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[acheron_xl]

Excellent post. But it's a problem that infests MTG art as a whole. Wizards seems to favour and guide artists towards high contrast, painterly silhouettes, instead of good old fashioned illustrations. They'll probably get a lot more art for a lot cheaper this way, but the cards just look like random splatters of dark colours with barely anything recognizable in the small rectangle that used to describe the card as well as the text did.

I mean sometimes as we play MTG, I watch at the modern cards in the table and just sigh.

My biggest pet peeve with the art is how they tie the palettes they use to the card color so closely. I'm so sick of beige and yellow white cards and purple black cards. Some of the art I remember most fondly is colored in such a way that wouldn't normally fit in the style guide now. Like the mostly crimson red art on the Visions version of Archangel and Force of Will.

 

[EsotericManiac]

Haven't played since the last legacy tournament that was 8 man and I won with the same deck ive been playing for 2 years. I'm really considering playing miracles this time around (Saturday) for something different. I suppose it depends if I just want to "win" or have fun.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

I think I'd be happier with humanoid Slivers if they were part of a block. Like, if the first expansion had them look more "traditional" and then subsequent expansions had them look more and more humanoid, culminating into what we're seeing now with M14. It would have been a really cool way to move the whole Sliver infestation subplot, I think.

 

[Jarate]

How long is MTGO going to be down

 

[kirblar]

I think I'd be happier with humanoid Slivers if they were part of a block. Like, if the first expansion had them look more "traditional" and then subsequent expansions had them look more and more humanoid, culminating into what we're seeing now with M14. It would have been a really cool way to move the whole Sliver infestation subplot, I think.

I just realized that your rumor dovetails with Slvers needing a 5c Manabase.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Haven't played since the last legacy tournament that was 8 man and I won with the same deck ive been playing for 2 years. I'm really considering playing miracles this time around (Saturday) for something different. I suppose it depends if I just want to "win" or have fun.

there is nothing fun about piloting miracles, in my experience. Only stoneblade decks are more soul-crushing to play.

I'm convinced that Wizards banned Top in Modern so that PTQ'ing MTG players wouldn't eventually hate themselves.

 

[EsotericManiac]

there is nothing fun about piloting miracles, in my experience. Only stoneblade decks are more soul-crushing to play.

I'm convinced that Wizards banned Top in Modern so that PTQ'ing MTG players wouldn't eventually hate themselves.

I can see your point, but some people are really into that sort of thing.

Then again, any deck with Big Jace is fun to play (provided he sticks).

 

[SystemShark]

So a group of us are going to buy a box of Dragon's Maze and then have a booster draft.

I'm reading here that that is likely going to be pretty lame as the cards have more synergy with the previous two sets.

So what cards should I focus on? I'm really just buying in ($20) on the off chance that I can get my hands on some shocklands. It's only one box though, so I'm not expecting much.

I've never done a draft like this, so some advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Any one? I'm contemplating going four color, but I'm thinking that would be a pretty bad idea for a draft like this.

Thanks.

 

[ultron87]

Any one? I'm contemplating going four color, but I'm thinking that would be a pretty bad idea for a draft like this.

Thanks.

My store regrettably did triple Dragon's Maze draft last friday (they are apparently switching from that after the first weekend, thank god) so I got to play this format a bit. You'll have a plethora of color fixing if you want it between gates and cluestones so three colors or three plus a splash is doable.

It didn't seem very fast since the set of full of stuff with big butts and lower power that just bounce off each other.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Any one? I'm contemplating going four color, but I'm thinking that would be a pretty bad idea for a draft like this.

Thanks.

Are you looking for draft advice, or what rares to scoop up?

 

[Crocodile]

I would have thought that too, until Rosweater responded to a "We've gotten Archweaver (Archangel) and Sentinel Spider (Serra Angel), where's Baneslayer Spider?" question a month ago.

Yeah that's the impression I got from that post a while back. It seems odd to "blow you load" so to speak in that manner though. I wonder if they'll go through with it?

Calling "4 abilities" based on Rosewater's Tumblr, btw.

I agree but mostly on the basis that Maro keeps saying "she's the face of the set" and they really want her to be good because they recognize the previous 3 were stinkers (Chandra 1.0 wasn't bad actually but not amazing). I remember when they previewed Chandra, the Firebrand a while back -

WOTC: "This card will be a constructed hit! It's even super splashable!"
Real World: "LOL NO"

That's sad

Why? Shadowborn Demon looks sweet. I'm confident it will see T2 play.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Is it too much to hope that the new Chandra is so good she make mono-Red a viable option in this current sea of mana-fixing?

 

[SystemShark]

Are you looking for draft advice, or what rares to scoop up?

Draft advice. The only rare I'm hoping to pull is a shockland which I know is probably not happening.

 

[SystemShark]

My store regrettably did triple Dragon's Maze draft last friday (they are apparently switching from that after the first weekend, thank god) so I got to play this format a bit. You'll have a plethora of color fixing if you want it between gates and cluestones so three colors or three plus a splash is doable.

It didn't seem very fast since the set of full of stuff with big butts and lower power that just bounce off each other.

Which colors seemed to have the most success? And I'll probably stick to three if it seems viable.

My biggest worry is pulling a bunch of cards with a very basic idea of what I want to do and then having it completely fail. Which I guess is part of the fun.

I'm not even sure how to break up the amounts of land I should have, including gates and what not.

 

[rCIZZLE]

Why do people keep altering good foils with that "sexy anime" shit? Never noticed it until now when I'm trying to get a few nice lands to finish off a couple decks and ebay has more of that crap than regular unaltereds.

 

[ultron87]

Which colors seemed to have the most success? And I'll probably stick to three if it seems viable.

My biggest worry is pulling a bunch of cards with a very basic idea of what I want to do and then having it completely fail. Which I guess is part of the fun.

I'm not even sure how to break up the amounts of land I should have, including gates and what not.

There are so many possible combinations that I didn't really notice any standout. Just go with what you get good cards for and seems open.

 

[Jarate]

Why do people keep altering good foils with that "sexy anime" shit? Never noticed it until now when I'm trying to get a few nice lands to finish off a couple decks and ebay has more of that crap than regular unaltereds.

Bitches love da anime

 

[Fragamemnon]

Why do people keep altering good foils with that "sexy anime" shit? Never noticed it until now when I'm trying to get a few nice lands to finish off a couple decks and ebay has more of that crap than regular unaltereds.

How much are you looking to spend? There's a lot of nice options in the $1-$30 range for pimp lands that are relatively unique and awesome.

And people mess things up with anime because they are nerds.

 

[rCIZZLE]

How much are you looking to spend? There's a lot of nice options in the $1-$30 range for pimp lands that are relatively unique and awesome.

And people mess things up with anime because they are nerds.

Only really looking for 5 lands - 3 islands and 2 mountains so ~10-15 each is fine. Might just get arena ice age promos since they're very nice despite being only 4-5 each but zendikar lands have been catching my eye lately. Foil Zendikar lands is where I noticed most of the anime alters on ebay.

Always looking for suggestions though.

(really leaning towards that one though)

 

[ultron87]

Things would go so badly for me if I fell down the buying cool basic land hole. I need to limit myself to the two sets of Zendikar lands I've bought and leave it at that.

 

[Fragamemnon]

For the islands-yeah the Venezia Euro Island and the logo-less Saga Arena misprint foils are my favorites, but they are kind of pricey (25 and $40 , respectively).

Maybe look at 2003 Arena Islands? I always liked those. Reminds me of birdwatching on the shore. Not foil though.

As for mountains-all about the 1996 arena one, but it is very un-mountain. However, it does look like a place a Kird Ape would live, so it's fine with me (I prefer lush and verdant over rocky and barren).

 

[Keru_Shiri]

My LGS has foil Unhinged Mountains. Tempted to pick some up with my employee discount, but they'd still be pricey.

 

[An-Det]

If they brought mtgo will duels style interface to console and mobile, say goodbye to my wallet. Can't wait to draft tomorrow. Been watching a lot of matches on YouTube and getting a feel of what works well together.

Slivers are cool to see again but is there a lore reason for them to appear again? It seems weird to wedge them between ranvica and Greek themed set. Have the core sets ever had a storyline of there own?

That seemed odd to me as well. Slivers have typically a very theme-heavy thing within the storyline, so fitting them into a core set is odd. Maybe they're making slivers as the core all-color tribe (like how goblins is red, merfolk is blue, maybe slivers will be universal).

there is nothing fun about piloting miracles, in my experience. Only stoneblade decks are more soul-crushing to play.

I'm convinced that Wizards banned Top in Modern so that PTQ'ing MTG players wouldn't eventually hate themselves.

Still not as bad as the one game we had Top in our Type 4 stack. Christ that was awful.

 

[TerminalDogma]

So I heard Slivers were coming back and I was super pumped (I started playing with Tempest). Then I saw the Slivers and I was kind of happy they don't look anything like Slivers, so I won't feel compelled to buy any M14 packs. I don't even know how WOTC gets off calling those things Slivers. Even stranger I can remember an article on their website from awhile back where they were stating how proud they were of Slivers since it was something they felt was distinctly Magic (obviously it takes clues from Aliens and such, but its Slivers were still something they could call their own) and now they go and do this?! MONSTERS!

 

[kirblar]

So I heard Slivers were coming back and I was super pumped (I started playing with Tempest). Then I saw the Slivers and I was kind of happy they don't look anything like Slivers, so I won't feel compelled to buy any M14 packs. I don't even know how WOTC gets off calling those things Slivers. Even stranger I can remember an article on their website from awhile back where they were stating how proud they were of Slivers since it was something they felt was distinctly Magic (obviously it takes clues from Aliens and such, but its Slivers were still something they could call their own) and now they go and do this?! MONSTERS!

Them looking visually different than previous sliver incarnations due to the wording change? Good idea.

The actual visual direction they chose? Bad idea.

 

[Neverender]

Say I have Legion's Initiative in play, as well as a Snapcaster and Restoration Angel. If I use Legion's ability, could I choose the order the my creatures re-enter or are they considered entering simultaneously? It's obvious how I'd intend to use this if I can choose the order but I'm not sure.

 

[Negator]

Yes, you can choose how everything triggers and get maximum value.

 

[Neverender]

Great, thank you. This will be fun to try out at FNM tomorrow

 

[FieryBalrog]

Slivers are cool to see again but is there a lore reason for them to appear again? It seems weird to wedge them between ranvica and Greek themed set. Have the core sets ever had a storyline of there own?

No, not really. Everything about this seems half-assed.

You're right, the last three times Slivers appeared, they were a major focal point of the block each time. As much as I don't care for the actual story books or whatnot about MTG's story- I couldn't care less really about the narrative- the creative team still usually put forth a lot of effort in world-building and paying attention to all the details. And you can tell the difference between that and "we did this on our coffee break".

 

[Keru_Shiri]

It seems like the core sets are going in the direction of "let's peek in on a few of these other worlds and see what's going on with them" which I think could have some cool potential. I loved the shout-outs to Shandalar in M13.

 

[alternade]

So has anyone played any BUG decks recently? Deciding what I want to play this Friday. I plan to buy 2 boxes and will build something the day of if need be.

 

[WanderingWind]

So has anyone played any BUG decks recently? Deciding what I want to play this Friday. I plan to buy 2 boxes and will build something the day of if need be.

It's my pet FNM deck of choice. I may be playing a Bant (non-hexproof) deck though. The allure of junk rites is strong though.

 

[alternade]

It's my pet FNM deck of choice. I may be playing a Bant (non-hexproof) deck though. The allure of junk rites is strong though.

Would you mind posting the deck list? I wanna see if the build I'm thinking of is gonna work.

 

[Sinatar]

M14 is the 20th anniversary set of magic, so they are including Slivers as a cool throwback to one of the most popular "tribes" amongst casual players.

I wouldn't be surpised to see some cool retro reprints as well.

 

[WanderingWind]

Would you mind posting the deck list? I wanna see if the build I'm thinking of is gonna work.

I'm at work right now. I'll post when I get home this evening.

 

[Gatekeeper]

Will anyone here be at GP Portland this weekend?

 

[robotzombie]

So is anyone really enjoying dragons maze? Anything great to look out for besides Voice?

I bought six packs, got a foil tajic and three other champs and some okay fuse cards, but nothing seemed all that exciting

 

[y2dvd]

Any one? I'm contemplating going four color, but I'm thinking that would be a pretty bad idea for a draft like this.

Thanks.

I'd always recommend 3, but 4-color is way more accessible now with all the guildgates and cluestones. Drafting is normally slower, giving you a better chance to run 4-color and hit the lands you need.

My store regrettably did triple Dragon's Maze draft last friday (they are apparently switching from that after the first weekend, thank god) so I got to play this format a bit. You'll have a plethora of color fixing if you want it between gates and cluestones so three colors or three plus a splash is doable.

It didn't seem very fast since the set of full of stuff with big butts and lower power that just bounce off each other.

Eww, I dunno about triple DGM, that would be too slow. Drafting all 3 sets gives it a good balanced. I drafted this past Tuesday with all 3 sets and it was honestly one of the most fun I've had drafting yet.

Which colors seemed to have the most success? And I'll probably stick to three if it seems viable.

My biggest worry is pulling a bunch of cards with a very basic idea of what I want to do and then having it completely fail. Which I guess is part of the fun.

I'm not even sure how to break up the amounts of land I should have, including gates and what not.

What Ultron said in the quote below. There are so many combinations to run with. Orzhov seems pretty consistent but yeah, just get good cards that synergizes with your deck. 17 lands is generally the amount you want to run, which includes guildgates. In my latest draft, I ran 14 basic lands, 2 guildgates, and 2 cluestones. Though it's just 16 lands, the cluestones made up for it. My mana curved out really well all night.

There are so many possible combinations that I didn't really notice any standout. Just go with what you get good cards for and seems open.

 

[An-Det]

M14 is the 20th anniversary set of magic, so they are including Slivers as a cool throwback to one of the most popular "tribes" amongst casual players.

I wouldn't be surpised to see some cool retro reprints as well.

Wow, it's already the 20th anniversary isn't it? It seems like just yesterday it was the 10th anniversary and we got the awesome throwback-filled 8th Edition. Can't wait to see what they'll add in to celebrate this time around.

 

[alternade]

I'm really liking drafting dragons maze. Played a pretty good WG deck last night. Double trostanis summoners kinda locked me into colors early. The format is way slow though so don't be afraid to pick some Maze creatures.

Rakdos has been consistently the worst guild though

 

[Sinatar]

Finally got to crack a box of DM:

Mythics:
2 x Ral Zarek
1 x Savageborn Hydra
1 x Progenitor Mimic
1 x Master of Cruelties
1 x Council of Absolutes
1 x Maze's End

Rares:

1 x Exava
1 x Ready // Willing
1 x Notion Thief
2 x Melek
1 x Sire
1 x Scion
1 x Advent
2 x Ruric
3 x Tajic (1 foil)
1 x Render Silent
1 x Dragonshift
1 x Emmera
1 x Teysa
1 x Lavinia
1 x Aetherling
1 x Mirko
1 x Varolz
1 x Pontif
1 x Beck // Call
1 x Vorel
1 x Scrivener
1 x Sacred Foundry
2 x Trait Doctoring
1 x Pyrewild
1 x Plasm Capture

7 Mythics in a box is pretty good.

 

[castlegar]

Nice box!

Ral Zarek being pulled more than usual seems to be a thing? I've pulled three having only opened about 12 packs in total, and they've popped up at each of the three drafts I've been to since release. Weird.

(Also RtR is my first block, so not sure if this is just common for smaller sets?)

 

[kirblar]

Nice box!

Ral Zarek being pulled more than usual seems to be a thing? I've pulled three having only opened about 12 packs in total, and they've popped up at each of the three drafts I've been to since release. Weird.

(Also RtR is my first block, so not sure if this is just common for smaller sets?)

Double Jace was definitely a not-uncommon occurrence in Worldwake, so its likely a small set collation issue.

 

[ultron87]

My box's mythics were a Ral Zarek, a Voice of Resurgence, a Blood Baron and a Legion's Initiative. AKA the 4 most expensive cards in the set. So that worked out. No shocks though, but at least I now have enough gates for every casual deck ever.

 

[bigkrev]

I've now opened 40 some packs, and the 4 mythics i've cracked are 3 Ral and 1 Voice.

Not that i'm complaining, its just strange.

 

[Sinatar]

Yea my friend's box had 2 Ral's as well, so he seems to be a "common" mythic.

 

[kirblar]

Yea my friend's box had 2 Ral's as well, so he seems to be a "common" mythic.

(There's no such thing. )

 

[Sinatar]

(ok)

 

[kirblar]

(ok)

It's just their wonky distribution at work. Plus, this set's absurdly dense. I've bought soooo many cards from it.

 

[Yeef]

I got two Ral's in my first box, but 0 in my second.

Also go two Plasm Captures in a single fat pack.