The problem I've had with MTGO is that card prices are barely cheaper than paper versions. I'd rather invest in tangible cards with resale value, rather than pixels that will be gone if MTGO ever shuts down. Wish there was a way to load a physical deck into MTGO.
Commander community is a pretty average too IMO, lot of people leave games midway if they aren't winning.
Still prefer Cockatrice for playing with friends online.
This is odd, why would you say that prices are almost the same? MTGO has "reprints" of cards through the various online competitions and offerings, including reserved list cards like the original dual lands. So prices tend to be quite noticeably cheaper online.
It is, however, true that at times there are a fair number of quitters.
Split cards will now have a CMC equal to their combined value unless they are on the stack. Not sure how much it impacts you guys. I haven't really gotten around to playing with the Expertises yet.
That is an interesting rules change that Im not sure why they didnt address in Ravnica or Time Spiral block when they reintroduced split cards. Im glad I never opted to place any into Yidris, though come to think of it, I cant recall seeing anyone ever play a split card in an EDH game.
As for the new Liliana, If I am going to be playing a 7 cmc mythic, it needs to have more impact than giving a lone creature a -1/-1 counter. And for two more mana at the same rarity, I can have creatures from all graveyards return to the battlefield under my control without having to wait four telegraphed turns to do it.
Right, but like others have said, this is a dual deck version. The pre-built decks deliberately have bad planeswalkers, the constructed worthy version of her for either Armonkhet or Hour of Devastation hasn't been spoiled yet.
Perhaps using Atraxa, Praetors' Voice and other proliferate cards in conjunction with storage lands like Calciform Pools might help towards your goal. Beyond the two cycles of storage lands, there's City of Shadows and probably other land cards where you can acquire mana counters.
As an Indian (Punjabi Hindu), I would expect (and hope for) minimal, if any real classical Hindu mythos in this set. They don't mix well with clockwork, which is Victorian British, with themes that talk about energy and its role in society (like electricity, not mystical energy), governance and its role in society, corruption, technology and how that effects people, how it could be different, and social class. Hindu epics (Ramayana/Mahabarata) are rooted in very different values, family, sibling love, duty to your family/king, self discovery in solitude, how to work with your elders, roles of women, devotion etc. Its something that I think would be extremely hard to mix well. I would hope that would be left to a different plane. (And I assume we can have more than one South Asian-inspired plane eventually so they don't have to shove all of in Kaladesh, especially considering Kaladesh has much more going on). Of course I'm probably missing some story, or part of the epics that would work well, and I wouldn't be surprised with maybe one or two nods that they can make, but overall, and especially with the epics, I don't think it fits well.
Of course Hinduism/the epics/mythology are not the only parts of South Asian culture (which, by the way, is probably the better term as there are many people who are not Indian - Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalis, Sri Lankans etc), and that can be drawn from and mixed with steampunk, like architecture, dress (Saheeli's sari is gorgeous), the wildlife (I'm excited for a metal elephant, metal monkeys, tigers, peacocks, cows whatever), class, urban/rural divides, etc. More modern things that can be meshed really interestingly with the steampunk stuff.
Basically, what I'm saying is that I expect, and hope for, Kaladesh being South Asia meets Steampunk, not Steampunk meets Hinduism.
I... Was actually going to comment something similar once I got some responses.
I'm not far removed enough to know what the 'common' tropes of India would be for the average person with only a little experience.
I should be clear that when I say "Indian" in this context, I'm talking about the Indian subcontinent. South Asian is probably the better term, you're right.
The things I would like to see represented are:
- Color is something India is known for and Holi and Diwali are instant recognizable - Expand on what Tarkir started with non-western demon imagery. Devas instead of Angels. Very few western mythos creatures. - Mughals and/or the British Raj, which the consuls seem to broadly be
- Class divisions between the artisan inventors and the poor
- If there is an Indian soap opera reference somehow I will die of laughter
- Keep it a melting pot, South Asia has always been relatively diverse.
- Unique creatures, South Asiant myths are full of things that have been untapped by fantasy. For instance, Vetala vampires, Venara, Garuda, etc.
What's funny is that Bant has a lot of Hindu and Buddhist characteristics. I think some of those ideas could carry over nicely.
... And yeah, I guess I've been a bit Hindu-centric here. South Asian is a hugely diverse place and there is a lot to tap.
Would they be Devas, or Apsaras? Either way, if they did this what I would hope to see would be a White flying class with a uniform characteristic/ defining trait besides "they all fly." As in, Dragons almost always have R +1/+0 pump or something similar, hydras are now almost always +1/+1 counter based, etc.
Because while I love angels, their abilities and traits are all over the place as White's iconic. So it would be nice to have a group of large flyers with a defining characteristic that could be built around for certain types of decks.
Beyond that, I'm hoping for lots of jungle imagery at times, ala Naya and Sultai, even though this is a steampunk plane.
Regarding the Mana Crypt argument, they're cheap on MTGO. I checked tonight on two major sellers, and both have them for under 5 tix/ 5 dollars. So the majority of commander players there probably own one, or could easily get it if they wanted to. Now, MTGO commander decks are not designed at tournament levels for the most part. But a lot of players do design their decks there to win. And Mana Crypt simply doesn't show up enough in games for it to be even close to the inclusion levels of Sol Ring, which pops up quite frequently. So I would have to disagree with the line that some have taken that if you're building a deck to try and win that it needs to/ will automatically include Mana Crypt if you have it.
Jenrik, I like the idea of a Mox Beacon--or rather, a Crypolith Beacon to call Emrakul, just as Sorin called the Eldrazi to Zendikar.
Of course, Emrakul is in her astral form, so she can be hanging just outside Innistrad.
Exactly. From what it sounds like, Emrakul is looming over the Innistrad-pond, casting a shadow (pardon the pun) and perhaps rippling the surface a little bit. The fact that she's screwing up so much without entering the plane only speaks of how destructive the Eldrazi are supposed to be. Also, it would appear Emrakul + Nahiri is much more powerful than even Kozilek. Jace spent a month on Zendikar, and even managed to withstand Kozilek's full reality distorttion for at least an hour without so much as breaking a sweat. Less than two weeks on a plane Emrakul hasn't even entered, and he's already gone off the deep end.
A perfectly valid viewpoint, which may be a correct summary. Another possibility, however, is that before Kozilek wasn't really trying much, just going about indifferent to the ants beneath him. With his and Ulamog's demise, Emrakul may be giving us a taste of what happens when an Eldrazi Titan plays for keeps.
It's definitely good. And in EDH, with this out and a modest number of creatures, if you have either W or R as well you can hit the board with MLD and have a solid chance of going on to win.
Without the almighty power of retcons, Gatewatch would lose pretty handily.
But if this ever happened in today's storyline, the Gatewatch would easily win. No question. Power of marketing friendship and all that.
Exactly, no form of the Phyrexians can match the Gatewatch, because if so called eldritch monstrosities can be completely wiped out the way they were, the Gatewatch can do anything. Oldwalkers had a foe that was too much for them? Whatever, just assemble the Jacetus League and they'll easily handle it.
while i myself think that Blue is overrated, if Legacy folks see this article they're going to say nasty thing to you
most players are of the opinion that Blue stands for complexity and red is all about turning creatures sideways and throwing burn to the face (not my own opinion)
The good thing is, I don't play Legacy, so I ain't scared! But even the staunchest of blue players has to admit how broken Time Walk and Ancestral Recall are!
Blue is supposed to stand for complexity, but it doesn't PLAY out that way. At least not to me. Deciding whether to counter something or not isn't that complex. And yes, red IS best known for it's small creatures being turned sideways and taking burn to the face. However, there's more to it than that (thank you for knowing this!) Reds abilities are subtle and restrictive and this is what blue lacks that makes it less appealing.
Actually countering CAN be that complex. You have to do threat assesment, "should I counter this spell, or the more dangerous one that is coming?" Blue lacks direct creature removal, you have to be creative and work via indirect methods.
Blue has direct creature removal and theft. Theft is Control Magic and the like, of course. But blue also has gotten Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, Curse of the Swine, and Reality Shift. And the counter this, counter that game is quite easy to play and win with. I've thrown decks together in less thn 10 min with a bunch of counterspells and had a 50% win rate, something I'd never be able to do using the other colors.
Along the lines of possible involvement of Emrakul, someone else noticed an interesting resemblance between this character's crown from the Markov Manor page, and Vestige of Emrakul. Of course, opinions will vary on how similar they are, but I believe it's at least close enough to be posted as valid for consideration.
Interestingly, there are two walkers that support either view, as has been touched on. On the one hand, Bolas feels clearly diminished, and has actively taken steps to regain power. This supports the old walkers are far more powerful theory. But since he seemed to be more powerful than even most old walkers, he had the farthest to fall, and so may be the sole remaining exception.
So, if that's true, Ob Nixilis supports the neowalkers aren't much less theory. Ob is aware some measure of walker strength has been lessened, but isn't bothered by it. In one UR, he indicates he's glad other planes won't have as powerful protectors to stop him. But since he's monoblack and personality wise very much about power, the fact that he doesn't mind the change would indicate on some level, perhaps just subconsciously, that he believes the diminishing as not that bad.
So, the angels might be completely losing it, rather than being focused in their madness. It's one thing to go on a kill'em all inquisition, but one attacking a bell means they might not have much grip on reality at all any more.
This is odd, why would you say that prices are almost the same? MTGO has "reprints" of cards through the various online competitions and offerings, including reserved list cards like the original dual lands. So prices tend to be quite noticeably cheaper online.
It is, however, true that at times there are a fair number of quitters.
Right, but like others have said, this is a dual deck version. The pre-built decks deliberately have bad planeswalkers, the constructed worthy version of her for either Armonkhet or Hour of Devastation hasn't been spoiled yet.
If you want a deck that splashes green, then between Breya, Etherium Shaperor Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, it has to be Atraxa, because Breya is the non-green four color commander.
Would they be Devas, or Apsaras? Either way, if they did this what I would hope to see would be a White flying class with a uniform characteristic/ defining trait besides "they all fly." As in, Dragons almost always have R +1/+0 pump or something similar, hydras are now almost always +1/+1 counter based, etc.
Because while I love angels, their abilities and traits are all over the place as White's iconic. So it would be nice to have a group of large flyers with a defining characteristic that could be built around for certain types of decks.
Beyond that, I'm hoping for lots of jungle imagery at times, ala Naya and Sultai, even though this is a steampunk plane.
A perfectly valid viewpoint, which may be a correct summary. Another possibility, however, is that before Kozilek wasn't really trying much, just going about indifferent to the ants beneath him. With his and Ulamog's demise, Emrakul may be giving us a taste of what happens when an Eldrazi Titan plays for keeps.
Exactly, no form of the Phyrexians can match the Gatewatch, because if so called eldritch monstrosities can be completely wiped out the way they were, the Gatewatch can do anything. Oldwalkers had a foe that was too much for them? Whatever, just assemble the Jacetus League and they'll easily handle it.
Blue has direct creature removal and theft. Theft is Control Magic and the like, of course. But blue also has gotten Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, Curse of the Swine, and Reality Shift. And the counter this, counter that game is quite easy to play and win with. I've thrown decks together in less thn 10 min with a bunch of counterspells and had a 50% win rate, something I'd never be able to do using the other colors.
So, if that's true, Ob Nixilis supports the neowalkers aren't much less theory. Ob is aware some measure of walker strength has been lessened, but isn't bothered by it. In one UR, he indicates he's glad other planes won't have as powerful protectors to stop him. But since he's monoblack and personality wise very much about power, the fact that he doesn't mind the change would indicate on some level, perhaps just subconsciously, that he believes the diminishing as not that bad.