"Get these wub wub mother****in' rakdos/dimir/wompppp simic/gruul/orzhov/s-s-s-selesnya/golgari/izzet/azorius of my mother****in' tshhhruummphh plane"
DROP THE BA-
BZOOOWBOOMBANGCRASHAAAAAAH!
Just the first thing that came to my head reading your comment.
On topic: Boros Reckoner is the real deal, the only card that was enough to jolt me from my glazed, bored look scanning through the full spoiler. I mean, granted, it was one of the last rares, but its power level is undeniable. This thing basically sneers at a good chunk of the creatures in standard, both with its first strike and with that targeted damage redirect. It's a beautiful, powerful, elegant card and having the first strike be optional allows a for a few tricky moments during combat.
Looking forward to seeing what decks it slots into! I was going to build a Boros deck but I'm kind of curious to see what it can do in RDW, even...
I was going to go Izzet for the prerelease but I'm not so sure anymore after seeing the full spoiler. Their spells are...alright, but pure red and blue seem like they have some terrifyingly bad creatures and it doesn't seem like there's enough Izzet-colored creatures to make up for it. Rakdos and Azorius seem like they wouldn't be easy splashes.
Then again, if I went a different guild but still wanted Izzet spells you can't just easily splash Izzet spells besides the mono-colored ones...ugh, what a headache. What's everybody's opinion on maining Izzet for the prerelease?
I might just go Selesnya (seeing what Azorius and Golgari offer) or Golgari (splashing unleash creatures or go Jund).
And before people say "zomg just reprints would diminish the set", fine, but where's the equivalent removal in cost, rarity, and power? Arrest and Augur Spree and the like hardly make up for it.
But those are my only complaints. I can understand maybe Overload causing removal to be bumped up in rarity or they're wanting to slow Standard down overall...we'll have to see how it turns out. I also have a sneaking suspicion that Snapcaster Mage is the culprit for some of my removal complaints. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the set, creatures and keywords and flavor are all great. It's just the removal itch that bothers me.
[The only other thing that is going to bother me is that BG has access to a possible 8 (Abrupt Decay/Golgari Charm) maindeck ways of getting rid of my Detention Spheres. Oh well.
Damn, by the time I commented the thread "Firemind's Foreskin" was deleted already. Thread title of the year, right there.
In any case, expensive tutor that I'm hardpressed to find a home for. Overall I'm let down by most of the Izzet cards, and this continues the trend (DAMN IT WIZARDS ALL I WANTED WAS ELECTROLYZE). Maybe something will pop up, but for now...eh.
That being said, cue the flood of people saying "YAY GREAT CARD FOR EDH AMIRITE"
FFFSSSS deckbuilding turbofog ideas go! Wow. Pretty much a must-answer card/must-find-removal-NOW card or else it wins you the game...literally! Can't wait to deckbuild a janky deck with it.
Seriously, instead of, you know, boring reprints like this, how about actually printing some cards that players MIGHT want? Like Seeds of Strength, Electrolyze, Spell Snare, and Remand???
The only card I was really holding out for to be reprinted was Electrolyze. It was all I wanted for Izzet.
Yeah, I've come around to the idea that Vraska is the Golgari mythic too, breaking the cycle. Not too bad when you think about Gideon's presence in Gatecrash probably taking the role of the Boros mythic. I guess it depends on the Selesnya mythic at this point, if they continue an X-cost mythic spell then it's possible the cycle does exist barring planeswalkers (the aforementioned Boros Gideon) into Gatecrash. All I hope is that if it is a cycle, they continue the alliterative titles.
With so few mythics left, at this point all I can pray for is a (good) red mythic and they don't shaft red, replacing it with some mythic artifact or something similar.
So we saw Rakdos's Return and I thought it was just a Rakdos guild mythic. got. But with the spoiling of Epic Experiment is it safe to speculate that each guild is going to get a mythic X-cost spell that requires one of each guild colors (and is alliterative as a bonus :D)?
If so, what might the other guilds get? RR was both sides of R and B, (burn and discard) while EE seemed to be more vague, playing with sorceries and instants that both R and U like. What might the other hypothetical mythic X spells look like?
Edit: Never mind, OP covered it from GatheringMagic.
Awesome white beater that attempts to tackle not only creatures, but graveyard-based decks too! A little on the expensive side, though, probably will only see play in reanimator decks. But still, triple Fiend Hunter is nothing to sneeze at.
I thought you were implying that it was a solution to the uncounterable stuff, that's why I made that comment.
Understandable, which is why I clarified myself.
In any case, I'm still thinking about the card. Fun, interesting, but I think it needs to be played carefully. Right now I just see Nivmagus Elemental as a reactive card, where you leave it sitting on the board and whenever a card of yours fizzles (either through being countered or illegal target or whatever) you can "sacrifice" the spell to pump the Elemental.
Aggressively it seems less feasible: you're dropping the creature, paying mana to play a spell, then exiling that spell to pump the elemental...only to see it eat removal or bounce. That's some hardcore card/mana disadvantage right there. :/
I guess you could still pitch cards you can't use right now, but...hm. Man, still mulling over scenarios. What an interesting card.
I was talking about something different, that Nivmagus Elemental's playing with the stack/exiling spells ability might point to exiling spells as a thing this set, or at least just for Izzet. Not about that card's ability in particular.
Like I said though, I hope this is a preview for us getting some spell-exiling to stop the uncounterable spells. If Nivmagus is just a one-off with no other cards that do what it does then I'll be a little disappointed. It's still a good card, but I hope other cards aren't designed similarly where it's just weird to be weird, so Izzet fans get a set full of "zomg look how QUIRKY and CRAZY Izzet is, right? ...enjoy your constructed unplayable cards".
My take from the Elemental - Exiling spells may be a thing in this set/block.
Truly a possibility, with all the uncounterable stuff running around. Why do I care about your uncounterable stuff when I can exile the spell? I just hope we see one, otherwise even a good counterspell at this point is going to grimace in the face of all the uncounterable cards.
Doesn't Judge's Familiar only stop instants and sorceries?
In any case, it's a nice enough counterspell...I'm still expecting a good 2 cost counterspell showing up at some point. I don't play control myself but I do acknowledge that a healthy format needs them.
Garruk's Horde was also pre-existing. Besides, Chandra's Phoenix was a RDW staple in its day and tons of people are excited it's back, I know I am!
I really hope Jace's signature card is useful, most of his signature cards have been...less than impressive.
Fascinating, I didn't know that Boros loved dubstep so much.
On topic: Boros Reckoner is the real deal, the only card that was enough to jolt me from my glazed, bored look scanning through the full spoiler. I mean, granted, it was one of the last rares, but its power level is undeniable. This thing basically sneers at a good chunk of the creatures in standard, both with its first strike and with that targeted damage redirect. It's a beautiful, powerful, elegant card and having the first strike be optional allows a for a few tricky moments during combat.
Looking forward to seeing what decks it slots into! I was going to build a Boros deck but I'm kind of curious to see what it can do in RDW, even...
Then again, if I went a different guild but still wanted Izzet spells you can't just easily splash Izzet spells besides the mono-colored ones...ugh, what a headache. What's everybody's opinion on maining Izzet for the prerelease?
I might just go Selesnya (seeing what Azorius and Golgari offer) or Golgari (splashing unleash creatures or go Jund).
HOW DID I MISS GOLGARI CHARM GETTING SPOILED OH GOD
HEART ATTACK RETURNING
Oh man, Armada Wurm and Utrava Hellkite? I need to check in more often, I'd grown lax since most of the cards had been spoiled, haha.
Thirded. Where's my Electrolyze, Putrefy, and Last Gasp? I suppose we won't see Mortify or Lightning Helix either with Gatecrash.
And before people say "zomg just reprints would diminish the set", fine, but where's the equivalent removal in cost, rarity, and power? Arrest and Augur Spree and the like hardly make up for it.
But those are my only complaints. I can understand maybe Overload causing removal to be bumped up in rarity or they're wanting to slow Standard down overall...we'll have to see how it turns out. I also have a sneaking suspicion that Snapcaster Mage is the culprit for some of my removal complaints. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the set, creatures and keywords and flavor are all great. It's just the removal itch that bothers me.
...where are you guys finding Golgari Charm? Did you mean Rakdos Charm? Had a mini-heart attack for a second.
In any case, expensive tutor that I'm hardpressed to find a home for. Overall I'm let down by most of the Izzet cards, and this continues the trend (DAMN IT WIZARDS ALL I WANTED WAS ELECTROLYZE). Maybe something will pop up, but for now...eh.
That being said, cue the flood of people saying "YAY GREAT CARD FOR EDH AMIRITE"
The only card I was really holding out for to be reprinted was Electrolyze. It was all I wanted for Izzet.
Oh well, maybe in "Sinker"...sigh.
With so few mythics left, at this point all I can pray for is a (good) red mythic and they don't shaft red, replacing it with some mythic artifact or something similar.
If so, what might the other guilds get? RR was both sides of R and B, (burn and discard) while EE seemed to be more vague, playing with sorceries and instants that both R and U like. What might the other hypothetical mythic X spells look like?
Edit: Never mind, OP covered it from GatheringMagic.
Awesome white beater that attempts to tackle not only creatures, but graveyard-based decks too! A little on the expensive side, though, probably will only see play in reanimator decks. But still, triple Fiend Hunter is nothing to sneeze at.
Understandable, which is why I clarified myself.
In any case, I'm still thinking about the card. Fun, interesting, but I think it needs to be played carefully. Right now I just see Nivmagus Elemental as a reactive card, where you leave it sitting on the board and whenever a card of yours fizzles (either through being countered or illegal target or whatever) you can "sacrifice" the spell to pump the Elemental.
Aggressively it seems less feasible: you're dropping the creature, paying mana to play a spell, then exiling that spell to pump the elemental...only to see it eat removal or bounce. That's some hardcore card/mana disadvantage right there. :/
I guess you could still pitch cards you can't use right now, but...hm. Man, still mulling over scenarios. What an interesting card.
I was talking about something different, that Nivmagus Elemental's playing with the stack/exiling spells ability might point to exiling spells as a thing this set, or at least just for Izzet. Not about that card's ability in particular.
Like I said though, I hope this is a preview for us getting some spell-exiling to stop the uncounterable spells. If Nivmagus is just a one-off with no other cards that do what it does then I'll be a little disappointed. It's still a good card, but I hope other cards aren't designed similarly where it's just weird to be weird, so Izzet fans get a set full of "zomg look how QUIRKY and CRAZY Izzet is, right? ...enjoy your constructed unplayable cards".
Truly a possibility, with all the uncounterable stuff running around. Why do I care about your uncounterable stuff when I can exile the spell? I just hope we see one, otherwise even a good counterspell at this point is going to grimace in the face of all the uncounterable cards.
Doesn't Judge's Familiar only stop instants and sorceries?
In any case, it's a nice enough counterspell...I'm still expecting a good 2 cost counterspell showing up at some point. I don't play control myself but I do acknowledge that a healthy format needs them.