These are pretty weak uncommons. I assume it's because of limited as Cranial Plating would probably be very powerful at common, and Disciple would be obnoxious in multiples.
WTF, they’ll print her but not Mox Amber or Teferi?
I really don’t get their decision making for this set.
It's an artifact set is likely playing in why the latter doesn't get reprinted. Mox Amber could still be revealed given I wouldn't be surprised if we get two Moxes to go with the Double theme, that leaves Chrome Mox and Mox Amber as potentials. The former might be more likely though as it fits the name and number crunch for box toppers (there's an artifact between Blightsteel Colossus and Expedition Map).
It is a Mythic because opening this as one of your rares in a draft would suck, at mythic you wont open it soo much (and also could be too good in multiple on a draft)
This is no logic to upshift something to Mythic in a masters set. People are more bothered about their mythic being worth something than drafting the sets. Also this wouldn't be too good in multiples in draft, it absolutely sucks in draft.
Arcum Dagsson is a terrible mythic. What were they thinking? It's only worth $16 due to 1 printing in a low print run set. This will be the sets $2 mythic.
I never really get the having to upshift cards in Masters sets for limited. People do not draft Masters sets in significant numbers, even if LGS were open people don't play $50 drafts more than once. It's not even like Strix is that busted for an uncommon in limited in what is bound to be a higher powered environment than normal sets.
They put a lot of inherent value in here. Cards like Grim Tutor and Azusa, Lost But Seeking are reprints that were badly needed, although I'm curious to see how GT will affect Standard, Modern, and Pioneer.
Honestly I think people will look at this and say, "Ikoria what now?"
'buster
P.S: I still say they need to bring back Counterspell (as an uncommon)
#ReformthePolice
Grim Tutor is only so expensive because of scarcity. The pre-release prices it's going for are absolutely insane, and I expect it to completely tank when people realise it's unplayable outside EDH. It won't do anything in Standard, Pioneer or Modern as basically the only way it works is in some kind of deck that wins the turn you play it as the glue that puts some combo together. That basically by definition means you need fast mana which virtually doesn't exist in the first two, and is mostly banned in the latter. The idea you are going to be able to play some sort of fair game with Grim Tutor just isn't going to happen, taking turn 3 off and paying 3 life is basically giving up the game in these formats.
Even Azusa probably doesn't actually do as much as people think. Has this card basically ever seen play without bouncelands to abuse it? I mean I've seen it in casual decks with Crucible/Strip too I guess. It's really hard to abuse its effect unless your entire deck is basically built around abusing its effect as it's not like decks are out there running 40 lands, and regular ramp decks just have so many better options right now.
Generally an increased power level is normally better than low power level. There's certainly been too many mistakes in the past year of cards you just wonder how they ever slipped through the net, but at same time you need to have some mistakes otherwise you probably aren't pushing the envelope enough. A higher power level normally leads to an improved experience in all sides too, like if you think back at like Ixalan block, it was a terrible limited format as well as 2 sets that really only contain a handful of good cards between them. From experience low power level sets normally sell worse at all levels, less people buy boxes and less people attend drafts at FNM and so on.
Yes, higher power sets sell better, so WotC is incentivized to print them. Yes, higher powered cards excite players more than lower powered cards.
However higher powered card pools do not lead to improved experiences on all sides. Games are over faster, games are more subject to the random effects of the draw/shuffle and to the external effects of the wallet, as higher powered cards command higher prices. These are not ubiquitously positive.
Add to that the fact that "higher power" is relative to the rest of the card pool. That isn't an unlimited well you can tap- power creep must eventually be hit with a reset button of lower powered sets (usually right after a rotation) so that the next set can have its "higher powered" threshold reset to that lower power level.
Personally, I like lower powered set. Leaves more room for strategy and lower entry barriers.
High powered doesn't necessarily mean more expensive at all. That's only true if they load all the power at mythic. It's one of the reasons I am also glad at the same time recently they've started powering up the common slot again, as they'd gone way too far down the road of making anything decent uncommon+, it's that that hurts the wallet more if to have anything close to a competitive deck you've got to shell out for 40+ rares/mythics. Indeed you can see this recently, the Ixalan standard was more expensive than the current standard even though the decks being played were significantly weaker.
There almost certainly won't be a Standard deck around these as none of them affect the board the turn they come into play, you can't have that many do nothings in your deck, Magic simply isn't that durdly anymore. The manabase also really doesn't support playing more than 3 colour in Standard, so the idea you could play 5 colour shrines is also just wishful thinking.
Sanctum of Shattered Heights epitomises that. It likely does nothing the turn you play it. In theory it puts use to your excess shrines but you both need other shrines in play and endless resources to put any real work. On top of all that right now the most played deck is Temur Rec, a deck this card does absolutely nothing against.
Generally an increased power level is normally better than low power level. There's certainly been too many mistakes in the past year of cards you just wonder how they ever slipped through the net, but at same time you need to have some mistakes otherwise you probably aren't pushing the envelope enough. A higher power level normally leads to an improved experience in all sides too, like if you think back at like Ixalan block, it was a terrible limited format as well as 2 sets that really only contain a handful of good cards between them. From experience low power level sets normally sell worse at all levels, less people buy boxes and less people attend drafts at FNM and so on.
Core Set 2021 looks fine, it did kind of get previewed in a top heavy way with them loading up the good stuff early as we've seen before, but they're also reprinting things that actually needed reprints that will actually bring the price down which is always appreciated and not always been true of Core Sets. Core Sets have often been disappointing, but honestly this is probably the 2nd best one after Core Set 2011. The only thing I'd really point towards being a disappointment is the land cycle which I strongly thought they would fill out one of the uneven Pioneer cycles, instead they gave us completion in Standard of pretty much the worst rare land cycle around.
One of the things with Shrines is in reality I don't think you can push them that hard, because if you do they'd be really obnoxious. They're enchantments that sit on the battlefield that decks won't be packing removal for.
As is 3 of these are fine. The white one's main use is it ups your shrine count for your other shrines for 1 mana, as its actual ability won't be usable until like T5. The red one is the worst as it's essentially a 3 mana do nothing, it's much easier to find time to play 1 mana do nothing than a 3 mana version.
I'm sure in limited you will see some games won off these as the black one is going to be a real hard engine to beat once you get it going. Any sort of defensive deck that can just play a couple of these and sit back draining the opponent for 2 every turn from a card type they are probably packing no removal for is going to be tough to beat. It also feels the sort of deck that when its open will be wide open as the black one is basically the payoff, there is little incentive to take most of them meaning you will probably be able to pick them up very easily if you're in the deck. The downside is there will be drafts where they simply aren't opened.
at the very least, the Red, Black and Green ones are pretty fine cards on limited, even if you play just a single copy.
The red one seems trash even in limited. You pay 3 mana to do nothing then 1 mana and discard a land or a shrine to deal 1 damage to a creature or planeswalker unless you have a bunch of other shrines, that is an absolute terrible rate, you'd need to have a boatload of shrines to make the red one playable which is highly unlikely to happen given they are uncommons and you probably can only fit 3 different ones in your deck anyway because of colour restrictions.
I wouldn't mind a new ability called Ultra Death that can kill planeswalkers. Toxic Death. Death Hammer. Death Grab. Death Grasp. Death hold. Deaths hold.
Something death that kills planeswalker.
I doubt it would be unique and relevant enough to be keyword alongside deathtouch. More likely they would either errata deathtouch or replace it with a planeswalker-killing version. I don't think that's very likely either though.
Yeah, at some point they need to replace death touch. As it's under powered now for the current game. Just like they replaced shroud with hexproof.
Or Regenerate with Indestructible.
The last two were done because they were cleaner mechanics though rather than power level. Tbh I'm kind of on board with deathtouch killing planeswalkers, it would give the ability some attacking utility which is the real reason it doesn't do much in constructed, that it's a defensive ability, in constructed if you are on defence and blocking you are normally losing unless there's some recurring mechanic going on.
As for the card it feels fine on paper. It is virtually guaranteed to trade for a card, not sure where I can ever actually see it seeing play though.
It's an artifact set is likely playing in why the latter doesn't get reprinted. Mox Amber could still be revealed given I wouldn't be surprised if we get two Moxes to go with the Double theme, that leaves Chrome Mox and Mox Amber as potentials. The former might be more likely though as it fits the name and number crunch for box toppers (there's an artifact between Blightsteel Colossus and Expedition Map).
This is no logic to upshift something to Mythic in a masters set. People are more bothered about their mythic being worth something than drafting the sets. Also this wouldn't be too good in multiples in draft, it absolutely sucks in draft.
Grim Tutor is only so expensive because of scarcity. The pre-release prices it's going for are absolutely insane, and I expect it to completely tank when people realise it's unplayable outside EDH. It won't do anything in Standard, Pioneer or Modern as basically the only way it works is in some kind of deck that wins the turn you play it as the glue that puts some combo together. That basically by definition means you need fast mana which virtually doesn't exist in the first two, and is mostly banned in the latter. The idea you are going to be able to play some sort of fair game with Grim Tutor just isn't going to happen, taking turn 3 off and paying 3 life is basically giving up the game in these formats.
Even Azusa probably doesn't actually do as much as people think. Has this card basically ever seen play without bouncelands to abuse it? I mean I've seen it in casual decks with Crucible/Strip too I guess. It's really hard to abuse its effect unless your entire deck is basically built around abusing its effect as it's not like decks are out there running 40 lands, and regular ramp decks just have so many better options right now.
High powered doesn't necessarily mean more expensive at all. That's only true if they load all the power at mythic. It's one of the reasons I am also glad at the same time recently they've started powering up the common slot again, as they'd gone way too far down the road of making anything decent uncommon+, it's that that hurts the wallet more if to have anything close to a competitive deck you've got to shell out for 40+ rares/mythics. Indeed you can see this recently, the Ixalan standard was more expensive than the current standard even though the decks being played were significantly weaker.
Sanctum of Shattered Heights epitomises that. It likely does nothing the turn you play it. In theory it puts use to your excess shrines but you both need other shrines in play and endless resources to put any real work. On top of all that right now the most played deck is Temur Rec, a deck this card does absolutely nothing against.
Core Set 2021 looks fine, it did kind of get previewed in a top heavy way with them loading up the good stuff early as we've seen before, but they're also reprinting things that actually needed reprints that will actually bring the price down which is always appreciated and not always been true of Core Sets. Core Sets have often been disappointing, but honestly this is probably the 2nd best one after Core Set 2011. The only thing I'd really point towards being a disappointment is the land cycle which I strongly thought they would fill out one of the uneven Pioneer cycles, instead they gave us completion in Standard of pretty much the worst rare land cycle around.
As is 3 of these are fine. The white one's main use is it ups your shrine count for your other shrines for 1 mana, as its actual ability won't be usable until like T5. The red one is the worst as it's essentially a 3 mana do nothing, it's much easier to find time to play 1 mana do nothing than a 3 mana version.
I'm sure in limited you will see some games won off these as the black one is going to be a real hard engine to beat once you get it going. Any sort of defensive deck that can just play a couple of these and sit back draining the opponent for 2 every turn from a card type they are probably packing no removal for is going to be tough to beat. It also feels the sort of deck that when its open will be wide open as the black one is basically the payoff, there is little incentive to take most of them meaning you will probably be able to pick them up very easily if you're in the deck. The downside is there will be drafts where they simply aren't opened.
I don't know, the black one would be very obnoxious if you could just throw down multiples of some of these.
The red one seems trash even in limited. You pay 3 mana to do nothing then 1 mana and discard a land or a shrine to deal 1 damage to a creature or planeswalker unless you have a bunch of other shrines, that is an absolute terrible rate, you'd need to have a boatload of shrines to make the red one playable which is highly unlikely to happen given they are uncommons and you probably can only fit 3 different ones in your deck anyway because of colour restrictions.
The last two were done because they were cleaner mechanics though rather than power level. Tbh I'm kind of on board with deathtouch killing planeswalkers, it would give the ability some attacking utility which is the real reason it doesn't do much in constructed, that it's a defensive ability, in constructed if you are on defence and blocking you are normally losing unless there's some recurring mechanic going on.
As for the card it feels fine on paper. It is virtually guaranteed to trade for a card, not sure where I can ever actually see it seeing play though.