While the chance to open power is there, it's still fairly rare. Given that the set was designed to draft, I would say the prices would be somewhat reasonable, perhaps double the price of modern masters. $15-20 a pack would be peak, knowing that you could blow $60 on a draft set and not pull anything worth more than $2. While there are moxes and duals, there are also a ton of conspiracy jank as well as off shot mythics (City in a Bottle, Skullclamp, Armageddon), while great for limited don't do well for value.
I'm guessing since they're running events until the next big set, it would probably be best to wait until people have finished heavily drafting it for prices to drop. Almost assuredly, the prices will spike back up (though not sure how much), when the events are over.
I am not really sure what players have been really asking for, as we got most of what we really wanted (besides fetches). RtR gave us shocks, we got Thoughtseize in theros, we got Mutavault/Sad Robot in core sets, we got modern staples in modern masters. The only thing people have been repeatedly asking for that I could remember is Steamflogger Boss. So way off left field, we're getting a steampunk set with contraptions!
If this were true, I'd believe we would see Kamigawa with Tamiyo in Avacyn Restored and the legendary changes with Theros. The hints R&D are subtle enough to post mechanics, but not with planes.
That's one of the best arts I've seen for removal. Putting this at instant speed and having it target without limitations, makes me think it will definitely be put in EDH and possibly make it in standard if auras ever become a thing.
I really love that art piece done by Terese Nielsen. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be another Plea to Guidance (aka filler card). Her art is just too beautiful to be wasted like that.
This is one of those things that the community should do on its own and not force onto its players. I never really experienced the situation or seen anything as dire as the one posted on "cracks" in Richmond or perhaps, I never took much stock in it. Hopefully people are a little abashed by what they saw and change for the better, but it's a matter of personal self respect if someone chooses to dress the way they do and who are we to judge what's "right" or not?
This goes hand-in-hand with all the other "violations" people point out, like personal hygiene and even appearance... but it's something I believe should be done through the community, not WOTC or any event organizer.
I left a while ago when this was hitting reddit and asking most co-workers who knew nothing about the magic community sort of just jeered that this is "usual". I sort of shrugged at that and then got to thinking...
It's definitely wrong to make fun of this..
But the magic community doesn't exactly play "fair" when they ridicule minority players, female players, or GLBT players. Not saying in any way, this is correct.. but if you have a problem with this, hopefully it'll open your mind to the other facets of discrimination that still go on today.
The middle sets are always tough. It's like when a trilogy or a succession of movies where the middle title just seems to drag things along. It's more or less, the same thing repeated. It's a small set, so I can get that the minor Gods don't have weapons. Even with all of this, I was disappointed with the set. Enchantments and auras have always felt sub-par to other permanents, especially against equipments, so basing an entire block on enchantments felt weak, especially missing out on all chances they had to reprint enchantment tutors and powerful auras (Unless Journey into Nyx proves me wrong!). I also have a feeling that a sweeper like Tranquility or fun cards like Enchanted Evening wouldn't even be needed in such a block because besides Boon Satyr, there aren't many enchantment creatures that have been pushed in this block. I think they were so scared by affinity, that they've played this block very safe. It's alright, but it doesn't make for an exciting block.
That said, I really loved the Greek mythological theme. This was also one of the other reasons I was disappointed. I wished it was pushed more. I wish we got to see more phalanx and hoplites, more about the battle with Elspeth. I wish these cards took the front-lines of mythics and power rares, instead of a furry cat. But on a limited stance, the block is pretty balanced with different archetypes taking hold. It's good.. but the reason why I and probably others complain was because our hopes were so pushed by Innistrad and the people who created that set. It was nearly impossible to live up to those expectations. They would have to be born of the Gods to do that.
I prefer this art over the original. He's tormented, so no shirt.. I understand completely. I'm surprised they went with an "aggro" creature for black instead of any of the other choices.
Mana screw and flood are part of the game, for its good points and bad alike. There was a format I wish would transfer to paper from modo called Momir. If one randomized a stack of one drops, two drops, three drops, four drops, etc. and your deck was simply just lands. Casting cost was discard a card, and pay X mana. Get a creature at random from one of those cmc stacks. Best way to avoid the flood if it's such an issue but even in a way that both players aren't affected by it.
I've always seen trading by value. Nowadays, everyone is just more informed. I saw a girl trade off her Flooded Strand (rare) for a pile of jank rares and uncommons from Innistrad block (stuff like Archangel) just a few years ago. I tried to warn her, but she thought a pile of cards was better than one card. It disgusted me that people would prey on someone coming back or new to magic... at least now with smart phones, people are better protected from this kind of stuff.
Modern is a good format, but there are still issues with a lot of the problems legacy dealt with, mainly card values (though not as bad). They figured how to appease collectors and help the format via Modern Masters... though, the jury is out on how well it worked. In my area, it boosted interested in the modern format, but it also caused the prices to skyrocket.
You left right when they were in the midst of going to a new planes each block. Since Lorwyn, you missed Shards of Alara and the joys of jund aggro decks with cascade spells allowing that second spell. I would commonly throw down bloodbraid elf, followed by some sort of removal (Maelstrom Pulse, Lightning Bolt). That was followed by the "land matters" Zendikar block, which was a super aggressive draft format and included the infamous Jace, the Mindsculptor as well as the fetch land staples. They really pushed Jace the Mindsculptor and no one seemed to care. What good did a four-drop planeswalker do, when your opponent would be casting a plethora of aggressive creatures. The last part of the Zendikar block was Rise of the Eldrazi, a large set that was meant to be drafted by itself. Timmies everywhere rejoiced. These cthulhu-like monsters have affected magic so much, the Eldrazi are the go-to cards in Show and Tell decks among other tier 1 legacy decks. Sorin and others had a plan to save Zendikar, but a self-centered elf ruined it all and everyone else was like.. umm, buh-bye. Yes that elf is Nissa, and yes I hate that elf.
When Shards cycled out, and Scars of Mirrodin came in... Jace finally had a chance to shine. By the second block of Scars of Mirrodin, the second of the "Enemy swords" came out... Sword of Feast and Famine. By this time, there was a perfect card advantage card in a core set called Squadron Hawk. This combined with Jace and the improved sword rampaged the format. Most of the top standard decks were using Jace and Stoneforge Mystic so much that they banned them just months before they would have been cycled out anyway. People fell on two sides of the issue. One, being... we're all playing the same deck, so it's a better test of skill. Also (now that Jace was skyrocketing to 50-60 a piece), people didn't want to see their jaces leave the format. Others complained that the format had gone stale. In my local shop, people were starting to play legacy instead (happy times for me, at least).
People were a little bitter about this Jace-fiasco, but whereas Zendikar left us in ruins, Innistrad gave us hope (at least storywise). It was a gothic-inspired block with vampires, werewolves, and ummm, mutants? To this day, you will hear Delver of Secrets in both modern and legacy. Other gems like Liliana of the Veil and Geist of Saint Traft began their upbringing here. Before the new legendary rule, the only way to get rid of a geist was with Phantasmal Image and mass removal. The draft format was highly praised and regarded as the best draft format in years. Mill, self-mill, aggressive, and yes, even a combo deck (Lost in the Woods) were some of the archtypes you could draft in the format. Then came Avacyn Restored, the "As Good As It Gets" set... so mushy and sweet, full of angels and spice and everything nice. Because of this, black was often underdrafted. Oh yea, also... having a draft set with very little removal was pretty bad.. but at least Archangel got reprinted. Like Rise of Eldrazi, it was a standalone draft set, but unlike the cthulhu counterpart, it didn't get as much praise.
That was it.. oh, and Return to Ravnica. Shocklands are affordable now (huzzah)... and people were like fighting and stuff. And then Niz, the dracogenius that he is, had all the champions of the guilds run a race. The winner would get to rule Ravnica and that guy was... well you can read the online book. Oh yea, I didn't tell you? From ravnica forward you get a digital version of the book, which is really nice since they've sort of taken them out because "they just weren't selling" or something like that. Also around this time, EDH/Commander was really taking off and wotc has started making cards specifically for this format. Which brings us to Theros and the legendary rule.... which now states that you and your opponent(s) can keep one of the same type of legendary permanent. Also, if you have a legendary permanent and cast another one, you can choose which to keep and which to sacrifice. This made cards like Mox Opal and Jace the Mindsculptor a tad better since you could ditch the one you just used and get a "second use".
I know you probably only asked for a few things that have changed.. but now that I look at it, a lot of stuff has happened.
You are one of my favorite magic artists and I wish I could be in Spain. One of the most disappointing things about Theros to me was the lack of your art. When I think of Greco-Roman fantasy art, I immediately thought of the whimsical style in your art pieces.
This goes hand-in-hand with all the other "violations" people point out, like personal hygiene and even appearance... but it's something I believe should be done through the community, not WOTC or any event organizer.
It's definitely wrong to make fun of this..
But the magic community doesn't exactly play "fair" when they ridicule minority players, female players, or GLBT players. Not saying in any way, this is correct.. but if you have a problem with this, hopefully it'll open your mind to the other facets of discrimination that still go on today.
Sealed: Make a deck out of six packs.
Draft: You pick a card out of each pack from a pool of seven other players. You do this for three packs.
That said, I really loved the Greek mythological theme. This was also one of the other reasons I was disappointed. I wished it was pushed more. I wish we got to see more phalanx and hoplites, more about the battle with Elspeth. I wish these cards took the front-lines of mythics and power rares, instead of a furry cat. But on a limited stance, the block is pretty balanced with different archetypes taking hold. It's good.. but the reason why I and probably others complain was because our hopes were so pushed by Innistrad and the people who created that set. It was nearly impossible to live up to those expectations. They would have to be born of the Gods to do that.
Modern is a good format, but there are still issues with a lot of the problems legacy dealt with, mainly card values (though not as bad). They figured how to appease collectors and help the format via Modern Masters... though, the jury is out on how well it worked. In my area, it boosted interested in the modern format, but it also caused the prices to skyrocket.
You left right when they were in the midst of going to a new planes each block. Since Lorwyn, you missed Shards of Alara and the joys of jund aggro decks with cascade spells allowing that second spell. I would commonly throw down bloodbraid elf, followed by some sort of removal (Maelstrom Pulse, Lightning Bolt). That was followed by the "land matters" Zendikar block, which was a super aggressive draft format and included the infamous Jace, the Mindsculptor as well as the fetch land staples. They really pushed Jace the Mindsculptor and no one seemed to care. What good did a four-drop planeswalker do, when your opponent would be casting a plethora of aggressive creatures. The last part of the Zendikar block was Rise of the Eldrazi, a large set that was meant to be drafted by itself. Timmies everywhere rejoiced. These cthulhu-like monsters have affected magic so much, the Eldrazi are the go-to cards in Show and Tell decks among other tier 1 legacy decks. Sorin and others had a plan to save Zendikar, but a self-centered elf ruined it all and everyone else was like.. umm, buh-bye. Yes that elf is Nissa, and yes I hate that elf.
When Shards cycled out, and Scars of Mirrodin came in... Jace finally had a chance to shine. By the second block of Scars of Mirrodin, the second of the "Enemy swords" came out... Sword of Feast and Famine. By this time, there was a perfect card advantage card in a core set called Squadron Hawk. This combined with Jace and the improved sword rampaged the format. Most of the top standard decks were using Jace and Stoneforge Mystic so much that they banned them just months before they would have been cycled out anyway. People fell on two sides of the issue. One, being... we're all playing the same deck, so it's a better test of skill. Also (now that Jace was skyrocketing to 50-60 a piece), people didn't want to see their jaces leave the format. Others complained that the format had gone stale. In my local shop, people were starting to play legacy instead (happy times for me, at least).
People were a little bitter about this Jace-fiasco, but whereas Zendikar left us in ruins, Innistrad gave us hope (at least storywise). It was a gothic-inspired block with vampires, werewolves, and ummm, mutants? To this day, you will hear Delver of Secrets in both modern and legacy. Other gems like Liliana of the Veil and Geist of Saint Traft began their upbringing here. Before the new legendary rule, the only way to get rid of a geist was with Phantasmal Image and mass removal. The draft format was highly praised and regarded as the best draft format in years. Mill, self-mill, aggressive, and yes, even a combo deck (Lost in the Woods) were some of the archtypes you could draft in the format. Then came Avacyn Restored, the "As Good As It Gets" set... so mushy and sweet, full of angels and spice and everything nice. Because of this, black was often underdrafted. Oh yea, also... having a draft set with very little removal was pretty bad.. but at least Archangel got reprinted. Like Rise of Eldrazi, it was a standalone draft set, but unlike the cthulhu counterpart, it didn't get as much praise.
That was it.. oh, and Return to Ravnica. Shocklands are affordable now (huzzah)... and people were like fighting and stuff. And then Niz, the dracogenius that he is, had all the champions of the guilds run a race. The winner would get to rule Ravnica and that guy was... well you can read the online book. Oh yea, I didn't tell you? From ravnica forward you get a digital version of the book, which is really nice since they've sort of taken them out because "they just weren't selling" or something like that. Also around this time, EDH/Commander was really taking off and wotc has started making cards specifically for this format. Which brings us to Theros and the legendary rule.... which now states that you and your opponent(s) can keep one of the same type of legendary permanent. Also, if you have a legendary permanent and cast another one, you can choose which to keep and which to sacrifice. This made cards like Mox Opal and Jace the Mindsculptor a tad better since you could ditch the one you just used and get a "second use".
I know you probably only asked for a few things that have changed.. but now that I look at it, a lot of stuff has happened.