MTG Salvation

To be written

Mindmeld (This creature enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the number of cards that you have drawn so far this turn.)

Safir
Spiders (more specifically Dreamweavers)
Dragons
Naga
Humans

coolgriff14 (Design)
More to come, perhaps? The answer starts with you...

Quote from admirableadmiral »

Let's get this thread out of the way now.

So I've been looking at the spoiler for the past three days and I probably won't be buying BFZ. A lot of the commons, uncommons, and rares so far look like draft cards and I'm going to mistake that for the set being underpowered. Ulamog doesn't suffle back when he dies, so he can't stop mill and therefore is garbage and not viable for modern play. Gideon is bad because he looks like Xenagos and Xenagos isn't seeing play at this moment so he must be bad too?? The lands are just strictly worse shocklands and standard rotates in 18 months so why bother buying them anyways? Overall the set feels gimmicky; why do "colorless matters" when there are clearly colored mana symbols on the card? I don't think there will be much value in bfz because the rares are bad and the full arts won't add value because everyone knows that basics in standard are worth nothing, so my frame of reference is absolute and correct about every new card. Not only that but you'll never see the full art shock lands, they're just a blatant cash grab from wotc. Overall I am an amateur who's been playing since Theros but since I won my FNM one time in March I am a master at evaluating new cards, and take my expert opinion to forums so players can get mad at just how wrong I am.

Quote from Narvuntien »

I am really hoping for Logic Knot.

A Planeswalker’s Guide to Earth, Part 1

The Plane of Earth
Earth is a plane of tattered remnants. Remnants of a once great civilization. Remnants of gods and technology, of great wars and greater achievements. A series of cataclysmic events in recent years have brought the plane to a terrible reckoning, and now the final bastions of it’s civilization face threats from every side.

Though they have been ravaged, the dregs of this society face their trials with fierce determination and unity. Will their resolve see them through this storm of change? Or will they fade into history as a stepping stone for the next stage of evolution.... Earth is a plane of remnants, yet there are remnants of hope.

The Reckoning
Earth is one of the largest planes in the multiverse, second only to Dominaria. Yet despite it’s great size, it was once entirely dominated by humans. These humans formed hundreds of unique and varied cultures, languages, and religions throughout the plane; naturally, the many differences between these cultures led to a history of war. As Earth became increasingly saturated with warfare, human weapons became increasingly advanced. Eventually a weapon was devised that was so powerful, the humans feared to wield it, as the use of such a weapon would annihilate them all. This fear led to a short period of uneasy, universal peace.

In this period, the humans advanced other technologies. Technologies of convenience great and small. Over time, they grew reliant and comfortable with these machines; until, in an effort to artificially create an immortal human body, a group of engineers discovered a way to produce a living being. Seemingly overnight, this new mechanical life form struck down it’s creators and replicated itself with overwhelming efficiency. Its army rose in a great tide, slaughtering the unsuspecting humans with extreme prejudice. Cities were leveled in days, countries were massacred in a few weeks, and after one month they had consumed two massive continents. Almost half the entire plane of Earth.

In desperation, the human survivors fled from these continents across a vast sea. It seemed the artificial lifeforms were unable to follow at first, and so the humans took this opportunity to aim their great, war-ending weapon at the machine-dominated continents, and fired. The weapons all but destroyed the artificial lifeforms and transformed the continents into shattered, irradiated, island wastelands. Humanity had paid a great price in halting the machines: a third of their population was lost, and over the next few years many more died from starvation and radiation sickness. Unbeknownst to the survivors however, the worst was yet to come. The massive detonations of their weapon had stirred something even more dangerous than the machines... It had awoken the plane of Earth itself.

Gaia, and the Magic of Earth
The plane of Earth is devoid of elementals (The raw, living manifestations of mana). Elementals give shape and form to mana, and interactions between them and other living beings often leads to the “invention” of primitive magical ability. The lack of elementals on Earth therefore, has lead to a far greater reliance upon science and technology. Traces of magic still exists, but actual magic is extremely rare and generally regarded as non-existent.

Why are there no elementals on Earth? Because Earth IS an elemental. The entire plane of Earth is a titanic, ancient, living elemental named Gaia. It is the only known “living plane” in the multiverse. The concept is so bizarre, alien and frightening that most planeswalkers, upon learning this, avoid it entirely. Billions of years ago, before any life forms began living on her body, Gaia fell into a deep hibernation. While asleep, she continuously absorbed new elementals into her being, growing ever larger and more complex as time wore on.

The vast number of absorbed elementals have made her slumbering form unrecognizable from any other plane, but ancient beings such as Nicol Bolas know the truth (and greatly fear her awakening). Now, with the massive explosions of the human weapon, Gaia is beginning to finally stir and her awakening is causing an influx of dangerous phenomena throughout the plane.

A Planeswalker’s Guide to Earth, Part 2

WRegalia, Oceania and the Humans of EarthB
In the wake of the Reckoning, many of Earth’s humans formed highly militant governments. It was a grim period: overpopulation from refugees in major cities forced strict regulations (and in some extreme cases, culling). Many of these refugees never even encountered the artificial lifeforms, and were instead fleeing the coastlines where radiation fallout was killing millions. In addition, many high technologies were destroyed in a mass panic after it was discovered that they were showing signs of sentient “awakening”. Retrograding became the norm and cities that refused to comply with these regulations were brutally attacked and annexed into submission.

In time, many other cities and countries requested integration into these powerful alliances, seeking protection from yet another threat: natural disasters. Since the reckoning, natural anomalies such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes and even highly organized packs of dangerous wildlife had been wreaking havoc all over the world. The cause was unknown and ultimately unimportant; at this time survival was the number one priority of mankind, and their best option was the formation of a massive empire deep in a fortified metropolis. This empire eventually became known as Regalia.

Currently, only one other truly autonomous human nation remains besides the Empire of Regalia: the Oceanian Republic. Situated in a naturally protected and seemingly stable environment, the Republic was formed to provide safehaven for only the most intellectually deserving humans. While Regalia has constitutionally dedicated itself to the protection and conservation of mankind, the Republic has a different priority; discovering the root cause of the natural disasters, and finding a solution. To that end, it has constructed dozens of academies and produced dizzying amounts of research.

Though their communication is hindered by distance and retrograded technologies, these two nations are staunch and synergistic allies: Regalia provides an unparalleled level of military protection and law enforcement, while Oceania preserves the history of humanity and gives their race hope for a future through it’s research into the many threats that assail them. There are minor conflicts between their societies of course; Many Regalians see Oceania as a cowardly nation undeserving of it’s paradise. Conversely, Oceania is somewhat fearful of Regalia’s history of bloodshed and secretly plans for the day that they might have to sever ties. Regardless, both understand that war would do nothing but set humanity even further down the path of self-extinction, and thus, a stable equilibrium has been found.

UThe Enlightened and the Experimental SoulsR
Although the detonation of the human weapons exterminated nearly every last trace of his kind, “The Enlightened” (the first artificial technology to attain sentience) endured. For months he grieved the loss of his offspring in a haze; recalling nothing of his previous life save a vague, brief sense of triumph and an all-consuming hatred for the human race. He knew that he was perfect before, and his creations were perfect too. They fulfilled their functions with optimal precision and exercised humility in the face of their great achievements. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall how to fully reconstruct his children again.

The frustration of his memory loss coupled with this feeling of being so close, yet so far from his goals, drove The Enlightened to the brink of madness. Ultimately however, after considering ending his pitiful existence, he came to a decision: He would not let his inferior creators revel in their arrogance and continue their undeserving, inefficient existence. He would not deprive this world of perfection. He would toil forever to recreate his being and resume his original function.

Since that day, he has been wandering his blasted birthplace, constructing ever more dangerous prototypes and imbuing them with rudimentary intelligence; what he calls the experimental “soul”. He managed briefly to transmit these souls into dormant technologies far away, but infuriatingly the humans destroyed these newborns before they could begin the replication process. Undeterred, he resumed production in his immediate surroundings and has continued to do so to this day.

Some of these beings die immediately, others become self replicating but they always diminish with each generation due to a lack of intellect and resources. Though the form and machinery of his experiments vary greatly, The Enlightened always makes sure to program his new children with one primary function and one primary motivation: the eradication of the human race and the near extinction of their ancestors.

A Planeswalker’s Guide to Earth, Part 3

UThe Shamanic Tribes and the Fauna of EarthG
Not all of Earth’s humans were absorbed into the two dominant nations. A select few nomadic groups have managed to survive outside the city walls by embracing the dangerous wilds and adopting it as their home. Most of these nomadic tribes were never part of the human metropolitan cities in the first place, even before the reckoning; but that’s not to say they did not feel the effects. Mere weeks after the human weapon shook the world, Earth’s shamanic tribes could feel the effects of Gaia’s mana slowly leaking out from her core: like blood from a wound. This mana was not strong enough to form elementals, but it did have interesting and varied effects on Earth’s wildlife.

The tribes first took notice of a marked increase in the intelligence of animals. Wolves and other creatures with pack mentalities began utilizing sophisticated new strategies in their hunting patterns, flocks of ravens began stealing powerful ceremonial tools in the dead of night and beasts of burden like horses and oxen began fleeing their captors. After several months had passed however, a new threat completely eclipsed this curiosity: Natural disasters. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes and so many other hazards suddenly spiked in frequency all over the globe. The tribes of Earth quickly learned that to avoid these catastrophes, they had to completely leave civilization behind and follow the newly intelligent fauna ever deeper into the wildest parts of Earth.

The creatures seemed to be blessed with an intuitive knowledge of when and where disasters would strike. Even more strangely, they all seemed to be congregating towards a single place. Most of the tribes now believe this location to be the final true safe haven of Earth; they quickly gave up warning their fellow humans of their impending doom, and instead devoted themselves to following what they call “the great pilgrimage” of Earth’s fauna. The fact that all of these tribes refer to this pilgrimage the same way (despite rarely contacting one another), suggests that the wildlife has been communicating with them.


WYahwen and The Cosmological Deities of EarthR
As stated earlier, Gaia is unique in the multiverse as the only known living plane. Her existence, whether threatening or awe inspiring, has a great impact on any rational being that learns the truth. Long ago, one such being was the planeswalker Yahwen.

Yahwen was once a god of Theros, and not just any god, but the offspring of Heliod, God of the Sun. In his youth, Yahwen was petulant and vain, obsessed with the accumulation of fame and boastful of his followers. His Acolytes were often rebellious adolescents who were unsatisfied with the status quo but still too inexperienced to upend it. They were destructive, passionate and reckless but they had a tendency to spark important societal change through their actions. Though ultimately proud of his son’s achievements, Heliod struggled to contain Yahwen’s great fervor over many, many years.

His intentions were always righteous and he prioritized morality above all, but one day a tragedy struck. Yahwen had come to love one of his followers, a mortal named Eva. Though she was forcibly wed to another and he knew that the rules of his father made their love a crime, Yahwen spoke to this mortal every night and told her stories of his life among the gods. Upon discovering that her mortal husband had been unfaithful to her, Yahwen planned to bring him to his father's justice. But before he was given a chance, Eva discovered the truth and slew the man in a fit of rage. Heliod’s followers quickly captured and detained the guilt-stricken woman, and after a short trial she was sentenced to death.

Yahwen pleaded desperately with his father to pardon her action as a crime of passion. But Heliod’s judgements were always absolute, and though it pained him he ignored his son’s pleas. The day before the execution, Yahwen breached the most sacred laws of his kind by granted Eva godhood and stealing her away into the starry sky of Nyx. In their desperation to escape Heliod’s wrath, both Yahwen and Eva’s sparks ignited as one; transporting the lovers far across the multiverse. When they finally opened their eyes, they were face to face with a conscious Gaia.

The two new planeswalkers faced the titanic elemental plane, paralyzed with fear and awe. This was a true god. After a long moment of silence, Gaia forced her consciousness on the pair and imbued them with her will. Then she closed her eyes, and slept.

Since that profound, life-altering moment, Yahwen and Eva have taken it upon themselves to respect Gaia’s final wishes and maintain her hibernation, whatever the cost. Over millennia, they raised a family and granted godhood to several other mortals and planeswalkers willing to accept the eternal duty. Their small fellowship has grown into a highly complex pantheon of “Stewards” that watch over Gaia’s sleeping form and gain strength from the devotion of the beings that live on her body.

BGaia, the Living PlaneG
Billions of years old, unfathomable in size and intelligence, made of mana so dense that it naturally forms minerals... Gaia is indeed an awe inspiring entity.

Very little is known of her creation and purpose, even by other ancient beings such as the elder dragon Nicol Bolas and obsessive knowledge seekers such as Jace Beleren. Some speculate that she was born unto the Blind Eternities in the same way as the god-like Eldrazi, or even that she was their native plane long ago. Others believe her to be the result of planeswalking elementals, who's sparks caused them to become trapped eternally within her massive being. A small cultlike group within the stewards of Gaia believe her to be the mother of the multiverse itself...

Whatever her origin, her stewards (the gods and deities of earth) have upheld three essential duties since Yahwen and Eva were imparted with her will:
1. The balance of Life and Death must be maintained for the lifeforms on her body.
2. Her hibernation must not be interrupted lest her dreams command otherwise.
3. Visitors to her plane of existence must accept these two rules, or die.

Every century or so, the stewards manage to intercept and interpret vague, dreamlike instructions from Gaia's sleeping form; but her orders are always cryptic and often incomprehensible. Since the reckoning, this fellowship has been engulfed in turmoil and panic. None of Earth’s gods thought for an instant that mortals could awaken Gaia through technology; and now that the she is beginning to revive herself, her will is anything but vague. She is angry, and she wants nothing more than for her natural life and death cycles to lull her back to sleep. Unfourtunately, this would require the extinction of every rational being on Earth, and though he knows that he should allow it, Yahwen’s instincts are once again telling him to forestall an execution.

Quote from jturphy

If you print every card in mass quantity right now you limit your ability to continue to print that card in later years because people don't want them anymore. With products that sell for $6.99 MSRP, there is a lot of money to be gained in the future by not flooding the market right now.

People only have X amount of expendable income in a year. When you print something in a large print run, you risk people spending all their money on this product and not having money for other products they want to release.

Both of these are very important reasons to limit print runs. MM1 was also limited because it was a test. It's possible future MMs will have a higher print run, but it still will not be anything near standard sets or Commander products.