I'll ignore the common one and talk about the rare...
I mean, the land is alright by itself, Hanwei Garrison is awful on constructed by itself.
you need to get both, then spend 6 mana to transform...
I mean, if Hanweir, the Writhing township was a regular card that costed 3RR + sacrifice a dude and an untapped land to cast, it would be REALLY, REALLY bad, and that's a TON better than what this card is.
it won't see constructed play, and you won't be able to get it on limited.
So the 'tuner' is the top half of the meld (in this case Gisela) and Bruna is the bottom half and thus has the collector number. It's that way with Hanweir and Chittering too - the 'tuner' (the side with the meld ability) is the top half and the other material is the bottom half.
Really wish Bruna was an ETB effect, would love to put her to use in Saffi, makes getting her and her sister together easier.
Still, almost tempted to try the pair out in the deck just for shiggles.
Pretty exciting spoiler day. Disappointed we only get 3 pairs of meld cards though. We're never gonna see the mechanic again, so I'd have loved to see them do as much as they possibly could with it, and I don't really feel that they have.
Emerge is great, reminds me of Convoke in a good way.
Escalate should be playable too. Article doesn't specify, but I'm guessing you can't choose the same mode more than once, meaning no paying over and over for multiples of the same effect. And all the other mechanics return, yay.
I really wish they hadn't cut the art part way through for meld cards. Just put all the art on one card and the text on the other. Makes me think meld was a late idea and they didn't have time to adjust the frame.
Cool mechanic but I'm still not a fan. I dislike cards that reference others by name and the execution isn't elegant enough for me to make an exception. I hope there are players who get a kick out of it.
I normally wait to reserve judgment until I see the whole set, but my first impression of meld is that it's awful. I think it appears to be more exciting than it actually will be, unless there's a way to easily tutor for meld cards.
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Ehm... she is a 5/7 Flying, Vigilance cow that reanimates another beater (potentially her surely constructed playable sister) to make a huge bomb flyer if ever the case happens. Even as an Unburial Rites on a huge stick, leaving apart the Meld clause, she's way more than the normal "Intro Pack rare"! Every Intro Pack rare isn't necessarily Angel of Glory's Rise...
My guess is that Gisela will be played as a 3 or 4 of in the decks that she's in, since she's a win-con all on her own. If she gets Doom Bladed, those decks (assuming it's a midrange one) will run 2 or so copies of Bruna that will almost certainly close out the game when Melded (I mean, what removal in standard costs more than 3 CMC?)
Ehm... she is a 5/7 Flying, Vigilance cow that reanimates another beater (potentially her surely constructed playable sister) to make a huge bomb flyer if ever the case happens. Even as an Unburial Rites on a huge stick, leaving apart the Meld clause, she's way more than the normal "Intro Pack rare"! Every Intro Pack rare isn't necessarily Angel of Glory's Rise...
There was some hyberbole there, but the contrast is stark. Gisela is a well costed mythic rare that looks very good on her own. Bruna is a rare and looks like a typical overcosted angel - kind of like Emeria Shepherd.
Promising stuff this first day. The common Meld pair will be fun to try and grab in limited, and the other two look legitimately playable. Both halves of the Writhing Township look playable on their own-- a 2/3 for 3 that puts two additional creatures tapped and attacking is very good, and a land that can grant haste has potential as well. And then if you just happen to have both cards out, you can meld and get a gigantic attacker out of nowhere.
Bruna and Gisela also have some great potential for seeing standard play. Gisela is a cheaper, smaller Baneslayer Angel, which is honestly enough said. 4/3 instead of a 5/5, but being 4 mana instead of 5 is huge. This is also a weaker standard than when Baneslayer last flew the skies, so she'll be good here. Bruna is seven mana, but she's definitely worth it. A 5/7 vigilant flying body is pretty good, but the ability to ressurect an Angel or Human upon it being *cast* is crazy. Even if your opponent counters it, you get an effect. And what an effect it is. If Gisela fell in battle earlier, you get to bring her back, but there are also a bevy of playable cards that are incidentally humans that you might have played, and Archangel Avacyn is a fine target for Bruna's ability in case Gisela isn't there.
The sheer amount of inevitability Bruna represents is very appealing--if Gisela died earlier in the game, you get to play Bruna and instantly put your opponent on the back foot. They need to have an instant speed answer right then, or Brisela is going to make things extremely difficult for them. Brisela dodges a *huge* amount of removal, provides a massive wall that represents *nine* life gained if she blocks, and is a clock your opponents are going to have a hell of a time outpacing. Certain decks will be almost unable to beat her.
I think a lot of people are going to see the seven CMC cost for Bruna and dismiss her out of hand, but I think that'd be a mistake.
I mean, the land is alright by itself, Hanwei Garrison is awful on constructed by itself.
you need to get both, then spend 6 mana to transform...
I mean, if Hanweir, the Writhing township was a regular card that costed 3RR + sacrifice a dude and an untapped land to cast, it would be REALLY, REALLY bad, and that's a TON better than what this card is.
it won't see constructed play, and you won't be able to get it on limited.
it's really awful.
Three mana creature that creates tokens is unplayable in constructed? That's why I was able to buy a play set of rabblemasters for $8 total when m15 came out, a blatant misunderstanding of what constitutes as powerful in the game of magic until they get steam rolled by it. The truth is, the creature is way WAY better than the land. You are definitely right about limited though. If you get the land, but not the creature, you basically just lost a rare for your deck. At least if you get the creature you have a powerful token maker. The township is never being melded in limited though
I'm still not a fan. I dislike cards that reference others by name and the execution isn't elegant enough for me to make an exception. I hope there are players who get a kick out of it.
I normally wait to reserve judgment until I see the whole set, but my first impression of meld is that it's awful. I think it appears to be more exciting than it actually will be, unless there's a way to easily tutor for meld cards.
Other than there just not being enough of them, most of what we got is either your typical limited fodder but now with an upside or outright good (Gisela for instance). The only so-so is the rare pair.
I'm shocked the Angels didn't at least get another color...not that my Azorius commander deck is complaining.
Eh, I'm glad for it myself. Makes it easier to slot them in places, and for EDH you don't have to worry about color identity issues trying to run the sisters.
i get the impression that there´s just too much going on with this set. Merge is a freaking mess. That plus some real complicated mechanics, kind of overloads the set a bit in my opinion.
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Wow, I really love the flavor homerun on meld, and can't wait to see all the whiners on this site lose their wits over cards that aren't designed for their competitive playstyle.
There was some hyberbole there, but the contrast is stark. Gisela is a well costed mythic rare that looks very good on her own. Bruna is a rare and looks like a typical overcosted angel - kind of like Emeria Shepherd.
You're just looking at 2WW and 5WW pretty much. Reanimation effects usually cost 3W (Unburial Rites/False Defeat). Granted, Bruna's reanimation effect is narrow in the creature typing, but that'll shave off 1 at most, which means you get a 5/7 Vigilance Flier for 3W (since we take the reanimation at 2W).
It does carry the typical weakness of "ability slapped onto huge creature for high mana cost eats removal", but it's not the first time this has happened (technically Sheoldred, Whispering One also falls under this category) and by analyzing the effect. Good card? Likely not, but it's not overcosted either, so it's not the overcosting that made it "not-good" - it's the abilities (and stats) that demand the cost. It's a whole lot better than most of the cards that fall in this category - it's an ETB effect at least, so you still got some value out of the card if removal came running straight after it entered the battlefield.
I'll ignore the common one and talk about the rare...
I mean, the land is alright by itself, Hanwei Garrison is awful on constructed by itself.
you need to get both, then spend 6 mana to transform...
I mean, if Hanweir, the Writhing township was a regular card that costed 3RR + sacrifice a dude and an untapped land to cast, it would be REALLY, REALLY bad, and that's a TON better than what this card is.
it won't see constructed play, and you won't be able to get it on limited.
it's really awful.
Oh Serra Angel. How many times have you been outclassed already
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Still, almost tempted to try the pair out in the deck just for shiggles.
Pretty exciting spoiler day. Disappointed we only get 3 pairs of meld cards though. We're never gonna see the mechanic again, so I'd have loved to see them do as much as they possibly could with it, and I don't really feel that they have.
Emerge is great, reminds me of Convoke in a good way.
Escalate should be playable too. Article doesn't specify, but I'm guessing you can't choose the same mode more than once, meaning no paying over and over for multiples of the same effect. And all the other mechanics return, yay.
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Cool mechanic but I'm still not a fan. I dislike cards that reference others by name and the execution isn't elegant enough for me to make an exception. I hope there are players who get a kick out of it.
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Indeed, Pia and Kiran was an intro pack rare.
My guess is that Gisela will be played as a 3 or 4 of in the decks that she's in, since she's a win-con all on her own. If she gets Doom Bladed, those decks (assuming it's a midrange one) will run 2 or so copies of Bruna that will almost certainly close out the game when Melded (I mean, what removal in standard costs more than 3 CMC?)
There was some hyberbole there, but the contrast is stark. Gisela is a well costed mythic rare that looks very good on her own. Bruna is a rare and looks like a typical overcosted angel - kind of like Emeria Shepherd.
UR Blue-Red Control
Modern:
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Bruna and Gisela also have some great potential for seeing standard play. Gisela is a cheaper, smaller Baneslayer Angel, which is honestly enough said. 4/3 instead of a 5/5, but being 4 mana instead of 5 is huge. This is also a weaker standard than when Baneslayer last flew the skies, so she'll be good here. Bruna is seven mana, but she's definitely worth it. A 5/7 vigilant flying body is pretty good, but the ability to ressurect an Angel or Human upon it being *cast* is crazy. Even if your opponent counters it, you get an effect. And what an effect it is. If Gisela fell in battle earlier, you get to bring her back, but there are also a bevy of playable cards that are incidentally humans that you might have played, and Archangel Avacyn is a fine target for Bruna's ability in case Gisela isn't there.
The sheer amount of inevitability Bruna represents is very appealing--if Gisela died earlier in the game, you get to play Bruna and instantly put your opponent on the back foot. They need to have an instant speed answer right then, or Brisela is going to make things extremely difficult for them. Brisela dodges a *huge* amount of removal, provides a massive wall that represents *nine* life gained if she blocks, and is a clock your opponents are going to have a hell of a time outpacing. Certain decks will be almost unable to beat her.
I think a lot of people are going to see the seven CMC cost for Bruna and dismiss her out of hand, but I think that'd be a mistake.
Mentioned in both of these articles:
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/over-moon-part-1-2016-06-27
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/eldritch-moon-mechanics-2016-06-27
I don't know if it's ever been on a proper card, but I know at least that Spirit Mirror made reflection tokens.
EDIT: A quick Gatherer search confirms that no, there has never been a creature card with the type reflection.
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Three mana creature that creates tokens is unplayable in constructed? That's why I was able to buy a play set of rabblemasters for $8 total when m15 came out, a blatant misunderstanding of what constitutes as powerful in the game of magic until they get steam rolled by it. The truth is, the creature is way WAY better than the land. You are definitely right about limited though. If you get the land, but not the creature, you basically just lost a rare for your deck. At least if you get the creature you have a powerful token maker. The township is never being melded in limited though
Matt Tabak,article about mechanics.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
In fact it is not, though no creature has previously been printed with that type as it only appeared on tokens.
Umm..why? That's a uh..strange thing to dislike.
Was confirmed in the video talking about them.
Other than there just not being enough of them, most of what we got is either your typical limited fodder but now with an upside or outright good (Gisela for instance). The only so-so is the rare pair.
Eh, I'm glad for it myself. Makes it easier to slot them in places, and for EDH you don't have to worry about color identity issues trying to run the sisters.
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A huge thanks to Argetlam and the guys at Hakai studios for this awesome banner
You're just looking at 2WW and 5WW pretty much. Reanimation effects usually cost 3W (Unburial Rites/False Defeat). Granted, Bruna's reanimation effect is narrow in the creature typing, but that'll shave off 1 at most, which means you get a 5/7 Vigilance Flier for 3W (since we take the reanimation at 2W).
It does carry the typical weakness of "ability slapped onto huge creature for high mana cost eats removal", but it's not the first time this has happened (technically Sheoldred, Whispering One also falls under this category) and by analyzing the effect. Good card? Likely not, but it's not overcosted either, so it's not the overcosting that made it "not-good" - it's the abilities (and stats) that demand the cost. It's a whole lot better than most of the cards that fall in this category - it's an ETB effect at least, so you still got some value out of the card if removal came running straight after it entered the battlefield.
UBBreya's Toybox (Competitive, Combo)WR
RGodzilla, King of the MonstersG
-Retired Decks-
UBLazav, Dimir Mastermind (Competitive, UB Voltron/Control)UB
"Knowledge is such a burden. Release it. Release all your fears to me."
—Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver