MTG Salvation

Quote from Impossible »

I hope this is the year WotC finally gives in and builds a decent mana base for the decks. Building a 4 color mana base isn't trivial, and even their 3 color ones were pretty sketchy. Is it really that hard to put checklands, filterlands, or shocklands into the decks? I don't understand why they go with the most budget lands possible.

Because if they put expensive lands in them they get scooped up by people looking for value.

WotC wants people to introduce the format to players and get them to play with and update these decks, hard to achieve that if netdeckers swoop in and buy all the product they can thus making it scarcer and more expensive.

Quote from Jivanmukta »

Quote from Caranthir »

Quote from ilovesaprolings »

Quote from Caranthir »

Also, Vojak is 1) too close to Voja, and 2) It is LITERALLY a Czech word for "soldier". The "wojek" on Ravnica were inspired by Polish "wojak", that have the same etymology. You would expect such name on Ravnica, not on Viking world.

Basandra sounded like a pretty dumb name too, yet she exists.
Voja and Wojek... so many memories... yet you think nowadays players know these thing? Wojek was only on one card in the RTR block, and Voja was simply forgotten. I don't think it's a big issue having a Vojak then.

Doesn't really matter now that we know that the fall set is Kaladesh

You are sadly right in the fact that original Ravnica intentionally used names and terms inspired by real Slavic words (Devkarin) or outright being real Slavic words (Ravnica, Utvara, wojek, matka, pendrek, Kraj), whereas the second time around, they were far less true and far less creative.


The point is, they very scarcely use so much similar names, and they would definitely not use such name in either Viking (then speculated) or Indian (now known) setting.

Same issue with Kamigawa. Mtg players are not good at 'getting' cultural influences. It apparently confuses them when things aren't westernized enough.

Most people aren't curious and, on top of that, dumb. Has nothing to do with MtG players but rather people in general.

Because busted equipment usually negatively affects Standard: cards that can be run in every deck always end up being very expensive cause netdeckers rule the day.

Neckdeckers are the scourge of the internet MtG community: they cry that cards aren't powerful enough when they are spoiled, quickly change their tune once they find their way on GP and PT winning lists and then cry about card prices once every one wants to buy those cards.

Not having busted equipment is very good for the game, you don't want to go back Mirrodin/Kamigawa, trust me.

As usual WotC made some busted cards when they first started making them (like they made some busted Planeswalkers in Elspeth Knight-Errant, Gideon Jura and Jace the Mind Sculptor) not long after introducing them) and then backed off. I am very confident Kaladesh is going to care about equipment (fits steampunk) so expect them to push a few equipment cards there and we will see how things shake out.

What barrier?

The barrier to testing cards for a format? Please...

Sorceries lead to more depth in gameplay in forcing the active player to weigh more options.

It, broadly speaking of course, benefits the better players since they generally are more astute in assessing the board and game state.

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This set looks more like MM15 than MM13 which is not a good thing at all.

Oh well, I sold my entire collection last week so I don't really care. I'll draft it once, maybe buy a couple of packs for fun and that will be that.

It always was all about Conspiracy 2 for me anyway.

Unfortunately OP is wasting his or her time.

As Magic has grown to be more and more popular, that means more and more entitlement. I mean they could learn to play Limited which is a ton of fun but nope, they'd rather ***** and moan then complain about Control Magic and say "well they should have put Snapcaster Mage instead" which is a pathetic argument.

Quote from Empathogen »

Quote from Downdala »

Strix has to be rare for 2 reasons:
1)psychatog.
2)it is very very powerful in limited. Way too efficient!

Calling BS on both of those reasons.
Firstly, we have no proof Psychatog is even here.
As far as limited goes- yes, it's efficient,
but so is Animate Dead, and it's still Uncommon (and only a single color).

Baleful Strix is way, way, way better than Animate Dead

I love how everyone is focusing on the mana ability, and not the other two (completely bonkers) abilities-
It's like Riku of Two Reflections' homeland!

Hopefully the rules will allow him to actually run it in his deck!

Quote from shinbatsu »

Quote from AzureShadow »

Quote from shinbatsu »

Missed opportunity to reprint enemy fetches in an easily accessible product. They print these to demand and big retail box stores carry them as well so the speculators would have their hands full trying to get all of the decks. Then WoTC would just drop the hammer on them like they did with Mind Seize. You can still find them on LGS store shelves for MSRP and True Name is 12.50 shipped nm on tcgplayer.

Yeah no. That would not work in the slightest, because there's a huge difference between enemy fetches and a legacy-only card that's played in a couple of decks.

The UR and UG decks would be worth vastly more than the other three which would suck for retailers because they'd still have to order full sets to sell those ones, leading to hugely overstocked piles of the other three on all store shelves while the blue ones are selling for ~70 each minimum just to carry the value of the sets.

Is that any different than what happened in the past with the 2013 and 2014 releases?

Also I doubt there would be hugely overstocked piles of the remaining three since the cheapest enemy fetch is currently at $32.00

Compare to the 2014 release where it's pretty well known the blue deck was undesirable and left to rot on shelves. Toss in a $35 fetch. Watch the shelves get cleaned.

And so people would buy the last three just on value alone. Or the reprint would drop prices making modern more accessible for new players. Either way, it helps the player base.

How does it help the player base to have the product for new players get snatched up by enfranchised players? The product you are looking for is Modern Masters. Commander decks are not the product for value reprints of highly sought after cards. If you believe otherwise, it is because that is what you want to believe, not because of anything that WotC has led you to believe.

Graded on two qualities: Usefulness and Novelty.

Usefulness: Will someone want to play this as a general? Is it powerful enough relative to other options?

Novelty: Does this open up new deck possibilities for this color identity? Is it something we haven't seen before?


Anya, Merciless Angel: Usefulness 1, Novelty 3

Usefulness: Well, I do think she’ll be a 7/7 indestructible most of the time she’s actually cast. You just might want to cast her more often than that. And announcing that you'll be trying to get at least one player low on life is not a great political move. In the end, she's a worse attacker than Aurelia and less consistently indestructible than Tajic. A player looking for a consistently effective card for its cost will probably pick another general.

Novelty: I give quite a bit of credit here for the indirect support she gives to the non-combat damage strategy, aka Punisher, which is currently the wheelhouse of Nekusar/Ruric Thar, and so on. If you do land your Ankh of Mishra, etc, then a 7/7 is good value and indestructible makes her very pesky. Not higher because Gisela is already arguably better for Punisher.


Arjun, the Shifting Flame: Usefulness 4, Novelty 2

Usefulness: News flash, Mindmoil is powerful in EDH. I will admit that I've never used it in a RU or RB deck because tutors and draw are available, but it's the consistency of having it in the command zone that's a big plus. A lot of combo decks, or even just decks that have a lot of synergy spread across different cards should consider Arjun over the current draw oriented options. That said, the decks that make the best use of so much access tend to both combo off from the hand and are usually too efficient to be very eager to tap out for 6cmc.

Novelty: The effect is copied from another card, and really, there aren't any strategies that suddenly come alive because this was printed. Just general utility for the combo, control, artifacts matter, etc, that Izzet is already doing. This is actually the best combat stats on an Izzet general now too, unless you count Keranos, so I'm disappointed that Izzet is still without a general that belongs in the red zone. At least it is not just more spells-matter stuff.

Daxos the Returned: Usefulness: 5 Novelty: 5

Usefulness: Really, a card that can generate tokens with a higher P/T than the mana spent on the activation is really strong. There are a lot less efficient token-generators that see a lot of play in EDH, none of them in the Command Zone. Daxos will be one of the top options for decks playing fair.

Novelty: A Daxos deck won't look like any other Orzhov deck. Even more than that, any two Daxos decks won't necessarily look alike. There is the pillowfort bleedout strategy with tokens as your board presence, sac and tax strategies, and I also like the Fallen Ideal direction the precon deck suggests you toward, where you might go voltron with Umbra Mystic, Flickering Ward, Spirit Loop etc. There are a lot of ways to take it, none of them are bad, and all of them are new to Orzhov while being a flavor fit.

Ezuri, Claw of Progress: Usefulness: 3 Novelty: 4

Usefulness: I can see a deck that might choose Ezuri as the best option. It’s hard to outshine the likes of Momir, Edric and Kruphix, but a lot of those take you away from the realm of fair and Ezuri is a strong option for playing fair.

Novelty: Usually adding Blue to any color means you now have to be bad at attacking. I award a ton of points for design that doesn’t think that way. You can now play an honest, aggressive Simic deck, which is great. And it manages a flavor feel too. That said, it’s +1/+1 counters has been done a lot.

Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas: Usefulness: 3 Novelty: 2

Usefulness: Honestly, Kalemne isn’t this automatic pass that others seem to think. A 3/3 Double Strike for 4cmc is strong enough to make it the top option for most other color identities. It’s just, Boros has Aurelia. If you think an extra Haste and Flying is worth an extra payment of the general tax, which you should, then you didn’t gain anything here.

Novelty: Double Strike in Boros. Very unambitious. Rewarding big creatures rather than small ones is almost a complete miss, because you know, you don’t actually get enough land in an opener to fill a deck with creatures that expensive. No points for a new direction if it’s not viable.

Karlov of the Ghost Council: Usefulness: 5 Novelty: 4

Usefulness: These counters add up quickly. I’d venture to say that Karlov would be a staple in a format like standard. If you’re considering the Voltron strategy, regardless of color, Karlov is on your list to look at. Orzhov will see a ton more play because of that. If that’s not enough, Control also benefits because outside of a few cards it’s a good bit easier to exile a creature with Karlov than with Teysa.

Novelty: The options for aggression were bit thin for Orzhov before, now they’re not considering both Generals spoiled. We’ve seen life gain played with before, but not in a way that’s actually relevant. Karlov decks will be both unique and strong.

Kaseto, Orochi Archmage: Usefulness: 2 Novelty: 4

Usefulness: Paying one mana for a one point buff, aka Shade, has not been good in the game of Magic since the 90’s. You just can’t grow a creature to relevant size, and add to the board, and protect it, with the mana your deck will give you. So, I expect any enthusiasm for Kasteo to fade quickly.

Novelty: Any card that enables a strategy where you attack isn’t a complete failure in my book, and Simic was one of the many color identities that lack for it. Snake tribal is also interesting, but ultimately not viable.

Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest Usefulness: 5 Novelty: 4

Usefulness: I suppose this is this set’s combo general. That’s ok with me, because non-Blue colors need that. People looking for a strong all-out Golgari deck will appreciate this card.

Novelty: If you enable an archetype for a color identity, even if it is combo, then that’s an achievement. What’s more, I see a lot of beatdown players finding new things to do with these colors now. Brings out a lot of new decks, even if she does seem really same-ey from a flavor perspective.

Meren of Clan Nel Toth Usefulness: 5 Novelty: 2

Usefulness: There’s an argument to be made that she replaces Glissa, and Glissa is really strong. Heck, she’s probably in the top 3 for attrition strategies of any color. It’s hard to make a card stronger than this without ruining the game.

Novelty: Even though this general will see a ton of play, the decks will still look exactly like Karador without White. I’m glad for this card, but it won’t add anything truly now. You can’t win them all.

Mizzix of the Izmagnus: Usefulness: 5 Novelty: 2

Usefulness: I’ve been considering this card for a while, and I’m pretty sure it’s the new top dog for Izzet. Oppressive things start to happen easily when around 5+ counters are achieved. This guy will see a ton of play, both by players decided on Izzet and by players looking for a color identity for the control/combo strategy.

Novelty: Same as Meren, it’s the same stuff this color identity does, just a bit more powerful than before. I’m not complaining, but I’m weary of reading the same text on Izzet cards about Instants/Sorceries.



Overall, I'm a bit surprised at the negativity. I guess I shouldn't be, because it's the internet. But as I'd been saying, Orzhov was definitely in the most need of a good General, and they got one. And despite the Boros generals, I don't think any of them were complete misses. Some guilds were in a spot where the current options just couldn't be outdone. I'm still glad to see most of these generals.

Comparison of Approximate Deck Value (without new cards):

$59.97 WB Call the Spirits

$67.12 BG Plunder the Graves
$62.64 GU Seize Control
$68.78 UR Swell the Host
$70.58 RW Wade into Battle
EDIT: Obviously, if you consider any of the cards worthless, the deck values to you will be much lower. For those players who can use ALL or even MOST of the cards however, these intro decks continue to be a very good deal.

Three of the decks at least have Lightning Greaves in them. Always a good card to have multiples of.

Quote from Canadian Guy of Wrath »

Quote from Equinox2793 »

Quote from Canadian Guy of Wrath »

Where was it confirmed that Liliana is going to be in Shadows over Innistrad?

Before the set was announced Maro confirmed that Liliana would be in the next set.

Seems weird of him to do something like that

Source?

I paged through the last few months of posts containing the word "Liliana" on MaRo's blog, and here's the closest thing that I could find to his saying that "Liliana would be in the next set."

magistermystax asked: Does the move towards a main cast mean we'll have the Origins planeswalkers in every block?

It does. Not forever, but for the time being. These are the main characters who we are going to be following. That doesn’t mean we won’t see other planeswalkers (because we will) but these five will be the focus.

We did mention at the panel that all of the Origins 5 save Liliana (who we’ll see soon) is in the Battle for Zendikar block story. [emphasis added]
[SOURCE]

So while this can be easily interpreted as MaRo saying that Liliana will be in the block following BFZ, it's certainly not a given that she'll be in SOI block.

Reading all these grandiose and niche predictions just makes me happy with how let down some of you will be. It also makes me happy knowing so many of these bad ideas won't be in there.

Quote from AGO »

The hilarious part is the NON Fullart lands are going to end up more rare then the Fullart lands.

As a person trying to complete the land base in my Cube with half-art BFZ lands... yup. They aren't really more expensive but they are a pain in the butt to get.

Quote from JunKurisu »

Except it's not just one bus, the drivers are all pushers, the pushers want a significant percentage higher above the norm, and they're just plain ********s. Seriously, It's getting really bad when you can't buy fat-packs just because you get a bunch of full-arts, which considering the contents of the set is largely the only way you're going to get much if any value out of it. Expeditions were just a way to ramp up sales of this stinker of a set. And unfortunately, it's kind of working.

Fine, there are 10,000 buses on my metaphoric road. Still the crackhead's fault for jumping into traffic. You want to know how you keep from getting overcharged? Don't pay it. If you want it but can't afford it, you don't get to buy it. Jesus, just imagine if I were to sit here on my fat ass complaining about how Skittles are $.89 a pack now and I used to pay $.50 for them, and then I blame others for MY unwillingness to pay market value for something. MSRP is $40 for fat packs but they are worth $60. MSRP doesn't matter when it doesn't take into account actual market value. AND, if anything the MSRP lets a ton of people get a $60 product for $40 if they happen to find them at a big box store. So, thank god for MSRP because it has saved a lot of people a lot of money.

"Wade into Battle" means that's gotta be fake. Who at Wizards would call a deck THAT?!

Quote from skraz1265 »

Well yeah. If you build a deck where you never actually want to cast your general you would definitely go for those. I'm not sure why you would even play commander with that mindset, though, since you end up just playing highlander with some extra restrictions. To each their own, I guess.

Either way, that's not necessarily a bad thing, and certainly not something that should stop wizards from making more commanders with command-zone effects.

How much we care about our commander is on a spectrum. Some people build the entire deck around it and others build the deck thinking of the Commander as the card they play when they run out of other stuff to do. And, believe it or not, the game is more than just the Commander so I think it's okay to fall on that spectrum where you want.

Quote from Canadian Guy of Wrath »

Well you can't win via commander damage if you do not cast your commander

Technically you can.