[quote from="Drawmeomg" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/outside-magic/debate/531152-is-astronomy-worth-investing-in?comment=22"] People make the argument that funding for astronomical research is not pretty significant anyway, which might be true (I wouldn't know, though the field seems quite expensive by the virtue of the advanced technology it requires). But if not, I would say that astronomical research is pretty low on the list of pressing issues to study beyond these remote sensing techniques.
As you and others have noted, investing in space research means helping develop technologies that could also be used here on Earth. One of the most promising developments in this field is the improvement of automation techniques.
Automation is an essential part of modern life. However, there is much that could be done to improve the scalability, efficiency, and deployability of these technologies. Many of these technologies, even state-of-the-art ones, are often designed with assumptions such as the following:
* the environment can be highly controlled
* they can be repaired by human beings as needed
* their obsolescence can be planned for
* human beings will be available to assist in decision-making
In extraterrestrial environments, these assumptions are easily violated. The environments can be hostile, human beings won't always be on hand to make corrections, and the machines may remain useful long after their mission is over. It's a perfect testbed and a catalyst for the development of more durable and adaptable automation technologies.
The developments made on this front have spurred the development of technologies of use to us here on Earth. For example, we have been making great strides in designing machines that can operate in unpredictable environments, such as fire-fighting robots, self-driving cars, and companions for the elderly and the disabled. We also have been getting better at making machines that can work for long periods of time without the need for human intervention (especially in the area of embedded computing). The list goes on and on.
Now, I do have my biases. I'm a PhD candidate in the field of computer science, and my advisor made contributions to testing frameworks for NASA-affiliated projects. I'm not trying to oversell you on the benefits of space research. However, I can tell you that across the sciences, if you were to ask people what benefit their research has to mankind, they would give you similar answers. Every step forward that we take in one area can have a ripple effect on many others.
doesn't stop sphinx at all. They won't play Sphinx till it's off the board. Just supreme or d-sphere it.
It puts a stumbling block in their way, giving the aggro player a larger window of opportunity (on average) to get in lethal damage before the control player races ahead in terms of card advantage.
On top of that, it's three power for two mana, so it can meaningfully work towards the aggro player's objectives rather than just being one of those narrow, sideboard-only answers.
In short, I like it! In standard, it will see play so long as cards like Sphinx's Revelation remain popular. In a meta where this is rare, a card like Spirit of the Labyrinth would probably be relegated to sideboard to accommodate less fragile creatures.
So being creative is an inherent quality, but is somehow lost when you copy the idea? It's creative or it isn't, it doesn't stop being creative when you copy it. That 60-card Craw deck doesn't lose all merit when someone decides they want to build it after seeing it online.
A work can have the hallmarks of creative action, but creativity exists in the act of creation, not in the final product.
I'm rather astonished. I came to this thread to defend Domestication, because I thought they were reprinting it as an uncommon. Honestly, it's not a bad spell. It works well enough in many cases, it's flavorful, and it makes green feel a little more special (both because green has big creatures and because it adds additional, hypothetical value to pump spells in limited).
But at rare? I'm fine with not having a Mind Control variant at uncommon for limited, but if you were going to pick one to be rare, Domestication just seems like a strange choice.
This was on my (very short) list of possible medium-value cards in M14.
It may end up being useful, but not valuable. You can currently get that card online for $0.03. The card has been on the market for awhile, and it doesn't appear to be particularly attractive to non-standard formats.
Imposing Sovereign is awesome. It's a simple, flavorful card that performs a valuable function.
Lifebane Zombie seems good to me. It's more or less unblockable against an ideal opponent, and there are a variety of targets in standard that it can deal with quite nicely.
I get that Dismiss Into Dream is supposed to be an obligatory niche enchantment, but I wish that the card were cheaper (CMC of 5). To accomplish this, they could have made the card symmetric by affecting all creatures on the field, including your own. That being said, I understand why it's priced the way that it is, given how the card is worded.
I love Merfolk, and I like that they're giving us a useful ETB ability on an efficient creature that a Merfolk deck can take advantage of. This could be very good sideboard material.
This card seems strongest against RG ramp strategies that pour their mana into massive, otherwise unstoppable creatures. It also impedes RG aggro decks that run cards like Ghor-Clan Rampager by forcing the opponent to commit more to the board and reducing the chance of them scoring easy, surprise victories.
Seems fun for limited, but not a card you would build around. Rather, it feels like a source of virtual card advantage for a deck that already intended on playing plenty of instants.
In general, I feel like the only compelling reason for this card to cost more than three is because he gives you the ability to cast expensive, game-breaking instants over and over. Problem is that that's not something you'd ever want to do with this card; at best, it's a win-more strategy, and at worst a setup for a very depressing 2-for-1.
So, if Elite Arcanist was restricted to low CMC cards, which is what you'd want to use him with anyway, I could see the mana cost of the card go down to three - maybe even two. But Modern players already have Isochron Scepter, and I'd imagine that the only way this card would fit in a standard deck would be as part of a combo.
I, for one, am very happy with Banisher Priest. The vast majority of the time, it will function just like Fiend Hunter. In the rare instances where it does not, the Priest makes more sense, flavor-wise.
As for Fiendslayer Paladin, I get that we're downgrading from protection in order to pick up lifelink, but Paladin en-Vec was narrow enough in its applications, and this card is even more restrictive. Trading protection means trading the ability to attack through your opponent's red and black creatures, which means that Fiendslayer will spend less time connecting with your opponent than Paladin en-Vec does.
Xathrid Necromancer is a fine card, though I wish the art depicted zombies rather than skeletons.
Assume that the card did not grant haste. A player has four Mountains and plays a fifth, and then casts Awaken the Ancient. If they enchant the newest Mountain, they cannot attack with it because it has summoning sickness. If they enchant a Mountain that they controlled since the beginning of the turn, they could attack with it.
The card has haste because otherwise it entails an unnecessary decision that only serves to confuse newer players.
Pyrewild Shaman reminds me of Auntie's Snitch in that it's a goblin that you can get back from the graveyard off of combat damage. The difference here is that it actually does something that would be worthwhile to have it end up in the graveyard in the first place.
Emmara seems like she would have been a fine card, even at her current CMC... if she had Convoke. I think she would have been a "meh" rare if she was transported through time back to the original Ravnica block. In her current form, she just seems superfluous, a description not very fitting for a guild champion.
I do not agree with that; if a damage-dealing spell's mana cost is equal to the damage that it deals, it should have some other benefit to compensate for that cost-to-damage ratio. For me lightning bolt, the original and quintessential damage-dealing spell, is the standard against which I measure all other damage-dealing spells, and it deals 3 damage for a mere 1 mana. Warleader's Helix, even with its lifegain ability, simply is not mana-efficient at 4 mana for 4 damage, so I do not intend to use it unless I am forced to do so.
I concur with GodOfAtheism, the mana cost is appropriate for the reasons he has described.
I'd also note that the price is comparable to other burn spells that deal four damage without drawback (Char) or additional commitment (Galvanic Blast).
It may tempting to bring up Flame Javelin, but if we're talking about a card that's meant to be run in a RW deck, the typical price for that spell would hover closer to 2RR than RRR, and you'd be trading that slight flexibility for life gain.
In all seriousness, this card seems like it could be good in limited. If you're playing Rakdos, you won't have many (if any) cards in hand at the point that you cast it, and if it survives, your opponent is kept in an unenviable position.
As for constructed play, I am not sure. I'm not saying it couldn't find a home, but it has competition for similar slots in other formats. Still, I look forward to seeing what people can come up with.
For a god themed set, these make the most flavorful sense:
Champion
Epic
Exalted Fateseal (*AHEM* Spin into Myth in a Greek Mythology Set? Yes, please. This is my personal pick as the returning mechanic)
Miracle
Offering
Grandeur (Another likely one)
Radiance (I believe this has been mentioned as being a great ability with a poor execution in Boros)
All of these make sense to me. Of course, Maro could just be getting us all excited and then have the returning mechanic turn out to be cycling.
Teysa's art is amazing. For a guild that is known for its excesses, the Orzhov champion is surprisingly austere.
The way the light plays off of her clothes reminds me strongly of the clothed version of Francisco Goya's La Maja Desnuda. Second, I think that her silver walking stick / pimp cane is awesome.
As you and others have noted, investing in space research means helping develop technologies that could also be used here on Earth. One of the most promising developments in this field is the improvement of automation techniques.
Automation is an essential part of modern life. However, there is much that could be done to improve the scalability, efficiency, and deployability of these technologies. Many of these technologies, even state-of-the-art ones, are often designed with assumptions such as the following:
* the environment can be highly controlled
* they can be repaired by human beings as needed
* their obsolescence can be planned for
* human beings will be available to assist in decision-making
In extraterrestrial environments, these assumptions are easily violated. The environments can be hostile, human beings won't always be on hand to make corrections, and the machines may remain useful long after their mission is over. It's a perfect testbed and a catalyst for the development of more durable and adaptable automation technologies.
The developments made on this front have spurred the development of technologies of use to us here on Earth. For example, we have been making great strides in designing machines that can operate in unpredictable environments, such as fire-fighting robots, self-driving cars, and companions for the elderly and the disabled. We also have been getting better at making machines that can work for long periods of time without the need for human intervention (especially in the area of embedded computing). The list goes on and on.
Now, I do have my biases. I'm a PhD candidate in the field of computer science, and my advisor made contributions to testing frameworks for NASA-affiliated projects. I'm not trying to oversell you on the benefits of space research. However, I can tell you that across the sciences, if you were to ask people what benefit their research has to mankind, they would give you similar answers. Every step forward that we take in one area can have a ripple effect on many others.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
It puts a stumbling block in their way, giving the aggro player a larger window of opportunity (on average) to get in lethal damage before the control player races ahead in terms of card advantage.
On top of that, it's three power for two mana, so it can meaningfully work towards the aggro player's objectives rather than just being one of those narrow, sideboard-only answers.
In short, I like it! In standard, it will see play so long as cards like Sphinx's Revelation remain popular. In a meta where this is rare, a card like Spirit of the Labyrinth would probably be relegated to sideboard to accommodate less fragile creatures.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
A work can have the hallmarks of creative action, but creativity exists in the act of creation, not in the final product.
Everyone wants success, but not everyone defines success in the same way.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
But at rare? I'm fine with not having a Mind Control variant at uncommon for limited, but if you were going to pick one to be rare, Domestication just seems like a strange choice.
It may end up being useful, but not valuable. You can currently get that card online for $0.03. The card has been on the market for awhile, and it doesn't appear to be particularly attractive to non-standard formats.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
Lifebane Zombie seems good to me. It's more or less unblockable against an ideal opponent, and there are a variety of targets in standard that it can deal with quite nicely.
I get that Dismiss Into Dream is supposed to be an obligatory niche enchantment, but I wish that the card were cheaper (CMC of 5). To accomplish this, they could have made the card symmetric by affecting all creatures on the field, including your own. That being said, I understand why it's priced the way that it is, given how the card is worded.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
This card seems strongest against RG ramp strategies that pour their mana into massive, otherwise unstoppable creatures. It also impedes RG aggro decks that run cards like Ghor-Clan Rampager by forcing the opponent to commit more to the board and reducing the chance of them scoring easy, surprise victories.
Fun!
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
In general, I feel like the only compelling reason for this card to cost more than three is because he gives you the ability to cast expensive, game-breaking instants over and over. Problem is that that's not something you'd ever want to do with this card; at best, it's a win-more strategy, and at worst a setup for a very depressing 2-for-1.
So, if Elite Arcanist was restricted to low CMC cards, which is what you'd want to use him with anyway, I could see the mana cost of the card go down to three - maybe even two. But Modern players already have Isochron Scepter, and I'd imagine that the only way this card would fit in a standard deck would be as part of a combo.
Still, it's an interesting card.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
As for Fiendslayer Paladin, I get that we're downgrading from protection in order to pick up lifelink, but Paladin en-Vec was narrow enough in its applications, and this card is even more restrictive. Trading protection means trading the ability to attack through your opponent's red and black creatures, which means that Fiendslayer will spend less time connecting with your opponent than Paladin en-Vec does.
Xathrid Necromancer is a fine card, though I wish the art depicted zombies rather than skeletons.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
Assume that the card did not grant haste. A player has four Mountains and plays a fifth, and then casts Awaken the Ancient. If they enchant the newest Mountain, they cannot attack with it because it has summoning sickness. If they enchant a Mountain that they controlled since the beginning of the turn, they could attack with it.
The card has haste because otherwise it entails an unnecessary decision that only serves to confuse newer players.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
Emmara seems like she would have been a fine card, even at her current CMC... if she had Convoke. I think she would have been a "meh" rare if she was transported through time back to the original Ravnica block. In her current form, she just seems superfluous, a description not very fitting for a guild champion.
I concur with GodOfAtheism, the mana cost is appropriate for the reasons he has described.
I'd also note that the price is comparable to other burn spells that deal four damage without drawback (Char) or additional commitment (Galvanic Blast).
It may tempting to bring up Flame Javelin, but if we're talking about a card that's meant to be run in a RW deck, the typical price for that spell would hover closer to 2RR than RRR, and you'd be trading that slight flexibility for life gain.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
In all seriousness, this card seems like it could be good in limited. If you're playing Rakdos, you won't have many (if any) cards in hand at the point that you cast it, and if it survives, your opponent is kept in an unenviable position.
As for constructed play, I am not sure. I'm not saying it couldn't find a home, but it has competition for similar slots in other formats. Still, I look forward to seeing what people can come up with.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
All of these make sense to me. Of course, Maro could just be getting us all excited and then have the returning mechanic turn out to be cycling.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.
The way the light plays off of her clothes reminds me strongly of the clothed version of Francisco Goya's La Maja Desnuda. Second, I think that her silver walking stick / pimp cane is awesome.
My LinkedIn profile... thing (I have one of those now!).
My research team's webpage.
The mtg-rnn repo and the mtg-encode repo.