The awkward distribution was to support the set strategies: WB Clerics, UB Rogues, RW Warriors, UR Wizards, and RG and GW Landfall. The other four will be in Kaldheim.
Okay thanks man.
Boy this random split was not an elegant solution.
Besides, don't the other pairs also have strategies? GU kicker, BG counters-matter?
I can see doing 5 now, 5 later, but 6 now, 4 later? Am I missing something? No Azorius, Rakdos, Golgari, Simic? I have not been following spoiler season closely so apologies if this is just known already.
Really not a big fan of D&D and Magic intermingling like this.
Also not a fan of the Core Set being apparently missing. We already went through the "phase out the Core Set" thing didn't we, and realized it was a mistake?
I'll be curious to see how color balance works in either of the Innistrad sets. Like in Werewolves, RG is the werewolves, white can be slayers...what do the other two colors do? White and blue get left out in both these cases.
Oddly enough, I'm most excited for Strixhaven. It'll be fun for a deep dive at what a magical college might look like, other than the passing references we get from Tolaria. If they don't lean too heavily on Harry Potter, this could be cool.
Cue Tiro of Meletis post: "Pretty disappointing that this isn't Theros and/or Kamigawa, which have objectively superior flavor."
Hal and Alena finally getting cards is absolutely a good call.
I admire that they have individual cards, but also partner. I'd love to see this for Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis.
Partner being in the set seems to imply we may get reprints of the C16 legends? That would be amazing. May not get them all, though. But Partner appearing in a draftable Commander set definitely makes sense. Allows for diverse, flexible play.
I hope see Pavios and Thanasis in the future.
I'd be feeling the lands if they weren't Kylem themed. Meh.
Without fail, when I'm looking at new spoilers, I'll scroll down through the comments and usually by the end of the first page find one reply that irks me, usually because it's complaining in some petty way about the reveal.
Then usually the second part of that reply, there will be a comment about how the post wishes this new card/product had been connected to Theros somehow. Without fail, it will be this account.
It's fine to put your perpetually negative two cents in, and I guess it's fine to constantly lobby for more Theros, but do you really need to reply to this post 7 different times? At what point does a community member get flagged as a spammer? Really asking.
I'm actually with Tiro here. Vorthoses (Vorthi?) tend to get caught up on weird things like art, and I really don't like Kylem either. Had these illustrations featured Dominaria, Lorwyn, Kamigawa, Shandalar, Eldraine, Theros, Tarkir, New Phyrexia, or Innistrad, I'd be properly hyped, but as it is, I'm not all that interested.
I realize how ridiculous that sounds, and you're welcome to think it's stupid, since it's just not the way most Magic players tend to think. The notion that cool lands like these could be printed and that the art, of all things (which has nothing to do with gameplay anyway), should turn off certain players off sounds, perhaps, laughably absurd. I'm not even going to try defending it as rational - it can't be defended with logic. But as someone who would never put Kylem-themed art in one of my decks, I get it. It's purely an emotional response, and Kylem itself is off-putting to me.
More lands for you, I guess.
Glad to see another Vorthos that understands my perspective. I think it's entirely rational really - MTG are not playing cards, there's art for a reason, and if there weren't people with this perspective we wouldn't have the name Vorthos to being with.
That said, it's also strange to me that my post was called negative when it was actually largely positive with one critique rooted in personal and justified opinion. Kylem is rather shallow, isn't fleshed out in the lore and isn't aesthetically pleasing to me. The lands themselves are strong of course.
If you don't know what I'm referring to when I say that your posts are usually negative, I encourage you to click on your own user profile and choose "view posts" and just scroll through.
I'm not kidding about the spam. I think we can all agree to assume that any new information comes out will meet your disapproval unless it's Theros-related. There, you don't have to post anymore!
Hal and Alena finally getting cards is absolutely a good call.
I admire that they have individual cards, but also partner. I'd love to see this for Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis.
Partner being in the set seems to imply we may get reprints of the C16 legends? That would be amazing. May not get them all, though. But Partner appearing in a draftable Commander set definitely makes sense. Allows for diverse, flexible play.
I hope see Pavios and Thanasis in the future.
I'd be feeling the lands if they weren't Kylem themed. Meh.
Without fail, when I'm looking at new spoilers, I'll scroll down through the comments and usually by the end of the first page find one reply that irks me, usually because it's complaining in some petty way about the reveal.
Then usually the second part of that reply, there will be a comment about how the post wishes this new card/product had been connected to Theros somehow. Without fail, it will be this account.
It's fine to put your perpetually negative two cents in, and I guess it's fine to constantly lobby for more Theros, but do you really need to reply to this post 7 different times? At what point does a community member get flagged as a spammer? Really asking.
Cards in Ravnica Allegiance that belong to the other (GRN) guilds
Boros: Angelic Exaltation Archway Angel? (Typically, Gate cards are purposefully unaligned or belong to the sort of eleventh faction, the "Gateless," but her white-and-red outfit and the prevalence of armored angels in Boros leans me towards Boros. See Gates Ablaze as a Gates-mechanic card tied to a guild)
Conclusion: If you were looking at the spoiler and it felt like the GRN guilds were represented more than you expected, it wasn't just your imagination. Dimir and Golgari were especially spotlighted.
Not sure why. I think it's good to have reminders that the other five non-spotlighted guilds are still around, but one would expect more consistency among numbers--not zero (Simic) or one appearance for some (Selesnya, Orzhov) and 5-6 for others (Dimir, Golgari).
Remember how in Guilds there was one card that referenced the Gruul? No rhyme nor reason to it, just a Gruul in a set where the Gruul were not featured. Yeah, I guess this is the Dimir returning the courtesy.
You call saying "meh" a critique? A critique means detailed analysis, which is impossible given zero information.
Ever since Innistrad successfully channeled Gothic horror tropes, they've been big on world building around "resonance": Egyptian, Greek mythology, age of discovery, etc. They were bound to get around to revisiting Viking/Norse more fully. Some early Ice Age art drew on its influences (for example), but it's been long enough to give it a proper treatment, just as early Arabian Nights didn't rule out Amonkhet. I'm not sure a perceived Viking/Norse trend from a few years back would be as much a motivator as just trying to expand to incorporate as many types of cultural fantasy as possible. (Btw, you could have added Thor to the list.)
Okay thanks man.
Boy this random split was not an elegant solution.
Besides, don't the other pairs also have strategies? GU kicker, BG counters-matter?
I can see doing 5 now, 5 later, but 6 now, 4 later? Am I missing something? No Azorius, Rakdos, Golgari, Simic? I have not been following spoiler season closely so apologies if this is just known already.
Also not a fan of the Core Set being apparently missing. We already went through the "phase out the Core Set" thing didn't we, and realized it was a mistake?
I'll be curious to see how color balance works in either of the Innistrad sets. Like in Werewolves, RG is the werewolves, white can be slayers...what do the other two colors do? White and blue get left out in both these cases.
Oddly enough, I'm most excited for Strixhaven. It'll be fun for a deep dive at what a magical college might look like, other than the passing references we get from Tolaria. If they don't lean too heavily on Harry Potter, this could be cool.
Cue Tiro of Meletis post: "Pretty disappointing that this isn't Theros and/or Kamigawa, which have objectively superior flavor."
If you don't know what I'm referring to when I say that your posts are usually negative, I encourage you to click on your own user profile and choose "view posts" and just scroll through.
I'm not kidding about the spam. I think we can all agree to assume that any new information comes out will meet your disapproval unless it's Theros-related. There, you don't have to post anymore!
Without fail, when I'm looking at new spoilers, I'll scroll down through the comments and usually by the end of the first page find one reply that irks me, usually because it's complaining in some petty way about the reveal.
Then usually the second part of that reply, there will be a comment about how the post wishes this new card/product had been connected to Theros somehow. Without fail, it will be this account.
It's fine to put your perpetually negative two cents in, and I guess it's fine to constantly lobby for more Theros, but do you really need to reply to this post 7 different times? At what point does a community member get flagged as a spammer? Really asking.
Wouldn't be surprised if each of the 5 guild leader PWs get the same uncommon treatment.
For reference:
Clan Guildmage
Combine Guildmage
Conclave Guildmage
Cult Guildmage
House Guildmage
League Guildmage
Legion Guildmage
Senate Guildmage
Swarm Guildmage
Syndicate Guildmage
My inclination is to put Senate highest simply for its very lost costs, but beyond that I'm not sure.
Gruul:
Maniacal Rage
Rubblebelt Boar
Street Riot
Azorius:
Luminous Bonds
Capture Sphere? (Similar to a Detention Sphere)
Muse Drake? (Azorius building in the background)
Orzhov:
Veiled Shade?
Rakdos:
Hellkite Whelp
Dead Weight? (The dungeon setting seems like a fit)
TOTAL: 6-9
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cards in Ravnica Allegiance that belong to the other (GRN) guilds
Boros:
Angelic Exaltation
Archway Angel? (Typically, Gate cards are purposefully unaligned or belong to the sort of eleventh faction, the "Gateless," but her white-and-red outfit and the prevalence of armored angels in Boros leans me towards Boros. See Gates Ablaze as a Gates-mechanic card tied to a guild)
Dimir:
Clear the Mind
Eyes Everywhere? (Nothing in the execution labels this as Dimir, but as the surveillance guild there's an argument to be made)
Mass Manipulation
Thought Collapse
Wall of Lost Thoughts
Izzet:
Swirling Torrent (Izzet are responsible for public works such as water supply systems)
Electrodominance
Gates Ablaze
Golgari:
Awaken the Erstwhile
Carrion Imp
Catacomb Crocodile?
Noxious Groodion (the only other Groodion was Golgari; deathtouch, art, and flavor all fit)
Undercity Scavenger
Undercity's Embrace
Selesnya:
Sagittars' Volley
TOTAL: 14-17
Conclusion: If you were looking at the spoiler and it felt like the GRN guilds were represented more than you expected, it wasn't just your imagination. Dimir and Golgari were especially spotlighted.
Not sure why. I think it's good to have reminders that the other five non-spotlighted guilds are still around, but one would expect more consistency among numbers--not zero (Simic) or one appearance for some (Selesnya, Orzhov) and 5-6 for others (Dimir, Golgari).
2. Chromatic Lantern
3. Cultivator's Caravan
4. Astral Cornucopia
5. Dragon's Hoard
6. Darksteel Ingot
7. Cryptolith Fragment
8. Vessel of Endless Rest
9. Spectral Searchlight
10. Manalith
11. Mana Prism
12. Celestial Prism
Feel free to disagree with my arbitrary rankings.
3C/2C Manalith Rankings also available
Gruul:
Maniacal Rage
Rubblebelt Boar
Street Riot
Azorius:
Luminous Bonds
Capture Sphere?
Orzhov:
Veiled Shade?
Rakdos:
Hellkite Whelp
Dead Weight?
You call saying "meh" a critique? A critique means detailed analysis, which is impossible given zero information.
Ever since Innistrad successfully channeled Gothic horror tropes, they've been big on world building around "resonance": Egyptian, Greek mythology, age of discovery, etc. They were bound to get around to revisiting Viking/Norse more fully. Some early Ice Age art drew on its influences (for example), but it's been long enough to give it a proper treatment, just as early Arabian Nights didn't rule out Amonkhet. I'm not sure a perceived Viking/Norse trend from a few years back would be as much a motivator as just trying to expand to incorporate as many types of cultural fantasy as possible. (Btw, you could have added Thor to the list.)
Surely his inclusion in a Ravnica product at least should have put him in the initial discussion.