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Magic: the Gathering - Battle for Zendikar |OT| Lands matter (but nothing else does)

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Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I still would have greatly preferred the Expeditions text to be the white w/clear background.
 

Firemind

Member
The WotC writers are great at flavour text, terrible at writing short stories.
I beg to differ.

en_rillUERh3C.png
en_byPMgdhfoi.png
en_uSlMKHaFaT.png
en_xD73bJWSx0.png
en_okYZwHrKJ2.png
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
I vomited in my mouth a little at that Nissa quote.

I like you better when you were an elf supremacist, Nissa.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
OXTtnI3.jpg


I'm sorry but this looks like Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light got a chance to do some Zendikar art. Pass.
 

kirblar

Member
I wonder if this "VORTHOS VORTHOS VORTHOS!" thing is going to become WotC's "DIVAS REVOLUTION" due to the execution not being there.
 
Some of you guys might not be aware of the manner in which flavor text and card names are actually put together. It's quite fascinating, actually. It's all outsourced to a pool of freelancers who "compete" against each other. Submissions are then voted on by WotC internally (and sometimes, sure they come up with something on their own). But the creative "spark" for these bits of flavor doesn't actually come from within the organization by and large:

http://www.rocketjump.com/listen/card-names-flavor-text-with-james-pianka-64
 

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
Some of you guys might not be aware of the manner in which flavor text and card names are actually put together. It's quite fascinating, actually. It's all outsourced to a pool of freelancers who "compete" against each other. Submissions are then voted on by WotC internally (and sometimes, sure they come up with something on their own). But the creative "spark" for these bits of flavor don't actually come from within the organization by and large:

http://www.rocketjump.com/listen/card-names-flavor-text-with-james-pianka-64

Huh. I didn't realize this. I always thought it was impressive that a core group of writers could sit down and spit out so much creativity on an indefinite basis.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I don't actually think Atarka's Command's landfall mode is good at all. I tried it for a bit and since its a two card combo, it usually just kind of fell flat a little too often where I'd either have Atarka's Command and not enough lands or no Atarka's Command and too many lands because I stacked the deck too much.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Even land -> command -> fetchland -> land?

Oh, I see what you mean now.
I'd either have Atarka's Command and not enough lands or no Atarka's Command and too many lands because I stacked the deck too much with lands to force that.

Extra lands is usually an area where you really need more cards to enable playing more land per turn. I mean, an Explosive Vegetation or Rampant Growth thing, I guess.
 

Daedardus

Member
Is each artist doing a half-cycle (enemy/ally colour) for the Expeditions? Seems like it.

I like most of them up until now. Maybe they don't fit the name not 100% but it's still pretty art. Especially that V. Meignaud one.
 

duxstar

Member
Atarka's command is literally the only way i could see Undergrowth scavenger being decent, Drop him, next turn swing, drop land (or fetchland) and +1/+1, so he's a 4/4, or a 5/5 if you have a fetch. Who know's maybe there's a naya deck somewhere with exquisite firecraft, atarka's command, dromoka's command, and all the guys that get bigger in green (mana gorger hydra, den protector, deathmist raptor, Undergrowth Champion).

These are the type of idea's i get then go build a deck in cockatrice, give up on after a few hours, then 3 months later all of the sudden its in a top 8 at scg and im like, but you just get destroyed by control!
 
I want a landfall/prowess Atarka or Naya deck to succeed. Managorger, Swiftspear, Abbot and Seeker as the primary engine. Seems too fragile as of right now though, I keep tinkering with it.
 
OXTtnI3.jpg


I'm sorry but this looks like Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light got a chance to do some Zendikar art. Pass.

As much as I love Veronique, from the time I spent with her I could see why her art ended up like this. She doesn't give a flying fuck about industry commissions and just wants to make her own art.

She probably only came back to MTG on the condition that she could basically make the land look however she wants. Probably why she's only been on promos this set so far.

I mean, if she's doing assignments like this for Bethesda, I doubt if WotC could reel her in:

12-11_timsh_016cs58.jpg
 

y2dvd

Member
I'm gonna be fuckin salty when everyone around me will be opening up these mythic lands. I just know the person right next to me will have all the dumb luck!
 

Crocodile

Member
Grove Rumbler has Trample, which immediately makes it more useful.

Grumbler wipes the floor with Incarnate, c'mon now.

I mean I agree Trample is a big deal but I don't think the difference is so clear cut. On turn 4, Incarnate is a 4/4 and Grumbler is a 3/3, that makes the former much better on defense and less vulnerable to removal. The next turn, if you draw a land, they attack as a 5/5 Trample and a 5/4 respectively. Clearly Grumbler wins there. However, what about on future turns? Is a 5/5 trample always better than a 6/4? 7/4? 8/4? What about the turns you don't draw a land? The turns you have to play defense? Like Incarnate clearly doesn't have the explosive potential that say Grumbler may have with fethclands or say Harrow if it gets reprinted but there are too many examples where Incarnate is better for me to feel that Grumbler is a strict or even just huge upgrade.

I wonder if this "VORTHOS VORTHOS VORTHOS!" thing is going to become WotC's "DIVAS REVOLUTION" due to the execution not being there.

Is this a WWE thing (Diva's Revolution)? What happened?
 

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
I know people are salty about the full art lands having a text box (so, not really being full art), but, ew:

COe5fZTUYAARoI0.jpg
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I know people are salty about the full art lands having a text box (so, not really being full art), but, ew:

COe5fZTUYAARoI0.jpg

They have black outline on the text on real cards so it doesn't end up looking like that

bgAtW4Z.png


Is this a WWE thing (Diva's Revolution)? What happened?

Yes, they tried to act like the women were going to start getting better treatment than "they're all crazy and get a 5 minute match every week," but then they just called up Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Becky Lynch and kept doing the same thing, while also constantly spamming a hashtag like it was different now.
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
God that would've looked so good.
 

kirblar

Member
Is this a WWE thing (Diva's Revolution)? What happened?
Make big announcement that they're bringing up these really good women's wrestlers and make a big show of it. But because the underlying booking/management hasn't changed on the main roster and the current top girls have institutional protection, its not working because too much of the same is still going on.
 

Jhriad

Member
I know people are salty about the full art lands having a text box (so, not really being full art), but, ew:

COe5fZTUYAARoI0.jpg

It looks bad because it's not a well done photoshop. Look at other examples of full art cards.

Newer Frame:
EN_coiq84kyu3.png


Older Promo Frame:
Hada%20Freeblade.full.jpg


The textbox on the Expeditions is too opaque for a "Full Art" card, imo. The art on a lot of them is great but the frame is just garbage compared to their previous frame options.
 

aidan

Hugo Award Winning Author and Editor
It looks bad because it's not a well done photoshop. Look at other examples of full art cards.

Newer Frame:
EN_coiq84kyu3.png


Older Promo Frame:
Hada%20Freeblade.full.jpg

I get that. I like most of the other designs for full art cards (especially in the style of Languis, which still retains the completely transparent text boxes), but I don't think the ZE frame (specifically the curved corners and the busy bevel) work very well for when the text is just floating over the image. The execution of the overlaid text on the Arid Mesa is a bit better, but I still don't think it feels very natural.

If they were really serious, I'd rather see them printed as textless full art cards:

mprcards.jpg


If Cryptic Command can have a textless version, I don't see why these lands can't, as well.

Edit:

Middle one is how it would look:
CNrV_joWgAAyaEA.jpg

Yeah, the one of the right looks great. But I still prefer the one of the left to the one in the middle.
 

kirblar

Member
Limited play/new player stuff, mostly. I don't think you can do them textless with distribution in this manner.
 

kirblar

Member
The nice thing about having an entirely custom cube is that you just get to do what you want with art/frames/etc. *OG MODERN FRAMES FOR LYFE*
 
I can't stand textless cards because they always wind up looking like inserts or tokens. They actually make playing the game less fun because some jackass always loves filling their commander deck with obscure textless cards nobody cares about just so they can explain their cards to everyone every game.
 
God's Beard!";178139435][URL="https://deckbox.org/sets/995603?s=i&o=d said:
Oh, won't you trade with me?
Cards are all I need.
Good Condition, it's plain to see.
Please gaffers, trade with me.[/URL]

aether vial and sensei diving top are this expensive ? fuckin hell lol, I think I got some of these
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
God's Beard!";178139435][URL="https://deckbox.org/sets/995603?s=i&o=d said:
Oh, won't you trade with me?
Cards are all I need.
Good Condition, it's plain to see.
Please gaffers, trade with me.[/URL]

Trading directly is the most outmoded thing ever because you'll never strike any particularly good deals, its always something someone actually wants for something you....sorta want. Pucatrade actually works pretty well in that regard.
 
Sensei's Divining Top is a miserable card and will almost certainly never be reprinted.

Actually, thinking about it, that's probably not true. Conspiracy 2 would be the right kind of set to reprint that thing in if you wanted to increase supply. Outside of that, I can't imagine putting it anywhere else. You don't want to put it in Commander because you don't want to encourage that kind of behavior. You don't want to put it in a Duel Deck because it doesn't really fit with that audience.

Alternately, ban the damn card in Legacy and be done with it.
 

Socat

Member
Trading directly is the most outmoded thing ever because you'll never strike any particularly good deals, its always something someone actually wants for something you....sorta want. Pucatrade actually works pretty well in that regard.

I keep hearing that I need to start using pucatrade. Haven't taken the time yet tho
 
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