WotC have repeatedly stated that they do not care if a Standard card breaks Modern because they can just ban it. If they don't print stuff like Serum Visions or Brainstorm in Standard anymore it's beacuse they simply don't want to have those cards in Standard.
Really? you think that this guys life must be to spoil cards to us? he only posts when hes got something, im going to guess he works logistically with wizards or a manufacturing shipping department so he gets to see cards or names of cards as they come through, is he going to risk his job for you? hes already doing that, i doubt he wants to do something that will get him caught, people like you who are quick to jump and rip on someone doing us a favor is why leakers dont leak. stop jumping to conclusion and sit back, be happy someones giving us something.
I am not saying he is a poor leaker, I am saying he is a liar. I am all for people leaking cards, however I do not approve of fooling players just to get a giggle.
I first believed the leak on the basis that someone posting from that account leaked other cards. But when the literally first spoilers following this leak contradict it, anyone is right to be skeptical.
I think it really depends on how the leaker saw the cards he leaked. If he only got a short glimpse at a list or pile of cards with mixed rarities it is easy to mix things up. Also, because of the price of Splinter Twin it would be quite easy to falsely perceive it as a red mythic. If the leaker got a closer and longer look, those kind of mistakes get less likely.
That said, I will wait until the next set of spoilers for my final judgement on the leaks. For now, I am happy for everything spoiled so far.
Seeing Fulminator Mage as a mythic as a Tron player pleases me. I do like these spoilers so far though. Considering buying a box for 220 euros..
where did we get confirmation of fulminator mage as a mythic? the source just said it was in but it wasn't in his list of mythics\
I'm hoping it gets bumped down to uncommon, because there's no reason why it should be a $40 card
Based on that. Then again the source MIGHT be wrong as you said. But the point being I based my comment on the current information.
I guess you read the source wrong then. The source says Mage is in the set, but says nothing about its rarity.
Side note Gerard mentioned siding out a land in some matches and I found that the deck can run off 23 lands without too much trouble especially in long Grindy match ups.
If I remeber correctly he also said he would probably cut one land and add a Quicken. The deck does run lots of sorceries, and at worst it would be another cantrip...did anyone test it yet?
How about wizards/LGS stores allow for pre-ordering of individual packs instead of just boxes? I mean this would allow all parties to have a piece of the Modern Masters pie in quantities that they feel comfortable with.
That would be a cluster**** for stores. Can you imagine keeping track of several hundred preorders when you're not set up to do so? And realistically, I can assure you that these stores aren't set up with a system like gamestop or anything, they're not prepared to handle a large number of preorders. Plus, where is the business advantage in selling single packs via preorder? The reason you can preorder a case at slightly over MSRP is that it moves a large quantity, quickly, allowing you to replenish capital, which is very important when you're ordering a product that is more than twice what you normally pay on a per box basis for a smaller amount. Any stores letting people preorder under MSRP are just being silly, and fully deserve to get taken advantage of.
Nah I thought there was a variety that was using the SSG that could go off turn three. Maybe I'm mistaken or am misremembering. I thought it was really inconsistent though.
You would need two Simian Spirit Guides for that to work though. Going for that logic, Twin could even have a god draw turn 2 kill with the whole set of SSGs...I wouldn't want to wait for that to happen though.
if burn is OP print a BG card that gives tons of life in a wording that bypasses skullcrack (such as: GGB your life total is set to 20)
That doesn't even work, because if an effect says "If your life total is below 20, your life total becomes 20" it means "If your life total is lower than 20, you gain life equal to the difference between your current life total and 20." So you would still gain life and Skullcrack/Atarka's Command could prevent that. See Resolute Archangel for example. The ruling for that one is
If your life total is less than your starting life total, you actually gain the appropriate ammount of life. Other effetcs that interact with life gain will interact with Resolute Archangel's effect accordingly.
You would need a card that says something like
Life gain can't be prevented this turn. You gain 10 life.
On a different note, how do you think Dromoka's Command would perform against Burn? If Skullcrack does get replaced by AC, it sounds like a possible 2 for 1, especially if the Burn player has an Eidolon out.
They cast Lightning Bolt and take 2 from the Eidolon.
You cast Dromoka's Command, choose prevent damage from the Bolt and sac enchantment.
You take 2 from the Eidolon, the Bolt is prevented, they sac Eidolon.
It could equal 7+ life, depending on your hand and the board. Seems good to me, although maybe too situational.
Twin is highly effectively policed by abrupt decay and BGX in general. [...] I've said it time and time again, twin isn't really an issue and is quite unlikely to eat a ban unless a new printing pushes it over the edge, which is pretty unlikely given design direction.
Exactly. And lets also not forget that Twin just got itself a nice little hate card in the form of Rending Volley, which will hurt it as well.
I really dislike the amount of GBx and linear decks, but let's hope something changes in the upcoming months. I will say that without Sword of the Meek, Burn is going to be really scary and packing Atarka's Command. Burn could very well reach number 1.
Atarka's Command is not that scary, let's get real.
A slightly better (most of the time) Skullcrack that occasionally matches Boros Charm is not a huge game changer. The biggest issue is that it requires burn decks to now actually be firmly 3 colors to run the card, and that means they lose ground in the already very close race against opposing Aggro decks, mirror included. And it's not like they really need 8 Skullcracks. It helps them, but I don't think it comes close to pushing them to "Best deck". Burn will always have problems with 2 things: Good Opposing Sideboard cards, and it's own bad draws. Atarka's Command gives them one more tool to fight against lifegain, but they can only fit so many cards in the 75 without sacrificing something. And playing a full 3 colors main is certainly a sacrifice.
Also, what makes you think that Sword of the Meek doesn't just go into a BG/x deck? It obviously favors the Esper Shard, but it isn't hard to imagine a BUG list splashing white for Lingering Souls getting seriously insane because of this cute little combo. Sword of the Meek might beat up most of the top Tier of decks right now, but there isn't much keeping it in check on the flipside. So you wipe out Affinity, Infect, maybe Burn, and probably put a big dent in Twin, and then it's just ThopterSword vs. Combo, the Format. Doesn't seem awesome either.
I would imagine that to get mileage out of ThopterSword, one has to build around it for consistency. Such tools for said consistency don't readily lend themselves to BG in my experience. Could you provide a mock decklist for a BUG Sword deck that has the same level of approximate consistency as either a dedicated Junk or Sultai list that you believe would support your above described deck? Personally, I just don't see how cutting 6-8 slots from either or without building in the requisite back up for it would be that good.
I don't believe it would have to be that dedicated to Thopter/Sword. Sultai has enough wincons that the combo could be just one of them. They want to go long anyway, and Thopter/Sword adds some nice inevitability to the deck. Here is a quick draft of how it could look like:
Just wondering if the deck would be better if you cut the combo and played 2x Batterskull and 2 other random cards. Obviously once both pieces get together (and doesn't get Decayed, Inquisitioned, Spell Snared, ScOozed, Karned, Pulsed and whatnot) the combo is obviously stronger, but I can't picture that happening very often. Batterskull just seems more reliable here.
Well, if I am getting Karn'ed, I probably wouldn't win either way Of most of the other cards you mentioned, 4 of 5 are more or less exclusive to BGx, and getting only 1 or two turns worth of activating the combo is usually game over for them. While Batterskull is certainly good against Junk, it's not great once they have Rhino or Tasigur out. I would rather have a Batterskull in the side for this.
Spell Snare is not really a concern, as it is usually a 2-of at most and only really played in Twin, which is a favorable match up anyway. I probably wouldn't even be mad if they countered a combo piece, as long as I can stick a Goyf afterwards. Goyf can grow up to 7/8 against Twin (once a Jace hits the yard) and is almost impossible to remove at that point.
Thopter does shine against the more challenging MUs though, namely Affinity and Burn, and it is not bad against Infect as well. For these games I could even see boarding in more combo pieces. Batterskull would be horrible here, as it is way too slow and bad against Skullcrack
The deck has quite a bit of filtering and card draw, so assembling the combo should become easier.
Not saying I am sold on Thopter/Sword in Sultai, but I would be excited to try it out.
I really dislike the amount of GBx and linear decks, but let's hope something changes in the upcoming months. I will say that without Sword of the Meek, Burn is going to be really scary and packing Atarka's Command. Burn could very well reach number 1.
Atarka's Command is not that scary, let's get real.
A slightly better (most of the time) Skullcrack that occasionally matches Boros Charm is not a huge game changer. The biggest issue is that it requires burn decks to now actually be firmly 3 colors to run the card, and that means they lose ground in the already very close race against opposing Aggro decks, mirror included. And it's not like they really need 8 Skullcracks. It helps them, but I don't think it comes close to pushing them to "Best deck". Burn will always have problems with 2 things: Good Opposing Sideboard cards, and it's own bad draws. Atarka's Command gives them one more tool to fight against lifegain, but they can only fit so many cards in the 75 without sacrificing something. And playing a full 3 colors main is certainly a sacrifice.
Also, what makes you think that Sword of the Meek doesn't just go into a BG/x deck? It obviously favors the Esper Shard, but it isn't hard to imagine a BUG list splashing white for Lingering Souls getting seriously insane because of this cute little combo. Sword of the Meek might beat up most of the top Tier of decks right now, but there isn't much keeping it in check on the flipside. So you wipe out Affinity, Infect, maybe Burn, and probably put a big dent in Twin, and then it's just ThopterSword vs. Combo, the Format. Doesn't seem awesome either.
I would imagine that to get mileage out of ThopterSword, one has to build around it for consistency. Such tools for said consistency don't readily lend themselves to BG in my experience. Could you provide a mock decklist for a BUG Sword deck that has the same level of approximate consistency as either a dedicated Junk or Sultai list that you believe would support your above described deck? Personally, I just don't see how cutting 6-8 slots from either or without building in the requisite back up for it would be that good.
I don't believe it would have to be that dedicated to Thopter/Sword. Sultai has enough wincons that the combo could be just one of them. They want to go long anyway, and Thopter/Sword adds some nice inevitability to the deck. Here is a quick draft of how it could look like:
I am hoping for decent and modern playable instants for each command. Also a CMC of 4 for all would be great.
I am especially interested in the UB Command and would like something like this
Silumgar's command 2BU
Instant
Choose two:
- Counter target noncreature spell.
- Destroy target creature with converted mana cost 3 or less.
- Target player puts the top two cards of their library into their graveyard. Draw a card.
- Target player loses 3 life.
Dig Through Time and Treasure Cruise say hi
WotC have repeatedly stated that they do not care if a Standard card breaks Modern because they can just ban it. If they don't print stuff like Serum Visions or Brainstorm in Standard anymore it's beacuse they simply don't want to have those cards in Standard.
My guess is
The phoenix seems likely with all that 5 color stuff spoiled so far, Yuki with the spirits and Algae Gharial plays into the G/B archetype.
Just hoping none of that will be a rare...
What would make you believe Noble Hierarch is mythic? A mana dork seems like the unmythic-iest possible card...
Not neccessarily. I wouldn't bet my money on the unconfirmed ones yet, but many of those are at least very likely reprints.
I think it really depends on how the leaker saw the cards he leaked. If he only got a short glimpse at a list or pile of cards with mixed rarities it is easy to mix things up. Also, because of the price of Splinter Twin it would be quite easy to falsely perceive it as a red mythic. If the leaker got a closer and longer look, those kind of mistakes get less likely.
That said, I will wait until the next set of spoilers for my final judgement on the leaks. For now, I am happy for everything spoiled so far.
It also means we have one mythic spot freed up for more goodness ^^
I guess you read the source wrong then. The source says Mage is in the set, but says nothing about its rarity.
If I remeber correctly he also said he would probably cut one land and add a Quicken. The deck does run lots of sorceries, and at worst it would be another cantrip...did anyone test it yet?
Well, have a look at this then: https://www.magiccardmarket.eu/Products/Boosters/Modern Masters 2015 Booster
You would need two Simian Spirit Guides for that to work though. Going for that logic, Twin could even have a god draw turn 2 kill with the whole set of SSGs...I wouldn't want to wait for that to happen though.
That doesn't even work, because if an effect says "If your life total is below 20, your life total becomes 20" it means "If your life total is lower than 20, you gain life equal to the difference between your current life total and 20." So you would still gain life and Skullcrack/Atarka's Command could prevent that. See Resolute Archangel for example. The ruling for that one is
You would need a card that says something like
On a different note, how do you think Dromoka's Command would perform against Burn? If Skullcrack does get replaced by AC, it sounds like a possible 2 for 1, especially if the Burn player has an Eidolon out.
They cast Lightning Bolt and take 2 from the Eidolon.
You cast Dromoka's Command, choose prevent damage from the Bolt and sac enchantment.
You take 2 from the Eidolon, the Bolt is prevented, they sac Eidolon.
It could equal 7+ life, depending on your hand and the board. Seems good to me, although maybe too situational.
Exactly. And lets also not forget that Twin just got itself a nice little hate card in the form of Rending Volley, which will hurt it as well.
Well, if I am getting Karn'ed, I probably wouldn't win either way Of most of the other cards you mentioned, 4 of 5 are more or less exclusive to BGx, and getting only 1 or two turns worth of activating the combo is usually game over for them. While Batterskull is certainly good against Junk, it's not great once they have Rhino or Tasigur out. I would rather have a Batterskull in the side for this.
Spell Snare is not really a concern, as it is usually a 2-of at most and only really played in Twin, which is a favorable match up anyway. I probably wouldn't even be mad if they countered a combo piece, as long as I can stick a Goyf afterwards. Goyf can grow up to 7/8 against Twin (once a Jace hits the yard) and is almost impossible to remove at that point.
Thopter does shine against the more challenging MUs though, namely Affinity and Burn, and it is not bad against Infect as well. For these games I could even see boarding in more combo pieces. Batterskull would be horrible here, as it is way too slow and bad against Skullcrack
The deck has quite a bit of filtering and card draw, so assembling the combo should become easier.
Not saying I am sold on Thopter/Sword in Sultai, but I would be excited to try it out.
I don't believe it would have to be that dedicated to Thopter/Sword. Sultai has enough wincons that the combo could be just one of them. They want to go long anyway, and Thopter/Sword adds some nice inevitability to the deck. Here is a quick draft of how it could look like:
1 Academy Ruins
1 Breeding Pool
3 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Forest
2 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tectonic Edge
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Watery Grave
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
// Instants
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Anticipate
3 Mana Leak
1 Dismember
2 Cryptic Command
1 Murderous Cut
// Sorceries
4 Serum Visions
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
1 Compulsive Research
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Damnation
2 Sword of the Meek
2 Thopter Foundry
// Planeswalkers
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
I am especially interested in the UB Command and would like something like this
That would make it
- Negate
- Smother
- Thought Scour
- Bump in the Night