MTG Salvation

would be interesting to see jace go WUB, showing that he HAS developed morally out of mono U, and has embraced both sides of his character. somehow I doubt he'll actually fall towards one side or the other - no other modern planeswalker has been faced with a decision regarding color alignment, all have merely evolved from one color to a pairing.

I haven't read most of the thread, so pardon me if this has been mentioned, but I would like to point out that if there is any difference in the rate of STD infection between circumcised and uncircumcised men, it may be linked to their moral or ethical views on sex as taught by their parents. I think it would be safe to assume that families who circumcise their young would be predominantly religious, implying a conservative upbringing where sex is concerned. I believe that more non-religious, or more liberal-minded families would choose to leave their young uncircumcised, connotative of a more liberal upbringing in terms of promiscuity, possibly leading to higher rates of STD infection caused by more sex with more partners.

on the nissa debate: against some decks, she is essentially a 2/3 for 2GG with "when ~ cotb, target opponent discards a removal spell". I would run that as a 3-of in any green aggro deck. and when they don't have a bolt, which will be at least 80% of the time, she's even better.

on the red-deck-wins point: 8 fetches were run to turn on kird ape as well as provide ammo for grim lavamancer. thinning was not the primary concern.

isn't this exactly the kind of thing that SHOULDN'T be mythic?

@Naya Sakura: cascade and landfall can't be compared, because one is a keyword ability, and the other is a pseudo-ability. it's like comparing trample to hellbent: it depends on what hellbent does, just like it depends on what landfall does on the card in question. The Baloth's landfall ability is pretty bomby, but something like "landfall-exile target card in a graveyard" wouldn't add much to the cmc of a card, unless its other abilities synergized with graveyard removal.

generally speaking, 4-ofs are for your core cards: threats, removal, etc. 3-ofs are things you want to see once a game: bitterblossom, most legends. 2-ofs generally only work for things you don't want to see every game, or only want in the late game (me fish deck runs 2 mistbind cliques, for example). 1-ofs should only be used if you can tutor for them.

@ listen here now: I'd vote "I like it".

@ the OP's poll: "I don't like it". the keyword seems unnecessary and insular, much like arcane. I'm fine with the actual mechanic, I dislike the subtype that will most likely never be used outside the block.

gotta say, I'm dissapointed by avon's mountain. the floaty bits just look sloppy and unprofessional compared to his other amazing work. big fan of the other mountain though, as well as the swamps and plains. islands are too busy IMO. here's hoping for some awesome floaty trees tomorrow!

why is everyone speculating over reprints for a set we know nothing about mechanically? other than core sets, reprints are quite rare - even if they explored a library-manipulation theme, wizards would print new cards, not old ones.

depends. if you're running higure and shuriken, mothdust changeling is better. if you've got him, add a swarmyard as well. some pre-alara builds ran thopters, changeling, AND cloud sprites. I think 6 or 7 1st-turn drops is enough.

how often do you really haste attack and ninjutsu in the same turn? I try to leave mana open for counterspells or flash faeries.

I prefer mono U personally. here's my list. combines with fae for extra win. trinket mage almost always comes out of the side game 2, bringing in specific hate and adding support to MD trinkets.

for this list, you could also consider spire golem, zephyr sprite, aether spellbomb, engineered explosives, venser, different counters, cryptic, mutavault, glen elendra archmage.

if you want to stay U/B, here're my suggestions:

-3 nether traitor, +3 Dimir Infiltrator. easier to cast, better evasion, better blocker, transmutes for counters and kill cards.
-1 Higure, +1 Skullsnatcher. MD graveyard hate, tutorable with higure or infiltrator.
-1 island, +1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge. -1 Swamp, +1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse. obvious.
your preference, but I'd try to squeeze in that land toolbox I've got above, without swarmyard or academy ruins but with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

With the infiltrator, I'd try to fit in an echoing truth in the side for token matchups. Dunno what you'd want to take out though.

mirrodin had beacons, kamigawa had epic spells, onslaught had decrees. It's pretty much a given that we'll see a rare cycle of instants/sorceries at some point this block, and IMO it's pointless to speculate on something so specific and niche when we have no clues as to the theme and mechanics of the set/block.

I voted mana cost. as a spike, it's the most defining aspect of a card in terms of what's playable and what's jank.

I assumed this was for a you-make-the-card, but if it has to do with previews, I might regret my decision. Line 2 is probably the best bet, being a more complicated mechanic (line 1 being keyword abilities, line 3 being flavor text).