first of all, this is an excellent post. Everyone here seems to think that everyone who doesn't think Alara is amazing is a typical fanboy troll. Yes, there are always idiots who say that every set is the new worst set ever. However, Shards is actually pretty darn bad. When you rationally analyze it, as you have done, the set is bad. Period.
Secondly, there is a good reason that this set is bad. This is an anti-power creep set, through and through. Its a lot like Kamigawa:
1. There is a lot of WAY overcosted things.
2. There is a lot of anti-synergy. The Shards only interact with each other. The spirits or non-spirits were the same way. A subset of this is that you have to pick a side. If you choose to play Grixis, you have to play some sucky Grixis cards because you can't play Bant cards.
3. A lot of the design is flavor based. All that spirit craft nonsense was a lot like Exalted. Its pretty aweful strategically, but is a cool idea flavorfully. And once again, it makes you play worse cards.
4. There is lot of Timmy appeal. Myojins, meet the mythic overlords. Legends, meet the planeswalkers. Not to mention the ultimatums.
5. There are few really splashy rares. Kamigawa was not all suck, we got Cranial Extraction, Pithing Needle, Umezawa's Jitte, Kataki and the like. Alara has Sarkhan, and few other good rares will surface.
6. The set largely ignores Standard. This is much more true for Alara, but even then, would you call Pithing Needle a standard card or an eternal card? Cards like Tezzeret, Lich's Mirror, and Ad Nauseam are terrible in Type 2, but will be very good in non-Type 2 formats.
7. The design got stretched thin. Look at Bant, your mechanic is Exalted. So, almost every card in Bant has exalted, or has nothing. In Kamigawa, every card was Spirit, anti-spirit, special, or nothing. Very limited design can cause boring, simple sets like this. Ravnica could have had this problem, but as we all know it did not. Ravnica was also a design masterpiece, and in some ways gave Magic a new lease on life. In Alara, the design team didn't eat as many Wheaties as they did with Ravnica, so we are getting slapped in the face with the pitfalls of self-limited design, like we were in Kamigawa.
Summary
In Shards, like in Kamigawa, flavor severely limited design in terms of power and interest. This created a very underpowered set, but with excellent flavor. Also, in order to contain power creep, it was necessary that it be printed.
So there you go. That's not trolling, and it doesn't fit the trolling/complaining template posted earlier, ironically by someone who was trolling at the time. This is the analysis people. Some of us have looked at Alara and seen this. Finally, note that I'm not a doomsayer. I think all of this is a good thing. A lot of people don't realize that Lorwyn block was insanely overpowered.
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Formerly known as steve-o
The internet is like drugs, it can be alot of fun, but most people on it say really stupid stuff
Good job comparing limited fodder to a rare. They just gave red zombie crocodile is all. Why didn't you compare it to that?
And rareness isn't supposed to have anything to do with card power. Well, that's what WotC says at least (we know this doesn't turn out to be too real, but still, the difference between the two cards is too big.)
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Some of those are so bad it isn't fun. They make you go "huh?". But yes, you missed Convenant of Minds - probably even worse than Spell Snip. Just compare it to Tidings. Also, you missed the most direct comparison to Cylian Elf - Safehold Elite. It has the same creature types and rarity.
Anyway, good post. I just hope this don't turn into yet another flamewar.
You forgot about the obelisks, which are strictly worse than Darksteel Ingot.
Also I think most everyone agrees that the panoramas are a little worse than Terramorphic Expanse? Also it's fair to say that Banewasp Affliction is worse than Death Watch. If it wasn't for that other blue, Covenant of Minds would be pretty much strictly worse than Concentrate.
There are also several cards that are strictly better than some older ones. The obelisks are strictly better than the invasion Cameos, for instance. I won't mention the bears with extra abilities. And the shard-lands are better than the Coastal Tower lands.
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"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." - Jack Handey
MY TYPE TOO DECKS
-B Rogues
-Sanguine Bond 5c Life gain
-Polymorph Tokens MY EXTENDED DECK
-BWrRs deck for da winz! MY TYPE ONE DECK
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ptq 4th place
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
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Ok Camlost, now compare those to those that are better and worse in T2 only. I agree with this thread, (With the exception of Anima/Skyshroud, Anima is better). My point being that a lot of people are complaining because "It does nothing for standard" and blah, blah blah, and very few (that I've seen) are complaining over how one card is better then another in older formats (Again, Spellsnip is one that doesn't apply). So yeah, there's my point, try doig that with only cards in T2.
What? Skyshroud is provably, objectively better. Druid of the anima doesn't suck, but it's certainly strictly worse than skyshroud.
For the record, "strictly better' is a very thin term in MTG, and applied to the above fails. Each is better in a different enviroment and thus neither is strictly better. If you wanna talk strictly better, go more towards Miscalculation vs Spell Snip.
But it's Patchwork Gnomes that's immune to artifact hate. What's the problem?
My most hated card is probably Vicious Shadows. 7 mana? Wha??? Seems like a marginal card if it were 3 mana. What a waste of a cool card name and art. Of course, fate will spite me when this card becomes the next .dec everybody is complaining about being too powerful.
I mean, he costs 2GR. 2GR! Who could ever pay such an amount? Are Wizards that dumb that they think people can actually wait 4 turns in a competitive game?
His first ability is jank, his second ability only lasts until the EOT, and his third ability just gets a Wrath of God on the next turn. Not to mention he starts off at 4 loyalty! He starts off right in Lava Axe range.
Coma Veil -- a splendid 5cc blue enchant artifact or creature that causes them not to untap during their owner's untap step! Isnt that wonderful? For 5 whole mana (4+[u]), I can potentially cause somebody to no longer untap via untap step! Not only is this piece of cardboard unusable, you already have substantially better options for constructed with stuff like arrest and even pacifism... Under 5 mana should instead be bouncing people en-mass or be causing more disruption than this piece of jank.
I'd rather opt to kick ass and still have mana left over...
And limited can't use this because I'd rather be doing something substantial (Tezzeret the Seeker anyone?). There have been numerous cards that have done basically the same thing at better prices...
The card is sooooo bad I think R&D called it Coma Veil because I think you have to be in a Coma to put it in your deck
**At Voltaire, I hope you're being sarcastic with Sarkhan Vol because if you're serious, you should look at the card again....he's nuts
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10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
I mean, he costs 2GR. 2GR! Who could ever pay such an amount? Are Wizards that dumb that they think people can actually wait 4 turns in a competitive game?
His first ability is jank, his second ability only lasts until the EOT, and his third ability just gets a Wrath of God on the next turn. Not to mention he starts off at 4 loyalty! He starts off right in Lava Axe range.
Thanks, Wizards....idiots.
Well, to be fair, Lava Axe is broken. 1/4 of your life total to the dome. Bam!;)
Yes I have, taps for green and you can tap a mana for red or white. Wooha mana washing. In my opinion Anima is better because it produces the mana and doesn't wash for it.
Turtle Formation. Fun name and flavor. U3 when plaxmanta was U1 AND gave you a bear if you instead paid UG. Still didn't see much play. This card should be a cantrip so limited decks would at least consider it.
I mean, he costs 2GR. 2GR! Who could ever pay such an amount? Are Wizards that dumb that they think people can actually wait 4 turns in a competitive game?
His first ability is jank, his second ability only lasts until the EOT, and his third ability just gets a Wrath of God on the next turn. Not to mention he starts off at 4 loyalty! He starts off right in Lava Axe range.
Thanks, Wizards....idiots.
Lmao, seriously.
Let's see what card in this set do I despise that way i can at least contribute to the thread... Ah! here we go!
While I like Alara quite a bit, there is a card I hate. I despise Welkin Guide. What is Welkin Guide?
Welkin Guide 4W
Creature - Bird Cleric
Flying
When Welkin Guide comes into play, target creature gets +2/+2 and gains flying until end of turn.
2/2
Ok seriously, at five mana it's a 2/2 whith a half-ass ability. For five mana I want all my creature to get +2/+2 and flying until end of turn not just one little minion, even if said Minion has exalted and there are other exatls on the board, this card still fails.
Yes I have, taps for green and you can tap a mana for red or white. Wooha mana washing. In my opinion Anima is better because it produces the mana and doesn't wash for it.
Are you joking, or do you seriously not understand why Skyshroud Elf is essentially strictly better than the Druid?
Initial diagnosis, based on your belief that Druid is actually better, is that you're somehow not understanding the mechanical difference between the two cards.
(With the exception of Anima/Skyshroud, Anima is better
Are you sure you read the card? Skyshroud Elf is strictly better. Strictly.
Not that the Druid is bad either anyway. Skyshroud Elf was probably a bit above the curve.
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Quote from parinoid »
I rolled 5 D6's and got 3 fours. They must have changed the odds of getting a 4!
Seems like only half of the people get why Druid of the Anima is worse than Skyshroud Elf. Read Skyshroud Elf. He has the same effect, since he can tap and then "wash" his own mana. Only, he can also wash all mana.
Now, I'm pretty sure there's an argument somewhere where the Druid can be better, but I'm really having a hard time finding it. All the things that tax or punish activated abilities ignore mana abilities (Burning-Tree Shaman, Suppression Field). I know there's got to be a solution out there, but can anyone think of the example that makes Druid not strictly worse? Anyone?
That said, Druid of the Anima is still a great card. Totally playable. If you re-read my post, I make no assertions that these pre-obsoleted cards are bad in any format (though some of them are), only that they are "mostly" worse than prior printed cards. Druid of Anima is totally appropriate, totally flavorful, no doubt. I've got no problem with it.
I agree with a few of steve-o's comments. This set seems to have been designed around flavor primarily. I'm a big fan of the flavor, so I don't mind. And besides, I think the complaints about the drop in Constructed playables are bogus. I just think that, on the common level, there are a lot of underwhelming commons. And I expected better out of the set whose smaller set size seemed to promise higher quality in the common slot.
Also, yes, Darksteel Ingot is essentially better than any of the Obelisks. Missed that one! Thanks Wombat. I also considered Death Watch over Bonewasp Affliction.
Also, the moving of this thread is dubious. My topic is specific: "mostly worse cards" as opposed to "Cylian Elf and other terrible cards" which seems more general. And my main thesis revolves around the "strictly worse" sorts of arguments. And it was a carefully constructed post, so why no love? I respect and appreciate the mods--honestly--but I read the thread I was merged with and felt that my topic was sufficiently different from it.
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On MTGO as Protoman.
On 7/14/10, broke 1900 mark! <3 ROE.
:1mana::symg: Creature - Elf Druid:symtap:: Add :symr:, :symg:, or to your mana pool.
So Skyshroud elf is strictly better. They printed guys like Manaforge Cinder for a reason, skyshroud elf could do that AND mana accel. This guy can only mana accel therefore Skyshroud is better. (and being able to convert colorless mana to colored is also nice).
I can only think of a single scenario where Anima could be better than Skyshroud.
You need a R. You tap your mana elf and your opponent responds with Split Second removal to the elf. If you don't have a use for the G in your hand you could even end up burning yourself.
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Secondly, there is a good reason that this set is bad. This is an anti-power creep set, through and through. Its a lot like Kamigawa:
1. There is a lot of WAY overcosted things.
2. There is a lot of anti-synergy. The Shards only interact with each other. The spirits or non-spirits were the same way. A subset of this is that you have to pick a side. If you choose to play Grixis, you have to play some sucky Grixis cards because you can't play Bant cards.
3. A lot of the design is flavor based. All that spirit craft nonsense was a lot like Exalted. Its pretty aweful strategically, but is a cool idea flavorfully. And once again, it makes you play worse cards.
4. There is lot of Timmy appeal. Myojins, meet the mythic overlords. Legends, meet the planeswalkers. Not to mention the ultimatums.
5. There are few really splashy rares. Kamigawa was not all suck, we got Cranial Extraction, Pithing Needle, Umezawa's Jitte, Kataki and the like. Alara has Sarkhan, and few other good rares will surface.
6. The set largely ignores Standard. This is much more true for Alara, but even then, would you call Pithing Needle a standard card or an eternal card? Cards like Tezzeret, Lich's Mirror, and Ad Nauseam are terrible in Type 2, but will be very good in non-Type 2 formats.
7. The design got stretched thin. Look at Bant, your mechanic is Exalted. So, almost every card in Bant has exalted, or has nothing. In Kamigawa, every card was Spirit, anti-spirit, special, or nothing. Very limited design can cause boring, simple sets like this. Ravnica could have had this problem, but as we all know it did not. Ravnica was also a design masterpiece, and in some ways gave Magic a new lease on life. In Alara, the design team didn't eat as many Wheaties as they did with Ravnica, so we are getting slapped in the face with the pitfalls of self-limited design, like we were in Kamigawa.
Summary
In Shards, like in Kamigawa, flavor severely limited design in terms of power and interest. This created a very underpowered set, but with excellent flavor. Also, in order to contain power creep, it was necessary that it be printed.
So there you go. That's not trolling, and it doesn't fit the trolling/complaining template posted earlier, ironically by someone who was trolling at the time. This is the analysis people. Some of us have looked at Alara and seen this. Finally, note that I'm not a doomsayer. I think all of this is a good thing. A lot of people don't realize that Lorwyn block was insanely overpowered.
The internet is like drugs, it can be alot of fun, but most people on it say really stupid stuff
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Some of those are so bad it isn't fun. They make you go "huh?". But yes, you missed Convenant of Minds - probably even worse than Spell Snip. Just compare it to Tidings. Also, you missed the most direct comparison to Cylian Elf - Safehold Elite. It has the same creature types and rarity.
Anyway, good post. I just hope this don't turn into yet another flamewar.
Also I think most everyone agrees that the panoramas are a little worse than Terramorphic Expanse? Also it's fair to say that Banewasp Affliction is worse than Death Watch. If it wasn't for that other blue, Covenant of Minds would be pretty much strictly worse than Concentrate.
There are also several cards that are strictly better than some older ones. The obelisks are strictly better than the invasion Cameos, for instance. I won't mention the bears with extra abilities. And the shard-lands are better than the Coastal Tower lands.
MY TYPE TOO DECKS
-B Rogues
-Sanguine Bond 5c Life gain
-Polymorph Tokens
MY EXTENDED DECK
-BWrRs deck for da winz!
MY TYPE ONE DECK
-Fluctuator
ptq 4th place
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator
Anyway,
my card is Viashino Skeleton. Why? Because it is a 4 cost guy who costs 2 mana and a card to regen itself, A 2/1!!!!!!
Honestly, why would you run it in anything?
It's not even simple enough to run a teach a noob to play deck.
Butcher of Words.
Made by Spiderboy4
For the record, "strictly better' is a very thin term in MTG, and applied to the above fails. Each is better in a different enviroment and thus neither is strictly better. If you wanna talk strictly better, go more towards Miscalculation vs Spell Snip.
My most hated card is probably Vicious Shadows. 7 mana? Wha??? Seems like a marginal card if it were 3 mana. What a waste of a cool card name and art. Of course, fate will spite me when this card becomes the next .dec everybody is complaining about being too powerful.
I mean, he costs 2GR. 2GR! Who could ever pay such an amount? Are Wizards that dumb that they think people can actually wait 4 turns in a competitive game?
His first ability is jank, his second ability only lasts until the EOT, and his third ability just gets a Wrath of God on the next turn. Not to mention he starts off at 4 loyalty! He starts off right in Lava Axe range.
Thanks, Wizards....idiots.
I'd rather opt to kick ass and still have mana left over...
And limited can't use this because I'd rather be doing something substantial (Tezzeret the Seeker anyone?). There have been numerous cards that have done basically the same thing at better prices...
The card is sooooo bad I think R&D called it Coma Veil because I think you have to be in a Coma to put it in your deck
**At Voltaire, I hope you're being sarcastic with Sarkhan Vol because if you're serious, you should look at the card again....he's nuts
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Well, to be fair, Lava Axe is broken. 1/4 of your life total to the dome. Bam!;)
Oooh! 1000 posts! I may never post again!
Yes I have, taps for green and you can tap a mana for red or white. Wooha mana washing. In my opinion Anima is better because it produces the mana and doesn't wash for it.
As
Low
As
Reasonably
Achievable
Lmao, seriously.
Let's see what card in this set do I despise that way i can at least contribute to the thread... Ah! here we go!
While I like Alara quite a bit, there is a card I hate. I despise Welkin Guide. What is Welkin Guide?
Ok seriously, at five mana it's a 2/2 whith a half-ass ability. For five mana I want all my creature to get +2/+2 and flying until end of turn not just one little minion, even if said Minion has exalted and there are other exatls on the board, this card still fails.
Are you joking, or do you seriously not understand why Skyshroud Elf is essentially strictly better than the Druid?
Initial diagnosis, based on your belief that Druid is actually better, is that you're somehow not understanding the mechanical difference between the two cards.
Skyshroud Elf is strictly better. Strictly.
Not that the Druid is bad either anyway. Skyshroud Elf was probably a bit above the curve.
Now, I'm pretty sure there's an argument somewhere where the Druid can be better, but I'm really having a hard time finding it. All the things that tax or punish activated abilities ignore mana abilities (Burning-Tree Shaman, Suppression Field). I know there's got to be a solution out there, but can anyone think of the example that makes Druid not strictly worse? Anyone?
That said, Druid of the Anima is still a great card. Totally playable. If you re-read my post, I make no assertions that these pre-obsoleted cards are bad in any format (though some of them are), only that they are "mostly" worse than prior printed cards. Druid of Anima is totally appropriate, totally flavorful, no doubt. I've got no problem with it.
I agree with a few of steve-o's comments. This set seems to have been designed around flavor primarily. I'm a big fan of the flavor, so I don't mind. And besides, I think the complaints about the drop in Constructed playables are bogus. I just think that, on the common level, there are a lot of underwhelming commons. And I expected better out of the set whose smaller set size seemed to promise higher quality in the common slot.
Also, yes, Darksteel Ingot is essentially better than any of the Obelisks. Missed that one! Thanks Wombat. I also considered Death Watch over Bonewasp Affliction.
Also, the moving of this thread is dubious. My topic is specific: "mostly worse cards" as opposed to "Cylian Elf and other terrible cards" which seems more general. And my main thesis revolves around the "strictly worse" sorts of arguments. And it was a carefully constructed post, so why no love? I respect and appreciate the mods--honestly--but I read the thread I was merged with and felt that my topic was sufficiently different from it.
On 7/14/10, broke 1900 mark! <3 ROE.
Druid of the Anima
:1mana::symg: Creature - Elf Druid:symtap:: Add :symr:, :symg:, or to your mana pool.
So Skyshroud elf is strictly better. They printed guys like Manaforge Cinder for a reason, skyshroud elf could do that AND mana accel. This guy can only mana accel therefore Skyshroud is better. (and being able to convert colorless mana to colored is also nice).
How is anima better than skyshroud elf?
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You need a R. You tap your mana elf and your opponent responds with Split Second removal to the elf. If you don't have a use for the G in your hand you could even end up burning yourself.