Long time no see looters! I am finally back with another article after a long break from both writing and Magic. Needless to say, I have missed a few things while on my hiatus. Probably the biggest thing was the Battle for Zendikar pre-release. I wasn’t happy about it but I do have the opportunity to play it now which is great! The original Zendikar has a lot of fond memories for me and even one not so fond one. (Why did I have to pass that full art land!?!) It was right around the time when I was getting back into magic and thus acted as a stepping stone to where I am now. That got me thinking back even farther, all the way to my roots.
Picture a younger me in the 90s, fads coming out left and right. Pokémon, Yugioh, Bayblade; I fell for them all. One fad that snuck its way into my young life however, and it was a little card game called Magic: the Gathering (you may have heard of it). My first Magic cards I actually got by trading away a bag of chips. Coincidently, I got into a lot of the games I played when I was a kid by trading food. That being said, some of the fads lasted about as long as a bag of chips did. That being said I unfortunately, at least according to my current self, didn’t play Magic as long as I wanted to. Recently, while going through buried treasure hidden in the closet, I found my old cards but sadly the most valuable one remaining was a Skullclamp (thanks a lot younger me…). I did, however, get a rush of memories recollecting my first deck and comparing the mage that I used to be to the mage I am now.
I don’t know why, but white has always been my color. Even way back in the day I started training as a little young white mage (to a laymen this could sound really racist…). I first picked up the game around the original Mirrodin and ended up leaving about Kamigawa. I only know this because of that first deck of mine. There was a Friday Nights episode (a funny sketch show put on by Loading Ready Run) recently where all of the cast members instantly remembered their first deck and how they were the best decks ever. After finding and looking at their decks, they realized that their decks were bad. But who cares! What makes your first Magic deck great was the memories and the whimsy associated with slinging those old spells and beating your friends. It also helped that none of your friends were Pro Tour competitors so all the decks were fun and comparably awful to the now “adult you” standards of a good deck. So what cards were in my childhood best deck ever?
Well, I don’t actually have the same 60 card mono white deck that I still had when I was a kid, but who could forget the mono white working together deck! Back in the day, I loved the idea of using all of my little creatures to buff up and become huge forces to be reckoned with. The idea was simple. I would flood the battlefield with creatures that could all help each other get bigger and attack in for lots of damage. I added equipment and enchantments in order to further buff my armies of wimpy creatures. Using Angelic Page and Auriok Bladewarden, I would buff up my attacking creature to be stronger than any of the blockers they had. I believe my favorite creature to pump was Kabuto Moth because it had flying and it could also be used to pump some of my other creatures. Starting to see the theme? Just a bunch of little white creatures that, collectively, could power through my friends creatures. The rest of my creature base was other samurai and little white creatures that I liked. I believe I also had a Soul Warden in there because what little planeswalker doesn’t love life gain? My non-creature suite was pretty small because why would I put non-creatures in a creature deck? The two cards that I 100 percent remember having were a Vulshok Morning Star and Shelter. The first card, Vulshok Morning Star was for buffing up my creatures to pack a bigger punch and it also worked pretty well with Auriok Bladewarden. The second one, Shelter, was just a way to protect my creatures from any meddling spells and their stupid dogs. It would also be nothing that apparently, even my kid self knew the value of a cantrip. All of these cards came together to form the best deck on the playground! Granted, I may be a little biased…
So with all the fads passing, my return to magic, and a few years gone by: here we are. Decks have often come and gone in my collection. I have constructed and deconstructed countless EDH, Modern, Casual, Standard, and even Pauper decks throughout the years. Despite this fact, there is always one deck (well build I might add) that has still been sitting in the same Odyssey deck box that it was first thrown into. That’s right, you guessed it, my mono white deck. Granted, it has seen some changes and finally got some sleeves but I can never get myself to take it apart despite it being far from competitive. In its current form it is the deck I used to play with some of my more casual friends so it does serve a niche among my collection of decks. It is also much less about creatures buffing creatures now. It has become much more of a mono white equipment deck. And because who doesn’t like a deck list, here it is:
Well, there you have it! As you can see it is a bit different than the original deck I described above, however, it keeps to the same themes. It is still about pumping one creature up to be a big huge beater. The deck still has a few of the older cards like Shelter and a bunch of equipment. The theme of creatures working together is even still there except now it takes on more the form of Kor tribal. Some of the cards are in here just because I wanted to play with them, but they were never quite competitive. Path of Bravery and Gift of Immortality are the best examples of cards that were put in for that reason. This list here is not representative of all the changes I have made over the years as some have come and gone just like I am sure some of these cards will eventually be replaced. All I can say for certain is that this deck will never ever be taken apart.
I hope you all enjoyed walking down memory lane with me and I predict it will make you think about your Magic: the Gathering roots as well. If you take anything away from this article, it is that you should try to hold on to those memories as long as possible. Remember when you used to cast Suntail Hawk and fly over all those other big creatures your opponent had? Wow! Remember that really cool dragon you used to draw and it would allow you to take over the board and win the game? Awesome! Remember banding? Eeeeehhhh…..well you get the point. Magic is all about having fun. I still have a lot of fun playing and competing but the whimsy and wow factor can sometimes disappear. Try to hang on to that because it can improve your view of the game and even help you moving forward as you improve and play more. That being said, next time a sweet play is done, even if you are on the receiving end, try to look at it like that starry-eyed little kid who is going to be talking about it on the playground tomorrow.
Please feel free to comment on this article if you have any fun old magic stories or even just want to let me know what your first deck was. It will almost always be something fun and interesting. Also, let me know if you enjoyed this type of article as it was a bit different from any Magic article I have written thus far. Thanks for reading Looters and may your spells bring you victories. Until next time!
By Roy Anderson
@Sockymans on Twitter
Welcome back folks! I hope everyone had a fun weekend and rocking good time if you were able to hit a game store for the Battle For Zendikar pre-release the last weekend. I managed to get out to one event and had a blast. The sealed environment was very fun and allowed for lots of interesting decks and combinations that made every game loads of fun. Today I thought I would recap my event experience for you, the deck I played, and a few insights I picked up from experiencing the Sealed environment first hand.
I always preface these reports by stating that I always play at the Two Headed Giant pre-release event. I find 2HG is my favorite event because I get to experience playing with one of my buddies and just hanging out and playing Magic with a friend. At the end of the day, the time spent with my friend is more important than actually winning or losing, but we do like to try and do well. I know that the 2HG format changes card evaluation and it impacts deck construction sizably, but I still enjoy it more than the other pre-release options available to me. So, I paired with my friend Dave for this pre-release and took a shot at playing Battle for Zendikar.
In the past when we’ve done these events I have rarely had a difficult time building our decks, but this time I found the task of building our decks extremely tricky. The general card quality was very even and thus making our deck choices tricky as we moved to cut down to our 40 card deck. Also, we had a multitude of options available to us in each of the colours in terms of strategies: Ramp, Landfall, Allies, Devoid, Ingest/Processor. These were all viable options based on our card pool and so picking which strategies, and then which colours supported those strategies, was very difficult.
In the end we opted to build a B/R Devoid deck for Dave. This was interesting because he initially had envisioned a B/R aggro and beatdown deck, but what happened was more or less a control deck. Dave had a number of solid blockers including Vile Aggregate and Vestige of Emrakul, strong removal like Complete Disregard and Ruinous Path, and generally a shell that wanted to interact with the opponent in a defensive way. This was a little strange because normally B/R wants to attack and be aggressive, but Dave was very seriously looking to block, trade resources and slow down the opposition.
On my end I opened a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and we had some decent white creatures and removal. However, our Blue was not very strong so I turned my attention to Green. I opted to use Green to ramp into giant Eldrazi creatures thinking that these big fatties would allow us to push through the damage needed to win. So, I started the day with a pretty normal distribution of 2 drops, 3 drops and on up to 6, and then slammed home a couple of 8 drops in the form of Eldrazi Devastator as finishers. However, as I established that I didn’t need to play much in the early game because Dave was on the control gameplan, I sided out more and more of the cheaper stuff (against my better judgement sometimes) and slammed home more and more giant Eldrazi as the event wore on. I also have to say, my deck suffered from a lack of a Overrun style card to push through damage, so I had to rely on dinky fliers and big beaters to pound through the damage. It wasn’t ideal but I feel like we got there in most games. Here’s a look at my list by the end of the event.
Round 1- We got paired up against the guys who had been building on the other side of the table and I recognized as being very capable players. We got behind early, but stabilized around 15 life and started to make progress and chipped away a little at their life total with some fliers. However, my deck flooded out a little at a very inopportune time and Dave drew nothing very relevant. Meanwhile, our opponents were busy ripping gas off the top of their library and we quickly fell apart. We started off 0-1.
Round 2- A Boyfriend/Girlfriend combo with a reasonable R/W deck and a B/U deck were our next opponents. I thought we were in huge trouble to start because they quickly had a Sire of Stagnation on board essentially choking us off of more mana. Fortunately they attacked with it and Sheer Drop took out the Eldrazi that was slowly suffocating us. Sadly, Mortuary Mire bought the Sire of Stagnation back, but at least we got a little breathing room before we got choked off again. Dave was seriously hamstrung by this thing, but I was able to continue to cast my creatures that enabled my ramp like Lifespring Druid, Kozilek’s Channeler, and Brood Monitor to play big fatties. In the end, what won us the game was that we took one activation off the Sire of Stagnation, Dave played his land and then cast Dragonmaster Outcast and then waited. A few turns later there were entirely too many dragons to be ignored and the game ended with us evening our record at 1-1.
Round 3- We were paired against a couple of 11 year boys who were there with their father. Despite being young, they were obviously well prepared and knew what they were doing because they had a pair of solid decks. One of them resolved a Kiora that was a terrific target for Ruinous Path but not before they got some good value off of it. Things had started to turn around for us and we were in decent shape until one of them resolved an Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and his partner cast Goblin War Paint to give it haste. 3 turns later we had no more cards and we lost falling to 1-2.
Round 4- We were paired against another boyfriend/girlfriend combo and things seemed to be pretty routine. I landed an early Gideon that our opponents needed to respect and bought us some time. By the time Gideon was killed, I had all the mana I would need and Dave was riding my coat tails. Once I started to land multiple Eldrazi fatties we had the game stitched up pretty tight. We rode Eldrazi Devastator to a fairly easy victory and evened the record at 2-2 going into our final round.
Round 5- We played a team with a U/W deck and a R/B deck. They presented a couple of challenging little cards that nibbled away at our life total, but Dave found answers and we were able to seize the advantage. We started to put pressure on them with a Malakir Familiar and a Ghostly Sentinel that they just couldn’t answer and they needed to devote resources to dealing with the multiple Eldrazi assault I was mounting yet again. In the end, 5 damage at a time got the job done and we finished them. It was hardly an exciting game but I thought we played it as well as we could given the cards we saw and it felt very rewarding as we moved to 3-2 and 6th out of 16 teams.
We very clearly had a few hits in amidst our piles, but we also had a few misses.
Hits:
Rolling Thunder – this was just insane. Flexible removal that scales and can essentially 2 or 3-for-1 your opponent. The fact that we had a pair of these things felt grungy…but awesome all at the same time.
Brood Monitor – this Eldrazi drone was a one card army that plugged up the ground AND ramped me to crazy heights. Turns out getting 6 power and toughness across 4 bodies is really good. Like REALLY good.
Dragonmaster Outcast – He might say “1 drop”, but he’s really a 6 mana card. Once you activate him he is crazy powerful. Too bad he dies to a stiff breeze, but since he costs 1 mana to play, your opponent is likely spending more mana than you did to deal with such an imminent threat.
Giant Eldrazi beat sticks: We didn’t have much in the way of exciting Eldrazi, but we did have a number of the common and uncommon ones that were wildly powerful. Yeah, I liked these guys.
Common cycle “spell” lands: The common cycle of lands was excellent. We had two Looming Spires, two Fertile Thickets, a Mortuary Mire and a Skyline Cascade and we opted to run them all. At some point all of them were relevant and really cost us very little as we could just run these for land and use the spell-like ability just for value.
Misses:
Smothering Abomination – I don’t think this is a bad card, it was just a bad card for us on this day. Dave was not in a position to truly leverage the Sacrifice ability to draw more cards and a 4/3 for 4 mana wasn’t really the most efficient creature we could find. I can imagine it being tremendous in a deck full of lots of Eldrazi Scion tokens, but in the B/R deck it just wasn’t very good.
Vile Aggregate – This was a decent role player for us, but in order to make him good I feel like he needs to paired with Green or he is just underwhelming. You need a bunch of Scion tokens in play in order for this guy to be truly explosive and he just wasn’t the best choice for us. He did play good D, but was a little lacklustre. I won’t be actively searching out these guys in any upcoming drafts.
Rot Shambler – This 2 mana creature is pretty disappointing. 2 mana for a 1/1 is below rate and you need to work pretty hard to make him good. However, in this format lots of things exile creatures (not kill them) meaning that you can’t trigger this guy as often as you might like. Yes, he plays really well in a token deck with lots of Scions, but is otherwise unexciting.
Well, that’s what I’ve got. On the whole I really enjoyed my Pre-Release experience and I had a lot of fun. It also helps that we played reasonably well because winning is more fun than being on the losing end. However, win or lose, the set is fun and the limited environment is going to be very engaging. I’m looking forward to getting a few drafts in on MTGO and to just brew random janky decks that pack a few big nasty Eldrazi surprises.
How was your Pre-Release experience? I would be all ears to hear how other people fared and whether they enjoyed the experience or not. Hit me up on twitter and let me know about your experience!
Thanks for stopping by and reading. Have yourself a great MTG day and I’ll talk to you guys next time here at Casual Encounters.
By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
@bgray8791 on Twitter
The anticipation is mounting! In just a few short days we will be getting our first chance to play Battle for Zendikar and I’m pretty excited. There are some amazing new cards in this set, and some terrific reprints that got some slick new art. It looks like there are going to be some bonkers new additions to just about every format, including Casual Kitchen Table Magic. Today I’m going to go through my Top Ten cards to bring to your next Casual Kitchen Table Magic game night and spice things up. Let’s get down to business.
10. Common Land Cycle ( Sandstone Bridge, Skyline Cascade, Mortuary Mire, Looming Spires, Fertile Thicket ). This common land cycle doesn’t look super spicy, but let’s be real, any time you can play a land card and have an effect that is normally created by a spell you have something that is deceptively powerful. There will be loads of decks looking to pick these up to replace just a regular basic land card, and the extra ability is always a solid trick. Now, let’s talk about how to abuse these (i.e. get more than one activation). In a Kitchen Table world you are constrained only by your card pool and the rules you and your friends have established, so finding fun ways to take advantage of these should be easy. Let’s start with the “Karoo” lands or “Bounce” lands from Ravnica. These were reprinted in Modern Masters 2015 making them pretty readily available and an easy way to get more than one activation of these. Emancipation Angel or Kor Skyfisher, or even Pearl Lake Ancient are also some of my favorites and could easily get you additional activations. Going a little more in the the history of Magic, Soramaro, First to Dream would be hilarious.
As if just getting the value off these lands wasn’t enough, don’t forget this set is packing Landfall meaning that you are very likely to net all sorts of value off of just playing these lands. That makes these things even more appealing. The nice part is that you will usually be pleased to see these guys, regardless of what stage of the game you’re in. Keep your eyes peeled for these small, but significant, additions.
9. Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper: What isn’t to like about this guy? He’s a 4/4 for 5 mana which is a pretty reasonable rate to start and you will not feel ashamed to run him out. His size also makes him surprisingly robust and able to tussle if the need arises. However, what is truly gross is his ability. You get free +1/+1 counters on your lands every time you cast an instant or sorcery…and in Blue and White isn’t that what you want to do anyways? I can well imagine EDH decks premised on this guy or just jammed in there for value. However, what I think might be truly busted is playing Jeskai and slamming this guy and Zada. Cast your instant on Zada, copy the spell a bunch of times, make a pile of Elementals, attack for the win…or something like that. Yes, that is magical Christmas land, but it’s fun to dream. I’m kind of excited to see this guy and try him out.
8. Omnath, Locus of Rage: I don’t know what to do with this guy…but I like the fact that Omnath is getting a reprinting, and this time he’s pissed. I haven’t got a clue how good he will be, or any deck built around him using elementals as a centerpiece, but this guy sure looks unhappy and ready to kick some butt. All he really asks of you is to play your land and benefit from an army of 5/5 tokens, but that feels a little too simple. Omnath makes the list because of his unbridled anger…and big scary tokens. For those of you out there with RTR block cards still kicking around, time to dust off those Populate enablers..
7. Catacomb Sifter: This guy is among my favorite cards in the set and the art is insane. That is spectacular art! The colours and contrast really stand out and makes this thing look super frightening. But enough about the art. This 3 mana creature packs 3/4 worth of power and toughness across 2 bodies which is a very good rate. I know I play casually, but I also really like efficient creatures…they help me get to the much less efficient but fun part of my deck! This is exactly the sort of thing I want to do. However, there is still more. This packs the Scry 1 ability that Reaper of the Wilds packs just because…umm…value? This is a very strong card and I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these guys and ride the Value Train.
6. Halimar Tidecaller: How is this NOT a rare? Can you just imagine pairing this with Noyan Dar and making FLYING land creatures? Wow. And you even get to bring another relevant spell out of your graveyard to replay and get yet ANOTHER land creature. Sure, it is a bit of a build around, but if you can successfully build around it this looks amazing! For a paltry 3 mana this feels as if it has been pushed to try and push an elemental theme…and I’m taking the bait! I can almost taste the Elemental Deck…Brews to come!
5. Defiant Bloodlord: Ok folks, this makes the list because you now have Sanguine Bond attached to a 4/5 flying body. This gives those janky “life gain” decks you see around the Kitchen table yet another win condition and NOW it gets to attack too! I’m just dreaming of casting this and Feed the Clan to maximum effect. The interaction between this and Gray Merchant of Asphodel seems like it could be potent too. All in all, there will be lots of ways to abuse this around the Kitchen Table so you had better buckle down.
4. Felidar Sovereign: Felidar Sovereign is yet another example of the power of alternate win conditions. This guy is a reprint from the original Zendikar block and became a staple in EDH decks all over the place as an alternative win condition. The issue WAS that Felidar was a $10-12 card that essentially exclusively saw play in Casual formats. By getting a reprint players will be getting a shot to grab this guy at a much more affordable $2 price point. Enjoy the savings Casual players, this one is for you.
3. Kiora, Master of Depths: Kiora made this list because her ultimate is nutty. Three 8/8 octopus tokens PLUS they get to fight your opponent’s creatures? Whatever…you win the game if you get this Emblem online. If you can look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you aren’t interested in doing that then you’re lying to yourself.
2. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger: If the Eldrazi somehow didn’t make this list then I wouldn’t be doing my job. What’s NOT to like? It’s big, splashy, hard to kill, wrecks the game instantly, can be played in virtually every deck and looks to be about the best thing you can do with 10 mana. Also, because this version of Ulamog doesn’t come with the “feel bad” Annihilator mechanic your buddies around the kitchen table are more apt to agree to let you play it. Yeah, Ulamog is a thing and makes our list.
1. Zada, Hedron Grinder: Zada is getting lots of buzz and with good cause because her ability is just outright insane. Any time you can copy spells you have a strong effect. Zada will let you copy them multiple times for FREE! Magic players love the word FREE and so Johnnies around the world are setting up to break this. I’ve heard lots of players talk about casting Titan’s Strength or Become Immense on Zada and then pumping your team to significant effect, but I was going somewhere completely different. I was going to aim for Feat of Resistance and essentially allow your team to get protection from…oh…everything…and crash in for the win. But things at the Kitchen table can get better! Ranger’s Guile protects ALL your stuff. Rootborn Defenses fights off Board wipes. Retraction Helix allows you to turn all your creatures into Unsummon spells! Really, the possibilities are endless and this is why so many people are excited about Zada. There really isn’t much doubt, Zada is the real winner for the Casual Magic crowd.
Well, there we have our top ten cards for Casual Magic. I’m sure there are a few spicy things that I left off the list, but I have to draw the line somewhere. If you have something you think should be added to the list, send me a tweet and let me know. I’d love to hear what has got other people excited!
Thanks for taking the time to stop in and have a visit and have yourself a great MTG day!
By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
@bgray8791 on Twitter
Hi folks! I’m back once again and this time I’m looking at something a little different. Usually I look at some casual cards or decks that you can use to help make your next night of kitchen table Magic more fun. However, today I’m going to look at some of the story behind the game. Most specifically, I am going to be looking at the story for the very next set we’ll be seeing in a few weeks. That’s right, we’ll be looking at the story for Battle for Zendikar.
I really enjoyed the stories chronicling the trials on Tarkir and the characters that we met. I have to admit, I got far more invested in the block and the cards as a result of being aware of the story behind the characters, and the same thing is starting to happen again with Battle for Zendikar. I have a far better idea of the characters, the setting, and the plight of Zendikar facing down the Eldrazi.
I won’t go into the stories posted on the WoTC website for Uncharted Realms in too much detail because that is something you can do on your own time. However, it is enough to say that the stories are very interesting, well written, and well worth the read. However, what I take from the stories is a growing understanding of the mindset of the main players in the set and why they do some of the things they do on their cards.
Perhaps the most intriguing personality that we meet through these stories is Gideon. He’s a focal point in the story and you can clearly see how conflicted he is. For starters, with an eye towards the Origins story we saw back in the summer, we can clearly see that Gideon feels beholden to others and seeks to protect them at all costs, perhaps as a response to the deaths of friends back on Theros. He obviously feels compelled to stay on Zendikar and protect the people and lead the battle against the Eldrazi regardless of how fruitless it seems at times. What I find most interesting is that he is clearly at odds with his own abilities as a leader. Gideon is doubtless the most powerful warrior in and amongst the collected group of refugees that we encounter and could flex his powers and seize control of the war effort, but is clearly deferring to the General of the Zendikari. He is even prepared to defer to the General’s second in command while the General is injured and bedridden. His own internal sense of order and respect for the chain of command prevents him from seizing the mantle of leadership. The fact that he would be willing to play “second fiddle” is a fascinating internal dilemma and a role I doubt many of us could play in our own lives . Other planeswalkers would be totally prepared to just seize the leadership, but it takes the General, on his deathbed, anointing Gideon as the new leader of the Zendikari before he truly accepts what seems fairly obvious to the reader. In my eyes this makes Gideon extremely interesting because he has a tragic flaw despite all his powers. He seems to be unable to do whatever it takes to win. Yes, he wants to win. He is extremely powerful. But, he is still constrained by the rules and norms that govern how people co-exist instead of seizing what it is he needs to achieve his ultimate victory. This makes him a quintessential “white” planeswalker, in every sense of the word, and one that you can sense is likely doomed to fail. Oh, poor tragic White planeswalkers. I hope they don’t kill him off the way Elspeth was!
Conversely, we meet an updated version of Drana in this new Zendikar story and immediately can see the difference between her and Gideon. Where Gideon is constrained by his code of honour and right and wrong, Drana has created a Brigade of Children and uses young children in the battle against the Eldrazi. The juxtaposition of Gideon and Drana is intriguing and one that can’t be ignored. However, as much as part of you wants to hate Drana for using the Children in the upcoming battle, you can’t help but admire her to some degree because she is so fiercely protective of her band of refugees and refuses to let them be abandoned and slaughtered. Clearly, she too has her own “code”, but it is somewhat more flexible in its interpretation than Gideon’s.
The second interesting thing with Drana is her experience with the Eldrazi sire. She tears open the sire and starts to feed on the heart of the beast and draws on the energy and life force of the creature. As part of this experience she encounters what can only be described as the “consciousness” of the Eldrazi and their ceaseless drive to consume and devour. The Eldrazi tries to corrupt her, but is unable to do so, but in the battle of wills between the two there are even initial signs that Drana is changing. Clearly the Eldrazi have the ability to corrupt people and physically change them, and change them very quickly! That is terrifying! However, Drana re-asserts her dominance over the exchange and draws upon the power of the Eldrazi to power her. This immense influx of power gives her the ability to rejuvenate her forces and lead the rout of the Eldrazi. This ties in directly to her new card where she grants other attacking creatures a +1/+1 counter if she deals combat damage to a player. That makes her new version an amazing flavour “win” on top of being an extremely powerful card. It is always very engaging when the abilities on the cards match the abilities of the characters in the stories.
The third thing that starts to appear is that Drana’s experience with the Eldrazi and the ancient consciousness of the Eldrazi creatures is that she becomes aware that there are other worlds apart from Zendikar. That spark, the realization that there are worlds out there that she could travel to and new powers to achieve, is clearly enticing to her and serves as a potential impetus to see her become a Planeswalker of her own in the next set or in a future period. Much like there were allusions to Narset becoming a planeswalker, it would appear as if Drana is being set up for a similar trajectory. That is very cool and I hope it comes to fruition becomes she seems like a very intriguing character. I just wonder if she would retain her truly “black” demeanor or if she would follow in the lines of Sorin and become a “black and white” planeswalker. Only time will tell on this matter. However, it is the “how” she ascends to become a planeswalker that is truly interesting. I can only guess that since she consumed the life force of the Eldrazi sire, a powerful and immense Eldrazi creature, and achieved unparalleled power that she will want to attempt to consume a larger and more powerful Eldrazi in her attempt to become a planeswalker. This means we could see Drana confront Ulamog or one of the other Titans in an effort to propel herself to the abilities of a planeswalker. Wouldn’t THAT be a story.
There are a few other really interesting things that I am noticing because they mesh together with the story so very well. For starters, the Ally mechanic of Rally feels like it is truly an effort to assemble the collected might of the Allies to defeat the Eldrazi. Together they are greater than the sum of their parts and Rally brings that all together in an interesting and relevant way.
While the mechanic for the Allies is interesting, I feel like the Ingest mechanic on many of the Eldrazi is a terrific flavour addition to the set. To me, Ingest is a terrific way of showing how ravenous the Eldrazi are. They are prepared to not only do damage to you, but are able to attack one of your other sources of power: your deck. Once your source of power has been consumed and all your cards have been exiled you are beaten AND they have used your own “life force” and knowledge against you. Nothing seems more insidious and pervasive as slowly having your deck stripped away from you as you are consumed. You start to run out of weapons and ways to defeat the Eldrazi as your spells are slowly removed and exiled, much like the refugees of Zendikar are running out of time and tools to be able to defeat the oncoming horde. No, Ingest seems to be a very playable mechanic, but is also one that captures the essence of the Eldrazi remarkably well and also mirrors the relative sense of panic that the increasingly cornered Zendikari must feel as they run out of safe havens.
I really feel like the flavour and story line for this particular set is tremendous. It seems like it is true to the original Zendikar block that makes established players reminisce about our previous visit to Zendikar. However, it provides enough new twists and turns that newer players won’t feel out of place or like they are missing part of the story. We have engaging and interesting characters and intriguing possibilities for them as we move forward. And we have relevant mechanics that really seem to represent the various factions of the story and attempt to have them play out in our cards in a way that makes them feel fun, but more importantly feel “right”.
I can’t wait for Battle for Zendikar to be released because the combination of a powerful story, powerful cards, and strong and flavourful mechanics that have so much appeal. I hope all of you are having amazing pre-releases and we lucky enough to pull an Expedition !!! We have less than a week until the big day and then…Bring on the Battle!
Thanks for taking the time to stop in and have a read. Until next time, have a great MTG day.
By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
@bgray8791 on Twitter
Ultra-Pro one of the top makers of playmats introduces these new premium 6ft Table Play Mat with premium fabric top to prevent damage to cards during game play. Rubber backing lets the play mat lay flat and prevents the mat from shifting during use. There are two different mats of approximately 72″ X 30″ dimensions each featuring its own Battle for Zendikar release artwork.
Three Kings Loot has two versions available for Pre-orders in Canada at 124,99$CAD made before September 29th.
Blue mages will be rejoicing this Christmas time as they get an early present with some pop’n’flash !!! While not quite the Impulse it is still a very high impact card for any control player. While we are sure to see it find a home somewhere in Standard we will see if it can squeeze into Modern. That is also an incredible piece of Volkan Baga art which is sure to sparkle in the light. Good luck to everyone wishing for Santa to drop off an Anticipate FNM under the tree.
EJSeltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com
Hi folks. We had a huge weekend at PAX. I watched a good deal of the coverage and am firmly convinced that at some point I will need to attend one of these events because it looked super cool. Did you see the GIANT Eldrazi sculpture erected in front of the exhibit hall?! Wow! That was amazing and looked super cool. The most impressive part was the detail on the sculpture…but I won’t go too far into that.
In addition to the World Championship and PAX, we got a massive amount of previews from the set that will be hitting the shelves this fall. That’s right, Battle for Zendikar is just about here and I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to getting a chance to play with all these giant Eldrazi monsters stomping around because it feels amazing to see so many massive creatures. And they all seem to pack some sort of nasty ability! Talk about spoiling us!
The last time we visited Zendikar, during Rise of the Eldrazi, I wasn’t playing and was totally oblivious to these creatures. I have since come to know many of them through things like watching and paying attention to deck lists, reading up on the lore of the plane, and generally paying attention to the happenings in the Magic community. However, I have seen these guys in isolation. I have watched Emrakul get cheated into play with a variety of tricks. I have seen Ulamog in a Modern Masters 2015 draft pack. I have heard about Kozilek and the destruction he can wreak on a board and the massive card advantage you can draw. But I have never seen these three beasts in their own element. I have never faced down the wrath of a horde of voracious Eldrazi and I can hardly wait to get my first real Eldrazi experience now that we are heading back to Zendikar.
While the prospect of facing down the Eldrazi is very appealing, there are a few other things that were spoiled that are bound to be of interest to people. Personally, the most important thing spoiled was the new cycle of dual lands. Initially I read that there were a lot of people who were disappointed that the Enemy Coloured Fetchlands weren’t going to be reprinted, but it seems unusual for WoTC to have all 10 Fetchlands in standard at the same time. So, Fetchlands were out but word got out that a new set of Dual Lands was being released and the speculation exploded. What was revealed Saturday night was a very interesting set of lands.
The lands are allied coloured dual lands. That’s a fair place to start and not the least bit unusual. I hope we see the remaining five enemy coloured lands in the second set, but for the time being we have 5 lands. They also have a drawback of coming into play tapped unless you control 2 basic lands. That is a very reasonable drawback, but I will come back to that. The most interesting feature is that they have 2 land types meaning you can fetch them with a Fetchland. That is exciting because the last time that non-basic lands had two land types was the Ravnica Shocklands, but once again we’ll come back to any comparison with the Shocklands. On the whole, this is pretty exciting cycle of lands and an interesting variant on dual lands in general.
The reaction has been mixed to say the least. The initial place that most people started with was that these lands are inferior versions of the Shocklands. Yes, they share the characteristic of having 2 basic land types on them, but the Shocklands can enter play untapped based on YOUR decision and aren’t conditional to you controling 2 basic lands. So, we can agree that the Shocklands are a notch better, but there is something to be said for NOT having your land hit you for 2 points of life (or 3 if used in conjunction with a Fetchland) that might make these more appealing. That extra 2 or 3 points of damage per land is a very real cost and now having the chance to avoid it is appealing and will give players in Modern reason to pause at least to consider their mana base before sleeving up their deck.
As far as Standard is concerned, these will be nice replacements for the Temples and could be seen in many ways as an upgrade because you can actually fetch them. As nice as the Temples were, you could never fetch them up and that was not optimal. The tradeoff of a Scry in favour of being able to fetch the land is very real, but something that many players will be prepared to make. The new Mulligan rules may prove to be a saving grace to many players because they might be able to get that first turn Scry that they have become accustomed to thanks to the Scry lands. We’ll need to keep an eye on that trend for sure once all the changes come into effect.
The other piece here is that the clause that allows you to have them come into play untapped is conditional and not a choice. This feels like a very balanced option and a way to mitigate the relative power that you can harness by having access to two colours of mana in the same card. In my mind this harkens back to the balancing act that WoTC was trying to get with the “Buddy” lands but with a new twist. In either case, players who are looking to play their lands untapped will find themselves putting more basic lands in their decks and limit the number of colours that they play, while decks that are prepared to pay the price of playing your land tapped may continue to run three or more and play these happily.
I think that these lands are being unfairly criticized by some members of the community. I think people are looking for a direct and obvious upgrade to the Shocklands that can migrate over to Modern. Looking at these, I don’t feel like that was ever the intent, but I will not be surprised to see some people opt to play some number of copies of these in their Modern decks. No, these lands have been designed to be played in Standard and they fit in nicely. Just as we lose the Temples we get a balanced, interesting, and fun land mechanic that will undoubtedly shake up the sequencing of your land. If they happen to move to Modern, all the better, but for the time being Standard is a good starting point.
The other major preview was for a new Planeswalker. In the upcoming set we will be seeing Gideon, Ally of Zendikar as the newest incarnation of our friend Gideon and he’s pretty sweet. I like that they have retained his ability to become a powerful creature that is difficult to kill, but his other two abilities are extremely relevant and a significant departure for Gideon. His 0 ability has him make a 2/2 Knight token, which is pretty significant. This is a new ability for Gideon, and making a 2/2 Knight is pretty awesome. However, the most interesting thing is the ultimate ability that allows you to IMMEDIATELY remove all the counters from him and for him to become an Anthem effect. In many aggressive decks Anthem effects are extremely powerful and I’m fairly certain that this will not change. The Zendikar Allies are going to love it. Plus, this version of Gideon looks to play quite well with the Kytheon/Gideon transform card from Magic Origins further adding to the appeal. There is no doubt that this card will be one to watch and might be a defining card once Battle for Zendikar arrives. I’m a big fan and can’t wait to see what happens with this new addition to the Planeswalker club.
One of the things that I am always on the look for are some hidden gems that you can use around the kitchen table to really spice up your casual games and to perhaps get a leg up on your friends. Sure, you could play all the hottest cards from the newest Standard legal set, but right now, as we approach rotation, you could find yourself some very budget friendly gems that could really add some appeal to your games.
Planeswalkers are a fun way to add a new dimension to your game and there are a couple out there that right now that are good value and can pack a pretty good punch. Jace, Architect of Thought and Kiora, the Crashing Wave represent strong cards that you can add to your decks and are extremely affordable right now. Both of these are hovering around $4 a card right here on Three Kings Loot and would be great value. Sure, these may not be the best cards ever printed, but they pack strong abilities, can win you a game if left unchecked, and can certainly be a big distraction if your opponents are intent on taking care of them. If you don’t believe me that they are good value, take a look at some other Planeswalkers that have recently been printed but rarely see eternal play. Tamiyo is about $19 a card. Domri and Ral Zarek are around $7. Garruk, Apex Predator weighs in at $8. Clearly, these two look to be a little on the inexpensive side right now and with Kiora rotating out shortly you could likely scoop her up quite cheaply.
A creature that has been supplanted by the mighty Siege Rhino has been the Reaper of the Wilds and at a mere $0.30 a card this solid 4/5 for 4 mana would be an addition to many a deck. Besides being a very sizeable body, Reaper packs 3 abilities! This one has clearly been forgotten about, but your kitchen table would be an ideal location for some revitalization.
After a brief foray into a Pro-Tour Chromanticore has largely vanished despite the fact that it is a super fun card that packs way too many abilities…and at less than $1.50 would be steal.
Herald of Torment has never really received much love, but I for one think that this little beauty is well worth the pick up. The casting cost is about right, the Bestow is very powerful, Black devotion LOVES this guy and he costs a mere $0.30. C’mon. If you rock Black around the kitchen table this guy needs to be one of your dudes.
We had been missing a genuine wrath effect for Black until we hit Khans block and got Crux of Fate and followed up with Languish in Magic Origins. However, for your Casual game, don’t forget Extinguish All Hope. In most environments this is good as any wrath you will ever need and while it does cost a little more Mana it’s also $0.25 meaning you could pick up some of these and still have pocket money left over to buy yourself a coffee . What’s even better, if you build your deck right to abuse this, this could become a beautiful one-sided wrath and really make your opponents curse you and your janky (but hilarious) 6 mana wrath spell.
That’s all for tonight folks, but thanks for stopping in. I’m super excited to see more of the Battle for Zendikar spoilers and glimpse the landscape of Magic for the upcoming autumn. Thanks, and have a great MTG day.
All week long during each week of September, the WotC R&D team brings us new spoilers from the long anticipated Battle for Zendikar. Today was no exception and delivered us new additions to the actual spoiler with all the promos available from the release of the new set.
Scythe Leopard is clearly a nerf from the past referencing to Plated Geopede and Steppe Lynx as the Landfall ability used to be +2/+2 until end of turn. This card will be played in limited and draft as a fill in but I don’t think it will be standard at all even with fetches.
Then, as Hero’s Downfall was there to help us manage creatures and plainswalkers, Ruinous Path say “No, we will manage them and even more!!!” given the possibility of making a 4/4 creature out of a land and it has haste. I think control gained quite a great removal just by the fact of having a 4/4 threat late game. Even if the spell is in sorcery, it will still be a format defining card in standard.
With the comeback to Zendikar, they clearly had to create new Eldrazi in this set. They made no mistake by creating Blight Herder here. This creature as alot of upside being a 4/5 colorless creature that as the possibility of putting 3 1/1’s for a total of 7 power. Although, the condition of having 2 exiled cards of your opponent to put into their graveyard creates a necessity to using the other Eldrazi in the set which have the ability to exile the top card of their library. I think this card will be limited bomb if you get the cheap eldrazi as well in your pool/draft.
Since Wizards let it all out with the big guys, they had to create cards that can manage them. After Ruinous Path, they made us a Journey to Nowhere with Flash. This is definitely a 2 to 4-of depending if it’s a control/midrange deck in Standard. I think Esper control decks will make a comeback in the top tier with those 2 removals. A card I look forward playing with!
Since Anger of the Gods is rotating, the R/x deck was going to suffer from that. Well, not anymore! Radiant Flames will fix the problem because, even as Anger of the gods was exiling the creatures, it was an irrelevant ability as not alot of creatures had graveyard abilities. Also, the fact it only costs one red is really good. I see it as a 2 or 3-of as early mass removal to support Crux of Fate or Languish here.
Battle for Zendikar Game Day
As the previous gamedays, this nice dark horde playmat will be given to the 1st place of the gameday event.
Overall, way to go wizards! R&D really rocked it and it is probably the best set since Return to Ravnica. I wish all of you will enjoy a lot of drafts and capture these great promos ’cause you know…gotta catch’em all! 😉
By Samuel Carrier
@infiwill on Twitter
