If you havent done research on the deck, its not my problem. The deck has a lot of utility inbuilt, besides one day wizards might print an artifact with ''you can have any number of _____ in your deck''. Possibility Storm lets you chain artifacts and blood funnel reduce your mana cost, the deck usually runs this and Null profusion easentially storming off.
Of course it's not your problem, World doesn't spin around you. Besides, how good your Mishra deck is or will eventually be, that's off-topic. We've got is a thing, idtapthatformana kindly explained it, but you missed my whole point, expressed in my last post and related to the upcoming C18 products.
The reason the reps probably said that and can say it with a strait face is that they aren't looking at it from a card = X dollars perspective. They look at the price as a result of the number of copies that exist in circulation and how heavily the card is seeing use. With enough data available, the company can track how many of a given card has been printed, how many copies of that card remain sealed in boxes after the print run stops, how many more copies will get introduced with time from box opening, and how many will leave circulation via collectors, environmental damage, etc.
Essentially, the company isn't interested in reprinting cards that got expensive from a fad or speculation. The company wants to reprint cards based upon use, number of copies hypothetically available on the market, and if the card still fits with the current direction of Magic the Gathering. Fetchlands are a great example of a card that probably has plenty of copies out there, but no one is buying because speculators forced up the price ages ago and competitive players still trickle buy the cards at the extreme prices. Wizards does not want to print these in a lower cost set because the speculators will target the set to buy it out and flush the copies onto the market at inflated rates while dumping "bulk" into the singles market. They tried combating this back with Commander 2013 by doing a second run with more copies of True Name Nemesis, but by doing so they introduced too many of the other decks and it took years for the supply vs demand to reach equilibrium. The same thing is happening now with Iconic Masters and Masters 25, but those are even worse because they tried to sell a product at way too high an asking price.
The value of Commander 2018 is going to be held by the new cards printed in the set because they don't want to have cards that are known to be what the consumer perceives as "70+ dollar good" or "30+ dollar good" right at the launch. Not unless they put one of those cards in each of the decks and then print it to Commander 2014 levels.
Seems like a reasonable way to look at it. What they said is still true, but they limit highly sought after card reprints to booster products (although it took them a while to get it right. Hopefully they took the lessons they learned from Battlebond to heart for the next Masters product). While cheaper, but still asked for reprints end up in preconstructed products.
Of course, one needs to be aware that some prices get high not because of speculation, but because the cards are just used that widely.
Honestly, Wizards reprints the cards that get used the most quite often. The problem with prices on the secondary market are more so to do with the competitive formats and expectations. Battlebond is a pretty good example of this with Arcane Artisan and Brightling. Basically, because they saw play in a legacy deck speculators jumped and grabbed up a bunch of them, then attempted to spike the price up. The reason is that these people expect legacy players will be willing to pay a premium on the card, especially if the card is in some recent decklists online. There aren't a lot of legacy players so the price on new cards doesn't stick at the highs set by these people, but the spike does permanently increase the secondary market price on cards like mythics and rares. The main reason for this is that when a speculation fails the speculator has two options: Hold onto the cards and wait for the price to climb at a later date, or sell it off to break even or take a small loss.
Cards that see a ton of play in commander include Sol Ring, Explosive Vegetation, Putrefy, Eternal Witness, Kodama's Reach, Cultivate, etc. There are some pretty big hitters like Demonic Tutor and it's ilk as well, but WoTC seems rather reluctant to actually reprint the old tutors since they don't seem to be sure where they want to push commander.
No matter the theme of the commander sets, I'd be surprised to see a year where they don't reprint a land search card or a utility card.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
The reason the reps probably said that and can say it with a strait face is that they aren't looking at it from a card = X dollars perspective. They look at the price as a result of the number of copies that exist in circulation and how heavily the card is seeing use. With enough data available, the company can track how many of a given card has been printed, how many copies of that card remain sealed in boxes after the print run stops, how many more copies will get introduced with time from box opening, and how many will leave circulation via collectors, environmental damage, etc.
Essentially, the company isn't interested in reprinting cards that got expensive from a fad or speculation. The company wants to reprint cards based upon use, number of copies hypothetically available on the market, and if the card still fits with the current direction of Magic the Gathering. Fetchlands are a great example of a card that probably has plenty of copies out there, but no one is buying because speculators forced up the price ages ago and competitive players still trickle buy the cards at the extreme prices. Wizards does not want to print these in a lower cost set because the speculators will target the set to buy it out and flush the copies onto the market at inflated rates while dumping "bulk" into the singles market. They tried combating this back with Commander 2013 by doing a second run with more copies of True Name Nemesis, but by doing so they introduced too many of the other decks and it took years for the supply vs demand to reach equilibrium. The same thing is happening now with Iconic Masters and Masters 25, but those are even worse because they tried to sell a product at way too high an asking price.
The value of Commander 2018 is going to be held by the new cards printed in the set because they don't want to have cards that are known to be what the consumer perceives as "70+ dollar good" or "30+ dollar good" right at the launch. Not unless they put one of those cards in each of the decks and then print it to Commander 2014 levels.
Seems like a reasonable way to look at it. What they said is still true, but they limit highly sought after card reprints to booster products (although it took them a while to get it right. Hopefully they took the lessons they learned from Battlebond to heart for the next Masters product). While cheaper, but still asked for reprints end up in preconstructed products.
Of course, one needs to be aware that some prices get high not because of speculation, but because the cards are just used that widely.
Honestly, Wizards reprints the cards that get used the most quite often. The problem with prices on the secondary market are more so to do with the competitive formats and expectations. Battlebond is a pretty good example of this with Arcane Artisan and Brightling. Basically, because they saw play in a legacy deck speculators jumped and grabbed up a bunch of them, then attempted to spike the price up. The reason is that these people expect legacy players will be willing to pay a premium on the card, especially if the card is in some recent decklists online. There aren't a lot of legacy players so the price on new cards doesn't stick at the highs set by these people, but the spike does permanently increase the secondary market price on cards like mythics and rares. The main reason for this is that when a speculation fails the speculator has two options: Hold onto the cards and wait for the price to climb at a later date, or sell it off to break even or take a small loss.
Cards that see a ton of play in commander include Sol Ring, Explosive Vegetation, Putrefy, Eternal Witness, Kodama's Reach, Cultivate, etc. There are some pretty big hitters like Demonic Tutor and it's ilk as well, but WoTC seems rather reluctant to actually reprint the old tutors since they don't seem to be sure where they want to push commander.
I am a well known hater of speculators, particularly since they are the cause of the worst thing to ever happen to M:TG that will eventually lead to the death of both Vintage and Legacy. I loathe them with the passion of a billion exploding stars.
That said, Battlebond proved that they are willing to reprint value cards that people want in the right product. Obviously the upcoming commander product isn't it.
I could see them put a tutor in each deck, but I don't think it would be the ones people expect. Merchant Scroll would do well in any blue deck, Enlightened Tutor is not *that* expensive and could appear in the enchantment deck (or Three Wishes). There is a plethora of green tutors that fetch creatures (or, more obviously land, sometimes both), and there are plenty of solid black tutors to use as well, other than the three most expensive ones. It is doubtful we'll get a Demonic Tutor as it's been a while since it was reprinted in a product and the price has gone up considerably, but there are still plenty of solid alternatives.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
So with the latest two cards I think it is clear, that some of the poster Planeswalkers are from Commander 18 and it is pretty clear that we will see at least Saheeli and maybe her and Daretti on the UR Deck. That means we may see Elspeth and Garruk (as GB) as well in addition to Windgrace (who is 99% the face of the Jund deck). I can easily see more than one Planeswalker per deck this way and maybe Serra is Bant and Elspeth is still Mono White or maybe Bant too.
Still think Elspeth requires a story to bring back this would be random. She died in Standard Sets and bring her back in Commander doesn't really work for me. Since she clearly looks post escape from underworld in that picture. Garruk though can easily be slotted in.
You can make a case for Teferi and Karn as well since their backgrounds are fairly generic. They could be anywhere. Still it seem weird to give Daretti and Teferi new cards here
Yeah I think Garruk can work because he is just out there alive and presumably murking other Walkers across the Planes. Elspeth though died in a major way, she was the last walker to die. I buy her if her art was not so clearly post escape from the Underworld.
Yeah I don't know it depends how many they have 3 seems like a lot but usually Walker decks get what at least 3 commanders that have some level of viability in the actual deck by that I mean cards that specifically help their game plan.
Yeah I think Garruk can work because he is just out there alive and presumably murking other Walkers across the Planes. Elspeth though died in a major way, she was the last walker to die. I buy her if her art was not so clearly post escape from the Underworld.
Yeah I don't know it depends how many they have 3 seems like a lot but usually Walker decks get what at least 3 commanders that have some level of viability in the actual deck by that I mean cards that specifically help their game plan.
At the end of his Duels campaign (which is canon btw), Garruk made it clear to Jace that he would leaver other planeswalkers alone if they left him alone. Afterwards another planeswalker decided it would be a good idea to harass the big guy with a large axe, Garruk gave the planeswalker a chance to leave, but the other guy just had to press his luck, so Garruk decapitated him.
Basically, Garruk isn't actively hunting planeswalkers anymore, but will not hesitate to kill them if they annoy him.
Anyway. we can be pretty sure that each deck will only contain one planeswalker that can be used as a commander, together with two creatures. Just like last time. We know Windgrace is one of them. IT also seems as though Saheeli is another one, which makes me sad because I really wanted Feroz to be the blue/Red planeswalker.
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Feroz just isnt major enough of an Oldwalker to get a deck anytime soon. Besides they did make Rai a face character so they clearly want to push her.
Fair enough I am not up to date on Garruk..
I expected a mix Two Oldwalkers, a Neowalker and a new walker.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
Feroz just isnt major enough of an Oldwalker to get a deck anytime soon. Besides they did make Rai a face character so they clearly want to push her.
Fair enough I am not up to date on Garruk..
I expected a mix Two Oldwalkers, a Neowalker and a new walker.
That is usually how they do it.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
Really happy with Windgrace! Flavor-wise he's spot on, and while he might not be as OP as some people expected, he seems very good for the deck style he's built for.
Saheeli is excellent. Mechanically, she's probably the best of them overall. I just wish they'd chosen a different character. I was expecting them to do a mix of new characters and old characters who've never gotten cards. It seems like a waste for them to go with a character we already have a card for, especially one who's actively involved in the current story and will probably get a new card in a regular set fairly soon. But I am glad that we're finally getting some good Red/Blue artifact commanders, that's a conceptual space that really should've been explored a lot sooner. I'm happy they included a Tawnos card too, it's good to see some of the old minor characters finally get their own cards.
The Enchantment commander is decent, I'm sure she has potential, but she's not really my style. Plus I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get a Serra card, even though the colors and theme of the deck would've fit perfectly.
The Esper commander is awful and I can't say I'm thrilled with the deck's theme either. "Top-card-of-library matters" seems like an absolutely awful concept to build a deck around. Hopefully we'll at least get some good secondary commanders and White, Blue, and Black cards out of it.
The Enchantment commander is decent, I'm sure she has potential, but she's not really my style. Plus I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get a Serra card, even though the colors and theme of the deck would've fit perfectly.
Tell me about it ...
When I saw the leaks I was in a train going somewhere. I felt like jumping out. I set up myself like a dum dum.
Now I partly know the feeling of those guys who get friendzoned.
As much as I want to rampage around and throw so much anger, like that would even change anything. I feel like it's also Catch 22 if I don't support WOTC here, because if it doesn't sell that means close to the death of the product line.
Like, will C19 even feature Planeswalkers again? I dunno... I'm at a low and total lost at this moment...
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Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
Didn't Asha leave the plane or something? Plus Oldwalkers can change their looks however they want.
What we know is, that she leaved Bant to fight Malfegor before the Sundering (so no planeswalking required) and that she sacrificed herself to banish the demon. But I don't know if this is canon. I still think that she isn't Serra.
Fair enough I just want to note they have a high degree of similarity but yeah they probably are different.
But yeah compared to the last time they did this. I think these Commanders have mostly crapped the bed.
From the flavor choice but also from the prospective they don't help fix the issues of the archetypes.
That would be good as well...although I do wonder if Asha and Serra are the same person...they like the same colors, they love creating angels, etc.
Don't think so. Asha was an Angel herself.
Like Radiant and Selenia, she could have been created by Serra. But we have never seen any evidence that Serra had ever visited Alara, so probably not. After all, Serra was not the only pre-mending planeswalker with a penchant for creating angels.
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Didn't Asha leave the plane or something? Plus Oldwalkers can change their looks however they want.
What we know is, that she leaved Bant to fight Malfegor before the Sundering (so no planeswalking required) and that she sacrificed herself to banish the demon. But I don't know if this is canon. I still think that she isn't Serra.
This reminds me of the time when someone insisted that Avacyn was Nahiri.
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MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
[quote from="Sylve »" url="/forums/magic-fundamentals/the-rumor-mill/795993-commander-2018-themes-and-art?comment=353"]
But yeah compared to the last time they did this. I think these Commanders have mostly crapped the bed.
From the flavor choice but also from the prospective they don't help fix the issues of the archetypes.
What stings more is that Gavin said that they supposedly listened to feedback for this product. Did those feedback data have Estrid and Aminatou in it? Who has been one of the most requested walkers other than Urza again?
Also I wonder if they would figure to any sets at all or are straight out limbo walkers. I mean, Daretti at least we know is connected closely to Fiora...
Presumably then the mana base will actually be good enough for a budget player...and they will reprint powerful cards that are useful in the archetypes even if the actual face cards drop the ball.
What stings more is that Gavin said that they supposedly listened to feedback for this product. Did those feedback data have Estrid and Aminatou in it?
And I wonder if they would figure to any sets or straight out limbo walkers. I mean, Daretti at least we know are connected closely to Fiora...
That we don't know where two newly introduced planeswalkers are originally from is a really weak complaint in my opinion. There are plenty of known old and new walkers we don't know where their origins lie yet. Just of the top of my head:
Old walkers:
Serra
Feroz
Ravi
Neowalkers:
Garruk
Kaya
Ashiok
Elspeth
Heck, we didn't know where Chandra, Lily, Jace, and Gideon were from for the longest time.
And to be entirely honest, I like Aminatou, she raises so many questions. How and Why did a child become a planeswalker. And I am not talking child as the teenaged Domri, but an actual child. And her clothing has a very "Creol" vibe to them, I'd love to see what her homeplane is about.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
That we don't know where two newly introduced planeswalkers are originally from is a really weak complaint in my opinion. There are plenty of known old and new walkers we don't know where their origins lie yet. Just of the top of my head:
Old walkers:
Serra
Feroz
Ravi
Neowalkers:
Garruk
Kaya
Ashiok
Elspeth
Heck, we didn't know where Chandra, Lily, Jace, and Gideon were from for the longest time.
And to be entirely honest, I like Aminatou, she raises so many questions. How and Why did a child become a planeswalker. And I am not talking child as the teenaged Domri, but an actual child. And her clothing has a very "Creol" vibe to them, I'd love to see what her homeplane is about.
True, but compared to Neowalkers, those Oldwalkers (not post-Mending Oldwalkers) you mentioned minus Ravi are all dead, they do not have that big of a luxury for their backstories explored (unless seemingly, if a Gatewatch member is gonna be benefit from it).
p.s. I actually like Aminatou... that's why this ambiguity of her actually being used in a setting irritates me a bit.
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Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
That we don't know where two newly introduced planeswalkers are originally from is a really weak complaint in my opinion. There are plenty of known old and new walkers we don't know where their origins lie yet. Just of the top of my head:
Old walkers:
Serra
Feroz
Ravi
Neowalkers:
Garruk
Kaya
Ashiok
Elspeth
Heck, we didn't know where Chandra, Lily, Jace, and Gideon were from for the longest time.
And to be entirely honest, I like Aminatou, she raises so many questions. How and Why did a child become a planeswalker. And I am not talking child as the teenaged Domri, but an actual child. And her clothing has a very "Creol" vibe to them, I'd love to see what her homeplane is about.
True, but compared to Neowalkers, those Oldwalkers (not post-Mending Oldwalkers) you mentioned minus Ravi are all dead, they do not have that big of a luxury for their backstories explored (unless seemingly, if a Gatewatch member is gonna be benefit from it).
p.s. I actually like Aminatou... that's why this ambiguity of her actually being used in a setting irritates me a bit.
I suggest you look up the Homelands storyline, quite a lot of backstory exploration for Ravi in that, as well as the deaths of Feroz and Serra, and the first death of Taysir.
We'll get back stories for most planeswalkers sooner or later, even the dead ones. I mean, how many had imagined that M19 would contain the backstory for both Bolas and Ugin? Or the rest of the elder dragons for that matter? (Now we have two elder dragons we want cards for instead of just Piru.)
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
That we don't know where two newly introduced planeswalkers are originally from is a really weak complaint in my opinion. There are plenty of known old and new walkers we don't know where their origins lie yet. Just of the top of my head:
Old walkers:
Serra
Feroz
Ravi
Neowalkers:
Garruk
Kaya
Ashiok
Elspeth
Heck, we didn't know where Chandra, Lily, Jace, and Gideon were from for the longest time.
And to be entirely honest, I like Aminatou, she raises so many questions. How and Why did a child become a planeswalker. And I am not talking child as the teenaged Domri, but an actual child. And her clothing has a very "Creol" vibe to them, I'd love to see what her homeplane is about.
True, but compared to Neowalkers, those Oldwalkers (not post-Mending Oldwalkers) you mentioned minus Ravi are all dead, they do not have that big of a luxury for their backstories explored (unless seemingly, if a Gatewatch member is gonna be benefit from it).
p.s. I actually like Aminatou... that's why this ambiguity of her actually being used in a setting irritates me a bit.
I suggest you look up the Homelands storyline, quite a lot of backstory exploration for Ravi in that, as well as the deaths of Feroz and Serra, and the first death of Taysir.
We'll get back stories for most planeswalkers sooner or later, even the dead ones. I mean, how many had imagined that M19 would contain the backstory for both Bolas and Ugin? Or the rest of the elder dragons for that matter? (Now we have two elder dragons we want cards for instead of just Piru.)
Don't forget Merrivia Sal!
Flying.
When Merrivia enters the battle opponent creates six 1/1 green hunter tokens. Sacrifice Merrivia Sal.
When Merrivia dies put a +1/+1 counter on each creature your opponent controls.
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Thanks to SpiderBoy4 @ High-Light Studio's for the awesome banner
“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.” —Volrath
That we don't know where two newly introduced planeswalkers are originally from is a really weak complaint in my opinion. There are plenty of known old and new walkers we don't know where their origins lie yet. Just of the top of my head:
Old walkers:
Serra
Feroz
Ravi
Neowalkers:
Garruk
Kaya
Ashiok
Elspeth
Heck, we didn't know where Chandra, Lily, Jace, and Gideon were from for the longest time.
And to be entirely honest, I like Aminatou, she raises so many questions. How and Why did a child become a planeswalker. And I am not talking child as the teenaged Domri, but an actual child. And her clothing has a very "Creol" vibe to them, I'd love to see what her homeplane is about.
True, but compared to Neowalkers, those Oldwalkers (not post-Mending Oldwalkers) you mentioned minus Ravi are all dead, they do not have that big of a luxury for their backstories explored (unless seemingly, if a Gatewatch member is gonna be benefit from it).
p.s. I actually like Aminatou... that's why this ambiguity of her actually being used in a setting irritates me a bit.
I suggest you look up the Homelands storyline, quite a lot of backstory exploration for Ravi in that, as well as the deaths of Feroz and Serra, and the first death of Taysir.
We'll get back stories for most planeswalkers sooner or later, even the dead ones. I mean, how many had imagined that M19 would contain the backstory for both Bolas and Ugin? Or the rest of the elder dragons for that matter? (Now we have two elder dragons we want cards for instead of just Piru.)
Don't forget Merrivia Sal!
Flying.
When Merrivia enters the battle opponent creates six 1/1 green hunter tokens. Sacrifice Merrivia Sal.
When Merrivia dies put a +1/+1 counter on each creature your opponent controls.
Merrivia was the other elder dragon I was referring to.
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It's about time for the reserved list to die, for the sake of Vintage and Legacy (And Commander).
I suggest you look up the Homelands storyline, quite a lot of backstory exploration for Ravi in that, as well as the deaths of Feroz and Serra, and the first death of Taysir.
I'm pretty much versed about it. No self-respecting Serra stan would be caught dead without knowing the Homelands storylines and/or comics.
We'll get back stories for most planeswalkers sooner or later, even the dead ones. I mean, how many had imagined that M19 would contain the backstory for both Bolas and Ugin? Or the rest of the elder dragons for that matter? (Now we have two elder dragons we want cards for instead of just Piru.)
Again, imo unless a planeswalker will have a connection to the current storyline and/or the Gatewatch the chances of their backstories being explored would pretty much just lie on Commander... hence my iffyness when totally New Planeswalkers get a big slice in the Commander pie than possible old ones in that product line and these New Planeswalkers end up not being used in the most soonest of time.
Unless they're gonna make the Core Sets something like Commander in terms of flavour exploration, I think it's safe to say that the Core Sets would only touch further backstories of characters that are embroiled in the current happenings of the lore (so pretty much, every post-Mending walkers)... which Nicol Bolas is (and coincidentally, the Elder Dragons' back stories was in need of organizing/pruning/improving)
Commander doesn't get story articles though, so you can't really count on it for fleshing out character's backstories either. The old characters "just" get cards with maybe a line of flavor text and a small fluff blurb in the deck box.
I personally like "rando legends" because as long ad they're done well, they hint at interesting worlds in the multiverse that me may some day visit. Estrid is a miss in this regard though, I find her character design to be super boring.
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Of course it's not your problem, World doesn't spin around you. Besides, how good your Mishra deck is or will eventually be, that's off-topic. We've got is a thing, idtapthatformana kindly explained it, but you missed my whole point, expressed in my last post and related to the upcoming C18 products.
Honestly, Wizards reprints the cards that get used the most quite often. The problem with prices on the secondary market are more so to do with the competitive formats and expectations. Battlebond is a pretty good example of this with Arcane Artisan and Brightling. Basically, because they saw play in a legacy deck speculators jumped and grabbed up a bunch of them, then attempted to spike the price up. The reason is that these people expect legacy players will be willing to pay a premium on the card, especially if the card is in some recent decklists online. There aren't a lot of legacy players so the price on new cards doesn't stick at the highs set by these people, but the spike does permanently increase the secondary market price on cards like mythics and rares. The main reason for this is that when a speculation fails the speculator has two options: Hold onto the cards and wait for the price to climb at a later date, or sell it off to break even or take a small loss.
Cards that see a ton of play in commander include Sol Ring, Explosive Vegetation, Putrefy, Eternal Witness, Kodama's Reach, Cultivate, etc. There are some pretty big hitters like Demonic Tutor and it's ilk as well, but WoTC seems rather reluctant to actually reprint the old tutors since they don't seem to be sure where they want to push commander.
No matter the theme of the commander sets, I'd be surprised to see a year where they don't reprint a land search card or a utility card.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I am a well known hater of speculators, particularly since they are the cause of the worst thing to ever happen to M:TG that will eventually lead to the death of both Vintage and Legacy. I loathe them with the passion of a billion exploding stars.
That said, Battlebond proved that they are willing to reprint value cards that people want in the right product. Obviously the upcoming commander product isn't it.
I could see them put a tutor in each deck, but I don't think it would be the ones people expect. Merchant Scroll would do well in any blue deck, Enlightened Tutor is not *that* expensive and could appear in the enchantment deck (or Three Wishes). There is a plethora of green tutors that fetch creatures (or, more obviously land, sometimes both), and there are plenty of solid black tutors to use as well, other than the three most expensive ones. It is doubtful we'll get a Demonic Tutor as it's been a while since it was reprinted in a product and the price has gone up considerably, but there are still plenty of solid alternatives.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Still think Elspeth requires a story to bring back this would be random. She died in Standard Sets and bring her back in Commander doesn't really work for me. Since she clearly looks post escape from underworld in that picture. Garruk though can easily be slotted in.
You can make a case for Teferi and Karn as well since their backgrounds are fairly generic. They could be anywhere. Still it seem weird to give Daretti and Teferi new cards here
Yeah I don't know it depends how many they have 3 seems like a lot but usually Walker decks get what at least 3 commanders that have some level of viability in the actual deck by that I mean cards that specifically help their game plan.
At the end of his Duels campaign (which is canon btw), Garruk made it clear to Jace that he would leaver other planeswalkers alone if they left him alone. Afterwards another planeswalker decided it would be a good idea to harass the big guy with a large axe, Garruk gave the planeswalker a chance to leave, but the other guy just had to press his luck, so Garruk decapitated him.
Basically, Garruk isn't actively hunting planeswalkers anymore, but will not hesitate to kill them if they annoy him.
Anyway. we can be pretty sure that each deck will only contain one planeswalker that can be used as a commander, together with two creatures. Just like last time. We know Windgrace is one of them. IT also seems as though Saheeli is another one, which makes me sad because I really wanted Feroz to be the blue/Red planeswalker.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Fair enough I am not up to date on Garruk..
I expected a mix Two Oldwalkers, a Neowalker and a new walker.
Garruk has been obfuscating other Planeswalkers?
Reprint Stasis!
Control needs more love.
EDH:
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Melek, Izzet Paragon
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Rhys the Redeemed
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Sen Triplets
The Mimeoplasm
WUBRGSliver OverlordGRBUW
WUBRGSliver Hivelord(Superfriends)GRBUW
That is usually how they do it.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Saheeli is excellent. Mechanically, she's probably the best of them overall. I just wish they'd chosen a different character. I was expecting them to do a mix of new characters and old characters who've never gotten cards. It seems like a waste for them to go with a character we already have a card for, especially one who's actively involved in the current story and will probably get a new card in a regular set fairly soon. But I am glad that we're finally getting some good Red/Blue artifact commanders, that's a conceptual space that really should've been explored a lot sooner. I'm happy they included a Tawnos card too, it's good to see some of the old minor characters finally get their own cards.
The Enchantment commander is decent, I'm sure she has potential, but she's not really my style. Plus I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get a Serra card, even though the colors and theme of the deck would've fit perfectly.
The Esper commander is awful and I can't say I'm thrilled with the deck's theme either. "Top-card-of-library matters" seems like an absolutely awful concept to build a deck around. Hopefully we'll at least get some good secondary commanders and White, Blue, and Black cards out of it.
Tell me about it ...
When I saw the leaks I was in a train going somewhere. I felt like jumping out. I set up myself like a dum dum.
Now I partly know the feeling of those guys who get friendzoned.
As much as I want to rampage around and throw so much anger, like that would even change anything. I feel like it's also Catch 22 if I don't support WOTC here, because if it doesn't sell that means close to the death of the product line.
Like, will C19 even feature Planeswalkers again? I dunno... I'm at a low and total lost at this moment...
Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
Fair enough I just want to note they have a high degree of similarity but yeah they probably are different.
But yeah compared to the last time they did this. I think these Commanders have mostly crapped the bed.
From the flavor choice but also from the prospective they don't help fix the issues of the archetypes.
Like Radiant and Selenia, she could have been created by Serra. But we have never seen any evidence that Serra had ever visited Alara, so probably not. After all, Serra was not the only pre-mending planeswalker with a penchant for creating angels.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
This reminds me of the time when someone insisted that Avacyn was Nahiri.
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
What stings more is that Gavin said that they supposedly listened to feedback for this product. Did those feedback data have Estrid and Aminatou in it? Who has been one of the most requested walkers other than Urza again?
Also I wonder if they would figure to any sets at all or are straight out limbo walkers. I mean, Daretti at least we know is connected closely to Fiora...
Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
That we don't know where two newly introduced planeswalkers are originally from is a really weak complaint in my opinion. There are plenty of known old and new walkers we don't know where their origins lie yet. Just of the top of my head:
Old walkers:
Serra
Feroz
Ravi
Neowalkers:
Garruk
Kaya
Ashiok
Elspeth
Heck, we didn't know where Chandra, Lily, Jace, and Gideon were from for the longest time.
And to be entirely honest, I like Aminatou, she raises so many questions. How and Why did a child become a planeswalker. And I am not talking child as the teenaged Domri, but an actual child. And her clothing has a very "Creol" vibe to them, I'd love to see what her homeplane is about.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
True, but compared to Neowalkers, those Oldwalkers (not post-Mending Oldwalkers) you mentioned minus Ravi are all dead, they do not have that big of a luxury for their backstories explored (unless seemingly, if a Gatewatch member is gonna be benefit from it).
p.s. I actually like Aminatou... that's why this ambiguity of her actually being used in a setting irritates me a bit.
Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
I suggest you look up the Homelands storyline, quite a lot of backstory exploration for Ravi in that, as well as the deaths of Feroz and Serra, and the first death of Taysir.
We'll get back stories for most planeswalkers sooner or later, even the dead ones. I mean, how many had imagined that M19 would contain the backstory for both Bolas and Ugin? Or the rest of the elder dragons for that matter? (Now we have two elder dragons we want cards for instead of just Piru.)
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
Don't forget Merrivia Sal!
Flying.
When Merrivia enters the battle opponent creates six 1/1 green hunter tokens. Sacrifice Merrivia Sal.
When Merrivia dies put a +1/+1 counter on each creature your opponent controls.
“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.”
—Volrath
Merrivia was the other elder dragon I was referring to.
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Numquam evolutioni obstes. Solum conculceris.
Pascite draconem, evolvite aut morimini.
I'm pretty much versed about it. No self-respecting Serra stan would be caught dead without knowing the Homelands storylines and/or comics.
Which brings me to:
Again, imo unless a planeswalker will have a connection to the current storyline and/or the Gatewatch the chances of their backstories being explored would pretty much just lie on Commander... hence my iffyness when totally New Planeswalkers get a big slice in the Commander pie than possible old ones in that product line and these New Planeswalkers end up not being used in the most soonest of time.
Unless they're gonna make the Core Sets something like Commander in terms of flavour exploration, I think it's safe to say that the Core Sets would only touch further backstories of characters that are embroiled in the current happenings of the lore (so pretty much, every post-Mending walkers)... which Nicol Bolas is (and coincidentally, the Elder Dragons' back stories was in need of organizing/pruning/improving)
Serra Stan - Angel Enthusiast - Garruk and Tyvar thirsty follower - Flavor and Art Enthusiast
I personally like "rando legends" because as long ad they're done well, they hint at interesting worlds in the multiverse that me may some day visit. Estrid is a miss in this regard though, I find her character design to be super boring.