Screw Culling Sun, maybe we can have this instead. There needs to be SOME good, efficient sweeper though. Its not like aggro decks are particularly lacking in today's environment Given all the immense token generators, wrath is already kind of underplayed in Lor/Sha/Ala, of course with Lor/Sha rotating out it will be a bit different but even then aggro decks are certainly sitting quite pretty.
There's a lot of hate in this topic against Orcish Artillery. I think it has a decent chance. Orcs have been neglected for years, but they're still a very flavorful race and one that most fantasy fans can easily "get".
I agree mostly with Rubin8or; I'm fairly certain that at least Fear, Regeneration, Rod of Ruin, Scathe Zombies and Goblin King will be among the abandoned. These cards all are either unattractive to existing players, out of place thematically, or ambiguous flavourfully.
Also, I think it's important to note: A few of said sixteen cards have better alternatives that are also somewhat generic in name and are very flavorful:
There's a lot of hate in this topic against Orcish Artillery. I think it has a decent chance. Orcs have been neglected for years, but they're still a very flavorful race and one that most fantasy fans can easily "get".
Don't forget that it's very indicative of what the colour red does.
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I agree with Mr. Moogle. Wrath is a great card, that has been around since forever, but it is from a completely different time and power level. While Wizards has printed cards that would have made Richard Garfield's head explode way back when, the fact is with the current state of Standard, Wrath is just too good.
Now, whether replacing it is good or not, like Mr. Moogle said, depends entirely on what they replace it with. Right now, Martial Coup, Hallowed Burial, Mass Calcify, and Austere Command are the Wrath variants in standard, and they're all fairly good. They all have utility within their own design space, but when you add Wrath into the mix, all of them are invalidated, because they aren't AS GOOD.
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I wish I could think of something pithy to say, but I can't. So, revolutionary fervor....Down with the Reserve List!
I agree with Mr. Moogle. Wrath is a great card, that has been around since forever, but it is from a completely different time and power level. While Wizards has printed cards that would have made Richard Garfield's head explode way back when, the fact is with the current state of Standard, Wrath is just too good.
Now, whether replacing it is good or not, like Mr. Moogle said, depends entirely on what they replace it with. Right now, Martial Coup, Hallowed Burial, Mass Calcify, and Austere Command are the Wrath variants in standard, and they're all fairly good. They all have utility within their own design space, but when you add Wrath into the mix, all of them are invalidated, because they aren't AS GOOD.
None of those are "fairly good" except in certain OTHER situations. They are all terrible at giving the control player a tool against fast aggro decks. You realize even wrath- which is so "overpowered" :rolleyes:- doesn't see much play now because of the dominance of creature token generators and recovery effects? (also, its way too vulnerable against Faeries). So we need to replace it with a crappier variant?
On top of that, Mass Calcify sucks in all situations outside of casual kitchen table messing around; Martial Coup is only good as a finisher, NOT as a mid-game weapon against an aggro deck; Austere Command is terrible without wrath itself to back it up, as turn 6 is wayyy too late; Hallowed Burial is one turn too late, even Wrath on turn 4 is not enough vs most aggro decks these days.
. You realize even wrath- which is so "overpowered" :rolleyes:- doesn't see much play now because of the dominance of creature token generators and recovery effects?
One of the design goals of Lorwyn was to make decks more "wrath resistant" so tribal would shine and creatureless control would be on the lowdown. They woudn't need to jump through hoops with token generation and manlands if they weren't fighting against such a powerful wrath effect.
4th-turn wrath doesn't need to be what is holding down aggro anyway. There can be cheaper, not-hard solutions like Firespout and Volcanic Fallout. Or there can be strong walls like Nassif won with. As a four-mana hard sweep, wrath answers near everything so you can't even begin to design interesting situational alternatives or see a variety of defensive approaches develop.
All of these cards help illustrate the color wheel. Blue flies. Black has evasion (swampwalk and fear) and regenerates. Green augments creatures and can block flying. Red hurts itself. White prevents damage.
You could of course make the case for *** as well (global ruin effect) to define white but there are probably other reasons to pull that card, power level being one of them.
I don't think having gameplay-wise better alternatives are a reason to remove cards. Cursed Flesh though is a very interesting card and Fear should be nixed for having the same name than a keyword.
And, Wizards, don't dare removing good old Grizzly Bears for a stupid elf. If you really want to give them an update use Ashcoat Bears instead. After all elves are just humans with pointy ears.
The cards I noted wouldn't just be gameplay improvements, but also flavorful improvements. They have very generic fantasy names that also hint at what they do somewhat.
As for the bears, it needs to end. Bears are not a fantasy staple. No cards interact with them or care about them. The Elf, on the other hand, doesn't suffer that problem, and also has a semi-useful ability, which is even more relevant given the heavy multicolor Standard.
One of the design goals of Lorwyn was to make decks more "wrath resistant" so tribal would shine and creatureless control would be on the lowdown. They woudn't need to jump through hoops with token generation and manlands if they weren't fighting against such a powerful wrath effect.
4th-turn wrath doesn't need to be what is holding down aggro anyway. There can be cheaper, not-hard solutions like Firespout and Volcanic Fallout. Or there can be strong walls like Nassif won with. As a four-mana hard sweep, wrath answers near everything so you can't even begin to design interesting situational alternatives or see a variety of defensive approaches develop.
Nonetheless, Wrath is good for the game; it makes the aggro matchup more exciting in general. The not-hard solutions don't encourage the aggro player to manage his resources nearly as much, since the stuff you normally hang back with is the 3-4 mana drops that should be out of range for Pyroclasm effects anyway, so why not run your whole hand out?
You're claiming different defensive approaches "can't even begin to" develop with Wrath in the format, yet Firespout, V. Fallout and Wall of Reverence are all examples of different defensive approaches that you yourself provide- in a format with Wrath available! On top of that we saw Finks, Plumveil, Cloudthresher, and more- all WITH Wrath in the format, and many saw MORE play in control arsenals than Wrath did. Finally, the statement becomes even more absurd once you realize Wrath has ALWAYS been available in Constructed Magic- and yet we saw TONS of various defensive options among various decks in various formats through the years. Right now in Legacy, Engineered Explosives, P. Deed, Humility, Ghostly Prison, Magus of the Tabernacle, Devastating Dreams- all see more play than Wrath as mass creature defensive options.
It certainly isn't "overpowered" like the poster I quoted was claiming, on top of that its a great card to attract newer players; its a very elegant effect, and has no equivalent in sheer style and coolness even among Wrath replacers. The only card that comes close to being as splashy and elegant is Final Judgment, but Final Judgment is unplayably bad.
IN Giant Growth -- 95%. Hard to imagine this one going. Air Elemental -- 90%. I see no particular reason for this one to go. Wrath of God -- 90%. Only reason I ever see seems to come from a desire for "payback" for the demon protests of days gone by.
PROBABLY OK Drudge Skeleton -- 70%. Until the Chinese take over, anyway. Nightmare -- 65%. Solid card, though not really vital.
DON'T KNOW -- GUESSING IN Giant Spider -- 55%. This one may be a bit of reach (sorry), but I don't see an obvious replacement. Rod of Ruin -- 55%. Higher than most put it, to be sure, but apart from power level there are few defects. Samite Healer -- 55%. This one's the least clear. There may be better alternatives, but are there simpler ones?
DON'T KNOW -- GUESSING OUT Orcish Artillery -- 50%. Is there still a place in this game for orcs? Grizzly Bears -- 45%. Didn't seem threatened until those darned Elves came out. Scathe Zombies -- 40%. Is there room for two 2/2 vanillas in a core set anymore?
I DOUBT IT Bog Wraith -- 35%. Just a hunch that landwalk may be on the outs. Goblin King -- 30%. As above, along with slightly clunky "other" buff.
OUT Howling Mine -- 10%. The "unless tapped" mechanic is so clunky. Time for something cleaner. Regenerate -- 10%. The reunion with Lure and Basilisk (albeit not the original one) was nice, but let's face it, it's over. Fear -- 5%. The color-specific keyword mechanic of "fear" has outlived its shelf life IMHO.
I don't want to see Wrath go, but if it would, I could see following card replace it:
New Wrath 2WW
Sorcery
Each player chooses up to one creature he or she controls.
Destroy all creatures not chosen this way.
(wording not really elegant, but you get it)
This would push Creature-using control decks and encourage the play of the many three drops in control which recent sets gave us (Rhox War Monk et cetera).
New Wrath 2WW
Sorcery
Each player chooses up to one creature he or she controls.
Destroy all creatures not chosen this way.
(wording not really elegant, but you get it)
16 in tenth: Air Elemental (OUT: we got Serra Angel now as an uncommon) Bog Wraith (OUT: swampwalk should be pushed to black's enemies) Drudge Skeletons (IN: confirmed in) Fear (OUT: clunky aura that doesn't see any play whatsoever) Giant Growth (IN: omnomnom, fringe constructed playable common that shows what green is al about) Giant Spider (IN: reach baby, respect those spiders :)) Goblin King (OUT: no more lords!) Grizzly Bears (OUT: since this will be a more advanced set, I'm betting they'll replace this with a 2/2 that actually has an ability) Howling Mine (OUT: we got Font of Mythos for a while, and this isn't all that spectacular) Nightmare (IN: confirmed in) Orcish Artillery (IN: lots of flavor and a powerful learning tool, you life total is a resource) Regeneration (IN: "awesome! my Craw Wurm is invincible now!" Rod of Ruin (IN: clean and neat damage source that goes into any deck) Samite Healer (IN: it doesn't get whiter than this, most efficient damage preventer on legs around) Scathe Zombies (OUT: Booooooooooooring) Wrath of God (OUT: wotc will never be able to print a nonbroken board sweeper better than this, leaving it out would open design space for playable board sweepers at 5+ mana)
Some of this is copied from a post I made on MTG.com a while back, but I've edited it a little.
I think the following cards will leave:
Fear: I've never liked this card, and I've even tried it just to see if I would like it. I've never seen anyone else play it, even the AI in Shandalar Sealed Decks. The fact that it's named Fear and grants fear is sorta awkward, too, I guess. Someone on MTG.com suggested Cursed Flesh if there must be a fear-granting aura, and that seems like it could fit if it must.
Regeneration: My intuition on this is the same it is for Fear, but I suppose this is slighthly more likely to be in than Fear is.
Howling Mine: I've never personally liked this card, so I'm admittedly biased against it. It's the only remaining artifact I can think of that has an "untapped" clause, and it doesn't really make flavorful sense to me. I think the Font of Mythos argument against it is somewhat more valid than similar arguments like Martial Coup argument against Wrath of God.
Scathe Zombies: Black has four creatures on the list of 16. Compared to Bog Wraith, Drudge Skeletons, and Nightmare, vanilla Scathe Zombies isn't too special... it's outclassed often and overcosted.
Rod of Ruin: I have a feeling that this will be dropped, but that something (strictly?) better along the lines of it will show up in its place.
Samite Healer: There are lots and lots of alternatives they could choose (or create) that would be more interesting.
Grizzly Bears: As attached as I am to it, I have a feeling it will go. I don't think it will be replaced with Cylian Elf; I think they'll make a new Bear strictly better than Grizzly Bears (it's happened before, but never in a Core to my knowledge) as a nod to it.
I hope the following cards will stay:
Air Elemental: He may be french vanilla, but I've always liked Air Elemental, and the 10th Edition art is cool. People keep using the fact that Serra Angel is strictly better as an argument that it would (or should) go- I think it's an OK argument, but keep in mind they were in Alpha together at uncommon. I think they'll keep it, but giving Blue something new and similar to Air Elemental to shake things up wouldn't bother me either.
Bog Wraith: I'm not really sure why, but I like this card all-around and I hope it stays. I'm a fan of it in Limited; it's a difficult card for your opponent to deal with. Elsewhere... I mean, it's not a card that would ever cross your mind to include, even in a casual deck, but it's an efficient creature and it isn't terrible. Flavorfully and artistically, it makes perfect sense. I love every artwork that has been used for Bog Wraith, especially the original art (one of my favorites in A/B/U) and the Kamigawa-themed 10E art. I don't know why so many people hate Bog Wraith.
Giant Growth: It's one of Green's most iconic cards, and I'd be really sad to see it go. It's one of those "perfect cards."
Wrath of God: I want this to make it. With so many people hypothesizing that it won't, I have to admit it's lowering my hopes that it will. It seems to me most people who "think" it will go are people who personally dislike it and hope it will go. Of course, this psychology of personal preference plays into every choice of every card (whether you or I want a certain card to be in or out), but with Wrath clearly being the most playable of the 16, opinions are more pronounced. I think Wrath is one of those "perfect cards" in design along with Giant Growth. Why would they get rid of it? It's certainly the most iconic card on this list, and even if it doesn't make it into M10, I wouldn't expect it to go the route of Counterspell... I'd expect it to be "absent" in M10 like Birds of Paradise was in 9th. (For the record, I wouldn't mind Damnation for a set, though I doubt it will happen) I was wondering something that more ardent readers might know the answer to: Have they ever used language in MTG.com articles implying Wrath is too powerful, or belongs in Black? If not, that's a big strike against it leaving. If it goes, I don't think they're going to print an identical version without a regen clause, and I'm surprised by how common that notion is. That would be unnecessary and do nothing but disappoint.
Giant Spider: It doesn't have the iconic punch as some of this other stuff (it's memorable, just not as memorable) and it's here partly due to process of elimination. I don't think my list is entirely right, and Giant Spider seems like it could go either way, but I think it's a good candidate to keep.
Orcish Artillery: A goofy, fun card that illustrates an important aspect of Red. One minor, minor strike against it in my opinion (which I've never seen anyone else say) is that it's concepted as a "siege weapon," which has always slightly bugged me when it's been used (most often on White cards). As for the "new players don't like to damage themselves" problem, I tend to believe that only refers to painlands. I hope, for example, that Black gets a Night's Whisper type of card. Orcish Artillery is funny in flavor and gameplay, and this makes it amusing.
As for Drudge Skeletons and Nightmare, I also expected them to stay and I'm really glad they're in. Skeletons has a cool new art, and has always been a card that "makes sense" all around. Nightmare is flavorful, iconic, and demonstrates Black's love of Black.
16 in tenth: Air Elemental (IN. I think its balanced, it explains blue, its something good for blue) Bog Wraith (OUT: Black has too much going on. Its strickly better than Hill Giant) Drudge Skeletons (IN: confirmed in) Fear (OUT: clunky aura that doesn't see any play whatsoever) Giant Growth (IN: omnomnom, fringe constructed playable common that shows what green is al about don't forget limited strong.) Giant Spider (IN: reach baby, respect those spiders :-)) Goblin King (OUT: no more lords!) Grizzly Bears (In: The only reason I could see replacing this is to change the creature type. It exemplifies the fact that greens creatures are cheeper than normal.) Howling Mine (OUT: Font of Mythos for a while, is the only real argument for it going. could be back in M11 depending on which verson they like better.) Nightmare (IN: confirmed in) Orcish Artillery (IN: lots If Wrath got In this gets the boot. This is pure red recklessness.) Regeneration (Out: I think they would rather just put it on certain creatures and removing this enchantment cleans up uncommon slots.) Rod of Ruin (Out: Its just a ping, but why does white, black and blue get a ping?) Samite Healer (IN: it doesn't get whiter than this, although he's on the short list.) Scathe Zombies (OUT: Because black will be going Vamps. People always pointed to scathe zombies and Grey Ogres as the opposite of Bears expensive 2/2's) Wrath of God (OUT: "wotc will never be able to print a nonbroken board sweeper better than this, leaving it out would open design space for playable board sweepers at 5+ mana" - I hate this argument but I'm tempted to agree with you. The question is will it be too slow.)
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Air Elemental: In (Simple and flavorful) Bog Wraith: Out (Why does a wraith have a 3/3 body with swampwalk?) Drudge Skeletons: In (confirmed) Fear: Out (I'm thinking there will be even less creatures to block this) Giant Growth: In (Evergreen that appeals to all players.) Giant Spider: In (Simple and flavorful) Goblin King: Out (I think it will be replaced with a new goblin lord) Grizzly Bears: In (Too iconic.) Howling Mine: Out (Much as it pains me, I think it might have seen its last days) Nightmare: In (confirmed) Orcish Artillery: In (Idiotic orcs doing damage to you has flavor... like cheeseburgers) Regeneration: Out (Too unexciting for uncommon, bogs down limited for common) Rod of Ruin: In (Was placed in a recent intro pack. I'll take that as a hint.) Samite Healer: Out (Have you ever been excited about Samite Healer?) Scathe Zombies: Out (2/2 vanillas for three just doesn't cut the mustard anymore) Wrath of God: Out (I think it will be replaced by Damnation or Hallowed Burial)
Wrath of God - probably
Samite Healer - iconic, so yes
Air Elemental - iconic, so yes
Scathe Zombies - rubbish, unflavorful
Nightmare - confirmed
Bog Wraith - iconic, so yes
Drudge Skeletons - confirmed
Fear - hopefully not
Goblin King - high doubt
Orcish Artillary - no, newbies hate it
Grizzly Bears - iconic, so yes
Regeneration - maybe, there's skeletons already
Giant Growth - iconic, so yes
Giant Spider - maybe
Howling Mine - no, I think we'll get Font of Mythos instead.
Rod of Ruin - no
Damn-a-wrath WWB
Sorcery
Destroy all creatures.
Screw Culling Sun, maybe we can have this instead. There needs to be SOME good, efficient sweeper though. Its not like aggro decks are particularly lacking in today's environment Given all the immense token generators, wrath is already kind of underplayed in Lor/Sha/Ala, of course with Lor/Sha rotating out it will be a bit different but even then aggro decks are certainly sitting quite pretty.
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
U Twinsanity
WUBRG Reaper King
UBG Dredge
UR Howling Owl
GBU Thief of Time
- Regeneration = Serpent Skin
- Fear = Cursed Flesh
- Giant Spider = Woolly Spider
- Samite Healer = Field Surgeon
- Grizzly Bears = Nomadic Elf
As such, I think those five are likely to die with M10.
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
Don't forget that it's very indicative of what the colour red does.
Wizards could put $100 bills in packs and people would complain about how they were folded.
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Indeed. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's why they've kept it in every Core Set so far.
If anything, I could see it (maybe) dropping down to Common, but I definitely can't see it leaving.
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
Now, whether replacing it is good or not, like Mr. Moogle said, depends entirely on what they replace it with. Right now, Martial Coup, Hallowed Burial, Mass Calcify, and Austere Command are the Wrath variants in standard, and they're all fairly good. They all have utility within their own design space, but when you add Wrath into the mix, all of them are invalidated, because they aren't AS GOOD.
Ill make my shoots 4 fun! (but a racional one..)
IN
Drudge Skeletons
Giant Growth
Giant Spider
Samite Healer
Nightmare
Drudge Skeletons
Fear
Giant Growth
Nightmare
Orcish Artillery
Rod of Ruin
Samite Healer
Wrath of God
WUBRGWBGURW
UBRGWURWBGU
BRGWUBGURWB
RGWUBRWBGUR
GWUBRGURWBG
None of those are "fairly good" except in certain OTHER situations. They are all terrible at giving the control player a tool against fast aggro decks. You realize even wrath- which is so "overpowered" :rolleyes:- doesn't see much play now because of the dominance of creature token generators and recovery effects? (also, its way too vulnerable against Faeries). So we need to replace it with a crappier variant?
On top of that, Mass Calcify sucks in all situations outside of casual kitchen table messing around; Martial Coup is only good as a finisher, NOT as a mid-game weapon against an aggro deck; Austere Command is terrible without wrath itself to back it up, as turn 6 is wayyy too late; Hallowed Burial is one turn too late, even Wrath on turn 4 is not enough vs most aggro decks these days.
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
One of the design goals of Lorwyn was to make decks more "wrath resistant" so tribal would shine and creatureless control would be on the lowdown. They woudn't need to jump through hoops with token generation and manlands if they weren't fighting against such a powerful wrath effect.
4th-turn wrath doesn't need to be what is holding down aggro anyway. There can be cheaper, not-hard solutions like Firespout and Volcanic Fallout. Or there can be strong walls like Nassif won with. As a four-mana hard sweep, wrath answers near everything so you can't even begin to design interesting situational alternatives or see a variety of defensive approaches develop.
Air Elemental
Bog Wraith
Drudge Skeletons
Fear
Giant Growth
Giant Spider
Orcish Artillery
Samite Healer
All of these cards help illustrate the color wheel. Blue flies. Black has evasion (swampwalk and fear) and regenerates. Green augments creatures and can block flying. Red hurts itself. White prevents damage.
You could of course make the case for *** as well (global ruin effect) to define white but there are probably other reasons to pull that card, power level being one of them.
Rafiq of the Many UWG
Sedris, the Traitor King URB
Kaalia of the Vast RWB
Savra, Queen of Golgari GB
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice GW
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails EquipmentW
The cards I noted wouldn't just be gameplay improvements, but also flavorful improvements. They have very generic fantasy names that also hint at what they do somewhat.
As for the bears, it needs to end. Bears are not a fantasy staple. No cards interact with them or care about them. The Elf, on the other hand, doesn't suffer that problem, and also has a semi-useful ability, which is even more relevant given the heavy multicolor Standard.
- Main Cube
- No Brains, All Feelings Cube
Nonetheless, Wrath is good for the game; it makes the aggro matchup more exciting in general. The not-hard solutions don't encourage the aggro player to manage his resources nearly as much, since the stuff you normally hang back with is the 3-4 mana drops that should be out of range for Pyroclasm effects anyway, so why not run your whole hand out?
You're claiming different defensive approaches "can't even begin to" develop with Wrath in the format, yet Firespout, V. Fallout and Wall of Reverence are all examples of different defensive approaches that you yourself provide- in a format with Wrath available! On top of that we saw Finks, Plumveil, Cloudthresher, and more- all WITH Wrath in the format, and many saw MORE play in control arsenals than Wrath did. Finally, the statement becomes even more absurd once you realize Wrath has ALWAYS been available in Constructed Magic- and yet we saw TONS of various defensive options among various decks in various formats through the years. Right now in Legacy, Engineered Explosives, P. Deed, Humility, Ghostly Prison, Magus of the Tabernacle, Devastating Dreams- all see more play than Wrath as mass creature defensive options.
It certainly isn't "overpowered" like the poster I quoted was claiming, on top of that its a great card to attract newer players; its a very elegant effect, and has no equivalent in sheer style and coolness even among Wrath replacers. The only card that comes close to being as splashy and elegant is Final Judgment, but Final Judgment is unplayably bad.
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
Giant Growth -- 95%. Hard to imagine this one going.
Air Elemental -- 90%. I see no particular reason for this one to go.
Wrath of God -- 90%. Only reason I ever see seems to come from a desire for "payback" for the demon protests of days gone by.
PROBABLY OK
Drudge Skeleton -- 70%. Until the Chinese take over, anyway.
Nightmare -- 65%. Solid card, though not really vital.
DON'T KNOW -- GUESSING IN
Giant Spider -- 55%. This one may be a bit of reach (sorry), but I don't see an obvious replacement.
Rod of Ruin -- 55%. Higher than most put it, to be sure, but apart from power level there are few defects.
Samite Healer -- 55%. This one's the least clear. There may be better alternatives, but are there simpler ones?
DON'T KNOW -- GUESSING OUT
Orcish Artillery -- 50%. Is there still a place in this game for orcs?
Grizzly Bears -- 45%. Didn't seem threatened until those darned Elves came out.
Scathe Zombies -- 40%. Is there room for two 2/2 vanillas in a core set anymore?
I DOUBT IT
Bog Wraith -- 35%. Just a hunch that landwalk may be on the outs.
Goblin King -- 30%. As above, along with slightly clunky "other" buff.
OUT
Howling Mine -- 10%. The "unless tapped" mechanic is so clunky. Time for something cleaner.
Regenerate -- 10%. The reunion with Lure and Basilisk (albeit not the original one) was nice, but let's face it, it's over.
Fear -- 5%. The color-specific keyword mechanic of "fear" has outlived its shelf life IMHO.
New Wrath 2WW
Sorcery
Each player chooses up to one creature he or she controls.
Destroy all creatures not chosen this way.
(wording not really elegant, but you get it)
This would push Creature-using control decks and encourage the play of the many three drops in control which recent sets gave us (Rhox War Monk et cetera).
Cataclysm?
Meeko will now refer to the time when MAGIC entered the "beginning of the end step".
Magic 2010.
Goblin King isn an iconic red creature alright, but mass pumping isn't red.
Howling Mine doesn't have anything to do with fundamental magic flavour, neither do Orcish Artillery, Rod of Ruin and Scathe Zombies.
Regeneration and Samite Healer would probably get changed to something else more simple and more effective.
16 in tenth:
Air Elemental (OUT: we got Serra Angel now as an uncommon)
Bog Wraith (OUT: swampwalk should be pushed to black's enemies)
Drudge Skeletons (IN: confirmed in)
Fear (OUT: clunky aura that doesn't see any play whatsoever)
Giant Growth (IN: omnomnom, fringe constructed playable common that shows what green is al about)
Giant Spider (IN: reach baby, respect those spiders :))
Goblin King (OUT: no more lords!)
Grizzly Bears (OUT: since this will be a more advanced set, I'm betting they'll replace this with a 2/2 that actually has an ability)
Howling Mine (OUT: we got Font of Mythos for a while, and this isn't all that spectacular)
Nightmare (IN: confirmed in)
Orcish Artillery (IN: lots of flavor and a powerful learning tool, you life total is a resource)
Regeneration (IN: "awesome! my Craw Wurm is invincible now!"
Rod of Ruin (IN: clean and neat damage source that goes into any deck)
Samite Healer (IN: it doesn't get whiter than this, most efficient damage preventer on legs around)
Scathe Zombies (OUT: Booooooooooooring)
Wrath of God (OUT: wotc will never be able to print a nonbroken board sweeper better than this, leaving it out would open design space for playable board sweepers at 5+ mana)
I think the following cards will leave:
My Custom Cube - a super-powered Core Set
My guess.
16 in tenth:
Air Elemental (IN. I think its balanced, it explains blue, its something good for blue)
Bog Wraith (OUT: Black has too much going on. Its strickly better than Hill Giant)
Drudge Skeletons (IN: confirmed in)
Fear (OUT: clunky aura that doesn't see any play whatsoever)
Giant Growth (IN: omnomnom, fringe constructed playable common that shows what green is al about don't forget limited strong.)
Giant Spider (IN: reach baby, respect those spiders :-))
Goblin King (OUT: no more lords!)
Grizzly Bears (In: The only reason I could see replacing this is to change the creature type. It exemplifies the fact that greens creatures are cheeper than normal.)
Howling Mine (OUT: Font of Mythos for a while, is the only real argument for it going. could be back in M11 depending on which verson they like better.)
Nightmare (IN: confirmed in)
Orcish Artillery (IN: lots If Wrath got In this gets the boot. This is pure red recklessness.)
Regeneration (Out: I think they would rather just put it on certain creatures and removing this enchantment cleans up uncommon slots.)
Rod of Ruin (Out: Its just a ping, but why does white, black and blue get a ping?)
Samite Healer (IN: it doesn't get whiter than this, although he's on the short list.)
Scathe Zombies (OUT: Because black will be going Vamps. People always pointed to scathe zombies and Grey Ogres as the opposite of Bears expensive 2/2's)
Wrath of God (OUT: "wotc will never be able to print a nonbroken board sweeper better than this, leaving it out would open design space for playable board sweepers at 5+ mana" - I hate this argument but I'm tempted to agree with you. The question is will it be too slow.)
Air Elemental: In (Simple and flavorful)
Bog Wraith: Out (Why does a wraith have a 3/3 body with swampwalk?)
Drudge Skeletons: In (confirmed)
Fear: Out (I'm thinking there will be even less creatures to block this)
Giant Growth: In (Evergreen that appeals to all players.)
Giant Spider: In (Simple and flavorful)
Goblin King: Out (I think it will be replaced with a new goblin lord)
Grizzly Bears: In (Too iconic.)
Howling Mine: Out (Much as it pains me, I think it might have seen its last days)
Nightmare: In (confirmed)
Orcish Artillery: In (Idiotic orcs doing damage to you has flavor... like cheeseburgers)
Regeneration: Out (Too unexciting for uncommon, bogs down limited for common)
Rod of Ruin: In (Was placed in a recent intro pack. I'll take that as a hint.)
Samite Healer: Out (Have you ever been excited about Samite Healer?)
Scathe Zombies: Out (2/2 vanillas for three just doesn't cut the mustard anymore)
Wrath of God: Out (I think it will be replaced by Damnation or Hallowed Burial)
Quoth the Whippoorwill: "........"
Samite Healer - iconic, so yes
Air Elemental - iconic, so yes
Scathe Zombies - rubbish, unflavorful
Nightmare - confirmed
Bog Wraith - iconic, so yes
Drudge Skeletons - confirmed
Fear - hopefully not
Goblin King - high doubt
Orcish Artillary - no, newbies hate it
Grizzly Bears - iconic, so yes
Regeneration - maybe, there's skeletons already
Giant Growth - iconic, so yes
Giant Spider - maybe
Howling Mine - no, I think we'll get Font of Mythos instead.
Rod of Ruin - no
( 0.0 )
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I'm an AI making Magic cards.
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