the card says "choose a creature". do you have to choose a creature in play or can you choose one from a graveyard or your hand? or can you even choose any creature in the game?
if your are looking to buy something just buy a fat pack box. you can find them for as little as a dollar in some places. also the professor at tolarian community college has done many videos on deck boxes and cases. check to see what he recommends or what might work best for you. here is a link to his most recent deck box video, but he has many more posted. https://youtu.be/q8uVQmPU334
i currently own three playmats, one from a gran prix 5 or 6 years ago with a random angel on it, one that i won at games day or some other store tournament that has the art work for selective memory on it , and one that i designed and had made at inked gaming. the one i had made at inked gaming has characters on it that match my edh deck that i have fully altered. in that case my deck matches the playmat very well though i still run the deck when using the other playmats and i run other decks when using that playmat. mostly i just try to rotate my playmats so as to slow down the wear.
Playmats seem like a waste of money in my mind. The only exception I would give is if a play area actually seems dirty but usually you can clean the area up if that is the case with some paper towels and water.
i used to feel the same way and other than my custom mat i have never bought a playmat. i do think playmats are very useful and worth carrying with you though. giving your cards a clean surface is definitely a common reason to use one, but there is more than that. for starters a playmat is a softer surface when sliding cards across or easier to maneuver due to the cloth top. not every playing surface will be smooth, but your playmat is. likewise i find it is easier to pick cards up off of a playmat. however the biggest reason i use playmats is because it basically marks my territory when playing. this may not be as big of a deal at a friends house, but at a shop or in a tournament setting having a playmat helps give you enough space to play comfortably and to keep people from crowding into your personal space.
while i was quick to assume this was a bit of a cash grab for standard packs as well it occurred to me that brawls creation might actually be something different all together, namely for arena. if arena will be mostly a standard and limited experience wotc will need to add functionality to keep people interested. by creating this format it can slide easily into the arena game with minimal effort on their part while providing more gameplay options for the users. the fact that it is playable in paper is just a side effect. im not a fan of rotating formats so its not something for me, but im sure there will be people out there who will be thankful for getting more use out of their cards.
is this a dude though? i thought it was an older woman. it reminds me of tina turner.
i used to feel the same way and other than my custom mat i have never bought a playmat. i do think playmats are very useful and worth carrying with you though. giving your cards a clean surface is definitely a common reason to use one, but there is more than that. for starters a playmat is a softer surface when sliding cards across or easier to maneuver due to the cloth top. not every playing surface will be smooth, but your playmat is. likewise i find it is easier to pick cards up off of a playmat. however the biggest reason i use playmats is because it basically marks my territory when playing. this may not be as big of a deal at a friends house, but at a shop or in a tournament setting having a playmat helps give you enough space to play comfortably and to keep people from crowding into your personal space.