Selecting 10th Edition

[Nazdakka]

It's that time again. Long arguements about the difference between two very similar cards, long whinges when <bad card> beats <good card> due to a huge turnout of awful people. All good fun 

The first votes are:

Hurricane vs Earthquake:

This could go either way - they're both very playable cards in the right environment. I'm going for Hurricane though, because red already has lots of random sweepers, and doesn't really need Earthquake. Hurricane's direct damage element, though, is pretty unique, and I think it's not a bad mechanic for green to have.

Artist votes for Lord of the Pit, Fountain of Youth, Howling Mine, Might of Oaks, Story Circle, Nekrataal, Vampire Bats and Incinerate

Didn't really know enough to answer, so chose at random because I had to enter an answer of some kind.

Choose your 4 best blocks for basic land art

Ravinca, Champions, Odyssey, Invasion. Before Invasion there seemed to be a rule in force which said that every Forest must be hideous.

[Anusien]

Is Pyroclasm out if they're voting on another rare sweeper?  Hurricane is sort of in flavor for Green, but Green direct damage is a little dangerous.  I'm inclined to lean on Earthquake, just because it feels more in flavor.  Although Savage Twister will be legal at the same time.

Basic lands are Mirage, Urza, Ravnica, Invasion, Onslaught.  The Mirage and Urza Islands are just so ridiculously awesome.

The artist vote will be tricky.

[LizardCZ]

The Mirage and Urza Islands are just so ridiculously awesome.

QFT. The art on basic lands from Mirage and Urza's Saga are the best IMO.

It's interesting they are bringing back Incinerate, it's a superb instant removal and will increase red power level.

[LordHomerCat]

Seeing incinerate back in standard and Extended will be interesting to say the least.  The red decks are already very good, this card seems even more insane =o

[jro]

I think you have to vote for Hurricane, because voting for Earthquake means they'd probably take out Pyroclasm.  And Pyroclasm should definitely stay.  Earthquake in might also mean no Wildfire, and that would also be tragic.  And if they don't print Hurricane as the "flying hoser" for green, they'll wind up printing some kind of horrible, unplayable-in-any-format card like Crash Landing or Wing Snare in that role.  Not to mention that Hurricane would give decks like blue / green aggro some reach, which red / x already has in spades.

[Machinus]

How do you not vote for Saga lands? They are insane.

[vartemis]

i voted for earthquake because i am hoping to have new art for it.  I voted for mirage, oddysey, urza and kimagawa because I loved kimagawas mountains (just in case they dont use the mirage ones because they used them in 9th), and i didnt vote for artists because i would rather see their sketches.

j

[Anusien]

I think you have to vote for Hurricane, because voting for Earthquake means they'd probably take out Pyroclasm.  And Pyroclasm should definitely stay.  Earthquake in might also mean no Wildfire, and that would also be tragic.  And if they don't print Hurricane as the "flying hoser" for green, they'll wind up printing some kind of horrible, unplayable-in-any-format card like Crash Landing or Wing Snare in that role.  Not to mention that Hurricane would give decks like blue / green aggro some reach, which red / x already has in spades.

I thought that Earthquake was in the 9th edition voting anyway.  I doubt they'd push Pyroclasm out of the way, especially because in modern T2 there was Pyroclasm, Savage Twister, Blaze and a bunch of other spells.

At the heart though, Hurricane is ridiculously out of flavor for Green and we all need it.  Yes, it would give UG Control reach, but I don't think Critical Mass deserves reach; that's part of what being Green means.  Sure, I'll play it, but I won't have to like it.

By the way, Hurricane wasn't in 9th; instead we got the incredibly awesome Arashi, the Meloku Sunderer.

[Machinus]

Vote for Hurricane. That way, they can make cooler stuff in red.

[freakish777]

Hurricane is extremely out of flavor, and we don't need a GW deck going, Savannah Lions (or whatever the 1 drop will be), Watchwolf, Hierarch, smash face, oh woops Hurricane for the win.  Green has efficient creatures, if it wants reach, it can play with Trample guys or splash an appropriate color.

Should the Tron be back, I'd much rather see Earthquake for Removal.

I am ecstatic that Incinerate is back.  Volcanic Hammer has always been a piece of trash and doesn't fit into Red's impulsive visage it wants to portray. 

[pyr0ma5ta]

It should probably be noted that Rav block will rotate right around the time that 10th sees print.

[freakish777]

It should probably be noted that Rav block will rotate right around the time that 10th sees print.

That's fine.  I still think Hurricane is out of flavor for green.

[Nazdakka]

Hurricane won, by 52.5% to 47.5%. Top-down flavour looks like it beats colour-related flavour.

Now we have:

Auriok Champion vs Paladin En-Vec

I guess this could be one of those ones where the casual players all vote for the bad but casual-friendly card, and the tournament players all tear their hair out as the current staple loses. Auriok Champion is a reasonable hoser against aggressive B/R decks, but it seems to me that the Paladin just does the same thing, only better.

On the art votes:

Rav came top in the land art voting, so now we're choosing one Rav land of each type to represent the block. No word on the other winning sets.

[Ephraim]

Auriok Champion vs Paladin En-Vec

I guess this could be one of those ones where the casual players all vote for the bad but casual-friendly card, and the tournament players all tear their hair out as the current staple loses. Auriok Champion is a reasonable hoser against aggressive B/R decks, but it seems to me that the Paladin just does the same thing, only better.

You say that as though it is a bad thing.  Doesn't it make Standard more exciting and interesting if cards that are considered staples aren't present every time?  Granted, I am one of those casual players who is going to try to give Palladin En-Vec the axe, but I fail to see why it's a bad thing for tournament players.  They'll have the "pleasure" (whether they actually consider it enjoyable is another matter) of finding new ways to combat the new threats that red and black employ.

[Anusien]

Standard is about crafting a fun format, not just a tricky one.  I find Paladin En-Vec a more interesting card all around; both in its ability to actually enter combat, but in its abilities.  Auriok Champion seems fairly unplayable, where as I've always been draw to Protection from Red Knights (wanted to play Silver Knight for infy).  Anyway, life gain keeps getting tacked on to other stuff anyway.

Huuuuuge frowns on Hurricane.

Damn, Rav block?  The art was awesome, but it was new face.

[Bardo]

The Stephan Martiniere Rav basics are just gorgeous. If I can figure my damn wotc account out, I'd vote for all of them except the Richard Wright swamp, which is my favorite of that lot.

Check out the lightning, the dudes with torches on the bridge and the mist on the water below:



Though the Martiniere swamp is an extremely close second.

As for the Paladin and Champion vote, is this really a fair fight? I predit at least a 65/35 split in favor of Paladin.

Link.

[Anusien]

As for the Paladin and Champion vote, is this really a fair fight? I predit at least a 65/35 split in favor of Paladin.

MTG.com is read primarily by the casual crowd.  55/45.

[freakish777]

Yeah, but since we've got hurricane anyways now (I second the frowns for it), lets vote for the Auriok Champion, do the life gain thing, and use our new found out of flavor green direct damage friend for the win.

[Smmenen]

i voted for ernie.

[Pitlord]

Ernie is solid, but won't do much for current enviroments except be a bomb in limited. Actually, all of these will be greaty in limited, so that point is moot.

I voted for Baloth, because I like the style of the new foiling, and want a set of new foils for my Rock deck for casual legacy and multiplayer!

[kirdape3]

Troll Ascetic thanx.  Baloth is too small and Ernham is terrible (Guess I have to give your... what, your only creature is Angel of Despair?!).  I didn't play Baloth when it was legal in Standard or Block because there were just better options, and Ernham was really bad when it was reprinted the second time.

[Matt]

Erhnam is by far the worst. Combine that with a large population of newer players who don't have personal memories of him in the glory days, and he'll be lucky to get 10% of the vote.

I predict Troll to win, 47% to 43% over Baloth. Them kiddos, they loves them some Troll.

[jpmeyer]

Ernie is awful.  That card was printed in the same set as the far superior Phantom Centaur, too!  I went for Ascetic, although it was close between that or Baloth.

[Ephraim]

Even I intend to vote for Troll Ascetic.  I'm all for voting for personal favourites when I have them, but I don't like spoiling the fun of tournament players if I don't have a stake in the outcome.  I'm not all that crazy about Ernham Djinn.  Really, the only thing I like about it is the new artwork.  Ravenous Baloth is okay, I guess, but I dislike the way that Wizards pushes tribal themes, so I'd like to avoid a tribal-oriented card.  (I have to admit that I won't be too disappointed if Ravenous Baloth wins.  Beasts are one of the less insular tribes, in my opinion.)  That leaves the swell, tournament-calibre Troll and I'm happy to help it win.

[Anusien]

It's tough for me between Baloth and Troll.  I really like the way both of them push midrange G/x beatdown (which is one of my favorite archetypes to play), and they both do interesting things to the metagame.  I tend to be extremely wary of untargetable creatures because they tend to warp the metagame, especially when they are as good as Troll Ascetic or Kodama of the North Tree.  I think I'll vote for Baloth because in the end it's a creature I have more fun playing.

[chrissss]

Baloth, and here is why:

Nr3 Ernham Djinn: forestwalk..... 4/5 is ok, but for 4 mana there are better 5/5 creatures with a
drawback that is more workable.
I used to have a black/green deck, with rituals, 8 djinns ( Juzam and  Ernie) and 4 tained peaks and other dual lands. In this deck the drawback didn't exist, and here it was a nice card. 1st of 2nd turn Djinns are nice.
Now it sucks, and like jpmeyer said, It was released with the Centaur, and the djinn kinda lost all the Glori it had years ago.

NR2Troll Ascetic: Untargetable by opponents and regenerate are great, but the 2 toughness was always the limitation imo. Your opponent plays a 2/1 for 1 mana, and you can only play the 3/2 on the third turn without acceleration. and the turn you play it, you cant block a 2/1. The card is great in some decks perhaps, and with Rancor it is amazing, but I never ever had this opportunity. Its too slow against fast decks, and thats why I didn't voted for the Troll.

Nr1Ravenous Baloth : a 4/4 that gives your beasts a 4 life backup, and it cant be stolen by your opponents. I love it. Block + Sacrifice is just great against goblins or sligh or other fast creature builds.

[Eddie]

Why do we actually care? Do you guys even play T2? Anyway, I'd vote for the Troll, because I have 3 of them that I want to get rid off. But I'm just way too lazy to vote.

[kirdape3]

I play far more Standard than I do Vintage.  In the same set as Ernham (Judgment), Phantom Centaur was literally strictly superior in almost any deck - in the projected Standard environment Ernham would have to compete with Hierarch, Rumbling Slum, and Giant Solifuge.  Baloth is just a worse Hierarch in the same comparison.  That leaves Troll Ascetic, which fills the curve better and gets indomitable with any enhancement at all.

[Bram]

Baloth, obv.

[Pitlord]

@kirdape: Actually, type 2 will be completely different because Ravnica block will rotate out the set after 10th comes out. This mean that hierarch and the like will NOT be in standard anymore, making baloth seem a lot better without the elephant stealing it's glory.