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[Keru_Shiri]

I'm in no way calling for DTT back into standard. I just don't subscribe to the "Color X had a super good card last season or a few seasons ago so FUCK THAT COLOR for months/years/forever!" mentality. I don't see stuff like nerfed Accumulated Knowledge and think "Good! Because DTT (or whatever) is a card that has existed, this color deserves shit cards!". I also don't think Red "deserves" to be without Lightning Strike just because Red Deck wins has been viable in most past recent seasons (it also says something bad about the color if it gets so severally kneecapped by the loss of one card/type of card though). You can "swing the pendulum" without removing all the good aspects or certain aspects of a color from Standard. At least that's how I feel.

Well, my argument was aimed more at DTT being "fun" but I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree there. But colors and strategies in general are going to ebb and flow power-wise in general. Blue in Standard is admittedly at a low-point right now, it just seems silly to me to assume there will never be a good draw spell again when you've got not one, but three eternal-worthy blue draw spells (I count baby Jace) so close in the rear-view mirror. Plus, we haven't even seen the full spoilers yet, so who knows? Blue might gets it's card-drawing engine at a higher rarity. FWIW, I do feel a bit of your pain. I would love to run mono-red Sligh in Standard but they just haven't printed the burn spells to make it viable.

 

[HK-47]

That not Magic's first foray into stupid clothing on a female character and it wont be the last.

 

[Imperfected]

Her neck is so long.

She's been training with that neck corset for a while now. Soon, the delicious leaves of savannah trees will be hers for the taking.

All according to plan.

 

[Ashodin]

She's been training with that neck corset for a while now. Soon, the delicious leaves of savannah trees will be hers for the taking.

All according to plan.

hahahaha

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

The fur mantle is a conscious decision by Wizards to have part of her design, it's a must.
The dress itself is better rhan most of the belly dancer outfits she usually wears

 

[Ashodin]

I just don't want to hear the "she owns her sexuality so she uses it to disable would-be attackers" trope

Top 5 Custom Cards Week 6/28

Kinda busy with Eldrazi interference at the Lab, more soon!

 

[Daedardus]

WTF is up with this art

That is not Liliana by any stretch of the imagination

Also explain to me how her boobs hold up her dress like that

With those hips, the dress easily holds up with together with the closing. The dress is fine. Her face and her neck though, I don't know what to say of that.

 

[Ashodin]

Lone Rider is insane bruh

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Too bad it isn't a human on the flip side.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Hasbro's a big company. If they're making their own cinematic universe, I'm sure they'll get the MTG movie made.

Hopefully, the MTG movie isn't part of the Hasbro cinematic universe (as funny as that would be).

Warcraft would have been a massive failure if not for the built-in Chinese market, which does not exist for Magic.

I just see no way this movie escapes development hell.

Too bad it isn't a human on the flip side.

Ojutai's Command might make it okay, but I think people are overrating it. There's not as much incidental lifegain running around as people might be imagining. It might be good enough to jam in Mono-white, but does it replace Consul's Lieutenant? I doubt it unless the deck switches to a full-time second color. I feel like new Thalia is a far bigger pain in the ass for your opponent than this is.

 

[Ashodin]

New Thalia is a far bigger pain in the ass in general, I might try her out too!

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Ojutai's Command might make it okay, but I think people are overrating it. There's not as much incidental lifegain running around as people might be imagining. It might be good enough to jam in Mono-white, but does it replace Consul's Lieutenant? I doubt it unless the deck switches to a full-time second color. I feel like new Thalia is a far bigger pain in the ass for your opponent than this is.

Oh I was more thinking in terms of my super casual Knight tribal kitchentable deck. It just plays a bunch of knights anthems and smite.

Thnking about I only just now realized that chroma is almost devotion

Looking through the list of all chroma cards right now and it's actually much more versatile than devotion.

 

[Imperfected]

Too bad it isn't a human on the flip side.

The +1/+1's counters from a Thalia's Lieutenant would remain after it transforms, though, so it's only a problem for any Lts you drop after the fact.

Not saying it's fantastic, but if you flip it by playing two Lts and then swinging in, you probably aren't crying too much that your 6/6 first strike lifelink for 2CMC isn't getting any bigger.

 

[Ashodin]

The +1/+1's counters from a Thalia's Lieutenant would remain after it transforms, though, so it's only a problem for any Lts you drop after the fact.

Not saying it's fantastic, but if you flip it by playing two Lts and then swinging in, you probably aren't crying too much that your 6/6 first strike lifelink for 2CMC isn't getting any bigger.

Not to mention once it flips it can't die to some of the removal in the format.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Like these cards actually just have devotion

 

[HK-47]

Man Lorwyn/Shadowmoor had good art.

 

[shrapnelmagnet]

There's not as much incidental lifegain running around as people might be imagining.

Graf Mole combo, yo

 

[HK-47]

Graf Mole combo, yo

His time is nigh

 

[Ashodin]

Tireless Tracker + Graf Mole + Lone Rider? Niiiiiiiiice

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

planar outburstdescend upon the sinful

 

[The Adder]

Good job, Wizards, on the way this whole block, especially this half of it, feels.

This isn't horror, it's just plain horrible.

And I don't mean that as an insult.

We're not watching a plain be killed, like on Zendikar. We're watching it die a slow, agonizing death. And I expect that's intentional. What Nahiri has done goes well beyond simple revenge. Instead of bleeding Innistrad, she gave it terminal cancer.

And it's sad. It stirs up a sense of sadness for the characters involved. There was a dark beauty to the plain that's dying off. And the first time I felt that was with Avacyn's death. And then again with Gisela and Bruna's madness. Their cards are sad, independent of Brisela itself.

And that makes what little hope there is more impactful. Hope in the face of fear doesn't hit nearly as hard as hope in the face of despair. The art on Thalia's card is just so god damned strong juxtaposed against the aforementioned angels and Emrakul herself.

In the end, between the super friends, Sigarda, Tamiyo, Thalia, Arlin, and whatever other heroes that may rise will most likely save the plain. But it's not going to be the same. The scar from removing this tumor will always be there.

Ultimately what I'm saying is, independent of the quality of Uncharted Realms, the story being told in this block is strong. And I congratulate Wizards on being able to get me to feel some kind of something about god damned cards.

 

[charlequin]

Thnking about I only just now realized that chroma is almost devotion

Devotion is the fixed chroma because chroma is bad.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Devotion is the fixed chroma because chroma is bad.

There's 9 chroma cards 3 of which straight up have devotion, that leaves 6 cards to base that on.
Chroma wasn't particularly bad it was just barely even used.

Devotion is good compared because it has 30+ cards.

It's like landfall, you know what it cares about but you still have to read the card.

 

[kirblar]

Chroma was very inconsistent in how it functioned.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Oh I was more thinking in terms of my super casual Knight tribal kitchentable deck. It just plays a bunch of knights anthems and smite.

Thnking about I only just now realized that chroma is almost devotion



Looking through the list of all chroma cards right now and it's actually much more versatile than devotion.

This isn't exactly something they've been hiding. MaRo has been calling devotion "fixed chroma" since the mechanic's unveil. In his State of Design for Theros, he made a huge deal out of how devotion proves that weakly received mechanics can be rehabilitated into more appealing forms, which we're seeing in this set with emerge (based on offering). Here, he goes into great detail about how chroma evolved into devotion.

While chroma is more versatile than devotion, devotion carries greater flavor and is far easier to get excited about.

 

[Ashodin]

Good job, Wizards, on the way this whole block, especially this half of it, feels.

This isn't horror, it's just plain horrible.

And I don't mean that as an insult.

We're not watching a plain be killed, like on Zendikar. We're watching it die a slow, agonizing death. And I expect that's intentional. What Nahiri has done goes well beyond simple revenge. Instead of bleeding Innistrad, she gave it terminal cancer.

And it's sad. It stirs up a sense of sadness for the characters involved. There was a dark beauty to the plain that's dying off. And the first time I felt that was with Avacyn's death. And then again with Gisela and Bruna's madness. Their cards are sad, independent of Brisela itself.

And that makes what little hope there is more impactful. Hope in the face of fear doesn't hit nearly as hard as hope in the face of despair. The art on Thalia's card is just so god damned strong juxtaposed against the aforementioned angels and Emrakul herself.

In the end, between the super friends, Sigarda, Tamiyo, Thalia, Arlin, and whatever other heroes that may rise will most likely save the plain. But it's not going to be the same. The scar from removing this tumor will always be there.

Ultimately what I'm saying is, independent of the quality of Uncharted Realms, the story being told in this block is strong. And I congratulate Wizards on being able to get me to feel some kind of something about god damned cards.

And we haven't even seen the story beat cards yet.

 

[The Adder]

And we haven't even seen the story beat cards yet.

Hopefully they're just as good.

But we have seen how bad I am at typing stream of conscious. "Plain." And I also fucked up that sentence about saving it.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

This isn't exactly something they've been hiding. MaRo has been calling devotion "fixed chroma" since the mechanic's unveil. In his State of Design for Theros, he made a huge deal out of how devotion proves that weakly received mechanics can be rehabilitated into more appealing forms, which we're seeing in this set with emerge (based on offering). Here, he goes into great detail about how chroma evolved into devotion.

While chroma is more versatile than devotion, devotion carries greater flavor and is far easier to get excited about.

I didn't take a complete break of magic during Theros Tarkir but I essentially only went to the prereleases and nothing else during that time. Didn't even check full spoilers beforehand.

 

[SigmasonicX]

I didn't take a complete break of magic during Theros Tarkir but I essentially only went to the prereleases and nothing else during that time. Didn't even check full spoilers beforehand.

Oh, sorry if I came off as harsh. My intention was to provide resources for why they went from chroma to devotion.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Oh, sorry if I came off as harsh. My intention was to provide resources for why they went from chroma to devotion.

No, didn't take it negatively just wanted to say why I never got the connection. Thanks for the article. Can't wholly agree, I like the flexibility of chroma more than devotions even though the latter is obviously much better thought through.

I just like this matters mechanics.

Also Aaron came up with scry and sunburst? Amazing, we owe that guy so much.

 

[Jhriad]

Hopefully they're just as good.

I can't wait for the 'mrakul cycle of cards to be revealed.

 

[Ashodin]

SUNBURST commander deck! I have one.

1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Breeding Pool
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Exotic Orchard
3 Forest
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Mirrorpool
3 Mountain
1 Mystic Monastery
1 Nomad Outpost
1 Opulent Palace
3 Plains
1 Prairie Stream
1 Rupture Spire
1 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Stomping Ground
3 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Bane of Progress
1 Brilliant Ultimatum
1 Bring to Light
1 Bringer of the Black Dawn
1 Bringer of the Blue Dawn
1 Bringer of the Green Dawn
1 Bringer of the Red Dawn
1 Bringer of the White Dawn
1 Channel the Suns
1 Child of Alara
1 Chromanticore
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Clearwater Goblet
1 Clone
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Composite Golem
1 Coretapper
1 Crosis's Attendant
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Crystal Quarry
1 Cultivate
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Darigaaz's Attendant
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Darksteel Reactor
1 Degavolver
1 Dominaria's Judgment
1 Dragonsoul Knight
1 Dromar's Attendant
1 Energy Chamber
1 Etched Monstrosity
1 Eternal Witness
1 Exert Influence
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Fist of Suns
1 Joiner Adept
1 Kaleidostone
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Legacy Weapon
1 Lunar Avenger
1 Maelstrom Archangel
1 Maelstrom Nexus
1 Maelstrom Wanderer
1 Mana Flare
1 Mindslaver
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Opaline Bracers
1 Painful Truths
1 Paradox Haze
1 Paragon of the Amesha
1 Pentad Prism
1 Retaliate
1 Rite of Replication
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sphere of the Suns
1 Suncrusher
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Titanic Ultimatum
1 Woodland Wanderer
1 Zendikar Resurgent

awwwww yeah

 

[Ozigizo]

You must not see very many blood moons.

 

[MrDoctor]

Ojutai's Command might make it okay, but I think people are overrating it. There's not as much incidental lifegain running around as people might be imagining. It might be good enough to jam in Mono-white, but does it replace Consul's Lieutenant? I doubt it unless the deck switches to a full-time second color. I feel like new Thalia is a far bigger pain in the ass for your opponent than this is.

coming in as a 1/1 for your opponent to bolt is going to be a bigger problem than the life gain. it also needs a couple cards in hand before it even becomes good, unlike thalia's lieutenant that is a threat on casting

 

["God's Beard!"]

I was thinking Ugin's Nexus was in Dragons, not Khans. Would have been a sick combo with Emrakul lol

Thnking about I only just now realized that chroma is almost devotion

.

It was brought up as fixed chroma on the wotc site when they introduced devotion.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Random thoughts.

Ashodin mentioned earlier the possibility of bringing bad Prophecy's land sacrificing theme, but instead doing it by exiling lands until end of turn. After thinking about it, I realized that this could actually be an interesting area to explore. The cost, "Exile an untapped land you control until end of turn," is technically less of a cost than tapping a land, since when it returns, it will usually be untapped. I'm not sure if it's possible to put it returning at end of turn in the cost instead of the ability, though.

With meld, a big problem is that you have to get two specific cards together. If it returns, I wonder if they'll go with my earlier suggestion to have any "left side" meld with any "right side", which they were testing out with New Phyrexia. The right side could have all of the text for the melded card, and it gets a boost if it has the correct name. Both sides can have mana costs affiliated with them. Left sides could have a cheaper meld cost as the card's mana cost increases. The right side's cost is based on the back. The melding requires paying both costs.

Phyrexian Bear - 1G
Creature - Bear Horror
3G: Choose a meldable permanent and pay its meldable cost. If you do, and you both own and control this creature and that permanent, exile them, then meld them into Unbearable Horror.
2/2
==
Unbearable Horror
Creature - Bear Horror

Maro-Hating Hornet - 3G
Creature - Insect Horror
Flying
When Maro-Hating Hornet enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to target creature or player. You may search your library for a card named Hornet Sting, put it in your hand, and shuffle your library.
Meldable 2G
2/2
==
If this creature is named Un-bee-lievable Horror, it has +2/+2 and flying.
5/5

Of course, there are a lot of moving pieces. I expect it will be really difficult to evaluate quality if they do it this way.

 

[The Technomancer]

The cost, "Exile an untapped land you control until end of turn," is technically less of a cost than tapping a land, since when it returns, it will usually be untapped. I'm not sure if it's possible to put it returning at end of turn in the cost instead of the ability, though.

Be Kind, Please Rewind

2UU

Landflickering (this spell costs 1 less to play for each untapped land you flicker while casting it)

Counter target spell

This is totally a good idea, right...
-Reserchi Develomen, last words

 

[Santiako]

From Maro:

lgosvse sent: Ulrich uses the sun/crescent moon transformation symbols, but all other DFCs in EMN that have been spoiled so far use the full moon/eldrazi transformation symbols. Is there any reason for the disconnect there?

All the Eldritch Moon double-faced cards, save Ulrich, represent mutation as a result of Emrakul. As such, we felt "sun" and "moon" wasn't the right symbols.

So all DFCs in Eldritch Moon (except for Ulrich) are Eldrazi.

This is extremely dissapointing.

 

[MoxManiac]

Possibly stupid question: do cards keep +1/+1 counters when they transform?

 

[Crocodile]

So only one werewolf in the set? Everything else is just a regular wolf? Kind of disappointing

Possibly stupid question: do cards keep +1/+1 counters when they transform?

Yes. Unless the card actually exiles itself to transform (ala the Planeswalkers from Origins) then it keeps any counters on it. As long as the card doesn't leave the battlefield, it keeps all the counters on it.

 

[SigmasonicX]

From Maro:



So all DFCs in Eldritch Moon (except for Ulrich) are Eldrazi.

This is extremely dissapointing.

*shrugs* The eldritch transformations have been just as fun as the normal ones, so I'm fine with that. There are only so many times the Eldrazi and double faced cards will overlap.

Possibly stupid question: do cards keep +1/+1 counters when they transform?

Yes, they do. Note that if they leave the battlefield during the process, such as with meld cards, they lose the counters.

So only one werewolf in the set? Everything else is just a regular wolf? Kind of disappointing

We saw in the trailer an Emrakul'd werewolf. Perhaps we'll get a card with the wolf side on front this time.

 

[Toxi]

On the subject of the old novels, this blog has overviews of many of them.

This is fantastic.

Love how the blogger actually manages to make sense out of the ridiculous continuity snarl of Elder Dragons.

Yeah, the story at the card level of this giant war is actually pretty neat and well-handled but the character-level story is just this parade of grinding misery. Hanna dies and Barrin goes insane; two good PWs die as part of Urza's Stupidest Plan Ever; every cool place in Dominaria gets destroyed; and so on and so forth. The ending is supposed to be a victory where Phyrexia is defeated and instead it makes the whole world so terrible we never have anything but Mad Max shit there ever again.

The entire arena scene with Gerrard and Urza is so fucking contrived.

 

[Santiako]

Tree of Redemption got black.

 

[sgjackson]

Tree of Redemption got black.

it's probably not viable at all but i'm really hoping someone gets a hilarious kill with this and triskaidekaphobia

 

[charlequin]

Oh my fucking god, Randy Buehler (who was down 0-4 for the season so far) just won the most INSANE match on VSL just now.

So only one werewolf in the set? Everything else is just a regular wolf? Kind of disappointing

There's an Emrakul-y werewolf in the trailer, at least.

The entire arena scene with Gerrard and Urza is so fucking contrived.

It's just barely worth it for the card Phyrexian Arena, but yeah, sheesh.

Tree of Redemption got black.

I love this so much

 

[Ashodin]

THEY DID IT

 

[The Technomancer]

I love it conceptually, but the chances of drawing it before your opponent would gain life off of it seems...inconsistent. Redemption was sort of playable, this feels much more awkward

 

[charlequin]

I love it conceptually, but the chances of drawing it before your opponent would gain life off of it seems...inconsistent. Redemption was sort of playable, this feels much more awkward

Dude people start with 40 life in Commander

 

[divisionbyzorro]

It's a perfect card to show how Innistrad has changed. I'm such a fan.

 

[The Technomancer]

Dude people start with 40 life in Commander

Oh good point