A while back, we were told of the news that we would not see our beloved Birds of Paradise in 9th Edition. Instead, Llanowar Elves would be printed. Recently, we have been given slight hints that Wrath of God, the other chase rare in the Core Set, may be leaving as well. With the two highest priced rares potentially leaving us, that leaves room for one or two new rares.
Join us as we explore what we predict to be the new face of the Core Set, and what Rares you'll be chasing after when Ninth hits the market.
Part One: Axing Wrath of God? Wrath of God. It's been in the metagame for as long as there has been a game named Magic. It's the classic board-sweeper, used in decks from U/W Control to White Weenie. However, as of late, Wizards has been hinting that God's hand will no longer be sweeping down from the heavens and wiping the field free of all who stand there. It's the best card in it's category, and it limits what R&D can print- why play Solar Tide when you can play Wrath of God for less cost and a greater effect? This, we believe, is the logic R&D would use to justify it's removal- it has become boring. But Wizards is a company, after all, and they need a card to make people buy their sets. What, then, would replace it as the new chase rare for White?
Here we come to Final Judgment. It came out only a few months ago, in the Betrayers of Kamigawa expansion, and some have been commenting that it seems almost tailor-made to be in the Core Set. It's not as powerful as Wrath of God, and doesn't have any of the block mechanics one usually finds on the Block's standard board-sweeper, such as Akroma's Vengeance in Onslaught, which displayed the Cycling mechanic.
Yet there are problems with Final Judgment. Firstly, it was printed in Betrayers of Kamigawa, an set still on the market when Ninth is released. This is no Elvish Champion situation here. Wizards, a company, doesn't like flooding the market with a card- and it limits the effectiveness of having it be the chase rare. Why buy Ninth packs when you can buy Betrayers packs and get black-bordered versions? From this standpoint, it simply doesn't make sense to put in Final Judgment.
Secondly, Final Judgment, although decent, just isn't a card you'd really buy packs for. At a hefty six mana, it just isn't fast enough to replace Wrath as White's board sweeper. Beyond that, it removes cards from the game, which tends to be shyed away from by Wizards in the Core Set.
If it is ever printed in a Core Set, it'll be Tenth, at least. Final Judgment just doesn't cut it for Ninth.
Armageddon
Whenever a Core Set rolls around, Armageddon is floated as an inclusion. Another classic of the ABU days, Armageddon has been wanted by many a player and collector over the years, and would certainly increase sales of Ninth boosters. However, the last time it was printed was Sixth Edition, back in the days of new rules and Mercadia. Indeed, it's questionable whether including Armageddon would help the white decks of today. The main problem, however, is the fact that Armageddon could completely warp the format, creating a game environment that R&D may not desire.
However, it is clear R&D wants White back. It has printed such cards as Samurai of the Pale Curtain in recent sets, and Armageddon could go a long way to improving white as a playable color in Standard. On the other hand, it could prove completely useless to the average White deck of today, simply not fitting with the strategies of the post-Ravager environment. It's questionable whether Wizards would print Armageddon at all, much the less whether it would be worth it.
Cataclysm
Another contender for the replacement is the Exodus classic, Cataclysm. Cataclysm is a game winner. Certainly both players are left with a creature, but in a Cataclysm deck that single creature will be much better then the opponents creature, and against slow decks it might be the only creature on the board. Also note that Cataclysm clears the lands so that your opponent has completely no chance that get back in the game. In creature decks like WW Cataclysm is a much better card then Wrath of God because it is an asymmetric Wrath of God, Armageddon and Purify for the same mana as a single Wrath of God.
However, it could certainly serve as a replacement to Wrath of God were it removed. Although it's not necessarily as good as Wrath, it would serve as an adequate replacement, potentially helping White Weenie decks in Standard. You might recall the days of Empyrial Armor and Shadow. If R&D wants to axe Wrath, this is the card they'd choose to replace it.
This and other sunny images may be found
in a booster pack in the near future.
Back in the days of Psychatog and Wild Mongrel, Mutilate was printed. For a relatively small amount of mana, you would have a Black Wrath of God effect. Plus, the art was really cool. So it recieved a modest amount of play, becoming mildly valuable until it rotated out, along with the rest of the Odyssey Block, when the Winter of Mirrodin began.
Some have speculated that this card, a solid, good black Rare, will return in Ninth, possibly as a replacement to Wrath as the mass-destroying chase rare. But the question is, why would they print it? Although a good, balanced card, it would likely not become a chase rare; it's simply not that good. Beyond that, Black is good in Standard as-is. We've speculated in this article that R&D is trying to bring White back; and reenforcing Black while hurting white would not aid them in that persuit.
If Mutilate is printed in Ninth, R&D will almost certainly reenforce White with something else.
Dust Bowl and Wasteland
Next we come across two cannibals; lands that destroy lands. Dust Bowl and Wasteland are important cards to some decks in Extended, which rotates this year. Many cards from these rotating sets have had functional reprints, or at least partial reprints in the last few sets. These, however, have not. There is the issue that Wizards has to consider of whether people would buy the Core Set for these cards, however, given the high price tag of Wasteland and Dust Bowl, reprinting them as Rares is not unfeasible. It is unlikely, however, that these would be playable in Standard, which currently has few playable nonbasics beyond the Urza's lands. Given their demand in other formats, and their applications against Tooth and Nail, they would likely be sought-after, especially given the fact that they are relatively hard to come across.
Tradewind Rider
Few cards would fit the current metagame as well as Tradewind Rider. Older base set always adapted to the current Standard formats. Merfolk Looter, for instance, was in 7th at the same time as the Odyssey discard mechanic Madness. It could be that R&D prints a few cards in 9th that have similar themes as the Kamigawa block.
For instance, they could include a few powerful Spirits of the past like Blinking Spirit or Tradewind Rider. While Blinking Spirit doesn’t fit the White color pie anymore and is nowadays outranked by far superior finishers cards like Pristine Angel and Eternal Angel, Tradewind Rider is still more then relevant. It has shown up in the occasional Extended deck like (Kiki-)Opposition and is the core of the Legacy ATS archetype. I think I’m not exaggerating if I say that Type 2 players would more then applaud the return of the ‘Rider to the Standard format. It’s a cool card which is enjoyed by casual and competitive players alike. Most importantly, it could get players to buy the set.
We hope that we have added a little insight to the mystery of what we will be seeing in our next base set. Until release, we can only cross our fingers and hope!
I do not know why it is not put in the article but I think it is very important to note that Senori also put in alot fo work for this article and helped it through some of its troubled times.
Do you have a link to where Wizards hint at removing Wrath? I've only heard a couple of second-hand rumours, I'd like to see where this comes from.
Now, assuming they indeed are removing it... Replacing it with Final Judgment seems like just the kind of thing they'd do. But I agree, Ninth is too early. Cataclysm, dunno, it just feels weird. I don't think they'll bring it back. I'd rather put my money on Armageddon. Probably just hoping. But if they want to power up white AND remove Wrath, Armageddon is the way to go. Though Cataclysm would work too I guess... But 'Geddon is more iconic and better suited to be the "face" of Ninth.
Mutilate is a no. While it's suited fine for reprint in the core set, removing Wrath for Mutilate at this point isn't gonna happen for relative power issues.
I'm quite sure they won't reprint Wasteland. I think they'll be glad to see an Extended without it. Dust Bowl I could see coming back, being less powerful than the omnipresent Wasteland.
Tradewind Rider, I hadn't thought about yet. Your reasoning seems fine though, so it seems well possible. Would be cool, and as you said casual and competitive players would enjoy it.
Nice article, got me thinking about Ninth. Good job.
You really just need to embrace the rage. I keep a small colony of hamsters next to my computer and every time I lose a match to mana screw I throw one against the wall.
This is a well written article..alot of opinions, and good information to back them up. However, it bothers me that they're not presented as opinions. When you make statements like 'they WILL do this' or 'they WONT do that', you're not stating an opinion, you're making a statement..and it's a statement that may or may not be accurate. In the future, I think it would be better if you made your opinions appear more as what they really are..your opinions..and less as statements that are undisputable.
Also, with Final Judgement, you forgot to mention the main reason that people think it'll be in 9th..it's not Arcane, even though it obviously should be.
Lastly, as we've seen with 8th Edition and with Elvish Champion, Wizards simply has no qualms with reprinting cards that are still in print. You can't acknowledge a precedence(Elvish Champion), but then disqualify it for no other reason than it doesn't suit your needs.
It's interesting to think that Wrath of God might actually leave the core set. Certainly with Counterspell and Birds of Paradise leaving the core set, this sets up for a very different possible environment to play in. Especially since lately it seems as if WotC has been very much on a "We want you to play your cards"-kick. Getting rid of Counterspell certainly set this up well. Removing Wrath of God would reinforce this some, as people would get to play their creatures without fear of losing them all that easily.
The downside is that it would dramatically affect the type of decks people could play. Taking Wrath of God out of the picture opens up a lot more Aggro deck options, just as removing Counterspell made Combo a bit more viable. Bringing Final Judgment into the core set would still permit Aggro to be strong, as getting to 6 mana for that kind of spell would be a bit too late to clear the board and let Control take on Aggro. So, that might not be the best option at all. Note: unless they plan on letting Wrath of God migrate along with Birds of Paradise...
Bringing Armageddon back seems to be counter to the idea of letting people play their cards. Afterall, if you don't have mana, it's not a lot of fun. Sure, we might have Stone Rain and Molten Rain, but destroying all lands is hardly fair. And is not a lot of fun. Unless you are playing White Weenie. Plus, Armageddon just may be in the wrong color... it almost makes more sense for this kind of effect to be in Red, like with Tectonic Break. Certainly that's a bit more fair, as you can only usually nail 2 or 3 lands from each player early on; rather than all of them.
Cataclysm might actually be a really neat addition to the core set. However, it is a much more powerful, and sometimes game breaking card compared to Wrath of God and Armageddon. I don't know if that makes it that much more unfair, and gets away from the "letting people play their cards". Afterall, it is a big reset button... and makes Control decks really happy.
Mutilate is actually the best choice here. It's not exactly Wrath of God, but it is a lot more fair. Firstly, it'll kill a lot of little creatures, but won't necessarily get the big ones. Plus, it requires someone to play more solidly in one color than in two. And you'll want to play Basic Lands. And it's in Black, which probably could use some mass removal like Mutilate as a "standard" card. So, I think all around it does well.
Wasteland is not going to see reprint. It's very, very powerful. And too powerful for being in the core set. Sure, it may only hose non-basics. But it's very cheap and instant speed land destruction. So, that's out of the question. Dust Bowl is definitely a lot more fair as land destruction. Given you have to give up a land, and it takes 3 mana to do this... I think that is actually not a bad card in the set.
Tradewind Rider would be a really powerful tool in the set. But, given they have Temporal Adept, I don't think they'd want a second creature that can bounce permanents. Between Temporal Adept, Boomerang, and Unsummon, there is enough bounce effects for the core set. So, that doesn't make sense either.
So, my vote for something to replace Wrath of God would be Mutilate. While the others would be interesting... I think that Mutilate is the most fair for a core set. The rest could reasonably see reprint in the future, but not in the core set.
KeeperEUSC: text sneakyhomunculus: text SorryGuy: text
to the current format.
Quote from Cyan »
Lastly, as we've seen with 8th Edition and with Elvish Champion, Wizards simply has no qualms with reprinting cards that are still in print. You can't acknowledge a precedence(Elvish Champion), but then disqualify it for no other reason than it doesn't suit your needs.
I seem to recall reading something about it being the exception, not the rule. I'm probably wrong, though.
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or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Yet there are problems with Final Judgment. Firstly, it was printed in Betrayers of Kamigawa, an set still on the market when Ninth is released. This is no Elvish Champion situation here. Wizards, a company, doesn't like flooding the market with a card- and it limits the effectiveness of having it be the chase rare.
Elvish Champion wasn't a chase rare. We'er talking about premier rare's here. They wouldn't do it.
I would have to disagree with Wrath getting the axe. one of MaRo's recent articles heralded it an amazing achievement in design and that it fits its role perfectly.
I would have to disagree with Wrath getting the axe. one of MaRo's recent articles heralded it an amazing achievement in design and that it fits its role perfectly.
This Article was begun (and largely finished) a week before that Article was printed.
That said, you're right, and Wrath probably won't be taken out given that Article. But the possibility remains.
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Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
As a tradtional uw and urw Contol player if they take *** out of T2; IM never going back. God did it suck them killing counterspell, if they do it to another control staple I doubt I will ever get back into t2 again :(. Something Ive just started to do.
Qwerty
So you'll only play as long as you get to use certain cards? Eh, maybelosing Wrath would give you the challenge of overcoming its loss and the experience of playing something new. Those who fear change will find themselves destroyed by it.
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So you'll only play as long as you get to use certain cards? Eh, maybelosing Wrath would give you the challenge of overcoming its loss and the experience of playing something new. Those who fear change will find themselves destroyed by it.
Just out of curiosity, you still all bold-red-letters-angry at the DCI for banning the clamp?
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Join us as we explore what we predict to be the new face of the Core Set, and what Rares you'll be chasing after when Ninth hits the market.
Part One: Axing Wrath of God?
Wrath of God. It's been in the metagame for as long as there has been a game named Magic. It's the classic board-sweeper, used in decks from U/W Control to White Weenie. However, as of late, Wizards has been hinting that God's hand will no longer be sweeping down from the heavens and wiping the field free of all who stand there. It's the best card in it's category, and it limits what R&D can print- why play Solar Tide when you can play Wrath of God for less cost and a greater effect? This, we believe, is the logic R&D would use to justify it's removal- it has become boring. But Wizards is a company, after all, and they need a card to make people buy their sets. What, then, would replace it as the new chase rare for White?
Part Two: Candidates for Replacement
Final Judgment
The new face of White?
The new face of white?
Here we come to Final Judgment. It came out only a few months ago, in the Betrayers of Kamigawa expansion, and some have been commenting that it seems almost tailor-made to be in the Core Set. It's not as powerful as Wrath of God, and doesn't have any of the block mechanics one usually finds on the Block's standard board-sweeper, such as Akroma's Vengeance in Onslaught, which displayed the Cycling mechanic.
Yet there are problems with Final Judgment. Firstly, it was printed in Betrayers of Kamigawa, an set still on the market when Ninth is released. This is no Elvish Champion situation here. Wizards, a company, doesn't like flooding the market with a card- and it limits the effectiveness of having it be the chase rare. Why buy Ninth packs when you can buy Betrayers packs and get black-bordered versions? From this standpoint, it simply doesn't make sense to put in Final Judgment.
Secondly, Final Judgment, although decent, just isn't a card you'd really buy packs for. At a hefty six mana, it just isn't fast enough to replace Wrath as White's board sweeper. Beyond that, it removes cards from the game, which tends to be shyed away from by Wizards in the Core Set.
If it is ever printed in a Core Set, it'll be Tenth, at least. Final Judgment just doesn't cut it for Ninth.
Armageddon
Whenever a Core Set rolls around, Armageddon is floated as an inclusion. Another classic of the ABU days, Armageddon has been wanted by many a player and collector over the years, and would certainly increase sales of Ninth boosters. However, the last time it was printed was Sixth Edition, back in the days of new rules and Mercadia. Indeed, it's questionable whether including Armageddon would help the white decks of today. The main problem, however, is the fact that Armageddon could completely warp the format, creating a game environment that R&D may not desire.
However, it is clear R&D wants White back. It has printed such cards as Samurai of the Pale Curtain in recent sets, and Armageddon could go a long way to improving white as a playable color in Standard. On the other hand, it could prove completely useless to the average White deck of today, simply not fitting with the strategies of the post-Ravager environment. It's questionable whether Wizards would print Armageddon at all, much the less whether it would be worth it.
Cataclysm
Another contender for the replacement is the Exodus classic, Cataclysm. Cataclysm is a game winner. Certainly both players are left with a creature, but in a Cataclysm deck that single creature will be much better then the opponents creature, and against slow decks it might be the only creature on the board. Also note that Cataclysm clears the lands so that your opponent has completely no chance that get back in the game. In creature decks like WW Cataclysm is a much better card then Wrath of God because it is an asymmetric Wrath of God, Armageddon and Purify for the same mana as a single Wrath of God.
However, it could certainly serve as a replacement to Wrath of God were it removed. Although it's not necessarily as good as Wrath, it would serve as an adequate replacement, potentially helping White Weenie decks in Standard. You might recall the days of Empyrial Armor and Shadow. If R&D wants to axe Wrath, this is the card they'd choose to replace it.
Part Three: What Else Have Y'Got?
Mutilate
This and other sunny images may be found
in a booster pack in the near future.
Back in the days of Psychatog and Wild Mongrel, Mutilate was printed. For a relatively small amount of mana, you would have a Black Wrath of God effect. Plus, the art was really cool. So it recieved a modest amount of play, becoming mildly valuable until it rotated out, along with the rest of the Odyssey Block, when the Winter of Mirrodin began.
Some have speculated that this card, a solid, good black Rare, will return in Ninth, possibly as a replacement to Wrath as the mass-destroying chase rare. But the question is, why would they print it? Although a good, balanced card, it would likely not become a chase rare; it's simply not that good. Beyond that, Black is good in Standard as-is. We've speculated in this article that R&D is trying to bring White back; and reenforcing Black while hurting white would not aid them in that persuit.
If Mutilate is printed in Ninth, R&D will almost certainly reenforce White with something else.
Dust Bowl and Wasteland
Next we come across two cannibals; lands that destroy lands. Dust Bowl and Wasteland are important cards to some decks in Extended, which rotates this year. Many cards from these rotating sets have had functional reprints, or at least partial reprints in the last few sets. These, however, have not. There is the issue that Wizards has to consider of whether people would buy the Core Set for these cards, however, given the high price tag of Wasteland and Dust Bowl, reprinting them as Rares is not unfeasible. It is unlikely, however, that these would be playable in Standard, which currently has few playable nonbasics beyond the Urza's lands. Given their demand in other formats, and their applications against Tooth and Nail, they would likely be sought-after, especially given the fact that they are relatively hard to come across.
Tradewind Rider
Few cards would fit the current metagame as well as Tradewind Rider. Older base set always adapted to the current Standard formats. Merfolk Looter, for instance, was in 7th at the same time as the Odyssey discard mechanic Madness. It could be that R&D prints a few cards in 9th that have similar themes as the Kamigawa block.
For instance, they could include a few powerful Spirits of the past like Blinking Spirit or Tradewind Rider. While Blinking Spirit doesn’t fit the White color pie anymore and is nowadays outranked by far superior finishers cards like Pristine Angel and Eternal Angel, Tradewind Rider is still more then relevant. It has shown up in the occasional Extended deck like (Kiki-)Opposition and is the core of the Legacy ATS archetype. I think I’m not exaggerating if I say that Type 2 players would more then applaud the return of the ‘Rider to the Standard format. It’s a cool card which is enjoyed by casual and competitive players alike. Most importantly, it could get players to buy the set.
We hope that we have added a little insight to the mystery of what we will be seeing in our next base set. Until release, we can only cross our fingers and hope!
-Matthew Breuer (KeeperEUSC)
-sneakyhomunculus
-Jake Sticka (SorryGuy)
-Senori
Images by iloveatogs
Do you have a link to where Wizards hint at removing Wrath? I've only heard a couple of second-hand rumours, I'd like to see where this comes from.
Now, assuming they indeed are removing it... Replacing it with Final Judgment seems like just the kind of thing they'd do. But I agree, Ninth is too early. Cataclysm, dunno, it just feels weird. I don't think they'll bring it back. I'd rather put my money on Armageddon. Probably just hoping. But if they want to power up white AND remove Wrath, Armageddon is the way to go. Though Cataclysm would work too I guess... But 'Geddon is more iconic and better suited to be the "face" of Ninth.
Mutilate is a no. While it's suited fine for reprint in the core set, removing Wrath for Mutilate at this point isn't gonna happen for relative power issues.
I'm quite sure they won't reprint Wasteland. I think they'll be glad to see an Extended without it. Dust Bowl I could see coming back, being less powerful than the omnipresent Wasteland.
Tradewind Rider, I hadn't thought about yet. Your reasoning seems fine though, so it seems well possible. Would be cool, and as you said casual and competitive players would enjoy it.
Nice article, got me thinking about Ninth. Good job.
By kingcobweb and Goblinboy.
Official Elitist of [thread=40859][RBS][/thread]
Also, with Final Judgement, you forgot to mention the main reason that people think it'll be in 9th..it's not Arcane, even though it obviously should be.
Lastly, as we've seen with 8th Edition and with Elvish Champion, Wizards simply has no qualms with reprinting cards that are still in print. You can't acknowledge a precedence(Elvish Champion), but then disqualify it for no other reason than it doesn't suit your needs.
The downside is that it would dramatically affect the type of decks people could play. Taking Wrath of God out of the picture opens up a lot more Aggro deck options, just as removing Counterspell made Combo a bit more viable. Bringing Final Judgment into the core set would still permit Aggro to be strong, as getting to 6 mana for that kind of spell would be a bit too late to clear the board and let Control take on Aggro. So, that might not be the best option at all. Note: unless they plan on letting Wrath of God migrate along with Birds of Paradise...
Bringing Armageddon back seems to be counter to the idea of letting people play their cards. Afterall, if you don't have mana, it's not a lot of fun. Sure, we might have Stone Rain and Molten Rain, but destroying all lands is hardly fair. And is not a lot of fun. Unless you are playing White Weenie. Plus, Armageddon just may be in the wrong color... it almost makes more sense for this kind of effect to be in Red, like with Tectonic Break. Certainly that's a bit more fair, as you can only usually nail 2 or 3 lands from each player early on; rather than all of them.
Cataclysm might actually be a really neat addition to the core set. However, it is a much more powerful, and sometimes game breaking card compared to Wrath of God and Armageddon. I don't know if that makes it that much more unfair, and gets away from the "letting people play their cards". Afterall, it is a big reset button... and makes Control decks really happy.
Mutilate is actually the best choice here. It's not exactly Wrath of God, but it is a lot more fair. Firstly, it'll kill a lot of little creatures, but won't necessarily get the big ones. Plus, it requires someone to play more solidly in one color than in two. And you'll want to play Basic Lands. And it's in Black, which probably could use some mass removal like Mutilate as a "standard" card. So, I think all around it does well.
Wasteland is not going to see reprint. It's very, very powerful. And too powerful for being in the core set. Sure, it may only hose non-basics. But it's very cheap and instant speed land destruction. So, that's out of the question. Dust Bowl is definitely a lot more fair as land destruction. Given you have to give up a land, and it takes 3 mana to do this... I think that is actually not a bad card in the set.
Tradewind Rider would be a really powerful tool in the set. But, given they have Temporal Adept, I don't think they'd want a second creature that can bounce permanents. Between Temporal Adept, Boomerang, and Unsummon, there is enough bounce effects for the core set. So, that doesn't make sense either.
So, my vote for something to replace Wrath of God would be Mutilate. While the others would be interesting... I think that Mutilate is the most fair for a core set. The rest could reasonably see reprint in the future, but not in the core set.
KeeperEUSC: text
sneakyhomunculus: text
SorryGuy: text
to the current format.
I seem to recall reading something about it being the exception, not the rule. I'm probably wrong, though.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Elvish Champion wasn't a chase rare. We'er talking about premier rare's here. They wouldn't do it.
I wonder how MBC would change if Mutilate becomes availiable to it in standard.
Twinkee
This Article was begun (and largely finished) a week before that Article was printed.
That said, you're right, and Wrath probably won't be taken out given that Article. But the possibility remains.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
So you'll only play as long as you get to use certain cards? Eh, maybelosing Wrath would give you the challenge of overcoming its loss and the experience of playing something new. Those who fear change will find themselves destroyed by it.
"Stoned players can't attack, block, or play spells or abilities."
Just out of curiosity, you still all bold-red-letters-angry at the DCI for banning the clamp?
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower