Imagining Vivean with an australian accent while reading her flavor texts in the cards
This. I didn't read the flavor text the first time through but shes straight up a Magic Steve Irwin! Generic as her card may be she may be my favorite green walker.
So I'm guessing that after a few years of Nissa being mostly focused on land-shenanigans Vivien is going back to green planeswalkers focusing on the big beefy side of the colour. That Gigantosaurus flavour text is very much giving off a Steve Irwin vibe.
That extra turns thing is pretty good...and a buy a box too, expecting that to hit $20-$30 in a hurry.
The tomb is kinda "meh", but I suppose with dredge and stuff coming back into play from the grave, you get extra bats and Skullclamp fodder.
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The "Crazy One", playing casual magic and occasionally dipping his toes into regular play since 1994.
Currently focusing on Pre-Modern (Mono-Black Discard Control) and Modern (Azorious Control, Temur Rhinos).
Find me at the Wizard's Tower in Ottawa every second Saturday afternoons.
Tortured Existence was the first card that came to mind for me. It's an oldie but a goodie. As long as you have a creature in your graveyard and a creature in hand, you can loop them for B and get a Bat token out of the deal.
My expectations for core set commons are pretty low, yet Sparktongue Dragon somehow manages to not live up to even that low a bar.
Those Welcome Deck cards seem surprisingly not terrible. Sphinx-o-war? Leonin Skyhunter as a griffin? Multiple bears with upside? Trample to your whole team, on a hefty body? Llanowar Elves? These are cards I would not be embarrassed to play. Typically, the best welcome decks have to offer is something like Serra Angel.
So on Desecrated tomb, it just states "creature card leaves your graveyard". This means that whenever you exile creature from graveyard, it would also trigger.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
I'm pretty sure Scrapheap Scrounger gives you two bats every time you bring it back, since the creature you exiled and the Scrounger leave the battlefield at separate times!
Always great when Reliquary Tower is reprinted. I put one in every Commander deck and I'm running low on them. Demon of Catastrophes looks to be pretty playable. Desecrated Tomb couldn't have said "any graveyard"? With it being "one or more" it's not like it's incredibly abuseable.
Well if someone nukes your graveyard you only get a single token so that certainly is a let down but you can no longer just sit back and relic of progenitus someone with this every turn or you'll give them a 1/1 flier each time. Also as a combo enabler with bloodghast etc even with multiple ghasts coming in at once each trigger of 1 entering would make a flier so it does scale up in situations like that.
Lots here... I wasn't expecting previews the literal business day after Battlebond released but oh well. Nexus of Fate looks fantastic in EDH. Between this and FSSS, I'm assuming that the exclusive Buy a Box promos are supposed to get EDH players to buy packs. If the set is at all decent, I might entertain that suggestion. I still am wary about exclusive Buy a Box promos, especially now that they seem to have a bit of power creep. Gigantosaurus is big for Ghalta. Unfortunately, with no trample or any other effects, that might exhaust its usefulness. I get a Steve Irwin vibe from the Vivien flavor text. Colossal Dreadmaw should just be crammed in every set as a running joke at this point. Reliquary Tower is a fantastic reprint. I need like five more right now and will happily take extras for the future. Absolute unit in EDH. Desecrated Tomb is interesting design that could lend itself nicely to value/combos. Demon of Catastrophes has a great name and nice stats with a meager drawback. Might show up in standard and looks to terrorize tables in limited. Patient Rebuilding is nice draw but very,very slow. Good way to win in limited I guess.
Always nice to see Guttersnipe around. Elvish Rejuvinator could be decent ramp. I'm wondering how this will test versus Farhaven Elf. It can hit nonbasics but is less consistent. Wood Elves is still the king. Marauder's Axe is pretty efficient for limited, as is Murder.
It is interesting that Diregraf Ghoul is back in standard.
Nice to see some new, interesting welcome deck rares mixed in with the classic Shiven Dragon
The rest looks like not particularly interesting draft fodder.
Regarding the overall set, more Tezzeret is always welcome so I'm looking forward to that.
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EDH Decks UWB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic's spring of life RUG Animar, Soul of the Elements and friends... lots of them WBG Karador king of two worlds (value and attrition) WRKalemne's Angels BRUG Yidris's Wild Party UWBR Breya's Terrifying Tinker Toys UBRThe Pretender
1. Nexus of Fate is too good for a buy-a-box (from a wpn store while available) Promo exclusive. (if these were laying on top of all sealed boxes, that would be another story)
2. On the Champion Playmat NicolBolas does NOT have the orb inbetween his horns.
3. Why do the booster arts NOT reflect the actual card (is this just for Vivien??)(Are ther other cards with these pictures??)
Demon of Catastrophes is awesome with being a sac outlet a good thing in at least the deck I know my buddy wants him in.
Gigantosaurus....Yes Please....now thats stompy
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
Infernal JudgmentB
Instant (R)
Exile target colorless creature. You gain life equal to its power.
this exists... why? Was modern in some dire straits or is this aimed more at the soon-to-rotate vehicles or something. You can't even use it to kill a walking ballista for value.
My question is how could that be used in Standard? Had this been printed years ago with Oath of the Gatewatch this would have been nice, but now it seems unnecessary.
It's clearly meant to finally give us an answer to all these Traxos decks running rampant, amirite?
2. On the Champion Playmat NicolBolas does NOT have the orb inbetween his horns.
My guess would be that the playmat depicts Nicol Bolas, the creature. The playmat has a lot in common with the more recent art of his creature version, between the identifying horns, spines, and "beard." It also shares some key differences between the creature art and all of the planeswalker arts, in which the creature is quadrupedal and buck naked while the planeswalker stands erect and wears clothing, including a sheath for his horns, a groomed "beard," and, yes, his Gem of Becoming.
Based on that, there is evidence that the playmat depicts a much younger version of the planeswalker or even a pre-spark version.
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This. I didn't read the flavor text the first time through but shes straight up a Magic Steve Irwin! Generic as her card may be she may be my favorite green walker.
It also puts itself back in the library. Which means that you can potentially set up an infinite turns combo in Commander by constantly tutoring it.
The tomb is kinda "meh", but I suppose with dredge and stuff coming back into play from the grave, you get extra bats and Skullclamp fodder.
Currently focusing on Pre-Modern (Mono-Black Discard Control) and Modern (Azorious Control, Temur Rhinos).
Find me at the Wizard's Tower in Ottawa every second Saturday afternoons.
Tortured Existence was the first card that came to mind for me. It's an oldie but a goodie. As long as you have a creature in your graveyard and a creature in hand, you can loop them for B and get a Bat token out of the deal.
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
Militia Bugler seems good for my 60-card soldier deck, but I have no idea what I'd cut for it.
Gigantosaurus is seriously one letter off from being the name of a real dinosaur.
My expectations for core set commons are pretty low, yet Sparktongue Dragon somehow manages to not live up to even that low a bar.
Those Welcome Deck cards seem surprisingly not terrible. Sphinx-o-war? Leonin Skyhunter as a griffin? Multiple bears with upside? Trample to your whole team, on a hefty body? Llanowar Elves? These are cards I would not be embarrassed to play. Typically, the best welcome decks have to offer is something like Serra Angel.
Nexus of Fate...Just 😲 (I am now imagining some way to keep it on top. Mystical Tutor on the stick?)
Desecrated Tomb would be fun with undying or persist.
Demon of Catastrophes could be interesting in Standard, I guess.
On phasing:
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
Demon of Catastrophes looks great. A single sac for a 6/6 flying trample, four mana seems really good.
Well if someone nukes your graveyard you only get a single token so that certainly is a let down but you can no longer just sit back and relic of progenitus someone with this every turn or you'll give them a 1/1 flier each time. Also as a combo enabler with bloodghast etc even with multiple ghasts coming in at once each trigger of 1 entering would make a flier so it does scale up in situations like that.
And then red gets the ******* Shivan Dragon yet again.
Standard:
UR Ral Combo
Modern:
U Merfolk
R Goblins
Commander
RB Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
R Feldon of the Third Path
TIMMAY!
The
Necromancer (or Noob)
Cat.
Don't ask, I don't know why ether...
Also, tomb seems like a nice source of sac fodder for my Meren
W(W/U)U Ephara - Flash & Taxes W(W/U)U || B(B/G)G Meren - Circle of Life B(B/G)G
RGW Marath - Ever shifting Wilds RGW || (U/R)C(W/B) Breya - Artificial Dominion (U/R)C(W/B)
UBR Becket Brass - take what you can, give nothing back UBR
Nexus of Fate looks fantastic in EDH. Between this and FSSS, I'm assuming that the exclusive Buy a Box promos are supposed to get EDH players to buy packs. If the set is at all decent, I might entertain that suggestion. I still am wary about exclusive Buy a Box promos, especially now that they seem to have a bit of power creep.
Gigantosaurus is big for Ghalta. Unfortunately, with no trample or any other effects, that might exhaust its usefulness. I get a Steve Irwin vibe from the Vivien flavor text.
Colossal Dreadmaw should just be crammed in every set as a running joke at this point.
Reliquary Tower is a fantastic reprint. I need like five more right now and will happily take extras for the future. Absolute unit in EDH.
Desecrated Tomb is interesting design that could lend itself nicely to value/combos.
Demon of Catastrophes has a great name and nice stats with a meager drawback. Might show up in standard and looks to terrorize tables in limited.
Patient Rebuilding is nice draw but very,very slow. Good way to win in limited I guess.
Always nice to see Guttersnipe around.
Elvish Rejuvinator could be decent ramp. I'm wondering how this will test versus Farhaven Elf. It can hit nonbasics but is less consistent. Wood Elves is still the king.
Marauder's Axe is pretty efficient for limited, as is Murder.
It is interesting that Diregraf Ghoul is back in standard.
Nice to see some new, interesting welcome deck rares mixed in with the classic Shiven Dragon
The rest looks like not particularly interesting draft fodder.
Regarding the overall set, more Tezzeret is always welcome so I'm looking forward to that.
EDH Decks
UWB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic's spring of life
RUG Animar, Soul of the Elements and friends... lots of them
WBG Karador king of two worlds (value and attrition)
WRKalemne's Angels
BRUG Yidris's Wild Party
UWBR Breya's Terrifying Tinker Toys
UBR The Pretender
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
1. Nexus of Fate is too good for a buy-a-box (from a wpn store while available) Promo exclusive. (if these were laying on top of all sealed boxes, that would be another story)
2. On the Champion Playmat NicolBolas does NOT have the orb inbetween his horns.
3. Why do the booster arts NOT reflect the actual card (is this just for Vivien??)(Are ther other cards with these pictures??)
Demon of Catastrophes is awesome with being a sac outlet a good thing in at least the deck I know my buddy wants him in.
Gigantosaurus....Yes Please....now thats stompy
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StaffIt's clearly meant to finally give us an answer to all these Traxos decks running rampant, amirite?
And this set already looking up
I'm getting nervous on this buy a box promo stuff because that's another amazing card that's buy a box exclusive
My guess would be that the playmat depicts Nicol Bolas, the creature. The playmat has a lot in common with the more recent art of his creature version, between the identifying horns, spines, and "beard." It also shares some key differences between the creature art and all of the planeswalker arts, in which the creature is quadrupedal and buck naked while the planeswalker stands erect and wears clothing, including a sheath for his horns, a groomed "beard," and, yes, his Gem of Becoming.
Based on that, there is evidence that the playmat depicts a much younger version of the planeswalker or even a pre-spark version.