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

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Crocodile

Member

I'm going to have fun watching streamers draft the old core sets and hate themselves and question their life decisions for doing so <3

So im still holding out hope for my white mythics ......

Quick thoughts on some of the spoiled cards

Kozileks Return - Card is batshit insane; first of all its an instant speed anger of the gods/pyroclasm effect.I don't know if that has EVER been printed; I haven't been around long enough to know, but a 3 mana deal 2 to each creature instant speed spell is insane as is.

The second part just says that we didn't get the message, this is wizards saying, hey we want eldrazi ramp decks pushed in standard, Good luck aggro with this card around. First we'll wipe the board, then we'll wipe it again in another turn or 2. This card is good because it does deal with ALOT of the creatures in standard right now. Tasigur, Siege Rhino, Mantis Rider, hell it even prevents a dragonmaster outcast from taking over a game.

Volcanic Fallout. But yes Kozilek's Return is a very, very good card.

This makes me sad but good for him. MtG coverage is really going in the tank in 2016 isn't it?

Yeah I'm really not a fan of how WOTC is scaling back their MTG coverage for GPs and what not. I guess its a move to save money or something? I dunno.

Oh and congrats to Sullivan!
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Sulfurous Blast was an instant, but it was 4cmc. But it also had extra flexibility in that it could deal 3 damage. Oh, and Bonfire of the damned sort of fits in there, too. Still, a nice card to have in standard.
 

Crocodile

Member
The GP thing makes sense- multiple events per weekend = talent spread thin.

Most of weekends with multiple GPs, the GPs are spread across multiple continents. I don't think there is much competition for the talent pool because you aren't flying people across the world for regular GPs anyway.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Kozilek's return is a pretty ruinous card to exist if you're playing red aggro.
 

The Adder

Banned
Red doesn't typically get card advantage through drawing; it gets it through removal (Arc Lightning, Radiant Flames, etc.) or temporary draws (exile, use it or lose it). Chandra getting card advantage via draw power is a significant color pie bend. I don't think it'll set a precedent though.

I wouldn't be surprised if in design it didn't give you the extra card and development just added it to try and give it a little extra push.

Sure, sure. But where would you put an ability like this otherwise?

Granted, I'm thinking of this from the perspective of a red character more than a red card. But I figure if the mechanic fits the supposed personality of the color, then it's justified in being that color.
 
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Huh. Wasn't sure they'd go there.
 

duxstar

Member
Could Kozilek's Return take the place of Pyroclasm in RG Tron? The flashback alone might make the switch worth it

I will be shocked if it doesnt. The other thing about it for tron is that it can be found off of ancient stirrings since its "colorless".
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Could Kozilek's Return take the place of Pyroclasm in RG Tron? The flashback alone might make the switch worth it

I will be shocked if it doesnt. The other thing about it for tron is that it can be found off of ancient stirrings since its "colorless".

Listen to dux, he's smart.

At least for Tron, if you want that effect, Kozilek's Return is better. Yeah, the extra mana is a bummer, but it's tron. If you don't have 3 mana ready to go in time for a 2 damage all to be effect, you're losing anyway. At the very least, it's got to be a snap included in the SB against burn and maybe Naya/Bant Zoo. Somebody mentioned it's good tech against inkmoth, but I disagree with that. BG Infect is dead, and it's mostly UG infect now. Dispel + Mutagenic Growth means I'm not real worried about them tapping 3 for 2 damage. Yeah, it could happen, but that doesn't change the status quo considering Bolt is in every deck.
 

ultron87

Member
Actual Pyroclasm being castable on Turn 2 can make a big difference if you're on the draw, so they might want some split between that and Return for certain matchups.

Somebody mentioned it's good tech against inkmoth, but I disagree with that. BG Infect is dead, and it's mostly UG infect now. Dispel + Mutagenic Growth means I'm not real worried about them tapping 3 for 2 damage. Yeah, it could happen, but that doesn't change the status quo considering Bolt is in every deck.

The place it shines for killing manlands is against Affinity, where unless they have a Ravager, they aren't saving that Nexus that was about to hit for lethal with Cranial Plating. The fact that it also kills Metalcrafted Etched Champions makes me very scared to play against Tron packing that. (Though Champions were already real bad against Tron.)
 

bigkrev

Member
The only matchup where 2 mana Pyroclasm is significantly better than 3 mana Pyroclasm is Hexproof (where on the play, you can kill their turn 1 bogle). As long as Hexproof isn't a major player, it's safe to replace pyroclasm.
 

ultron87

Member
The only matchup where 2 mana Pyroclasm is significantly better than 3 mana Pyroclasm is Hexproof (where on the play, you can kill their turn 1 bogle). As long as Hexproof isn't a major player, it's safe to replace pyroclasm.

Pretty relevant against Burn as well. If you take 6 from their Turn 1 Goblin Guide you're in a bad way.
 
I'm liking what I'm seeing from Oath much more than BFZ. The mechanics seem good, and it appears the power-level so far has been a bit higher. The main thing left that would excite me is a good G/W creature.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Could Kozilek's Return take the place of Pyroclasm in RG Tron? The flashback alone might make the switch worth it

I don't know why it wouldn't.

You can get Kozilek or Newlamog + an uncounterable boardwipe. Besides, it's almost worth the extra 1 cmc to get it at instant speed.
 

duxstar

Member
I'm liking what I'm seeing from Oath much more than BFZ. The mechanics seem good, and it appears the power-level so far has been a bit higher. The main thing left that would excite me is a good G/W creature.

The white mythic/s would have to be pretty good, As i don't see a pure white mythic yet. Although there is an interesting deck for g/w out there with New nissa, Gideon, and Secure the wastes. Interesting, not saying its good as I doubt it.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
The white mythic/s would have to be pretty good, As i don't see a pure white mythic yet. Although there is an interesting deck for g/w out there with New nissa, Gideon, and Secure the wastes. Interesting, not saying its good as I doubt it.

There's only 1 Mythic we haven't seen:

1. Chandra
2. Nissa
3. Kozilek
4. Kozilek's Return
5. Green Eldrazi Junk Rare
6. Mirrorpool
7. Kalitas
8. Octosurge
9. Sphinx of Control Mirror Wincons

Legit think Nissa is one of the worst PW we've seen in a long time.
 

kirblar

Member
It's a good set of Mythics too. No stupid 4x small green critter auto includes.

Mega-Acidic Slime is probably playable, btw.

Nissa is atrociously bad.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
It's a good set of Mythics too. No stupid 4x small green critter auto includes.

Mega-Acidic Slime is probably playable, btw.

Nissa is atrociously bad.

I think the biggest problem isn't that she sucks (which she does), its that her abilities don't make any fucking sense. They're basically Ajani abilities thrown onto a Nissa that manages to somehow have a terrible ultimate. Like, how does a walker that requires a 5 mana windup have such a lame-ass ultimate?
 

kirblar

Member
I think the biggest problem isn't that she sucks (which she does), its that her abilities don't make any fucking sense. They're basically Ajani abilities thrown onto a Nissa that manages to somehow have a terrible ultimate. Like, how does a walker that requires a 5 mana windup have such a lame-ass ultimate?
This design stinks of "our actual design was broken and we didn't have time to fix her".
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
They should have just reprinted Worldwaker if they were having such a hard time coming up with a reasonable design. Worldwaker didn't see that much play because it ran into Rhinos all the goddamn time which won't be true soon enough.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I guess if you really wanted an Evolutionary Leap deck you could make a billion dudes.
 

Haines

Banned
Has there been anything revealed officially on the new set yet, im new so dunno where to look. All i seen was the first leak with 2 cards
 

Wulfric

Member
Wizards acknowledges the leaks: Why Leaks Hurt

Wow, I feel like I just got scolded by my mother. Trick sounds really upset. Major leaks are kind of like helping yourself to a whole chocolate cake; a seemingly good idea until it's not.

Oath is definitely taking a hit reception wise, and it's still more than a month off. Even I find it hard to be excited for what's left to show. :/
 

OnPoint

Member
Wow, I feel like I just got scolded by my mother. Trick sounds really upset. Major leaks are kind of like helping yourself to a whole chocolate cake; a seemingly good idea until it's not.

Oath is definitely taking a hit reception wise, and it's still more than a month off. Even I find it hard to be excited for what's left to show. :/

I feel the opposite -- I'm actually looking more forward to it than I was. It seems to have some solid cards, more so than BFZ.

As for the article, man, he sounded super whiny. I get that a lot of effort goes into planning reveals, but getting mad a fan site for publishing leaks is like getting mad at a dog for eating a piece of pizza that fell on the floor. It's going to happen if the situation arises unless you can stop it beforehand.

Sorry, that's on them for not plugging up the holes. All this talk about theft is hyperbolic and silly.
 

kirblar

Member
So, I think the way Kozilek happened (dropped cold) was waaaayyyy better for hype than actually explaining him. Being able to figure him out with no context was lots of fun.

But yeah, everyone has to deal with this. Once the information's out, it's out. You have to clamp down on the people leaking it in the first place. MTG is not a special snowflake in this regard.
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
They should have let that article marinate a while longer and then taken a more cooled-eye approach to editing it down. From a professional standpoint, that's a really embarrassing article I imagine Jarrett is going to want back in the bottle.

Certain employees of Wizards seem firmly stuck in the mindset of them being in this odd parent/child relationship with their customer base. Their emotions are definitely running high, but at some point you have to understand that you're part of a major company and not a benevolent bringer of joy.

As somebody who spent quite a few years working in marketing (and will likely end up back in there) I understand their position. I empathize. But customers don't owe you adherence to your marketing plan and when the inevitable happens, you don't get to be "disappointed." That's a byproduct of your imagining a relationship that has never existed between paying customer and a corporation.

tl;dr: Tone it down, Jarrett.
 
I feel like this guy's article is not going to sit well for the core Magic demographic. Intellectual property arguments, I imagine, are quickly tuned out by teens, 20-somethings, and 30-somethings. Anti-piracy warnings are played out.

That doesn't mean he's wrong, but he's making an ineffective argument for his audience.
 

kirblar

Member
They should have let that article marinate a while longer and then taken a more cooled-eye approach to editing it down. From a professional standpoint, that's a really embarrassing article I imagine Jarrett is going to want back in the bottle.

Certain employees of Wizards seem firmly stuck in the mindset of them being in this odd parent/child relationship with their customer base. Their emotions are definitely running high, but at some point you have to understand that you're part of a major company and not a benevolent bringer of joy.

As somebody who spent quite a few years working in marketing (and will likely end up back in there) I understand their position. I empathize. But customers don't owe you adherence to your marketing plan and when the inevitable happens, you don't get to be "disappointed." That's a byproduct of your imagining a relationship that has never existed between paying customer and a corporation.

tl;dr: Tone it down, Jarrett.
There's very much this paternalistic ownership/control mindset from their end that keeps playing out that's incredibly annoying. The MTGO thing w/ MTGGoldfish is an example as well.
 

OnPoint

Member
SCG opening preorders on new Kozilek at $12.50 a piece. How does that seem to y'all? eBay has him at the lowest at like $17 for preorder.
 

Crocodile

Member
Wizards acknowledges the leaks: Why Leaks Hurt

They have every right to be upset and potentially prosecute the leaker (or punish them in some other fair way) but this read as whiny, didactic, condescending and filled with bad analogies. You're a mostly faceless corporation trying to sell me stuff, not my best friend and his/her spouse who are about to have a baby LOL. It's their right to control their information as they please and I can sympathize for another person(s) who has had all their hard work blown up but its not my problem to let them tell me how I should perceive their product they are trying to sell me if I am given additional information.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
So, I think the way Kozilek happened (dropped cold) was waaaayyyy better for hype than actually explaining him. Being able to figure him out with no context was lots of fun.

But yeah, everyone has to deal with this. Once the information's out, it's out. You have to clamp down on the people leaking it in the first place. MTG is not a special snowflake in this regard.

I'm fine with the Kozilek and Wastes leakes. The giant one, as fun as it was to pour through, I can empathize with being really upset about
 
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