This article came out yesterday. That article reinforces what I feared would and will happen in standard. Why do I think and feel this way? It is because I've seen wizards do this before, time and time again. It doesn't take a genius level intellect to figure out that cards like Boneyard Parley are junk, yet, it will fit into someone's Lothar of the Hillpeople edh deck. It's a trend really, every set they've made a 7-8 mana black sorcery that is unplayable garbage outside of edh.
Once again, this stuff is really condescending. The existence of big, splashy casual cards do not mean whatever cards you like can't exist too. If Wakening Sun's Avatar is perfect for some Timmy's Timeweaver Rumnas EDH list, then yay for Timmy! He's having fun, playing cards that were made for him! I wonder what that would be like.
Yeah, that's great. Timmy gets a new edh card. But, it has no bearing on a standard dominated by two decks, an abundance of casual cards, and weak tribes. Which, has been my point since the beginning.
Also, don't talk to me about being condescending after his tirade of netdeck and troll comments, just because I dislike this new set and hate what standard will become.
That you talk about commander without knowing it. This set is less edh appealing than, for example, Avacyn Restored
What is there to know? It's a casual format. People play whatever garbage wizard's prints. "That will go in my..." is a recurring theme on these forums and the cards are trash.
"Garbage" should be a pretty subjective term, here. MTG history is rife with cards that were "garbage" when they were released, or even for years after, and then suddenly they found the right deck and the demand and price skyrocketed (here's looking at you, Lion's Eye Diamond).
Be a little more patient and take the long view on the game. If every set was Ravnica or Zendikar, power creep would spiral out of control and there would be no point in playing cards more than 2-3 sets old.
As far as Ixalan, I'm pretty disappointed that dinos are so narrow (in EDH terms), but there's always hope we'll get something more down the line. I think limited will be fun, and personally I'm excited about Overflowing Insight for Locust God and Tashana for Animar.
relax there has ben edh decks made with narrow choices before we have just enough to get started and be nice and strong
And we should see 16-26ish more dinosaurs in the next set and should fill up the weak points.
Oh speculating that dinosaurs could get the same treatment as some of the popular tribes, which is atleast 1 or more in each set.
I think I've learned to treat Magic cards like baseball cards: keep 'em in a binder in numerical order, don't play with 'em, try to finish the set and just keep my head down.
I don't follow. Most sets are plane-and-era based. And these days a great deal of sets are returns to established planes. Most planes don't have dinosaurs (at least in the time period we see the plane) and I can't imagine them making that a mandatory trait of any new plane they want to flesh out in the future. A land where civilization and dinosaurs coexist is a rare thing, and they're not just going to force or retcon that for ongoing tribal support.
I don't follow. Most sets are plane-and-era based. And these days a great deal of sets are returns to established planes. Most planes don't have dinosaurs (at least in the time period we see the plane) and I can't imagine them making that a mandatory trait of any new plane they want to flesh out in the future. A land where civilization and dinosaurs coexist is a rare thing, and they're not just going to force or retcon that for ongoing tribal support.
I know the chances are small for dinosaurs being outside ixalan
But we should atleast some one or two occasions in other planes outside ixalan.
Yeah, that's great. Timmy gets a new edh card. But, it has no bearing on a standard dominated by two decks, an abundance of casual cards, and weak tribes. Which, has been my point since the beginning.
Also, don't talk to me about being condescending after his tirade of netdeck and troll comments, just because I dislike this new set and hate what standard will become.
When I called you condescending I referred to your blanket dismissal of casual magic. I couldn't care less as to wheter you were flaming Gmiller or not, that's for mods to decide.
Now that you have acknowledged that your actual problem with this set is how you belive it will affect standard, your previous comments seem even more nonsensical. A set can affect standard and also contain a janky expensive sorcery, in fact most do.
Exactly, most do. It has become a trend with wizards to print horrible black and blue 7-8 mana sorceries. But, that was just an example. My problem is this, wizards has made a set with at least 5-6 playable green cards. They have also made some good red cards that will fit into existing decks. There is a massive disparity in power level between green and red, and the rest of the colors, in particular, black. The black removal of this set is some of the worst junk they've made. The removal doesn't fit into any deck and does not beneift from cards like Torrential Gearhulk.
I've said the same thing over and over again and it's becoming redundant at this point. I'm done, thanks for listening. Little Timmy can now go on to talk about netdecks and commander.
A 2 cost sorcery murder that just can't hit merfolk is standard playable - it's no worse than Roast in speed, CMC, and target limitation and people played Roast.
And Vraska's Contempt - it costs 1 more than Hero's Downfall, but has two advantages relative to it (most relevantly, exile instead of destroy means actually hitting both flavours of AKH-block Gods).
They aren't pushed-like-Push, but they're perfectly in line with typical standard removal.
I'm keeping my eye on One with the Wind. It's practically a reprint of Spectral Flight, which was a powerfully oppressive card in Innistrad limited. Then again, that was mostly due to Invisible Stalker, but still.
I am disappointed by this set mostly because I was expecting a Meso-American set: Warriors dressed as Jaguars and crazy Skull Shamans sacrificing people on top of the pyramids to please their God, instead we got Pirates vs Dinosaurs set. Meh.
I kind of agree with you. I mean, even the what are supposed to be Aztecs, don't look much like them at all. They have plate or some other kind of armor, and very standard fantasy decorations. The only human card which feels positively mesoamerican is Emperor's vanguard.
A 2 cost sorcery murder that just can't hit merfolk is standard playable - it's no worse than Roast in speed, CMC, and target limitation and people played Roast.
And Vraska's Contempt - it costs 1 more than Hero's Downfall, but has two advantages relative to it (most relevantly, exile instead of destroy means actually hitting both flavours of AKH-block Gods).
They aren't pushed-like-Push, but they're perfectly in line with typical standard removal.
It's all relative to which decks are being played.
Red: the color that has been relegated to a splash only color for the last few years finally has a tier 1 deck and the problem is that its too powerful? maybe it is, after years of playing WotC's failed Big Red experiment, its about time red was actually good again. I don't think I ever remember red being the strongest color. But hey, he finally made an actual point about green getting 5-6 playable cards each set and being pushed. But then the argument falls apart again when mentioning black, which still has a removal spell so "push"ed that its one of the best modern removal spells, at it's disposal, and blue is currently stronger cards wise in standard than it has been in around a decade. So what I'm really hearing is, "why can't black always be busted, because I like black, and it's not busted in this set, so the whole set is garbage, and I'm not condescending, you are"
A 2 cost sorcery murder that just can't hit merfolk is standard playable - it's no worse than Roast in speed, CMC, and target limitation and people played Roast.
And Vraska's Contempt - it costs 1 more than Hero's Downfall, but has two advantages relative to it (most relevantly, exile instead of destroy means actually hitting both flavours of AKH-block Gods).
They aren't pushed-like-Push, but they're perfectly in line with typical standard removal.
It's all relative to which decks are being played.
So how much meta-foresight do you expect them to have at set design time? Do you think they knew, when they were designing this, that Ranumap Red would be running rampant? Or maybe they expected decks featuring the gods, or decks featuring embalm-eternalize, to be prominent (in either case, the exiling would be more relevant)? Did they expect at Ixalan design time that Marvel would be riding the banned list?
You see the cards as they apply to the meta at the instant they get spoiled... but they (a) were working with their prediction of the meta, which may not have been accurate, and (b) to some degree with some foresight of the cards (or, at least, possible play styles) coming in the next few expansions that will share Standard with this for two years.
(Not that we've even really seen where the meta is going when those Eldrazi planes rotate - the meta has a tendency to take surprise turns at rotation and decks that nobody saw coming dominate, seldom the same ones that were dominating just before the rotation).
A 2 cost sorcery murder that just can't hit merfolk is standard playable - it's no worse than Roast in speed, CMC, and target limitation and people played Roast.
And Vraska's Contempt - it costs 1 more than Hero's Downfall, but has two advantages relative to it (most relevantly, exile instead of destroy means actually hitting both flavours of AKH-block Gods).
They aren't pushed-like-Push, but they're perfectly in line with typical standard removal.
It's all relative to which decks are being played.
So how much meta-foresight do you expect them to have at set design time? Do you think they knew, when they were designing this, that Ranumap Red would be running rampant? Or maybe they expected decks featuring the gods, or decks featuring embalm-eternalize, to be prominent (in either case, the exiling would be more relevant)? Did they expect at Ixalan design time that Marvel would be riding the banned list?
You see the cards as they apply to the meta at the instant they get spoiled... but they (a) were working with their prediction of the meta, which may not have been accurate, and (b) to some degree with some foresight of the cards (or, at least, possible play styles) coming in the next few expansions that will share Standard with this for two years.
(Not that we've even really seen where the meta is going when those Eldrazi planes rotate - the meta has a tendency to take surprise turns at rotation and decks that nobody saw coming dominate, seldom the same ones that were dominating just before the rotation).
Let's revisit this conversation in a month or two.
Yeah, that's great. Timmy gets a new edh card. But, it has no bearing on a standard dominated by two decks, an abundance of casual cards, and weak tribes. Which, has been my point since the beginning.
Also, don't talk to me about being condescending after his tirade of netdeck and troll comments, just because I dislike this new set and hate what standard will become.
When I called you condescending I referred to your blanket dismissal of casual magic. I couldn't care less as to wheter you were flaming Gmiller or not, that's for mods to decide.
Now that you have acknowledged that your actual problem with this set is how you belive it will affect standard, your previous comments seem even more nonsensical. A set can affect standard and also contain a janky expensive sorcery, in fact most do.
In reality, the bigger blow to standard is rotation right now, not ixalan. Ixalan is... not really as good (or as I like to put it, broken like no ones business) as kaladesh block. The only reason the set is selling for more than kaladesh is that the previous set has been out a year and there are so many copies of the staple cards running around it's crazy. All the energy decks are basically "Spike" players dream boats that are very annoying to beat. Most of these decks are just going to absorb the best cards that work for them and keep on chugging, such as Temur Energy, RG Pummeler, Ramunap Red, and Grixis / UR Control. I'd say the allied colors have better lands right now so Temur energy and RG pummeler are better positioned than GB energy.
Zombies is basically dead come rotation in it's current form, Delirium strats are going with rotation, Mardu Vehicles is probably gone as well, and the new tribes don't look like they will be standing on their own legs until Rivals. I do think the horse lifegain deck gained from this rotation, though. Vampires have a ton of lifelink and even have a swarm land that can act as a good mana sink.
Also, for people complaining about the set seemingly having a ton of "commander only" cards: I'm finding these comments really odd, because what I'm seeing is that wizards threw in a lot of big splashy spells meant to appeal to Timmy type players. Wizards likes to do this sometimes where they cater to a specific group of players each set. Kaladesh was the combo / Jimmy player play land, but they also kind of messed up and made the mechanics too strong. Now they are really pushing stuff for Timmy players this set (I'm a Timmy... I love big thingies and winning with a big punch to the face).
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!
Red: the color that has been relegated to a splash only color for the last few years finally has a tier 1 deck and the problem is that its too powerful? maybe it is, after years of playing WotC's failed Big Red experiment, its about time red was actually good again. I don't think I ever remember red being the strongest color. But hey, he finally made an actual point about green getting 5-6 playable cards each set and being pushed. But then the argument falls apart again when mentioning black, which still has a removal spell so "push"ed that its one of the best modern removal spells, at it's disposal, and blue is currently stronger cards wise in standard than it has been in around a decade. So what I'm really hearing is, "why can't black always be busted, because I like black, and it's not busted in this set, so the whole set is garbage, and I'm not condescending, you are"
Or, why is there only one playable black deck every two to three years. Yeah, black is going to be fine and everything will be great and standard will thrive and this set is great. Did I tell you what you want to hear? This set is amazing and pirates are amazing and dinosaurs are amazing and it's going to be awesome! Four mana removal is awesome, and the lifegain, so relevant. Walk the plank, awesome two mana kill spell that will define standard against 24 hasted creatures. Man, what was I thinking with all the good removal in black. Push-ed black removal is riiight! The first black removal spell to make it into modern since dismember. I really wish wizards would stop making so much push-ed black removal spells, that's just dumb lol. And bontu's last reckoning... What!?!? Pure value. Best card in the set, by far... Should probably be banned in all formats for being too op lol.
Red: the color that has been relegated to a splash only color for the last few years finally has a tier 1 deck and the problem is that its too powerful? maybe it is, after years of playing WotC's failed Big Red experiment, its about time red was actually good again. I don't think I ever remember red being the strongest color. But hey, he finally made an actual point about green getting 5-6 playable cards each set and being pushed. But then the argument falls apart again when mentioning black, which still has a removal spell so "push"ed that its one of the best modern removal spells, at it's disposal, and blue is currently stronger cards wise in standard than it has been in around a decade. So what I'm really hearing is, "why can't black always be busted, because I like black, and it's not busted in this set, so the whole set is garbage, and I'm not condescending, you are"
Or, why is there only one playable black deck every two to three years. Yeah, black is going to be fine and everything will be great and standard will thrive and this set is great. Did I tell you what you want to hear? This set is amazing and pirates are amazing and dinosaurs are amazing and it's going to be awesome! Four mana removal is awesome, and the lifegain, so relevant. Walk the plank, awesome two mana kill spell that will define standard against 24 hasted creatures. Man, what was I thinking with all the good removal in black. Push-ed black removal is riiight! The first black removal spell to make it into modern since dismember. I really wish wizards would stop making so much push-ed black removal spells, that's just dumb lol. And bontu's last reckoning... What!?!? Pure value. Best card in the set, by far... Should probably be banned in all formats for being too op lol.
Did I poop enough rainbows for you, slick?
I'm kind of lost here. It has Lightning strike, Spell Pierce, and Opt. Those are three very good cards with a hearty track record. They also printed some seriously pushed cards in the set (along with some seriously underwhelming cards). The set isn't weak, just we're coming out of one of the most high powered sets of all time and even Amonkhet block couldn't water it down enough.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
This set was made to sell MTG Arena to 12 year old boys with iPads. They give absolutely 0 ducks if you like the Dinosaur deck or not. This set is the first one going into Magic's version of I Can't Believe It's Not Hearthstone, so that's why it's simple, parasitic, and low on interactions. Years of dodgy business practices are making the growth lines droop for Magic, and they need to figure out how to hook the new generation if they want to keep doing this. Quit yer bellyachin' about how dinosaurs or merfolk or whatever's got your knickers in a twist is the Death of All Fun. Sometimes you have to sit through a Kamigawa to get to a Ravnica.
Man, I would play Air Elemental on flavor reasons alone!
Not the most playable, but definitely one of those mid-curve toppers to fill out your deck. What with treasure tokens around, it's not impossible to get those out a turn early, and at that, a 4/4 flyer will deal with the other huge amount of flyers in this format.
Still pretty torn about this set, to say the least.
Let's get this out of the way, but limited looks really, really fun to play. Dinosaurs in general might be a bit too pushed, but it could still work out, as removal seems to be pretty strong in the common slots. Second thing this set has going for it, in my opinion, is the major uptick in art quality, with vibrant colors all around (the dinos and merfolk in particular). It's not exactly my style of mtg art (those days are long gone), but it's still a drastic improvement compared to the last blocks. Finally, my first impresson is that the cards are well designed all around. They seem balanced, fun to play with and the tribes in this set give Timmies countless sleepless nights. I still think merfolk is absolutely terrible in this set, especially when compared to dinosaurs, which really hurts my feelings as a former fish player.
In the end, though, all those positives have to fight the ultimate evil, which is the financial value of a magic set. Wizards looked at their stack of chips and went all in, banking heavily on the casual market with the tribes, because nothing except a few seriously pushed dinosaurs feel like valuable cards with staying power to me. Sure, this set has the usual 3 planeswalkers, but they are all okay and that's really it. They aren't good, much less amazing, they just exist as forgettable magic cards and that's about it. Next thing, dual lands. Can't sell the set with these, they have been reprinted a million times in the past (still baffled why they didn't roll with the enemy checkduals). And finally: no expeditions, killing off another huge sales point. So in short, Ixalan has bulk mythics, bulk duals and no 100$ lottery tickets. So what the heck will sell this set?
I spot several vessels on the horizon, ships loaded with stalwart, pure-hearted people. Casual players, devoid of all malevolent intent, in pursuit of their dream of getting their hands on a 9/9 vanilla dinosaur with an estimated card-value of 10 cents. But will they be able to brave that sea of danger, a sea filled with countless whirlpools just waiting to suck the wallets of those innocent souls dry. I wish those brave pioneers the best of luck, may the reach their casual haven safe and sound.
I'm SO SICK of the "too strong for Standard" argument. It's the new "Dies to removal". We can have a two mana 4/4 with a zillion abilities, but we can't just have Accumulated Knowledge. Makes sense.
Ignores obvious reference to fatal push because it defeats his argument, then continues with the condescending remarks and yet another nickname given to me because.......well I guess attempting to bully people is the only way to win an imaginary argument against facts? Rainbows aren't needed. I specifically said earlier in the thread that I like this set because it's NOT amazing, but rather balanced and lends itself to creative deckbuilding; not just 2 mana instant speed removal that takes out the indestructible mythics. I like good removal, but we done need several busted removal spells just in one color.
Public Mod Note
(Wildfire393):
Everyone means everyone. Stop the argument now.
Ignores obvious reference to fatal push because it defeats his argument, then continues with the condescending remarks and yet another nickname given to me because.......well I guess attempting to bully people is the only way to win an imaginary argument against facts? Rainbows aren't needed. I specifically said earlier in the thread that I like this set because it's NOT amazing, but rather balanced and lends itself to creative deckbuilding; not just 2 mana instant speed removal that takes out the indestructible mythics. I like good removal, but we done need several busted removal spells just in one color.
You have no argument except 'what about push lol'. All of your arguments are poorly made and most of the time you are saying stuff like 'ignore the troll lol' and 'he gets his opinions from an article lol'. Also, you provide no facts and continue to be belligerent after a moderator told everyone to stop. You, are the true bully. Go back to my original post and chart the path you took immediately after my first post, which was innocuous. The fact is this, if I don't agree with your viewpoint, you move immediately to name calling and insults.
Limited with this set seems like a blast, actually. I'm a big fan of cards like Siren's Ruse; it gives you a great payoff to committing to a tribe, but is totally serviceable outside of it. There are a lot of cards like these sprinkled throughout the set, and I think this is the way to do tribal in limited.
Frequently in the past we've seen tribal support which goes for trash to great depending on how committed you are to the tribe. I much prefer this way of doing things, and I think it will lead to good limited gameplay.
I think a neat interaction with this card is using it on any one of the raid creatures right after attacking with it, and possibly saving it if they block the creature, and getting the trigger again. And of course naturally the raid creatures are pirates so you'll get the draw too.
Pirates are the tribe that will work the best out of the box right now. Been trying to make dinosaurs work and while it is possible to make a good mid-range build, they aren't really tribal in any sense of the word. The "Tribe" is actually split in two different sides: The natives who are on the lower end of the curve that have ramp and other abilities with dinosaurs, and then there is the dinosaurs themselves sitting on the high end. The best dinosaurs by far are Ripjaw Raptor and Carnage Tyrant. The rest of the slots are sort of all over the place. Three drops are pretty cluttered right now in Naya with the likes of Rhonas the Indomitable, Gideon of the Trials, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Resilient Khenra, etc, without even going into support cards. Two drops are a bit more open, but it's hard to beat Glory-Bound Initiate and Earthshaker Khenra. One drops are mostly existing support spells like Blossoming Defense, Shock, Magma Spray, etc.
Pirates are crazy on tempo and aggro. Not only did they get some good support cards in Kaladesh block, the cards that work with them are aggressively costed and extremely good.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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!
Pirates are the tribe that will work the best out of the box right now. Been trying to make dinosaurs work and while it is possible to make a good mid-range build, they aren't really tribal in any sense of the word. The "Tribe" is actually split in two different sides: The natives who are on the lower end of the curve that have ramp and other abilities with dinosaurs, and then there is the dinosaurs themselves sitting on the high end. The best dinosaurs by far are Ripjaw Raptor and Carnage Tyrant. The rest of the slots are sort of all over the place. Three drops are pretty cluttered right now in Naya with the likes of Rhonas the Indomitable, Gideon of the Trials, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Resilient Khenra, etc, without even going into support cards. Two drops are a bit more open, but it's hard to beat Glory-Bound Initiate and Earthshaker Khenra. One drops are mostly existing support spells like Blossoming Defense, Shock, Magma Spray, etc.
Pirates are crazy on tempo and aggro. Not only did they get some good support cards in Kaladesh block, the cards that work with them are aggressively costed and extremely good.
I don't think you can go full dinosaur aggro/midrange without support. Also, I don't think you can throw in random energy creatures and cards and expect the same type of results as g/r and temur. Naya ramp, with the bottom end filled with copious amounts of burn, may be the best way to go. Single target and relatively efficient sweepers should be main along with hour of Hour of Devastation at the top end of your removal. I'd also make it with chandra, glorybringer, and some Walking Ballista to dump your mana into late. Hell, I could even see a Jund version being good, with a splash in black for discard, push-ed, and never to return. But naya seems like the strongest option all around. The big white dino and the naya dino are too good to pass up.
Pirates don't seem good enough to compete. The red removal is way too good and there is way too much for the little terds to see play. I know what waizards was thinking, though. They probably expected a control deck(u/w), a midrange deck(dinos), and pirates. Pirates will fill the role of anti control... But, red decks already fill that role well enough and pirates lack something, actually, they lack a lot of things. Blue/red pirates may be better than a grixis version. U/R would have better tempo, too.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Yeah, that's great. Timmy gets a new edh card. But, it has no bearing on a standard dominated by two decks, an abundance of casual cards, and weak tribes. Which, has been my point since the beginning.
Also, don't talk to me about being condescending after his tirade of netdeck and troll comments, just because I dislike this new set and hate what standard will become.
relax there has ben edh decks made with narrow choices before we have just enough to get started and be nice and strong
And we should see 16-26ish more dinosaurs in the next set and should fill up the weak points.
Oh speculating that dinosaurs could get the same treatment as some of the popular tribes, which is atleast 1 or more in each set.
What? Is this some kind of meme?
I know the chances are small for dinosaurs being outside ixalan
But we should atleast some one or two occasions in other planes outside ixalan.
Exactly, most do. It has become a trend with wizards to print horrible black and blue 7-8 mana sorceries. But, that was just an example. My problem is this, wizards has made a set with at least 5-6 playable green cards. They have also made some good red cards that will fit into existing decks. There is a massive disparity in power level between green and red, and the rest of the colors, in particular, black. The black removal of this set is some of the worst junk they've made. The removal doesn't fit into any deck and does not beneift from cards like Torrential Gearhulk.
I've said the same thing over and over again and it's becoming redundant at this point. I'm done, thanks for listening. Little Timmy can now go on to talk about netdecks and commander.
And Vraska's Contempt - it costs 1 more than Hero's Downfall, but has two advantages relative to it (most relevantly, exile instead of destroy means actually hitting both flavours of AKH-block Gods).
They aren't pushed-like-Push, but they're perfectly in line with typical standard removal.
I kind of agree with you. I mean, even the what are supposed to be Aztecs, don't look much like them at all. They have plate or some other kind of armor, and very standard fantasy decorations. The only human card which feels positively mesoamerican is Emperor's vanguard.
It's all relative to which decks are being played.
So how much meta-foresight do you expect them to have at set design time? Do you think they knew, when they were designing this, that Ranumap Red would be running rampant? Or maybe they expected decks featuring the gods, or decks featuring embalm-eternalize, to be prominent (in either case, the exiling would be more relevant)? Did they expect at Ixalan design time that Marvel would be riding the banned list?
You see the cards as they apply to the meta at the instant they get spoiled... but they (a) were working with their prediction of the meta, which may not have been accurate, and (b) to some degree with some foresight of the cards (or, at least, possible play styles) coming in the next few expansions that will share Standard with this for two years.
(Not that we've even really seen where the meta is going when those Eldrazi planes rotate - the meta has a tendency to take surprise turns at rotation and decks that nobody saw coming dominate, seldom the same ones that were dominating just before the rotation).
Let's revisit this conversation in a month or two.
In reality, the bigger blow to standard is rotation right now, not ixalan. Ixalan is... not really as good (or as I like to put it, broken like no ones business) as kaladesh block. The only reason the set is selling for more than kaladesh is that the previous set has been out a year and there are so many copies of the staple cards running around it's crazy. All the energy decks are basically "Spike" players dream boats that are very annoying to beat. Most of these decks are just going to absorb the best cards that work for them and keep on chugging, such as Temur Energy, RG Pummeler, Ramunap Red, and Grixis / UR Control. I'd say the allied colors have better lands right now so Temur energy and RG pummeler are better positioned than GB energy.
Zombies is basically dead come rotation in it's current form, Delirium strats are going with rotation, Mardu Vehicles is probably gone as well, and the new tribes don't look like they will be standing on their own legs until Rivals. I do think the horse lifegain deck gained from this rotation, though. Vampires have a ton of lifelink and even have a swarm land that can act as a good mana sink.
Also, for people complaining about the set seemingly having a ton of "commander only" cards: I'm finding these comments really odd, because what I'm seeing is that wizards threw in a lot of big splashy spells meant to appeal to Timmy type players. Wizards likes to do this sometimes where they cater to a specific group of players each set. Kaladesh was the combo / Jimmy player play land, but they also kind of messed up and made the mechanics too strong. Now they are really pushing stuff for Timmy players this set (I'm a Timmy... I love big thingies and winning with a big punch to the face).
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!
Or, why is there only one playable black deck every two to three years. Yeah, black is going to be fine and everything will be great and standard will thrive and this set is great. Did I tell you what you want to hear? This set is amazing and pirates are amazing and dinosaurs are amazing and it's going to be awesome! Four mana removal is awesome, and the lifegain, so relevant. Walk the plank, awesome two mana kill spell that will define standard against 24 hasted creatures. Man, what was I thinking with all the good removal in black. Push-ed black removal is riiight! The first black removal spell to make it into modern since dismember. I really wish wizards would stop making so much push-ed black removal spells, that's just dumb lol. And bontu's last reckoning... What!?!? Pure value. Best card in the set, by far... Should probably be banned in all formats for being too op lol.
Did I poop enough rainbows for you, slick?
I'm kind of lost here. It has Lightning strike, Spell Pierce, and Opt. Those are three very good cards with a hearty track record. They also printed some seriously pushed cards in the set (along with some seriously underwhelming cards). The set isn't weak, just we're coming out of one of the most high powered sets of all time and even Amonkhet block couldn't water it down enough.
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!
Not the most playable, but definitely one of those mid-curve toppers to fill out your deck. What with treasure tokens around, it's not impossible to get those out a turn early, and at that, a 4/4 flyer will deal with the other huge amount of flyers in this format.
Let's get this out of the way, but limited looks really, really fun to play. Dinosaurs in general might be a bit too pushed, but it could still work out, as removal seems to be pretty strong in the common slots. Second thing this set has going for it, in my opinion, is the major uptick in art quality, with vibrant colors all around (the dinos and merfolk in particular). It's not exactly my style of mtg art (those days are long gone), but it's still a drastic improvement compared to the last blocks. Finally, my first impresson is that the cards are well designed all around. They seem balanced, fun to play with and the tribes in this set give Timmies countless sleepless nights. I still think merfolk is absolutely terrible in this set, especially when compared to dinosaurs, which really hurts my feelings as a former fish player.
In the end, though, all those positives have to fight the ultimate evil, which is the financial value of a magic set. Wizards looked at their stack of chips and went all in, banking heavily on the casual market with the tribes, because nothing except a few seriously pushed dinosaurs feel like valuable cards with staying power to me. Sure, this set has the usual 3 planeswalkers, but they are all okay and that's really it. They aren't good, much less amazing, they just exist as forgettable magic cards and that's about it. Next thing, dual lands. Can't sell the set with these, they have been reprinted a million times in the past (still baffled why they didn't roll with the enemy checkduals). And finally: no expeditions, killing off another huge sales point. So in short, Ixalan has bulk mythics, bulk duals and no 100$ lottery tickets. So what the heck will sell this set?
I spot several vessels on the horizon, ships loaded with stalwart, pure-hearted people. Casual players, devoid of all malevolent intent, in pursuit of their dream of getting their hands on a 9/9 vanilla dinosaur with an estimated card-value of 10 cents. But will they be able to brave that sea of danger, a sea filled with countless whirlpools just waiting to suck the wallets of those innocent souls dry. I wish those brave pioneers the best of luck, may the reach their casual haven safe and sound.
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
You have no argument except 'what about push lol'. All of your arguments are poorly made and most of the time you are saying stuff like 'ignore the troll lol' and 'he gets his opinions from an article lol'. Also, you provide no facts and continue to be belligerent after a moderator told everyone to stop. You, are the true bully. Go back to my original post and chart the path you took immediately after my first post, which was innocuous. The fact is this, if I don't agree with your viewpoint, you move immediately to name calling and insults.
I think a neat interaction with this card is using it on any one of the raid creatures right after attacking with it, and possibly saving it if they block the creature, and getting the trigger again. And of course naturally the raid creatures are pirates so you'll get the draw too.
Pirates are crazy on tempo and aggro. Not only did they get some good support cards in Kaladesh block, the cards that work with them are aggressively costed and extremely good.
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 think you can go full dinosaur aggro/midrange without support. Also, I don't think you can throw in random energy creatures and cards and expect the same type of results as g/r and temur. Naya ramp, with the bottom end filled with copious amounts of burn, may be the best way to go. Single target and relatively efficient sweepers should be main along with hour of Hour of Devastation at the top end of your removal. I'd also make it with chandra, glorybringer, and some Walking Ballista to dump your mana into late. Hell, I could even see a Jund version being good, with a splash in black for discard, push-ed, and never to return. But naya seems like the strongest option all around. The big white dino and the naya dino are too good to pass up.
Pirates don't seem good enough to compete. The red removal is way too good and there is way too much for the little terds to see play. I know what waizards was thinking, though. They probably expected a control deck(u/w), a midrange deck(dinos), and pirates. Pirates will fill the role of anti control... But, red decks already fill that role well enough and pirates lack something, actually, they lack a lot of things. Blue/red pirates may be better than a grixis version. U/R would have better tempo, too.