The Simic deck not only doesn't have any of the Simic mechanic, it doesn't have many Gatecrash cards at all! the guild gates, Urban Evolution, and Verdant Haven, plus two GRUUL cards ... that seems stupid
Which cards? The 12 mana blue spell? Unplayable without already having Omniscience or an absurd amount of mana, in which case you are probably already winning.
Aurelia? She's w/r on the "weaker" spectrum of EDH color combinations. She is awesome though.
Bor? lol
Hellkite Tyrant? Strong? Yes. Playable? Hell yes. Format ruining? Nope.
Domri Rade? Interesting walker. Pity his ulti will probably never go off. Still like the design of the guy and IF you ever get his ulti off you deserve to win.
Cards like Prime Titan and Griselbrand will ruin the format far before stupid 12 mana sorceries that do nothing without already winning.
Format breaking is exciting ... right up to the point it gets banned. I'd rather have decent cards like these than a bonkers one that gets banned right after I get it. (Confession: this may be projection because of what happened to me after Prime Time and Griselbrand).
Let's assume the dragon is in fact Niv-Mizzet. We need to figure out his motivation for what he's doing (beginning all these experiments). I don't think it's a simple quest for plain knowledge, he's too egotistical for that. I don't think it would be malicious either; Izzet is chaotic, but not evil like the Joker or anything.
The motivation I think might be best is seeking to strengthen the guilds over the guildless. If the guilds fail again and lose their prestige, they won't get it back. How do you strengthen the guilds? Give them reason to build up! I can totally see Niv instigating conflict between the other guilds. But then you need to safely release that built up pressure or steam. Can't attack the guildless directly, they'll rebel and the guilds will break down while trying to claim territory. Create a non-Ravnican danger (but NOT Eldrazi or Phyrexians).
Holy Crap! I want to make an EDH deck with him as commander: BR burn spells and artifact creatures. It will basically be Affinity but your burning opponents while you're at it.
Some believe the Azorius Senate only prevents things from happening. Prove them wrong with the "Azorius Advance" deck. While the detain ability locks up their defenses, your flying creatures will lay down the law.
Izzet Ingenuity - Hypersonic Dragon
The mages of the Izzet League run hot and cold— and sometimes both at once. The "Izzet Ingenuity" deck uses that tendency to your advantage. Bide your time, then unleash a blazing flurry of spells to take opponents off guard.
Rakdos Raid - Carnival Hellstead
The Cult of Rakdos has a flair for sadistic entertainment. Bring pain to all with the "Rakdos Raid" deck. While your unleashed creatures put the hurt on opponents, use the distraction to play a few well-placed dirty tricks.
Golgari Growth - Corpsejack Menace
The Golgari Swarm knows that the circle of life is a vicious one. The "Golgari Growth" deck puts the power of the scavenge ability in your hands, enabling your fallen creatures to strengthen their successors. Waste not, want not.
Selesnya Surge - Grove of the Guardian
The Selesnya Conclave relentlessly seeks to grow its ranks—both outward and upward. Use the populate ability to multiply your largest token creatures, then go forth and spread the good word. Grow big or go home!
You're right, I assumed, but that was only because trostani and the gorgon are the only arts even close to walker arts. Though I suppose it's possible the other arts could be of the other walker casting spells, etc. This gorgon is it though. I'll eat my foil jtms if the walker is GW and will post a video to prove it. You have my word.
Seriously? That's Trostani. The Selesenya guild leader.
"Trostani, the Selesnya Guildmaster. The triune dryad, Trostani, rules the guild. The Selesnyans, however, would say she is ultimately led by the will of Mat'Selesnya herself. Each of the three dryad identities that comprise Trostani embodies a particular Selesnya value. The rightmost head is Order, who speaks in a metered, plain chant. The leftmost head is Life, and speaks in a lilting, singsong voice. The central head is Harmony, who speaks in a silvery whisper. Each head is adorned in its own unique manner, with eyes that range from verdant green to shimmering silver. The central head of Harmony rarely speaks, but when she does, her counsel is considered by all to be sacrosanct."
People THERE ARE NO OTHER OPTIONS. IT IS THE GORGON. THINK BEFORE YOU POST!!!
There are two other female Selesnyans shown after Trostani, but they are not shown in the typical planeswalker stance. The person you jumped on may have been referring to Trostani, or one of the later ones (the human-looking one touching the branchy-vine Simulacrum or the leafy dryad leading the army).
I'm not saying I'd prefer one over the other, just pointing it out ...
The problem with dual-colored walkers here could be that everyone gets mad because they either are only synergistic with the guild and have little to no impact outside the block or they don't mix with the guild at all and people complain the flavor isn't there. Hopefully Wizards can walk the line, but I don't know if it is realistic to expect that.
White has had three mono walkers (Ajani, Elsepeth, and Gideon); Red has had three mono walkers (Chandra, Koth, Tibalt), Blue has had three mono walkers (Jace, Tezzeret, Tamiyo), black has had two (Liliana and Sorin), and Green has had two (Garruk and Nissa).
I don't think they are going to make a PW with both color matching and flavor ties to a guild. PWs should be roaming, expanding knowledge of the universe and adding opportunities, plus, a PW ambitions are so much bigger than getting tied to one organization. I don't think Jace will be heavily tied to the Izzet, despite the set artwork, just like Liliana didn't go on a throne hunting spree in Innistrad like that artwork would have indicated.
Personally, I like the idea of the dryad-looking lady who's leading the Selesnya army better as a mono-green walker, but agree that the Gorgon artwork appears more likely. But new mono-green and new mono-black walkers would be nice
Wizards does not just toss 5+ years of backstory out the window so that they can print what ever they want. Jace has no reason to be U/R even if he hung out with Niv for a while. There is a 55% chance of him being mono blue, 25% chance of him being U/B, 15% chance of being U/W, and 5% chance of him being U/R, and for the sake of it 0% chance of being U/G (I would laugh my butt off if WotC decided to print a U/G Jace though).
Also for the sake of it: Sorin, while being mostly black, had little reason for personal gain to return to Zendikar and try to keep the eldrazi under wraps. A full black PW would only act to keep the eldrazi imprisoned if they were actually freed, so it was not that big of a stretch for him to have been a W/B planeswalker.
Um, no, but they will toss it out to print whatever it is they think we want.
This is a true statement: they tossed out the destruction of the Guildpact in order to bring the guilds back. They made white Phyrexians. They made double-faced cards, and then took them away.
Wizards will do ANYTHING they darn please.
The world will not end if Jace is BR. It is an easy enough fix to give him red: "Jace was tired of not making the progress he felt he needed to make, so he started delving into the power he saw Chandra and Niv wield."
from the linked website, under the Prerelease info:
• 1 Guild booster pack:
o 14 Guild-aligned Return to Ravnica cards
o 1 Guild Prerelease participation promo card
1 Guild(-specific, I assume) Prerelease participation promo card ... shiny Guild Champion? the Legendary one? or the non-legendary?
Format breaking is exciting ... right up to the point it gets banned. I'd rather have decent cards like these than a bonkers one that gets banned right after I get it. (Confession: this may be projection because of what happened to me after Prime Time and Griselbrand).
The motivation I think might be best is seeking to strengthen the guilds over the guildless. If the guilds fail again and lose their prestige, they won't get it back. How do you strengthen the guilds? Give them reason to build up! I can totally see Niv instigating conflict between the other guilds. But then you need to safely release that built up pressure or steam. Can't attack the guildless directly, they'll rebel and the guilds will break down while trying to claim territory. Create a non-Ravnican danger (but NOT Eldrazi or Phyrexians).
Some believe the Azorius Senate only prevents things from happening. Prove them wrong with the "Azorius Advance" deck. While the detain ability locks up their defenses, your flying creatures will lay down the law.
Izzet Ingenuity - Hypersonic Dragon
The mages of the Izzet League run hot and cold— and sometimes both at once. The "Izzet Ingenuity" deck uses that tendency to your advantage. Bide your time, then unleash a blazing flurry of spells to take opponents off guard.
Rakdos Raid - Carnival Hellstead
The Cult of Rakdos has a flair for sadistic entertainment. Bring pain to all with the "Rakdos Raid" deck. While your unleashed creatures put the hurt on opponents, use the distraction to play a few well-placed dirty tricks.
Golgari Growth - Corpsejack Menace
The Golgari Swarm knows that the circle of life is a vicious one. The "Golgari Growth" deck puts the power of the scavenge ability in your hands, enabling your fallen creatures to strengthen their successors. Waste not, want not.
Selesnya Surge - Grove of the Guardian
The Selesnya Conclave relentlessly seeks to grow its ranks—both outward and upward. Use the populate ability to multiply your largest token creatures, then go forth and spread the good word. Grow big or go home!
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1053
How about you just mail it to me instead?
There are two other female Selesnyans shown after Trostani, but they are not shown in the typical planeswalker stance. The person you jumped on may have been referring to Trostani, or one of the later ones (the human-looking one touching the branchy-vine Simulacrum or the leafy dryad leading the army).
The problem with dual-colored walkers here could be that everyone gets mad because they either are only synergistic with the guild and have little to no impact outside the block or they don't mix with the guild at all and people complain the flavor isn't there. Hopefully Wizards can walk the line, but I don't know if it is realistic to expect that.
I don't think they are going to make a PW with both color matching and flavor ties to a guild. PWs should be roaming, expanding knowledge of the universe and adding opportunities, plus, a PW ambitions are so much bigger than getting tied to one organization. I don't think Jace will be heavily tied to the Izzet, despite the set artwork, just like Liliana didn't go on a throne hunting spree in Innistrad like that artwork would have indicated.
Personally, I like the idea of the dryad-looking lady who's leading the Selesnya army better as a mono-green walker, but agree that the Gorgon artwork appears more likely. But new mono-green and new mono-black walkers would be nice
Um, no, but they will toss it out to print whatever it is they think we want.
This is a true statement: they tossed out the destruction of the Guildpact in order to bring the guilds back. They made white Phyrexians. They made double-faced cards, and then took them away.
Wizards will do ANYTHING they darn please.
The world will not end if Jace is BR. It is an easy enough fix to give him red: "Jace was tired of not making the progress he felt he needed to make, so he started delving into the power he saw Chandra and Niv wield."
• 1 Guild booster pack:
o 14 Guild-aligned Return to Ravnica cards
o 1 Guild Prerelease participation promo card
1 Guild(-specific, I assume) Prerelease participation promo card ... shiny Guild Champion? the Legendary one? or the non-legendary?