I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with there being only a cycle of them in the first set, but something occurred to me. If the nymphs are connected to the gods and are basically living mana/nyx, then does that mean that we might get 10 more of them in the next two sets? Theros gave us both the mono-colored gods and a cycle of mono-colored nymphs. Perhaps when they give us the duel-colored gods they might give us some duel-colored nymphs to go with them.
If that's the case, then I would be happy. Fifteen of them would allow me to put together a casual deck of some sort. Thoughts?
That would be pretty cool. Hopefully their casting cost and bestow cost will be reasonable. And decent abilities. Too much to hope for out of all of them though
It's certainly possible I suppose, as there were a truly tremendous amount of nymphs they could adapt, but by the same merit, I think it would be very possible that they would be straining people's memories to do a different variety of nymph for everything, as there are just too many to keep track of.
It's possible, I suppose, that they will just make variations of the standard five, but that would be exceedingly disappointing, if understandable.
I definitely want more nymphs though. Nothing pisses me off with creature types as much as the one use wonders. Zubera, Nephilim, Bringers, Slith, it's just frustrating and honestly more than I can stand when they don't utilize things as much as they can. Instead we get elves and goblins shoved down our gobs constantly... but I suppose I shouldn't complain excessively about that, they've done a fabulous job diversifying lately.
I'd expect more Nymphs, but I wouldn't expect a 10 card cycle of them with Bestow. What I'd hope for is a few other ways to play with Enchantment creatures we haven't thought about yet. Like:
"UU: ~ is not a creature until the beginning of the next End Phase."
It has a list of pros and cons there, pro is it doesn't lose counters like flickering, con is that it still dies to things that kill permanents.
Edit: Bonus points if they have Anthem-like effects/other effects that function while not a creature. It'd also support Devotion. The reverse (isn't a creature unless you pay an amount) could also function as a mechanic.
Lorelone: A 5 color legendary nymph (or legendary group of nymphs) would be pretty cool. I would be willing to put together an EDH deck based around nymphs and dryads. Sure it wouldn't be that good, but I wouldn't care.
Aeschylus1: If they worked mechanically like the originally cycle, I wouldn't expect their bestow cost to be that aggressive. That said, being multicolored would allow their power to be pushed a bit more since they would be harder to cast. That is assuming they didn't use hybrid mana cost.
As far as abilities go, it just depends on if gave them abilities that both colors share in common or if they where to give them two abilities (ie one from each color). If the first, then I would expect them to be better priced, if the second then they will end up being more expensive.
Barinellos: Why would having 15 different types of nymphs being represented be really any different than another race having 15 different cards? Both have the same memory issues of remember the same number of names. Most people aren't going to care about the differences in their mythologies, but instead will view them as just 15 more card names. Only a very few would care and for them it would be a bonus.
Rakath: If they did the others differently I would expect two different cycles. That said, I would hope that the nymphs would be able to work together mechanically. Enchantment creatures that aren't creatures some of the time really doesn't work well with the first cycle which only enchant creatures. As soon as they become a non-creature the other nymph would fall off. Not only that, but it doesn't seem like a mechanic that is in color for all 5 colors.
Well, out of the 138 creatures in Theros, only 33 of them where humans. Even if you lump the cycle of nymphs with them because they look human, that still means that there is a clear majority of creatures in Theros that aren't human.
Honestly, 5 nymphs a set isn't that much to ask for and it would give them plenty of space for more satyr, sirens, etc.
Duke Daemon: Greek myths had a lot of humans in them. In fact, more than a few of them didn't have non-humans involved*. Humans are going to be a major part of the storyline because it's based on human mythology with human players as it's target audience, it's that simple. This is especially true when you factor in the fact that they are trying to throw in every other creature type connected to Greek myths and then some. The only way they wouldn't be the largest tribe is if they made humans either non-existant (or close to it) or drastically reduced the variety of non-humans. The low count of humans wouldn't make storyline sense because these non-humans are supposed to be interacting with human city states to make it true to it's source and the other would just irritate the fans of the creature types left out and fail to capture the variety found in that source.
*This statement doesn't include the gods who basically where humans in a lot of their behavior only with godlike powers.
Mateusfw: Most of those look fine. The WU would be pretty similar to the hexproof one so I could see them not wanting both and the GU one could have the ability to draw a card when they damage a player. Because of how expensive bestow is, I think BR would be better off with something other than haste. The GW one should most likely give more mana than just one to be worth while and I also wouldn't be surprised if they had an unblockable one in there somewhere.
Maybe the WU or the UG are unblockable, because Daxos of Meletis and Agent of Horizons. Probably the UG. Despise the usual colors for hexproof is U and G, I believe it´s fine to put it into an WU card, they already did it recently in Geist of Saint Traft and Ascended Lawmage.
The RG probably got the trample instead of BR, because i dont see 2 bestow cards with the same bonus (Nylea's Emissary). I think haste is fine if low costed, because we already had haste in a high mana cost for an aura, Primal Visitation. Something like RG: 2/2 with haste, bestow 2RG in a common card will be really nice for an aggro deck, especially in limited.
Perhaps the BR got something like "Whenever this creature dies, it deals 2 damage to target creature or player".
Okay, let's brainstorm what different ideas they might do for the different color combinations. So far the bestow creatures have given us
W: Flying + First Strike, Tap or Untap creature when attack, Lifelink, Vigilance U: Flying, Draw when damage opponent B: Deathtouch, Intimidate, Discard a creature card to pump +2/+2 UOT, +X/+x where X = # of creatures in all graveyards R: Has to be blocked by 2 or more creatures, First Strike G: Reach, Trample
The fact that two of them give flying is interesting, but might not mean anything. Assuming that they are going to try to minimize such overlaps here is what I think they could give each color combination.
WU: Protection from color of your choice (doesn't effect itself) OR +x/+x where x= cards in hand OR Unblockable
UB: Opponent discards when hit OR Unblockable, fateseal when attacks
BR: Damage when attacks or dies OR Firebreathing/shade pumping OR Haste OR can't block
RG: Haste OR Has to attack every turn OR +X/+0 where X equals creatures current power
GW: Add Mana (either tap or main phase after it attacks) OR Create token when attacks OR destroy artifact/enchantment when damages opponent
WB: Sac for some effect OR pay life to regenerate OR destroy target non-land permanent when damages opponent
UR: Switch power/toughness OR when you play an instant or sorcery +X/+0 OR Tap to deal damage
BG: Regenerate OR Every creature must block this creature when it attacks OR return creature (or permanent) from graveyard to hand when damages opponent
RW: Double Strike OR Whenever dealt damage deals that much to target creature or player OR When this attacks +X/+0 based on something
GU: Hexproof, Unblockable, +X/+X where X=# cards in hand
Yeah, I was pretty vague with some of those, but some of them could be pretty flexible in the direction they could take them. All in all there are a lot of effects they could go with. This is especially true if they where to have some keywords show up more than once, but I would think it more interesting if they didn't. Some of those above are negative abilities, but I figure it would give them an excuse to make the cost of both the creature and the bestow cost less.
"Nylea is Theros's finest archer, and she wields a shortbow called Ephixis. Her companion, the nymph Theophila, conjures illusions for target practice, such as fireflies or miniscule silk worms."
that's not what happened at all. kamahl stabbed phage, akroma, and some old lady and they became korona. then korona got stabbed by her "prophets" and kamahl got drunk with a mutant centaur
"Nylea is Theros's finest archer, and she wields a shortbow called Ephixis. Her companion, the nymph Theophila, conjures illusions for target practice, such as fireflies or miniscule silk worms."
Apparently there aren't going to be any non-god legendary enchantment creatures so neither Theophila nor any other legendary nymph is going to be printed.
Seeing how there were no nymphs in Born, at this point I think I would bet there is a decent chance that the race was only that cycle and might not be used again.
Omg so much disappointment with BNG.
20 humans in comparison to the other tribes. It seems like humans are the most common creature in that plane. I can understand in Innistrad there being a lot of humans but this is a greek world, you'd think they'd try to push the boundaries a little.
You wanted more Sirens right? This expansion more than doubled the number of them in the game. In fact, 5 of the 6 Sirens they have printed in the history of the game are in this block.
And only counting races and not professions like soldier or wizard, 38 different non-human races in this expansion. That's a lot of diversity especially compared to some previous sets where a lot of cards in a particular color would be automatically be lumped into a couple tribes.
If that's the case, then I would be happy. Fifteen of them would allow me to put together a casual deck of some sort. Thoughts?
It's possible, I suppose, that they will just make variations of the standard five, but that would be exceedingly disappointing, if understandable.
I definitely want more nymphs though. Nothing pisses me off with creature types as much as the one use wonders. Zubera, Nephilim, Bringers, Slith, it's just frustrating and honestly more than I can stand when they don't utilize things as much as they can. Instead we get elves and goblins shoved down our gobs constantly... but I suppose I shouldn't complain excessively about that, they've done a fabulous job diversifying lately.
"UU: ~ is not a creature until the beginning of the next End Phase."
It has a list of pros and cons there, pro is it doesn't lose counters like flickering, con is that it still dies to things that kill permanents.
Edit: Bonus points if they have Anthem-like effects/other effects that function while not a creature. It'd also support Devotion. The reverse (isn't a creature unless you pay an amount) could also function as a mechanic.
Aeschylus1: If they worked mechanically like the originally cycle, I wouldn't expect their bestow cost to be that aggressive. That said, being multicolored would allow their power to be pushed a bit more since they would be harder to cast. That is assuming they didn't use hybrid mana cost.
As far as abilities go, it just depends on if gave them abilities that both colors share in common or if they where to give them two abilities (ie one from each color). If the first, then I would expect them to be better priced, if the second then they will end up being more expensive.
Barinellos: Why would having 15 different types of nymphs being represented be really any different than another race having 15 different cards? Both have the same memory issues of remember the same number of names. Most people aren't going to care about the differences in their mythologies, but instead will view them as just 15 more card names. Only a very few would care and for them it would be a bonus.
Rakath: If they did the others differently I would expect two different cycles. That said, I would hope that the nymphs would be able to work together mechanically. Enchantment creatures that aren't creatures some of the time really doesn't work well with the first cycle which only enchant creatures. As soon as they become a non-creature the other nymph would fall off. Not only that, but it doesn't seem like a mechanic that is in color for all 5 colors.
Honestly, 5 nymphs a set isn't that much to ask for and it would give them plenty of space for more satyr, sirens, etc.
Shipwreck Singer
WU: Protection from the color of your choice
WB: Lifelink
WR: Double Strike
WG: :symtap:: Add 1 mana of any color to your mana pool
UB: Whenever ~ deals damage to target player, that player discard a card
UR: :symtap:: 1 damage to target creature or player
UG: Hexproof
BR: Haste
BG: Deathtouch
RG: Trample
Not sure about lifelink and deathtouch, because Baleful Eidolon and Hopeful Eidolon. Also, trample appears on Nylea's Emissary. Thougths?
*This statement doesn't include the gods who basically where humans in a lot of their behavior only with godlike powers.
Mateusfw: Most of those look fine. The WU would be pretty similar to the hexproof one so I could see them not wanting both and the GU one could have the ability to draw a card when they damage a player. Because of how expensive bestow is, I think BR would be better off with something other than haste. The GW one should most likely give more mana than just one to be worth while and I also wouldn't be surprised if they had an unblockable one in there somewhere.
Deal damage to draw a card already exists in Thassa's Emissary.
The RG probably got the trample instead of BR, because i dont see 2 bestow cards with the same bonus (Nylea's Emissary). I think haste is fine if low costed, because we already had haste in a high mana cost for an aura, Primal Visitation. Something like R G: 2/2 with haste, bestow 2RG in a common card will be really nice for an aggro deck, especially in limited.
Perhaps the BR got something like "Whenever this creature dies, it deals 2 damage to target creature or player".
P.S: I believe they made Primal Visitation to be used with Burning-Tree Emissary, for flavor value.
W: Flying + First Strike, Tap or Untap creature when attack, Lifelink, Vigilance
U: Flying, Draw when damage opponent
B: Deathtouch, Intimidate, Discard a creature card to pump +2/+2 UOT, +X/+x where X = # of creatures in all graveyards
R: Has to be blocked by 2 or more creatures, First Strike
G: Reach, Trample
The fact that two of them give flying is interesting, but might not mean anything. Assuming that they are going to try to minimize such overlaps here is what I think they could give each color combination.
WU: Protection from color of your choice (doesn't effect itself) OR +x/+x where x= cards in hand OR Unblockable
UB: Opponent discards when hit OR Unblockable, fateseal when attacks
BR: Damage when attacks or dies OR Firebreathing/shade pumping OR Haste OR can't block
RG: Haste OR Has to attack every turn OR +X/+0 where X equals creatures current power
GW: Add Mana (either tap or main phase after it attacks) OR Create token when attacks OR destroy artifact/enchantment when damages opponent
WB: Sac for some effect OR pay life to regenerate OR destroy target non-land permanent when damages opponent
UR: Switch power/toughness OR when you play an instant or sorcery +X/+0 OR Tap to deal damage
BG: Regenerate OR Every creature must block this creature when it attacks OR return creature (or permanent) from graveyard to hand when damages opponent
RW: Double Strike OR Whenever dealt damage deals that much to target creature or player OR When this attacks +X/+0 based on something
GU: Hexproof, Unblockable, +X/+X where X=# cards in hand
Yeah, I was pretty vague with some of those, but some of them could be pretty flexible in the direction they could take them. All in all there are a lot of effects they could go with. This is especially true if they where to have some keywords show up more than once, but I would think it more interesting if they didn't. Some of those above are negative abilities, but I figure it would give them an excuse to make the cost of both the creature and the bestow cost less.
"Nylea is Theros's finest archer, and she wields a shortbow called Ephixis. Her companion, the nymph Theophila, conjures illusions for target practice, such as fireflies or miniscule silk worms."
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/261c
Apparently there aren't going to be any non-god legendary enchantment creatures so neither Theophila nor any other legendary nymph is going to be printed.
"Blue Nymph Lord"
1UU
Enchantment Creature - Nymph
Other blue creatures you control get +1/+1.
2/2
*Sad Face*
You wanted more Sirens right? This expansion more than doubled the number of them in the game. In fact, 5 of the 6 Sirens they have printed in the history of the game are in this block.
And only counting races and not professions like soldier or wizard, 38 different non-human races in this expansion. That's a lot of diversity especially compared to some previous sets where a lot of cards in a particular color would be automatically be lumped into a couple tribes.