And I think we can pencil in manlands for 10 of the expeditions in OGW. The only question is the remaining 10 in OGW, likely either checklands or filterlands.
Agreed. I think the buddy lands are the next most likely candidate. Flavor neutral and probably the next best duals.
We have to admit these expeditions are a formidable decoy to hide the fact this set looks pretty tame for now. I'm surprised to be i that boat, but Ingest and Devoid don't strike me as real novelty, Rally is just naming an existing effect, and for the rest there's nothing really striking up to now. I'm surprised to be in that boat which passes along with each new extension, but this time, once the hype of expeditions died down a bit, I feel "underwhemed by this set" - and God knows how much this formulation has been abused.
i am Selesnya in my heart & therefort dissapointed by this. In fact by all alternate pictures from this set so far compared to the RTR shocklands & fetchlands. The aim to draw a Temple garden has been failed. It looks to be something different & blurred too. i cant comprehend why anyone would spend 200 $ for cards such in this set, when the same cards are affordable & look much better anyway.
Zendikar enviroments continue to be ugly, flavorless and non-descript.
The problem isn't Zendikar itself. The plane is full of ruins and small settlements, including temples. Godless shrine for instance was a very nice fit, because it gave the name an entirely new twist. The Ravnican one was making a point about how the Orzhov aren't actually religious and just exploit the faith of the peasants. The Zendikar one however adds an entirely new layer to it, because the Eldrazi were revered as gods but it turned out they're just huge devouring monsters. It's godless but in an entirely new direction. Plus, these kinds of temples existed on Zendikar before, so it also makes sense from a worldbuilding perspective.
What I don't get is why Wizards completely avoids structures and buildings for the shocklands. Look at Sunspring Expedition. The ruin, settlement or whatever it is could easily include a hallowed fountain. Temple garden could be reflavoured as a religious settlement within Ora Ondar, depicted on Khalni Heart Expedition and Khalni Garden. Or maybe just a group of overgrown hedrons in the Hedron fields of Agadeem. Really, there is so much they could do, but instead they show us weird floaty rocks with water falling down and hills with hedrons...
The enemy manlands might turn out to be actually interesting, that's true. Gideon looks nice, MAYBE he'll be modern-playable.
Ulamog is a horrible reanimation target as his ability triggers only when he's CAST. There are much better reanimation targets in Griselbrand, Iona, and Elesh Norn.
Limited might end up being the only this that doesn't suck about this set, actually. At least I don't like aggressive limited-formats like Zendikar, Theros or Origins and this set appears to be a little slower.
For me it's still too soon to judge. Let's see the other spoilers first, but what I have seen so far is the continued trend of modern and standard drifting further and further apart, until the point where all the modern reprints will be in overcosted sets with a limited printrun.
I can accept the Steam Vents. The vapor geysers are quite OK.
I can also accept Godless Shrine in the form resembling petrified Kozilek-brood large Eldrazi head.
The levitating pineapple that is supposed to be Hallowed Fountain is ridiculous.
This, whereas a kickass art overall, is neither a temple,nor a garden. That is indisputable.
There ARE temple-like structures on Zendikar, apparently - see Bring to Light from yesterday's spoilers. Why did not they use something like that, with grass and hedrons flying above?
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That lands looks very RG to me as what is depicted here is very obviously a mountain and not a plains, but whatever. It's not like I'm going to be sad when I open one.
I can accept the Steam Vents. The vapor geysers are quite OK.
I can also accept Godless Shrine in the form resembling petrified Kozilek-brood large Eldrazi head.
The levitating pineapple that is supposed to be Hallowed Fountain is ridiculous.
This, whereas a kickass art overall, is neither a temple,nor a garden. That is indisputable.
There ARE temple-like structures on Zendikar, apparently - see Bring to Light from yesterday's spoilers. Why did not they use something like that, with grass and hedrons flying above?
Actually, the fountain does not bother me at all as clearly the latin racin of the word means "waterfall" or "spring" (being french with actually the word 'fontaine' with that meaning makes me biased I understand). I believe the legendary "fountain of youth" is also supposed to be a natural spring, so the english meaning must work.
That art is just stupidly neither a temple, neither a garden, neither a plains and neither a garden. I think they should have made a stonehenge-like structure with hedrons and trees that circles a garden.
Agreed. I think the art for Steam Vents, Godless Shrine, and Hallowed Fountain are all fitting. This one has me a bit baffled though.
I hope the general community dislikes these as much as this this thread does. I really want to get a few for modern.
Also not really sure why 'temple' needs to fit the narrow western idea of what what a place of worship can be. I wouldn't think twice if someone told me this a was a holy place to the denizens of the planes.
I hope the general community dislikes these as much as this this thread does. I really want to get a few for modern.
Also not really sure why 'temple' needs to fit the narrow western idea of what what a place of worship can be. I wouldn't think twice if someone told me this a was a holy place to the denizens of the planes.
That's what I said. Temple and Garden can both be wiggled to fit this. The only real problem with this art is that it's a mountain.
This. I dislike how all these new promos aren't depicting what the card name is.
I dislike how narrow minded people are when it comes to interpretation of a name/theme. Zendikar is a very Wild and unruly world, it is NOT Ravinica, so the lands should not be what you would see in Ravinca, nor do they even need to be like them at all, (different world). On Zendikar this place could be regarded as a temple. Don't let your preconcived notions limit your mind.
I hope the general community dislikes these as much as this this thread does. I really want to get a few for modern.
Also not really sure why 'temple' needs to fit the narrow western idea of what what a place of worship can be. I wouldn't think twice if someone told me this a was a holy place to the denizens of the planes.
That's what I said. Temple and Garden can both be wiggled to fit this. The only real problem with this art is that it's a mountain.
Mmmm, I sort of guess. Mesas are a common Native American sacred site (temple of sorts), and should produce either W or R too. They could have made it a little more temple-ie like the godless shrine is--but hey, do that wiggling and we're good. Can't let mountains have a stranglehold on red mana.
Try this ***** on for size:
An island in magic history can be any land mass/shape/formation. Its only an island because its surrounded by water. The only thing thats consistent is the water part so why isn't the basic land type for U a sea or ocean? I'm not stoned enough for this to sound like as much of a compelling as an argument as it could be, but maybe you are.
edit: to note, the full art has the appearance of a zendikar floaty hedron version of stonehenge--which is a little easier to conceptualize as a GW duel than when you just focus on the more mountainy part of the art. Depending on how they crop this piece it may be slightly less objectionable than it currently stands to some viewers.
Mmmm, I sort of guess. Mesas are a common Native American sacred site (temple of sorts), and should produce either W or R too. They could have made it a little more temple-ie like the godless shrine is--but hey, do that wiggling and we're good. Can't let mountains have a stranglehold on red mana.
Try this ***** on for size:
An island in magic history can be any land mass/shape/formation. Its only an island because its surrounded by water. The only thing thats consistent is the water part so why isn't the basic land type for U a sea or ocean? I'm not stoned enough for this to sound like as much of a compelling as an argument as it could be, but maybe you are.
edit: to note, the full art has the appearance of a zendikar floaty hedron version of stonehenge--which is a little easier to conceptualize as a GW duel than when you just focus on the more mountainy part of the art. Depending on how they crop this piece it may be slightly less objectionable than it currently stands to some viewers.
Woah son. I'm backing your point and you start talking about how I must be stoned for it to work? A temple is a place of worship. It doesn't require a building. A garden is a place where plants are curated. That doesn't require the plants to be organized into rows and planters. Like I, and you, said I wouldn't blink at a Zendikari telling me this was a holy place for them. If it wasn't on a mountain no one else would be blinking at it either.
This art looks like a temple garden about as much as it looks like Temple University, and that ain't North Philly. The art director could have just written "Paint a temple garden dumbass" as the description to the artist and they would have given painted something much more fitting than this mountain. I guess they just said "Give us something green and white" and the artist phoned it in while enjoying a breakfast of Vicodin washed down with a bottle of cheap soju.
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Gotta agree with Richard above. This (and a lot of other things, like calling these 'full art') is a huge let down by wizards. This is not a temple, nor a garden. It's not even art done that well. Where is the detail? Maybe because these are not going to be seen much they completely skimped on the budget.
This art is breathtaking. Would you guys really prefer a picture of a steeple?
The art on its own is indeed breathtaking. The fact that it's the 4,376th !@#$-ing hedron I've seen today makes it, in the end, just predictable and banal.
Edit: And, in the end, the fact that all of these fetchlands and shocks are chock-filled with meaningless hedrons instead of interesting depictions of the card name, means that they will be that much less sought after once the novelty wears off.
Agreed. I think the buddy lands are the next most likely candidate. Flavor neutral and probably the next best duals.
The hedrons are being worshipped on Zendikar at present, and this is a garden in a sacred place where a hill reaches into them.
It's a hill, not a mountain, judging by the surroundings.
The problem isn't Zendikar itself. The plane is full of ruins and small settlements, including temples. Godless shrine for instance was a very nice fit, because it gave the name an entirely new twist. The Ravnican one was making a point about how the Orzhov aren't actually religious and just exploit the faith of the peasants. The Zendikar one however adds an entirely new layer to it, because the Eldrazi were revered as gods but it turned out they're just huge devouring monsters. It's godless but in an entirely new direction. Plus, these kinds of temples existed on Zendikar before, so it also makes sense from a worldbuilding perspective.
What I don't get is why Wizards completely avoids structures and buildings for the shocklands. Look at Sunspring Expedition. The ruin, settlement or whatever it is could easily include a hallowed fountain. Temple garden could be reflavoured as a religious settlement within Ora Ondar, depicted on Khalni Heart Expedition and Khalni Garden. Or maybe just a group of overgrown hedrons in the Hedron fields of Agadeem. Really, there is so much they could do, but instead they show us weird floaty rocks with water falling down and hills with hedrons...
Ulamog is a horrible reanimation target as his ability triggers only when he's CAST. There are much better reanimation targets in Griselbrand, Iona, and Elesh Norn.
Limited might end up being the only this that doesn't suck about this set, actually. At least I don't like aggressive limited-formats like Zendikar, Theros or Origins and this set appears to be a little slower.
For me it's still too soon to judge. Let's see the other spoilers first, but what I have seen so far is the continued trend of modern and standard drifting further and further apart, until the point where all the modern reprints will be in overcosted sets with a limited printrun.
I can accept the Steam Vents. The vapor geysers are quite OK.
I can also accept Godless Shrine in the form resembling petrified Kozilek-brood large Eldrazi head.
The levitating pineapple that is supposed to be Hallowed Fountain is ridiculous.
This, whereas a kickass art overall, is neither a temple, nor a garden. That is indisputable.
There ARE temple-like structures on Zendikar, apparently - see Bring to Light from yesterday's spoilers. Why did not they use something like that, with grass and hedrons flying above?
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Agreed. I think the art for Steam Vents, Godless Shrine, and Hallowed Fountain are all fitting. This one has me a bit baffled though.
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Also not really sure why 'temple' needs to fit the narrow western idea of what what a place of worship can be. I wouldn't think twice if someone told me this a was a holy place to the denizens of the planes.
That's what I said. Temple and Garden can both be wiggled to fit this. The only real problem with this art is that it's a mountain.
I dislike how narrow minded people are when it comes to interpretation of a name/theme. Zendikar is a very Wild and unruly world, it is NOT Ravinica, so the lands should not be what you would see in Ravinca, nor do they even need to be like them at all, (different world). On Zendikar this place could be regarded as a temple. Don't let your preconcived notions limit your mind.
Mmmm, I sort of guess. Mesas are a common Native American sacred site (temple of sorts), and should produce either W or R too. They could have made it a little more temple-ie like the godless shrine is--but hey, do that wiggling and we're good. Can't let mountains have a stranglehold on red mana.
Try this ***** on for size:
An island in magic history can be any land mass/shape/formation. Its only an island because its surrounded by water. The only thing thats consistent is the water part so why isn't the basic land type for U a sea or ocean? I'm not stoned enough for this to sound like as much of a compelling as an argument as it could be, but maybe you are.
edit: to note, the full art has the appearance of a zendikar floaty hedron version of stonehenge--which is a little easier to conceptualize as a GW duel than when you just focus on the more mountainy part of the art. Depending on how they crop this piece it may be slightly less objectionable than it currently stands to some viewers.
Woah son. I'm backing your point and you start talking about how I must be stoned for it to work? A temple is a place of worship. It doesn't require a building. A garden is a place where plants are curated. That doesn't require the plants to be organized into rows and planters. Like I, and you, said I wouldn't blink at a Zendikari telling me this was a holy place for them. If it wasn't on a mountain no one else would be blinking at it either.
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Why did they have to inflict meaningless hedrons on all these bling-lands?
The art on its own is indeed breathtaking. The fact that it's the 4,376th !@#$-ing hedron I've seen today makes it, in the end, just predictable and banal.
Edit: And, in the end, the fact that all of these fetchlands and shocks are chock-filled with meaningless hedrons instead of interesting depictions of the card name, means that they will be that much less sought after once the novelty wears off.