Could morph cards be the return of DFC? I feel like that would be a good way to prevent people trying to cheat with the morph mechanic. Also this way the red morphs could be dragons and the blue ones could be squid. It would allow tribal elements to take place without telling your opponent exactly what card you have.
I want the fetchland reprint to be in a supplemental product. I HATE fetchlands in constructed (infinite shuffling), and they aren't even great in standard to begin with. I would much rather see a new cubable set of duals.
Could morph cards be the return of DFC? I feel like that would be a good way to prevent people trying to cheat with the morph mechanic. Also this way the red morphs could be dragons and the blue ones could be squid. It would allow tribal elements to take place without telling your opponent exactly what card you have.
No. Those mechanics have nothing to do with each other. They would also have to significantly change the rules of morph (which is already a very rules-heavy mechanic) in order to make both traditional morphs and those DFC morphs work.
Overall, I am quite surprised that they brought morph back. After Time Spiral, I thought that Wizards said that the mechanic was too complicated to be reprinted. However, it seems that according to MaRo, morph was one of the mechanics that players wanted to see reprinted the most.
I am quite curious how cubable morph cards will look like. A 2/2 for 3 is even further behind the curve than it was eight years ago. My best bets are fatties that can be played early via morph (like Exalted Angel), cards with a spectacular reveal trigger or non-creatures cards (especially lands... like... dual lands maybe) that increase your threat-density by having a morph creature mode.
Flamespeaker is fun and great but not terribly powerful. He barely earns his spot in my 500.
I'm surprised. He's been pretty great here, even at a much tighter size. There aren't many good aggressive red three drops, especially ones that can draw 2 cards a turn or kill a creature and draw a card. And he's in the deck that most wants equipment, which is bonkers with him!
A couple more high powered 1/2 drops that are highly desirable in agro and midrange
A cubeable 2 drop with an ETB trigger or leaves battlefield trigger
A good Simic, Dimir and orzhov Card.
Another 1 mana discard spell thats cubeable, equivalent to the power of duress/inqusition (no way its happening tho)
My big hope is that the return of morph is limited to just one set or a few cards because I really dislike the mechanic and think it is even worse potential for cube, with so few morph cards, it loses the surprise value. Admittedly if we get morph cards that flip for free or other non mana methods we might be talking but otherwise meh... Give me suspend or echo, or flash creatures any day and we don't have to play gray ogres that can be killed super easy with ratchet bomb.
On the plus side, anything time travel could mean a strange or unusual mechanics. A dragon set could mean I get that sneak attack dragon I really want. I am really glad there are limiting the wedge thing to one set, a full multicolor block would be tough after all the cards we have gotten in the last too years. A token theme might mean some solid token producers in the 1-3 slot. I would love more cards on the Blade Splicer/Rabblemaster level.
Unfounded wants include a 6 drop green with an awesome ETB and LTB effect, A red creature with "smash to smithereens" as the etb. Aggro artifact critters. Red card draw, black planeswalker, and more squids.
I hope they go overboard with Morph. Word them and design them so they can be ETB effects or Morph effects, which allows them to be playable and abused even if they're not morphed (like the wording on Vesuvan Shapeshifter). And give me enough options that I can go on to include multiple morph effects in each color for some added surprise value. I love Morph as a mechanic, and I think it adds a unique state to the game. I hope we get 1-2 playable ones per color, and maybe some multicolor and/or colorless ones too. Especially if they have unique alternative morph costs like discarding cards, bouncing/sacrificing lands/creatures and so on. Morphing non-creature effects would be awesome too! Having my opponent attempt to Bolt my 2/2 and morphing it into a Phyrexian Arena by sacrificing a Swamp ...those are the kinds of things I hope to see. I want to be able to go back to having at least 1 playable morph per color (like I did at 465) for my 375 list. Come on good morph cards!
...and I feel immediately "old". I'm hoping to get some more Cubeable Morph cards outside of Firecat, Exalted Angel and Bane of the Living. Willbender and Hystrodon never really cut it for me.
Also, totally on board with the "Morph, but not into creatures" idea. Morphing from a 2/2 colorless creature into a Chromatic Lantern would be interesting. I also like wtwlf123's idea of alternate morph costs. Discard, paying life (Zombie Cutthroat), even sacrificing permanents. There's some real potential there, and I think we'll get 2-3 very playable Morph cards.
I've read a few times that WOTC isn't expected to reprint the ONS fetches until 2015. It would seem that this block is the perfect opportunity to do so, but we'll see. I know how crazy newer players are to try and chase $100 fetches (SMH). I think the reprint is imminent, but just not this block.
Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom: The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray). The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it. The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
I would absolutely love multiple morphs that are cubeable. I will run a singleton morph if it's good enough in the 360, but the mechanic is certainly a lot better if your opponent doesn't know exactly what the morph is.
Exalted Angel for some time was the only morph in our cube.
These new morphs need to be better than Exalted Angel. I have high hopes for the set.
I want more aggressive black 1-drops, and Jungle Lion and Fire Imp reprints. Also enemy-colored Mirage Fetches and Wedge Tri-lands.
But if they're bringing back morph, then they are probably going to want to do something interesting with it. Probably some good morph enablers that give bonuses to face-down creatures? An StP variant would be cool: W: turn target creature face-down.
I want something interesting for Green. Green has big ramp and it has okay little guys. But it's not amazing and usually becomes a support color. I just want to see one card that really makes you go, "Wow, Green can do that?"
I must be the last person to still "push" the morph mechanic in my cube--I even ran Zoetic Cavern until recently, and tried to keep enough in to keep the guessing game meaningful. I can't tell you how excited I am by the return of morph...
I want something interesting for Green. Green has big ramp and it has okay little guys. But it's not amazing and usually becomes a support color. I just want to see one card that really makes you go, "Wow, Green can do that?"
I would love to see one cubeable card in each wedge. We currently run one of each shard, and while it isn't really important, I would like to fill the symmetry, also to reward 3+ color decks a bit. Better yet, they shouldn't just be cubeable, but so powerful that the actually make you want to play 3+ colors just for these cards.
Morph is a cool mechanic, but suffers a lot if you don't have multiples, loosing the hidden information advantage. It definitely has potential for fun cards. I'm really curious about what we'll get.
Other than that I just second what others have said already: Enemy manlands. A good Simic, Dimir and Orzhov Card. A pushed red looter...
My cube plays out much differently. Blue might be the most powerful but Green and Black are more drafted as people like the themes in the them. White is easily the bottom of the heap. It has some powerful cards but outside of the weenie theme (which bores most of my group) it is just a sidekick color.
So I could use more white cards that weren't Angel, Oblivion Ring, and planeswalker I might get pretty excited. Tokens is spicing up my white section (adding Battlescreech next). So Khans should deliver there.
But if we were talking blue sky cards give me a green artifact 6 drop with and etb and ltb trigger that I can reanimate. Basically a 6/6 trampling artifact thragtusk for 6.
I think this is mostly a product of the people I draft with but the color power level for my ~450 unpowered cube seems to be:
Blue >>> Green = Red > White >> Black
Though the gap between black and the other colors is getting much smaller. Black needs a few key mana cost creatures to compete with the other colors. Of course the swords are very potent in unpowered lists so not having many ways to disrupt a sword trigger does hurt black even more.
With that said I'd kill for some 1cmc, 4cmc and 5cmc Black creatures! We got some sweet 3cmc and many 1cmc dudes so let's keep this going WotC!
EDIT: Whoops! I meant black creatures, not creatures in general!
One thing that I really want is a cheap 1CMC guy with morph that has a morph trigger so that it has value early and late.
In other words, Skinthinner and Skirk Marauder with modern power creep, like them being 2/1s for 1 with a drawback and maybe a mana shaved off of Skinthinner's morph. And another for wanting a good 6 CMC guy in green.
One thing that I really want is a cheap 1CMC guy with morph that has a morph trigger so that it has value early and late.
In other words, Skinthinner and Skirk Marauder with modern power creep, like them being 2/1s for 1 with a drawback and maybe a mana shaved off of Skinthinner's morph. And another for wanting a good 6 CMC guy in green.
Oh my gosh, 1cmc morph aggro dude is my favorite. What colors/guild gets morph? Sultai (BUG)?
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Overall, I am quite surprised that they brought morph back. After Time Spiral, I thought that Wizards said that the mechanic was too complicated to be reprinted. However, it seems that according to MaRo, morph was one of the mechanics that players wanted to see reprinted the most.
I am quite curious how cubable morph cards will look like. A 2/2 for 3 is even further behind the curve than it was eight years ago. My best bets are fatties that can be played early via morph (like Exalted Angel), cards with a spectacular reveal trigger or non-creatures cards (especially lands... like... dual lands maybe) that increase your threat-density by having a morph creature mode.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
I'm surprised. He's been pretty great here, even at a much tighter size. There aren't many good aggressive red three drops, especially ones that can draw 2 cards a turn or kill a creature and draw a card. And he's in the deck that most wants equipment, which is bonkers with him!
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
A cubeable 2 drop with an ETB trigger or leaves battlefield trigger
A good Simic, Dimir and orzhov Card.
Another 1 mana discard spell thats cubeable, equivalent to the power of duress/inqusition (no way its happening tho)
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On the plus side, anything time travel could mean a strange or unusual mechanics. A dragon set could mean I get that sneak attack dragon I really want. I am really glad there are limiting the wedge thing to one set, a full multicolor block would be tough after all the cards we have gotten in the last too years. A token theme might mean some solid token producers in the 1-3 slot. I would love more cards on the Blade Splicer/Rabblemaster level.
Unfounded wants include a 6 drop green with an awesome ETB and LTB effect, A red creature with "smash to smithereens" as the etb. Aggro artifact critters. Red card draw, black planeswalker, and more squids.
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...and I feel immediately "old". I'm hoping to get some more Cubeable Morph cards outside of Firecat, Exalted Angel and Bane of the Living. Willbender and Hystrodon never really cut it for me.
Also, totally on board with the "Morph, but not into creatures" idea. Morphing from a 2/2 colorless creature into a Chromatic Lantern would be interesting. I also like wtwlf123's idea of alternate morph costs. Discard, paying life (Zombie Cutthroat), even sacrificing permanents. There's some real potential there, and I think we'll get 2-3 very playable Morph cards.
I've read a few times that WOTC isn't expected to reprint the ONS fetches until 2015. It would seem that this block is the perfect opportunity to do so, but we'll see. I know how crazy newer players are to try and chase $100 fetches (SMH). I think the reprint is imminent, but just not this block.
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Silent Edge's Tidbits of Wisdom:
The Lewis Theory - When the presence of a single card makes every other card in your deck better (see Lewis, Ray).
The Rubber Edict - You'd rather have it and not use it, than need it and not have it.
The Shotgun Wedding - Don't commit early unless you absolutely have to.
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Exalted Angel for some time was the only morph in our cube.
These new morphs need to be better than Exalted Angel. I have high hopes for the set.
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But if they're bringing back morph, then they are probably going to want to do something interesting with it. Probably some good morph enablers that give bonuses to face-down creatures? An StP variant would be cool: W: turn target creature face-down.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
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I want the same thing for white.
The power order in my cube is:
Blue >>> Green >> Red = Black > White
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Morph is a cool mechanic, but suffers a lot if you don't have multiples, loosing the hidden information advantage. It definitely has potential for fun cards. I'm really curious about what we'll get.
Other than that I just second what others have said already: Enemy manlands. A good Simic, Dimir and Orzhov Card. A pushed red looter...
So I could use more white cards that weren't Angel, Oblivion Ring, and planeswalker I might get pretty excited. Tokens is spicing up my white section (adding Battlescreech next). So Khans should deliver there.
But if we were talking blue sky cards give me a green artifact 6 drop with and etb and ltb trigger that I can reanimate. Basically a 6/6 trampling artifact thragtusk for 6.
Blue >>> Green = Red > White >> Black
Though the gap between black and the other colors is getting much smaller. Black needs a few key mana cost creatures to compete with the other colors. Of course the swords are very potent in unpowered lists so not having many ways to disrupt a sword trigger does hurt black even more.
With that said I'd kill for some 1cmc, 4cmc and 5cmc Black creatures! We got some sweet 3cmc and many 1cmc dudes so let's keep this going WotC!
EDIT: Whoops! I meant black creatures, not creatures in general!
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In other words, Skinthinner and Skirk Marauder with modern power creep, like them being 2/1s for 1 with a drawback and maybe a mana shaved off of Skinthinner's morph. And another for wanting a good 6 CMC guy in green.
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I meant to say black creatures with cmc 1, 4, and 5. Not just creatures. Whoops! I agree, the other colors are stacked up to the brim.
EDIT: I'm not on the Desecration Demon or Abyssal Persecutor bandwagon that others are on so maybe I'm just biased.
Oh my gosh, 1cmc morph aggro dude is my favorite. What colors/guild gets morph? Sultai (BUG)?
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My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
I'm excited to see what is in store for morph! The more morph cards the merrier.