I think this is another case of "Looking too deep into something". While I understand that Wizard's development/creative team is run by (largely) fellow tabletop gaming/fantasy "geeks" who have similiar tastes as ours as to how we absorb our fiction...but in a lot of cases, Malfegor included, I think the creative team wanted to put "Demon-Dragon" because they thought it was cool. Not because they had some idea of a demon and dragon doing it. Not because they assumed someone on Grixis would do a ritual that would cause a dragon to become a demon. Not because a demon was summoned with a few gallons too much Dragon blood. I think it doesn't go any deeper than "demon (or dragon) is boring. Lets make it a demon dragon." If it does (to any lore fans out there), I'd still wager that the lore came after the decision to make him a demon-dragon.
I'd say that Malfegor is just a manifestation of the way red and black mana combine in Grixis (and Jund). It would be nice if Alara had played with this trope a little more... not a full cycle, but a couple of other "multiple incarnations". Kraken Dragon. Angel Beast. Treefolk Dragon. Giant Octopus. Wait, that last one is terrible.
okay, so maybe i'm just slow, but the pictures say 15 new commanders. right below that, it says 3 wedge colors and 2 enemy colors. does 3+2 not equal 5?
or is it now 15?
okay, so maybe i'm just slow, but the pictures say 15 new commanders. right below that, it says 3 wedge colors and 2 enemy colors. does 3+2 not equal 5?
or is it now 15?
I think it needs to be reeded that way:
3-Color Wedge Legends aka. 'wedge is a 3-color combination'
2-Color Enemy Color Legends aka 'enemy colors is a combination of 2 enemy colors'
If there's 5 decks, it's 10 new wedge generals and 5 enemy color generals, i guess..
Wow. Sorin and Gideon confirmed for M12 (which is just pure awesome in my opinion, Gideon > Ajani), and nobody has jumped in with the conclusion that Jace2 will be reprinted in the core set alongside them? I for one would enjoy another year of playing my Jaces
On topic, though, the commander cards are pretty cool, the UR one could spawn a pretty cool deck.
It's not that it prevents them from having a class - it's that it usually grants them enough power and natural ability (not just strength but, in D&D terms, all attributes and racial hit dice) to need no training to be successful. Most dragons, angels, elementals, demons, and the like are classless, not because they can't learn (though Magic dragons are more often bestial than they are intelligent), but because they don't need to know how to throw fireballs, dodge effectively, or strike effectively. Metathran and flamekin don't have this advantage - they are closer to humans in raw power than other created beings, so they need to train. Warrior Angel is a "victim" of policy, so to speak. She was never printed as a Warrior, and only got the Warrior type (which is very rare as a white creature type to start with) because of the policy that if a creature type appears in a card name, the creature needs to have the creature type as well. But yes, and angel that wanted could gain classes, I'm sure. Are they created as soldiers? Maybe, though I'd rather say that they are created to act as soldiers, similar to how Necrites act as assassins without being Assassins.
It does get weirder with creatures like Giants and Ogres, admittedly. They are quite more powerful than humans, but often have classes, but often they don't. It may be related to them being kind of between the levels of human/goblin/zombie versus angel/dragon/demon (the Titans are comparable to the latter in power and don't have classes), it may be related to set/block needs (The Lor/Sha giants), creative decisions at the time, or oddities with the Great Creature Type Update.
As for demon-dragon crossbreeding, well, angels obviously have secondary sexual characteristics, and from the look of it, so would female demons. This may well extend to primary sexual characteristics. Why they would have them when they are not reproducing, I can't say, but since they already have the secondary characteristics when they shouldn't have them in the first place...
All of the elementals that imitate a civilized people, ie flamekin, have a class, the others which run around like wild beasts don't. Seems to be an intelligence issue just like with people. Also, how could it be a power issue, if there are such weak elementals with no class? Once again points towards being civilized and intelligent enough to learn the class instead of needing to make up for a lack of power.
If an angel inately dodges and strikes like a soldier or a knight... then how are they not one? If they wear armor, wield a shield and a sword, strike in the same manner that would let you hit before the enemy has a chance, in the same fashion that a knight or soldier would, attack with such vigilance so that you can defend after attacking in the same way a knight or soldier would, what about wings exempts you from being classified in the same occupation? A race isn't a class, it makes no since that just because you're an angel you aren't considered to be a soldier or knight, and yet act in a very similar manner.
You also bring up ogres and giants who have classes and yet are vastly stronger than humans, how would they be between the level of an elemental people and feral elementals? Where there are plenty of giants who are definetely bigger than shinewend. That seems to completely blow out your own theory of inate prowess overcoming the need of a class.
is it safe to assume that some portion of that remaining ten are mono-colored cards?
No, because there are two new wedge generals and one new enemy color general per deck.
The oversized generals will only be the ones that can be used as generals for the decks proper. The enemy colored generals won't qualify for that.
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Wow. Sorin and Gideon confirmed for M12 (which is just pure awesome in my opinion, Gideon > Ajani), and nobody has jumped in with the conclusion that Jace2 will be reprinted in the core set alongside them? I for one would enjoy another year of playing my Jaces
On topic, though, the commander cards are pretty cool, the UR one could spawn a pretty cool deck.
Thats not true. the art you re referring to is duels of the planeswalkers 2012 not m12. I don't think they want to extend jace's tenure in standard from 2 to 3 years.
each deck contains the corresponding Planar Chaos Dragon (such as Intet, the Dreamer) as well as two new legendary commanders in those colors, plus oversized foil versions of all three.
Oversized is in addition to the normal cards, obviously.
Let me ask a question: are they releasing oversized generals without giving the respective normal card? If yes, have they calculated that the general sometimes gets lost into the deck? (Spin into Myth)
They will have oversized versions, along with normal-sized versions, included with each deck. Already confirmed.
I for one am planning on using Nin as my Red/Blue general instead of Niv. To be honest, I only went with Niv because out of the three available generals for that color combo he was the one that worked best with my theme I wanted for it (sorceries/instants). With Nin, I can play my 5mana costed creatures that get me back one of those sorceries or instants and then burn them away for some needed card advantage. Niv however just sits there and does a little more damage because of the card draw the deck has, but he doesn't really interact with the deck much.
Thats not true. the art you re referring to is duels of the planeswalkers 2012 not m12. I don't think they want to extend jace's tenure in standard from 2 to 3 years.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, how about a wallpaper? And to tie it all together, how about a wallpaper for Magic: The Gathering 2012? That means it applies to both Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 and the Magic 2012 core set! Enjoy.
#1 - What's the dumbest idea you ever had?
#2 - 15/15 for 15?
#1 - Make it dumber
#2 - Give it protection from removal and counter?
#1 - DUMBER!
#2 - Add Timewalk?
#1 - DAMN IT MAN, I SAID DUMB!! DUMB !!!
#2 - It destroys everything when it attacks.... And wait, I have a friend who plays mill decks... I want to beat him too.
#1 - Excellent! Recess is over, go back and learn sex-ed with the other 6th graders.
Nice new general, these makes me want to buy all 5 decks if I'm feeling nuts. Makes a nice new combo with Stuffy Doll.
I have a question, are these generals legal in other formats (T1, T2 and legacy) or only for Commander?
Legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Commander.
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Commander R Ashling, the Pilgrim Mono Red Wildfire Control GBW Karador, Ghost Chieftain Abzan Dredge Rock WBR Tariel, Reckoner of Souls Mardu Aggro-Reanimator Midrange
Fumar: Or they could just go with each enemy shard getting 2 legends and then each enemy pair getting 1 legend which would conform with what we know about the decks.
Edit: and by "get" I mean new generals. I'm aware of them reprinting the Planar Chaos dragons as well.
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My mind numbing DC-10 stack!
or is it now 15?
I think it needs to be reeded that way:
3-Color Wedge Legends aka. 'wedge is a 3-color combination'
2-Color Enemy Color Legends aka 'enemy colors is a combination of 2 enemy colors'
If there's 5 decks, it's 10 new wedge generals and 5 enemy color generals, i guess..
hmm... that makes sense. but theyre only releasing 5 decks, so are they now declaring all legends to be commanders?
On topic, though, the commander cards are pretty cool, the UR one could spawn a pretty cool deck.
If an angel inately dodges and strikes like a soldier or a knight... then how are they not one? If they wear armor, wield a shield and a sword, strike in the same manner that would let you hit before the enemy has a chance, in the same fashion that a knight or soldier would, attack with such vigilance so that you can defend after attacking in the same way a knight or soldier would, what about wings exempts you from being classified in the same occupation? A race isn't a class, it makes no since that just because you're an angel you aren't considered to be a soldier or knight, and yet act in a very similar manner.
You also bring up ogres and giants who have classes and yet are vastly stronger than humans, how would they be between the level of an elemental people and feral elementals? Where there are plenty of giants who are definetely bigger than shinewend. That seems to completely blow out your own theory of inate prowess overcoming the need of a class.
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All Legends, except those banned by the rules, are eligible to be Commanders. So...yes.
No, because there are two new wedge generals and one new enemy color general per deck.
The oversized generals will only be the ones that can be used as generals for the decks proper. The enemy colored generals won't qualify for that.
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Thats not true. the art you re referring to is duels of the planeswalkers 2012 not m12. I don't think they want to extend jace's tenure in standard from 2 to 3 years.
On a side note: I will not be playing any of those cards, low power level so far :P. Give some interesting ETB abilities at least!
Oversized is in addition to the normal cards, obviously.
They will have oversized versions, along with normal-sized versions, included with each deck. Already confirmed.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
I'ts up to you, if you want to use them, i personally use the sleeved card inside a bigger hard plastic sleeve.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
It's for both, actually.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/665
I have a question, are these generals legal in other formats (T1, T2 and legacy) or only for Commander?
Legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Commander.
Commander
R Ashling, the Pilgrim Mono Red Wildfire Control
GBW Karador, Ghost Chieftain Abzan Dredge Rock
WBR Tariel, Reckoner of Souls Mardu Aggro-Reanimator Midrange
Edit: and by "get" I mean new generals. I'm aware of them reprinting the Planar Chaos dragons as well.
Its worded the same as several precedents