I agree with what numerous people have already said: the uncommon lands are for -NEW- players. If you don't like them or have better then sell the Refuges to someone who will want them. WotC is not coming to your house and forcing you to use them.
Experienced players got two rare cycles.
There's also the common cycle we haven't even seen 4/5 of as yet.
A number of the fan suggestions for the Uncommon cycle seemed better than these. However, I am hopeful there will be a way to bounce lands in this set that will make the lifegain even more useful.
I prefer that all non-Legendary lands in a cycle have the same or similar effects. When each land gets a different one we end up with the gulf between Moonring Island and Leechridden Swamp.
There are twenty non-basic lands in this set. Some of them are going to be better than others. Each person will find one he or she hates least.
I'm wondering is the penalty for the uncommon cycle is some kind of bounce. It looks like the right amount of text when compated to saySimic Growth Chamber.
The idea is probably to help landfall by getting a land card back to your hand.
I think there's a Spire Owl reprint. We've got two uses of spire and two of owl. Also, two "red" lands that were likely to use the word spire have already been named.
Edit: Oh, do we know the last reprint have a one word name?
I don't see what there is to complain about. This guy is amazing and he has two applicable creature types. Heck, even if he got a +1/+1 counter only when you played another card with the same name he'd be good.
If you think about it Ally is a step toward color doesn't matter and also creature type doesn't matter. These Allies have nothing in common except having the Ally creature type and even that is in addition to other creature types.
Allies are basically slivers that don't effect your opponents' slivers.
I didn't know Thalakos had actually become a creature type. I have to say though that I disagree about Dauthi and Soltari never having been human. It seems like the storyline intention was to have them be humans that had been trapped between worlds in a Star Trek-like transporter accident. Their diffused or inhuman appearance would seem to be an artistic choice about how an onlooker would view their phantom status.
I mean they all had "profession as creature type" which was really only done with human beings at that stage. There was also a hound and an illusion thrown in. The idea of going from human to "human-like but non-human" seems to have happened much later.
Anyway, Thalakos, Dauthi, Soltari, and Kor are all their own races now. So be it.
The funny thing is if you look at mythology elves seem to be every color but green. They're very concerned with artifice, bargaining, death and burial, and civilization. They seem WUB to me.
Kor were originally humans. That's where the whole Kor-Vec-Dal thing came from during Tempest. Making Kor a creature type distinct from Human was a retroactive action made during Time Spiral. It was done because white didn't have enough creature types. Dauthi and Soltari were also just Humans. I'm assuming Thalakos would also be its own creature type now if they cared to bother.
I would like to see an Orc or Dwarf now and again.
Taryn Shadowhand3BB
Planeswalker - Taryn
+2: Target player discards the top two cards of his/her library.
-X: Search target player's library for a card with a converted mana cost of X or less. You may cast it this turn or on your next turn without paying its mana cost.
-9: All players gain 2 life for each non-land permanent he/she controls then loses 2 life for each card in his/her graveyard.
[4]
Very cool. Do the two cards from the first ability go into the graveyard or get removed from the game?
Where is the card from the second ability while you're waiting to use it? I assume removed from the game. What happens if you don't play it? Do they get it back in their graveyard or is it just gone?
The ultimate ability is a lot of math. As a player using Taryn you may be scratching your head a lot.
______________
Rumbling Volcano
Land
Rumbling Volcano comes into play tapped.
:symtap:: Add R to your mana pool and put a charge counter on Rumbling Volcano.
Remove three charge counters from Rumbling Volcano: Add R to your mana pool.
I played a Red-White deck back during the time Unlimited was one of the only sets available. This was back when a Mox was $8-12 and I thought that was ridiculous. I remember being told it wasn't a good idea because red and white were enemies.
Experienced players got two rare cycles.
There's also the common cycle we haven't even seen 4/5 of as yet.
I prefer that all non-Legendary lands in a cycle have the same or similar effects. When each land gets a different one we end up with the gulf between Moonring Island and Leechridden Swamp.
There are twenty non-basic lands in this set. Some of them are going to be better than others. Each person will find one he or she hates least.
The idea is probably to help landfall by getting a land card back to your hand.
That made me smile. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that thought.
Edit: Oh, do we know the last reprint have a one word name?
Tonight we're going to party like it's 1995.
Allies are basically slivers that don't effect your opponents' slivers.
I didn't know Thalakos had actually become a creature type. I have to say though that I disagree about Dauthi and Soltari never having been human. It seems like the storyline intention was to have them be humans that had been trapped between worlds in a Star Trek-like transporter accident. Their diffused or inhuman appearance would seem to be an artistic choice about how an onlooker would view their phantom status.
I mean they all had "profession as creature type" which was really only done with human beings at that stage. There was also a hound and an illusion thrown in. The idea of going from human to "human-like but non-human" seems to have happened much later.
Anyway, Thalakos, Dauthi, Soltari, and Kor are all their own races now. So be it.
I would like to see an Orc or Dwarf now and again.
Very cool. Do the two cards from the first ability go into the graveyard or get removed from the game?
Where is the card from the second ability while you're waiting to use it? I assume removed from the game. What happens if you don't play it? Do they get it back in their graveyard or is it just gone?
The ultimate ability is a lot of math. As a player using Taryn you may be scratching your head a lot.
______________
Rumbling Volcano
Land
Rumbling Volcano comes into play tapped.
:symtap:: Add R to your mana pool and put a charge counter on Rumbling Volcano.
Remove three charge counters from Rumbling Volcano: Add R to your mana pool.
Ironclaw Orcs, Disenchant,Swords to Plowshares, Lightningbolt, Savannah Lions, and Serra Angels.