles a creature--going to the dome would allow it to go in the main deck and red currently has a big gap between doing 1, 2, and 4 damage.
Volcanic Magma Squirt 1R
Sorcery
~ deals 3 damage to target creature or player. If the creature would die, exile it instead.
They wouldn't need to print many more burn spells in Theros. Edit: forgot about Annihilating Fire. Bah, this'll probably do two damage....
Unrelated I've always felt that red should get to interact more with artifacts, especially equipment. Purphoros being the god of the forge maybe just maybe means that red will get a bit of that?
The art for the weapons is so bland, it makes me wonder if the gods summon them as tokens upon arrival? Granted, equipment art has some precedent of being boring, but I feel like they've made a decent effort to show equipment cards with people actually equipping them in recent sets. These just feel empty and more like they'd be on tokens anyway.
All of that aside, the art is beautiful as usual, and I can't wait to see that God frame implemented several times over.
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Again a block whose storyline see humans almost striped out of free will and subject to the will of idols. Like in Avacyn, where the basic pitch was yield to Avacyn the artificial angel or be cast out and be eaten by monsters or lost in the woods.
Wish they would unfold the storyline by having humans burn the idols and conquer their freedom of thought, like in real history actually.
Even heroes in the end would still be puppets of one of those gods.
First let me just say what an awesome collection of art so far. Flavor comes first for me, but art is a very close second. This is a great reminder of just how talented MTG artists really are. I hope to get playmats of some of the gods, because wow.
Also, after reading the Planeswalker's Guide, I feel the need to point out some similarities the Theros gods share with their Olympian counterparts. I like how Wizards slid in some of these without making it too obvious.
First off, Thassa. She was reported to turn a sailor and his family into eels, right? Now her Greek influence, Poseidon, actually helped sailors more than he hindered them, but his nephew, Dionysus, did not. In fact, there is a particular story that involved him turning sailors into dolphins. Seems pretty alike to Thassa's story, doesn't it?
Then there is Erebos. When he first came into existence, the sun god Heliod, being the little butthead he was, banished him because he was scared. Of his own shadow. Wow. Anyway, Erebos got the raw end of the deal and now resides in the Underworld, begrudgingly doing his duty as the soul wrangler of death. This reminds me a lot of Hades. He also got the Underworld duty and wasn't at all happy with it, as he considered it a less desirable sphere of influence.
Anyone got anymore?
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Amazing artwork so far! I still feel this set would have been a great opportunity to get Rebecca Guay out of retirement. Her style would go well on Theros.
I love the god of forge art. plus the 5 legendary equipments! this set is gonna be flavor awesome if not awesome.
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A team should be as happy as a meal - TEAM HAPPYMEAL
EDH - UWGrand Arbiter Agustin IV UBW Oloro, Ageless Ascetic Modern - Mono U tron / Polymorph / NFTW (ninja for the win)GR tronGR
Buy All the planeswalkers!!!
Buy All the Dual Lands!!!
Buy All the fetches!
Create tons of EDH Decks!!!
Eat Nothing but Oats!! (LOL, not true)
Train MMA!!!
Marry My girlfriend!!!
Get her Pregnant only Once!
Teach my Son/Daughter Sports and magic cards!!!
Continue my legacy son!!!/Daughter!!
I really like this world so far. I'm finding that I am enjoying the black god as much as I thought I would, and that so far the flavor hasn't failed to impress me. I know, only the first flavor article, but it is a strong first impression to me.
So if Theros 'gods' are like living enchantments, then that's very similar in spirit to angels of other worlds, right? I mean, Avacyn sounds very similar to Theros gods.
Artwork looks great so far. Looking forward to seeing more mechanics!
This set/block is looking pretty cool so far. The flavor from the Planeswalkers Guide to Theros was great! I hope I manage to pull at least one of the Gods, preferably the blue one.
And...if the Gods are Legendary Enchantment Creatures I'll be so happy. I'm so easily amused by that kind of thing it seems.
ALSO, does anyone hope that the Gods have HUGE impacts on the board? I mean, seriously, they are GODS. Some of the most board-impacting cycles are...the Titans, the Legendary Eldrazi...and...the Praetors (LOL).
The Titans, are just Giants.
The Praetors, are just mutants grown in a vat or some crap like that.
And...the Legendary Eldrazi are world eating monsters!
But these are GODS. They can smite towns on a whim, they control the forces that make up this world. They better be HUGE. Do all kinds of cool stuff, AND have a lasting presence. It's really not so much to ask. They even have their own cool unique border. Plus, if they really are Enchantment creatures, then that's mostly a drawback...(much more enchantment hate, rather than support) It will ruin the flavor of the whole block/plane if they can't compete with Titans, Praetors (seriously, LOL), or even the world-eating Eldrazi.
I almost get the sense from the article that they are legendary enchantments that give you some sort of static benefit, but when your opponent somehow angers them (think trap cards or whatnot), they become a powerful creature or do something crazy. Could be fun if they do it right - not too fragile and not too overpowered.
I'm sensing a repeat of Kamigawa's protagonist-antagonist dynamic where Erebos is at least an okay dude who probably has the good sense to empower mortals to banish badness to his realm where he can rein it in, and meanwhile Heliod is coming off as more of a gigantic swinging dick than the mythological Zeus, which is quite a feat.
Probably true. Like Greek Gods, I believe that all of these gods will have their good and bad qualities. I think the blue one and the black one look the most interesting. I can't wait to see what they do! From the descriptions, it sounds like they're enchantment creatures. That will be interesting for sure, and I wonder what that could mean for their abilities. Perhaps they're essentially awesome enchantments except on a indestructible body? Or some type of invincibility. For example, Helios could be like True Conviction on a big indestructible body.
There also appears to be legendary equipment for each god? That's pretty cool. I bet the equipment works similar to how they described them. I mean, right in the article they talk about what each equipment does.
Helios's Khrusor, the Spear, sounds like it has the ability to exile, destroy, or turn permanents back into their owner's library. The spear apparently moved a whole city into the sea, so I could see it doing something like that. Wrath Spear?
Thasa's Trident can create whirlpools and destroy fleets of ships. It also can turn people into eels? I'm guessing that this sends permanents back to their owner's hands or something.
Erebos's Whip has the ability to inflict pain and bring the dead back to his realm. Maybe it will be able to put creatures into the graveyard from exile, your hand, or the library? Perhaps there is a strong graveyard theme (As usual for black) which works well with his whip. Maybe it can even bring creatures back from the graveyard!
Purphuros's Hammer says a blow from Akmon can render the earth molten, and when it strikes metal, each spark becomes a new enchantment, some of which even take on life. That would be an interesting twist on red. Maybe it can turn enchantments into hasty creatures or something.
Nylea's bow doesn't offer much description. It speaks of predation and killing poachers, so maybe it can deal damage to an attacking or blocking creature like most bows?
They do have power/ toughness boxes, so definitely creatures. Enchantment creatures.
That's a really good point, so they are probably enchantment creatures to start with. I still feel like they heavily emphasized each of them being easily angered by something, though. Like maybe when X happens, then Purphoros turns all your enchantments into enchantment creatures or something. Sounds exciting whatever it may be.
EDIT: Or maybe they fetch their equipment and it does something crazy.
I can see the Gods as functioning like targetable Emblems, but besides "Enchantment Creature," which technically already exists, I hope Wizards doesn't try to introduce any new card types into the game.
Again a block whose storyline see humans almost striped out of free will and subject to the will of idols. Like in Avacyn, where the basic pitch was yield to Avacyn the artificial angel or be cast out and be eaten by monsters or lost in the woods.
Wish they would unfold the storyline by having humans burn the idols and conquer their freedom of thought, like in real history actually.
Even heroes in the end would still be puppets of one of those gods.
back to subject: yeah, the art is magnificent.
I've been wanting this from these sets for ages. Return to Ravnica had brief stirrings of a guildless movement that also never went anywhere, because they need to maintain the status quo.
But it's typical Greek mythology that you can't beat the gods, no matter how cruel and incompetent they are.
I for one think they'll be a bit harder to get rid of than that. I mean, if they can wipe entire cities off the face of the plane, it'd be pretty embarrassing to die to something that destroys a plain old sword.
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Also, it says that iron is extremely rare, so I assume this world doesn't have steel, but then what is the sword of the guy on Ordeal of Purphoros made of? Doesn't look like bronze....
Not even trolling: copper, bronze, silver. The average joe warrior is probably within the bronze age. I can see WotC mixing real-world technology eras together (ie; the elite/gods have better tech such as silver. The legendary equipment would be magical/silver/gold). Rank and file soldiers like that guy are probably wielding simpleton copper and bronze weaponry. The helmet would have been bronze.
If they want to be realistic (obv not 100% accurate as they are playing up a nerd's fantasy), they would push bronze age.
*I have a degree in history. If I am not mistaken, most of antiquities and 'grecco-roman' myths centered around the bronze age. Iron should be rare to keep people at equal-footing. Iron-age allowed for more complex innovations to occur. Bronze kept the tech low-level. History never had proven "magic" or "arcane" technology. I think WotC would push this time-frame.
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That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
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Oh, man... now I can't unsee it!
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Considering there isn't any "flame" depicted, I doubt it. Magma Spray makes the most sense, especially since red needs another way to deal with Voice of Resurgence. But I really really hope it's a Volcanic Hammer that exiles a creature--going to the dome would allow it to go in the main deck and red currently has a big gap between doing 1, 2, and 4 damage.
Volcanic Magma Squirt
1R
Sorcery
~ deals 3 damage to target creature or player. If the creature would die, exile it instead.
They wouldn't need to print many more burn spells in Theros. Edit: forgot about Annihilating Fire. Bah, this'll probably do two damage....
Unrelated I've always felt that red should get to interact more with artifacts, especially equipment. Purphoros being the god of the forge maybe just maybe means that red will get a bit of that?
I am waiting to see if there isn't going to be an art piece that looks so CGI like the sets of past, if it ends up as so, that would be quite a feat.
And amongst these "Gods" I have found my fave, Purphoros, ay papi mi lord~!
Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
All of that aside, the art is beautiful as usual, and I can't wait to see that God frame implemented several times over.
Wish they would unfold the storyline by having humans burn the idols and conquer their freedom of thought, like in real history actually.
Even heroes in the end would still be puppets of one of those gods.
back to subject: yeah, the art is magnificent.
Also, Nylea's quiver has four arrows in it. They are differant colors to correspond to the differant seasons.
Can't wait!
Also, after reading the Planeswalker's Guide, I feel the need to point out some similarities the Theros gods share with their Olympian counterparts. I like how Wizards slid in some of these without making it too obvious.
First off, Thassa. She was reported to turn a sailor and his family into eels, right? Now her Greek influence, Poseidon, actually helped sailors more than he hindered them, but his nephew, Dionysus, did not. In fact, there is a particular story that involved him turning sailors into dolphins. Seems pretty alike to Thassa's story, doesn't it?
Then there is Erebos. When he first came into existence, the sun god Heliod, being the little butthead he was, banished him because he was scared. Of his own shadow. Wow. Anyway, Erebos got the raw end of the deal and now resides in the Underworld, begrudgingly doing his duty as the soul wrangler of death. This reminds me a lot of Hades. He also got the Underworld duty and wasn't at all happy with it, as he considered it a less desirable sphere of influence.
Anyone got anymore?
URJhoira of the GhituUR(Under con.)
BMaralen of the MornsongB
UBLazav, Dimir MastermindUB
Standard:
UMono U DevotionU
Casual:
GPrimordial Hydra JankinessG
Still, really engaging, lively artwork.
How To Keep Your FOIL Cards From Curling: http://youtu.be/QTmubrS8VnI
The Best Deck Boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEwgLph_Pjk
The Best Binders: http://youtu.be/H5IauASYWjk
EDH - UWGrand Arbiter Agustin IV
UBW Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Modern - Mono U tron / Polymorph / NFTW (ninja for the win)GR tron GR
Buy All the Dual Lands!!!
Buy All the fetches!
Create tons of EDH Decks!!!
Eat Nothing but Oats!! (LOL, not true)
Train MMA!!!
Marry My girlfriend!!!
Get her Pregnant only Once!
Teach my Son/Daughter Sports and magic cards!!!
Continue my legacy son!!!/Daughter!!
Oh, and one of the hero's is Link with an S. How, unique.
Artwork looks great so far. Looking forward to seeing more mechanics!
How To Keep Your FOIL Cards From Curling: http://youtu.be/QTmubrS8VnI
The Best Deck Boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEwgLph_Pjk
The Best Binders: http://youtu.be/H5IauASYWjk
Well, I think it's pretty obvious that the Future Sight card/returning mechanic is that of Lucent Liminid.
I almost get the sense from the article that they are legendary enchantments that give you some sort of static benefit, but when your opponent somehow angers them (think trap cards or whatnot), they become a powerful creature or do something crazy. Could be fun if they do it right - not too fragile and not too overpowered.
Probably true. Like Greek Gods, I believe that all of these gods will have their good and bad qualities. I think the blue one and the black one look the most interesting. I can't wait to see what they do! From the descriptions, it sounds like they're enchantment creatures. That will be interesting for sure, and I wonder what that could mean for their abilities. Perhaps they're essentially awesome enchantments except on a indestructible body? Or some type of invincibility. For example, Helios could be like True Conviction on a big indestructible body.
There also appears to be legendary equipment for each god? That's pretty cool. I bet the equipment works similar to how they described them. I mean, right in the article they talk about what each equipment does.
Helios's Khrusor, the Spear, sounds like it has the ability to exile, destroy, or turn permanents back into their owner's library. The spear apparently moved a whole city into the sea, so I could see it doing something like that. Wrath Spear?
Thasa's Trident can create whirlpools and destroy fleets of ships. It also can turn people into eels? I'm guessing that this sends permanents back to their owner's hands or something.
Erebos's Whip has the ability to inflict pain and bring the dead back to his realm. Maybe it will be able to put creatures into the graveyard from exile, your hand, or the library? Perhaps there is a strong graveyard theme (As usual for black) which works well with his whip. Maybe it can even bring creatures back from the graveyard!
Purphuros's Hammer says a blow from Akmon can render the earth molten, and when it strikes metal, each spark becomes a new enchantment, some of which even take on life. That would be an interesting twist on red. Maybe it can turn enchantments into hasty creatures or something.
Nylea's bow doesn't offer much description. It speaks of predation and killing poachers, so maybe it can deal damage to an attacking or blocking creature like most bows?
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
That's a really good point, so they are probably enchantment creatures to start with. I still feel like they heavily emphasized each of them being easily angered by something, though. Like maybe when X happens, then Purphoros turns all your enchantments into enchantment creatures or something. Sounds exciting whatever it may be.
EDIT: Or maybe they fetch their equipment and it does something crazy.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
But it's typical Greek mythology that you can't beat the gods, no matter how cruel and incompetent they are.
URJhoira of the GhituUR(Under con.)
BMaralen of the MornsongB
UBLazav, Dimir MastermindUB
Standard:
UMono U DevotionU
Casual:
GPrimordial Hydra JankinessG
Not even trolling: copper, bronze, silver. The average joe warrior is probably within the bronze age. I can see WotC mixing real-world technology eras together (ie; the elite/gods have better tech such as silver. The legendary equipment would be magical/silver/gold). Rank and file soldiers like that guy are probably wielding simpleton copper and bronze weaponry. The helmet would have been bronze.
If they want to be realistic (obv not 100% accurate as they are playing up a nerd's fantasy), they would push bronze age.
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age
*I have a degree in history. If I am not mistaken, most of antiquities and 'grecco-roman' myths centered around the bronze age. Iron should be rare to keep people at equal-footing. Iron-age allowed for more complex innovations to occur. Bronze kept the tech low-level. History never had proven "magic" or "arcane" technology. I think WotC would push this time-frame.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod