So, we have a return to Innistrad, a plane with a subsection known for equipment, formerly butted up against the return of one of the heavier artifact style sets of Magic.
And we now have an idea that there could be a mechanic that increases the artifact count you have without actually casting artifact spells.
So, which artifact plane do you guys think we'll be visiting for Lock and Stock? New Phyrexia? Kaladesh? Fiora?
I'm leaning more towards Kaladesh. White seems to be a key component of that plane, and it's probably safe to assume that Investigate will show up in more than one white card in SOI, if it's really a mechanic, and that promotes a cross-block synergy.
Then again, we know that New Phyrexia is ruled by the embodiment of Phyrexian White Mana, so that's up in the air.
Fiora is not, per say, an artifact heavy plane, I'm aware, but the artifacts do play a key component to the backstabbery, hence it's inclusion on the list.
What do you peeps think?
EDIT: For clarity's sake, this is more about stirring up a discussion than any sort of definitive belief.
Next block will be a new plane. MaRo has told us that much. That said, a visit to Kaladesh is not out of the equation, as planes that where introduced do not count for a "returning" plane according to the same person.
But, there is no guarantee that the next plane we visit will be artifact based, after all, the "short list" of planes we are going to visit is a mile long (metaphorically speaking). We could just as easily go to a plane based on Pharaonic Myth, one based on Scandinavia, or one based around a "dinosaur world".
One thing is almost certain however, regardless of which plane we visit, and if she doesn't show up in the current block (And I am 100% confident she won't), then the next block will be centered around Lily's hunt for her demons.
That said, if the next plane is indeed one with a heavy artifact theme, then I hope it is Kaladesh, then maybe we can finally get the UR legendary artificer that we in the Commander community have been craving for years.
But, man, Dinosaurs would be awesome! Rawr! >.<
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Of course there's no guarantee. It's why I made this in Baseless Speculation.
It's equally likely that Oath of the Gatewatch (what with its Weapons Trainers, and Stoneforge Masterworks, and Captain's Claws) is the connecting thread of equipment between sets. A base for the theoretical Nahiri showing up, and whatever deck she'd inspire.
I just found it interesting that a mechanic was devised to create permanents (artifacts, even) through the use of non-permanent spells. And that it makes artifacts made me think of Metalcraft, honestly. And that made me think New Artifact Set.
And since it made me think of Kaladesh, Chandra as the frontrunner came to mind, since that hasn't really happened for a proper expansion as of yet. But again, baseless spec. Wouldn't have pictured Jace as the frontman for an Innistrad set, after all.
Of course there's no guarantee. It's why I made this in Baseless Speculation.
It's equally likely that Oath of the Gatewatch (what with its Weapons Trainers, and Stone-Forged Masterworks, and Captain's Claws) is the connecting thread of equipment between sets. A base for the theoretical Nahiri showing up, and whatever deck she'd inspire.
I just found it interesting that a mechanic was devised to create permanents (artifacts, even) through the use of non-permanent spells. And that it makes artifacts made me think of Metalcraft, honestly. And that made me think New Artifact Set.
And since it made me think of Kaladesh, Chandra as the frontrunner came to mind, since that hasn't really happened for a proper expansion as of yet. But again, baseless spec. Wouldn't have pictured Jace as the frontman for an Innistrad set, after all.
Well his Telepathic abilities do fit in with the themes of the plane...
As for the Clue artifacts, they are basically a variation of the "gold counters" that where introduced in Theros block. A token artifact that can be sacrificed for a resource, in this case a card (with a small investment of mana of course).
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
My guess is that the next block will star Liliana dealing with her next demon, the chain veil, or the raven man. She completely avoided any involvement in the Gatewatch shenanigans and she has zero reason to be in Innistrad right now. They did say that the Origins 5 would be the focus of the story for a while and we haven't seen Liliana in a while.
Lilliana's chasing her next demon seems a very reasonable guess. I believe we'll see an Egyptian-based world.
Concerning the artifact-equipment theme, I guess Shadow Over Innistrad might have an Equipment subtheme centered around Nahiri (maybe she'll get a RW card for that matter). For the artifact theme Kaladesh seems the most likely plane. It was the most depth unvisited plane from Origins, so I guess it will be the first one we'll see. But note that with the 2-set-per-block-paradigm each block will be in Standard with the two next blocks, so inter-block synergy may take a while longer to notice.
Perhaps it will be Pirate World? I could see Gideon playing a role there for sure. Dack Fayden falling in with a bunch of pirates would also be fun to see.
Or it could be Western World with Chandra and Gideon both falling into Western archetypes (Chandra as the fireslinging rebel hero and Gideon as an honest sheriff bringing honor back to the law).
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
With the reveal that Liliana is in(or at least the face of), Eldritch Moon, mayhaps they're doing a particular kind of rotation.
BFZ: White Planeswalker Gideon gets Blue Planeswalker Jace for something.
SOI: Blue Planeswalker Jace gets Liliana's help with something on Innistrad?
Lock: Liliana hears about Chandra helping fighting off a demon and grabs her for some help in slaying number 3?
And so on, WUBRG style.
Interesting theory. But why would Chandra help Liliana? Surely Jace would tell the former about his history with the latter. Although, if Liliana simply wants that pesky Chain Veil turned to slag, Chandra can certainly help with that.
Chandra: *does that interlocked finger stretch-crack thing* Alright, just hold still. This will only take a second.
Liliana: Is this going to hurt?
Chandra: Can you heal the pain if it does?
Liliana: Possibly.
Chandra: Then you probably don't have anything to worry about!
But our experience with plot-based needs for tension and drama should tell us it probably isn't gonna be that easy.
Chandra: How's Lili doing?
Elspeth: Her hair will need time to regrow, her eyes will need at least a week's rest, she'll need new clothes, the Chain Veil is somehow still intact, and she's swearing up a storm fit to make a sailor blush. But she'll live. Why didn't you inform me you were attempting to use pyromancy on an artifact attached to her face? I could have at least provided some protection.
Chandra: I didn't think you'd want to, and I didn't think she'd let you, plus she seemed fairly confident about her ability to heal injuries. So I saved us all trouble.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I agree that Investigate points toward an artifact block.
Obviously it will be Fiora, so they can continue the trend of giving normal cards to the Commanderwalkers (Ob in BFZ, then Nahiri in SOI). Similarly, the next spring block will be set on Dominaria so we can finish things off with a new Teferi
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I primarily play limited, so most of my spoiler season comments view cards through that lens.
Actually, if Chandra by chance was the protagonist for the block after SOI, then the plane might be Kaladesh. Sooner or later, she and Jace are going to have to revisit their old homes; plotline irony demands it. I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see Tezzeret make an appearance then. Or Dack Fayden.
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I agree that Investigate points toward an artifact block.
Obviously it will be Fiora, so they can continue the trend of giving normal cards to the Commanderwalkers (Ob in BFZ, then Nahiri in SOI). Similarly, the next spring block will be set on Dominaria so we can finish things off with a new Teferi
I don't believe Daretti is actually on Fiora at the moment, I seem to recall that they believe him dead.
And Freyalise is right out as she is very, very, dead.
We might end up seeing Teferi though, he is allegedly still alive (but sparkless).
Actually, if Chandra by chance was the protagonist for the block after SOI, then the plane might be Kaladesh. Sooner or later, she and Jace are going to have to revisit their old homes; plotline irony demands it. I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see Tezzeret make an appearance then. Or Dack Fayden.
Dack should join the Gatewatch.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Interesting theory. But why would Chandra help Liliana? Surely Jace would tell the former about his history with the latter. Although, if Liliana simply wants that pesky Chain Veil turned to slag, Chandra can certainly help with that.
Chandra: *does that interlocked finger stretch-crack thing* Alright, just hold still. This will only take a second.
Liliana: Is this going to hurt?
Chandra: Can you heal the pain if it does?
Liliana: Possibly.
Chandra: Then you probably don't have anything to worry about!
But our experience with plot-based needs for tension and drama should tell us it probably isn't gonna be that easy.
Chandra: How's Lili doing?
Elspeth: Her hair will need time to regrow, her eyes will need at least a week's rest, she'll need new clothes, the Chain Veil is somehow still intact, and she's swearing up a storm fit to make a sailor blush. But she'll live. Why didn't you inform me you were attempting to use pyromancy on an artifact attached to her face? I could have at least provided some protection.
Chandra: I didn't think you'd want to, and I didn't think she'd let you, plus she seemed fairly confident about her ability to heal injuries. So I saved us all trouble.
Funny choice to have Elspeth as the last one talked to.
I like the weird implication that this little scenario ended with both of them dead, and apparently, on Theros.
Hm, now that I think about that, I wonder what a Necromancer on Theros would be like.
Anyways, as for why Chandra would help Lili? Well, "If it means that people can live in freedom, yeah, I'll keep watch." Chandra would probably be fine with helping break some chains.
I personally just want a buddy-cop style storyline with those two, because it seems like it'd be fun.
Interesting theory. But why would Chandra help Liliana? Surely Jace would tell the former about his history with the latter. Although, if Liliana simply wants that pesky Chain Veil turned to slag, Chandra can certainly help with that.
Chandra: *does that interlocked finger stretch-crack thing* Alright, just hold still. This will only take a second.
Liliana: Is this going to hurt?
Chandra: Can you heal the pain if it does?
Liliana: Possibly.
Chandra: Then you probably don't have anything to worry about!
But our experience with plot-based needs for tension and drama should tell us it probably isn't gonna be that easy.
Chandra: How's Lili doing?
Elspeth: Her hair will need time to regrow, her eyes will need at least a week's rest, she'll need new clothes, the Chain Veil is somehow still intact, and she's swearing up a storm fit to make a sailor blush. But she'll live. Why didn't you inform me you were attempting to use pyromancy on an artifact attached to her face? I could have at least provided some protection.
Chandra: I didn't think you'd want to, and I didn't think she'd let you, plus she seemed fairly confident about her ability to heal injuries. So I saved us all trouble.
Funny choice to have Elspeth as the last one talked to.
I like the weird implication that this little scenario ended with both of them dead, and apparently, on Theros.
Hm, now that I think about that, I wonder what a Necromancer on Theros would be like.
Anyways, as for why Chandra would help Lili? Well, "If it means that people can live in freedom, yeah, I'll keep watch." Chandra would probably be fine with helping break some chains.
I personally just want a buddy-cop style storyline with those two, because it seems like it'd be fun.
Nah, Nissa and Lily, now that would be hilarious.
"One is and elf who talks with the land and is the last of her tribe, the other is a sociopathic narcissistic necromancer with trust issues, they fight crime."
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Interesting theory. But why would Chandra help Liliana? Surely Jace would tell the former about his history with the latter. Although, if Liliana simply wants that pesky Chain Veil turned to slag, Chandra can certainly help with that.
Chandra: *does that interlocked finger stretch-crack thing* Alright, just hold still. This will only take a second.
Liliana: Is this going to hurt?
Chandra: Can you heal the pain if it does?
Liliana: Possibly.
Chandra: Then you probably don't have anything to worry about!
But our experience with plot-based needs for tension and drama should tell us it probably isn't gonna be that easy.
Chandra: How's Lili doing?
Elspeth: Her hair will need time to regrow, her eyes will need at least a week's rest, she'll need new clothes, the Chain Veil is somehow still intact, and she's swearing up a storm fit to make a sailor blush. But she'll live. Why didn't you inform me you were attempting to use pyromancy on an artifact attached to her face? I could have at least provided some protection.
Chandra: I didn't think you'd want to, and I didn't think she'd let you, plus she seemed fairly confident about her ability to heal injuries. So I saved us all trouble.
Funny choice to have Elspeth as the last one talked to.
I like the weird implication that this little scenario ended with both of them dead, and apparently, on Theros.
Hm, now that I think about that, I wonder what a Necromancer on Theros would be like.
Anyways, as for why Chandra would help Lili? Well, "If it means that people can live in freedom, yeah, I'll keep watch." Chandra would probably be fine with helping break some chains.
I personally just want a buddy-cop style storyline with those two, because it seems like it'd be fun.
I was going for something more like Sparks; basically, alternate continuity where Ellie is alive and well. I was going to use Gideon as the "white walker who provides the medical summary" but as far as we know Gideon's magic generally affects only himself, barring Gideon, Battle-Forged, whereas I distinctly remember reading that Elspeth can use her magic to protect others, hence the switch. Plus, this way the conversation passes the Bechdel test!
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I just ha a revelation a little earlier today: The next plane is going to be graveyard centric.
Here is why: From what we have seen so far, SOI has very little graveyard interaction but plenty of ways to get cards into graveyards (discard effects, madness). The only real interaction the set has with the graveyard (from what we've seen so far) is Delirium, and all it does is count the card types in it.
So far we have:
Lamplighter of Selhoff (causes you to draw and discard if you control another zombie, Common) Pieces of the Puzzle (puts between three and five cards from *your* library into your graveyard, Common) Pore Over the Pages (draw three cards, untap two lands, discard a card, Uncommon) Crow of Dark Tidings (puts two cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB *and* again when it dies, Common) Mindbreaker Demon (puts four cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB, Mythic) Lightning Axe (discard a card or pay 5 as additional cost, Uncommon) Pack Guardian (discard a land card when ETB to create a 2/2 wolf token, Uncommon) Explosive Apparatus (sacrifice to deal damage, Common)
That is eight out of 28 revealed cards, and that's not even counting the cards that place themselves in the graveyard when they resolve. That's nearly 30% of the cards.
And other than Delirium, there is no revealed mechanic so far that interacts with the graveyard, unlike the previous visit to the plane.
Could this mean that your next block is indeed the Egyptian/pharaonic inspired plane we have long wanted? I don't know, but I certainly hope so.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
I just ha a revelation a little earlier today: The next plane is going to be graveyard centric.
Here is why: From what we have seen so far, SOI has very little graveyard interaction but plenty of ways to get cards into graveyards (discard effects, madness). The only real interaction the set has with the graveyard (from what we've seen so far) is Delirium, and all it does is count the card types in it.
So far we have:
Lamplighter of Selhoff (causes you to draw and discard if you control another zombie, Common) Pieces of the Puzzle (puts between three and five cards from *your* library into your graveyard, Common) Pore Over the Pages (draw three cards, untap two lands, discard a card, Uncommon) Crow of Dark Tidings (puts two cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB *and* again when it dies, Common) Mindbreaker Demon (puts four cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB, Mythic) Lightning Axe (discard a card or pay 5 as additional cost, Uncommon) Pack Guardian (discard a land card when ETB to create a 2/2 wolf token, Uncommon) Explosive Apparatus (sacrifice to deal damage, Common)
That is eight out of 28 revealed cards, and that's not even counting the cards that place themselves in the graveyard when they resolve. That's nearly 30% of the cards.
And other than Delirium, there is no revealed mechanic so far that interacts with the graveyard, unlike the previous visit to the plane.
Could this mean that your next block is indeed the Egyptian/pharaonic inspired plane we have long wanted? I don't know, but I certainly hope so.
It would certainly fit the detective theme going on with Jace's appearance. Chase down the McGuffin that will help deal with whatever new threat pops up on Innistrad/Nullify Liliana's Chain Veil problems. "Help me Jaci Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope. "
While the culture would be wildly different, I would think an Egyptian block would be rather similar to Innistrad mechanics wise. You'd have graveyard interaction of course, and tribal themes seem like an easy choice as well with there being animal-headed gods that easily conflate with MtG's humanoid animal races like Catfolk, Ainok, and Aven.
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I guess Egyptian world would be a mix of Innistrad and Theros, whatever it means.
Some graveyard use makes sense for whatever comes after Innistrad as a way to implement inter-block synergy.
IIRC there's a Lilliana demon that has an egyptian flavor, right? It would also be the perfect oportunity to reprint Vengeful Pharaoh and print some pretty cool mummies (I'm impressed they've never explored this area, there's one black border mummy and a silver border one in the whole game).
Seems like a great opportunity for Dack Fayden to shows up in Standard
While the culture would be wildly different, I would think an Egyptian block would be rather similar to Innistrad mechanics wise. You'd have graveyard interaction of course, and tribal themes seem like an easy choice as well with there being animal-headed gods that easily conflate with MtG's humanoid animal races like Catfolk, Ainok, and Aven.
To be fair, nearly all blocks these days have some tribal themes, even Zendikar (Eldrazi, Allies) and Tarkir (Dragons). The only think an Egyptian, or rather Pharaonic, flavored plane would have in common with Innistrad mechanics wise is a graveyard focus, and from what we've seen from Shadows, it completely lacks said graveyard theme, but plenty of ways of getting cards into the graveyard, which is what lead me to my revelation earlier. Mark my words, the next block will be focused on the graveyard in some way.
I guess Egyptian world would be a mix of Innistrad and Theros, whatever it means.
Some graveyard use makes sense for whatever comes after Innistrad as a way to implement inter-block synergy.
IIRC there's a Lilliana demon that has an egyptian flavor, right? It would also be the perfect oportunity to reprint Vengeful Pharaoh and print some pretty cool mummies (I'm impressed they've never explored this area, there's one black border mummy and a silver border one in the whole game).
Seems like a great opportunity for Dack Fayden to shows up in Standard
Indeed. Personally, if this holds true, all I ask is for a Desert reprint at common.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Yeah, non-Tribal blocks have at least one creature type with Tribal support.
Concerning the Egyptian world, there's this article where MaRo says that Kamigawa was almost an Egypt-based set and this other article where he talks about Vengeful Pharaoh and says that we'll eventually get a Egyptian plane (doesn't mean much as it can be anywhere in the next 20 years).
It's also a good oportunity to use the creature type God outside of Theros.
It's the extent to which tribal is featured; Innistrad was the most tribal-heavy block since Lorwyn, and I can't help but feel that an Egyptian block would come close to Innistrad's level, though I suspect most of the tribal pairs would be part white since that's where the tribe would make the most sense. To wit:
Birds WU
Cats GW
Hounds RW or WB
Naga BG or GU
Zombies WB (if Hounds are RW)
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
So, the Standard Format when Lock comes into play will be
Battle for Zendikar; Oath of the Gatewatch; Shadows Over Innistrad; Eldritch Moon; Lock.
That's the faces of Gideon, Nissa, Jace, and Liliana, so it certainly feels like Chandra could be the focal character.
Going with the proposed "buddy-cop" joke earlier, Chandra and Lili could be going to the Egyptian themed world to kill Razaketh (I think that's the Egyptian looking one, it's been a while). Chandra could learn even greater fire magic from the Ra Equivalent, and everyone has a fun time killing demons.
Now that I'm thinking about it in the sense of "Egyptian Plane" graverobbers would likely be a big thing. So the image of Jaya Ballard having left something behind during a "for-fun" graverobbing attempt, giving Chandra even more of a chance to track her down for equivalent giggles, is not...impossible.
As for "Innistrad being the graveyard set" it could go either way. There's definitely cards that care about what's in your bin right now. But the discarding seems more for Madness than bin purposes. It's also possible that they pull something similar to BFZ and OAG, and have Eldritch Moon dredge up some new mechanics, some of which could be more involved with the graveyard, given Liliana's use as the focal Planeswalker. It would be in theme. Jace cares more about the library, about digging through it to find the right answer to the problem at hand. Liliana cares about what's been gotten rid of.
I just ha a revelation a little earlier today: The next plane is going to be graveyard centric.
Here is why: From what we have seen so far, SOI has very little graveyard interaction but plenty of ways to get cards into graveyards (discard effects, madness). The only real interaction the set has with the graveyard (from what we've seen so far) is Delirium, and all it does is count the card types in it.
So far we have:
Lamplighter of Selhoff (causes you to draw and discard if you control another zombie, Common) Pieces of the Puzzle (puts between three and five cards from *your* library into your graveyard, Common) Pore Over the Pages (draw three cards, untap two lands, discard a card, Uncommon) Crow of Dark Tidings (puts two cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB *and* again when it dies, Common) Mindbreaker Demon (puts four cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB, Mythic) Lightning Axe (discard a card or pay 5 as additional cost, Uncommon) Pack Guardian (discard a land card when ETB to create a 2/2 wolf token, Uncommon) Explosive Apparatus (sacrifice to deal damage, Common)
That is eight out of 28 revealed cards, and that's not even counting the cards that place themselves in the graveyard when they resolve. That's nearly 30% of the cards.
And other than Delirium, there is no revealed mechanic so far that interacts with the graveyard, unlike the previous visit to the plane.
Could this mean that your next block is indeed the Egyptian/pharaonic inspired plane we have long wanted? I don't know, but I certainly hope so.
Innistrad is already your graveyard block.
Delirium, discard outlet and zombies... Largely enough. That's basically saying: there are a lot of artifacts in Mirrodin: the next block is going to be about artifacts
I know baseless speculation is the place for trolling but come on! Be more creative!
Investigate seems like the mechanic of choice for hooks, I am guessing artifacts or contraptions incoming!
You are missing my point, there are a heck of a lot of ways to get cards into the graveyard, but there are no mechanics that exploits this fact. No Unearth, no Flashback, no Dredge, ect.
Cards go in the graveyard, yes, and *then* what.
Btw, totally not trolling, I genuinely believe that the next block will have a graveyard focus. It's possible I am wrong, but that is an awful lot of cards that put extra cards in your 'yard.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
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And we now have an idea that there could be a mechanic that increases the artifact count you have without actually casting artifact spells.
So, which artifact plane do you guys think we'll be visiting for Lock and Stock? New Phyrexia? Kaladesh? Fiora?
I'm leaning more towards Kaladesh. White seems to be a key component of that plane, and it's probably safe to assume that Investigate will show up in more than one white card in SOI, if it's really a mechanic, and that promotes a cross-block synergy.
Then again, we know that New Phyrexia is ruled by the embodiment of Phyrexian White Mana, so that's up in the air.
Fiora is not, per say, an artifact heavy plane, I'm aware, but the artifacts do play a key component to the backstabbery, hence it's inclusion on the list.
What do you peeps think?
EDIT: For clarity's sake, this is more about stirring up a discussion than any sort of definitive belief.
But, there is no guarantee that the next plane we visit will be artifact based, after all, the "short list" of planes we are going to visit is a mile long (metaphorically speaking). We could just as easily go to a plane based on Pharaonic Myth, one based on Scandinavia, or one based around a "dinosaur world".
One thing is almost certain however, regardless of which plane we visit, and if she doesn't show up in the current block (And I am 100% confident she won't), then the next block will be centered around Lily's hunt for her demons.
That said, if the next plane is indeed one with a heavy artifact theme, then I hope it is Kaladesh, then maybe we can finally get the UR legendary artificer that we in the Commander community have been craving for years.
But, man, Dinosaurs would be awesome! Rawr! >.<
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
It's equally likely that Oath of the Gatewatch (what with its Weapons Trainers, and Stoneforge Masterworks, and Captain's Claws) is the connecting thread of equipment between sets. A base for the theoretical Nahiri showing up, and whatever deck she'd inspire.
I just found it interesting that a mechanic was devised to create permanents (artifacts, even) through the use of non-permanent spells. And that it makes artifacts made me think of Metalcraft, honestly. And that made me think New Artifact Set.
And since it made me think of Kaladesh, Chandra as the frontrunner came to mind, since that hasn't really happened for a proper expansion as of yet. But again, baseless spec. Wouldn't have pictured Jace as the frontman for an Innistrad set, after all.
Well his Telepathic abilities do fit in with the themes of the plane...
As for the Clue artifacts, they are basically a variation of the "gold counters" that where introduced in Theros block. A token artifact that can be sacrificed for a resource, in this case a card (with a small investment of mana of course).
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
New plane, though. Definitely.
-Chandra Nalaar
Concerning the artifact-equipment theme, I guess Shadow Over Innistrad might have an Equipment subtheme centered around Nahiri (maybe she'll get a RW card for that matter). For the artifact theme Kaladesh seems the most likely plane. It was the most depth unvisited plane from Origins, so I guess it will be the first one we'll see. But note that with the 2-set-per-block-paradigm each block will be in Standard with the two next blocks, so inter-block synergy may take a while longer to notice.
Commander: WUBRG Superfriends, GW Rhys Tokens, WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon
Kitchen Table (now that's real Magic): WUBRG Domain, GU Biovisionary, UB Korlash Grandeur, UW Merfolk Mill
Or it could be Western World with Chandra and Gideon both falling into Western archetypes (Chandra as the fireslinging rebel hero and Gideon as an honest sheriff bringing honor back to the law).
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
BFZ: White Planeswalker Gideon gets Blue Planeswalker Jace for something.
SOI: Blue Planeswalker Jace gets Liliana's help with something on Innistrad?
Lock: Liliana hears about Chandra helping fighting off a demon and grabs her for some help in slaying number 3?
And so on, WUBRG style.
Chandra: *does that interlocked finger stretch-crack thing* Alright, just hold still. This will only take a second.
Liliana: Is this going to hurt?
Chandra: Can you heal the pain if it does?
Liliana: Possibly.
Chandra: Then you probably don't have anything to worry about!
But our experience with plot-based needs for tension and drama should tell us it probably isn't gonna be that easy.
Chandra: How's Lili doing?
Elspeth: Her hair will need time to regrow, her eyes will need at least a week's rest, she'll need new clothes, the Chain Veil is somehow still intact, and she's swearing up a storm fit to make a sailor blush. But she'll live. Why didn't you inform me you were attempting to use pyromancy on an artifact attached to her face? I could have at least provided some protection.
Chandra: I didn't think you'd want to, and I didn't think she'd let you, plus she seemed fairly confident about her ability to heal injuries. So I saved us all trouble.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Obviously it will be Fiora, so they can continue the trend of giving normal cards to the Commanderwalkers (Ob in BFZ, then Nahiri in SOI). Similarly, the next spring block will be set on Dominaria so we can finish things off with a new Teferi
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I don't believe Daretti is actually on Fiora at the moment, I seem to recall that they believe him dead.
And Freyalise is right out as she is very, very, dead.
We might end up seeing Teferi though, he is allegedly still alive (but sparkless).
Dack should join the Gatewatch.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Funny choice to have Elspeth as the last one talked to.
I like the weird implication that this little scenario ended with both of them dead, and apparently, on Theros.
Hm, now that I think about that, I wonder what a Necromancer on Theros would be like.
Anyways, as for why Chandra would help Lili? Well, "If it means that people can live in freedom, yeah, I'll keep watch." Chandra would probably be fine with helping break some chains.
I personally just want a buddy-cop style storyline with those two, because it seems like it'd be fun.
Nah, Nissa and Lily, now that would be hilarious.
"One is and elf who talks with the land and is the last of her tribe, the other is a sociopathic narcissistic necromancer with trust issues, they fight crime."
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
I was going for something more like Sparks; basically, alternate continuity where Ellie is alive and well. I was going to use Gideon as the "white walker who provides the medical summary" but as far as we know Gideon's magic generally affects only himself, barring Gideon, Battle-Forged, whereas I distinctly remember reading that Elspeth can use her magic to protect others, hence the switch. Plus, this way the conversation passes the Bechdel test!
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Here is why: From what we have seen so far, SOI has very little graveyard interaction but plenty of ways to get cards into graveyards (discard effects, madness). The only real interaction the set has with the graveyard (from what we've seen so far) is Delirium, and all it does is count the card types in it.
So far we have:
Lamplighter of Selhoff (causes you to draw and discard if you control another zombie, Common)
Pieces of the Puzzle (puts between three and five cards from *your* library into your graveyard, Common)
Pore Over the Pages (draw three cards, untap two lands, discard a card, Uncommon)
Crow of Dark Tidings (puts two cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB *and* again when it dies, Common)
Mindbreaker Demon (puts four cards from your library into your graveyard when it ETB, Mythic)
Lightning Axe (discard a card or pay 5 as additional cost, Uncommon)
Pack Guardian (discard a land card when ETB to create a 2/2 wolf token, Uncommon)
Explosive Apparatus (sacrifice to deal damage, Common)
That is eight out of 28 revealed cards, and that's not even counting the cards that place themselves in the graveyard when they resolve. That's nearly 30% of the cards.
And other than Delirium, there is no revealed mechanic so far that interacts with the graveyard, unlike the previous visit to the plane.
Could this mean that your next block is indeed the Egyptian/pharaonic inspired plane we have long wanted? I don't know, but I certainly hope so.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
It would certainly fit the detective theme going on with Jace's appearance. Chase down the McGuffin that will help deal with whatever new threat pops up on Innistrad/Nullify Liliana's Chain Veil problems. "Help me Jaci Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope. "
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Some graveyard use makes sense for whatever comes after Innistrad as a way to implement inter-block synergy.
IIRC there's a Lilliana demon that has an egyptian flavor, right? It would also be the perfect oportunity to reprint Vengeful Pharaoh and print some pretty cool mummies (I'm impressed they've never explored this area, there's one black border mummy and a silver border one in the whole game).
Seems like a great opportunity for Dack Fayden to shows up in Standard
Commander: WUBRG Superfriends, GW Rhys Tokens, WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon
Kitchen Table (now that's real Magic): WUBRG Domain, GU Biovisionary, UB Korlash Grandeur, UW Merfolk Mill
Indeed. Personally, if this holds true, all I ask is for a Desert reprint at common.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Concerning the Egyptian world, there's this article where MaRo says that Kamigawa was almost an Egypt-based set and this other article where he talks about Vengeful Pharaoh and says that we'll eventually get a Egyptian plane (doesn't mean much as it can be anywhere in the next 20 years).
It's also a good oportunity to use the creature type God outside of Theros.
Commander: WUBRG Superfriends, GW Rhys Tokens, WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon
Kitchen Table (now that's real Magic): WUBRG Domain, GU Biovisionary, UB Korlash Grandeur, UW Merfolk Mill
Birds WU
Cats GW
Hounds RW or WB
Naga BG or GU
Zombies WB (if Hounds are RW)
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
Battle for Zendikar; Oath of the Gatewatch; Shadows Over Innistrad; Eldritch Moon; Lock.
That's the faces of Gideon, Nissa, Jace, and Liliana, so it certainly feels like Chandra could be the focal character.
Going with the proposed "buddy-cop" joke earlier, Chandra and Lili could be going to the Egyptian themed world to kill Razaketh (I think that's the Egyptian looking one, it's been a while). Chandra could learn even greater fire magic from the Ra Equivalent, and everyone has a fun time killing demons.
Now that I'm thinking about it in the sense of "Egyptian Plane" graverobbers would likely be a big thing. So the image of Jaya Ballard having left something behind during a "for-fun" graverobbing attempt, giving Chandra even more of a chance to track her down for equivalent giggles, is not...impossible.
As for "Innistrad being the graveyard set" it could go either way. There's definitely cards that care about what's in your bin right now. But the discarding seems more for Madness than bin purposes. It's also possible that they pull something similar to BFZ and OAG, and have Eldritch Moon dredge up some new mechanics, some of which could be more involved with the graveyard, given Liliana's use as the focal Planeswalker. It would be in theme. Jace cares more about the library, about digging through it to find the right answer to the problem at hand. Liliana cares about what's been gotten rid of.
You are missing my point, there are a heck of a lot of ways to get cards into the graveyard, but there are no mechanics that exploits this fact. No Unearth, no Flashback, no Dredge, ect.
Cards go in the graveyard, yes, and *then* what.
Btw, totally not trolling, I genuinely believe that the next block will have a graveyard focus. It's possible I am wrong, but that is an awful lot of cards that put extra cards in your 'yard.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.