I was gonna put this in Baseless Spec, but I think I might have enough to go on for these ideas to warrant being here instead. Mods, feel free to move it if it must be put in Baseless Spec. Thanks.
So, on to it...
My predictions for the next three (non-Core) sets:
FRF - We will see the introduction of basic lands that produce colorless mana as a sub-theme of the set. No new dual lands or fetches printed/reprinted. WHY: With the notion of Wizards "solving" the problem with basic lands producing colorless mana spoiled at PAX Australia, I refuse to believe this is in reference to a supplemental product in the next year. I believe that colorless-mana basics will appear by Blood the latest, in a Standard legal set. I think it will be this block (FRF or DTK), and am saying FRF mostly out of a belief that we, the players, wouldn't want this sub-theme to appear for only one set. But I could see it only existing in DTK. As for my belief that there will be no more duals or fetches, there are a few reasons. First, there are already ten duals, five trilands and five fetches in block alone. That coupled with the likely colorless sub-theme, it just makes no sense. Also, it is a small set, so dedicating five slots to dual or fetchlands is pushing it. No filterlands. No fastlands. No more fetches.
DTK - Colorless subtheme continues. Possibility of ZEN fetches being reprinted. WHY: If there is no colorless sub-theme in FRF, it will certainly appear in DTK. Morph/colorless just has too much design space to utilize. Especially with the story tie-ins to Ugin/dragons using colorless magic and dragons returning to the plane thanks to Sarkhan's time travel shenanigoats, it just seems too perfect a time to explore the design space. I could see the ZEN fetches being reprinted here to "complete the cycle", but I think they will wait one more set to reprint them, which leads us to...
Blood - A return to Zendikar. The return of Landfall possibly. If ZEN fetches not reprinted in DTK, they see a reprint here. WHY: First, players want it. They want a return to Zendikar. There are loose ends (Eldrazi on a rampage). New parts of the story have been made known (Nahiri's official introduction). Multiple planeswalkers (and an ex-planeswalker) are involved in the unfinished plot and have stakes in the outcome. Whether the ZEN fetches are get reprinted in DTK or in Blood, they will still play with the return of landfall. Okay, wait. This one is more wishful thinking. I'd like to see more Landfall cards, but it may not get used again when we return to Zendikar, so as to not make it feel too similar, but since they now return at least one existing mechanic each block, Landfall would make sense... but something else could too, depending on the environment. But I could see myself being wrong on this one, so just a disclaimer. So in regards to the ZEN fetches, they will be reprinted here, if not in DTK, not because of playable synergy with landfall, but because they need a reprinting. Plain and simple.
So those are my predictions for the next three expansion sets (sorry, no predictions for M16). What are your thoughts on my thoughts? Also, any predictions of your own (that are at least based on some form of logic)?
Alright I'll play too. I successfully predicted a wedge set against lots of naysayers though a few of my other Khans predictions were not bourne out.
FRF - We already know a little bit about this one so this set probably has the least speculation in it. We know that it has a hybrid component to it that will help the set fit into the theme of the first set (Wedge). This set is a tricky one as it has to be drafted well with both Khans and Dragons. Clearly it will have both the Clans as well as the Dragons in it. I guess that there will be a Dragons sub theme in the set to fit in with the Dragons theme in DTK. I do not believe that the Dragons will be Tri coloured and I think that they will be dual coloured with a twist to them. First of all I believe that all the Dragons in this set will have morph in them because a) the will fit in the morph theme in the first set and secondly as this is how the Dragons will reappear in the future. The morph mechanic I think plays a key part in the story and this will be how the Dragons don't die out and reappear in the future post the clans. Secondly I think the Dragons in the set will be allied dual coloured with a twist. I think that all the Dragons will need a colourless land mana included in their costs to make them more powerful. Something like: Draconic Magic (If Dragon mana was spent to cast this card it gains a +1/+1 counter). Or something like this. I'm guessing that Ugin will be the only Planeswalker in this set.
DTK - This set will have the Dragon aspects ruling the clans with a Dragon Clan Leader for each. The clan mechanics will be gone and instead there will be a new mechanic based around each dragon dominated clan. The clans will be dual coloured rather than tri-coloured with the coloureless Dragon Magic mechanic continued in here. There will be a lot more Dragons in this set and perhaps Dragon tribal will be a thing. I would expect to see the Dragon Magic being spread to humans in this set. I would expect that there will be two Planeswalkers in this set - chances are that Nicol Bolas or one of his henchmen (Tezzeret or more likely Ramaz) turning up with a high probability of another new Planeswalker turning up as well.
M16 - This is going to be the final core set. I think that the chances are that this one will have Liliana as the face of the set and that she will have a nice brand shiny new card this time around, along with a new Chandra. I suspect that they will write a little more of Liliana's story here as it will lead up to the next set. Returning mechanic in the set this year will be proliferate as this can be a tool used in a lot of new ways. I expect that we will see some new tribes expanded in the set to shake things up again and that WoTC will have a big surprise in this set as its the last core set ever. No idea what it will be, but I'm sure there will be something as a result of this milestone. I'm guessing this is where we might see Tamiyo replace Jace, in preparation of Jace continuing his story in a later plane.
Blood - I was convinced up until recently that blood was going to be the return to Zendikar, but I now have a suspicion that actually that will be in Tear / Fears rather than Blood / Sweat. I think that we will instead go to either Shandalar (where Garruk will go to try and discover the source of his curse) or Fiora (though less likely as we have just had Conspiracy). My Guess is that we will reach the conclusion of Garruk's current arc where he will get cured of the curse and he will unravel something about the Onnake and the Chain Veil in the process. It's possible we will get Liliana here two investigating the Chain Veil.
Tears / Fears - I'm guessing will then be a return to Zendikar and then we will get Nahiri and the Eldrazi in the early set and some of the other planeswalkers coming back from Tarkir in the later set. I think there will be a land component to the set, but it will be different to the original Zendikar and that we won't have fetches back here (they will come back in MM2), but instead we will set a new cycle of lands with a new mechanic on them. An idea would be for Bastions, where the various population of Zendikar have gone to hold out against the rampaging Eldrazi. Perhaps the bastions power up the more creatures you have out.
M16 might see the return of landfall if they dont want to do it in Zendikar, but I think M16 is going to be a bit more special, nostalgia loaded with reprints that they would otherwise not see any chance of reprinting.
To further add to your point, we don't even know if the next core set is going to be called Magic 2016. In the article that explained the new block structure it was refered simply as "the 2015 core set", and in Blogatog Maro refused to confirm if it was going to be named Magic 2016. It's speculated that the last core set is actually going to be called "Magic Origins" (Wizards has trademarked that name) and if it's true, it definitely sounds like a "nostalgia loaded set".
Wasn't M13 already the set of Nicol Bolas? He was definitely the splashiest Mythic in the set, and he was featured heavily in the promotional material.
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So, on to it...
My predictions for the next three (non-Core) sets:
FRF - We will see the introduction of basic lands that produce colorless mana as a sub-theme of the set. No new dual lands or fetches printed/reprinted. WHY: With the notion of Wizards "solving" the problem with basic lands producing colorless mana spoiled at PAX Australia, I refuse to believe this is in reference to a supplemental product in the next year. I believe that colorless-mana basics will appear by Blood the latest, in a Standard legal set. I think it will be this block (FRF or DTK), and am saying FRF mostly out of a belief that we, the players, wouldn't want this sub-theme to appear for only one set. But I could see it only existing in DTK. As for my belief that there will be no more duals or fetches, there are a few reasons. First, there are already ten duals, five trilands and five fetches in block alone. That coupled with the likely colorless sub-theme, it just makes no sense. Also, it is a small set, so dedicating five slots to dual or fetchlands is pushing it. No filterlands. No fastlands. No more fetches.
DTK - Colorless subtheme continues. Possibility of ZEN fetches being reprinted. WHY: If there is no colorless sub-theme in FRF, it will certainly appear in DTK. Morph/colorless just has too much design space to utilize. Especially with the story tie-ins to Ugin/dragons using colorless magic and dragons returning to the plane thanks to Sarkhan's time travel shenanigoats, it just seems too perfect a time to explore the design space. I could see the ZEN fetches being reprinted here to "complete the cycle", but I think they will wait one more set to reprint them, which leads us to...
Blood - A return to Zendikar. The return of Landfall possibly. If ZEN fetches not reprinted in DTK, they see a reprint here. WHY: First, players want it. They want a return to Zendikar. There are loose ends (Eldrazi on a rampage). New parts of the story have been made known (Nahiri's official introduction). Multiple planeswalkers (and an ex-planeswalker) are involved in the unfinished plot and have stakes in the outcome. Whether the ZEN fetches are get reprinted in DTK or in Blood, they will still play with the return of landfall. Okay, wait. This one is more wishful thinking. I'd like to see more Landfall cards, but it may not get used again when we return to Zendikar, so as to not make it feel too similar, but since they now return at least one existing mechanic each block, Landfall would make sense... but something else could too, depending on the environment. But I could see myself being wrong on this one, so just a disclaimer. So in regards to the ZEN fetches, they will be reprinted here, if not in DTK, not because of playable synergy with landfall, but because they need a reprinting. Plain and simple.
So those are my predictions for the next three expansion sets (sorry, no predictions for M16). What are your thoughts on my thoughts? Also, any predictions of your own (that are at least based on some form of logic)?
FRF - We already know a little bit about this one so this set probably has the least speculation in it. We know that it has a hybrid component to it that will help the set fit into the theme of the first set (Wedge). This set is a tricky one as it has to be drafted well with both Khans and Dragons. Clearly it will have both the Clans as well as the Dragons in it. I guess that there will be a Dragons sub theme in the set to fit in with the Dragons theme in DTK. I do not believe that the Dragons will be Tri coloured and I think that they will be dual coloured with a twist to them. First of all I believe that all the Dragons in this set will have morph in them because a) the will fit in the morph theme in the first set and secondly as this is how the Dragons will reappear in the future. The morph mechanic I think plays a key part in the story and this will be how the Dragons don't die out and reappear in the future post the clans. Secondly I think the Dragons in the set will be allied dual coloured with a twist. I think that all the Dragons will need a colourless land mana included in their costs to make them more powerful. Something like: Draconic Magic (If Dragon mana was spent to cast this card it gains a +1/+1 counter). Or something like this. I'm guessing that Ugin will be the only Planeswalker in this set.
DTK - This set will have the Dragon aspects ruling the clans with a Dragon Clan Leader for each. The clan mechanics will be gone and instead there will be a new mechanic based around each dragon dominated clan. The clans will be dual coloured rather than tri-coloured with the coloureless Dragon Magic mechanic continued in here. There will be a lot more Dragons in this set and perhaps Dragon tribal will be a thing. I would expect to see the Dragon Magic being spread to humans in this set. I would expect that there will be two Planeswalkers in this set - chances are that Nicol Bolas or one of his henchmen (Tezzeret or more likely Ramaz) turning up with a high probability of another new Planeswalker turning up as well.
M16 - This is going to be the final core set. I think that the chances are that this one will have Liliana as the face of the set and that she will have a nice brand shiny new card this time around, along with a new Chandra. I suspect that they will write a little more of Liliana's story here as it will lead up to the next set. Returning mechanic in the set this year will be proliferate as this can be a tool used in a lot of new ways. I expect that we will see some new tribes expanded in the set to shake things up again and that WoTC will have a big surprise in this set as its the last core set ever. No idea what it will be, but I'm sure there will be something as a result of this milestone. I'm guessing this is where we might see Tamiyo replace Jace, in preparation of Jace continuing his story in a later plane.
Blood - I was convinced up until recently that blood was going to be the return to Zendikar, but I now have a suspicion that actually that will be in Tear / Fears rather than Blood / Sweat. I think that we will instead go to either Shandalar (where Garruk will go to try and discover the source of his curse) or Fiora (though less likely as we have just had Conspiracy). My Guess is that we will reach the conclusion of Garruk's current arc where he will get cured of the curse and he will unravel something about the Onnake and the Chain Veil in the process. It's possible we will get Liliana here two investigating the Chain Veil.
Tears / Fears - I'm guessing will then be a return to Zendikar and then we will get Nahiri and the Eldrazi in the early set and some of the other planeswalkers coming back from Tarkir in the later set. I think there will be a land component to the set, but it will be different to the original Zendikar and that we won't have fetches back here (they will come back in MM2), but instead we will set a new cycle of lands with a new mechanic on them. An idea would be for Bastions, where the various population of Zendikar have gone to hold out against the rampaging Eldrazi. Perhaps the bastions power up the more creatures you have out.
Well there's my speculation!
To further add to your point, we don't even know if the next core set is going to be called Magic 2016. In the article that explained the new block structure it was refered simply as "the 2015 core set", and in Blogatog Maro refused to confirm if it was going to be named Magic 2016. It's speculated that the last core set is actually going to be called "Magic Origins" (Wizards has trademarked that name) and if it's true, it definitely sounds like a "nostalgia loaded set".
Wasn't M13 already the set of Nicol Bolas? He was definitely the splashiest Mythic in the set, and he was featured heavily in the promotional material.