I'm not sure if people play Manamorphose unless they're supporting storm, but it's easily my favorite RG card (and I don't support storm). It's not splashy or stompy, but it's always in high demand.
I think it would be cool if they would try to use 90's design guidelines within today's design principals. But let's face it-- just like every company trying to capitalize on the nostalgia for beloved stories of old, they're not going to try to aesthetically or developmentally mimic the past. They are going to use all of what they consider to be tried and true techniques of today and make allusions and nods to the source material.
Predictions:
The set will use the current card frame, but the showcase cards will use the old card frame and a retro-art style. They'll look great, but it'll be weird seeing something powered like Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider done aesthetically to look like Craw Wurm.
There will be planeswalker cards, and at least one of them will have been a retroactive add-on to the story. They'll say something like "look, it's The Wanderer way back in time! You didn't see that coming did you? If I were designing it, I'd probably make a couple crazy old-walkers, and charge 10+ mana for them. We'll see.
There will definitely be equipment, and vehicles seem quite likely considering the aesthetics of the Brothers' War (not that I know that much about the lore). And colored equipment seems likely too. They put it in every set nowadays.
Creatures will be have insanely pushed stats as they always do now, and there will be a few broken artifacts with splashy abilities that may end up banned here or there. These will be along the lines of Lithoform Engine, Paradox Engine, and The Ozolith.
The only thing that's really going to be back with a vengeance is the characters and lore. It'll be a new version of it, but it's been long enough that most of us will be happy to see it.
Count me on the side of the skeptics. I don't like helping out my opponent, and I'd rather Journey to Nowhere almost every time. Noted I have a low planeswalker density, but I'd much rather play Oblivion Ring in a deck as well. I'll pay something like this if I can't get removal that gets the job done, but white doesn't have that problem.
Feels about right for an Innistrad set. As always, I don't like most of the mythics, or any of the super pushed stat monsters. And I generally try to keep DFCs to a minimum.
This is the most efficient disturb creature so far. Having a nastier Spell Pierce on threat of activation is pretty sweet, and 2U is a bargain to get it back as a Wind Drake with slight upside.
Yeah, even at my low power level this is probably just too unreliable. And the fact that it doesn't trigger if you reanimate (allowing for a massive reanimation party) kinda kills it. If it were power 2 or less, I'd be all for it.
I don't see the secondary option coming up a lot. It's a lot weaker than Tormenting Voice, since it doesn't replace itself, and you usually have a target to hit. I would rather be able to hit a player as a secondary option, as in Incinerate.
I like Abrade a lot more. More often is there a nasty artifact you can't burn than are you sitting there with an extra burn spell you don't really need, and a hand full of extra cards you'd like to pitch.
Yeah, I perceive the same problem. Also it's weird that astronomers are making it day instead of night. Vadrik, Astral Archmage does the same thing. You're not gonna get a lot of astronomy done in the day.
The evil hotel flavor is really there. And then you flip it, and the hotel is a giant walking house monster on root-legs. That's a little off-base of the trope, but alright. I guess Monster House is the closest reference.
Sunset Revelry
Sorcery 1W
If an oponnent has more life than you, gain 4 life.
If an oponnent has more creatures than you, create 2 1/1 human tokens.
If an oponnent has more cards in hand than you, draw 1 card.
I like Timely Reinforcements quite a lot, and I'm more than happy to add a cheaper version with a card-draw option.
Everyone: STOP TRYING TO WIN THE CULTURE WAR BY POSTING ON THE INTERNET!!!
No matter how smart and compelling your post/ article seems to you, it is not going to change hearts and minds. None of us had ever heard of either of these two people before this nonsense: it is just an excuse to rehash a bigger issue that will never be resolved by making posts and counter-posts on message boards. (Yes, I know saying that here is hypocritical.)
It's like people don't even know that Anointed Procession will be eight bucks in five years. How is it this kind of card always follows this pattern? It seems investors would have destroyed that easy plunder by over-exploiting it.
Not that I mind. I'm happy when cards are cheap, and easily available. Order now for your casual fun purposes, or you'll end up paying way more for the same card. In the mean time, almost every other card in the set will tank in value. Business as usual.
Predictions:
The set will use the current card frame, but the showcase cards will use the old card frame and a retro-art style. They'll look great, but it'll be weird seeing something powered like Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider done aesthetically to look like Craw Wurm.
There will be planeswalker cards, and at least one of them will have been a retroactive add-on to the story. They'll say something like "look, it's The Wanderer way back in time! You didn't see that coming did you? If I were designing it, I'd probably make a couple crazy old-walkers, and charge 10+ mana for them. We'll see.
There will definitely be equipment, and vehicles seem quite likely considering the aesthetics of the Brothers' War (not that I know that much about the lore). And colored equipment seems likely too. They put it in every set nowadays.
Creatures will be have insanely pushed stats as they always do now, and there will be a few broken artifacts with splashy abilities that may end up banned here or there. These will be along the lines of Lithoform Engine, Paradox Engine, and The Ozolith.
The only thing that's really going to be back with a vengeance is the characters and lore. It'll be a new version of it, but it's been long enough that most of us will be happy to see it.
They got Willem Dafoe to play a human on Innistrad.
Sweet commons and uncommons I may add:
Cathar Commando
Loyal Gryff
Search Party Captain
Foul Play
Hobbling Zombie
Play with Fire
Dryad's Revival
Diregraf Rebirth
Ambitious Farmhand // Seasoned Cathar
Lunarch Veteran // Luminous Phantom
Outland Liberator // Frenzied Trapbreaker
Cool rares I might throw in if I get them:
Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
Sludge Monster
Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia
Burn Down the House
Falkenrath Pit Fighter
Briarbridge Tracker
Saryth, the Viper's Fang
Storm the Festival
Malevolent Hermit // Benevolent Geist
Poppet Stitcher // Poppet Factory
Suspicious Stowaway // Seafaring Werewolf
Hostile Hostel // Creeping Inn
Stuff I'm especially interested in:
I'd really like to try The Meathook Massacre, but I never obtain most mythics. I could use a cool black wrath with extra utility.
Red gets a generally better Archaeomancer. I'll happily play it.
This is the most efficient disturb creature so far. Having a nastier Spell Pierce on threat of activation is pretty sweet, and 2U is a bargain to get it back as a Wind Drake with slight upside.
I like Abrade a lot more. More often is there a nasty artifact you can't burn than are you sitting there with an extra burn spell you don't really need, and a hand full of extra cards you'd like to pitch.
The scalability gives this a lot of very powerful options. I see it not as an aristocrats card, but as a card that is good in aristocrats.
Sunset Revelry
Sorcery 1W
If an oponnent has more life than you, gain 4 life.
If an oponnent has more creatures than you, create 2 1/1 human tokens.
If an oponnent has more cards in hand than you, draw 1 card.
I like Timely Reinforcements quite a lot, and I'm more than happy to add a cheaper version with a card-draw option.