Yes, there is a possibility this is not the next fall set. But people are basing that on "because the name is weird". Really? No, the name is not weird.
Shards of Alara
Scars of Mirrodin
Champions of Kamigawa
... Warlords of Khanar
The name is perfectly acceptable. And considering the time this came out and the fact that Khanar is a plane and Sarkhan home, it is more likely than not that this IS the next fall set.
Liliana's Caress is much better - the discarded card doesn't matter, so it always gets you closer to the same goal, and a good one: killing the opponent - and was borderline playable at best. Waste your money, time and efforts not, people. This card's only relevant ability is "destroy target booster pack".
Look at it this way. They have hundreds of new ideas that can still be sculpted and have their boundaries extended in order to make the flavor/mechanics work as R&D wants them to work; popular, well-loved ideas/mechanics/planes from the past to revisit; and ideas that failed/were badly received.
As a company that owns an ever-growing game, WHY would they choose the 3d option for any reason other than "they have no other ideas left"? Why risk doing something bad again? Why start with boundaries that have proven bad when you can create new ones and/or use popular ideas?
I liked Homelands, Masques and Kamigawa too. Because I like pretty much everything about the game. But we gotta let those sets go.
@MisterMind: How far will I be to Brooklyn? Is it doable/reasonably fast to go there via subway/bus? If yes, no problem.
@Drew: That is great! Can you get in touch with your friends and confirm to me teh names/addresses of the stores, please? Specially the "very competitive" one in Manhattan.
@Zoomer: How good is that store? Lots of regular players/stuff to do? Or just a regular comic store that happens to sell Magic?
I will be in New York between December 19-29th and I would like to visit a Magic Store.
What I am looking for is a store with a good and regular player base so that I will be able to meet people to play/trade with, maybe a big tournament happening in one of those 10 days, and also good prices for sealed product (mainly the new Commander decks that will be out already when I go there).
Gold rares seems to be a Theros set thing.
Gold mythics seems to be a Theros block thing.
We should expect an Orzhov rare because the only Orzhov rare is a Mythic one, and all other color combinations that got a Mythic rare also have a regular rare.
We should expect Selesnya, Boros, Simic, etc mythics in the following expansions in the block. And we shouldn't expect extra regular rares for all combinations that already do have a regular rare.
This is awesome. Being a 3/5 is perfect because it makes it dodge Warleader's Helix and Mizzium Mortars without even needing to discard a card to protect it, meaning you will only need to protect it from true removal like Doom Blade. Should be specially juicy in a UR(w?) shell with Chandra's Phoenix, which is amazing synergy with this Merlin Sphinx here.
By my count, Mirrodin had 46 cards that cared whether your other cards where artifacts. This does NOT include: artifact removal/hate, cards that care about equiment, and cards that say non-artifact. 46/301=15%. If Theros had even just HALF this concentration of cards caring if other cards are enchantments or not, it would have 19 cards that care. The probability that only one of these would be spoiled in the first 103 (non basic lands) spoiled is about .0000005 (it's okay I'm a math major).
This is why we are calling foul on "enchantments matter".
That's fine, though, because Theros is not an "enchantments matter" set/block.
I will repeat, Theros is not an "enchantments matter" set/block.
Theros is a top-down set designed around Greek Mythology with a strong Enchantment component. This is because R&D designed Magic's pantheon of Gods as Enchantment Creatures whose presence is felt/shown through enchantments, auras and enchantment creatures. It is part of what the set is about, the mechanical execution of the Gods and their presence.
Just like Innistrad had a strong, very present tribal theme but was NOT a "tribal matters" block. It was top-down gothic horror, and making each characteristic creature of such a setting tribal cards was the mechanical execution, not the main mechanic of the set.
I see you share the same definition of "happens less often" as R&D. The same misunderstanding Richard Garfield had when he initially made the game
So, basically, what you are saying is that not only the guy you quoted, but R&D and Richard Garfield himself all misunderstand the role of rarity, while your opinion is the correct understanding?
It's not that you might not get the answer, it's that you're all but guaranteed not to get it. That's a huge difference. I'm not saying that Steam Augury loses games because it can be a dead draw, or because you might draw into bad cards, I'm saying it loses games because you're saying to your opponent "here, please get rid of what I need to stay alive another turn." If you honestly believe that digging for an answer when you're on a one turn clock is a rare situation, then I can only assume that you don't play a lot of Magic.
His point is that the opponent might not know what you need. Therefore, how can he GUARANTEE that you won't get what you need?
You shouldn't judge Limited cards in a vacuum. It's that simple.
Each Limited environment has its own characteristics, pace, archetypes, keywords, themes, etc, etc, etc.
Zendikar + Worldwake, the Limited environment Iona's Judgment played in, was one of the fastest EVER. Iona's Judgment was still a good, playable card, but was mediocre quite a few times and, often times, you would lose with it in hand.
Theros, on the other hand, is clearly all about heroes and monsters struggling. Big, monstrous creatures. Strong heroes. Enchantments, auras, Gods. It should be a lot slower than Zendikar - most of the Monstrous and Bestow costs are 5+. This card needs to cost 5+ mana in an environment like this one, and it should also be an Uncommon - the place where Wizards is putting unconditional (or almost unconditional) removal these days. See Doom Blade in M14.
There isn't a parallel between removal spells from different blocks. Iona's Judgment was the right card, cost and rarity for Zen Zen Wwk. Vanquish the Foul is overcosted on purpose, because Theros Limited wants it that way. Not because Wizards is stupid/forgot about Iona's Judgment/wants to get us angry.
Best argument against the previous statement is Thassa's Bident. If it would have a 3CC like the bow of Nylea and the Hammer of Purphorous i would have believed Thassa is 3U. As we are sure the bident is 2UU, i believe thassa is 2U
The Gods are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy more iconic and locked-in as a cycle than their weapons. They are the 5 main gods, of the 5 colors. They are supposed to be more equal, just as the Olympians are.
I'm not happy to bring this up, but hey, gotta do service for the community.
With Heliod, Nylea and now Purphoros all revealed with a casting cost of 3R with a considerably lower power-level than Thassa, I believe this card was leaked with a mistake and Thassa costs 3U.
Think about it: Just the scrying every turn + the 1U ability is *extremely* sick for just three mana. "all your guys have vigilance/trample" are much weaker, and the other God's activated abilities are all costly and slow - Heliod is basically a White Centaur Glade while he's not a creature, while Nylea is a bad, Trample version of Fires of Yavimaya.
The Gods all look strong when you do have the devotion - how would they not be? - but fairly weak without it. Thassa just looks miles above the rest at 2U, and with the other three having the *exact* same cost I think it's boogus that this unnoficially revelaed God costs 2U. I really do think the cost is 3U, and Erebos is 3B as well.
It's not a blue effect, except for all those other blue cards that have this effect.
It's not a clear Blue effect, color-pie wise, in the opinion of the game's head designer. Sometimes, though, he does lose, and stuff like Blue removal like this one and cards like Hornet Sting do see print. It doesn't mean that those cards don't offend part of the color-pie/walk over the limit line. They do.
Really, if we think and look deep enough, we can justify a LOT of things in any color. For example, direct damage. Every single RPG has direct damage spells in multiple elements. Magic Missiles, one of the most iconic ones, is basically just "magical energy". Any mana can cast that. Blue could cast chill-inducing damage spells, Green could cast earth damage spells, etc.
The color-pie is not only about flavor. It's about splitting the game's mechanics between the colors. There's a reason Green is the last color for Flying, even though we can conceive thousands and thousands of Green-aligned creatures with wings. Birds, Wyverns, heck, Butterflies, you name it. And still, Green only gets the occasional Bird/Bee/Dragon, in the few times that "flavor wins".
When it comes to creature removal, though, I do believe Wizards needs to draw the line and be more strict about crossing it. Take Chaos Warp for example, an incredibly flavorful and popular Rare from one of the Commander decks. MaRo explicitly said he's against that kind of card, even though it really does have Red's flavor. When we tie the scales more and more towards flavor, we get dangerous spells. Rapid Hybridzation and Curse of the Swine cross the line, in my opinion (and MaRo's and many others in this thread, it seems). We do get it that Blue has many similar cards and that the flavor is oozing here. Still, we feel that is stretching the color pie. That's all.
Shards of Alara
Scars of Mirrodin
Champions of Kamigawa
... Warlords of Khanar
The name is perfectly acceptable. And considering the time this came out and the fact that Khanar is a plane and Sarkhan home, it is more likely than not that this IS the next fall set.
As a company that owns an ever-growing game, WHY would they choose the 3d option for any reason other than "they have no other ideas left"? Why risk doing something bad again? Why start with boundaries that have proven bad when you can create new ones and/or use popular ideas?
I liked Homelands, Masques and Kamigawa too. Because I like pretty much everything about the game. But we gotta let those sets go.
@Drew: That is great! Can you get in touch with your friends and confirm to me teh names/addresses of the stores, please? Specially the "very competitive" one in Manhattan.
@Zoomer: How good is that store? Lots of regular players/stuff to do? Or just a regular comic store that happens to sell Magic?
Thanks, guys.
Oh, sorry. I meant the city/manhattan. All I really know is that my family booked an hotel near Central Park.
I will be in New York between December 19-29th and I would like to visit a Magic Store.
What I am looking for is a store with a good and regular player base so that I will be able to meet people to play/trade with, maybe a big tournament happening in one of those 10 days, and also good prices for sealed product (mainly the new Commander decks that will be out already when I go there).
Thanks in advance for your help!
Gold mythics seems to be a Theros block thing.
We should expect an Orzhov rare because the only Orzhov rare is a Mythic one, and all other color combinations that got a Mythic rare also have a regular rare.
We should expect Selesnya, Boros, Simic, etc mythics in the following expansions in the block. And we shouldn't expect extra regular rares for all combinations that already do have a regular rare.
That's fine, though, because Theros is not an "enchantments matter" set/block.
I will repeat, Theros is not an "enchantments matter" set/block.
Theros is a top-down set designed around Greek Mythology with a strong Enchantment component. This is because R&D designed Magic's pantheon of Gods as Enchantment Creatures whose presence is felt/shown through enchantments, auras and enchantment creatures. It is part of what the set is about, the mechanical execution of the Gods and their presence.
Just like Innistrad had a strong, very present tribal theme but was NOT a "tribal matters" block. It was top-down gothic horror, and making each characteristic creature of such a setting tribal cards was the mechanical execution, not the main mechanic of the set.
So, basically, what you are saying is that not only the guy you quoted, but R&D and Richard Garfield himself all misunderstand the role of rarity, while your opinion is the correct understanding?
His point is that the opponent might not know what you need. Therefore, how can he GUARANTEE that you won't get what you need?
You shouldn't judge Limited cards in a vacuum. It's that simple.
Each Limited environment has its own characteristics, pace, archetypes, keywords, themes, etc, etc, etc.
Zendikar + Worldwake, the Limited environment Iona's Judgment played in, was one of the fastest EVER. Iona's Judgment was still a good, playable card, but was mediocre quite a few times and, often times, you would lose with it in hand.
Theros, on the other hand, is clearly all about heroes and monsters struggling. Big, monstrous creatures. Strong heroes. Enchantments, auras, Gods. It should be a lot slower than Zendikar - most of the Monstrous and Bestow costs are 5+. This card needs to cost 5+ mana in an environment like this one, and it should also be an Uncommon - the place where Wizards is putting unconditional (or almost unconditional) removal these days. See Doom Blade in M14.
There isn't a parallel between removal spells from different blocks. Iona's Judgment was the right card, cost and rarity for Zen Zen Wwk. Vanquish the Foul is overcosted on purpose, because Theros Limited wants it that way. Not because Wizards is stupid/forgot about Iona's Judgment/wants to get us angry.
The Gods are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy more iconic and locked-in as a cycle than their weapons. They are the 5 main gods, of the 5 colors. They are supposed to be more equal, just as the Olympians are.
With Heliod, Nylea and now Purphoros all revealed with a casting cost of 3R with a considerably lower power-level than Thassa, I believe this card was leaked with a mistake and Thassa costs 3U.
Think about it: Just the scrying every turn + the 1U ability is *extremely* sick for just three mana. "all your guys have vigilance/trample" are much weaker, and the other God's activated abilities are all costly and slow - Heliod is basically a White Centaur Glade while he's not a creature, while Nylea is a bad, Trample version of Fires of Yavimaya.
The Gods all look strong when you do have the devotion - how would they not be? - but fairly weak without it. Thassa just looks miles above the rest at 2U, and with the other three having the *exact* same cost I think it's boogus that this unnoficially revelaed God costs 2U. I really do think the cost is 3U, and Erebos is 3B as well.
Thoughts?
It's not a clear Blue effect, color-pie wise, in the opinion of the game's head designer. Sometimes, though, he does lose, and stuff like Blue removal like this one and cards like Hornet Sting do see print. It doesn't mean that those cards don't offend part of the color-pie/walk over the limit line. They do.
Really, if we think and look deep enough, we can justify a LOT of things in any color. For example, direct damage. Every single RPG has direct damage spells in multiple elements. Magic Missiles, one of the most iconic ones, is basically just "magical energy". Any mana can cast that. Blue could cast chill-inducing damage spells, Green could cast earth damage spells, etc.
The color-pie is not only about flavor. It's about splitting the game's mechanics between the colors. There's a reason Green is the last color for Flying, even though we can conceive thousands and thousands of Green-aligned creatures with wings. Birds, Wyverns, heck, Butterflies, you name it. And still, Green only gets the occasional Bird/Bee/Dragon, in the few times that "flavor wins".
When it comes to creature removal, though, I do believe Wizards needs to draw the line and be more strict about crossing it. Take Chaos Warp for example, an incredibly flavorful and popular Rare from one of the Commander decks. MaRo explicitly said he's against that kind of card, even though it really does have Red's flavor. When we tie the scales more and more towards flavor, we get dangerous spells. Rapid Hybridzation and Curse of the Swine cross the line, in my opinion (and MaRo's and many others in this thread, it seems). We do get it that Blue has many similar cards and that the flavor is oozing here. Still, we feel that is stretching the color pie. That's all.