Its also really easy to break even with an etb effect. As you have to access to Stonecloaker, Whitemane Lion, Restoration Angel, Dust Elemental, and Jeskai Barricade. Which if you make a token of them, means you can immediately bounce Titus back to your hand. And if you have a Phyrexian Altar out and 7 creatures, you make infinite tokens and infinite mana. And with something like Purphoros, God of the Forge or Impact Tremors you can deal infinite damage. And with that mana you can use it for infinite combat steps.
You can also use Anointed Procession to make weaker token generators have more value. As a Mogg War Marshal, if created as a token, would create four tokens.
The actual issue is the number of tokens created through an etb trigger, not if the tokens created can't attack. In fact making it an attack trigger only is safer in terms of balance and does encourage the combat damage steps.
Every card is a kind of puzzle, the easier it is to work with, the more exploitable it is.
I think there's certainly a conversation to be had around the complexities of separating art from the artist, particularly around how to deal with previous works.
This. The sooner people understand to differentiate the art from the artist, the better their life will be. People who can't like certain card-scribblers just come across as petty and unable to fathom such a simple concept.
Or for the simple fact that you then have a 4th level of redundancy - that exists in your command zone for a win condition. You can now self mill without being afraid of hitting all your wincons
Can't wait to hear the excuses of "its insurance in case Ormos gets blown up" when its really just another boring labman deck that tries to win through solitaire and rarely plays Ormos.
If you are having trouble understanding why someone would run Ormos, Archive Keeper as their main win-con over Thassa's Oracle / Labman / Jace, you might just be a Johnny with Spike tendencies. This is for Timmy with Johnny tendencies. The difference is "Do you like playing solitaire or an actual 4-player game?"
Finally the changed the art of terramorphic expanse I was getting sick of that other art
Seriously - the art has been so bland on Expanse. At least this has all the colors it can fetch depicted in the art. I never understood the flavor the TE - just blasted landscapes and dark/dull colors. Doesn't fit flavor-wise into a lot of decks.
The flavor text.
"Take two steps north into the unsettled future, south into the unquiet past, east into the present day, or west into the great unknown."
-Timespiral Original Printing.
As it was printed in a block that had time as its theme. So instead of just normal terramorphing, you are terramorphing using the timestream.
And if you have Geth's Grimoire out with your Words of Waste you can turbo discard the table. As every time someone discards, you may draw a card,and if you do opt, you cna pay 1 instead for that draw. Which means each opponent discards another card.
As a land, you can run Geier Reach Sanitarium as now everyone discards and draws, but you draw an extra card at end of turn.
Noxious Vapors. This really is inconsequential versus mono-color decks. But against the typical tricolor deck, this likely to force a discard 3. And if its a five color deck, that is potentially discard 5 for 3 mana.
Wound Reflection. So we pay six and cause each opponent to lose 10 life with Tinybones. At end of turn, they lose 10 life again.
Seems more an illusion of choice card than a card with 31 options. As you will always bounce a nonland permanent and draw a card. Then you have the ability to Counterspell and/or Stifle. Then you basically have a clone effect on top. So if you have a creature and your opponent has a spell on the stack you just select all but the stifle effect for maximum value.
Seems really powreful in a heavy lands EDH deck. Where you can justify running something like 87-ish lands. As you can have god turns of like:
Turn 1: Forest, Manabond, drop the rest of your hand onto the board so you now have seven lands.
Turn 2: Summon Radha, likely play another land off the top for eight.
Turn 3: Land for nine, Swing with a 12/12
OR
Turn 1: Forest, Exploration, Mountain
Turn 2: Forest, Radha, Mountain
Turn 3: two more lands, activate Radha and swing with a 9/9
OR
Turn 1: Forest, Sol Ring
Turn 2: Mountain, Radha
Turn 3: Forest, Hour of Promise, swing for 3
Turn 4: Land, swing with Radha again for 7.
And since I play these kind of decks, its going to be the most fun to explosively down someone by turn 4 or 5.
I personally already consider colorless as the sixth color at this point, taking Purple's spot.
Which is probably for the best. As it already comes with its own special mana symbol and is meant to represent the bizarre and alien. The only thing it lacks is really a true Barry's Land, as while we got Wastes, it doesn't have a unique type. Personally I'm fond of Dream, Rift, or Distortion.
And how would one amass seven creatures? Simple you are using token spam tactics. Having Belfry Spirit + Beetleback Chief + a Whitemane Lion = infinite.
You can also use Anointed Procession to make weaker token generators have more value. As a Mogg War Marshal, if created as a token, would create four tokens.
The actual issue is the number of tokens created through an etb trigger, not if the tokens created can't attack. In fact making it an attack trigger only is safer in terms of balance and does encourage the combat damage steps.
Every card is a kind of puzzle, the easier it is to work with, the more exploitable it is.
"Take two steps north into the unsettled future, south into the unquiet past, east into the present day, or west into the great unknown."
-Timespiral Original Printing.
As it was printed in a block that had time as its theme. So instead of just normal terramorphing, you are terramorphing using the timestream.
As a land, you can run Geier Reach Sanitarium as now everyone discards and draws, but you draw an extra card at end of turn.
Noxious Vapors. This really is inconsequential versus mono-color decks. But against the typical tricolor deck, this likely to force a discard 3. And if its a five color deck, that is potentially discard 5 for 3 mana.
Wound Reflection. So we pay six and cause each opponent to lose 10 life with Tinybones. At end of turn, they lose 10 life again.
Turn 1: Forest, Manabond, drop the rest of your hand onto the board so you now have seven lands.
Turn 2: Summon Radha, likely play another land off the top for eight.
Turn 3: Land for nine, Swing with a 12/12
OR
Turn 1: Forest, Exploration, Mountain
Turn 2: Forest, Radha, Mountain
Turn 3: two more lands, activate Radha and swing with a 9/9
OR
Turn 1: Forest, Sol Ring
Turn 2: Mountain, Radha
Turn 3: Forest, Hour of Promise, swing for 3
Turn 4: Land, swing with Radha again for 7.
And since I play these kind of decks, its going to be the most fun to explosively down someone by turn 4 or 5.