I'm gonna say there is no third cycle of dual lands. Dual lands references to the two types of lands that land is, original duals and shock lands have 2 types. No other land in the game has two types of lands.
Actually, a dual land is any land that can produce two colors of mana, so the check lands and filter lands (plus countless others) also qualify for that designation.
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
The ability to pay life to draw a card (or obtain other resources) has been a part of this game for a long time, but there does not seem to be a general consensus on exactly how much life a single card is worth, which makes me wish to start this thread to discuss that subject.
Two of the most famous cards that allow a player to pay life to draw cards are necropotence and Yawgmoth's bargain, both of which require only a single life to be paid, but are also regarded as being insanely overpowered by most players, so 1 life is definitely too low a price for a single card. Griselbrand is slightly less overpowered, because, while his ability still draws cards at a ratio of 1 life for one card, he requires that life be paid in increments of 7, rather than 1, meaning that a player who has less than or exactly 7 life cannot use the ability.
Greed, another famous life-for-cards enchantment, and Erebos, God of the Dead, each require that 2 life be paid for a single card, which seems to be more reasonable, but also require that mana be paid, while I am wondering how much life alone is required for a single card, without any other payments, so they are still not the ideal examples, in my mind. I notice that souldrinker requires a payment of 3 life to use its ability, so I believe that 3 life seems to be a reasonable amount of life to pay, without any other costs, to draw a single card from one's library.
Of course, perhaps there is no exact rule about how much life a single card is worth, and the amount of life paid varies from card to card. What does everyone else say about this?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
The original dual lands are unquestionably the best dual lands in the game, as they enter the battlefield untapped unconditionally, provide two colors of mana unconditionally, and also each have two basic land types, so therefore interact with any effects that care about lands of those types. For this reason, they likely shall never be reprinted, again, and are very valuable.
The second best cycle of dual lands is almost certainly the "shocklands" from the Ravnica and Return to Ravnica blocks, since they are almost identical to the original dual lands, but have the very minimal drawback of paying 2 life when they enter the battlefield. That payment is a one-time effect, and after it is made (or not made), they are functionally identical to the original dual lands, which also makes them highly sought-after.
Most players seem to agree on the idea that the original dual lands are the best and the shock lands are the second best, so I now wonder which cycle of dual lands could be considered the third best, and two particular cycles seem to be good candidates, to me.
My first nomination shall be the "check lands" from Magic 2010 and Innistrad (glacial fortress, isolated chapel, etc.), since those lands provide two colors of mana unconditionally, and can enter the battlefield untapped under certain conditions, which should be very easy to meet for nearly any player with any deck. My second nomination is the "filter lands" from Shadowmoor and Eventide (fire-lit thicket, cascade bluffs, etc.), because those lands enter the battlefield untapped unconditionally, and can provide two mana in any combination of two colors, which is something that almost no other dual lands can do, even the originals and shocklands (meaning that a player could use a mountain and a cascade bluffs to produce two blue mana or use an island and a cascade bluffs to produce two red mana, a result that would not be possible with either a volcanic island or a steam vents), but each of these lands is reliant upon a second land to be able to generate colored mana, which none of the other cycles mentioned here are, so they cannot be as good as the original dual lands or the shocklands.
What does everyone else say about this? What do you believe is the third-best cycle of dual lands?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I started this same thread on another forum of which I am a member, and a user there stated that, at one point, both Disney and Square Enix were renting space in the same building, and, one day, an executive from each company happened to step into an elevator at the same time, they began conversing, and the rest is history. Is there any truth to that?
There is a free demo of Dream Drop Distance on the 3DS EShop if you want to give that a try... if you own a 3DS.
I do not own a 3DS; I once owned both a GameBoy Pocket and a GameBoy Advance, but I sold both of them years ago; I know use only my computer for video games, and I do not play video games very often, any more; I much prefer card games and board games, anyway, so I do not feel as if I am missing very much.
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
The Kingdom Hearts video game series has an interesting premise: that of combining characters from the works of the Walt Disney company with characters from the works of Square Enix. To someone who is unfamiliar with the series, it may seem as if the idea occurred to someone when they were intoxicated; it is a completely random and ludicrous idea (not unlike that of the Mario series, as a side note: a turtle/dinosaur man has kidnapped the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, and an Italian plumber must rescue her, gaining powerups from mushrooms and flowers? How bizarre is that?! Or what about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? How random can a title be?) that utterly defies reason: how could two completely separate and dissimilar franchises be combined, and work so well?
I have never played any of the Kingdom Hearts games at the time of this post, but I know that they are very popular, so the idea of combining Disney character with Square Enix characters obviously must be working, but I still find myself wondering how the franchise started. Who conceived the idea, originally? Did some person just randomly decide one day to have a video game that combines the world of Disney with the world of Final Fantasy? Did someone say, "let us mix them together, and see what happens!"
What does anyone here know about the conception and origins of Kingdom Hearts?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Now that it seems almost certain that Ugin shall appear in person during the Tarkir block, I believe that it now is only a matter of time before the Lithomancer appears, as well. I also say that, after today's Uncharted Realms, it is safe to say that Nahiri, mentioned in Ob-Nixilis' recent story, is the lithomancer.
As evidence in favor of the lithomancer appearing in the actual game, I shall use Nissa, Ral Zarek, and Kiora as examples. Each of them appeared in Duels of the Planeswalkers before they appeared in the actual game, and each of them (or at least Ral and Kiora) were highly anticipated before their actual appearances. Now that they have have made their way into the card game, I shall say that Ugin and the lithomancer (likely Nahiri) are now the most anticipated characters in the game.
Does anyone else agree with me? Do you believe that the appearance of Nahiri, the lithomancer, is now a certainty, with the only unknown factor being when, exactly, she shall appear?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Probably not, Given the now Uncommon nature of Serra Angel as considered by today's standards, rather than Rare, the only likely places Serra Angel would get a promo is FNM, or one of those Storage Box Promos.
French Vanillas just aren't really rare material these days.
What about Shivan dragon? It was given a promo, and it is not an overly complicated card, either, but it is one of the most iconic creatures in the game, as is Serra angel, which should be reason enough for her to be given a new and proper promo card, in my mind.
Also, I do not believe that she qualifies as a "French vanilla" creature, because she has two abilities, while a French vanilla creature is a creature with only a single ability (and a plain vanilla creature is one with no abilities, at all).
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Ever since WotC switched to the new version of the gatherer, no new user comments have been added to it. Why is that? Is the system somehow broken? I very much wish to read comments about the new cards in Magic 2015 and Khans of Tarkir, but am unable to do so.
What insight can anyone else offer into this situation?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
It seems to me that I need to change the title of this thread, since there has, in fact, been a promo version of Serra angel. Now, the question is: "Will there ever be a new promo version of Serra angel?"
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
WotC has not yet revealed what opinion each clan of Tarkir has regarding the other four clans, but, in previous articles, they revealed what each guild of Ravnica thinks of the other nine, and Marl Rosewater also wrote a series of articles in which he explored each Shard of Alara and how its inhabitants viewed the other shards, so I therefore wish to speculate how each clan of Tarkir views the others.
I imagine that the Jeskai and Sultai regard the Mardu and Temur as crude brutes and savages, while those two clans view the Sultai and Jeskai as being arrogant, stuffy, and reluctant to get their own hands dirty (and cowardly, as well, in the case of the Sultai). I also imagine that the Sultai and Abzan are not very fond of each other, as well, being that one clan values honor above all else and the other has little honor of which to speak. I shall speculate that the Mardu and Temur respect each other, but do not agree on everything: i.e., the Temur believe that the Mardu are incapable of surviving truly dangerous environments and must always conduct raids, because they are not capable of settling in one place and sustaining themselves. I shall guess that the Abzan and Jeskai respect each other, as well, but the Abzan regard the Jeskai's pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment as a luxury that can scarcely be afforded in a war-torn world such as Tarkir.
What does everyone else believe on this subject? How do you believe each clan of Tarkir views the other four?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
It is unique because 4th edition did not have foils.
There will probably not be serra angel promos because she has recently been totally outclassed by other cards. You can tell because standard has not played serra angel in many years now despite making an appearance in all of the core sets. I have yet to see someone play her in commander either, there are just too many better options.
What cards are better than her, exactly? I know that she is definitely outclassed by baneslayer angel, but I am not certain if there are many other creatures that outclass her; how many other creatures are 4/4 with two abilities for only 5 mana?
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I chose the Abzan guild, and the promo card in my pack was duneblast, which was nice, but it had the exact same artwork as the regular (i.e., non-promo) version! How could WotC be so lazy and cheap as to not have alternate artwork for the promo cards? That utterly defeats the purpose and point of promo cards, in my mind; promo cards are supposed to have alternate artwork, or otherwise they are no different from the non-promo cards, and having the date of the prerelease event does not qualify them as promo cards, in my mind.
I hope that WotC does not continue this trend after this block, because I specifically like to have promo cards with artwork that is different from the normal artwork of a card, and I feel cheated to be given a promo card that is no different from its normal version, save for a date printed on it.
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“Those who would trade their freedoms for security will have neither.”-Benjamin Franklin
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
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Actually, a dual land is any land that can produce two colors of mana, so the check lands and filter lands (plus countless others) also qualify for that designation.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Two of the most famous cards that allow a player to pay life to draw cards are necropotence and Yawgmoth's bargain, both of which require only a single life to be paid, but are also regarded as being insanely overpowered by most players, so 1 life is definitely too low a price for a single card. Griselbrand is slightly less overpowered, because, while his ability still draws cards at a ratio of 1 life for one card, he requires that life be paid in increments of 7, rather than 1, meaning that a player who has less than or exactly 7 life cannot use the ability.
Greed, another famous life-for-cards enchantment, and Erebos, God of the Dead, each require that 2 life be paid for a single card, which seems to be more reasonable, but also require that mana be paid, while I am wondering how much life alone is required for a single card, without any other payments, so they are still not the ideal examples, in my mind. I notice that souldrinker requires a payment of 3 life to use its ability, so I believe that 3 life seems to be a reasonable amount of life to pay, without any other costs, to draw a single card from one's library.
Of course, perhaps there is no exact rule about how much life a single card is worth, and the amount of life paid varies from card to card. What does everyone else say about this?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
The second best cycle of dual lands is almost certainly the "shocklands" from the Ravnica and Return to Ravnica blocks, since they are almost identical to the original dual lands, but have the very minimal drawback of paying 2 life when they enter the battlefield. That payment is a one-time effect, and after it is made (or not made), they are functionally identical to the original dual lands, which also makes them highly sought-after.
Most players seem to agree on the idea that the original dual lands are the best and the shock lands are the second best, so I now wonder which cycle of dual lands could be considered the third best, and two particular cycles seem to be good candidates, to me.
My first nomination shall be the "check lands" from Magic 2010 and Innistrad (glacial fortress, isolated chapel, etc.), since those lands provide two colors of mana unconditionally, and can enter the battlefield untapped under certain conditions, which should be very easy to meet for nearly any player with any deck. My second nomination is the "filter lands" from Shadowmoor and Eventide (fire-lit thicket, cascade bluffs, etc.), because those lands enter the battlefield untapped unconditionally, and can provide two mana in any combination of two colors, which is something that almost no other dual lands can do, even the originals and shocklands (meaning that a player could use a mountain and a cascade bluffs to produce two blue mana or use an island and a cascade bluffs to produce two red mana, a result that would not be possible with either a volcanic island or a steam vents), but each of these lands is reliant upon a second land to be able to generate colored mana, which none of the other cycles mentioned here are, so they cannot be as good as the original dual lands or the shocklands.
What does everyone else say about this? What do you believe is the third-best cycle of dual lands?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I do not own a 3DS; I once owned both a GameBoy Pocket and a GameBoy Advance, but I sold both of them years ago; I know use only my computer for video games, and I do not play video games very often, any more; I much prefer card games and board games, anyway, so I do not feel as if I am missing very much.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I have never played any of the Kingdom Hearts games at the time of this post, but I know that they are very popular, so the idea of combining Disney character with Square Enix characters obviously must be working, but I still find myself wondering how the franchise started. Who conceived the idea, originally? Did some person just randomly decide one day to have a video game that combines the world of Disney with the world of Final Fantasy? Did someone say, "let us mix them together, and see what happens!"
What does anyone here know about the conception and origins of Kingdom Hearts?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Why would WotC give so much hype to a character who shall never appear in the actual game? And how will the Eldrazi be defeated, without her?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
As evidence in favor of the lithomancer appearing in the actual game, I shall use Nissa, Ral Zarek, and Kiora as examples. Each of them appeared in Duels of the Planeswalkers before they appeared in the actual game, and each of them (or at least Ral and Kiora) were highly anticipated before their actual appearances. Now that they have have made their way into the card game, I shall say that Ugin and the lithomancer (likely Nahiri) are now the most anticipated characters in the game.
Does anyone else agree with me? Do you believe that the appearance of Nahiri, the lithomancer, is now a certainty, with the only unknown factor being when, exactly, she shall appear?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
Have Sorin and Sarkhan ever met before? If not, how likely is it that they shall cross paths in the story of this block?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
What about Shivan dragon? It was given a promo, and it is not an overly complicated card, either, but it is one of the most iconic creatures in the game, as is Serra angel, which should be reason enough for her to be given a new and proper promo card, in my mind.
Also, I do not believe that she qualifies as a "French vanilla" creature, because she has two abilities, while a French vanilla creature is a creature with only a single ability (and a plain vanilla creature is one with no abilities, at all).
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
What insight can anyone else offer into this situation?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I imagine that the Jeskai and Sultai regard the Mardu and Temur as crude brutes and savages, while those two clans view the Sultai and Jeskai as being arrogant, stuffy, and reluctant to get their own hands dirty (and cowardly, as well, in the case of the Sultai). I also imagine that the Sultai and Abzan are not very fond of each other, as well, being that one clan values honor above all else and the other has little honor of which to speak. I shall speculate that the Mardu and Temur respect each other, but do not agree on everything: i.e., the Temur believe that the Mardu are incapable of surviving truly dangerous environments and must always conduct raids, because they are not capable of settling in one place and sustaining themselves. I shall guess that the Abzan and Jeskai respect each other, as well, but the Abzan regard the Jeskai's pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment as a luxury that can scarcely be afforded in a war-torn world such as Tarkir.
What does everyone else believe on this subject? How do you believe each clan of Tarkir views the other four?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I cannot believe that I need to ask this, but what do you think that it does?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
What cards are better than her, exactly? I know that she is definitely outclassed by baneslayer angel, but I am not certain if there are many other creatures that outclass her; how many other creatures are 4/4 with two abilities for only 5 mana?
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt
I hope that WotC does not continue this trend after this block, because I specifically like to have promo cards with artwork that is different from the normal artwork of a card, and I feel cheated to be given a promo card that is no different from its normal version, save for a date printed on it.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”-Thomas Jefferson
“A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of its user.”-Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by one's country; it does not mean to stand by one's president.”-Theodore Roosevelt