Compares well to Blossoming Defence. Better for long term value, worse for immediate zerging. Will see play at least in standard probably I think. Just very solid and reliable.
Nice to see a big splashy GU card that doesn't have flash or heatproof or ramp or card draw.
Looks cool. And it's nice that it doesn't guarantee value if your opponent has a kill spell ready straight away (Unless you have a serpent already on board to sacrifice...) but is still resilient to justify playing a seven mana card by being immune and generating value and protecting itself as soon as the very next turn.
And this is technically a serpent tribal card too-as you can sacrifice any serpent to it-which is neat.
I'm interested to hear how the Immersturm is here when it has been listed as being a place/thing on a separately named plane of Valla. Has Valla been ret-conned out of existence? Or has it somehow a part of Kaldheim (yet not one of the realms?)? Is there two immersturms?
Hey Mark, got an unconventional(hmm good Unset name idea..) question for you about watermarks(such as the guilds in Ravnica or the set symbols from Masters 25):
How many cards in a set does it take to make using the watermark a worthwhile effort?
It’s more about theming and factioning than a set number, but in general, I think you need at least ten to fifteen cards needing a watermark before we’d even think about it.
This would seem to indicate we can expect a good ten or so phyrexian cards, though I think this set might be a good example of the kind of exception that is covered under that 'in general' clause.
Throwing phyrexians in seems...unlikely. We haven't been back to Mirrodin New Phyrexia yet or had much hints at them beginning a plane crossing invasion yet. And this set already has some clear story conflicts and themes, the phyrexians are just going to overshadow all of that.
Compared to Eldritch Moon, there we had the advantage of a whole previous block and the Shadows over Innistrad set being essentially just Innistrad based. And with Amonkhet we had the first set before the Bolas stuff went off the wall. This is our very first introduction to Kaldheim and there's Phyrexians already? That seems like a mistake, and one WotC would not likely make.
Reminds me of Barkhide Troll. Kind of like Paradise Druid too- protected until it gets its ability out.
Nice idea. Execution looks reasonable. Mana cost for the ability might be a little cheap at the moment but I could see a 1 mana cost maybe working out.
Actually no, that is literally what they are saying, that all norse mythology is associated with Nazism.
Also, your view is American centric. Just because soom kook groups in US have adopted such things doesn't mean that anyone else in the world shares that view. Stop thinking of only US please.
The Nazis were from Germany my dude. That's one of the reasons they used Norse symbology, because they literally claimed Norse heritage as part of their aryan race concept.
I was referring to the comment about modern hate groups using this symbolism, not the actual Nazis.
"Just because soom kook groups in US have adopted such things doesn't mean that anyone else in the world shares that view."
The nazis (including their modern day followers) share that view.
Unless you're talking about 'kook groups' that share the view that there is an association between fascism and Norse mythology.
In that case there is also plenty of people outside the US who recognize that easily demonstrable fact. I'm not American, just for one.
EDIT: Let's go into an example, just to make the point clear. Everybody recognises the symbol of the SS right? Everybody here when seeing that symbol would think 'oh, nazis' right? Well, those two lightning-bolt-like s symbols are runes. They aren't quite original old norse runes, but that's because they'd already been adopted for new purposes by an Austrian occultist with fascistic tendencies called Guido von List. Then the SS literally just put two of them next to each other and positioned them in a certain way that highlights the lightning bolt resemblance and made that their official symbol.
This is not a niche use of Norse symbology, it's very much front and centre in nazi iconography. And neither is it a one-off.
Actually no, that is literally what they are saying, that all norse mythology is associated with Nazism.
Also, your view is American centric. Just because soom kook groups in US have adopted such things doesn't mean that anyone else in the world shares that view. Stop thinking of only US please.
The Nazis were from Germany my dude. That's one of the reasons they used Norse symbology, because they literally claimed Norse heritage as part of their aryan race concept.
The two who are losing their collective composure are both activists. It's not going to merit rational discussion. They'll flag any opposition as 'hate speech' or 'trolling/flaming' and find new reasons to become repetitively triggered. Wizards dropped the ball on the new set and I hope we get something more than just check box planeswalkers and legends.
You know, it's very kind of you to flatter me by calling me an activist. Here I thought I was just saying some ***** online. I'm glad my words have had such an impact on some people to warrant this praise.
Y'all really sounding like Jussie Smollett with these delusions.
The idea that far-right groups use Norse symbology is a demonstrable fact. The actual Nazis used a bunch of them- the whole idea of the Aryan race was linked with this sort of history.
This isn't a debatable point.
You're saying that the Nazi's abused the Norse culture to generate their own ideas. That's a cultural rape and invalid. The Nazi part also stole a bhuddist symbol as their own. Norse mythology and Nazi beliefs are independent. They're not related, and if you claim they are its only because a group of people bastardized them into something else.
Believe it or not, this happens a lot. Look at ISIS, the KKK, and other groups of extremists. Please do not bring these groups into discussion on these forums. These people are not a representation of actual culture and certainly have nothing to so with the FICTIONAL magic worlds in the card game.
We are strictly talking about the fictional MtG world that they have designed for us.
Your choice of comparison is poor, dare I say the point I'm making is even more obvious in this case than in the original context. As Flossedbeaver already touched upon, when you use the swastika in the modern-day, you have to be mindful of the nazi connection, regardless of the nazi's usage of it being 'invalid' or whatever else you want it call it. Similarly, when you're making a set full of Norse cultural elements, you have to be mindful of the fact that many of those elements have a fascist connection.
"We wanted to create a nonbinary character whose entire story didn't revolve around their gender identity
*proceeds to share in detail how Niko's backstory is representative of and inspired by nonbinary gender identity*"
I don't think it's a bad thing, and it doesn't bug me, but I just found it kinda funny.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/creating-niko-aris-2020-12-14
"When we were developing Niko's origin, we wanted to tell a story that could express the shared experience of non-binary people without focusing on their gender identity. This was partially to ensure Niko was a character that all kinds of people could find relatable, but it was also to ensure that Niko's character was not entirely enveloped by this single aspect of their identity. Our approach was to try and create an origin with a familiar emotional core that we hoped would resonate with non-binary folks."
Emphasis added.
Hawk looks kinda good.
Looks cool. And it's nice that it doesn't guarantee value if your opponent has a kill spell ready straight away (Unless you have a serpent already on board to sacrifice...) but is still resilient to justify playing a seven mana card by being immune and generating value and protecting itself as soon as the very next turn.
And this is technically a serpent tribal card too-as you can sacrifice any serpent to it-which is neat.
Both this and Ranar reduce to cost of foretelling cards, not casting them. It's the same side of the cost.
The first (leaked) Foretell card we saw had a foretell cost only 1 lower than its base- Battle Mammoth.
Also, I am starting to really want to build an Izzet giants deck. Seems fun.
https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/638595481981894656/hey-mark-got-an-unconventionalhmm-good-unset#notes
This would seem to indicate we can expect a good ten or so phyrexian cards, though I think this set might be a good example of the kind of exception that is covered under that 'in general' clause.
MirrodinNew Phyrexia yet or had much hints at them beginning a plane crossing invasion yet. And this set already has some clear story conflicts and themes, the phyrexians are just going to overshadow all of that.Compared to Eldritch Moon, there we had the advantage of a whole previous block and the Shadows over Innistrad set being essentially just Innistrad based. And with Amonkhet we had the first set before the Bolas stuff went off the wall. This is our very first introduction to Kaldheim and there's Phyrexians already? That seems like a mistake, and one WotC would not likely make.
Nice idea. Execution looks reasonable. Mana cost for the ability might be a little cheap at the moment but I could see a 1 mana cost maybe working out.
"Just because soom kook groups in US have adopted such things doesn't mean that anyone else in the world shares that view."
The nazis (including their modern day followers) share that view.
Unless you're talking about 'kook groups' that share the view that there is an association between fascism and Norse mythology.
In that case there is also plenty of people outside the US who recognize that easily demonstrable fact. I'm not American, just for one.
EDIT: Let's go into an example, just to make the point clear. Everybody recognises the symbol of the SS right? Everybody here when seeing that symbol would think 'oh, nazis' right? Well, those two lightning-bolt-like s symbols are runes. They aren't quite original old norse runes, but that's because they'd already been adopted for new purposes by an Austrian occultist with fascistic tendencies called Guido von List. Then the SS literally just put two of them next to each other and positioned them in a certain way that highlights the lightning bolt resemblance and made that their official symbol.
This is not a niche use of Norse symbology, it's very much front and centre in nazi iconography. And neither is it a one-off.
The Nazis were from Germany my dude. That's one of the reasons they used Norse symbology, because they literally claimed Norse heritage as part of their aryan race concept.
You know, it's very kind of you to flatter me by calling me an activist. Here I thought I was just saying some ***** online. I'm glad my words have had such an impact on some people to warrant this praise.
Your choice of comparison is poor, dare I say the point I'm making is even more obvious in this case than in the original context. As Flossedbeaver already touched upon, when you use the swastika in the modern-day, you have to be mindful of the nazi connection, regardless of the nazi's usage of it being 'invalid' or whatever else you want it call it. Similarly, when you're making a set full of Norse cultural elements, you have to be mindful of the fact that many of those elements have a fascist connection.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/creating-niko-aris-2020-12-14
"When we were developing Niko's origin, we wanted to tell a story that could express the shared experience of non-binary people without focusing on their gender identity. This was partially to ensure Niko was a character that all kinds of people could find relatable, but it was also to ensure that Niko's character was not entirely enveloped by this single aspect of their identity. Our approach was to try and create an origin with a familiar emotional core that we hoped would resonate with non-binary folks."
Emphasis added.