MTG Salvation

Really not a big fan of D&D and Magic intermingling like this.

Also not a fan of the Core Set being apparently missing. We already went through the "phase out the Core Set" thing didn't we, and realized it was a mistake?

I'll be curious to see how color balance works in either of the Innistrad sets. Like in Werewolves, RG is the werewolves, white can be slayers...what do the other two colors do? White and blue get left out in both these cases.

Oddly enough, I'm most excited for Strixhaven. It'll be fun for a deep dive at what a magical college might look like, other than the passing references we get from Tolaria. If they don't lean too heavily on Harry Potter, this could be cool.

Cue Tiro of Meletis post: "Pretty disappointing that this isn't Theros and/or Kamigawa, which have objectively superior flavor."

Quote from Tiro of Meletis »

Quote from Chalsis »

Quote from beren camlost »

Quote from Tiro of Meletis »

Hal and Alena finally getting cards is absolutely a good call.

I admire that they have individual cards, but also partner. I'd love to see this for Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis.

Partner being in the set seems to imply we may get reprints of the C16 legends? That would be amazing. May not get them all, though. But Partner appearing in a draftable Commander set definitely makes sense. Allows for diverse, flexible play.

I hope see Pavios and Thanasis in the future.

I'd be feeling the lands if they weren't Kylem themed. Meh.

Without fail, when I'm looking at new spoilers, I'll scroll down through the comments and usually by the end of the first page find one reply that irks me, usually because it's complaining in some petty way about the reveal.

Then usually the second part of that reply, there will be a comment about how the post wishes this new card/product had been connected to Theros somehow. Without fail, it will be this account.

It's fine to put your perpetually negative two cents in, and I guess it's fine to constantly lobby for more Theros, but do you really need to reply to this post 7 different times? At what point does a community member get flagged as a spammer? Really asking.

I'm actually with Tiro here. Vorthoses (Vorthi?) tend to get caught up on weird things like art, and I really don't like Kylem either. Had these illustrations featured Dominaria, Lorwyn, Kamigawa, Shandalar, Eldraine, Theros, Tarkir, New Phyrexia, or Innistrad, I'd be properly hyped, but as it is, I'm not all that interested.

I realize how ridiculous that sounds, and you're welcome to think it's stupid, since it's just not the way most Magic players tend to think. The notion that cool lands like these could be printed and that the art, of all things (which has nothing to do with gameplay anyway), should turn off certain players off sounds, perhaps, laughably absurd. I'm not even going to try defending it as rational - it can't be defended with logic. But as someone who would never put Kylem-themed art in one of my decks, I get it. It's purely an emotional response, and Kylem itself is off-putting to me.

More lands for you, I guess.

Glad to see another Vorthos that understands my perspective. I think it's entirely rational really - MTG are not playing cards, there's art for a reason, and if there weren't people with this perspective we wouldn't have the name Vorthos to being with.

That said, it's also strange to me that my post was called negative when it was actually largely positive with one critique rooted in personal and justified opinion. Kylem is rather shallow, isn't fleshed out in the lore and isn't aesthetically pleasing to me. The lands themselves are strong of course.

If you don't know what I'm referring to when I say that your posts are usually negative, I encourage you to click on your own user profile and choose "view posts" and just scroll through.

I'm not kidding about the spam. I think we can all agree to assume that any new information comes out will meet your disapproval unless it's Theros-related. There, you don't have to post anymore!

Quote from Tiro of Meletis »

Hal and Alena finally getting cards is absolutely a good call.

I admire that they have individual cards, but also partner. I'd love to see this for Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis.

Partner being in the set seems to imply we may get reprints of the C16 legends? That would be amazing. May not get them all, though. But Partner appearing in a draftable Commander set definitely makes sense. Allows for diverse, flexible play.

I hope see Pavios and Thanasis in the future.

I'd be feeling the lands if they weren't Kylem themed. Meh.

Without fail, when I'm looking at new spoilers, I'll scroll down through the comments and usually by the end of the first page find one reply that irks me, usually because it's complaining in some petty way about the reveal.

Then usually the second part of that reply, there will be a comment about how the post wishes this new card/product had been connected to Theros somehow. Without fail, it will be this account.

It's fine to put your perpetually negative two cents in, and I guess it's fine to constantly lobby for more Theros, but do you really need to reply to this post 7 different times? At what point does a community member get flagged as a spammer? Really asking.

Vraska at uncommon = decent way to do it. We already had a mythic version of her from Ravnica, so makes sense that she doesn't need another.

Wouldn't be surprised if each of the 5 guild leader PWs get the same uncommon treatment.

"changed the Grull conception"? I don't think you'd see one of the guild names misspelled on a real card.

Cards in Guilds of Ravnica that "belong" to one of the other five (RNA) guilds (either specifically demarcated as such or implied by flavor):

Gruul:
Maniacal Rage
Rubblebelt Boar
Street Riot

Azorius:
Luminous Bonds
Capture Sphere? (Similar to a Detention Sphere)
Muse Drake? (Azorius building in the background)

Orzhov:
Veiled Shade?

Rakdos:
Hellkite Whelp
Dead Weight? (The dungeon setting seems like a fit)

TOTAL: 6-9

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cards in Ravnica Allegiance that belong to the other (GRN) guilds

Boros:
Angelic Exaltation
Archway Angel? (Typically, Gate cards are purposefully unaligned or belong to the sort of eleventh faction, the "Gateless," but her white-and-red outfit and the prevalence of armored angels in Boros leans me towards Boros. See Gates Ablaze as a Gates-mechanic card tied to a guild)

Dimir:
Clear the Mind
Eyes Everywhere? (Nothing in the execution labels this as Dimir, but as the surveillance guild there's an argument to be made)
Mass Manipulation
Thought Collapse
Wall of Lost Thoughts

Izzet:
Swirling Torrent (Izzet are responsible for public works such as water supply systems)
Electrodominance
Gates Ablaze

Golgari:
Awaken the Erstwhile
Carrion Imp
Catacomb Crocodile?
Noxious Groodion (the only other Groodion was Golgari; deathtouch, art, and flavor all fit)
Undercity Scavenger
Undercity's Embrace

Selesnya:
Sagittars' Volley

TOTAL: 14-17

Conclusion: If you were looking at the spoiler and it felt like the GRN guilds were represented more than you expected, it wasn't just your imagination. Dimir and Golgari were especially spotlighted.

Not sure why. I think it's good to have reminders that the other five non-spotlighted guilds are still around, but one would expect more consistency among numbers--not zero (Simic) or one appearance for some (Selesnya, Orzhov) and 5-6 for others (Dimir, Golgari).

Quote from ilovesaprolings »

Saying a critique now is getting upset? lol.

You call saying "meh" a critique? A critique means detailed analysis, which is impossible given zero information.

Ever since Innistrad successfully channeled Gothic horror tropes, they've been big on world building around "resonance": Egyptian, Greek mythology, age of discovery, etc. They were bound to get around to revisiting Viking/Norse more fully. Some early Ice Age art drew on its influences (for example), but it's been long enough to give it a proper treatment, just as early Arabian Nights didn't rule out Amonkhet. I'm not sure a perceived Viking/Norse trend from a few years back would be as much a motivator as just trying to expand to incorporate as many types of cultural fantasy as possible. (Btw, you could have added Thor to the list.)

Any reason no one's considering Daretti, who is now BR and who (somewhat randomly) appears in the GRN Planeswalker Masterpieces?

Hey, they finally printed the Selesnya X-Spell.

For reference:
Azorius
Dimir
Rakdos
Gruul
Orzhov
Izzet
Golgari
Boros
Simic

I mean, this is definitely a build-around. If you're getting 3 or fewer insects, she's overcosted, but she's also capable of producing 10+ insects, at which you're getting a deal. Takes work but don't dismiss it because the roof is pretty high.

Quote from Tiro of Meletis »

Quote from Xcric »

sure lets just put a staple for every single commander deck ever at mythic into this set

Acquiring this is going to be painful


but necessary

right exactly. every single deck will want this and benefit from it

this card is bull*****.

there isn't a commander deck in existence that won't benefit from this, or doesn't want this. it accelerates all of them to absurd levels. all while people complain about fast mana and the cost of necessary cards.

and they put it at mythic making it difficult to obtain

this is what happens when they don't actually listen to anyone who actually plays the format in favor of unmitigated greed.

Not pictured: 28 Secret Lair drops.

In all seriousness though, Time Spiral remastered is an interesting choice. I wonder if it's simply going to be Time Spiral block compressed into a single set, or a more updated design. Also looking forward to the Forgotten Realms set.

Lol, beren camlost, facts.

Anyway, any guesses on the other 31 bonus commanders from throughout mtg history? Idk but I hope they're all not commander-worthy which seems counterproductive to the set but seeing as they are bonus special cards... because that would rule out a lot of cool old legends that I would love to see that aren't necessarily the best commanders.

Quote from Tiro of Meletis »

I'm really pulling for this and Zendikar. So far only Theros delivered for me this year.

...I am confused.

Your interests in MTG appear to be two planes (Mostly Theros and a little bit Kamigawa), Two planeswalkers (Kiora + Jace), and Sea Monsters.

I get that there is no problem asking for but isn't there some realistic expectation of seeing what you like less frequently when your interests are so narrow?

Quote from Ryperior74 »

Quote from NGW »

The important takeaway from this:
Cards that are banned in Vintage are not legal in Commander.

But that’s only

Ante
Conspiracy
And the throw cards in the air

I think restricted is what’s happening

And almost no brainer Lurrus of the Dream-Den likely to get the restricted

Restricting Lurrus doesn't do anything though. You already can only run one copy because his companion ability makes him unuseable in the main deck at the same time.

Quote from WarMachinePrime »

Card games are not essential.

By whose definition? Don't fall for what is being sold to the public right now. Who gets to make these decisions and WHY?

1) By what reasonable definition do gaming stores qualify as essential during a global pandemic?
2) Who? Governments under the guidance of medical experts.
3) Why? Because that's what they're there for. Unless your WHY was meant as "Why are some things deemed essential and other things not?", in which case, because every business/service carries a risk of transmission of a deadly pathogen and businesses/services that offer the basics for survival and/or harm reduction can be considered essential. It's about acceptable risk and balancing those risks with the basic survival needs of a populace.

Quote from Card Slinger J »

Quote from mikeyG »

So he admits that the game is still largely played offline, often at an LGS, but how are players going to do that in the next many months (potentially year or more)? In person play is not happening at LGSes, if they're even open, and I highly doubt the average playgroup is getting together for game night. Is MaRo expecting a dramatic spike of people playing paper Magic via Zoom?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the company is at least signalling a continued commitment to paper Magic, I just don't see it as anything other than a platitude given that in person play is largely impossible right now and LGSes are going to start dying soon, if they haven't already.

That's because LGSs are treated as non-essential businesses by the government and health officials when they don't understand that EVERY business is essential. They're the ones who are deciding on which businesses survive and which ones go out of business without the consent of the customer who should have the final say on the matter. The customer is the one who is keeping certain businesses alive so why should the government and health officials be the ones to decide for them? That's basically someone telling you how to spend your own money when customers should have a choice of who they want to support.

You're trying to make a basic free market economics argument through the haze of several layers of politics and social/public good. If you want to successfully make a point, then as a professor of both economics and communications, I suggest you 1) reduce your scope, 2) increase the explication and length of your thesis and 3) do it elsewhere.

(And I intend all of that as 99.9% honestly helpful and 0.1% playful snark.)

So at least $175 for the fetchlands. That’s at least $35 per card. But they don’t even know the secondary market exists. No sir.
And they’re limiting the supply so as not to upset the secondary market price gougers. What a joke.

Kind of interesting they broke the cycle with the spellbooks by not using the full name Chandra Nalaar. It'll look even funnier if we got Liliana Vess instead of Last Hope or Veil.

Jace Beleren
Gideon Jura
Chandra, Torch of Defiance