"Necro-Alchemist", does nothing with creating or synergizing with the undead...
I wasn't one of Ludevic's big fanboys, but I was excited to see what they finally do with him. And it's pretty disappointing. It's too bad he's part of the group hug deck, because everything about this card from a vorthos POV is very wrong. It could have been saved with "and you create a 2/2 black Zombie token creature" tacked on the end, but I guess the nonblack deck shouldn't have black tokens. Which brings me back to the failure of this card.
I collect anything Chandra related. Maybe I will upload some pictures sometime.
I do the same thing for Liliana. Do you include cards that quote and/or reference Chandra, too? It looks like we'll have a few of the same additions going into our respective collections this set like Furious Reprisal. And I hope that image of Liliana whispering to Chandra is a Diabolic Tutor reprint.
Okay. It looks like Nissa is seeing leylines, or more precisely, the aether fluxes, like the Kaladeshi elves do. Note the blue and green ribbons in her art.
Second image: So there is a happy meeting between Pia and Chandra. Neat.
Third image: Looks like Chandra and Nissa imprisoned
Fourth image: Holy ... again. Tezz, you are looking really sinister.
Fifth image: The surprise. But Ajani has a history with Nicol Bolas, and if the next stop is Amonkhet, it makes sense that he will appear somehow. But I expected to see him there, not already on Kaladesh. Also, I wonder why Chandra is missing from this group shot.
If chandra is missing, alongside the really pushed card, perhaps we do not see anymore chandra for a time. She does not have to die, but if her mother is alive perhaps she wants to spend some time on the plane.
And then Koth joins the fray/Gatewatch in her stead! With tezz and Ajani back and both with links to New Phyrexia, and not to mention the hints of interplanar travel being discovered on Kaladesh, everyone's favorite Vulshok seems slated for a return.
I have been waiting for 4-color commanders, and as soon as I heard the announcement I immediately built the whiteless deck! This deck utilizes some of the most powerful spells and the most powerful abilities. There are a lot of nuances and fun plays from play testing, but that being said I figured other players could look at this find ways to fine to it even further. I look forward to any thoughts and/or suggestions.
Liliana is a pretty simple character: Selfish, afraid of death, shirks responsibilities, doesn't care for the consequences. If Wiz wants me to sympathize with her, they'd better give me something more than a freudian excuse and some shady deals for a backstory. I don't care for her character, I wouldn't be sad if she died, and I wouldn't be likely to miss her. The same goes for the rest of the Gatewatch. I don't find them compelling enough to care for their well-being. None of the current 'walkers are. The non 'walkers, on the other hand, are the single most compelling things in the story for me.
If Wiz starts to flesh out her character more than "Snarky, rude, selfish", then sign me up.
I agree that the a lot of the non-planeswalker characters are much more interesting right now, especially on Innistrad where you have Geralf, Gisa, Jenrik, Thalia, Odric, Ludevic etc etc. I think the problem is the "core set" walkers become charicatures of their respective colors, which takes away from their characterization overall. I would totally understand if some of the other walkers with less spotlight were more interesting to most people. Some of the walkers that come to mind are Tamiyo or Koth, I really enjoy both of those characters, but they'll never get the spotlight of the Gatewatch 5.
That being said Liliana definitely has some of the most interesting story aspects with her and Garruk, the Chain Veil and the Demons, and the Raven Man. I have high hopes for all of these storylines, but we'll have to wait and see how WOTC handles them.
I've read a lot of this forum and i enjoy seeing the different opinions people have about both Nahiri and Sorin.
I really liked the Lucifer analogy, as well (I apologize i dont remember the user who made it to give credit). Nahiri is very interesting. Is she still "good" or was she soley seeking revenge? Or, was it some combination of both? The openendedness, imo, makes for an interesting character, story, and discussion. I think a lot of people on here are having trouble coming to terms that their once young lil selfless planeswalker who loved her world so much may have "fallen". And the fall of a good or noble character into "evil" or at the very least a kinda nihilistic sensibility is compelling storytelling.
From the sounds of it after reading the last Uncharted Realms (its still UR to me) we wont reeeeally know what Nahiri is all about until we see her again.
So, what does an ancient planeswalker with no friends and no world do? Wonder what kind of contempt she holds for ugin.
2 this set is going to be the next new phyrexia (of how many playable cards in all formats are being printed)
Not that its an important but I'm pretty sure original Innistrad was the next New Phyrexia in regards to playables, and honestly I think it has more, a lot more. That set was loaded common through mythic affecting Modern, Legacy, and Vintage!
I think it will help in the future when we get an actual Lili-centric set. This set and block are Nahiri v Sorin, Jace being jace, and now "Gatewatch to the rescue" like BFZ. Even though Liliana is the "face" of the set and marketing, the story isnt Lili-centric. Once we get a block about one of her arcs (and for me any of them would be great) whether its her and Garruk, the Raven Man, or demon number 3 then we'll hopefully get even more development of character. She feels a little flat in some of the stories but I think that will definitely help create a more dynamic character.
Would like this card WAY more as XBBB instead of the pesky XX cost (which makes allmost any card annoyingly bad, only exception Chalice of the Void).
Its terrible at making tokens and a terrible removal. Two times terrible make a slightly better card, but its still pretty bad, as this has a hard time to kill something thats remotely big.
Well, this is made for zombie decks not your everyday control deck. T1 cryptbreaker t2 relentless dead and this becomes a sorcery speed disfigure and for 3 mana you kill an X/3 and get a 2/2 zombie. And this card has potential to be better as a mana sink later on. Is it going to be a standard all-star, maybe, maybe not, but its solid and will see play if a zombie deck manifests. I like this cost better than yours because you can cast it on the cheap if you already have zombies in play.
edit: then you have the requisite zombies to activate CB's draw ability!
Lets be clear. Lili is a fox. A stone cold fox. Crazy, selfish, demon-bound, hundreds of years old, don't care. I'd bone her. And that's what she's designed for visually. But that doesn't mean she's shallow. She hasn't gotten a fair shake at things. She was given a very one dimensional characterization in the early days but creative is growing her into a solid, dynamic character.
hahaha well put.
And yes, she is quite fine. I was probably too pithy about her looks, that really isnt what bothers me. It is a pretty common trope for a witch to use beauty has a tool or weapon. What bothers me is WOTC's caricature-like depiction of her, but I also agree that it has gradually gotten better over time
Honestly, they probably could utilize her looks more often as a tool.
I started Magic around Alara and Liliana has been my favorite neo-character since the beginning. I collect every card she's depicted, quoted, or referred to on including the blacked out versions.
Back in the day neo planeswalkers didnt have much background. What drew me to her was the dark sorceress (other than being black aligned) was her story. The lorwyn 5 originally had very bland beginnings. Chandra, Garruk, and Ajani all sparked after losing a loved-one and Jace didnt remember his past. The 4 pacts she made, trading her soul for beauty/power, and then deciding to reneg was so compelling to me.
So all that being said, there are times I still love her story: her tragedy with her brother, the Raven Man, her and Garruk, that story on Ravnica with Jace, but too often Lili is just a caricature and way too shallow for a hundreds year old planeswalker.
I just want the writers to continue expand on her and make her a more dynamic character and not just eye candy for the predominantly male audience. I often find myself utilizing head canon to make her story better.
So, thoughts on Lili? Besides her assests and corset is she compelling to you? Or what are your thoughts on how WOTC handles your favorite walker?
Did anyone think of John Carpenter's the Thing when they saw this? I dont know if that was intended because I know there is the obvious Thing in the Ice, but this is very reminiscent of that alien's MO. Its my favorite movie of all-time and I always think of how to make the Thing into a Magic card lol
I wasn't one of Ludevic's big fanboys, but I was excited to see what they finally do with him. And it's pretty disappointing. It's too bad he's part of the group hug deck, because everything about this card from a vorthos POV is very wrong. It could have been saved with "and you create a 2/2 black Zombie token creature" tacked on the end, but I guess the nonblack deck shouldn't have black tokens. Which brings me back to the failure of this card.
I do the same thing for Liliana. Do you include cards that quote and/or reference Chandra, too? It looks like we'll have a few of the same additions going into our respective collections this set like Furious Reprisal.
And then Koth joins the fray/Gatewatch in her stead! With tezz and Ajani back and both with links to New Phyrexia, and not to mention the hints of interplanar travel being discovered on Kaladesh, everyone's favorite Vulshok seems slated for a return.
DELVE STORM CASCADE DREDGE
I have been waiting for 4-color commanders, and as soon as I heard the announcement I immediately built the whiteless deck! This deck utilizes some of the most powerful spells and the most powerful abilities. There are a lot of nuances and fun plays from play testing, but that being said I figured other players could look at this find ways to fine to it even further. I look forward to any thoughts and/or suggestions.
Other than Storming people out in various ways, one of my favorite victories is getting to infinite mana with palinchron + mana reflection or palinchron + high tide and casting villainous wealth to exile an opponent's entire deck.
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Badlands
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Breeding Pool
1x City of Brass
1x Command Tower
1x Flooded Strand
10x Island
1x Mana Confluence
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Steam Vents
1x Stomping Ground
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Watery Grave
Artifacts (11)
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Chrome Mox
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Grim Monolith
1x Mana Vault
1x Memory Jar
1x Mox Opal
1x Sol Ring
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Voltaic Key
1x Copy Artifact
1x Deadbridge Chant
1x Future Sight
1x Mana Reflection
1x Mind Over Matter
1x rhystic study
1x Sylvan Library
Planeswalkers (2)
1x Jace, the mind sculptor
1x dack fayden
Creatures (8)
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x bloodbraid elf
1x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy Flip
1x Maelstrom Wanderer
1x Notion Thief
1x Palinchron
1x Shardless Agent
1x Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Instants (19)
1x Brainstorm
1x Cabal Ritual
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x mystic confluence
1x sultai charm
1x Dark Ritual
1x Dig Through Time
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Force of Will
1x Frantic Search
1x Gush
1x High Tide
1x Intellectual Offering
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Pact of Negation
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Turnabout
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Compulsive Research
1x Dark Petition
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Empty the Warrens
1x Gamble
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Life from the Loam
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Mind's Desire
1x Past in Flames
1x Personal Tutor
1x Ponder
1x Pore Over the Pages
1x Preordain
1x Regrowth
1x Seasons Past
1x Temporal Fissure
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Time Spiral
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Villainous Wealth
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Yawgmoth's Will
I agree that the a lot of the non-planeswalker characters are much more interesting right now, especially on Innistrad where you have Geralf, Gisa, Jenrik, Thalia, Odric, Ludevic etc etc. I think the problem is the "core set" walkers become charicatures of their respective colors, which takes away from their characterization overall. I would totally understand if some of the other walkers with less spotlight were more interesting to most people. Some of the walkers that come to mind are Tamiyo or Koth, I really enjoy both of those characters, but they'll never get the spotlight of the Gatewatch 5.
That being said Liliana definitely has some of the most interesting story aspects with her and Garruk, the Chain Veil and the Demons, and the Raven Man. I have high hopes for all of these storylines, but we'll have to wait and see how WOTC handles them.
I really liked the Lucifer analogy, as well (I apologize i dont remember the user who made it to give credit). Nahiri is very interesting. Is she still "good" or was she soley seeking revenge? Or, was it some combination of both? The openendedness, imo, makes for an interesting character, story, and discussion. I think a lot of people on here are having trouble coming to terms that their once young lil selfless planeswalker who loved her world so much may have "fallen". And the fall of a good or noble character into "evil" or at the very least a kinda nihilistic sensibility is compelling storytelling.
From the sounds of it after reading the last Uncharted Realms (its still UR to me) we wont reeeeally know what Nahiri is all about until we see her again.
So, what does an ancient planeswalker with no friends and no world do? Wonder what kind of contempt she holds for ugin.
I'll pay 5 life to counter that translation
Not that its an important but I'm pretty sure original Innistrad was the next New Phyrexia in regards to playables, and honestly I think it has more, a lot more. That set was loaded common through mythic affecting Modern, Legacy, and Vintage!
Well, this is made for zombie decks not your everyday control deck. T1 cryptbreaker t2 relentless dead and this becomes a sorcery speed disfigure and for 3 mana you kill an X/3 and get a 2/2 zombie. And this card has potential to be better as a mana sink later on. Is it going to be a standard all-star, maybe, maybe not, but its solid and will see play if a zombie deck manifests. I like this cost better than yours because you can cast it on the cheap if you already have zombies in play.
edit: then you have the requisite zombies to activate CB's draw ability!
hahaha well put.
And yes, she is quite fine. I was probably too pithy about her looks, that really isnt what bothers me. It is a pretty common trope for a witch to use beauty has a tool or weapon. What bothers me is WOTC's caricature-like depiction of her, but I also agree that it has gradually gotten better over time
Honestly, they probably could utilize her looks more often as a tool.
Back in the day neo planeswalkers didnt have much background. What drew me to her was the dark sorceress (other than being black aligned) was her story. The lorwyn 5 originally had very bland beginnings. Chandra, Garruk, and Ajani all sparked after losing a loved-one and Jace didnt remember his past. The 4 pacts she made, trading her soul for beauty/power, and then deciding to reneg was so compelling to me.
So all that being said, there are times I still love her story: her tragedy with her brother, the Raven Man, her and Garruk, that story on Ravnica with Jace, but too often Lili is just a caricature and way too shallow for a hundreds year old planeswalker.
I just want the writers to continue expand on her and make her a more dynamic character and not just eye candy for the predominantly male audience. I often find myself utilizing head canon to make her story better.
So, thoughts on Lili? Besides her assests and corset is she compelling to you? Or what are your thoughts on how WOTC handles your favorite walker?