MTG Salvation

Looking to make some last minute pre-orders and in some caes just curious...please help by responing to one or all;

1. Which card was alot better then you expected it to be?
2. What Guild gave you the most problems when playing against?
3. For drafts were there any rares you took even though you had no intention of playing them?
4. Which card didn't live up to the hype?
5. After first impression what is going to be a sleeper chase card?
6. What was the worst stinker you got stuck with?
7. How was the mana curve? Seems like alot of expensive cards in the set...were they easily castable with available ramp?
8. Did you play strictly a single Guild or did you splash?
9. Best new Guild Mechanic?
10. Guild by Guild how did each mechanic stack up against the original Ravnica Guild mechanic?
11. Were the Guild leaders really as good as they looked on paper and would you consider them staple to any true constructed Guild deck?
12. Did any of the card art really catch your eye?
13. Did any cards get your attention just because they were fun to play?

It's a polarizing card thats for sure. Regardless of what side you're on though the value of this guy is going to be high and stay high despite his naysayers. I', guessing a steady $20 after the hype dies down.

I hope not. I wish they would do a mono-color Block that focuses on "single color matters" and color specific cards that both help your color and negatively affects your enemies. I know that Spikes would hate it but as an old school casual player I'd love it.

My money is on Raistlin.

Quote from Ravarshi

Does anyone know where these can be bought? I'd like to get my hands on them.

Try your local comic shop..most places can set up a folder to set aside new issues as they come in so you won't miss anything!

Dwarves are tough because thematicly they are red but fit better into white based on the color pie. Thats why the last we saw them they were in a block focused on dual mana costs. Can't choose one color? Go with two at the same time!!

Mirror-Mad Phantasm has the potenital depending on an engine being built to abuse it.

So as a casual player that loves tribal and theme decks I'm in my glory over Innestrad. like everybody else I'm planning Vampire, Hunter,Spirit,Werewolf and Zombie decks but as a super geek with a sweet tooth for the horror genre I'm looking to go even further into freaky themes. I already have my Hitchcock Birds deck in the works and a Type 2 Claude Raines mono U aggro that might surprise people. Village Cannibals caught my eye immediately but I wasn't sure I could figure out a place for it. Then I saw some art for a creepy, scarey butcher dude and I knew if he was half as dreadful as he looked I had a hook. Serial killer/Slashers. I'm hoping that Innestrad will give me some good cards for it and what I need your help with is what older cards would fit that theme I may be missing because I'm forward facing? Uncle Isstvan comes to mind but I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Also, bear in mind that some times it's ok to lose value on a trade if you really get what you want. Right now, I NEED 3 Krovikan Mists and would gladly trade either a Phyrexian or Mirran Crusader for them. A deal waaay in my trade partners favor?? Maybe but I see it as a win because I get a card collecting dust out of my binder and I can finally complete a pending deck.
If everybody is happy a trade is good, no matter the values involved on either side. Only make trades you're happy with.

The fact is that because of the official proxy check list the advent of flip cards doesn't change the game even a little bit. You ARE playing with a card with the REAL backing in your deck. If it makes you feel better think of the check list as creating a special token..it really amounts to the same thing. You fish your token cards out of your game box and put it into play and that doesn't shake the foundation of the game. It's the same thing. It may make drafting a little sticky but just a little. Really, this is just another mechanic. It's a little flashier then some but hardly as broken as Affinity or as poorly desgined as Soul Shift. It's a good mechanic and it's going to be fun to play. Just relax and have a good time..let yourself enjoy the evolving wilds of the game.
Also, it's only twenty cards so far...maybe 50 for the whole block..that hardly over takes the game. If you really hate them so bad then don't play with them. Hell, send em to me...I'll gladly take them off your hands. In the end this is a big block with alot more going on to offer you even if you do eschew DFC's.They will be gone in ayear and once you play with them you may realize they aren't that big of a game changer. Arguably removing Mana Burn from the game had a more significant impact on the purist core of MTG and nobody quit over that.

Ok, lets take a different approach. Don't trade just to swap cards and ingratiate yourself with a new scene but rather only trade for cards you want. A card you want/need has far more value to you then one that is sitting in your binder. Obviously you don't want to get ripped off blindly so it assumes a general idea of what a card is worth but just a general idea...as long as the card you get is one you'll play with a few dollar swing isn't that bad if you traded a card you'd never use. Also, stop letting other people dictate the terms. If they want a card and have nothing to trade then tell them no or even better tell them what you WILL accept for it. Send them into the mill of FNM and if they come back with what you want then everybody wins!
I always go to FNM with an idea of what I want to get out of it. You'll always find spontaneous goodies but go with a plan and trade on purpose!

I called my LGS right before they opened to confirm that they had them and then got there within half an hour. They sold for MSRP and by the time I got there they only had 4 left out of ten. My guess is that now it may be too late.

Thyere is ALOT of room here. My guess by color would be as follows;
Blue; A lagoon creature for SURE! An invisble man of some sorts, A mad scientist/reanimator legend, maybe mediums, and a veeeerry big mythic shark!!!
Red; Devils!! At long last I hope we see a solid sub class of these guys..it's about time! A blood cult, maybe very scarey Cujoesqe savage dog!!
Black; I think that Uncle Istvan is going to get a few new hacker/slasher serial killers to pal around with..this may bleed over into red as well. Oh and just because Baron Sengir is on thr reswerved list doesn't mean the Lord Sengir is...they could easily give him a new card.
Green; I bet we get some wicked fey..maybe a crazy leperchaun or some gremlins? Crazy pagan cultists, some wood witches I bet.
White; people always under estimate how frightening the truly rightous can be...i bet we get crazed inquisitors, witch hunters, judges, etc.
Artifact; oh so many cool things; A Chucky golem, a cursed tiki mask, torture implements, sacred earth, a hand of glory, a holy avenger, a few more pumpkin headish scare crows, maybe Stuffy Doll will be reprinted..it would be a good fit!!

As standard races I agree you won't see many but as a horror theme I bet you'll see a few goblins, merfolk and if not elves then fairies. They just have some iconic horror standards associated with them. You HAVE to have lagoon creatures,henchmen goblinoids are a baby eating horror staple and isn't there a psychotic leperchaun that has like 5 movies? It won't be obtrusive but there will be bleed just for the sake of flavor.

My guess is that Lilliana is going to have a slew of parasitic abilities relating to the new monsters in Innistrad. maybe +1 Search Library for target Vamp card, -2 Gain control of target werewolf, -1 Destroy traget Human etc. Since we know there will be five main creature types (Were,Vamp, Ghost, Zombie, Human) that would be one ability for each of them.