Rumors/Previews/mtg.com articles 2010 - 2013

[Norm4eva]

Planechase is back!

First awesome preview:

WOW!  That looks like an awesome Show and Tell target!

Read closelier.

Hah, I missed that too.

I'm liking the fact that newly printed cards from these Commander/Planechase releases are Eternal-legal.  I do *not* like the price tags that get thumped on them - Chaos Warp is looking more reasonable now but I don't think it's a $6.00 card, SCG - but I guess that's a small print run for ya.

[Nefarias]

Planechase is back!

First awesome preview:

WOW!  That looks like an awesome Show and Tell target!

Read closelier.

Hah, I missed that too.

I'm liking the fact that newly printed cards from these Commander/Planechase releases are Eternal-legal.  I do *not* like the price tags that get thumped on them - Chaos Warp is looking more reasonable now but I don't think it's a $6.00 card, SCG - but I guess that's a small print run for ya.

The singles in these could theoretically be cheaper though considering the MSRP of the whole deck is only 19.99 as opposed to 34.99. Also, I like how they are clearly trying to make this appeal to the EDH crowd too by making this a three color Legend. Although I'm not sure how I feel about 3color, 60 card decks. IIRC in the first PC there was a monoblack and three two-color decks. I don't want games to be decided by who draws their mana.

[Norm4eva]

The mana fixing in the Commander boxes wasn't *too* bad, all in all I didn't hate it even before I added a couple fetches/shocklands/etc.  To be entirely fair there's enough "Tier Casual" mana fixing in an Eternal legal format that even a precon doesn't have to suck.  Having said that, I have no idea the speed of the Planechase format, so maybe Terramorphic Expanse and Karoos and Vivid Lands are just too slow, but whatevs.

[DubDub]

Third set of Innistrad Block is... Avacyn Restored!

And it is, like Rise of the Eldrazi, a standalone large set meant to be drafted alone.  I'm a bit surprised at this, the reasoning behind making Rise large and standalone was the significantly different flavor once the Eldrazi showed up in force.  Avacyn Restored, I would think, is going to have very similar flavor to Innistrad and Dark Ascension.  Though there's already speculation that the 244 card count for the set indicates there aren't any double-faced cards, which would be a difference.

Anyway, more new cards than we thought we were getting!!!

P.S. If there's another Jace2.0 level mythic in Dark Ascension it's going to be like Worldwake where it's not drafted for long, and the price will be astronomical ascendant.

[Troy_Costisick]

Yeah, I read that.  Ho-hum.  I'm really tired of them monkeying around with set sizes.  Alara Block was supposed to set the standard for block size going forward.  Since that block, they have failed every single time to carry out that plan.  Meh.

[Diakonov]

P.S. If there's another Jace2.0 level mythic in Dark Ascension it's going to be like Worldwake where it's not drafted for long, and the price will be astronomical ascendant.

Ha, I thought the same thing before I even finished reading your post.  Might be worth grabbing a couple boxes.

[Nefarias]

P.S. If there's another Jace2.0 level mythic in Dark Ascension it's going to be like Worldwake where it's not drafted for long, and the price will be astronomical ascendant.

Ha, I thought the same thing before I even finished reading your post.  Might be worth grabbing a couple boxes.

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

The whole "no DFC" theory got me thinking. IIRC, MaRo said that part of the reason they made ROE a standalone of sorts was because they weren't certain that the "lands matter" theme would fly, so they lowered their investment in the idea by essentially only making it two sets. Maybe they were making a similar contingency with Double Face Cards.

As far as the flavor, I could see it being a pretty big departure. Like, it will still be on Innistrad, but based solely on the name and art it seems like it going to get significantly less creepy. I get a "light (Avacyn) restored to a dark place" sort of vibe from it. I mean, I'm not sure if that's as big of a change as Mirrodin went through in NPH, but that could be what they use to justify it.

[honestabe]

MaRo confirmed on twitter no more flip cards in the 3rd set

[bactgudz]

[

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

No, there are 3 months between the second and third set release and 5 months between the third set release and the next block.

[DubDub]

[

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

No, there are 3 months between the second and third set release and 5 months between the third set release and the next block.

On the other hand, people draft triple-core-set now right?  Since M10 anyway where the 50% new cards policy was introduced.  I don't draft, so I don't really know.

[Troy_Costisick]

[

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

No, there are 3 months between the second and third set release and 5 months between the third set release and the next block.

On the other hand, people draft triple-core-set now right?  Since M10 anyway where the 50% new cards policy was introduced.  I don't draft, so I don't really know.

The non-hard core players like to draft Core Sets because it gives you the best chance of opening a Planeswalker.  bactgudz  is right that the middle set in this block will be drafted very minimally after it is released (a normal draft will usually split the packs ISD/ISD/DKA).

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

You really can't compare pre-Alara blocks to post-Alara blocks.  They opperated under totally different environments.  The differences are so massive that the old rules just don't apply anymore.

[Diakonov]

[

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

No, there are 3 months between the second and third set release and 5 months between the third set release and the next block.

On the other hand, people draft triple-core-set now right?  Since M10 anyway where the 50% new cards policy was introduced.  I don't draft, so I don't really know.

Yes, however a lot of people weren't pleased with M12 and continued to draft SOM as a result.  So, to some extent it depends on how well-received the core set becomes.  Since the "M" core sets share a number of similarities, I think they have been slowly becoming less popular with each iteration.

[Troy_Costisick]

[

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

No, there are 3 months between the second and third set release and 5 months between the third set release and the next block.

On the other hand, people draft triple-core-set now right?  Since M10 anyway where the 50% new cards policy was introduced.  I don't draft, so I don't really know.

Yes, however a lot of people weren't pleased with M12 and continued to draft SOM as a result.  So, to some extent it depends on how well-received the core set becomes.  Since the "M" core sets share a number of similarities, I think they have been slowly becoming less popular with each iteration.

Nah.  M11 was a huge success, and according to Forsythe sold much more than M10.  M12 was kind of a dissapointment for fans, but that's only because Tom LaPille was the lead designer for it.  But since he's gone now, I expect M13 to be awesome!

[Nefarias]

Didn't Worldwake have about the same amount of time to be drafted as Alara Reborn or New Phyrexia? That's not to say that it isn't a factor (it definitely is), but this isn't really a new phenomenon. It's just the middle set instead of the last set (for example Tarmogoyf).

You really can't compare pre-Alara blocks to post-Alara blocks.  They opperated under totally different environments.  The differences are so massive that the old rules just don't apply anymore.

Well, ARB and NPH are both post-Alara, so I assume you're referring to the Tarmogoyf example. I can GUARANTEE that if Tarmogoyf was in Planar Chaos or (especially) Time Spiral it would be worth less. If memory serves, it hit $40-$50 while it was still Standard legal. Compare that to say Cryptic Command, which was in a better, more popular Standard deck but also a large set and never went over $25 (and this was before the promo).  If you want to say it's because Goyf had cross-format appeal, well Thoughtseize was from the same set as Cryptic and never broke $30. As far as pricing in middle sets, you have to go a bit farther back but the closest examples to power level and appeal of Goyf are Arcbound Ravager and Umezawa's Jitte (or if you want to go newer Noble Hierarch/KotR or SoFaF) and while SoFaF has gotten pretty close, it's still hasn't reached Goyf levels and the others have followed patterns similar to Cryptic. I think the proper hyperbole is "You can't really compare Jace TMS to other cards. It operates under a totally different environment. The differences are so massive that the old rules just don't apply any more."

@drafting: My experience has been that most players start drafting a Core Set once it comes out. As mentioned, the casual players love Planewalkers (and often the simplicity). Moderate players draft it because most stores run their FNMs with the newest set, and they've acquired all the cards from previous sets they need for their Type 2 decks but still need those from the core set. Grinders and pros draft it because big DCI tournaments use whatever the newest available set it for their events and they need to understand the format. In general, three months is about right for a set, and people want something new if only because they've grown tired of the format. Triple big sets can last a little longer because they're deeper, and triple core set a little shorter because they're redundant and vanilla. I apologize if my question didn't sound rhetorical, because it was.

[Troy_Costisick]

Well, ARB and NPH are both post-Alara, so I assume you're referring to the Tarmogoyf example. I can GUARANTEE that if Tarmogoyf was in Planar Chaos or (especially) Time Spiral it would be worth less. If memory serves, it hit $40-$50 while it was still Standard legal. Compare that to say Cryptic Command, which was in a better, more popular Standard deck but also a large set and never went over $25 (and this was before the promo).  If you want to say it's because Goyf had cross-format appeal, well Thoughtseize was from the same set as Cryptic and never broke $30. As far as pricing in middle sets, you have to go a bit farther back but the closest examples to power level and appeal of Goyf are Arcbound Ravager and Umezawa's Jitte (or if you want to go newer Noble Hierarch/KotR or SoFaF) and while SoFaF has gotten pretty close, it's still hasn't reached Goyf levels and the others have followed patterns similar to Cryptic. I think the proper hyperbole is "You can't really compare Jace TMS to other cards. It operates under a totally different environment. The differences are so massive that the old rules just don't apply any more."

Nefarias, I have no idea what you're trying to say.  You seem to be responding to arguments that haven't been made in this thread.

[Nefarias]

Haha, well maybe we're debating different things then. I must have misinterpretted something somewhere along the way, so let me know where.

The first point was that DRK was going to be drafted minimally, and that any money rare would be worth more because of that (using Jace TMS as an example). I stated that this isn't new, and that it would be opened the same as the last set of a block (like ARB and NPH), using Tarmogoyf as an example of a card (and comparison to JTMS) that was expensive due in part to the fact that it was from the last set of a block. You said that argument was invalid, because things have changed. I assumed you meant the Tarmogoyf example, since you differentiated between pre and post Alara. And the blurb you quoted was me giving examples of the fact that Tarmogoyf being from the last set of its block, and therefore less frequently drafted/opened/printed, was a factor in its price by giving examples of cards as closely related to Goyf as possible, with the difference being that they were in more opened sets, not reaching Tarmogoyf prices.

Basically, my argument was that Goyf and Jace followed similar pricing patterns due in part to set availability, aka WWK had a similar availability to FUT. You stated that this isn't true because so much had changed between FUT and WWK. Since nothing really compares to Jace and Goyf price wise, I gave example of cards from sets that weren't as constrained as FUT and WWK as examples of price patterns that Goyf would have followed if it weren't in the last set of its block. Hence, Goyf being in the last set is the same as Jace being in a gimmicked middle set.

[honestabe]

New changes have been made to PWP and the Pro Player's club, such that it doesn't suck anymore.

Yesterday was a good day for WoTC, seeing as they did this AND fixed those rule changes, so they too are good and no longer awful

[Norm4eva]

It's spoiler season again, woop woop.



Dredge says hai.  it probably doesn't care much, but it says hai.  Carrion Feeder and this guy get along pretty well.



As a dude who loves RG Beats for no good reason, I want there to be a bunch of dudes like this that I'm not ashamed of playing, and even less ashamed to Berserk/Fling/Reckless Abandon without batting an eyelash.  Sadly this will probably be the most playable (only playable) one, but it fits the 'dumb aggro' schema perfectly.  Attack lots, don't die easily, be Green... check check check!

[Darkenslight]

New Sorin spoiled:

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad  
+1: 1/1 Vamp with lifelink
-2:  +1/+0 emblem
-6: Kill 3 creature/Walkers and steal them.

3 Loyalty

[AmbivalentDuck]

So far, Faithless Looting is the only card with meaningful playability in Vintage.

New Sorin seems like a beast in cube/EDH/standard.

[Norm4eva]

Not talking about this because it is good, but because the flavor is really cool on several levels.



I saw this and went, "I really want to hate transform cards, but now I can't."  It's just. too. neat.

[Troy_Costisick]

Yep.  Quite neat.  Scorned Villager is another fine example of Magic art that represents women as sex objects rather than heroic figures like the men:

[Norm4eva]

Yep.  Quite neat.  Scorned Villager is another fine example of Magic art that represents women as sex objects rather than heroic figures like the men:

I dunno, this one seems pretty heroic :



Besides if you read both halves of Loyal Cathar's flavor text he's just a simp who gets tricked into guarding a shitty gate and gets zombified like a bitch.


I really like both of these cards, though.  Thalia is Glowrider that doesn't suck entirely in combat, a tax-bear is exactly what I've thought a decent controllish White Weenie should aspire to be. and I want so bad to play a crappy Cataclysm deck with Loyal Cathar, Flagstones of Trokair, Doomed Traveler, SFM... seems really kitchen table, but also seems really fucking rad.  Rawr.

[Delha]

Yep.  Quite neat.  Scorned Villager is another fine example of Magic art that represents women as sex objects rather than heroic figures like the men:

FWIW, that card art was done by a woman. Not saying women can't be guilty of objectification, or that she couldn't have been railroaded into that art by the description provided by WOTC. From the admittedly little I've seen of the guidelines though, they don't typically include "must be 20% nekkid" in the guidelines.

In this particular case at least, I expect that aspect of the portrayal was due to the aesthetic decision of the (female) artist rather than some chauvanistic undertone in the company being expressed.

[Norm4eva]

Yep.  Quite neat.  Scorned Villager is another fine example of Magic art that represents women as sex objects rather than heroic figures like the men:

FWIW, that card art was done by a woman. Not saying women can't be guilty of objectification, or that she couldn't have been railroaded into that art by the description provided by WOTC. From the admittedly little I've seen of the guidelines though, they don't typically include "must be 20% nekkid" in the guidelines.

In this particular case at least, I expect that aspect of the portrayal was due to the aesthetic decision of the (female) artist rather than some chauvanistic undertone in the company being expressed.

I didn't even see a naked girl.  I saw "Oh, that's ironic - Little Red Riding Hood turned into a Werewolf."

Jeez, maybe turning 30 yesterday was a bad idea. :(

[LotusHead]

!

What the? I don't even...

Gulp.

This hoses Welders, Oath, Yawg Will, Dredge, Tinker, ... !

[Killane]

There's your maindeckable GY hate right there for all you dredge whiners. A beatable card, to be sure, but it should cut down the decks G1 win percentage. Maybe we can finally stop having to hear about Dredge being EVIL now? Please?

[PETER FLUGZEUG]

Hard beatings for the undead horse.

[TheProfessor]

How convenient that it costs only one mana and gets hit by mental misstep! 

[Diakonov]

!

What the? I don't even...

Gulp.

This hoses Welders, Oath, Yawg Will, Dredge, Tinker, ... !

Don't forget Panglacial Wurm!

But really, it hits Future Sight also.  And Snapcaster.