My only disappointment right now is that there turns out to be no actual cycle of wedge legends (granted that Jodah is technically five-color...). But I did see four cards that have a shot at entering my Commander Rashmi chart--Broken Bond, Territorial Allosaurus, Precognition Field, and Tatyova, Benthic Druid. (It's EtB-based, using recasting as the main mechanism.) So I can't say I'm upset about the set.
Regarding the allegations of power level not being particularly high...Perhaps WotC is trying to lessen the game's overall power level? (Granted this is coming from someone for whom power by itself isn't interesting at all, no matter what the game in question is. I'd rather be cunning than strong.) As for motivation, I'm thinking in terms of "make sure games last to at least 7 or 8 turns per side", or thereabouts. (It's...been a long time since I played constructed; being trapped on Outer Cape Cod doesn't lend much to being able to play, especially not with my financial constraints. Not since Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block, I believe.) Or perhaps trying to decrease as much as possible the possibility of a lucky swath of commons/uncommons letting someone run roughshod over Draft.
I guess Dominaria looks a bit more interesting than your typical block but the "historic matters" theme is boring and repeatable as usual - to do something, cycle or discard a card (Amonkhet), you need to have an artifact entered or left the battlefirld this turn (Kaladesh), you need to have four different card types among cards in your graveyard (Innistrad), cast a historic spell (Dominaria)...
I wouldn't be surprised if the series of "boring and repeatable" themes has to do with focus on draft. (Do we know when WotC started making draft a major concern?) I'll grant I have no use for draft, but I do wonder if Constructed design and Draft design are inherently at cross purposes.
Just to get a sense of perspective, when would you say the last block whose theme wasn't "boring and repeatable" was?
Considering that the set gets a full spoiler well before the entire story is published, the spotlight cards are guaranteed to be spoilers.
(After seeing the fallout from this, I have to wonder what reactions to the full spoiling of In Bolas's Clutches will be like, whomever is in the clutches.)
After reading the article just now I kinda wish they kept her name Rumiko actually. Regardless, can't wait to get this card.
Tetsuko is a nickname used for female train nerds in Japan. Rumiko would have been better. And the haircut is awful. She looks like some bland podcaster.
I wish Christopher Moeller were still painting for MTG and did her art. Rumiko sounds like a sad loss for an awesome named character. If we were returning to Kamigawa or at least getting some freaking Kamigawa themed cards sometime this millennium, I could look forward to seeing a Rumiko somewhere. But "Market Research" is too busy ruining this game worse than the reserve list.
Lo, is there some requisite that human (or elf, or merfolk, or...) characters be attractive?
As for the naming (which is barely a mar, and only because of the phonetic confusion possibility with Tetsuo--and yes, Tetsuko is a valid feminine name in Japan), it probably depends on what etymology you're looking for. Looking up the name Rumiko in Jeffrey's (http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/FG=r/dict), I did get at least one set that looked interesting. One that reads "reality child" when translated to English (sadly, the board isn't accepting kanji right now). Now, whether this particular Rumiko is common in Japan might be another story (Jeffrey's returned about fifty names that can be read as "Rumiko").
Me, I would have gone for Sagiko, but that's just my bird mania talking (sagi=heron).
A refresh of a question I asked here a few years ago, only this time without cycles strictly inferior to something else (e.g. Salt Flats, Aysen Abbey). Left out were the Lorwyn tribal lands (not really a multicolor cycle) and the Rivals of Ixalan discovery lands (I don't think we can expect allied versions anytime soon, not until we go to Torrezon).
Nice card in an even nicer set. This set will not be forgotten like all the crapp before it.
Wish richard garfield could stay and work on more sets. That man is the only reason dominaria will be great.
I hope wizards learned a few things on buildings sets now.
Because if they go from hero with garfield to zero with rosewater again it is seriously going to be cost them this time.
Yes please. The design sensibilities in this set feel a lot more fresh and a lot let by the numbers than they have in a long time. Sadly I'm sure Garfield is probably going to leave to work on other things but I hope that R&D takes notes. (Sadly, again, I doubt they will.)
I know I honestly wonder if part of the problem might be emphasis on draft concerns. I do get the feeling that for the most part, commons and uncommons are made for draft, rares for constructed. It's not a possibility that sits well with me; I feel like uncommons, at least, should be nuts-and-bolts material for constructed, not be rendered pointless after the draft game. And we certainly have the former with this set, with all the uncommon legends, not to mention things like Damping Sphere.
(Do we know when WotC started making draft a major concern? I'm thinking that the latest would be Zendikar, considering the infamous Lotus Cobra was probably made mythic precisely because of draft concerns.)
Kryptnyt brought up a good point in their commentary on Firesong and Sunspeaker, that Boros seems to be relegated to being the Lightning Helix dyad. Sort of like how for quite some time, Izzet was relegated to being the sorcery/instant-swarm dyad. However, remembering Master Warcraft gave me an idea on how else Boros might work...
Milivoj, Boros Strategist
Legendary Creature--Minotaur Soldier
3/4
Soldier creatures you control have provoke.
Rather than the attacking player, you assign the combat damage of each creature attacking you. You can divide that creature's combat damage as you choose among any of the creatures blocking it.
Yes, the second ability is copy-pasted from the Oracle wording for Defensive Formation. I will say I worry if there'll be enough room on the card for provoke reminder text.
I would have liked to set Milivoj up to be a one-sided Invasion Plans on top of the Defensive Formation, but I decided the tribal provoke was simpler.
Maybe he should be 3RW?
EDIT: Bah, checking Boros commanders already existing, it seems Lightning Helix effects aren't nearly as heavily represented as I thought. I just misinterpreted Kryptnyt's comment. But at least we have combat manipulation...
Right, we just need to make sure it lasts until the end of your next turn (read: the opponents can't do anything to it on their turns, either). Let's try "Each creature that entered the battlefield under your control since your last turn has hexproof." (I hope that covers anything you flash in on an opponent's turn.)
Tidal Hierophant
Creature--Merfolk Druid
1/4
Whenever you cast a non-colorless creature spell, you may pay less to cast it. If you do, when that creature enters the battlefield, return a creature you control that shares a color with it to its owner's hand. (You may return the creature you just summoned.)
(Yes, gating on demand. Granted that all colors had gating in Planeshift, but I get the feeling that GU is who would make the most sense for being able to apply it to any creature. Might be my GU-bias, though...)
Obscuring Nimbus
Enchantment
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, it gains hexproof until the end of your next turn.
(Note: Back when I put this up on the old WotC boards, someone suggested a different wording to make sure no one could respond with removal before the hexproof actually took effect. Only problem is, those aren't there any longer, and so I can't find the suggested wording.)
I finally settled on an EtB theme for my Rashmi deck, with some countering on the side, and a measure of cloning. Only problem is, it's currently overstocked at 105, courtesy of trying to get tutors in, but not being able to figure out what needed winnowing. So for now, the overstocked deck.
Obligatory disclaimer: No play experience, not with having constricted finances and transportation. This will be a work in progress as new sets are released. That way, I don't buy anything unnecessary prior to when I do get to start playing.
(Yes, I like to code-name my decks after Moody Blues songs whenever I can get away with it. What of it?)
Some notes...
--No Glen Elendra Archmage or Sensei's Divining Top: Mostly because I'm trying to avoid having too many high-monetary-cost cards (while I have lands like Flooded Grove in there...), partly because I can't find room for them.
--No Green Sun's Zenith or Worldly Tutor: For the former, I prefer Chord of Calling on account of it being an instant, even if it's mana-costed to match. For the latter, not much point when I can flicker/recast Brutalizer Exarch instead. Same principle as having Riverwise Augur rather than Brainstorm.
--Sunken Hope and Words of Wind: Bouncing my own creatures is good--it lets me reactivate Rashmi with a CMC of my choosing, and repeat an EtB in the process. Everybody else suffers a loss of tempo (although I have to look out for other EtB users in the process). That said, I'm wondering if both are necessary.
--Beast Within and Krosan Grip: Break in case of Torpor Orb. Might need something else for Hushwing Gryff, though. When Dominaria comes out, I might replace Krosan Grip with Broken Bond (and that's assuming I don't somehow use both).
--Exotic Orchard, Meteor Crater, Thran Quarry: In case I clone or steal something with an off-color-identity activation cost or kicker.
--Traverse the Ulvenwald: I'm admittedly worried that I won't have the delirium trigger when I need it. This isn't a self-milling deck, after all.
One thought I'm having about Bolas's plans for Ravnica, if the conceit is that it's going to be the new center of the Multiverse. Namely, the shift isn't going to start for another few decades in-universe. Bolas, however, wants to be in control of the plane before then. We don't know if there's anything special that happens when the center shifts, but if there is, I imagine Bolas will be in a prime position to reap the benefits if he's already ruler of Ravnica. Point being, so long as the shift isn't sudden, but gradual, there could be cause to focus on Dominaria and Ravnica simultaneously for the next few years.
EDIT: Now that I think of it, didn't Rosewater mention that the year-labeled core sets portrayed Shandalar in part because Dominaria had been given a post-apocalyptic timbre via Time Spiral? Maybe that's why they're considering shifting centers--Dominaria's current "hat" isn't as appealing as Ravnica's, and they don't have any short- or long-term plans to remove that hat.
[...]
In "The Hand That Moves" from Amonkhet
[...]
That passage sounds suspiciously like the Immortal Sun being used to destroy the Guildpact. Which makes some sense - since the Immortal Sun contains Azor's spark, can it be used to undo Azor's other creations?
That's an important catch, given what we now know. It makes sense that if Nicol Bolas wants to dominate Ravnica, he'll have to destroy the Guildpact. I doubt that dominating a single plane, albeit an important one, is the end of Bolas' plans though. My understanding is that early drafts of the RtR storyline had Ravnica become the new centre of the Multiverse. As others have speculated, what if they were saving that story beat for later? Ruling the literal centre of everything? Now that's a goal worthy of Nicol Bolas.
On a meta level, Wizards clearly wants to pass the torch of Magic's main plane from Dominaria to Ravnica. If Bolas destroys the Guildpact, then Ravnica becomes the perfect blank lore-canvas. They get to keep the diverse, developed, (and popular) urban setting, but they rid themselves of the restrictions that every character and story needs a basis in the guild system. They also get to have the climax of their current story happen on a plane that both recent and long-enfranchised players care about, and where their flagship characters are based. It's marketing genius, and it makes me frankly excited for the future of the story.
I somehow doubt the guilds, in that scenario, would be abolished outright; they just wouldn't have their hieromantic (hierourgic?) basis. If they want to stick around (and they probably will...not to mention that the fanbase too will want them around in some fashion), they'll need to start treating the Gateless more amiably.
An interesting thought occurs to me, by the way--could shabby treatment of the Gateless have been in some way a direct result of Azor's original Guildpact? Azor seems more interested in creating rules-monuments to himself than in sustaining decent life, after all. Maybe he expected all of Ravnica to eventually be guilded.
I will confess that I had thoughts that Ravnica would ultimately undergo some sort of plane-shift and become a (still-habitable) moon of Dominaria. Maybe this won't be the case, but I'd still like to see the other multicolor stars, Alara and Tarkir, get some upcoming prominence. (Granted there's the problem of how to restore the khanates, since only the dragonlords, Vol, and Narset seem to know of them--and most of those have an investment of some sort in keeping the broods around.)
I wouldn't be surprised if the series of "boring and repeatable" themes has to do with focus on draft. (Do we know when WotC started making draft a major concern?) I'll grant I have no use for draft, but I do wonder if Constructed design and Draft design are inherently at cross purposes.
Just to get a sense of perspective, when would you say the last block whose theme wasn't "boring and repeatable" was?
(After seeing the fallout from this, I have to wonder what reactions to the full spoiling of In Bolas's Clutches will be like, whomever is in the clutches.)
Lo, is there some requisite that human (or elf, or merfolk, or...) characters be attractive?
As for the naming (which is barely a mar, and only because of the phonetic confusion possibility with Tetsuo--and yes, Tetsuko is a valid feminine name in Japan), it probably depends on what etymology you're looking for. Looking up the name Rumiko in Jeffrey's (http://rut.org/cgi-bin/j-e/FG=r/dict), I did get at least one set that looked interesting. One that reads "reality child" when translated to English (sadly, the board isn't accepting kanji right now). Now, whether this particular Rumiko is common in Japan might be another story (Jeffrey's returned about fifty names that can be read as "Rumiko").
Me, I would have gone for Sagiko, but that's just my bird mania talking (sagi=heron).
A refresh of a question I asked here a few years ago, only this time without cycles strictly inferior to something else (e.g. Salt Flats, Aysen Abbey). Left out were the Lorwyn tribal lands (not really a multicolor cycle) and the Rivals of Ixalan discovery lands (I don't think we can expect allied versions anytime soon, not until we go to Torrezon).
I know I honestly wonder if part of the problem might be emphasis on draft concerns. I do get the feeling that for the most part, commons and uncommons are made for draft, rares for constructed. It's not a possibility that sits well with me; I feel like uncommons, at least, should be nuts-and-bolts material for constructed, not be rendered pointless after the draft game. And we certainly have the former with this set, with all the uncommon legends, not to mention things like Damping Sphere.
(Do we know when WotC started making draft a major concern? I'm thinking that the latest would be Zendikar, considering the infamous Lotus Cobra was probably made mythic precisely because of draft concerns.)
Milivoj, Boros Strategist
Legendary Creature--Minotaur Soldier
3/4
Soldier creatures you control have provoke.
Rather than the attacking player, you assign the combat damage of each creature attacking you. You can divide that creature's combat damage as you choose among any of the creatures blocking it.
Yes, the second ability is copy-pasted from the Oracle wording for Defensive Formation. I will say I worry if there'll be enough room on the card for provoke reminder text.
I would have liked to set Milivoj up to be a one-sided Invasion Plans on top of the Defensive Formation, but I decided the tribal provoke was simpler.
Maybe he should be 3RW?
EDIT: Bah, checking Boros commanders already existing, it seems Lightning Helix effects aren't nearly as heavily represented as I thought. I just misinterpreted Kryptnyt's comment. But at least we have combat manipulation...
Creature--Merfolk Druid
1/4
Whenever you cast a non-colorless creature spell, you may pay
(Yes, gating on demand. Granted that all colors had gating in Planeshift, but I get the feeling that GU is who would make the most sense for being able to apply it to any creature. Might be my GU-bias, though...)
Enchantment
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, it gains hexproof until the end of your next turn.
(Note: Back when I put this up on the old WotC boards, someone suggested a different wording to make sure no one could respond with removal before the hexproof actually took effect. Only problem is, those aren't there any longer, and so I can't find the suggested wording.)
Obligatory disclaimer: No play experience, not with having constricted finances and transportation. This will be a work in progress as new sets are released. That way, I don't buy anything unnecessary prior to when I do get to start playing.
1 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Lands (36)
9 Forest
9 Island
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Botanical Sanctum
1 Breeding Pool
1 Command Tower
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Flooded Grove
1 Halimar Depths
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Lumbering Falls
1 Meteor Crater
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Soldevi Excavations
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of the False God
1 Thornwood Falls
1 Thran Quarry
1 Yavimaya Coast
Creatures (31)
1 Acidic Slime
1 Altered Ego
1 Archaeomancer
1 Brutalizer Exarch
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Draining Whelk
1 Eternal Witness
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Icefall Regent
1 Kruphix, God of Horizons
1 Master Thief
1 Murkfiend Liege
1 Mystic Snake
1 Progenitor Mimic
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Riverwise Augur
1 Scourge of Fleets
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Stunt Double
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Torrential Gearhulk
1 Trygon Predator
1 Vizier of the Menagerie
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
1 As Foretold
1 Cream of the Crop
1 Future Sight
1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
1 Jace's Sanctum
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Mind's Dilation
1 Soothsaying
1 Sunken Hope
1 Words of Wind
Artifacts (7)
1 Conjurer's Closet
1 Crystal Ball
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Panharmonicon
1 Simic Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
Planeswalkers (1)
1 Nissa, Steward of Elements
Sorceries (5)
1 Cultivate
1 Primal Command
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Traverse the Ulvenwald
1 Urban Evolution
Instants (15)
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Desertion
1 Dig Through Time
1 Disallow
1 Dissolve
1 Fated Infatuation
1 Ghostly Flicker
1 Heroic Intervention
1 Krosan Grip
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Noxious Revival
1 Reincarnation
1 Simic Charm
1 Spell Swindle
(Yes, I like to code-name my decks after Moody Blues songs whenever I can get away with it. What of it?)
Some notes...
--No Glen Elendra Archmage or Sensei's Divining Top: Mostly because I'm trying to avoid having too many high-monetary-cost cards (while I have lands like Flooded Grove in there...), partly because I can't find room for them.
--No Green Sun's Zenith or Worldly Tutor: For the former, I prefer Chord of Calling on account of it being an instant, even if it's mana-costed to match. For the latter, not much point when I can flicker/recast Brutalizer Exarch instead. Same principle as having Riverwise Augur rather than Brainstorm.
--Sunken Hope and Words of Wind: Bouncing my own creatures is good--it lets me reactivate Rashmi with a CMC of my choosing, and repeat an EtB in the process. Everybody else suffers a loss of tempo (although I have to look out for other EtB users in the process). That said, I'm wondering if both are necessary.
--Beast Within and Krosan Grip: Break in case of Torpor Orb. Might need something else for Hushwing Gryff, though. When Dominaria comes out, I might replace Krosan Grip with Broken Bond (and that's assuming I don't somehow use both).
--Exotic Orchard, Meteor Crater, Thran Quarry: In case I clone or steal something with an off-color-identity activation cost or kicker.
--Traverse the Ulvenwald: I'm admittedly worried that I won't have the delirium trigger when I need it. This isn't a self-milling deck, after all.
EDIT: Now that I think of it, didn't Rosewater mention that the year-labeled core sets portrayed Shandalar in part because Dominaria had been given a post-apocalyptic timbre via Time Spiral? Maybe that's why they're considering shifting centers--Dominaria's current "hat" isn't as appealing as Ravnica's, and they don't have any short- or long-term plans to remove that hat.
I somehow doubt the guilds, in that scenario, would be abolished outright; they just wouldn't have their hieromantic (hierourgic?) basis. If they want to stick around (and they probably will...not to mention that the fanbase too will want them around in some fashion), they'll need to start treating the Gateless more amiably.
An interesting thought occurs to me, by the way--could shabby treatment of the Gateless have been in some way a direct result of Azor's original Guildpact? Azor seems more interested in creating rules-monuments to himself than in sustaining decent life, after all. Maybe he expected all of Ravnica to eventually be guilded.
I will confess that I had thoughts that Ravnica would ultimately undergo some sort of plane-shift and become a (still-habitable) moon of Dominaria. Maybe this won't be the case, but I'd still like to see the other multicolor stars, Alara and Tarkir, get some upcoming prominence. (Granted there's the problem of how to restore the khanates, since only the dragonlords, Vol, and Narset seem to know of them--and most of those have an investment of some sort in keeping the broods around.)