I'll still stick to my statement that it seems like older lands don't have the same amount of specific flavor as new lands: Zendikar, Lorwyn, Shards, Innistrad, Ravnica - all have their own theme while my view of old plains is usually: Savannah, shrubland or a field - pretty much the same setting, most of them rather bright.
I haven't read much Magic story-line but yea I'd imagine they stuff in quite a load of flavored cards, which should be easy to do on basic lands.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
My Zendikar basics are already in some of my other decks and I don't feel like I want to see them all the time, but those Lands from Urza's look great!
And I don't want the new frames they look stupid, I want the old ones
I respect that, but eh...I like all my cards to have the SAME border, and it's getting easier and easier to do that with cards slowly getting printed in the new borders. I don't fully understand the animosity, as it's nice that things have a structured place, and they played it so that it's a little easier to read.
Although in the long run, the biggest thing for me is consistency. I'm really glad they finally took white borders off core sets, because I couldn't stand it. I don't mind old borders for nostalgia sometimes, but prefer consistency in design. I think which one looks better is a somewhat silly argument.
I'll still stick to my statement that it seems like older lands don't have the same amount of specific flavor as new lands: Zendikar, Lorwyn, Shards, Innistrad, Ravnica - all have their own theme while my view of old plains is usually: Savannah, shrubland or a field - pretty much the same setting, most of them rather bright.
I haven't read much Magic story-line but yea I'd imagine they stuff in quite a load of flavored cards, which should be easy to do on basic lands.
Depends on the storyline. I'm a little pressed to push the point though, for anything weatherlight and after they have really pushed flavor on land, and anything before that was pretty loose in the story department. They didn't add story until what, Mirage? For awhile they just did other Legends even.
Here is some links to show:
Ice Age Land: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/350898525334?lpid=82
See, they be covered in snow! That was kind of the whole thing with Ice Age
Mirage Land: http://client-cdn.crystalcommerce.com/photo/ccghouse/file/83640/large/Mirage.jpg
The Plains and swamps are super boring, always loved the silhouetted peaks on mountains, and the islands are Teferi's home, and show off it's tropical roots, the forest are all jungle because that is where the green group resides in this set.
Tempest Land:
The forests look like the skyshroud, the swamps look like volrath's little area. The islands are those mountainous ones around where barrin builds his school(I believe), the mountains are...dull, sure. the plains are the dark en-vec plains.
Mercadian Masques:
Boring set is boring. Hit and Miss on basics, each one seems to have one-two generic ones, but my favorite ilsand ever is in this set, and the islands do show off the versatility of islands in Saprazzan.
As it goes, they get better from here. It did take awhile to find their footing but those old lands had quite a few good sets.
Jumping into the basic land discussion, do you guys think the ones packaged in the decks will be relevant to the deck and/or generals' theme/aesthetics? For example in the Ninja-themed Planechase deck the basic lands had the Kamigawa art.
The Esper lands are nice indeed, but I would use those for a Sydri EDH. Oloro seems to come from a much more "natural" world.
I think my choices would be: Plains #250 from Innistrad - The atmosphere is a bit depressing, but with a glimmer of "hope" Island #237 from Magic 2013 - One of my favourite basic lands and has a nice "isolated" feel to it Swamp #241 from Magic 2013 - Looks gloomy, but not stereotypical "evil"
I would never invest time and money in a deck with Oloro as commander. This card screams "ban me". Gee, they banned Griselbrand for less than that. Oh come on ! How can a card give you so much game benefits without ever having to play it ! You could never play Oloro, and gain synergy with the rest of your deck. That's not the point of magic. Combos have to be digged, tutored, casted, played, reanimated, etc.
It's going to get banned before we are done with the current block.
Well they banned Trade Secrets so they can ban anything right now... (yay i'm one of this guys that still think the ban is ridiculous while we can still abuse Sylvan Primordial)
But for real, are 2 Life gained per Upkeep really that hard for you? Well then i suggest you invest the 5 Bucks for an Erebos and get rid of that problem :D:D:D
Don't see a ban for this one... sorry
No problem with the Life gain while the card is on the battlefield. I just don't think such an ability should trigger from a card not yet in play. It is as if one player would get to play with schemes, at no in-game cost (card, mana, sacrifice, life paid, etc.), and not the other. It's clearly a broken card. Just look at how enthusiastic people are at this card. To be loved so much must mean a real, not just perceived, imbalance.
No problem with the Life gain while the card is on the battlefield. I just don't think such an ability should trigger from a card not yet in play. It is as if one player would get to play with schemes, at no in-game cost (card, mana, sacrifice, life paid, etc.), and not the other. It's clearly a broken card. Just look at how enthusiastic people are at this card. To be loved so much must mean a real, not just perceived, imbalance.
On the first page are people legitimately putting this down to boring and bad lifegain. I know it's more, and once a tuned deck is out I'm sure it will prove itself, but I actually have no problem with this. Yes, you get an advantage without casting something, so what? He's the leyline general, he grants you a decent benefit just for playing him! The trade off is powerful effects later on, I mean sure, you can upgrade to a 5/5 on the field who will net you a card, for mana mind you, and a little poke at the opponent. This ability comes without evasion, costs mana, and whereas there are worse generals to be played, it just doesn't compare to sharuum or zur getting a turn around the board. You know what your losing by gaining 2 life for no effort? The ability to just play Zur...think about that.
Considering that there're quite a few options to stop life gain and that the instance is 2 per upkeep I don't think it's broken. The Commander himself is a type of build-around and I doubt that it cannot be dealt with by players not running cards to stop life gain.
My view if the player never cast him: You start the game with 50-60 life.
From what I've heard people generally run combo-builds to deal "insane" amounts of damage or perform locks on the game or just winning on alternatives - for instance Commander Damage.
I would never invest time and money in a deck with Oloro as commander. This card screams "ban me". Gee, they banned Griselbrand for less than that. Oh come on ! How can a card give you so much game benefits without ever having to play it ! You could never play Oloro, and gain synergy with the rest of your deck. That's not the point of magic. Combos have to be digged, tutored, casted, played, reanimated, etc.
It's going to get banned before we are done with the current block.
May I ask where you study? Because I'd like to know where I can get a degree in overreacting, which you seem to have.
See, if ALL of his effects were to trigger while he's in the command zone, then I'd agree with you. As is now, he only grants you a paltry 2 life a turn while he's chilling there. 2 life. per turn.
The ONLY decks that really care about this are Non-Voltron Aggro (Which will want to target the Oloro player first) and Burn, and both of them have tools to nullify his lifegain should he really become a problem.
Oloro is at his best when he's on the battlefield. Which costs 6 mana. And he's not exactly a well-protected powerhouse once he's out there. So again, I'm not really worried.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
I was planning on making Sisay but this guy is nuts. I plan on making a combo deck with Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood as the main combo.
You don't even need to mess with the Sanguine Bond combo,
which just tends to make players hate you.
It's fine to have both cards in the deck,
but trust me when I say people *hate* losing that way.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
I just realized how utterly ridiculous Exquisite Blood is with this guy-
you can draw as many cards and drain as much life as you have the mana for!
You don't even need to mess with the Sanguine Bond combo,
which just tends to make players hate you.
It's fine to have both cards in the deck,
but trust me when I say people *hate* losing that way.
I haven't read much Magic story-line but yea I'd imagine they stuff in quite a load of flavored cards, which should be easy to do on basic lands.
There's always my personal favorite, the Esper Swamp...
Reprint Stasis!
Control needs more love.
EDH:
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm
WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW
WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
Esper Swamp/Island/Plains are the best lands. Period.
I respect that, but eh...I like all my cards to have the SAME border, and it's getting easier and easier to do that with cards slowly getting printed in the new borders. I don't fully understand the animosity, as it's nice that things have a structured place, and they played it so that it's a little easier to read.
Although in the long run, the biggest thing for me is consistency. I'm really glad they finally took white borders off core sets, because I couldn't stand it. I don't mind old borders for nostalgia sometimes, but prefer consistency in design. I think which one looks better is a somewhat silly argument.
Depends on the storyline. I'm a little pressed to push the point though, for anything weatherlight and after they have really pushed flavor on land, and anything before that was pretty loose in the story department. They didn't add story until what, Mirage? For awhile they just did other Legends even.
Here is some links to show:
Ice Age Land:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/350898525334?lpid=82
See, they be covered in snow! That was kind of the whole thing with Ice Age
Mirage Land:
http://client-cdn.crystalcommerce.com/photo/ccghouse/file/83640/large/Mirage.jpg
The Plains and swamps are super boring, always loved the silhouetted peaks on mountains, and the islands are Teferi's home, and show off it's tropical roots, the forest are all jungle because that is where the green group resides in this set.
Tempest Land:
The forests look like the skyshroud, the swamps look like volrath's little area. The islands are those mountainous ones around where barrin builds his school(I believe), the mountains are...dull, sure. the plains are the dark en-vec plains.
Urza Lands:
http://client-cdn.crystalcommerce.com/photo/ccghouse/file/83657/large/Urza_sSaga.jpg
Now see, these are all awesome. The craterized Island that ONCE HELD Barrin's school from multiple angles, we get Serra's floating Plains, the no-day swamps of Phyrexia, the Yavimaya Forest, and sulfuric mountains of Keld.
Mercadian Masques:
Boring set is boring. Hit and Miss on basics, each one seems to have one-two generic ones, but my favorite ilsand ever is in this set, and the islands do show off the versatility of islands in Saprazzan.
As it goes, they get better from here. It did take awhile to find their footing but those old lands had quite a few good sets.
I think my choices would be:
Plains #250 from Innistrad - The atmosphere is a bit depressing, but with a glimmer of "hope"
Island #237 from Magic 2013 - One of my favourite basic lands and has a nice "isolated" feel to it
Swamp #241 from Magic 2013 - Looks gloomy, but not stereotypical "evil"
plains: http://magiccards.info/arena/en/8.html
Islands: http://magiccards.info/arena/en/9.html
Swamps: http://magiccards.info/on/en/341.html (Foil)
Or you could just use some of these.
http://www.magiclibrarities.net/222-rarities-magic-premiere-shop-promos-english-cards-alternate-lands-mps-logo-shards-of-alara-cycle.html
It's going to get banned before we are done with the current block.
No problem with the Life gain while the card is on the battlefield. I just don't think such an ability should trigger from a card not yet in play. It is as if one player would get to play with schemes, at no in-game cost (card, mana, sacrifice, life paid, etc.), and not the other. It's clearly a broken card. Just look at how enthusiastic people are at this card. To be loved so much must mean a real, not just perceived, imbalance.
On the first page are people legitimately putting this down to boring and bad lifegain. I know it's more, and once a tuned deck is out I'm sure it will prove itself, but I actually have no problem with this. Yes, you get an advantage without casting something, so what? He's the leyline general, he grants you a decent benefit just for playing him! The trade off is powerful effects later on, I mean sure, you can upgrade to a 5/5 on the field who will net you a card, for mana mind you, and a little poke at the opponent. This ability comes without evasion, costs mana, and whereas there are worse generals to be played, it just doesn't compare to sharuum or zur getting a turn around the board. You know what your losing by gaining 2 life for no effort? The ability to just play Zur...think about that.
My view if the player never cast him: You start the game with 50-60 life.
From what I've heard people generally run combo-builds to deal "insane" amounts of damage or perform locks on the game or just winning on alternatives - for instance Commander Damage.
May I ask where you study? Because I'd like to know where I can get a degree in overreacting, which you seem to have.
See, if ALL of his effects were to trigger while he's in the command zone, then I'd agree with you. As is now, he only grants you a paltry 2 life a turn while he's chilling there. 2 life. per turn.
The ONLY decks that really care about this are Non-Voltron Aggro (Which will want to target the Oloro player first) and Burn, and both of them have tools to nullify his lifegain should he really become a problem.
Oloro is at his best when he's on the battlefield. Which costs 6 mana. And he's not exactly a well-protected powerhouse once he's out there. So again, I'm not really worried.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
you can draw as many cards and drain as much life as you have the mana for!
You don't even need to mess with the Sanguine Bond combo,
which just tends to make players hate you.
It's fine to have both cards in the deck,
but trust me when I say people *hate* losing that way.
Reprint Stasis!
Control needs more love.
EDH:
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm
WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW
WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
He's also awesome with extort so i'll be playing blind obedience and crypt ghast with this guy.
Thopter foundry + sword of the meek can play nice with him too.
He's very good at the helm of a stax deck.