It looks like they left out the words "you control" on her +2 ability. The phrase "you may sacrifice another permanent" is a little too open-ended if taken literally.
701.16. Sacrifice
701.16a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s
graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a
permanent they don’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration or
other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.
Is the flavor text supposed to mess with us? I thought he consciously was working with Bolas?
Is there any proof of that? I haven't seen anything that states that he's knowingly working with Bolas.
It was confirmed that each of the guilds that are allied with Bolas will have a Planeswalker as their leader. The only Planeswalkers we will be getting in Guilds and Alliances will be Bolas-aligned.
Ral may not be knowingly working for Bolas but whatever he is doing will be helping Bolas, inadvertent or unintentional as it may be.
GUILD TO ORDER, PART 1: The Creative team then split the guilds in half. Five would fall under Bolas's influence, and five would not. (Although, I should point out that each guild has elements pulling in both directions.) The five guilds that fell to Bolas would each have a planeswalker, beholden to Bolas, who would lead the guild. The creative team spent a great deal of time picking which five would fall to Bolas. Their choices were swayed a lot by the story that they wanted to tell.
GUILD TO ORDER, PART 1:Because five guilds were falling to Bolas and we wanted the two sets leading up to the event set to feel as if things are getting worse on Ravnica, we wanted the first set to have two Bolas-leaning guilds and the second set to have three. That way the progression felt as if Bolas is gaining in power.
From Blogaog: themartiangeek asked: Are there only two planeswalker cards in Guilds of Ravnica?
The rotation in Standard is about to happen, so Kaladesh, Revolt, Amonkhet and Hours are leaving, and Guilds of Ravnica is coming in.
The top decks in standard are pretty reliant on Kaladesh and Amonkhet, so I would hold off on investing in a specific deck right now. Try building some janky budget decks using only Ixalan, Rivals, Dominaria and M19.
Note: WizKids is releasing a product with Ravnica D&D minis this November. 44 minis in total, sold in randomized sets of 4 (1 large/huge creature, 3 medium/small creatures, $16). The guildmasters are included, although the Niv Mizzet mini is a "premium" one, and you're required to order a case (equivalent to a MtG booster box) in order to get the opportunity to order Niv Mizzet for $50. There's also two $25 "starter sets" that each contain five specific minis, one from each of the ten guilds between the two of them.
"Icons of the Realms: Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica"
That's awesome. Sad that Niv is so expensive, dang!
I'll be honest, I'm struggling to wrap my mind around this card. Game-wise, this is ridiculously powerful removal, and it gives an immense boost in power to Modern decks that were already very powerful to begin with (which actually makes me wonder, will the likes of Jund play this over Decay?).
And lore-wise... My God, they're all but openly saying that Vraska is gonna kill Isperia. That's not a big a foreshadowing/big hype moment as the White House being blown up in the trailer of Independence Day, but it's up there. What in the name of Urza is happening on Ravnica?
Niv looks great. Can't wait to build a Commander and Brawl deck around him! Also, being rare means he won't be super expensive (even if U/R decks become super popular).
I have ones from the Ravnica/Coldsnap era and a bunch from the present day. They don't seem radically different in quality, IMO. They are much better than the Pokemon ones, which have a lip on the inside that can catch and bend cards if you are careless.
I have fallen out of buying bundles because I find them to be too expensive relative to what they offer. 10 packs and a box for 545 bucks is really steep, considering I can buy a box of whole box Magic's latest set (and get the latest buy-a-box promo) for a 100 bucks and then spend 5 to 10 dollars on a box that can store 5,000 cards. The box that stores 5,000 cards could easily last me multiple sets, diluting its cost even more.
Do I like it? Yeah. This seems like a fair way for WotC to earn bank and yet not punish the masses with "must have" cards.
Do I love it? Honestly, no. I think the price is too high for what they are offering. I would have liked some extras, like an art book, or a few statues/models/toys, maybe some limited edition play mats or sleeves. I don't know, anything to help make that 250 dollar price tag not hurt as much.
This will sell out instantly and it will likely be a reoccurring thing from now on, like the Buy-a-Box promos.
Theres a difference between worth and playable. These are neither. They can design good cards but keep value low by toning back design somewhat, or increasing supply
These are almost playable, but not really, theyre missing just that tiny bit that keeps it from being nothing more than a purist collectors piece.
So why even bother.
Because these products are supposed to introduce new players to the game. They're not for us. If they had actual Standard playable cards in them they'd be a failure. So it's good that none of these cards seems particularly worth playing.
The starters should be playable and upgradeable. A starter product shouldn't be weak, it should be simple to play and use. Imagine a new player going to the store with this. The company wants the new player to get destroyed so they become angry and buy more cards just so they can win? It really is pitiful when it comes to products that are precons with wizards most of the time.
The problem is that veteran players gobble the product up if it is too good. That leaves nothing for the actual intended audience. It is also difficult to assess what the meta will be like months and months in advance of the set coming out (doubly so around the time of a rotation). Something could be standard playable one day and trash the next. It is easier to just avoid potential problems and make a product that can help new players learn the game. Plus, the decks only cost 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So really, the deck is only costing them 7 bucks. These are perfectly serviceable 7 dollar decks.
Tbh while I know these products are intended for new players, the first advice I'd give a new player would always be "don't buy these".
Which is a little bit sad.
... Why? They are 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So the brand new player is getting a whole deck for 7 bucks. A deck specifically designed to help brand new players learn how to play.
701.16. Sacrifice
701.16a To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s
graveyard. A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s a
permanent they don’t control. Sacrificing a permanent doesn’t destroy it, so regeneration or
other effects that replace destruction can’t affect this action.
It was confirmed that each of the guilds that are allied with Bolas will have a Planeswalker as their leader. The only Planeswalkers we will be getting in Guilds and Alliances will be Bolas-aligned.
Ral may not be knowingly working for Bolas but whatever he is doing will be helping Bolas, inadvertent or unintentional as it may be.
GUILD TO ORDER, PART 1: The Creative team then split the guilds in half. Five would fall under Bolas's influence, and five would not. (Although, I should point out that each guild has elements pulling in both directions.) The five guilds that fell to Bolas would each have a planeswalker, beholden to Bolas, who would lead the guild. The creative team spent a great deal of time picking which five would fall to Bolas. Their choices were swayed a lot by the story that they wanted to tell.
GUILD TO ORDER, PART 1:Because five guilds were falling to Bolas and we wanted the two sets leading up to the event set to feel as if things are getting worse on Ravnica, we wanted the first set to have two Bolas-leaning guilds and the second set to have three. That way the progression felt as if Bolas is gaining in power.
From Blogaog: themartiangeek asked: Are there only two planeswalker cards in Guilds of Ravnica?
Yes, in Guilds of Ravnica booster packs.
The top decks in standard are pretty reliant on Kaladesh and Amonkhet, so I would hold off on investing in a specific deck right now. Try building some janky budget decks using only Ixalan, Rivals, Dominaria and M19.
That's awesome. Sad that Niv is so expensive, dang!
It is a Story Spotlight card, after all.
I have fallen out of buying bundles because I find them to be too expensive relative to what they offer. 10 packs and a box for 545 bucks is really steep, considering I can buy a box of whole box Magic's latest set (and get the latest buy-a-box promo) for a 100 bucks and then spend 5 to 10 dollars on a box that can store 5,000 cards. The box that stores 5,000 cards could easily last me multiple sets, diluting its cost even more.
Do I love it? Honestly, no. I think the price is too high for what they are offering. I would have liked some extras, like an art book, or a few statues/models/toys, maybe some limited edition play mats or sleeves. I don't know, anything to help make that 250 dollar price tag not hurt as much.
This will sell out instantly and it will likely be a reoccurring thing from now on, like the Buy-a-Box promos.
Good thing you found the people WotC is appealing to
Well, them and MtG Finance.
The problem is that veteran players gobble the product up if it is too good. That leaves nothing for the actual intended audience. It is also difficult to assess what the meta will be like months and months in advance of the set coming out (doubly so around the time of a rotation). Something could be standard playable one day and trash the next. It is easier to just avoid potential problems and make a product that can help new players learn the game. Plus, the decks only cost 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So really, the deck is only costing them 7 bucks. These are perfectly serviceable 7 dollar decks.
... Why? They are 15 bucks and include 2 boosters. So the brand new player is getting a whole deck for 7 bucks. A deck specifically designed to help brand new players learn how to play.