My initial thought was "wow that reminds me of Castlevania". I hope that it is that old Victorian era feel with the subtle dark feel. Also, I am hoping for some vampires or vampiric creatures. I could totally see a debonair vampire elf or a evil flamekin warlock to help tie the sets together. Can't wait!
Hmm, I realize that the how is not important, it's the when. I am just wondering if that phrase "since the beginning of your last upkeep" on the Echo reminder text precludes having to pay the cost since the Timbermare was in fact in my control since the beginning of my last upkeep.
If my Oath of Druids digs out, say, a Timbermare, am I required to pay the Echo cost to keep the Timbermare in play. The way I am reading the reminder text for Echo, it would seem that if Timbermare was in play since the beginning of my upkeep, a la Oath which puts the creature into play at the beginning of my upkeep, then I would not have to pay this cost ever. I realize that I do not pay the Echo cost on the turn it comes into play since all the 'at beginning of your upkeep' triggers are already on the stack, but my question concerns the next upkeep step. Anyone know if I am interpreting this correctly?
The thresher seems pretty good limited since it has Flash and a fairly cheap evoke cost. It will definitely help out those decks playing against Faeries in limited. It can also make a great beatstick as a creature considering it is a 7/7 for fatty green decks.
Quick note, not sure if Wipe Away will work with the planeswalkers since I would almost guarantee that if you use all the counters, they get sent to the graveyard on state-based effects and you won't have a chance to resolve the Wipe Away.
My biggest complaint / best personal boon is that I can't exactly see much synergy between Lorwyn and the Time Spiral block. MaRo has made it clear in many articles that he is trying to push for inter-block synergy, but so far, I just don't feel it between these two. Suspend seems like a slow mechanic to couple with a tribal intense block. Most notedly, the lack of creatures, beyond some of the 'Timeshifted'/future cards, that interact well with these tribes. But in my personal opinion, since Lorwyn is going to mark my return to a game I have missed for the past two years, I am kinda excited that I can jump right into the set and not have to worry about the Time Spiral cards that are needed to make a tribal deck work in Standard competition.
I am rather excited to see the return to a typical fantasy setting and so far the set seems to have a great mix of powerful and less than stellar cards. I say, thumbs up!
My favorite aspect of Clash is that it is an interactive mechanic. How often do the designers integrate a mechanic where it actually matters what your opponent is doing? While it is classed as a 'random' mechanic, it definitely can be built around, but it still comes down to what you opponent is packing also. I really like the idea. Even if your opponent is playing it, at least you have some say in how the mechanic resolves. Maybe I just like trying to keep the game interactive rather than one player trying to get their bomb to work before their opponents goes off.
While I have been lurking through these forums for a while as a guest, finally decided to join the community. So here's a little about me. I started playing Magic just when Ice Age came out. I played up through Exodus and thought I would be done. A friend a few years later learned how to play on her own and asked if I wanted to learn. So I rejoined the game with Mirrodin and played with her through Ravinca (not Dissention or Guildpact really). Now with the advent of my workload getting a little lighter, I decided Lorwyn was as good a time as any to get back into the game. I am also a big fan of pretty much any CCG. I know how to play most of them and probably have a deck that can at least hold its own. This includes Five Rings, Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, Magi-nation, etc. Yeah, CCGs are kind of a habit of mine now, just finding people to play with is the hold up. Anyway, I really enjoy the website and glad to finally join up. See you all around.
The 'Clash' ability seems to care more about the cc of the top card rather than what it is which is why I can also see the connection to Jalum Grifter. But, this too has already been done, though I don't think necessarily expanded on in Erratic Explosion. Plus, I'm not exactly sure how you would tie it to a cycle of creatures.
Further, I really dislike the idea of dice. It just discourages skill over luck much more than the game currently has. Plus, it makes that much more of a hassle for judges that would all be required to have a die with them in case some players do not bring their own. I know I never have d6 for playing magic.
I do like the idea of a cycle of creatures that get is affected by your teammate. This would make them good choices for 2-Headed Giant games as well as having possible applications in multiplayer that isn't strictly FFA. Perhaps the creatures get a atk/def boost for each teammate or have an ability that can only be activated by a teammate. Could prove interesting.
Though it might be a bit of a stretch, I think Jalum Grifter could be the UnGlued MaRo was referencing. For some reason, its ability just screams that it is the foundation for the new "Clash with an opponent" mechanic. Both matter about what a face down card is and the winner is determined by the, uh, casting cost (ok, a bit of a stretch). Just a thought.
Frenetic Efreet just has a big soft spot for me. It used to do everything and is still decent with the rules change. Plus, Efreet is such a cool creature type.
*Edit: spelling is not my friend -_-
I am rather excited to see the return to a typical fantasy setting and so far the set seems to have a great mix of powerful and less than stellar cards. I say, thumbs up!
Further, I really dislike the idea of dice. It just discourages skill over luck much more than the game currently has. Plus, it makes that much more of a hassle for judges that would all be required to have a die with them in case some players do not bring their own. I know I never have d6 for playing magic.
I do like the idea of a cycle of creatures that get is affected by your teammate. This would make them good choices for 2-Headed Giant games as well as having possible applications in multiplayer that isn't strictly FFA. Perhaps the creatures get a atk/def boost for each teammate or have an ability that can only be activated by a teammate. Could prove interesting.