there's not that much value in them. Sure, one had a baleful strix, and they all have sol ring, but other than that it's not that value heavy.
Let's start with the Grixis deck (Nothing sub-$5, TCG Low)
Baleful Strix - $14.50
Thraximundar - $6.80
Sol Ring - $8
Strategic Planning - $25
That's $54 in secondary market value for reprints only! That's not counting what the new cards will be priced at, or anything sub $5. There's a few cards in it that are about $3 each.
The real reason, however, is the fear WotC has put into the average player about scarcity. With botches like Commander's Arsenal and Modern Masters fresh in the minds of players, they expect this to be some super scarce release. With early allocations, I'm not surprised (our LGS is only getting 3 sets of decks in the first wave). It's a perfect formula to generate paranoia and make people make poor decisions because they think they may not get any otherwise.
I would interprete protection from player like this:
gives hexproof to targeted instants and sorceries but does not give hexproof to acitvation of things like Icy Manipulator or ETB effects like Acidic Slime because in all these cases the source is the permanent and not the player.
Prevents all damage from global effects controlled by the player like Pyroclasm.
I dont understand why this can't be blocked, creatures block it, not players.
You would interpret it wrong.
This has protection from anything cast by that player, and protection from anything controlled by that player. That includes creatures, that Icy Manipulator, and the Acidic Slime. It also means that player's creatures can't block it. Damage dealt by anything that player controls is prevented.
I have noticed that holy day has not been reprinted in the past several core sets, as if it has been phased out in favor of fog, and I wonder why that is. I asked a friend of mine about this, and he responded by saying that fog is the original card for preventing damage, and while I cannot argue with that, I do believe that that is a poor reason for favoring it over holy day.
By that logic, WotC should retire naturalize and bring back disenchant, since the latter predates the former, although that is not likely to happen, since naturalize makes more sense in terms of the color pie than does disenchant, and it is is more appropriate from both a flavor and a mechanical perspective. By that logic, I believe that holy day is the more appropriate card for preventing damage than is fog, since the idea of peace and nonviolence is typically associated more often with white than it is with green (note that I said "typically," since white is also the color of facism and discrimination in this game, as well, traits that can lead to acts of great violence).
What does everyone else say? Why has fog seen a resurgence of popularity over holy day, despite the latter being a better choice for its effect, similarly to naturalize is being favored over disenchant?
Green has returned to being the color for fog effects (preventing combat damage).
White has taken a broader "prevent all damage" form of fog effect instead. See Safe Passage, Riot Control, and the like.
I was wondering because I want to make a Merfolk deck (wanted a deck theme around Sirens), yet I have not worked with Merfolk builds before, so I looked at some builds and saw the Modern Builds. I may change a few cards for my liking but I see the deck I'll build being the same. I just feel like it is not creative enough to build a deck that someone else has made.
Is this not creative enough for a brewer?
Who cares if it's "creative"? Given enough time, even with no knowledge, your deck will start looking closer and closer to a NetDeck if you're succeeding in tuning a winning deck.
Some friends and I built Jund (SHA/ZEN Standard) on a drunken evening starting with the conversation "I want to run Terminate and Maelstrom Pulse in the same deck". We were about 1-2 cards off the 'optimal' list overnight. Were we suddenly creative or uncreative based off of contact with the optimal list? No. We built using our knowledge and ended up building very similarly to the original built. I'd consider that to be a pretty effective rough list.
You know, I hope we get kamigawa taplands in theros. I don't think the kids nowadays understand how good they have it mana wise. Plenti of mana fixing and not a stone rain in sight. Standard, even without the checklands, has the best mana base since vivid creek/reflecting pool. With the checklands, the best manabase ever.
Fetches would further this problem, not help it. Some of us can't afford to dump hundreds of dollars into a standard deck, much less a hundred for the lands.
Budget standard decks. 1995-2009
Then you run basics, gates, or other budget analogues for expensive manabases, just like everyone has since the dawn of Magic.
Find a budget option for corner case non-land mythics (cards that are backbones to decks) and we can start talking "budget" decks again.
"There will be an exclusive box set for sale at the Hasbro Toy Shop booth (#3329) available for $65 (tax included). After the event a limited number will be put up for sale on the Hasbro Toy Shop website for $59.99 plus tax."
More crap, at least Season and Liliana's Wake could have had more color than the ****ty muddybrown and necropurple most black cards have.
Also, hating on fictional breasts doesn't make you look cool or mature, it makes you look like an even more tit-fixated douche than the people who obsess over them.
As opposed to those who voted for Season because, "PUMPKINS"? Food obsession?
At the most, the rest of the arts represented the creature discard side of the effect. None of the others represented the other potential results. I voted for Waste Not because it has the best chance to represent the whole card, not one convenient facet.
I've seen people do this a million times, and every time I laugh because as they go to tap, I call the card they are about to play and they think I can see their hand.
Please continue to do this. Those who don't get it will be puzzled. I will get what you're doing, and start sorting lands into "possible" cards in my hand as soon as the next turn to bluff.
You're either telling your opponent you know what's up, costing your information advantage, or your opponent doesn't get it and you confirm your information advantage isn't going to amount to much. Too risky to me just to be a show off.
Last time I was told I had no chance for Top 8 as a reason for concession, I beat him and got 8th place in the Swiss.
Let's start with the Grixis deck (Nothing sub-$5, TCG Low)
Baleful Strix - $14.50
Thraximundar - $6.80
Sol Ring - $8
Strategic Planning - $25
That's $54 in secondary market value for reprints only! That's not counting what the new cards will be priced at, or anything sub $5. There's a few cards in it that are about $3 each.
The real reason, however, is the fear WotC has put into the average player about scarcity. With botches like Commander's Arsenal and Modern Masters fresh in the minds of players, they expect this to be some super scarce release. With early allocations, I'm not surprised (our LGS is only getting 3 sets of decks in the first wave). It's a perfect formula to generate paranoia and make people make poor decisions because they think they may not get any otherwise.
You would interpret it wrong.
This has protection from anything cast by that player, and protection from anything controlled by that player. That includes creatures, that Icy Manipulator, and the Acidic Slime. It also means that player's creatures can't block it. Damage dealt by anything that player controls is prevented.
Green has returned to being the color for fog effects (preventing combat damage).
White has taken a broader "prevent all damage" form of fog effect instead. See Safe Passage, Riot Control, and the like.
Who cares if it's "creative"? Given enough time, even with no knowledge, your deck will start looking closer and closer to a NetDeck if you're succeeding in tuning a winning deck.
Some friends and I built Jund (SHA/ZEN Standard) on a drunken evening starting with the conversation "I want to run Terminate and Maelstrom Pulse in the same deck". We were about 1-2 cards off the 'optimal' list overnight. Were we suddenly creative or uncreative based off of contact with the optimal list? No. We built using our knowledge and ended up building very similarly to the original built. I'd consider that to be a pretty effective rough list.
Then you run basics, gates, or other budget analogues for expensive manabases, just like everyone has since the dawn of Magic.
Find a budget option for corner case non-land mythics (cards that are backbones to decks) and we can start talking "budget" decks again.
Fun fact : Every product from any corporation is a "Cash Grab". That's what businesses are designed to do.
As opposed to those who voted for Season because, "PUMPKINS"? Food obsession?
At the most, the rest of the arts represented the creature discard side of the effect. None of the others represented the other potential results. I voted for Waste Not because it has the best chance to represent the whole card, not one convenient facet.
"Let's focus on the zombie part" does not make any sense. There are other effects on the card too.
It may not destroy the land, but that doesn't mean it doesn't damage it. It just isn't a strong enough damage to sever your tie to the land for mana.
Please continue to do this. Those who don't get it will be puzzled. I will get what you're doing, and start sorting lands into "possible" cards in my hand as soon as the next turn to bluff.
You're either telling your opponent you know what's up, costing your information advantage, or your opponent doesn't get it and you confirm your information advantage isn't going to amount to much. Too risky to me just to be a show off.
Neighboring LGS from the sound of it isn't even selling it, just eBaying all his allocation. Yeah.
The deck that was a 50/50 turn 1 kill, over 75% turn two kill. No question the best "Standard" deck in history.
Especially since the new legend rules let you do "Academy, tap for mana. Play Academy, kill tapped one, tap for mana."