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Magic: the Gathering - Battle for Zendikar |OT| Lands matter (but nothing else does)
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
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The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Yup it definitely feels like they were undercooked. The colorlessness just acts as a "build around" identity, its actually shockingly regressive so far, its basically just the old "X matters" school of design
Shuggananas
Banned
Well it's basically awaken on an ally, they just copy pasted the effect on an ally triggered effect is all
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Does this have a place somewhere actually? Stapling a 3/3 body to all of your spells seems pretty good
divisionbyzorro
Member
It's to make it the same as Awaken.
And it has Haste for exactly the reason you pointed out: so you don't accidentally grab the wrong land and awaken a summoning sick land. It just makes it play out the way it "should" all the time.
Also cards are up
OK, I've been lurking this thread since the start of set spoiler, but why the hell is this card White? Nothing about it screams White to me. Activating off of instant and sorceries is Blue, but animating lands is Green and haste is Red. And does nearly every non-Eldrazi have to be an Ally now?
Shuggananas
Banned
Better than nothing I guess, rather awaken that crappy island you just played than some biland or something because you don't have a choice I guess. Agree it's not much.
This card is a disaster of the worst kind. It doesn't fit the colors it has and it's actually not really that great in my opinion. I wouldn't even want it in Commander. It's like one of those card auto-generator programs made it.
divisionbyzorro
Member
I actually think it's kind of a cool design for EDH, although not very good.
Also I don't understand why it's white either.
To kirblar's point: I wonder how much smoke Maro is blowing right now. However, I could definitely see how moving from a three-set model to a two-set model in the middle of doing set design would be disruptive. However, I don't see why you would let it be disruptive and not just put it off for another year while you finished up what you were currently working on.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
But with the amount of boardwipe you're just gonna end up thinning your landbase in commander and you can't even play the BW god
shrapnelmagnet
Member
It might not have been their decision.
Hecatonchires Custom
Member
Creature board wipes now also destroy your lands, that's a pretty awful setback rofl
Also cards are up
Pretty neat with Jeskai Ascendancy. Also, putting ally on everything is kind of ruining the novelty of Allies lol.
Shuggananas
Banned
That looks pretty good. There's tons of allies. Won't work for converge though I guess <_<
Inevitable but solid. Best ally card for allies in the set.
Now wheres the 5 color legend? I wouldn't even run most of the ally legends revealed thus far in my allies edh deck.
I want to say its a control finisher? Throw it down, counter some stuff, draw some cards and boom, you have 3-4 3/3s. Only problem is that you can never wrath the board if things go astray.
White interacts with land as secondary trait(land tax, knight of the white orchid) Haste being on it is probably just a reminder for players that it can attack once "awoke"
Why not just play Talrand in that case? It's not like white has decent cantrips and 2/2 drakes > 3/3 hill giants that tie up your mana.
As for Standard purposes, lolno. It has the same mana cost as Ojutai and it doesn't even attack through Siege Rhino.
I can't see this dude being great in Commander. If you want a man-land army you go Green to shit out as many lands as you can. If you want WU Merfolk, Sygg, River Guide exists and is way better. And you want Allies, then you need a 5-color one to get the most out of them (which they really need to make so Allies in Commander is an actual thing).
He'll be fine in limited as long as there are enough good cheap spells for him to use.
He'll be fine in limited as long as there are enough good cheap spells for him to use.
Probably also has to do with lands that just got played then awoken wouldn't be able to tap for mana if it didn't give haste.
I was hoping the last they were holding some big drops for the last few rares and mythics. Those are some bulk rares if ever I've seen one. This set...
FULL ART LANDS!!!!11
Lottery tickets
Not that I think Noyan is great, but you could stack counters on a single land to avoid wipes like this. Obviously spot removal becomes a problem, but there's some flexibility.
Too bad Darksteel Citadel is rotating
divisionbyzorro
Member
You get access to white in addition to blue. And you don't turn all of your lands into 3/3s. You turn one land into a 15/15.
I thought we were discussing Standard otherwise DUH of course you play Talrand if you want this effect
SigmasonicX
Member
Weird, I thought this would get more attention
When the two-set block model was presented to us, I imagine a lot of us assumed that there was little time between the decision to go with it and the decision to shorten Standard, but in fact, it seems like there was a great deal of time between the two, enough for the set to go through design with the goal of keeping Standard simple. MaRo's statement doesn't specify how much time the set spent in development before Standard was shortened, but if most of BFZ's time in development still had the goal of keeping Standard simple, then that would do a great deal in explaining why the rares are the way they are. The goal was literally not to have a big influence on Constructed.
This does also mean that this set doesn't necessarily reflect anything about the game's future. In fact, Oath of the Gatewatch likely could have more Constructed cards.
When the two-set block model was presented to us, I imagine a lot of us assumed that there was little time between the decision to go with it and the decision to shorten Standard, but in fact, it seems like there was a great deal of time between the two, enough for the set to go through design with the goal of keeping Standard simple. MaRo's statement doesn't specify how much time the set spent in development before Standard was shortened, but if most of BFZ's time in development still had the goal of keeping Standard simple, then that would do a great deal in explaining why the rares are the way they are. The goal was literally not to have a big influence on Constructed.
This does also mean that this set doesn't necessarily reflect anything about the game's future. In fact, Oath of the Gatewatch likely could have more Constructed cards.
I think they succeeded on that front.
A Serious Man
Member
Well I hope limited is pretty great then.
acheron_xl
Member
I look forward to the 8-part Drive to Work about BFZ in a year that will act as the 'what went wrong' post mortem.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Urgh on the one hand I want to buy as much as my budget allows for a chance at expeditions but on the other hand there's like 3 cards I actually want so far.
2 fat packs minimum though for the lands.
2 fat packs minimum though for the lands.
SigmasonicX
Member
By the way, I will say I absolutely love how Crumble to Dust looks, with the name even relating to how all the color fades away as you go down.
I'm surprised by so many people asking why it has devoid. It's meant to signify that it's flavorfully an Eldrazi related spell.
Concerning why Noyan Dar is white, turning a land into a dude is similar to getting a dude token, and while it's a bit of a stretch, I think it's perfectly fine when you don't want green to be the only color animating lands, just like how red got more graveyard stuff in Innistrad, or white getting manifest in Fate Reforged for that matter. Anyway, I think his card is pretty neat. You can cast a counterspell and still either get a dude or boost one.
I'm surprised by so many people asking why it has devoid. It's meant to signify that it's flavorfully an Eldrazi related spell.
Concerning why Noyan Dar is white, turning a land into a dude is similar to getting a dude token, and while it's a bit of a stretch, I think it's perfectly fine when you don't want green to be the only color animating lands, just like how red got more graveyard stuff in Innistrad, or white getting manifest in Fate Reforged for that matter. Anyway, I think his card is pretty neat. You can cast a counterspell and still either get a dude or boost one.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
If you want to watch a trainwreck about to happen, Paul Cheon is currently building and going to try out Zac's Lantern Control.
http://www.twitch.tv/haumph
http://www.twitch.tv/haumph
"God's Beard!"
Member
shrapnelmagnet
Member
[QUOTE="God's Beard!";178750304]The fucking cups is their Island reprint?
:-|[/QUOTE]
It's actually my fave one
So spilly.
:-|[/QUOTE]
It's actually my fave one
So spilly.
I'm also against big and beefy merfolk. I know they have lords and stuff, but that can be explained by strength in numbers. This merfolk isn't a lord and it's 4/4. Same size as Savage Knuckleblade and Stormbreath Dragon! I'm the kind of person who thinks it's weird to have Tasigur be 4/5. Look at his size compared to Silumgar in Dragonlord's art! Are you saying Tasigur can fight with non-elder Silumgar and survive? I'm aware power and toughness doesn't necessarily translate into physicality, but that's just wack, son.
I love the cups
The other Islands in this set are all far superior
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
This bugs me too, but its been a pretty clear shift in the last five years or so, almost always on Legendary creatures
Also put me in camp pro-cups
shrapnelmagnet
Member
Where does the water come from? Is it all rainwater? Do they rotate at random? So many questions.
Magic!
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Nah its like half and half. I would have preferred
But I'll take the cups over this any day:
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Legends is like 18 years old and Kamigawa got screwed on multiple levels due to its Legendary theme. Look at how Teysa's stats changed between Ravnica and Return, or the numbers on like all of the Weatherlight crew
Human...
Human again.
"God's Beard!"
Member
Most people would have. It's objectively the most popular Zendikar Island.Nah its like half and half. I would have preferred
I mean, look at their picks for the reprint cycle, it's like 1/5 for good choices:
Iwamori of the Open Fist kills giant extradimensional spirits with his bare hands, I think him being a 5/5 is perfectly fine.
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