This deserves discussion given the division about the Gatewatch. For those who can't click the link, here's what it says:
zwomally asked: We have another Standard environment with a top level Lilliana and Gideon. I get you want to push the Gatewatch but the same ones is a little tiring.
When we started with the Gatewatch storyline, we began with the assumption that the Gatewatch, the core five, at least, should always be represented on planeswalker cards in Standard. (And remember Standard was 18 months at the time.) As we started to roll this plan out, we got feedback from many of you that this was problematic.
Yes, you wanted Gatewatch planeswalkers but we didn’t need to do them so often. You wanted the opportunity to see other favorites return or have new planeswalkers in some of those slots.
We heard you, but we work far ahead so there’s always a gap before you can see us react to feedback. Hours of Devastation was the first set that we could revamp how we did this. So starting with Hour, we’ve pulled back significantly on how often Gatewatch planeswalkers appear. They’ll appear when it’s important but at a much slower rate. We will use those slots instead to do more returning and new planeswalkers.
So this is an interesting change. Makes you wonder who'll we get in their places...Tibalt plz?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
This is going to be so great. We are going to see what Amonkhet humans/living things will get their spark from the Hekma being destroyed and the desert consuming their cities. Perfect place to start.
Or...God Planeswalkers like what happened with Xenagos five-fold.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The essence of every world, every spell and every thought is power. Nothing else matters, because nothing else exists."
This guy for starters works for the current story.
We saw Vraska on the Atlazan packaging and Ashiok is speculated to be Amonkheti. Many more PWs mentioned in passing and new ones to meet.
I for one am in favor of this policy shift.
I'm very glad there will be a happy medium from here on out - or at least in next block. The Gatewatch consists of characters that I like, but I also want other stories.
Unfortunately they won't scrap the rabble altogether, but I'll take anything at this point
I don't mind them having a core group of Planeswalkers that appears consistently. We already had that with the Core sets. The issue was that they all as a group were just too frequent, at least for me. Tone down how often they show up and it's all good. Hoping we won't see all five of them each year.
I hope Hour of Devastation introduces Bolas's Legion of Doom. Ramaz, local planeswalkers and new ones we haven't met yet. Was hoping for a Sphinx walker in Amonkhet, but that seems unlikely at the moment with Nissa still to come and the potential walker from the last unknown booster packaging.
EDIT: Crap, only three walkers in Amonkhet. Just Nissa then
You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. I can't wait till I can play my bicycle land out, thus making me heckbent, while I have Nessie on the field. You know, so I can attack with my Pervert.
This is a good step. I'd rather see them scrap this painfully focus tested, low rent comic book superhero team-up squad altogether, but at least this is something.
Unfortunately they won't scrap the rabble altogether, but I'll take anything at this point
My thoughts exactly. It's about damn time they started. I'd prefer the Gatewatch being scrapped completely, but this is the best thing that could happen for now.
It gives the creative team more freedom because they don't need to continue to find reasons for the Gatewatch to be on a given plane, while also opening the plot of stories to be more planarly contained and less Multiversally designed. It also lets the standard walkers explore different avenues of magic based on their color (kinda like the planeswalker commanders). It will also open walker spots up to more multi-color walkers.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Currently Playing:
Standard - Some kind of control
Modern - UB Mill (casual)
EDH - Meren's Grave Shenanigans
This is glorious news. It was getting oh-so tiresome having the super-friends printed 27 times a year. Looking forward to more Vraska, Garruk and Sorin. Some new walkers, too!
On the plus side, they finally printed some good Chandras (and one REALLY good Chandra) because of her joining the Gatewatch and getting so many new PW cards.
I also like MaRo pointing out (again) that a) they listen to feedback but b) it takes a while to turn feedback into results.
I hope players of the game see this and realize that their feedback is important, as is their patience and trust that they are being heard.
It bothers me that people think that Wizards can turn on a dime. Even if it was universally hated problems they can't move that fast. It takes time to alter all of their story plans, all of their cards, and their is the matter of the cost doing that too, art that doesn't get used and the like.
I'm what seems to be a pretty rare fan of the Gatewatch on this forum, but I'm cool with this: a stable cast of main characters gave me reason to invest in the story, but a wider cast of planeswalkers makes for better variety of gameplay. Different aspects of the franchise, different needs.
(It's not like "Gatewatch walkers will get cards less frequently" is the same as "the Gatewatch is being dropped from the story" - if anything, them showing up in lower concentration means that the "one or two Gatewatch members go off and have their own adventure for a block" sort of story will become more likely, which is good for the possibility of more focused character development.)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The true measure of all heroes is not what they achieve, but who they inspire." —Triumph of Gerrard
I also like MaRo pointing out (again) that a) they listen to feedback but b) it takes a while to turn feedback into results.
I hope players of the game see this and realize that their feedback is important, as is their patience and trust that they are being heard.
The sad and disheartening thing is that they needed the feedback to begin with. I mean, someone in power actually thought using the same five planeswalkers over and over was a good idea? It wreaks of uncreative, non-playing business people sticking their noses where they don't belong.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If the Vikings were around today, they would probably be amazed at how much glow-in-the-dark stuff we have, and how we take it for granted.
This guy for starters works for the current story.
We saw Vraska on the Atlazan packaging and Ashiok is speculated to be Amonkheti. Many more PWs mentioned in passing and new ones to meet.
I for one am in favor of this policy shift.
Ashiok is Therosian.
Actually "unknown". Ashiok is not native to Theros. So the speculation is they are native to Amonkhet based on their clothes that seem to match with other inhabitants.
This guy for starters works for the current story.
We saw Vraska on the Atlazan packaging and Ashiok is speculated to be Amonkheti. Many more PWs mentioned in passing and new ones to meet.
I for one am in favor of this policy shift.
Ashiok is Therosian.
We don't know Ashiok's origin. That said, we were told they "came to Theros because of the strong power of devotion and belief of the plane's mortals", which sort of implies that they are distinctly not from Theros. Their attire does look like they could have come from Amonkhet.
On the plus side, they finally printed some good Chandras (and one REALLY good Chandra) because of her joining the Gatewatch and getting so many new PW cards.
I think part of that also deals in WOTC getting better with higher-rarity red cards.
Good news, I don't mind seeing new cards for the Gatewatch, but having them be half of the planeswalkers released in a year(more with planeswalker decks) is a bit too much.
This deserves discussion given the division about the Gatewatch. For those who can't click the link, here's what it says:
zwomally asked: We have another Standard environment with a top level Lilliana and Gideon. I get you want to push the Gatewatch but the same ones is a little tiring.
When we started with the Gatewatch storyline, we began with the assumption that the Gatewatch, the core five, at least, should always be represented on planeswalker cards in Standard. (And remember Standard was 18 months at the time.) As we started to roll this plan out, we got feedback from many of you that this was problematic.
Yes, you wanted Gatewatch planeswalkers but we didn’t need to do them so often. You wanted the opportunity to see other favorites return or have new planeswalkers in some of those slots.
We heard you, but we work far ahead so there’s always a gap before you can see us react to feedback. Hours of Devastation was the first set that we could revamp how we did this. So starting with Hour, we’ve pulled back significantly on how often Gatewatch planeswalkers appear. They’ll appear when it’s important but at a much slower rate. We will use those slots instead to do more returning and new planeswalkers.
So this is an interesting change. Makes you wonder who'll we get in their places...Tibalt plz?
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.
Or...God Planeswalkers like what happened with Xenagos five-fold.
This guy for starters works for the current story.
We saw Vraska on the Atlazan packaging and Ashiok is speculated to be Amonkheti. Many more PWs mentioned in passing and new ones to meet.
I for one am in favor of this policy shift.
How you should approach every game of Magic.
Mod Helpdesk (defunct)
My Flawless Score MCC Card | My Other One | # Three!
I'm very glad there will be a happy medium from here on out - or at least in next block. The Gatewatch consists of characters that I like, but I also want other stories.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I don't mind them having a core group of Planeswalkers that appears consistently. We already had that with the Core sets. The issue was that they all as a group were just too frequent, at least for me. Tone down how often they show up and it's all good. Hoping we won't see all five of them each year.
EDIT: Crap, only three walkers in Amonkhet. Just Nissa then
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/159305312688/hey-mark-how-many-planeswalkers-are-in-amonkhet
My thoughts exactly. It's about damn time they started. I'd prefer the Gatewatch being scrapped completely, but this is the best thing that could happen for now.
Standard - Some kind of control
Modern - UB Mill (casual)
EDH - Meren's Grave Shenanigans
I hope players of the game see this and realize that their feedback is important, as is their patience and trust that they are being heard.
Great way to start the weekend. Thank you, Wizards.
Fully-powered 600-Card "Dream Cube" https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/dreamcube
450-Card "Artificer's Cube" https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/artificer
Cubing in Indianapolis...send me a PM!!
It bothers me that people think that Wizards can turn on a dime. Even if it was universally hated problems they can't move that fast. It takes time to alter all of their story plans, all of their cards, and their is the matter of the cost doing that too, art that doesn't get used and the like.
I'm what seems to be a pretty rare fan of the Gatewatch on this forum, but I'm cool with this: a stable cast of main characters gave me reason to invest in the story, but a wider cast of planeswalkers makes for better variety of gameplay. Different aspects of the franchise, different needs.
(It's not like "Gatewatch walkers will get cards less frequently" is the same as "the Gatewatch is being dropped from the story" - if anything, them showing up in lower concentration means that the "one or two Gatewatch members go off and have their own adventure for a block" sort of story will become more likely, which is good for the possibility of more focused character development.)
The sad and disheartening thing is that they needed the feedback to begin with. I mean, someone in power actually thought using the same five planeswalkers over and over was a good idea? It wreaks of uncreative, non-playing business people sticking their noses where they don't belong.
Actually "unknown". Ashiok is not native to Theros. So the speculation is they are native to Amonkhet based on their clothes that seem to match with other inhabitants.
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
Well. Mostly.
In his Second 100 days - Yawgmoth's Bargain is unrestricted in Vintage.
What is going to happen in the Next 100 days!!!