Really crazy there! I thought for sure they'd be reveal lands, like the Lorwyn tribal duals. Kinda sucks that they can't tap for mana on turn 1. I really thought that was a given.
Also Its like everything i fervently hoped wouldn't happen did. Here's to catering to scrubs and throwing a wrench in things that are second nature to tournament players. Go team.
I think they're actually balanced. It's a dual, with an interesting set back. You aren't allowed to really use it turn 1, and it forces you to play with other basic lands
Well, this will definitely tone down the multicolor madness in tourney decks in the months to come. Who knows, maybe all the talk about Zendikar block being a "back to basics" sort of thing will be right. People playing a splash of a second color or something at the most.
I for one welcome our non-vivid reflecting pool enabling land cycle.
I think they're actually balanced. It's a dual, with an interesting set back. You aren't allowed to really use it turn 1, and it forces you to play with other basic lands
They're probably weaker than pains in standard (in larger formats with the shocklands they're likely better), and they make it a little harder to get early mana fixing if you're playing lots of colors, but I like them for that reason. Playing 4 colors shouldn't be as easy as it is in standard right now. When a deck can reliably have RW, GG, and UUU on turn 4 somthing is broken. Admittedly, a lot of that is due to the filter lands and reflecting pool, but I think it should be harder to make a BRGW deck work than to make a G deck work, and it currently isnt.
Beautiful design. I was hoping for a cycle of Nimbus Mazes personally. Its important that the dual lands force players to run basic lands. Decks should have their dual lands in addition to their basic lands, not vice versa. The only reasons that players are running basic lands anymore are Path to Exile and Anathemancer..
Why does it seem like aggro decks usually get hosed when dual lands like these come out? Control decks have no problem putting one of these duals into play tapped on turn 1, but for an aggro deck that's tempo loss that really can't be afforded.
I can't complain too much about these duals though, because they're still pretty good. I like the fact that Wizards is subtly trying to push people back to fewer colors by encouraging more basic lands and fewer nonbasics in masses.
So, how many Islands/Plains would you have to run to reliably activate Glacial Fortress? My guess is ~15, which would mean that these dual lands are only playable in two color decks. Fixing like Terramorphic Expanse may allow for more colors.
I don't see these lands played widely in the current standard, though. Vivids and filters are just better in most cases.
I think they're actually balanced. It's a dual, with an interesting set back. You aren't allowed to really use it turn 1, and it forces you to play with other basic lands
What we're doing here is akin to taking the text of Moby Dick, locating specific words therein, rearranging them to create a passage from Fight Club, and concluding from this evidence that Tyler Durden is based on Ahab.
Well, this will definitely tone down the multicolor madness in tourney decks in the months to come. Who knows, maybe all the talk about Zendikar block being a "back to basics" sort of thing will be right. People playing a splash of a second color or something at the most.
As much as I like the idea of ZEN as a "back to basics" it would really go against the whole "set synergy" thing that MaRo claims to try to be pushing. M10 is going to be it's own set without relation to the regular block cycles.
As for the new duals, they are very well designed and no doubt will be showing up in several tournament decks. I agree with ShadowFenril and hope the rest of the cycle has amazing art as well.
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Why does it seem like aggro decks usually get hosed when dual lands like these come out? Control decks have no problem putting one of these duals into play tapped on turn 1, but for an aggro deck that's tempo loss that really can't be afforded.
That's just a deckbuilding consideration from now on. We've been spoiled with great mana fixing from Ravnica to the present day, to be honest. Your early drops will heavily influence your land ratios now.
Yes, we know these lands suck in your 3cc+ decks. Live with it. You still have Vivids and Reflecting Pool, Filters etc. After rotation you still have trilands, Ziggurat, Rupture Spire and whatever Zendikar gives you. Seems fair.
Interesting. I hate the vivid-filter-reflecting pool standard as much as any other guy and I think Wizards was asking for 5cc to happen.... but that's rotating out in october. Now they are trying to over correct by making lands really weak that will be here after lorwyn rotates. It seems they are making a real push towards basics with this and border posts. I hope Zendikar has some really good lands, or else maa bases will be all basics, duals, and borderpost. This wouldn't have been a thing if artifact/enchanment destruction wasn't made so abundant in an attempt to destroy bitterblossom and keep esper balanced. Also, maelstrom pulse screws borderposts. Tri-lands and filters simply won't cut, for as I said before, border posts can't be played. I want pain lands back. Those were perfectly balanced in a proper standard environment.
They're acceptable. The painlands were better, but I'm not upset with having to use these for a year.
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I can only hope they stay around $5.
Yeah, that'll happen.
I mean, seriously, the painlands are completely gone from Standard and you think that a set of dual lands that have NEVER seen print before will only be $5? Right.
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~Enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a plains or an island
Tap: Add W or U to your mana pool
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and a new card UNDEAD SLAYER in M10
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Also Its like everything i fervently hoped wouldn't happen did. Here's to catering to scrubs and throwing a wrench in things that are second nature to tournament players. Go team.
I for one welcome our non-vivid reflecting pool enabling land cycle.
RRed Deck WinsR
GWRNaya AggroGWR
WUGBant ControlWUG
BWUEsper FlyersBWU
Well, Shocklands, at a minimum.
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I can't complain too much about these duals though, because they're still pretty good. I like the fact that Wizards is subtly trying to push people back to fewer colors by encouraging more basic lands and fewer nonbasics in masses.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
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I don't see these lands played widely in the current standard, though. Vivids and filters are just better in most cases.
100% agreed!
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As much as I like the idea of ZEN as a "back to basics" it would really go against the whole "set synergy" thing that MaRo claims to try to be pushing. M10 is going to be it's own set without relation to the regular block cycles.
As for the new duals, they are very well designed and no doubt will be showing up in several tournament decks. I agree with ShadowFenril and hope the rest of the cycle has amazing art as well.
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That's just a deckbuilding consideration from now on. We've been spoiled with great mana fixing from Ravnica to the present day, to be honest. Your early drops will heavily influence your land ratios now.
Five seems very likely, given the smaller size of this set.
Current post- Grand Prix KC Modern Postmortem (7/7/13)
Yeah, that'll happen.
I mean, seriously, the painlands are completely gone from Standard and you think that a set of dual lands that have NEVER seen print before will only be $5? Right.
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