What scares me is T1 Favored Hoplite T2 any of the two-mana enchantments.
I totally agree, most decks will struggle against a good heroic deck with a turn 1 Favored Hoplite. That card is a very high pick in my opinion but at the moment its common to see them go around the table..
The fast aggressive decks are the best in this format, specially in the white and red. Bestow creatures and specially monstrous creatures are just too slow. A good deck with lots of tricks and a low curve is unlikely to lose in this format.
My tip for drafting - draft fast, low cost creature decks. 16 lands max, no card above four mana cost. Best colour to be in for this strategy is red and white but they can be matched with any other colour. Heroic is the key, pick these creatures up highly (specially the white uncommons and the white flier). The symbiosis cards are first pickable, as are the order cards. You should win by turn 5 or 6 if drafted correctly. Of course pick up removal high too, such as divine verdict and searing spear. I have been cleaning up the MTGO prerelease drafts with this kind of deck and only ever lose when flooded or screwed. This format will in the end be a fast tempo format.
I don't know where I read it but somewhere some one showed a post from one of the creators that they said heroes get stronger. I don't know if he meant by +1/+1 counters or by level up counters.
Also I want cheap level up for all of them, 3G is not cheap no matter how you look at it. Hated having to play blue cards in a RG level up deck.
That was the only draw back to the level up mechanic in Rise, the cost was quite high for 95% of creatures. I believe the new twist on level-up will be that we will have other ways to level the creature (heroes) up, such as "Put a level counter on hero when ever an enchantment enters the battlefield" or "Put a level counter on hero when ever a monster is put into the graveyard" for example.
The way I understand it is that there are 5 mechanics in Theros:
A god mechanic
A hero mechanic
A monster mechanic
A returning mechanic
A semi-new mechanic that's really an old mechanic with some sort of improvement and a new name.
If I'm remembering everything correctly and if I correctly interpreted what was said, that means the god, hero, and monster mechanics are new. So leveling would probably be out.
Well I believe the semi-new mechanic is leveling-up and probably only for Heroes (so my Hydra example is a bad one really) but with a twist on the leveling -up from rise (as stated not paying mana for leveling up but some other way).
Hero - placed a level counter on hero when a monster dies/enters the battlefield, or for each equipment card attached to the hero or some other way.
I also remember reading somewhere that the devs of Rise wished leveling up were over a whole block not just a single set.
Why would they go with "Leveling up" the player at prerelease/release events if leveling up had nothing to do with the block?
I quote from the above article "And level up like a hero".
This is a good hint level up is back but will be slightly different then in Rise. Instead of paying mana to level up I believe there will be other requirements (such as going into a graveyard, damage the creature has done, damage taken etc). Or could just be same level up as in rise.
My guess is level up. I remember reading back when Rise was out that they liked the ability so much that they wished it was over a whole block instead of one set. Level up has been the most fun, strategic creature based mechanic in magic for a long time and would fit Theros nicely. Here's an example of a card for Theros - Hero Hydra - every time you level up it gets a new head? Maybe when Hydra dies put it back onto battlefield with a +1 level counter? Maybe if a hero kills a creature it "levels" up? The costs for leveling up can be expanded to other things outside mana cost. That would be flavorful and fun in my opinion
I really like these guys in Rise and they helped make the set one of the most fun drafts and sets ever. I would really like to see them back in Theros and I think they fit the theme very nicely, what do you think?
In my experience when someone does something like this (steal from employer), its to feed an addiction, be it drugs or more likely gambling of some kind, what ever the case I hope TSG gets the help he needs and pulls his life together (if he has stolen the stores cards).
I think you under rate Human Frailty. There are a tonne of humans in this set (from all colours) and this card should always be in your main deck not sideboard.
After looking over the entire set.. im worried about the limited side of this set, specially when compared to the very good DKA and INS were to draft. It just seems... boring? Pick the best cards of a color and thats it really.. or am I missing something? Are there draft decks/themes in AVR? ROE had plenty which made it fun as did INS... i'm just confused about this set regarding drafting...
One thing I do not like about the Miracle mechcanic is the MTGO implications. Everytime you draw a miracle card the game will pause, and your opponent will know you drew a miracle card, even if you don't play it. If they watched your replays or this is the second or third round they will have a good idea what card you drew.
If you have Avacyn, Angel of Hope and a plainswalker you control on the battlefield and the plainswalker goes to zero or less loyalty tokens, does this plainswalker still die?
I totally agree, most decks will struggle against a good heroic deck with a turn 1 Favored Hoplite. That card is a very high pick in my opinion but at the moment its common to see them go around the table..
That was the only draw back to the level up mechanic in Rise, the cost was quite high for 95% of creatures. I believe the new twist on level-up will be that we will have other ways to level the creature (heroes) up, such as "Put a level counter on hero when ever an enchantment enters the battlefield" or "Put a level counter on hero when ever a monster is put into the graveyard" for example.
Well I believe the semi-new mechanic is leveling-up and probably only for Heroes (so my Hydra example is a bad one really) but with a twist on the leveling -up from rise (as stated not paying mana for leveling up but some other way).
Hero - placed a level counter on hero when a monster dies/enters the battlefield, or for each equipment card attached to the hero or some other way.
I also remember reading somewhere that the devs of Rise wished leveling up were over a whole block not just a single set.
Why would they go with "Leveling up" the player at prerelease/release events if leveling up had nothing to do with the block?
Hydra (That green card already seen cant think of the name)
Cost - 2G2C
4/4 - level 1
8/8 - level 2
16/16 - level 3
With text - "When Hydra is placed into the graveyard from play, return with a +1 level counter"
Cool er?
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/257c
I quote from the above article "And level up like a hero".
This is a good hint level up is back but will be slightly different then in Rise. Instead of paying mana to level up I believe there will be other requirements (such as going into a graveyard, damage the creature has done, damage taken etc). Or could just be same level up as in rise.
If you have Avacyn, Angel of Hope and a plainswalker you control on the battlefield and the plainswalker goes to zero or less loyalty tokens, does this plainswalker still die?