Since long before the name of the new set has been confirmed the idea of a war-torn plane there has been a lot of speculation in what way the feeling of armies will be presented mechanically. I always felt a nice and clean way to do so would be tokens - since the creatures are not represented by individual cards you can have individual cards that give you multiple creatures similar to e. g. Flurry of Horns and Launch the Fleet and Revel of the Fallen God and Rise of Eagles... all cards from just the last set of the most recent block. And the last set is the closest to Khans of Tarkir and would be linked strongest mechanically to it.
The heroes of Theros were designed to be build up to individual strong champions in the first two sets, but come the last sets the designers decided that the players should be encouraged "go wide" rather than "go tall" i. e. have an army of creatures rather than an individual strong finisher.
What kind of mechanics would thrive in an environment of token creators? What keyword would go very well with many creatures on the battlefield? One example would be the recently revealed returning keyword of M15: Convoke. I'd like to tap my tokens for that.
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So how do I imagine this to work? I think there are plenty of ways to create creature tokens and many of army-flavor as well. Cards like Raise the Alarm are one way, but there could also easily be a keyword similar to cycling and reinforce that lets you discard a card for tokens. The most likely way is creatures that make more creatures like Siege-Gang Commander (do note that I do not speculate that individual card for Khans of Tarkir) - combined with lord abilities these would be easily troop commanders or actual "warlords" or "khans".
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Now there are some alternative interpretations e. g. a return of abilities like Squadron Hawk's. I won't discount them, but when I look at the number of cards in JOU that do nothing but create tokens I think there's more coming where that is from. And maybe it's not just creature tokens we can look forward to; Gold is likely just a Theros thing, but it shows that the designers have thought about tokens and are ready to push the envelope just a little.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
creates or want you to have a supply of cheap creatures; Bident of thassa does as well. Purphoros, God of the Forge wants you to keep playing creatures Master of waves creates a arm for you
Elspeth as well
and Xenagos planeswalker as well
Ashiok wants to get all your cheap creatures for hin
Karametra wants you to keep playing creatures ( soo she can remove some lands out of your way)
Phenax wants to be played on a defensive deck Tromokratis wants to attak against a army
Polukranos eats little guys anger of the gods destroys all litle guys Whelming Wave reserts the game state
Ajani wants to help litle guys
the amount of atthems in Theros block and M15 is also ALOT
there are more things but can t remenber
I think something like Battalion is comming in Tarkir ...
I think something like Battalion is comming in Tarkir ...
I was keeping certain things out of the first post to keep it not too long, but your line of thinking intersects with mine a lot e. g. I actually thought about battalion and Tarkir as well when I saw Military Intelligence.
I am not certain what you mean with "winnings", but it indeed seems like there are quite a few cards that generate value for decks with many creatures or are interesting in an environment with such.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
Well also 'no dragons' (at least in the first set) might mean a commitment to no big creatures, so it could be a very token heavy set and I would really enjoy that. Looking at all the synergy posted above, it would work well.
Maybe we will get a 'team fight' card where multiple creatures could team up to fight one creature, and I'm sure at least one faction will have a lot of sacrificing to feed tokens into something.
creates or want you to have a supply of cheap creatures; Bident of thassa does as well. Purphoros, God of the Forge wants you to keep playing creatures Master of waves creates a arm for you
Elspeth as well
and Xenagos planeswalker as well
Ashiok wants to get all your cheap creatures for hin
Karametra wants you to keep playing creatures ( soo she can remove some lands out of your way)
Phenax wants to be played on a defensive deck Tromokratis wants to attak against a army
Polukranos eats little guys anger of the gods destroys all litle guys Whelming Wave reserts the game state
Ajani wants to help litle guys
the amount of atthems in Theros block and M15 is also ALOT
there are more things but can t remenber
I think something like Battalion is comming in Tarkir ...
Like some sort of cycle maybe? Warlords of X, with ability "when creatures you control attack they get +1/+0 or some other effect until end of turn"? Maybe mix it up a little and one of them is "whenever creatures you control block" or something.
While there where some good Battalion cards, it was kinda week and might not see the light of day again beyond maybe some Commander or Planechase (on new cards I mean)
Also looking at the 2015 spoilers... every second card has the word token. Squid tokens galore.
Also 'polymorph' seems to be a thing, which is always better on tokens than on a live creature. There is a nasty deck strategy that is just 'huge creatures, 1/1 tokens and polymorph'.
MaRo said when he announced KoT at the Pro Tour that it would contain "Something players have asked for mixed with something new," maybe the 5 wedges get their name and (creature)theme?(BWR has the best dragons) Or it could(highly unlikely) be the mythical 6th color(again, highly unlikely).
^So since walls don't really play that well vs. swarms, maybe they have a mechanic that could interact with multiple creatures at a time.
I could be wrong, but I believe that you are on the right track there, giving walls the ability to deal with multiple creatures. Thematically it would make since too, Mongolian swarms running into a wall and so forth. I just feel that a dragon named "Seigebreaker Dragon" that can blow up walls when it ETB and if you dont get a wall before the next combat phase it will cook your entire non flying army is a big hint to walls playing a part in the set. Actually could be neat.
OP has a valid point. I think unlike THS block, the focus is now on going wide. This gives us a perception of warring with armies. Seeded cards like Launch the Fleet and other token producers seem to hint at it. What's the resulting end is we may see more time-outs in tourneys.... lol
In M15, we have a dragon that destroys walls. So I wouldn't be surprised if Tarkir was a war-torn plane (where Sarkhan came from) where sieges are an everyday thing. There's gonna be a lot of attrition, and this is where we need Walls(!!!) and tactics to win. And where do with get those combat tricks from? Theros.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is a card where you amassed enough walls, you win the game. In fact, I would be shocked if there wasn't. lol
It would be thematic, it fits the M15 convoke I think it is a pretty good bet. It will still have to deal with drown in sorrow and anger of the gods even without a 4 mana wraith appearing.
When talking about walls don't forget to mention god of walls and rules lawyering Phenax, god of deception.
^So since walls don't really play that well vs. swarms, maybe they have a mechanic that could interact with multiple creatures at a time.
I could be wrong, but I believe that you are on the right track there, giving walls the ability to deal with multiple creatures. Thematically it would make since too, Mongolian swarms running into a wall and so forth. I just feel that a dragon named "Seigebreaker Dragon" that can blow up walls when it ETB and if you dont get a wall before the next combat phase it will cook your entire non flying army is a big hint to walls playing a part in the set. Actually could be neat.
I like where this is going... maybe Spirespine is also a hint at there being a lot of defensive wall strategies.
considering how combo-centric much of M15 is, I'm expected the new block to be about massing armies either for the purpose of swarming or just to hold the line until huge fatties come out, but in the end it will die to a combo firing off on the other side.
The big problem with a token theme is that it leads to massive board stalls that aren't fun or interesting. What makes me really think large armies is going to be the theme of Khans is the existence of Scuttling Doom Engine and Tromokratis. Both of these have unusual forms of evasion that are best on boards full of weaker creatures, which works well with dragons, as they also fulfill the role of big evasive beaters and often have damage effects that can wipe out smaller armies.. I imagine even control will be pushed to play Wall of Omens type creatures.
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The heroes of Theros were designed to be build up to individual strong champions in the first two sets, but come the last sets the designers decided that the players should be encouraged "go wide" rather than "go tall" i. e. have an army of creatures rather than an individual strong finisher.
What kind of mechanics would thrive in an environment of token creators? What keyword would go very well with many creatures on the battlefield? One example would be the recently revealed returning keyword of M15: Convoke. I'd like to tap my tokens for that.
---
So how do I imagine this to work? I think there are plenty of ways to create creature tokens and many of army-flavor as well. Cards like Raise the Alarm are one way, but there could also easily be a keyword similar to cycling and reinforce that lets you discard a card for tokens. The most likely way is creatures that make more creatures like Siege-Gang Commander (do note that I do not speculate that individual card for Khans of Tarkir) - combined with lord abilities these would be easily troop commanders or actual "warlords" or "khans".
---
Now there are some alternative interpretations e. g. a return of abilities like Squadron Hawk's. I won't discount them, but when I look at the number of cards in JOU that do nothing but create tokens I think there's more coming where that is from. And maybe it's not just creature tokens we can look forward to; Gold is likely just a Theros thing, but it shows that the designers have thought about tokens and are ready to push the envelope just a little.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
creates or want you to have a supply of cheap creatures;
Bident of thassa does as well.
Purphoros, God of the Forge wants you to keep playing creatures
Master of waves creates a arm for you
Elspeth as well
and Xenagos planeswalker as well
Ashiok wants to get all your cheap creatures for hin
Karametra wants you to keep playing creatures ( soo she can remove some lands out of your way)
Phenax wants to be played on a defensive deck
Tromokratis wants to attak against a army
Polukranos eats little guys
anger of the gods destroys all litle guys
Whelming Wave reserts the game state
Ajani wants to help litle guys
the amount of atthems in Theros block and M15 is also ALOT
there are more things but can t remenber
I think something like Battalion is comming in Tarkir ...
I was keeping certain things out of the first post to keep it not too long, but your line of thinking intersects with mine a lot e. g. I actually thought about battalion and Tarkir as well when I saw Military Intelligence.
I am not certain what you mean with "winnings", but it indeed seems like there are quite a few cards that generate value for decks with many creatures or are interesting in an environment with such.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
Factions: Sleeping
Remnants: Valheim
Legendary Journey: Heroes & Planeswalkers
Saga: Shards of Rabiah
Legends: The Elder Dragons
Read up on Red Flags & NWO
Maybe we will get a 'team fight' card where multiple creatures could team up to fight one creature, and I'm sure at least one faction will have a lot of sacrificing to feed tokens into something.
www.theconnoisseurs.com
but we did just have battalion a block ago. im thnking maybe battelcry, horsemanship, or flanking
Like some sort of cycle maybe? Warlords of X, with ability "when creatures you control attack they get +1/+0 or some other effect until end of turn"? Maybe mix it up a little and one of them is "whenever creatures you control block" or something.
Also looking at the 2015 spoilers... every second card has the word token. Squid tokens galore.
Also 'polymorph' seems to be a thing, which is always better on tokens than on a live creature. There is a nasty deck strategy that is just 'huge creatures, 1/1 tokens and polymorph'.
www.theconnoisseurs.com
Khans might also be a Tokens Matter in general set, given the repeated appearance of 'Gold' tokens in Theros.
I could be wrong, but I believe that you are on the right track there, giving walls the ability to deal with multiple creatures. Thematically it would make since too, Mongolian swarms running into a wall and so forth. I just feel that a dragon named "Seigebreaker Dragon" that can blow up walls when it ETB and if you dont get a wall before the next combat phase it will cook your entire non flying army is a big hint to walls playing a part in the set. Actually could be neat.
In M15, we have a dragon that destroys walls. So I wouldn't be surprised if Tarkir was a war-torn plane (where Sarkhan came from) where sieges are an everyday thing. There's gonna be a lot of attrition, and this is where we need Walls(!!!) and tactics to win. And where do with get those combat tricks from? Theros.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is a card where you amassed enough walls, you win the game. In fact, I would be shocked if there wasn't. lol
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
When talking about walls don't forget to mention god of walls and rules lawyering Phenax, god of deception.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
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I like where this is going... maybe Spirespine is also a hint at there being a lot of defensive wall strategies.
I think the only one out of these 4 that has a chance of being in Khans is battlecry, which would fit pretty well.