Part of me says Foretell is good because you can avoid hand destruction if its prevalent or a key card, part of me says its bad because you're taking two turns and overall spending more mana to cast the card. I want to see the set rules to see if it has to be cast on a later turn.
Currently Playing: Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me! Legacy: RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R RGBelcherRG WSoldier StompyW BReanimatorB EDH: BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
On the one hand, I like mechanics (like morph) that let you pay in "installments" for a slightly higher overall cost, in exchange for being able to cast it with fewer lands up. I'm a tempo player to the bone, and these mechanics open up additional possibilities for the kinds of decks I like to play. A plus.
On the other hand, compared to suspend, foretell is really lacking in drama. Exiling it face down is very blah, a real tension-killer. I would much rather have the mechanic exile the card face up, maybe in exchange for an overall lower cost. The most fun thing about suspend was always watching your opponent sweat as the time counters ticked down, trying to figure out a way to deal with your oncoming spell. Compared to that, this gets a big minus.
I don't think it's going to be a bad mechanic, but I also don't think it's going to blow the roof off of anything. The long-awaited "fixed suspend" mechanic it is not. The next devotion-level remake success it is not.
On the one hand, I like mechanics (like morph) that let you pay in "installments" for a slightly higher overall cost, in exchange for being able to cast it with fewer lands up. I'm a tempo player to the bone, and these mechanics open up additional possibilities for the kinds of decks I like to play. A plus.
On the other hand, compared to suspend, foretell is really lacking in drama. Exiling it face down is very blah, a real tension-killer. I would much rather have the mechanic exile the card face up, maybe in exchange for an overall lower cost. The most fun thing about suspend was always watching your opponent sweat as the time counters ticked down, trying to figure out a way to deal with your oncoming spell. Compared to that, this gets a big minus.
I don't think it's going to be a bad mechanic, but I also don't think it's going to blow the roof off of anything. The long-awaited "fixed suspend" mechanic it is not. The next devotion-level remake success it is not.
I wish it was face-up, as well, but also so they could reprint Pull from Eternity to add some interaction to it. Maybe we'll get a similar card?
Pull from the Unknown W
Instant — Uncommon
Put target face-down exiled card into
its owner's graveyard.
I think a Foretell Wrath card could be very good in standard. Cards that have an obvious late game impact that you can pay a little investment up front and save within the safety of exile seem to be what I would imagine the best cards in Foretell.
The elephant is good, but you're spending 2 mana to reduce the cost by 1 mana, and protect it hidden... not sure if it is worth it. Especially when you compare it to the Adventure mechanic that actually had a spell attached to the exiling part. We will see, I suppose.
I doubt this version of Foretell is real. Foretelling in real life takes effort and some amount of publicizing your predictions. This version of Foretell lets you mass exile cards from your hand in response to your opponent's "Your EOT, I Vendilion Clique you".
I'm actually itching to calling this card fake as a result. I honestly thought that Foretell would have sorcery timing or really lame timing such as "as you draw this card" or your upkeep.
I could actually see fortelling a card meaning either cost you want to reduce to zero. I mean it's only legal in vintage, legacy, and commander. 2WU is a ton in formats where that's often a curve topping atomic bomb like JTMS. For that you get a 2/3 Serra Angel that wants you to play a very narrow subset of cards to do much. Even if it can ultimately let you play any foretell card for free, you have to exile the card first which would save you the 2 mana and then you get a 1/1 flier. If it's still around next turn, you could then cast it for free, but that's asking a lot where suspend or miracle let you cast, say, 10 mana spells for 1. Lets say you used it to play this mythic, probably one of the more impressive foretell cards. You drop your 2/3 and foretell the Mammoth for 0, netting you the 1/1 flier. If it survives a turn, you effectively get the 2/3 and the 1/1 for free but if not, you've played a hugely under curve legendary card that saved you 2 mana in a 3 color deck. You'd also have to play a bunch of foretell and a bunch of copies of the legendary in very fast formats to even consider it possibly becoming a problem. I don't know if wu will even have enough foretell cards to reliably get the ability to function in commander. Of course, in commander, you can also just blink a bunch of stuff to abuse that 1/1 ability in addition to free foretell, so it's no like it isn't a fun card. That reminds me a bit of Emeria Angel which is a fun card.
I doubt this version of Foretell is real. Foretelling in real life takes effort and some amount of publicizing your predictions. This version of Foretell lets you mass exile cards from your hand in response to your opponent's "Your EOT, I Vendilion Clique you".
I'm actually itching to calling this card fake as a result. I honestly thought that Foretell would have sorcery timing or really lame timing such as "as you draw this card" or your upkeep.
lol, these are the exact same reasons I think it's real.
It has all the hallmarks of a mechanic that has been playtested so much that it's fallen away from its original intent, which is exactly how WotC does it. If it has perfect flavor, I would actually be more skeptical of it.
The Foretell ability here reads "You may cast in on a later turn for its foretell cost". This seems to imply you can't exile this and foretell it all in one turn. Not that you'd want to in this case - the total cost would be 6 mana to cast it with foretell, while hard casting it is only 5. But the wording of "You may cast it on a later turn" seems off, or odd.
On the one hand, I like mechanics (like morph) that let you pay in "installments" for a slightly higher overall cost, in exchange for being able to cast it with fewer lands up. I'm a tempo player to the bone, and these mechanics open up additional possibilities for the kinds of decks I like to play. A plus.
On the other hand, compared to suspend, foretell is really lacking in drama. Exiling it face down is very blah, a real tension-killer. I would much rather have the mechanic exile the card face up, maybe in exchange for an overall lower cost. The most fun thing about suspend was always watching your opponent sweat as the time counters ticked down, trying to figure out a way to deal with your oncoming spell. Compared to that, this gets a big minus.
I don't think it's going to be a bad mechanic, but I also don't think it's going to blow the roof off of anything. The long-awaited "fixed suspend" mechanic it is not. The next devotion-level remake success it is not.
The difference is a player knows what to expect with suspend. They need to know if they need to keep mana open to counter said spell. In this case, you keep them guessing. I kind of like that.
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Currently Playing: Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me! Legacy: RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R RGBelcherRG WSoldier StompyW BReanimatorB EDH: BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
I personally feel that the mechanic falls flat as an odd combo of morph and suspend.
Suspend was cool as if creates a sense of tension to come up with an answer to a threat. Further, having the ability to set a number of turns meant that you could get effects for unnaturally low mana input.
Morph, while generally much less mana efficient, creates tension due to the surprise factor. You can’t really do the combat math when that unassuming 2/2 might be anything, not to mention effects like skinthinner or willbender.
Foretell... has neither of these things. Exiling a card face-down doesn’t give a clear sense of threat and not allowing instant speed casting means that the combat math/surprise element is also missing.
The Foretell ability here reads "You may cast in on a later turn for its foretell cost". This seems to imply you can't exile this and foretell it all in one turn. Not that you'd want to in this case - the total cost would be 6 mana to cast it with foretell, while hard casting it is only 5. But the wording of "You may cast it on a later turn" seems off, or odd.
Yeah, that seemed odd when I first read it, too. Especially weird that it says "Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost" instead of "You may cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost." Just based on every similar effect, I'd expect "may" to be there. Also odd is "During your turn". I'd expect "Any time you could cast a sorcery" like Birthing Pod or "Foretell as a sorcery" like Outlast. It just seems odd you can Foretell at instant speed on your turn.
edit: and there are cases where you may want to Foretell and cast on the same turn. Like if there's a card in this set that triggers whenever you Foretell a card or whenever you cast a spell from exile. It's strange that the mechanic would not allow this.
Would have liked to see the simple mechanic on commons and a more special use of the mechanic in higher rarities, especially for a mythic this is just "terrible".
Might be the classic powerlevel mythic they want to be a constructed card and thats all there is about it.
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Foretell face-down is a bit annoying.
That the foretell cost seems to be 2 all the time limits the mechanic a bit (as you could have a high foretell cost to exile, then cast it for a much cheaper or free foretell cast later instead).
Plenty of possible design space to use this mechanic in interesting ways, the mythic spoiled here does a pretty terrible job to show "interesting" uses of the mechanic, as its as quite blank (just under costed for what it does).
----
Flavor wise the saga tell a story, while foretell strikes me with similar vibes of a "legendary" creature thats foretold to appear or an event to happen in the future ... this mythic spoiled fails to capture that flavor pretty badly.
That the foretell cost seems to be 2 all the time limits the mechanic a bit (as you could have a high foretell cost to exile, then cast it for a much cheaper or free foretell cast later instead).
The bluff factor will be reduced if the prefortell(?) costs are different. Plus there are memory issues to check whether the costs are paid correctly.
How long until we get some enchantment or artifact that give creature cards in your hand foretell, allowing you to spend 2 then later on foretell for the actual mana cost -1 or - 2? The exile zone is now one step closer to being your third pile of cards in hand.
Does Zirda reduce the foretell cost, in this case down to GG?
I definitely understand the third pile concern but I really don’t feel like Foretell is crossing into that. Exile is used as a temporary holding zone for Foretell. This is basically Suspend but you decide when it’s cast. It’s not like you’re manipulating cards hit by Path to Exile or tormod's crypt.
I was coming here to make the same complaint about the Exile zone but you changed my mind. They really are just using it in this case to simplify terminology. Suspend and Phasing don’t have their own zones so they might as well be considered exiled for simplicity sake. That is, until they get to the point where you can interact with exile.
This is very strong even without foretell. I've always thought Elder Gargaroth was just so incredibly weak because they can kill it before it can draw you a card, nice of wotc to finally print a green creature that negates that drawback.
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Okay, that makes sense.
I'm getting vibes of the lovechild between morph and suspend.
Cool concept though. Foretell is actually a great way to alleviate yourself of a bad opening hand (if the Foretell cost remains the same).
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Turn 1 dork, turn 2 foretell, turn 3 6/5... sounds decent
Currently Playing:
Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me!
Legacy:
RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R
RGBelcherRG
WSoldier StompyW
BReanimatorB
EDH:
BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB
BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
On the one hand, I like mechanics (like morph) that let you pay in "installments" for a slightly higher overall cost, in exchange for being able to cast it with fewer lands up. I'm a tempo player to the bone, and these mechanics open up additional possibilities for the kinds of decks I like to play. A plus.
On the other hand, compared to suspend, foretell is really lacking in drama. Exiling it face down is very blah, a real tension-killer. I would much rather have the mechanic exile the card face up, maybe in exchange for an overall lower cost. The most fun thing about suspend was always watching your opponent sweat as the time counters ticked down, trying to figure out a way to deal with your oncoming spell. Compared to that, this gets a big minus.
I don't think it's going to be a bad mechanic, but I also don't think it's going to blow the roof off of anything. The long-awaited "fixed suspend" mechanic it is not. The next devotion-level remake success it is not.
I wish it was face-up, as well, but also so they could reprint Pull from Eternity to add some interaction to it. Maybe we'll get a similar card?
Pull from the Unknown W
Instant — Uncommon
Put target face-down exiled card into
its owner's graveyard.
Could also add some more interaction to cards like Gonti, Lord of Luxury and Robber of the Rich.
But I guess this is this set's big green undercosted mythic stompy.
The elephant is good, but you're spending 2 mana to reduce the cost by 1 mana, and protect it hidden... not sure if it is worth it. Especially when you compare it to the Adventure mechanic that actually had a spell attached to the exiling part. We will see, I suppose.
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I'm actually itching to calling this card fake as a result. I honestly thought that Foretell would have sorcery timing or really lame timing such as "as you draw this card" or your upkeep.
It has all the hallmarks of a mechanic that has been playtested so much that it's fallen away from its original intent, which is exactly how WotC does it. If it has perfect flavor, I would actually be more skeptical of it.
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The difference is a player knows what to expect with suspend. They need to know if they need to keep mana open to counter said spell. In this case, you keep them guessing. I kind of like that.
Currently Playing:
Standard:
Nothing, the format Bores me!
Legacy:
RBurn (Made on the Cheap!)R
RGBelcherRG
WSoldier StompyW
BReanimatorB
EDH:
BUGRWSliver OverlordWRGUB
BGeth, Lord of the VaultB
Suspend was cool as if creates a sense of tension to come up with an answer to a threat. Further, having the ability to set a number of turns meant that you could get effects for unnaturally low mana input.
Morph, while generally much less mana efficient, creates tension due to the surprise factor. You can’t really do the combat math when that unassuming 2/2 might be anything, not to mention effects like skinthinner or willbender.
Foretell... has neither of these things. Exiling a card face-down doesn’t give a clear sense of threat and not allowing instant speed casting means that the combat math/surprise element is also missing.
Yeah, that seemed odd when I first read it, too. Especially weird that it says "Cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost" instead of "You may cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost." Just based on every similar effect, I'd expect "may" to be there. Also odd is "During your turn". I'd expect "Any time you could cast a sorcery" like Birthing Pod or "Foretell as a sorcery" like Outlast. It just seems odd you can Foretell at instant speed on your turn.
edit: and there are cases where you may want to Foretell and cast on the same turn. Like if there's a card in this set that triggers whenever you Foretell a card or whenever you cast a spell from exile. It's strange that the mechanic would not allow this.
[180 classic cube]
Ravens are associated with omens in Norse mythologies (among others) so I'm betting this watermark is on all the cards with foretell.
Might be the classic powerlevel mythic they want to be a constructed card and thats all there is about it.
----
Foretell face-down is a bit annoying.
That the foretell cost seems to be 2 all the time limits the mechanic a bit (as you could have a high foretell cost to exile, then cast it for a much cheaper or free foretell cast later instead).
Plenty of possible design space to use this mechanic in interesting ways, the mythic spoiled here does a pretty terrible job to show "interesting" uses of the mechanic, as its as quite blank (just under costed for what it does).
----
Flavor wise the saga tell a story, while foretell strikes me with similar vibes of a "legendary" creature thats foretold to appear or an event to happen in the future ... this mythic spoiled fails to capture that flavor pretty badly.
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The bluff factor will be reduced if the prefortell(?) costs are different. Plus there are memory issues to check whether the costs are paid correctly.
(Anti-Thoughtseize tech is certainly not a compelling reason for me to cube this mechanic.)
I'll wait to see more examples of Foretell before passing final judgment but I think Rosy Dumplings above has it basically right.
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I was coming here to make the same complaint about the Exile zone but you changed my mind. They really are just using it in this case to simplify terminology. Suspend and Phasing don’t have their own zones so they might as well be considered exiled for simplicity sake. That is, until they get to the point where you can interact with exile.
Elegant indeed. Good thing the open source MtG Forge app keeps track of all that so I don't need an actual notebook while playing.
'^^
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