I loved the idea of Blocks way more than blocks in reality. The 3 set blocks almost always felt like too little butter scrapped over too much bread. The two set blocks were nice but the second set always felt like a dinky add on. Switching fully to three big sets - and not binding their hands to having a different world or story for each set - is a good move. It lets WotC do exciting things. I also think this will ramp up excitement in the player base much more (as the enthusiasm for a small set is so much less than the enthusiasm for a new big set).
Gatewatch is cool. I like them but WotC waaaay over used them in card format. I do not think it would be as big of a problem if there were more members. If the Gatewatch had 10 members rather than 5, I do not think people would be freaking out as much about the overuse of these walkers.
Not super thrilled with the return of the core set. It will always be the weird red haired step child of the magic rotation. One of the reasons they eliminated he set originally was because they wanted to shepherd new players from starter decks to real sets faster. They also wanted to eliminate the problem of new players jumping into the game in, say December, and not being able to find the core set available to buy. The core set is also less interesting to veteran players and is wholly less exciting.
Not sure how you fix the core set problem. You need a way to reprint cards and put cards into standard that help bolster themes in other sets but at the same time make it appealing to new players and enough veteran players to ensure sales are sustainable.
I really thought they struck upon the right idea with their deck building boxes, which includes reprinted cards from sets that are outside of standard (like Nightmare and Shivan Dragon). I do not see why they cannot carry this concept forward. Instead of giving people lots of cards from the current and previous sets in Standard, just stuff the boxes full of new and reprinted cards that will help bolster the sets in standard and provide the tools new players need to ease into playing the game. WotC could even release one of these Deck Building Sets along side each new set, each with cards that would support the themes of the set it is released beside and the set that came before and after.
Of course this would still leave a hole in the summer. WotC Clearly wants 4 sets a year. Not sure what you could slip into the middle there if a big set is not doable and small sets are out. Maybe the Core Set was chosen since it is likely the least offensive and easiest to implement set that can be slipped into the summer.
Wizards literally doesn't need to even release spoilers. They owe us nothing. Your complaining is unjustified and you look like a snotty child.
You do realize WotC is spoiling cards because it is a form of advertising, right? An effective on at that, since cards get shared on lots of sites and passed around facebook and twitter. WotC trickles the spoilers out so that their cards are talked about each day leading up to the release.
Why not a Vampire, which has a focus on discarding cards and has a favored color that has abilities that make your opponent discard cards (i.e. black)...?
Just a curiosity on the story here - perhaps this is the wrong place. It seemed that Arlinn thought that she and her werewolves were going to be the last stand against the threat on the plane based on the first EMN Magic Story. Was she just wrong or did they decide to change that?
Kessig Prowler's flavor text suggests only some werewolves were corrupted by Emrakul.
Gotcha. I can't see the images on my work computer so I can't read the flavor text but thank you for clarification.
Kessig Prowler: In the wake of Emrakul, some werewolves’ human forms were lost forever.
Sinuous Predator: A different kind of transformation has taken place.
Dronepake Kindred: These new terrors will not recede with the setting of the moon.
Smoldering Werewolf: Never thought I’d see the day I’d be wishing to see just a plain old werewolf – Raf Gyel of the Quiver of Kessig
Erupting Dreadwolf: … heck, I’d settle for anything that even resembled a werewolf. - Raf Gyel of the Quiver of Kessig
Okay. I actually have no problem with the cards combining to flip into a extra large removal target. In general, it seems like a totally functional concept and potentially fun mechanic. I do have 2 problems with the implementation though.
First, I hate that it's spread across half of the back face of both of the cards. I wish that you just exiled one underneath the other. I don't like the extra large card and I don't like rotating both cards when attacking. It just seems like a complicated and bad implementation of a fine mechanic.
Second, why would they only print 6 meld pairs total?? Only 3 melded eldrazi and only 1 at common? A card that is basically just a bad rare in limited (Hanweir Garrison) without also pulling a specific second rare? It's like they were so scared that this mechanic wouldn't work they weren't willing to take ownership of it. Give me 5 pairs with more at common or uncommon for the sake of limited play and I'd be happier.
1. It creates for a cool looking and unique moment when the two cards merge. It gets people's attention. Also, stacking is lame.
2. WotC was clearly afraid of the mechanic and the reaction people would have to it. So they limited it. As for why one is at common? Because if your theme is not at common, it isn't your theme. Having said that, I find their choices... Strange. I would have gone for 5 pairs, one for each color. Going White/White, Black/Black and Red/land is just... Weird.
I agree, it feels like they did it because they "had to" but they didn't really "want to". My bet is that there were more melds and they cut most of them. They were either bad, broken or WotC could not figure out how to make them work.
I find it funny that they are only doing 3 pairs. I would have assumed they would have done 5, one for each color. The combination they chose is... Weird. Black/Black, White/White Red/Land...?
I am betting we will see this mechanic pop up again but next time it will be crazy pants.
Brisela could definitely see play. You just need to mill yourself to get Gisela into the grave, then ramp to get to 7 mana ASAP. At that point, you have beast on the field with 4 good keywords and an ability to prevent your opponent from casting cheap spells.
That makes sense. It's difficult to find people who want to explore and celebrate both at once.
For instance, is anyone else excited about how Emrakul actually depersonalizes your opponent? About how her appearance is more likely if you are delirious? Will there be cards in the set with themes of self-harm, like paying an exorbitant amount of life, or losing the game as an ultimatum?
Mechanically, I thought Time Spiral block was great. I really liked the Time Shifted Cards, all the keywords, the unique card frames and the color pie bleed.
Ironically, when I look through my old cards, I often feel nostalgia. Not for classic Magic but for that era of the game (and who I was and who I played with at that time). Even more than Ravnica, I pine for the days of Time Spiral. Which is weird because, as stated previously, I was not a fan of the set (and it saw me quit the game for a time).
Strange how nostalgia works.
If we were to go back to Dominaria, I would really like to return to an era that isn't apocalyptic. A truer version of Dominaria. One that more closely resembles the versions that people played in back in the 90's.
Simple as that. Plus, the last time we saw Dominaria it was... Apocalyptic. It was also one of the worst sets in the history of the game.
Correction, Time Spiral was an immensely polarizing set. Don't confuse the popularity with the set with your own feelings. Time Spiral was a huge hit with the intended target audience. Most enfranchized players loved it more than most other sets. It was the new players who were confused. Unfortunately* new players make up a big part of the game, which is why commercially it was unsuccessful, but for the people who loved it, it was one of the -if not the- best set in the entire history of Magic. And no, it wasn't just one or two players, it was an entire demographic. Wizards themselves and especially Maro have admitted that the problem with Time Spiral wasn't that the nostalgia failed, it was more that they did not offer anything to the rest of their audience. Time Spiral was divisive and unsuccessful, but far from a failure.
*Unfortunately for the reception of Time Spiral, not for the game as a whole or for the rest of the players.
If a set only appeals to one segment of your player base, then the set is a failure.
Imagine if I are going to a pot-luck party. Everyone has to bring some food with them. I decide to bake Oatmeal and Raisin cookies. When I get to the party, I find out that everyone at the party except one person hates raisins. Some people pass over my cookies, while others try their best to pick the raisins off the cookies. That one guy who likes raisins though? He eats ten cookies by himself. In that situation, you would not say I was super successful at making food for that one guy, since the goal was to make something that everyone (or at least most people) would like to consume. That is Time Spiral. Super successful with a minority, disliked by the masses.
The thing I always find kind of funny about this issue is how WotC did not fail at all with Cold Snap. It hit Nostalgia buttons for established players but gave everyone else an exciting setting to explore.
Dominaria is basically a world where all planes and all themes can and do exist.
WoTC doesn't want to have a setting focused on the kitchen sink, they want a specific theme, feel and tone.
When people think of Dominaria, they think of the kitchen sink. They want the whole kitchen sink. If they only get a piece of Dominaria, they will be disappointed and angry.
Simple as that. Plus, the last time we saw Dominaria it was... Apocalyptic. It was also one of the worst sets in the history of the game. People were leaving the game in droves. Nostalgia is a powerful tool but they totally flubbed it with Time Spiral. I think they have learned a lot since they have gone back and visited 4 older planes now (Mirrodin, Ravnica, Innistrad and Zendikar) and done a good job balancing nostalgia and making a set where new players feel welcome.
WotC will go back to Dominaria, some day, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
As someone relatively new to the lore (joining more officially around Return to Ravnica), I just don't find Dominaria very interesting either. It seems like a place that might appeal to the most enfranchised players, but that seems like a relatively niche crowd these days. Generic fantasy land isn't exactly the most interesting of concepts, and that seems to be what it is. Although I may dislike some sets, others I love, even ones from before I was playing. Dominaria I have a hard time feeling any real emotion towards either way.
I started playing in the early 2000's. Time Spiral killed the game for me. It is a cool place with iconic cards but it is... generic. Lots of fluff but it is a very generic setting. It was designed to be that way too, since it was the one and only plane visited for years and years. It was designed to be as broad as possible to allow for lots of different stories.
Personally, I find the new style much more interesting. We visit a place for 2 sets, then move on to the next. Everything is fresh and new. If you don't like a setting, wait 6 months and something else will come out.
I really like where this story went. I knew it was going to tie into Zendikar but I didn't really imagine Emrakul would become Cthulhu. In retrospect, Cthulhoid horror is the one glaring type left out of Innistrad. It makes sense to include her in that capacity.
My bet is that WotC doesn't want to throw Innistrad away. It is too popular to nuke. My bet is that Emrakul will be bound to the Moon. She won't have direct power over individuals on Innistrad but will be able to influence them while they sleep. Thus the status quo with horror is maintained with the added benefit of Cthuloid horror.
Sigarda replaces Acacyn as the protector of humanity.
Sorin's butt is kicked and he has to leave Innistrad as punishment for what he did to Nahiri. Nahiri is vilified and run off or killed. Even if she is repentant, she could have caused the destruction of an entire plane. No one in Gatewatch is going to be OK with that.
Lilyana proves to be a decisive force and replaces Sorin as a master of Innistrad. She probably makes out with Jace. They part ways, firmly leaving their relationship status as, "It's complicated."
I loved the idea of Blocks way more than blocks in reality. The 3 set blocks almost always felt like too little butter scrapped over too much bread. The two set blocks were nice but the second set always felt like a dinky add on. Switching fully to three big sets - and not binding their hands to having a different world or story for each set - is a good move. It lets WotC do exciting things. I also think this will ramp up excitement in the player base much more (as the enthusiasm for a small set is so much less than the enthusiasm for a new big set).
Gatewatch is cool. I like them but WotC waaaay over used them in card format. I do not think it would be as big of a problem if there were more members. If the Gatewatch had 10 members rather than 5, I do not think people would be freaking out as much about the overuse of these walkers.
Not super thrilled with the return of the core set. It will always be the weird red haired step child of the magic rotation. One of the reasons they eliminated he set originally was because they wanted to shepherd new players from starter decks to real sets faster. They also wanted to eliminate the problem of new players jumping into the game in, say December, and not being able to find the core set available to buy. The core set is also less interesting to veteran players and is wholly less exciting.
Not sure how you fix the core set problem. You need a way to reprint cards and put cards into standard that help bolster themes in other sets but at the same time make it appealing to new players and enough veteran players to ensure sales are sustainable.
I really thought they struck upon the right idea with their deck building boxes, which includes reprinted cards from sets that are outside of standard (like Nightmare and Shivan Dragon). I do not see why they cannot carry this concept forward. Instead of giving people lots of cards from the current and previous sets in Standard, just stuff the boxes full of new and reprinted cards that will help bolster the sets in standard and provide the tools new players need to ease into playing the game. WotC could even release one of these Deck Building Sets along side each new set, each with cards that would support the themes of the set it is released beside and the set that came before and after.
Of course this would still leave a hole in the summer. WotC Clearly wants 4 sets a year. Not sure what you could slip into the middle there if a big set is not doable and small sets are out. Maybe the Core Set was chosen since it is likely the least offensive and easiest to implement set that can be slipped into the summer.
You do realize WotC is spoiling cards because it is a form of advertising, right? An effective on at that, since cards get shared on lots of sites and passed around facebook and twitter. WotC trickles the spoilers out so that their cards are talked about each day leading up to the release.
But why is it a wolf?
Like, seriously?
Why not a Vampire, which has a focus on discarding cards and has a favored color that has abilities that make your opponent discard cards (i.e. black)...?
Kessig Prowler: In the wake of Emrakul, some werewolves’ human forms were lost forever.
Sinuous Predator: A different kind of transformation has taken place.
Dronepake Kindred: These new terrors will not recede with the setting of the moon.
Smoldering Werewolf: Never thought I’d see the day I’d be wishing to see just a plain old werewolf – Raf Gyel of the Quiver of Kessig
Erupting Dreadwolf: … heck, I’d settle for anything that even resembled a werewolf. - Raf Gyel of the Quiver of Kessig
1. It creates for a cool looking and unique moment when the two cards merge. It gets people's attention. Also, stacking is lame.
2. WotC was clearly afraid of the mechanic and the reaction people would have to it. So they limited it. As for why one is at common? Because if your theme is not at common, it isn't your theme. Having said that, I find their choices... Strange. I would have gone for 5 pairs, one for each color. Going White/White, Black/Black and Red/land is just... Weird.
I agree, it feels like they did it because they "had to" but they didn't really "want to". My bet is that there were more melds and they cut most of them. They were either bad, broken or WotC could not figure out how to make them work.
I find it funny that they are only doing 3 pairs. I would have assumed they would have done 5, one for each color. The combination they chose is... Weird. Black/Black, White/White Red/Land...?
I am betting we will see this mechanic pop up again but next time it will be crazy pants.
Brisela could definitely see play. You just need to mill yourself to get Gisela into the grave, then ramp to get to 7 mana ASAP. At that point, you have beast on the field with 4 good keywords and an ability to prevent your opponent from casting cheap spells.
Someone spent to a lot of time to craft that text.
Excited for this.
I also want more Werewolves.
Eldritch Moon gives me both!
Ironically, when I look through my old cards, I often feel nostalgia. Not for classic Magic but for that era of the game (and who I was and who I played with at that time). Even more than Ravnica, I pine for the days of Time Spiral. Which is weird because, as stated previously, I was not a fan of the set (and it saw me quit the game for a time).
Strange how nostalgia works.
If we were to go back to Dominaria, I would really like to return to an era that isn't apocalyptic. A truer version of Dominaria. One that more closely resembles the versions that people played in back in the 90's.
If a set only appeals to one segment of your player base, then the set is a failure.
Imagine if I are going to a pot-luck party. Everyone has to bring some food with them. I decide to bake Oatmeal and Raisin cookies. When I get to the party, I find out that everyone at the party except one person hates raisins. Some people pass over my cookies, while others try their best to pick the raisins off the cookies. That one guy who likes raisins though? He eats ten cookies by himself. In that situation, you would not say I was super successful at making food for that one guy, since the goal was to make something that everyone (or at least most people) would like to consume. That is Time Spiral. Super successful with a minority, disliked by the masses.
The thing I always find kind of funny about this issue is how WotC did not fail at all with Cold Snap. It hit Nostalgia buttons for established players but gave everyone else an exciting setting to explore.
WoTC doesn't want to have a setting focused on the kitchen sink, they want a specific theme, feel and tone.
When people think of Dominaria, they think of the kitchen sink. They want the whole kitchen sink. If they only get a piece of Dominaria, they will be disappointed and angry.
Simple as that. Plus, the last time we saw Dominaria it was... Apocalyptic. It was also one of the worst sets in the history of the game. People were leaving the game in droves. Nostalgia is a powerful tool but they totally flubbed it with Time Spiral. I think they have learned a lot since they have gone back and visited 4 older planes now (Mirrodin, Ravnica, Innistrad and Zendikar) and done a good job balancing nostalgia and making a set where new players feel welcome.
WotC will go back to Dominaria, some day, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
I started playing in the early 2000's. Time Spiral killed the game for me. It is a cool place with iconic cards but it is... generic. Lots of fluff but it is a very generic setting. It was designed to be that way too, since it was the one and only plane visited for years and years. It was designed to be as broad as possible to allow for lots of different stories.
Personally, I find the new style much more interesting. We visit a place for 2 sets, then move on to the next. Everything is fresh and new. If you don't like a setting, wait 6 months and something else will come out.
My bet is that WotC doesn't want to throw Innistrad away. It is too popular to nuke. My bet is that Emrakul will be bound to the Moon. She won't have direct power over individuals on Innistrad but will be able to influence them while they sleep. Thus the status quo with horror is maintained with the added benefit of Cthuloid horror.
Sigarda replaces Acacyn as the protector of humanity.
Sorin's butt is kicked and he has to leave Innistrad as punishment for what he did to Nahiri. Nahiri is vilified and run off or killed. Even if she is repentant, she could have caused the destruction of an entire plane. No one in Gatewatch is going to be OK with that.
Lilyana proves to be a decisive force and replaces Sorin as a master of Innistrad. She probably makes out with Jace. They part ways, firmly leaving their relationship status as, "It's complicated."