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Magic: the GAFering |OT2|

I have a couple Slayer's Strongholds but I never play Boros so they pretty much sit with my other rares.

Also, the remaining cards(except for one of my two Jaces) have arrived for my Standard milling deck! Hopefully I get a chance to test it out today.

Once I get a second Deathrite Shaman those will go in too.
 

Crocodile

Member
Is $225 for a guaranteed copy of FTV:20 a fair price? I'm trying to decide whether I should bite or not. I intend to use most of the cards for my Cube for what its worth (rather than sit on the box or whatever).
 

kirblar

Member
Is $225 for a guaranteed copy of FTV:20 a fair price? I'm trying to decide whether I should bite or not. I intend to use most of the cards for my Cube for what its worth (rather than sit on the box or whatever).
Yes. The Jace is at least half of that on its own.
 
Is $225 for a guaranteed copy of FTV:20 a fair price? I'm trying to decide whether I should bite or not. I intend to use most of the cards for my Cube for what its worth (rather than sit on the box or whatever).


seems extremely average and i think you could do better


Yes. The Jace is at least half of that on its own.

you can get it for that for free ship BIN on ebay at that price :/
 

Crocodile

Member
$225 means I can walk into my local game shop and pick up a copy with no fuss. Trying for any other price involves sitting on Ebay trying to snipe auctions or calling my parents or friends in other States to try to run around hunting copies for me. The latter two options don't sound super appealing to me :( I could try to haggle a bit with the local store owner but he does so much good for the community and I don't want to be "that guy". Decisions, decisions.....
 
$225 means I can walk into my local game shop and pick up a copy with no fuss. Trying for any other price involves sitting on Ebay trying to snipe auctions or calling my parents or friends in other States to try to run around hunting copies for me. The latter two options don't sound super appealing to me :( I could try to haggle a bit with the local store owner but he does so much good for the community and I don't want to be "that guy". Decisions, decisions.....

i would at least get him down to that price, minus ebay + paypal fees
 
I have three stores in my town that will be selling the FTV:20.

One says that all boxes are spoken for so I can't get one there.
Another says that they will likely price it at $250.
The other said that he expects it to be $70 or so.

If that last one is true I'm going to get multiple boxes. lol
 

rCIZZLE

Member
So glad a couple stores nearby have preorders up early and honor them. Got one for $40 and one for $65. Likely going to sell both to help break into modern since that has been taking off at local shops.
 
Whoo, got another Vraska today, this one's a foil!

Also, can someone help explain some top player's decks to me?

I'm looking at Josh Utter-Leyton's Bant deck which has some similarities to my own, but he has these Verdant Catacombs in there. What does he need it for? Is there some sort of metagame in modern that necessitates it? He doesn't even have a swamp to pull.

Is he just going slightly off-color with his fetchlands to thin his deck out?
 

Crocodile

Member
I'm looking at Josh Utter-Leyton's Bant deck[/URL] which has some similarities to my own, but he has these Verdant Catacombs in there. What does he need it for? Is there some sort of metagame in modern that necessitates it? He doesn't even have a swamp to pull.

Is he just going slightly off-color with his fetchlands to thin his deck out?

Lotus Cobra (and Knight of the Reliquary to a much lesser extent)
 
I'm looking at Josh Utter-Leyton's Bant deck[/URL] which has some similarities to my own, but he has these Verdant Catacombs in there. What does he need it for? Is there some sort of metagame in modern that necessitates it? He doesn't even have a swamp to pull.

Is he just going slightly off-color with his fetchlands to thin his deck out?

As mentioned before it's to get the landfall triggers. It's also relevant to note that there are only 2 modern fetch lands that are green (same with all the colors). So aside from misty rainforest, the only other fetch available is verdant catacombs.
 
I'm looking at Josh Utter-Leyton's Bant deck[/URL] which has some similarities to my own, but he has these Verdant Catacombs in there. What does he need it for? Is there some sort of metagame in modern that necessitates it? He doesn't even have a swamp to pull.

Is he just going slightly off-color with his fetchlands to thin his deck out?

Only half of the fetchlands were in that Standard format. The "enemy" fetchlands were printed in Zendikar block (UR, GB, UG, WR, WB) and are legal, while the "allied" fetchlands were printed in Onslaught block (UW, GW, RB, RG, UB).

If you're playing Bant, there are three 2-color combinations in your deck: UG, GW, UW. Only one of those three color combinations has a fetchland that's actually legal in that environment: UG (Misty Rainforest). Because of the interaction of fetchlands with Lotus Cobra and Knight of the Reliquary, it was worth it for him to run off-color fetches. And since green was his predominant color, the GB fetch (Verdant Catacombs) was the correct choice.

We see the same thing in Modern, where sadly only half of the fetchlands are legal. If you're playing a 3-Color "Shard" deck (UGW, GWR, UBW, UBR, RGB), only one of your color combinations has a fetchland available to it. Fortunately, because of the way that the basic land types work on the Ravnica shocklands, any fetchland that that has any one of the three colors can fix for any single color in your deck. You'll often see Jund decks playing Marsh Flats, for example.

I'm not a mana-base expert, but I'm pretty sure this phenomenon is one of the main reasons why we see UWR decks so much more successful than Grixis or Esper decks in Modern.
 

kirblar

Member
When the fetchlands get reprinted (either set of 5), spend the 200-250 to get the playset, and never let go of them. Evvvver.
 

rCIZZLE

Member
A tip for anybody who is new to the game or has a small and growing collection: sort and store them from the start. I've recently ran out of spots in my room to stack magic cards and decided to get a couple huge boxes to store them. Only sorting by block and it's still taking forever.
 

kirblar

Member
The 2015-2016 Block (after Theros and the next one) will feature "Return of the Eldrazi".

MaRo's tumblr has not-so-subtly been trying to get feedback on RoE. Turns out that set's a big contradictory mess (beloved by established players, completely confusing to new ones.) Which is causing no shortage of design headaches, especially if all 3 sets feature the Eldrazi this time out.
 

An-Det

Member
When the fetchlands get reprinted (either set of 5), spend the 200-250 to get the playset, and never let go of them. Evvvver.

That's my plan when any major staple is reprinted. When stuff like the fetches or Thoughtseize are reprinted in a real set, I'm going to get at least one extra set of each. Well worth it.
 
The 2015-2016 Block (after Theros and the next one) will feature "Return of the Eldrazi".

MaRo's tumblr has not-so-subtly been trying to get feedback on RoE. Turns out that set's a big contradictory mess (beloved by established players, completely confusing to new ones.) Which is causing no shortage of design headaches, especially if all 3 sets feature the Eldrazi this time out.

:D

...or is that just speculation? (Can't seem to find the post on MaRo's tumblr.
 
The 2015-2016 Block (after Theros and the next one) will feature "Return of the Eldrazi".

MaRo's tumblr has not-so-subtly been trying to get feedback on RoE. Turns out that set's a big contradictory mess (beloved by established players, completely confusing to new ones.) Which is causing no shortage of design headaches, especially if all 3 sets feature the Eldrazi this time out.

Whooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaa

Rise of the Eldrazi is my favorite set!

How far out does Wizards lock all this stuff?
 

kirblar

Member
[QUOTE="God's Beard!";76696407]Whooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaa

Rise of the Eldrazi is my favorite set!

How far out does Wizards lock all this stuff?[/QUOTE]
Far. They have a loose block theme structure planned about ~7 years out. It's flexible, of course, but generally, Rosewater maps out the broad themes in advance so they can synergize the blocks.

Rosewater has been asking and providing a lot of feedback on Rise of the Eldrazi's mechanics for the past month or so. And it's detailed. It's clearly on his mind and the information he's giving out shows that it's an incredible set for advanced players, and terrible as an introductory set for new ones because it's so unusual. It (like most of the best draft formats) forces you to complete re-evaluate how you approach building a deck. That being an issue for "kitchen table" players who just pick up 2 intro packs? Make sense. You can kinda do that w/ a 1-shot standalone spring set. But if you're making it a full block? It's going to create a lot of tension due to the pressure on the fall set to be a good introductory set.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
As cool as that is if its true that means the block after Theros probably isn't my Return to Kamigawa :/

I doubt they'd do too blocks revisiting an old theme in a row
 

kirblar

Member
As cool as that is if its true that means the block after Theros probably isn't my Return to Kamigawa :/

I doubt they'd do too blocks revisiting an old theme in a row
I think the new Eldrazi set will have a new plane. Apparently Zendikar's on the shortlist for a return, but it would make absolutely no sense to have the Eldrazi go there, given they just escaped from it.
 

Crocodile

Member
I think the new Eldrazi set will have a new plane. Apparently Zendikar's on the shortlist for a return, but it would make absolutely no sense to have the Eldrazi go there, given they just escaped from it.

The Eldrazi are still on Zendikar. They didn't escape the plane, just their prison on the plane. The plane is probably in shambles at this point though :p

Also be clear that you're making educated speculations so others don't gt confused.
 

Yeef

Member
As cool as that is if its true that means the block after Theros probably isn't my Return to Kamigawa :/

I doubt they'd do too blocks revisiting an old theme in a row
Kamigawa did pretty poorly on pretty much all fronts. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to go back there. When they do another Asian-inspired block, it'll likely be on a completely new plane.

I'm thinking after Theros we'll probably visit Shalandar. They've been pushing it so much in the core sets and the video games over the last couple of years, that it seems inevitable we get a block there sometime soon. Duels 2014 even has a new logo for it (and some other new planes) in the campaign mode.
 

kirblar

Member
Kamigawa did pretty poorly on pretty much all fronts. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to go back there. When they do another Asian-inspired block, it'll likely be on a completely new plane.

I'm thinking after Theros we'll probably visit Shalandar. They've been pushing it so much in the core sets and the video games over the last couple of years, that it seems inevitable we get a block there sometime soon. Duels 2014 even has a new logo for it (and some other new planes) in the campaign mode.
Rosewater's confirmed that outside of things like Commander/Planechase, Kamigawa is never being revisited. It apparently has "worst block ever" status on their market research.
 

bigkrev

Member
As cool as that is if its true that means the block after Theros probably isn't my Return to Kamigawa :/

I doubt they'd do too blocks revisiting an old theme in a row

The only thing that Kamigawa has going for it is how awesome Chk/Chk/Chk and Chk/Chk/Bok limited was. If we are getting another Japanese inspired block, it's probably going to take place on another world, although Tamiyo (a Kamigawa native) showing up in Avacyn Restored might mean they actually plan to go back.

We are at a point where i'm betting we will have alternating new plane/ returning plane years.
 
Far. They have a loose block theme structure planned about ~7 years out. It's flexible, of course, but generally, Rosewater maps out the broad themes in advance so they can synergize the blocks.

Rosewater has been asking and providing a lot of feedback on Rise of the Eldrazi's mechanics for the past month or so. And it's detailed. It's clearly on his mind and the information he's giving out shows that it's an incredible set for advanced players, and terrible as an introductory set for new ones because it's so unusual. It (like most of the best draft formats) forces you to complete re-evaluate how you approach building a deck. That being an issue for "kitchen table" players who just pick up 2 intro packs? Make sense. You can kinda do that w/ a 1-shot standalone spring set. But if you're making it a full block? It's going to create a lot of tension due to the pressure on the fall set to be a good introductory set.

This is really interesting. I'm an artist and I was planning on building a whole set themed like a sequel to rise of the eldrazi then paint all the cards myself as a portfolio for Wizards. I might have to rethink that if they're already working on an Eldrazi sequel. I can repurpose most of the card designs I came up with pretty easily though.
 

y2dvd

Member
Won a draft and several packs last night going Boros with a bunch of bear beaters. Highest value card I opened up was $1.99. Rares have not been kind to me in this set. >:\

What's considered to be the best and the worst sets ever released?
 

kirblar

Member
Won a draft and several packs last night going Boros with a bunch of bear beaters. Highest value card I opened up was $1.99. Rares have not been kind to me in this set. >:\

What's considered to be the best and the worst sets ever released?
Entire Champions block (especially Saviors) and Homelands are considered very low tier. MaRo literally just tossed ColdSnap in there as the worst scoring Market Research set ever.

RTR and OG Ravnica, Innistrad, Zendikar block are all considered very good - although they all have different strengths.
 

kirblar

Member
[QUOTE="God's Beard!";76740723]Man I hope they bring back Level Up with the new Eldrazi set.[/QUOTE]
I'm not so sure that one would work well over the course of a full block.
 

Yeef

Member
I forgot I had an MTGO account. Probably won't be using it too much until they start doing redemption, but I figured I'd familiarize myself with the interface for the time being.

Any chance I can get an invite to the MTGO clan? Same name as here.
 

f0rk

Member
What's the cheapest creature they could put annihilator on? Like how much would a 1/1 with Annihilator 1 be? Looks like they left it to the Eldrazi before
 

bigkrev

Member
What's the cheapest creature they could put annihilator on? Like how much would a 1/1 with Annihilator 1 be? Looks like they left it to the Eldrazi before

Well, the current costs for the most powerful abilites are 2 mana for Double Strike and 1 mana for Hexproof. I don't think 3 mana for a 1/1 with Annihilator 1 is possible, because it's basically a stone rain at that point, and WOTC has decided the cost for Stone Rain is 4 mana. Flavorfully though, a 4 mana 1/1 with Annihilator doesn't really make much sense.
 
What's the cheapest creature they could put annihilator on? Like how much would a 1/1 with Annihilator 1 be? Looks like they left it to the Eldrazi before

Well, Hand of Emakrul can be cast for free, or you could use Descendant's Path with eldrazi drones. In Bant Decks you can get Eldrazi Conscription out on turn 3 with good draws.

But a 1/1 annihilator would probably have to cost 5 or 6 to keep people from killing lands in the first couple turns. It's pretty much impossible to balance on small creatures.

I'm curious to see if they make an eldrazi planeswalker.
 

Maledict

Member
Rosewater's confirmed that outside of things like Commander/Planechase, Kamigawa is never being revisited. It apparently has "worst block ever" status on their market research.

Even more than Mercadia? That's really impressive to be honest - Masques was such a dire set. Maybe its older than a lot of players nowadays?
 

bigkrev

Member
Even more than Mercadia? That's really impressive to be honest - Masques was such a dire set. Maybe its older than a lot of players nowadays?

Mercadia is so old at this point, and it was also used for a single set. The other sets in the block were set on Rath and Dominaria.
 

ultron87

Member
Modern Masters sealed at Gen Con woooooo. Like five people at this table dropped before swap. Including a foil Goyf opener who really wanted to play, but had to drop due to common sense.

I'm playing Blue Red Arcane Giants. Because that is totally an archetype.
 

kirblar

Member
Even more than Mercadia? That's really impressive to be honest - Masques was such a dire set. Maybe its older than a lot of players nowadays?

Modern Masters sealed at Gen Con woooooo. Like five people at this table dropped before swap. Including a foil Goyf opener who really wanted to play, but had to drop due to common sense.

I'm playing Blue Red Arcane Giants. Because that is totally an archetype.
The first part is.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Kamigawa did pretty poorly on pretty much all fronts. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to go back there. When they do another Asian-inspired block, it'll likely be on a completely new plane.

I'm thinking after Theros we'll probably visit Shalandar. They've been pushing it so much in the core sets and the video games over the last couple of years, that it seems inevitable we get a block there sometime soon. Duels 2014 even has a new logo for it (and some other new planes) in the campaign mode.


regnak asked: Is there any plane that first time around did poorly in market research but that you think could have done better or that would do better now that you would like an opportunity to revisit even if just as supplementary product of some kind?

We have so many cool ideas for new planes and so many popular planes we want to revisit that I’m not sure it’s worth our time to go back to a plane that was unpopular the first time around.

That said, perhaps one day we’ll come up with a cool twist that makes us want to go back to one of the unpopular planes.

I believe damnit
 
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