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[y2dvd]

Say opponent Sphinx to draw 2, then you play Notion Thief, does that mean you get to still his first draw, but he still gets his 2nd draw? Or wait, I was thinking it's a one time spell but this is considered a static ability that would trigger every time doesn't it? So you'd pretty much draw twice right?

I gots questions!

 

[Haly]

The thief's caveat only works on draws as part of the draw step.

Basically he lets you draw a card whenever an opponent tries to draw a card from a spell or ability.

 

[OnPoint]

The thief's caveat only works on draws as part of the draw step.

Basically he lets you draw a card whenever an opponent tries to draw a card from a spell or ability.

So if your opponent would Rev for five, you'd draw once for each card? Or once total for the spell? Just wanna clarify, but I'm pretty sure it's the former

 

[ultron87]

So if your opponent would Rev for five, you'd draw once for each card? Or once total for the spell? Just wanna clarify, but I'm pretty sure it's the former

Yeah, you'd get five draws. From a rules perspective drawing multiple cards is always treated as drawing one card that many times in a row.

 

[JulianImp]

So if your opponent would Rev for five, you'd draw once for each card? Or once total for the spell? Just wanna clarify, but I'm pretty sure it's the former

Yeah, you steal each draw. You end up with five cards in hand and a 3/1 for 2UB, and your opponent gets five life for eight mana. >_>

As someone over at MTGS said, it's ridiculous with Whispering Madness, even if it isn't too much of a competitive card. Just flash it in, play Madness, draw the highest number of cards twice while your opponent discards her hand and draw four times your hand if you can attack them without getting blocked. Fun!

 

[WanderingWind]

So...elixir, enter the infinite, discard, lol?

 

[y2dvd]

Ah thanks for clarifying. WUB mirror matches will be fun to watch lol.

 

[Fragamemnon]

dunno about other formats, but:

too slow to interrupt Legacy combo, just play Chains of Mephistopheles if you are looking for this effect. Too cute if you are just trying to poop on grindy Legacy blue decks, just play Jace.

 

[Sinatar]

Well spoiler season is spinning down cause they're doing the commons.

First up a new cycle:

and then this spell, which actually isn't half bad. Won't replace Auger but should be alright in limited.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

 

[ultron87]

Oh come on. Something called "firstblade" that doesn't have first strike is just being mean.

 

[Sinatar]

Ooh that's a pretty awesome draft card. Turn on your batallion and crack em real hard.

Oh come on. Something called "firstblade" that doesn't have first strike is just being mean.

Well then it'd be too close to this guy:

 

[The Technomancer]

Okay, I am really curious now what they're doing with the lore. What is this "implicit maze", or "dragon's maze", or whatever

 

[Haly]

Blue, Green, and Black are playable. The other two... barf.

Well, White will help you stall. Red is just awful though.

Okay, I am really curious now what they're doing with the lore. What is this "implicit maze", or "dragon's maze", or whatever

My guess is Niv's master plan to unite the guilds.

 

[ultron87]

Ooh that's a pretty awesome draft card. Turn on your batallion and crack em real hard.

Well then it'd be too close to this guy:

True. Maybe First Strike can just be something Viashinos like.

There's this too:

Okay, I am really curious now what they're doing with the lore. What is this "implicit maze", or "dragon's maze", or whatever

It's a secret path that goes through all the Guild Gates. Whoever finishes it first will rule the guilds or something something. The Izzet discovered it first but told everyone eventually. See trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZf08OBag4o

 

[Sinatar]

Okay, I am really curious now what they're doing with the lore. What is this "implicit maze", or "dragon's maze", or whatever

Basically each guild has to send a champion through a maze constructed by Niv, whichever guild's champion wins, becomes the rulers of Ravnica.

True. Maybe First Strike can just be something Viashinos like.

There's this too:

Ok that's just mean. 9 mana utterly ridiculous though.

EDIT: To add insult to injury if you fuse it you don't even get to hit them with their own guy before saccing it. Lame.

DOUBLE EDIT: RARE!? Uh....

 

[Haly]

Catch//Release is like... what?

In this case it really is an either/or choice cause no one's going to be stupid or desperate enough to pay 9 for... this.

I could play Omniscience for one more. OMNISCIENCE.

 

[kirblar]

Catch//Release is like... what?

In this case it really is an either/or choice cause no one's going to be stupid or desperate enough to pay 9 for... this.

I could play Omniscience for one more. OMNISCIENCE.

The costing is bizarre.

 

[ultron87]

I wonder if they are just super scared of an effect like Release. It is symmetric for heaven's sake!

 

[Haly]

As a Fuse half, it needed to be 3CMC so that it could actually be cast with Catch, but that would've made it the strongest edict effect ever. So I can see why they had to make Release expensive.

They should've just split it off into it's own card at 5CMC.

 

[y2dvd]

Basically each guild has to send a champion through a maze constructed by Niv, whichever guild's champion wins, becomes the rulers of Ravnica.



Ok that's just mean. 9 mana utterly ridiculous though.

EDIT: To add insult to injury if you fuse it you don't even get to hit them with their own guy before saccing it. Lame.

DOUBLE EDIT: RARE!? Uh....

This feels like an oversight by the R&D.

 

[kirblar]

This feels like an oversight by the R&D.

It feels like "Release" was not what "Release" originally was designed as. The card doesn't synergize well.

 

[Hero]

It feels like Release should've been some sort of Fling effect or something.

What it should've been is allowed you to steal a permanent, do something with it and then at the end of the turn sacrifice it to deal damage to something.

 

[Lucario]

Catch can steal any permanent. Still not an awful card.

 

[kirblar]

Catch can steal any permanent. Still not an awful card.

It just feels like half a card instead of a split card.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

So I just saw that they're bringing Llorwyn/Shadowmoor block drafts to MTGO (Shadowmoor starts this week, with Llorwyn on May 1).

I've never drafted either of those formats; were they any good?

 

[kirblar]

Just figured out what's going on with the DGM shockland distribution.. They have two print sheets. That was the trick to make their math work. It's two 121 card sheets, with a combined 2x Maze's End, 1x 10 Shocklands and 23x Guildgates.

 

[JulianImp]

I like Clues, but I wish it was an instant, even if it had to cost 2U, or 1UU or look at three cards instead of four (I'd much rather have Forbidden Alchemy, and it even has flashback), and I guess the common cycle could be useful in limited.

Firstblade looks worse than Skyknight Legionnaire because I'd guess evasion will be better in a format with high-toughness creatures than hitting for four on the card's first swing, but it still is a decent boros common.

Catch/Release sounds boring. Catch doesn't even feel very izzet, even if it could be considered powerful in some occasions, and Release is so overcosted it doesn't even begin to make sense, and it does look like it could've stood its own as a standalone card at 3WR rather than wedging it together with Catch. Paying 9 to make your opponent sacrifice some permanents plus her best one doesn't sound too thrilling...

Just figured out what's going on with the DGM shockland distribution.. They have two print sheets. That was the trick to make their math work. It's two 121 card sheets, with a combined 2x Maze's End, 1x 10 Shocklands and 23x Guildgates.

Wait. If each sheet has 121 cards, then I'd say each one gets 1 Maze's End, 5 shocklands and 115 guildgates (23 of each), so the print run made out of two different sheets would contain 2 Maze's Ends, 10 shocklands an 230 guildgates (46 of each). I guess the chance of getting any given card would be:

Maze's End: 1/121 = 0.8264%
Any shockland: 5/121 = 4.1322%
A specific shockland: 1/242 = 0.4132%
Any guildgate: 115/121 = 95.0413%
A specific guildgate: 46/242 = 19.0083%

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Catch // Release is going to be bonkers for UWR Control.

Also, if Boros Aggro becomes a thing, than Firstblade will see play. That guy looks like he hurts.

 

[zoukka]

Catch // Release is going to be bonkers for UWR Control.

Also, if Boros Aggro becomes a thing, than Firstblade will see play. That guy looks like he hurts.

If there's room in the 3 mana cost slot that is. The flying knight is straight up better for example.

 

[JulianImp]

Catch // Release is going to be bonkers for UWR Control.

Also, if Boros Aggro becomes a thing, than Firstblade will see play. That guy looks like he hurts.

Catch/Release is a sorcery, so you're unlikely to do much with it. I'd say it could be a sideboard card against opposing control decks at best, since aggro probably won't care about you tapping out to kill a single creature of theirs (or two at best, if you spend a billion mana to do so). Catch could be powerful against planeswalkers, but not much else, since I think there're no enchantments or artifacts worth stealing.

It could end up being a cheap way to apply pressure in a URx aggro-tempo deck, if that ever proves to be viable.

EDIT: Two new cards have been spoiled, and it seems the source is a reliable one:

Emmara Tandris 5GW

Legendary Creature - Elf Shaman (Rare)

Prevent all damage that would be dealt to creature tokens you control

5/7

Warleader's Helix 2RW

Instant

Warleader's Helix deals 4 damage to target creature or player and you gain 4 life

116/156

I like the lightning helix, but the Selesnya champion looks awful. She's expensive, does nothing by herself and doesn't protect your tokens from sweepers. Couldn't she just make them indestructible for the seven mana she costs?

 

[y2dvd]

Yeah too many 3 slots to fight over. Silver blade Paladin, Boros Reckoner, Frontline Medic, Fiend Hunter to name a few.

My Boros aggro has always been more on the W humans side but I think Legion's Initiative is gonna make me lean more towards the red side. Card is already at $12.99 on scg lol.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

First Tesya and now Emmara? The disconnect between the artwork and the CC & P/T is...actually kinda shocking.

 

[f0rk]

I like the lightning helix, but the Selesnya champion looks awful. She's expensive, does nothing by herself and doesn't protect your tokens from sweepers. Couldn't she just make them indestructible for the seven mana she costs?

The art really doesn't look like a 5/7 either

 

[OnPoint]

I like the lightning helix, but the Selesnya champion looks awful. She's expensive, does nothing by herself and doesn't protect your tokens from sweepers. Couldn't she just make them indestructible for the seven mana she costs?

Seems like they were trying to force an Elesh Norn comparison. It's just not as good.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

I always assumed that super beefy P/T on regular-looking humans was supposed to represent an abstracted mix of combat magic, resourcefulness, and good ole fashioned plot armor, without muddying up the actual text box.

 

[ultron87]

First Tesya and now Emmara? The disconnect between the artwork and the CC & P/T is...actually kinda shocking.

Yeah, that is so weird. She's just an elf. Looking at Gatherer only a few elves have ever come close to that, and those are aberrations, mutants, a group of elves or are at least riding a thing. The only one comparable is Marhault Elsdragon, who's from Legends and is a 4/6 with Rampage that gets him to 5/7.

Edit: Also remember today is the last day for YMTC entries.

 

[JulianImp]

I always assumed that super beefy P/T on regular-looking humans was supposed to represent an abstracted mix of combat magic, resourcefulness, and good ole fashioned plot armor, without muddying up the actual text box.

Yeah, that is so weird. She's just an elf. Looking at Gatherer only a few elves have ever come close to that, and those are aberrations, mutants, a group of elves or are at least riding a thing.

I agree with Keru. I don't care about a human being 1/1 or 7/7, as long as there's a flavorful reason for the power and toughness... perhaps she just grew up having to calm down the selesnya's wurms and rhinos?

So, with all ten champions spoiled, I'd rate them like this for Standard:

• Playable: Golgari, Gruul, Rakdos, Azorius
• Somewhat playable: Simic (I still love him), Boros
• Mostly unplayable: Orzhov, Selesnya, Dimir, Izzet

I wish the Izzet champion was slightly better, but I'm sort of happy with the Simic one. As far as my favorite guilds go, I like how the Golgari one turned out as well.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

I really need to invest in a playset of Chalices and Spheres before they skyrocket. I like the mono-red Stompy lists, and they occasionally win Legacy events!

EDIT: Actually, can someone explain what the purpose of Angel of Despair in the board is? Is it supposed to nuke opposing Show and Tell drops?

 

[FieryBalrog]

If Emmara is real, that's one of the most garbage card designs in a long while on a flagship card for a set.

I mean Jin-Gitaxias was bad design, but he was bad design on a stupidly overpowered body, and his flavor wasn't completely off. This one manages to be bad design, bad flavor and bad power level.

Then again, they already revealed Teysa, whose flavor and fit are about as off as this one's. Who the F thought every ordinary humanoid guild champ needed to be represented by 5/5 slabs of concrete? What happened to magical abilities being represented by... creature abilities? Why is she a shaman and not a cleric? No shaman in the game has damage prevention, 56 clerics do. Damage prevention for tokens starting turn 10+ is what, the second most useless ability in the game? Third most? Not that it's good on turn 1, either. Why would you ever play this when Avacyn, Angel of Hope exists, a card that's not exactly overpowered itself? But is at least fun, splashy and good in EDH.

For maximum irony, as a healer card, her ability does nothing vs Illness in the Ranks.

I agree with Keru. I don't care about a human being 1/1 or 7/7, as long as there's a flavorful reason for the power and toughness... perhaps she just grew up having to calm down the selesnya's wurms and rhinos?

Having to make up a flavorful reason is not the same as there being an actual flavorful reason.

 

[FieryBalrog]

I really need to invest in a playset of Chalices and Spheres before they skyrocket. I like the mono-red Stompy lists, and they occasionally win Legacy events!

I can't remember the last time mono red Stompy (usually Dragon stompy) won an actual tournament. The last time I remember it top 8'ing in a major event was the Legacy GP of 2009. Don't get me wrong, I had the deck built until this year, and have played a ton of it- it's quite fun- but it's very, very inconsistent, and quite fragile. I actually just put together a 60 card casual deck with the remnants, for a sort of casual Dragon Stompy.

EDIT: Actually, can someone explain what the purpose of Angel of Despair in the board is? Is it supposed to nuke opposing Show and Tell drops?

yes.

 

[Korgill]

How does Mindclaw Shaman and similar deal with split cards? Can I chose either spell or can I fuse?

 

[The Technomancer]

How does Mindclaw Shaman and similar deal with split cards? Can I chose either spell or can I fuse?

I'm pretty sure you can choose to cast either side or fuse.

But that raises an interesting question: when you play both halves of a split card, does it count as one spell or two? It has to be just one, right? Otherwise they'd be on the stack simultaneously, which is impossible.

 

[ultron87]

It is one spell and you follow the directions left to right.

 

[FieryBalrog]

How does Mindclaw Shaman and similar deal with split cards? Can I chose either spell or can I fuse?

Cards like Mindclaw Shaman that let you cast spells allow you to make all the same decisions that you do when normally casting spells. You can add the kicker, use entwine, etc. You can't use alternative costs however.

 

[WanderingWind]

Cards like Mindclaw Shaman that let you cast spells allow you to make all the same decisions that you do when normally casting spells. You can add the kicker, use entwine, etc. You can't use alternative costs however.

I'm with you on the mismatch of bodies/flavor on the cards. They spend so much time telling is why they do stuff, then go against it when it matters (flagship cards, cycles, set inclusions, product launches, all of MTGO). Which wouldn't matter, but there is the sense of exasperation that we just don't get it. Of course not, when they say and do two different things. Not a major thing, all said, but still.

 

[ultron87]

I at least expected Emmara to make these things since it is chilling in the back of her art:

 

[platypotamus]

So I just saw that they're bringing Llorwyn/Shadowmoor block drafts to MTGO (Shadowmoor starts this week, with Llorwyn on May 1).

I've never drafted either of those formats; were they any good?

We just did a Shadowmoor draft tourney at work. I thought it was a lot of fun (but I won, so that probably biased me a little).

I don't remember Lorwyn super well, and never played it in a draft format, so I can't help you there.

 

[Haly]

I get the impression that the guild champions are supposed to be used as promotional material for each guild. This explains their size and cost, since most magic novices don't fully understand what it means to be a good card, and will just look at P/T or big abilities.

The current 5 confirmed precon each has a foil champion, and everyone knows those aren't made for the enthusiasts.

 

[Sinatar]