While she is reminiscent of Mairsil, the Pretender, usually these types of cards (like Experiment Kraj or Necrotic Ooze to name two) only grab activated abilities. DIY Seraph gets trigged, static, and maybe even characteristic-defining abilities! Only missing out on cast and enter-the-battlefield triggers (and attack triggers the turn that she "becomes" the thing).
Urza having normal eyes with pupils would be a mistake considering I can't find any other art of him where his eyes aren't white including the newer Urza's Rage from Phyrexia vs Coalition.
Sorry to disappoint you, but he has green eyes here, it's just hard to see in card size.
Ah, but no pupils. Either that greenness is just a big of magical energy, or it is a mistake, because Urza hasn't had irises, pupils, or sclera since Mishra died around 64 AR. I think we're around 4600 AR or something, so about 45 hundred years ago. Urza's Rage takes place around 4205, so he hadn't had normal eyes for as long as it would take to get to 2017 in Earth years from when Noah was on his Ark.
I don't think Urza's Head is dead. Death Grasp Urza has white eyes for some reason.
In practically every picture of Urza his eyes are white, because those aren't his eyes! They're the Mightstone and Weakstone. He's biologically blind, but he can "see" the world around him through Extra-Sensory-Perception. I bet it looks like how when Neo looks "through" the Matrix to see the underlying code.
But yeah, he's not a DeadHead, but I imagine he's more like the Amazing Screw-On Head. Essentially, Urza mounts his head on the Mana Screw so he can "screw into" a Sundering Titan body he could control when he needs to kick ass, screw into an Ornithopter when he needs to get somewhere in a jiffy, screw into a Platinum Angel body when he needs to pose for a swimsuit calendar, etc.
(Edit because I thought it was the Meekstone, but it turns out to be the Weakstone. Mah bad.)
Is it wrong that I really am hoping to see a flintlock pistol equipment? Maybe even a couple weapons that use powder charges or something? I'm going to be seriously disappointed if I don't see any cannons or guns in the pirate set.
I feel the same way. But MaRo says that firearms in any capacity "aren't fantasy enough". He says this regardless of how many fantasy settings have gunpowder weapons and right after we just got out of a block with cars and iPads but still says that firearms are "too modern".
I know that they have a Wild West world on the shortlist and I have no idea how they're going to do that block without such weapons because the revolver is vital to the image of the cowboy.
I am not fond of whinging about the game, but this is one of the few things in Magic that I adamantly want to see changed. The idea that certain items are too "non-fantasy" to be put in a fantasy game is very misguided in my opinion. I see the reasoning behind the idea: if people's expectations of fantasy are not upheld, they might think that the traditional fantasy elements are not important. It would be bad if someone sees a set of MAGIC cards, some that look magical and others that do not, and that person enjoys the non-magical cards more. They would be besmirching the equity they've placed in traditional fantasy spell-casting.
While I understand this reasoning, there are two things deeply flawed about this train of thought. The first is abundantly obvious: There are already items that appear mundane in MTG that have not begun this supposed loss of equity in Magic. Honed Khopesh, for example, is a very recent card that conceptually has nothing magical about it: anyone with some metallurgic skill could make one without the aid of mana. Cathar's Shield even implies that it was created through mundane means in its flavor text. The very concept of brick counters is mundane. To be fair, these cards aren't hogging the spotlight, but they seem exempt from this anti-firearm-since-it-isn't-magic logic.
But the second and best reason this train of logic is flawed: Who said that guns can't be magical? I agree that hitting a Wizard with a choppa would be tantamount to saying that "Guns > Magic." But let's say I have magical stones that, upon contact with an individual, they turn into a frog. And I start by throwing them at people, but I realize that it'd be better if I used telekinesis to hit people from far away. So I work with a metal-shaping mage and a psionic mage to make a device that can store many stones, and allows me to propel them out at high velocity one at a time every time that I move a lever on this artifact. And now I have a magical gun, but the emphasis is still on the magic. The gun is just a means for magical delivery, which itself could be powered by magic.
This is a restriction almost certainly brought about by a lack of creativity. When something seems wrong, the correct response isn't to argue whether or not it is wrong, but rather discern "how could it be done right?" If it really is a bad idea, after a few hours of coming up with nothing fruitful the uselessness of the idea would be apparent. If you do come up with some good ideas, then it wasn't a bad idea to begin with.
And I doubt I'm alone in thinking it would be cool to see a hooded-robe-wearing mage, staring up at a monstrous Hydra, throwing aside their robe to reveal a hand-cannon at their hip which blasts a Ball Lightning into the snapping heads causing them to convulse and become intertwined. And I'm positive that I'm not alone in thinking that is fantastical.
It's cool that we get both timelines of Taigam. After seeing the first Dragon-dominant one so long ago, I assumed incorrectly that we'd only see that version. Nice. Ya gotta love alternate timeline versions of characters (unless you're from a lame timeline, then ya can't help being a hater).
Fun ability that meshes with Sultai sensibilities. Your normal draw is three times more likely to be what you want, plus you get 2 delve fodder a turn (or whatever other purposes you have for a full graveyard). The assassin-style ability is pretty nice: definitely discourages people from attacking you. It seems like one of those abilities that the mere threat of it will keep you safe from many would-be attackers.
He's a bit like Gisa and Geralf, but he gets better as he sticks around longer while their self-mill actually wants them to re-enter the field. Also, he's eliminating threats while they tend to produce threats (unless it's Fleshbag Marauder or something similar). It seems like a similar type of deck to build, but without a Zombie tribal focus. I think this suggests a new deck archetype that doesn't exist right now, so I welcome it happily (unless there's a good self-mill Dimir commander I'm forgetting).
Turn 1 & 2: Sacrifice outlet and mana fixing and/or card draw
(Say Viscera Seer and Prophetic Prism)
Turn 3: Geralf's Messenger
Turn 4: Marchesa, the Black Rose
Once she resolves, barring any tampering by your opponents, you instantly win. No further mana or cards necessary. Nice.
Some good choices to cyborg into her:
I don't think those were listed in Meghan Wolff's article. How much fun is this rule-hacking stuff!? It's the best.
Ah, but no pupils. Either that greenness is just a big of magical energy, or it is a mistake, because Urza hasn't had irises, pupils, or sclera since Mishra died around 64 AR. I think we're around 4600 AR or something, so about 45 hundred years ago. Urza's Rage takes place around 4205, so he hadn't had normal eyes for as long as it would take to get to 2017 in Earth years from when Noah was on his Ark.
https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Weakstone
In practically every picture of Urza his eyes are white, because those aren't his eyes! They're the Mightstone and Weakstone. He's biologically blind, but he can "see" the world around him through Extra-Sensory-Perception. I bet it looks like how when Neo looks "through" the Matrix to see the underlying code.
But yeah, he's not a DeadHead, but I imagine he's more like the Amazing Screw-On Head. Essentially, Urza mounts his head on the Mana Screw so he can "screw into" a Sundering Titan body he could control when he needs to kick ass, screw into an Ornithopter when he needs to get somewhere in a jiffy, screw into a Platinum Angel body when he needs to pose for a swimsuit calendar, etc.
(Edit because I thought it was the Meekstone, but it turns out to be the Weakstone. Mah bad.)
I am not fond of whinging about the game, but this is one of the few things in Magic that I adamantly want to see changed. The idea that certain items are too "non-fantasy" to be put in a fantasy game is very misguided in my opinion. I see the reasoning behind the idea: if people's expectations of fantasy are not upheld, they might think that the traditional fantasy elements are not important. It would be bad if someone sees a set of MAGIC cards, some that look magical and others that do not, and that person enjoys the non-magical cards more. They would be besmirching the equity they've placed in traditional fantasy spell-casting.
While I understand this reasoning, there are two things deeply flawed about this train of thought. The first is abundantly obvious: There are already items that appear mundane in MTG that have not begun this supposed loss of equity in Magic. Honed Khopesh, for example, is a very recent card that conceptually has nothing magical about it: anyone with some metallurgic skill could make one without the aid of mana. Cathar's Shield even implies that it was created through mundane means in its flavor text. The very concept of brick counters is mundane. To be fair, these cards aren't hogging the spotlight, but they seem exempt from this anti-firearm-since-it-isn't-magic logic.
But the second and best reason this train of logic is flawed: Who said that guns can't be magical? I agree that hitting a Wizard with a choppa would be tantamount to saying that "Guns > Magic." But let's say I have magical stones that, upon contact with an individual, they turn into a frog. And I start by throwing them at people, but I realize that it'd be better if I used telekinesis to hit people from far away. So I work with a metal-shaping mage and a psionic mage to make a device that can store many stones, and allows me to propel them out at high velocity one at a time every time that I move a lever on this artifact. And now I have a magical gun, but the emphasis is still on the magic. The gun is just a means for magical delivery, which itself could be powered by magic.
This is a restriction almost certainly brought about by a lack of creativity. When something seems wrong, the correct response isn't to argue whether or not it is wrong, but rather discern "how could it be done right?" If it really is a bad idea, after a few hours of coming up with nothing fruitful the uselessness of the idea would be apparent. If you do come up with some good ideas, then it wasn't a bad idea to begin with.
And I doubt I'm alone in thinking it would be cool to see a hooded-robe-wearing mage, staring up at a monstrous Hydra, throwing aside their robe to reveal a hand-cannon at their hip which blasts a Ball Lightning into the snapping heads causing them to convulse and become intertwined. And I'm positive that I'm not alone in thinking that is fantastical.
Fun ability that meshes with Sultai sensibilities. Your normal draw is three times more likely to be what you want, plus you get 2 delve fodder a turn (or whatever other purposes you have for a full graveyard). The assassin-style ability is pretty nice: definitely discourages people from attacking you. It seems like one of those abilities that the mere threat of it will keep you safe from many would-be attackers.
He's a bit like Gisa and Geralf, but he gets better as he sticks around longer while their self-mill actually wants them to re-enter the field. Also, he's eliminating threats while they tend to produce threats (unless it's Fleshbag Marauder or something similar). It seems like a similar type of deck to build, but without a Zombie tribal focus. I think this suggests a new deck archetype that doesn't exist right now, so I welcome it happily (unless there's a good self-mill Dimir commander I'm forgetting).
Turn 1 & 2: Sacrifice outlet and mana fixing and/or card draw
(Say Viscera Seer and Prophetic Prism)
Turn 3: Geralf's Messenger
Turn 4: Marchesa, the Black Rose
Once she resolves, barring any tampering by your opponents, you instantly win. No further mana or cards necessary. Nice.