instant fight for 2 mana is nice.
mana leak for non creatures for 2 mana, also nice.
UG seems to be the color of big and dumb creatures this time.
those fractals will be a big nuisance.
"Big Dumb" (or big and clunky) seems to be the overall theme of the set, not just UG.
Agreed about the card, though. Two useful, not terribly overcosted modes.
I don't wanna sound like the rare red 2-drop but...don't you see something strangely familiar above Blood Age General's head? Those floating trinkets look like the stuff that distinguishes Kozilek's lineage, maybe these Archaics are somewhat connected to the Eldrazi somehow. Also, Conspiracy Theorist is insane with lots of cheap burn, pay 1 mana, discard your Bolt and draw, pay another mana, cast your Bolt anyway, it could make some noise in Pioneer or Historic with lots of burn and the new 0/2 with Super Prowess, too bad it's not a Wizard to trigger Wizard's Lightning.
Not just the General, this show up on a lot of cards. Lands, even. With the eldrazi-like horrors on Defend the Campus and multi-armed, half-faceless archaics, it certainly looks like more than just a coincidence.
Not sure if I dig this "lots of average things" effect on such an expensive card, would probably prefer one great thing. And the "ditch mode" is pretty bad. On the other hand, there could be some more cost-reduction to help the main mode and branching out to Lorehold graveyard shenanigans could make the ditch mode interesting.
The flavor fits quite well, though.
I am a bit confused by Augusta. So, you tap your guys to attack, then they all untap and you choose who gets tapped again, giving them either +1/+0 or +0/+1 and pseudo-vigilance, right?
Yeah seems like that.
Shadrix is strange in a 1 vs 1 match. I mean you don't want to give any of those effects to your opponent... If he doesn't have any creatures you could buff his board but in the same way it seems like the best option for yourself if the board is empty. The Inkling has flying and can block this dragon and giving your opponent an additional hand card seems... bad. And you have to choose two, right? It doesn't say "up to two". He seems to be a commander legendary, in some kind of political deck. The simic legendary is what I am hoping for white.
I am a bit confused by Augusta. So, you tap your guys to attack, then they all untap and you choose who gets tapped again, giving them either +1/+0 or +0/+1 and pseudo-vigilance, right?
Archmage Emeritus is pretty overrated. It's only real applications are in decks that work better with actual engines. Vedalken Archmage did the same thing with a much more broken card type, and it isn't even EDH playable. It's never been playable.
At best, it'll be the card you mulligan away in some tier C Standard deck
The "or copy" clause makes it much more abuseable.
Kasmina is the leader of an ancient, secret order of Planeswalkers, a shadowy cabal with mysterious aims. Her larger goals are unknown, but her recent obsession is recruitment. Her preferred method is to identify what she calls "embers", non-ignited Planeswalkers. She helps these mages to discover their potential, even if it means causing trauma to ignite their spark, and then indoctrinates them in the ways of her order. She is preparing for a looming conflict that dwarfs the War of the Spark.
The emphasized part has piqued my interest. Given how much they botched the Gatewatch arc I think anything else is plausible at this point. So long as it doesn't involve big burly monsters like Eldrazi or a mad dragon warlord thing, I'll be exceptionally excited.
'buster
Possibly the "entity" stuff that was started in Children of the Nameless and seemingly dropped right after.
"Big Dumb" (or big and clunky) seems to be the overall theme of the set, not just UG.
Agreed about the card, though. Two useful, not terribly overcosted modes.
And getting only one inkling per turn hurts it a lot.
Not just the General, this show up on a lot of cards. Lands, even. With the eldrazi-like horrors on Defend the Campus and multi-armed, half-faceless archaics, it certainly looks like more than just a coincidence.
The flavor fits quite well, though.
Shaile/Embrose and Valentin/Lisette sound decent to me and Uvilda could maybe do some work in the right deck. Not sure about the rest, though.
Just add Kaervek, the Spiteful and you don't have to worry about the inkling...
The "or copy" clause makes it much more abuseable.
Possibly the "entity" stuff that was started in Children of the Nameless and seemingly dropped right after.