They focused too much on Pirates and Dinosaurs (tbh I'm already pretty tired of seeing and reading about them everywhere). It feels like the two-color tribes got shafted a bit.
Seems fair enough for me since Merfolks and Vampires both already have a tons and tons of tribal support in other sets.
Ship seems...fine. It's not exciting, but the card definitely feels like it would be too strong in Limited at uncommon. We haven't seen too much explore yet, but even assuming there are 20 basic lands, we're still missing ~80 cards in the set, so there's plenty of opportunity for more explore support that would push this beyond a reasonable level for a Limited uncommon.
It's not really an assumption anymore, it's a verifiable fact; when IXA lands were found in HOU boosters there were 4 of each numbered from 260 thru 279.
Especially that vehicle. Wow. This set has some great cards, but the bad ones are REALLY bad.
If this is the caliber of explore enablers in this set, well, explore... we hardly knew ye.
Welcome to like, every set ever.
Let me be more specific: for the last two years, I feel like the Magic's quality as a game has been mostly in the toilet, as compared specifically to the previous 10-12 years (more or less the entire Modern era up to 2015), which has been seeming more and more like a golden age as it recedes into the distant horizon.
XLN has given me renewed hope. I see cards that seem fresh, inspired, fun, compelling, and powerful. Some of this stuff really makes me want to get back into this game.
But holy moly the filler rares just got absolutely drowned in raw sewage.
To put it another way, it feels like XLN is a product of different design, development, and creative processes than we've seen before. It feels like they've really invested a lot in some great ideas, maybe at the expense of the less great ones. The set feels very polarized. On the whole I like it because finally there's some there there, again. The misses are just nowhere. But I think that's probably OK.
Especially that vehicle. Wow. This set has some great cards, but the bad ones are REALLY bad.
If this is the caliber of explore enablers in this set, well, explore... we hardly knew ye.
Welcome to like, every set ever.
Let me be more specific: for the last two years, I feel like the Magic's quality as a game has been mostly in the toilet, as compared specifically to the previous 10-12 years (more or less the entire Modern era up to 2015), which has been seeming more and more like a golden age as it recedes into the distant horizon.
Half of Modern is just Zendikar standard. Boy I sure miss those days. It's unfortunate that these newer sets don't contribute to the Modern pool the way older sets have. Nothing's broken when EVERYTHING is broken.
Caravel looks like the definition of GILBIC, emphasis on BIC. Sadly, it's rare.
Emissary actually does look playable. Think of it as either a 2/1 with first strike and a free land, or a 3/2 with first strike and you scry 1, albeit with neither player having absolute control over what it is. Not card advantage per se, but the tempo boost is nice in the first case, as is the superior card advantage in the second. It's no Porcelain Legionnaire, but it is pretty good in limited. (And this isn't NPH, so there aren't a bazillion tiny critters running around who can turn deadly with a few combat tricks.)
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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!
I want a dinosaur or human shaman that draws a card when it comes into play. What we got is a white piker with first strike that may draw a land card... Sad times
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Half of Modern is just Zendikar standard. Boy I sure miss those days. It's unfortunate that these newer sets don't contribute to the Modern pool the way older sets have. Nothing's broken when EVERYTHING is broken.
I'm not really talking about Modern as a format, but rather the quality of WotC's output during the Modern era (i.e., 8th Edition onwards).
I don't touch Modern (the format) with a 10-foot pole. But I think, unequivocally, the Modern period up until the Gatewatch era was the longest sustained period of quality output for just about any fantasy/hobby game I can think of, ever. XLN is giving me tinglies that maybe the ship has been righted again.
Heck, even these terrible cards are giving me those tinglies. Shadowed Caravel isn't a design failure by any means. Creatively, I kind of like it. It has panache. It gives me deckbuilding ideas, if only for a brief second. It's just that it's a gnarly skilltester / trap card that should make experienced players flee from it with great speed. At least it's interesting. It's infinitely preferable to the artlesshead-scratchers WotC has been cranking out for the last two years.
Caravel at rare looks especially silly now with Wildgrowth Walker spoiled at uncommon. So for the same CMC and the same "Gets a +1/+1 counter when any creature I control explores" trigger, it starts 1/3 rather than 2/2, but it's *always* a creature (doesn't need to be crewed), and I gain 3 life every time I explore?
I think the old logic used to be "Vehicles could have better stats than a creature of equivalent cost could because needing to crew is a substantial drawback" ... and that's not there anymore.
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Seems fair enough for me since Merfolks and Vampires both already have a tons and tons of tribal support in other sets.
Draft my cube! (630 cards)
It's not really an assumption anymore, it's a verifiable fact; when IXA lands were found in HOU boosters there were 4 of each numbered from 260 thru 279.
Because now we FOR REAL this time we know all the rares from that sheet
All that's left is the red flip card and he last artifact flip card.
We have the full 5 flip artifacts. (Conqueror's Galleon, Dowsing Dagger, Primal Amulet, Thaumatic Compass, Treasure Map). We're only missing one flip (the expected-to-be-red one).
XLN has given me renewed hope. I see cards that seem fresh, inspired, fun, compelling, and powerful. Some of this stuff really makes me want to get back into this game.
But holy moly the filler rares just got absolutely drowned in raw sewage.
To put it another way, it feels like XLN is a product of different design, development, and creative processes than we've seen before. It feels like they've really invested a lot in some great ideas, maybe at the expense of the less great ones. The set feels very polarized. On the whole I like it because finally there's some there there, again. The misses are just nowhere. But I think that's probably OK.
Half of Modern is just Zendikar standard. Boy I sure miss those days. It's unfortunate that these newer sets don't contribute to the Modern pool the way older sets have. Nothing's broken when EVERYTHING is broken.
Emissary actually does look playable. Think of it as either a 2/1 with first strike and a free land, or a 3/2 with first strike and you scry 1, albeit with neither player having absolute control over what it is. Not card advantage per se, but the tempo boost is nice in the first case, as is the superior card advantage in the second. It's no Porcelain Legionnaire, but it is pretty good in limited. (And this isn't NPH, so there aren't a bazillion tiny critters running around who can turn deadly with a few combat tricks.)
On phasing:
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I don't touch Modern (the format) with a 10-foot pole. But I think, unequivocally, the Modern period up until the Gatewatch era was the longest sustained period of quality output for just about any fantasy/hobby game I can think of, ever. XLN is giving me tinglies that maybe the ship has been righted again.
Heck, even these terrible cards are giving me those tinglies. Shadowed Caravel isn't a design failure by any means. Creatively, I kind of like it. It has panache. It gives me deckbuilding ideas, if only for a brief second. It's just that it's a gnarly skilltester / trap card that should make experienced players flee from it with great speed. At least it's interesting. It's infinitely preferable to the artless head-scratchers WotC has been cranking out for the last two years.
I think the old logic used to be "Vehicles could have better stats than a creature of equivalent cost could because needing to crew is a substantial drawback" ... and that's not there anymore.