EDIT: woops, long post. spoiled, in case anyone wants to hear my opinion (it's just my thoughts on individual cards. i'm not good enough to evaluate the whole set at once, heh)
> Sage's reverie
so this is our new Ethereal Armor. Why. Good thing WU heroic has a bunch of other good tools, and i'd still run 1 or two
> Sandsteppe Outcast
now this guy is pretty awesome! you get a 3/2 no matter how you slice it, although i', gonna say the second mode will be chosen more often
Cloudform is pretty cool too! Now that i think about it, these Living Enchantments could actually help WU heroic. Manifest a land when you don't need more, and topdecking isn't hard with Battlewise Hoplite and Aqeous Form and such.
Cashed Defenses
hey look, a noncreature Ferocious enabler. but the question becomes: is the Ferocious deck (in limited) going to be good enough to want at least one of them?
It lacks any sort of humour or cleverness or even nice, genuinely flavorful wording. It states something that is plain to see just looking at the card name and adds absolutely nothing to it.
Wait, wait, so why the heck have a beast that looks like a rhino? That's just dumb.
So krushoks don't just have stupid flavour text, they are also obsolete by design.
I'd imagine that they're like predecessors to Rhinos. Like Mastodons and Sabertooth Tigers are in this set, rather than the more modern creatures in Khans.
I like the flavor text, I think it's pretty clear.
When I first read Return to the Earth I thought "destroy target enchantment with flying? huh?" I eagerly await "Book Burning" style arguments among my playgroup
Really, they reprinted Typhoid Rats? Why? Same with Hunt the Weak.
Sage's Reverie is too good for white. Namely, in that it's a card draw spell that may produce card advantage.
Reach of Shadows is hilariously bad.
Grave Strength may see play in The Mimeoplasm, since it just grafts Boneyard Wurm onto your creature. Sudden Reclamation might also see play in a number of EDH decks.
Ancestral Vengeance passes the Sun Titan test, though it's a bit weak as removal.
Battlefront Krushok looks useful in limited. Also, 'krushok'?
Mob Rule is basically "Choose one: You win the game, or you win the game."
All in all, this set looks good.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Where are you going tomorrow? Prerelease is the 16th
I really want to see an boxing of the prerelease and get some idea of the promos if they are all frf or a mix. (I'm going to guess a mix, because i don't buy for a second that Monastery mentor and the others will be a promo.)
Well I'm pleasantly surprised by FRF. Its the last middle set, and its the first middle set thats actually been halfway decent since... planar chaos? I'm so used to middle sets being a dumping ground for reject card designs from the large set. Well this set is much better design wise than the stinker that was KTK. They really went fairly ambitious with the mechanics being explored in manifest and boolean choices. It justifies morph being reprinted, though not how KTK approached morph so painfully tepid. It makes up for that in a sense. But while its neat to see a few cards like jeskai infiltrator seeing what manifest opens up in the design space, and while the existence of a mechanic as complicated as manifest is already ambitious, the set still falls a little short in exploring what manifest could do. So its neat they went for the mechanic, but a bit lukewarm how far they went with it. And thats compounded by the other problem, the lack of good competitive enablers for manifest. We've got the scry of theros eventually rotating, but theres nothing on the level of astral slide for sure. At least some pushed flickers would be nice.
Is it just me, or is Pilgrim of the Fires a less rusty Witness of the Ages? The flavour text for Witness is pretty clear that it would be around during the time of FRF; so my guess is that Pilgrim is the younger, less corroded Witness from the past. Flavour win for immortal golems!
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A polite player might call my card choices "interesting." At my budget, "interesting" is the only option.
Leaving aside that Beast Within exists for a second. (A good hint about green: If it says "target creature with flying", it belongs in the trash.)
It's nice to have more than one piece of versatile, instant-speed removal in a 99-card deck. And technically Return to the Earth doesn't say "target creature with flying."
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
Wizards print good rares, players complain about cash grab. They print underwhelming rares, players complain that the cards suck. They spoil the best cards first, players complain about the insane prices of preorders. They spoil the meh cards first, players complain that this is the worst set ever.
So. I think I understand now.
As far as these forums are concerned, WotC can never do anything good because:
Card that is new and probably good = "pushed"
Card that is new and probably bad = "EDH/casual fodder"
Card that is a reprint = "lazy"
Card that is a better version of an older card = "power creep"
Card that is a weaker version of an older card = "worthless"
Verseau: By Ghostfire, you could consider Ugin a red card. Really, though, if you have 10 Mythics in a set, and one is colorless, there's no way to even split 9 cards among 5 colors except by making 4 more noncolored cards.
Man, talk about whatever you want about this set's cards overall or power level, this set's designs for its Red cards is simply glorious. Arcbond, Bloodfire Enforcers, Break Through the Line, Dragonrage, Flamerush Rider, Flamewake Phoenix, Friendly Fire (even though it suuuucks), Humble Defector, Mob Rule, Outpost Siege, Shaman of the Great Hunt, Vaultbreaker... it's just such a stark contrast to Red of old that was only allowed to burn stuff, blow artifacts and pump power. THANK YOU WIZARDS.
I also love Orc Sureshot. Dat art. Dat flavortext. Dat orc. It's also not that shabby. 4/2 for 4 is alright, and it's only a shame it's not a Warrior 'cuz it could definitely do some work in Constructed by curving into Goblin Rabblemaster. The only thing that keeps it from being a perfect card is the fact it doesn't haves Reach.
I like the flavor text, I think it's pretty clear.
No, it's not nearly clear enough. There were things that they didn't explain outright, and that is way too subtle. If they don't explain everything, how will we know whether Yasova Dragonclaw, leader of the Temur clan, is not also the leader of the Sultai clan, who are their enemies? It's almost as if there are some things that they did not state in the flavour text, some that might even be implied or subtle, and that is just unacceptable.
Well I'm pleasantly surprised by FRF. Its the last middle set, and its the first middle set thats actually been halfway decent since... planar chaos? I'm so used to middle sets being a dumping ground for reject card designs from the large set. Well this set is much better design wise than the stinker that was KTK. They really went fairly ambitious with the mechanics being explored in manifest and boolean choices. It justifies morph being reprinted, though not how KTK approached morph so painfully tepid. It makes up for that in a sense. But while its neat to see a few cards like jeskai infiltrator seeing what manifest opens up in the design space, and while the existence of a mechanic as complicated as manifest is already ambitious, the set still falls a little short in exploring what manifest could do. So its neat they went for the mechanic, but a bit lukewarm how far they went with it. And thats compounded by the other problem, the lack of good competitive enablers for manifest. We've got the scry of theros eventually rotating, but theres nothing on the level of astral slide for sure. At least some pushed flickers would be nice.
You should read today's (1/9) Latest Developments. They explicitly did not want flicker effects pushed. Scroll down to Write into Being's segment. For example, the "1GW" Griselbrand mentioned in the article.
Red got one good mythic, the same of which can be said of black and blue. Red also looks extremely fun and versatile in this set. Why people pay so much attention to mythics really bewilders me.
You should read today's (1/9) Latest Developments. They explicitly did not want flicker effects pushed. Scroll down to Write into Being's segment. For example, the "1GW" Griselbrand mentioned in the article.
Well yes its intentional, but thats erm, sort of the problem, isn't it?
Development takes overly cautious approach to standard, trying desperately to avoid letting any combos slip through. So they go out of their way not to print enablers for manifest, and the result is that manifest will have far less impact than it could have. Its terrible when they come up with a new exciting mechanic, then price virtually all cards with it out of competitive intentionally, then the one or two that might be playable have no enablers.
If wizards wasn't doing it intentionally, we'd run into random unforeseen combos
I'm wondering if there was a cycle that got cut at Uncommon.
We have Lightform, Cloudform, and Rageform, but green and black have no "Form." Green has the Formless Nurturing, but that's not quite the same.
I mean, jeez, if you're gonna make something that wordy, get some use out of it!
I'm not crazy right? Not the only one who saw this?
im expecting zen fetchlands,still hope on modern masters 2
These are probably our two best chances at seeing them reprinted. The Onslaught fetches had the flavor texts of dragons dying there, but the Zen fetches could have the flavor of the dragons still living in those places.
I'm wondering if there was a cycle that got cut at Uncommon.
We have Lightform, Cloudform, and Rageform, but green and black have no "Form." Green has the Formless Nurturing, but that's not quite the same.
I mean, jeez, if you're gonna make something that wordy, get some use out of it!
I'm not crazy right? Not the only one who saw this?
> Sage's reverie
so this is our new Ethereal Armor. Why. Good thing WU heroic has a bunch of other good tools, and i'd still run 1 or two
> Sandsteppe Outcast
now this guy is pretty awesome! you get a 3/2 no matter how you slice it, although i', gonna say the second mode will be chosen more often
Cloudform is pretty cool too! Now that i think about it, these Living Enchantments could actually help WU heroic. Manifest a land when you don't need more, and topdecking isn't hard with Battlewise Hoplite and Aqeous Form and such.
>Mistfire Adept, Refocus
Holy moly, look at all this heroic!
>Rakshasa's Disdain
neat.
Merciless Executioner = Slum Reaper + Warrior. Neat. hope there's more reason to draft WB warriors
yay Typhoid rats!
Bloodfire enforcers are niec and easy to enable, but the payoff isnt exactly exciting outside of limited. sorry, Niv.
>Collateral Damage
more bolt!
Dragonrage is a REALLY cool take on Trumpet blast. got something else to cast? neat, go right ahead.
>Friendly fire, Mob Rule
lol.
Gore swine, Frost walker
so now temur has a 3 drop or less that enables ferocious in each color. awesome!
to be honest, I was disapointed in KTK as far as Riku EDH stuff there was. with Ainok Guide and Shaman of the Great hunt, I'm much more excited.
Cashed Defenses
hey look, a noncreature Ferocious enabler. but the question becomes: is the Ferocious deck (in limited) going to be good enough to want at least one of them?
Battlefront Krushok
Hm... Riku Graft?
Feral krushok's flavor
heh.
Winds of Qal sisma
so that was the new fog card todd was talking about. huh.
Well, i wish there were multicolored cards, but that's just because i like them. Cn't wait to draft it!
enchanting Witchstalker with Raised by Wolves
I am as well. =( I love deathdealer. Also, it looks like sultai is going full blown reanimator for now too.
I'd imagine that they're like predecessors to Rhinos. Like Mastodons and Sabertooth Tigers are in this set, rather than the more modern creatures in Khans.
I like the flavor text, I think it's pretty clear.
Leaving aside that Beast Within exists for a second. (A good hint about green: If it says "target creature with flying", it belongs in the trash.)
Fascination looks, well, fascinating in Nekusar, the Mindrazer.
Really, they reprinted Typhoid Rats? Why? Same with Hunt the Weak.
Sage's Reverie is too good for white. Namely, in that it's a card draw spell that may produce card advantage.
Reach of Shadows is hilariously bad.
Grave Strength may see play in The Mimeoplasm, since it just grafts Boneyard Wurm onto your creature. Sudden Reclamation might also see play in a number of EDH decks.
Ancestral Vengeance passes the Sun Titan test, though it's a bit weak as removal.
Battlefront Krushok looks useful in limited. Also, 'krushok'?
Mob Rule is basically "Choose one: You win the game, or you win the game."
All in all, this set looks good.
On phasing:
Nice catch, I never noticed that.
I can't wait either, why isn't it tomorrow?
Where are you going tomorrow? Prerelease is the 16th
I really want to see an boxing of the prerelease and get some idea of the promos if they are all frf or a mix. (I'm going to guess a mix, because i don't buy for a second that Monastery mentor and the others will be a promo.)
It's nice to have more than one piece of versatile, instant-speed removal in a 99-card deck. And technically Return to the Earth doesn't say "target creature with flying."
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
thanks to DNC of Heroes of the Plane Studios for the coolest sig
vintage-WBdark timesBW
legacy-BGRJund-51/60BGR
RBBob Sligh 48/60BR
GRone land belcherRG
URBTES-54/60URB
Fun deck-BBBBKobolds stormBBBB
W
Monastery Mentor
Soulfire Grand Master
U
Temporal Trespass
Torrent Elemental
B
Brutal Hordechief
Ghastly Conscription
R
Shaman of the Great Hunt
G
Warden of the First Tree
Whisperwood Elemental
X
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Edit: adding card link
I also love Orc Sureshot. Dat art. Dat flavortext. Dat orc. It's also not that shabby. 4/2 for 4 is alright, and it's only a shame it's not a Warrior 'cuz it could definitely do some work in Constructed by curving into Goblin Rabblemaster. The only thing that keeps it from being a perfect card is the fact it doesn't haves Reach.
Is this post a joke?
is this this user's shtick?
Past Ruminations
Links are broken, will fix in near future.
- Kaladesh
- Zendikar
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Alara Reborn
- Innistrad <- Personal Favorite
- Dark Ascension
- Avacyn Restored
- Theros
- Return to Ravnica
- Tarkir
Red got one good mythic, the same of which can be said of black and blue. Red also looks extremely fun and versatile in this set. Why people pay so much attention to mythics really bewilders me.
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Well yes its intentional, but thats erm, sort of the problem, isn't it?
Development takes overly cautious approach to standard, trying desperately to avoid letting any combos slip through. So they go out of their way not to print enablers for manifest, and the result is that manifest will have far less impact than it could have. Its terrible when they come up with a new exciting mechanic, then price virtually all cards with it out of competitive intentionally, then the one or two that might be playable have no enablers.
If wizards wasn't doing it intentionally, we'd run into random unforeseen combos
We have Lightform, Cloudform, and Rageform, but green and black have no "Form." Green has the Formless Nurturing, but that's not quite the same.
I mean, jeez, if you're gonna make something that wordy, get some use out of it!
I'm not crazy right? Not the only one who saw this?
These are probably our two best chances at seeing them reprinted. The Onslaught fetches had the flavor texts of dragons dying there, but the Zen fetches could have the flavor of the dragons still living in those places.
If not in the next set then probably in MM2.
Maybe we'll get the green and black ones in DTK.
Almost always irrelevant ferocious but still better.
Better than Magma Spray? Damage to a player is a big deal I guess.
I was thinking when Soulfire Grand Master was spoiled that Shock would be nice.