My favorite design is Greater Gargadon, at least for multiplayer. I absolutely despise playing with wrath-type effects, and this lets me get around them by sacrificing most of my board in response. He lets me trigger graveyard-from-play effects at my leisure and he's massive. I love sitting there normally as well, ticking down the counters as my opponents fear where a 9/7 with haste will go. Also, I love the numbering on it. 10 for a 9/7? It looks a lot more delicious than a simple 9/9 and more red than a 10/8 or the like. The haste that is natural to suspend is also very fun. In total, Greater Gargadon allows you to get around anything irritating your opponent does, provides a fantastic sac outlet, showcases everything awesome about what Time Spiral was trying to do, and was made completely memorable. Perfect design.
Dust Elemental has brilliant design as well, and for a lot of the same reasons. Like the Gargadon, it gives you a frightening beater once its conditions are met, but also allows you to make good of its dying comrades: Dusty can swoop in and save two creatures and himself from a wrath effect or take the place of three of your creatures that would fall in combat. Someone shooting a lightning bolt at your most cherished creature? Dust Elemental's on the way to salvation! Got a bunch of ETB effects that you'd love to reuse? A Kitchen Finks that wants to persist even more with all the life you'll gain? Soul Wardens that want you to play as many creatures as possible? Dust Elemental is your boy. Multifaceted and bizarre, Dust Elemental is probably the least appreciated junk rare ever made.
I really like the idea of it. A build-around me card if I ever saw one and absolutely bonkers with Painter's Servant (not that it makes it any less awesome).
Started during Coldsnap, but then the guys that got me into the game lost interest after Eventide and I didn't like most of the cards in Alara / the focus on planeswalkers / mythic rarity. I was dragged back during Rise of the Eldrazi and I'm pretty okay with mythics and planeswalkers now, but I still don't much care for Alara as a whole block.
Is it wrong to say I saw this coming? The Deckbuilder Toolkit v2 had Gideon and Sorin's art on it; it's not terribly strong evidence, but it's not as though Ajani 1.0 or Liliana have any reasonable fanbase, while Sorin is everything awesome about black in one card and Gideon represents the direction white has been taking more closely the last few years. If these are the five m12 walkers as I suspect, I will be very happy.
I started playing just before the Time Spiral block and had no idea what I was doing. I saw this card and struggled over a way to use it; I mean, it was a 6/6 with flying AND fear. FOR FOUR MANA. It was not until I came back from my magic break that I was able to make a nice home for it, and now there is no card that brings me greater joy to play.
My friend played Massacre with Glissa, the Traitor, an Ornithopter, and a Perilous Myr on his side of the battlefield and I had Knight of New Alara, Kitchen Finks, Quasali Pridemage, and Steward of Valeron. Would Glissa's trigger return his two artifacts to his hand because my other creatures had a delayed death once Knight of New Alara died or do they go to the graveyard as a state-based effect at the same time, thus making his graveyard empty as Glissa's trigger goes off?
I think this might be the final "proof" we need to ensure that "Action" is New Phyrexia. Karn has realized that his world is falling apart around him but he finally has assembled his psyche and can finally stand up for Mirrodin - only after it's too late.
I would love to see a whole block developed for a return to the ice age block. However, i dont follow the story line of magic, so i dont really know if thats possible.
They would basically have to go back in time; it'd be easier to go to a new plane that is eternally winter and take a different approach to snow. The original Ice Age block was brought about by a devastating event that none of the neoplaneswalkers could even attempt, so Dominaria won't just go back into the cycle of winter or anything.
I think Scars Block has done a good job on Mythics (as opposed to Zendikar, which only had about five examples of doing it right). They mostly feel mythic, and each one is worthy of delight when opened, and yet few of them are staple-ish in decks of the chosen color. The planeswalkers are better-designed and there's plenty of worthy rares as well. Lotus Cobra, Vengivine, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor are all examples of doing it wrong. The first two don't feel mythic at all and should be more accessible, while Jace is too much of a requirement in blue decks (much like preordain or mana leak) to really be at the highest rarity.
On the whole, I like mythic rarity when it's done like Scars block, but previously, I thought it was rather insulting. I hope they continue on their current trend.
My favorite card is Greater Gargadon. It's got so much flexibility and excitement built into it and provides for a lot of opportunities that usually require a whole series of cards to do.
Dust Elemental has brilliant design as well, and for a lot of the same reasons. Like the Gargadon, it gives you a frightening beater once its conditions are met, but also allows you to make good of its dying comrades: Dusty can swoop in and save two creatures and himself from a wrath effect or take the place of three of your creatures that would fall in combat. Someone shooting a lightning bolt at your most cherished creature? Dust Elemental's on the way to salvation! Got a bunch of ETB effects that you'd love to reuse? A Kitchen Finks that wants to persist even more with all the life you'll gain? Soul Wardens that want you to play as many creatures as possible? Dust Elemental is your boy. Multifaceted and bizarre, Dust Elemental is probably the least appreciated junk rare ever made.
Honorable mention to Blood Moon, Magus of the Moon, and Price of Glory, which punish players for complicating the game. Nothing could be more red.
I started playing just before the Time Spiral block and had no idea what I was doing. I saw this card and struggled over a way to use it; I mean, it was a 6/6 with flying AND fear. FOR FOUR MANA. It was not until I came back from my magic break that I was able to make a nice home for it, and now there is no card that brings me greater joy to play.
Slagstorm
Priests of Norn
They would basically have to go back in time; it'd be easier to go to a new plane that is eternally winter and take a different approach to snow. The original Ice Age block was brought about by a devastating event that none of the neoplaneswalkers could even attempt, so Dominaria won't just go back into the cycle of winter or anything.
On the whole, I like mythic rarity when it's done like Scars block, but previously, I thought it was rather insulting. I hope they continue on their current trend.