MTG Salvation

Quote from Duke Daemon

I think the problem with BNG is that so many of the cards already have better versions in older sets;

[...]

Spellwild Ouphe(u) > Hero of Iroas(r)
Kemba, Kha Regent(r) > Brimaz, King of Oreskos(m)
Searing Blaze(c) > Searing Blood(u)
Asceticism(r) > Archetype of Endurance(r)

The first two are gross misvaluations (Kemba, better than Brimaz? Really?), the third is very much meta dependent (you'd rather run Blood anywhere 3-toughness creatures are prevalent) and Asceticism and Archetype of Endurance are not comparable at all.

All in all, this is a fine second set. Has lots of nice additions to existing archetypes, though I wish there were something to give rise to a new deck, which I don't see. Going to give White Heroes a try again to see if it works.

I'm disappointed that these are supposed to be the minor gods but they are much flashier than the main five.

1. Does them having movie rights necessarily mean they will make a movie?

2. It is true that Magic doesn't have anywhere near the fanbase of superhero comics or Tolkien or whichever YA novel is the thing nowadays. Though fantasy in general does, and Magic has the advantage of being really easy to build around, as it is about following extraordinary people into new worlds that can be anything. It isn't anything a hype machine like those these studios have can't change.

3. Something being intended to be the "next big thing" doesn't mean they will be bad. Lord of the Rings was great. So was The Avengers. The main thing is whether they get someone who loves the base material and loves movies to work on it.

4. Following the above, it is not really telling that someone from Creative isn't involved. Someone who loves the material, loves movies and is good at making them is all we need.

I'm pessimistic and am fearing it will become one of those generic fantasy movies that end up rotting in DVD stores.

But if it isn't and doesn't? That will be amazing.

You know, when I saw the holofoil symbol (without knowing what it was), my first thought was that they were introducing Duel Masters mana rules and christ if I'm not going to complain about it.

But then I read it and it isn't that bad. It sure is going to need a bit of getting used to.

I was working on this and planning on trying it out on a Daily until... well, you know. Its test history is only the Tournament Practice Room, which isn't much, but I figured I could share it anyway. So here it is:


How is it that this works? Cycle the cyclers, cast some rituals, cast Reaping the Graves and return the cyclers to hand, cycle then again, hitting another ritual, Reaping the Graves or other cyclers, and go on until you can cast a couple Songs of the Damned into Consume Spirit for lethal. Ideally, you go off around turn four, but I don't think I did enough testing to say for completely sure.

It is rather risky, since the 2 life from cycling Wraiths and Probes add fast, and sometimes Stompy can just seize the opportunity and kill you. You play pretty much solitaire. Aim at cycling at least three cards during the first two turns. This either wins fast or doesn't at all: paying a lot of life makes it easier for aggro decks, and depending on Consume Spirit as the sole wincon makes it easier for counterspells and discard.

Any thoughts?

Could you even make a living out of MTGO tournaments? Always thought that even if you went infinite, your actual profit would be enough to buy cards you needed for future games but too small to actually live on.

Quote from Jermo48

You mean adults whining about wanting to play a game on a level playing field without spending thousands of dollars?

Actually, yes, I do. You don't have a right to "play a game on a level playing field without spending thousands of dollars", in the sense you're using it here, if it means hurting the company that produces the game. Magic is not an essential item. It is a luxury. If you can't afford Vintage, then you can't afford Vintage and that's that. You can't afford a Ferrari, you can't afford going to those multimillion Poker tournaments, you can't afford many things in the world.

Not being able to afford one (1) format that you want to play, in a game with a multitude of formats -- a game, mind you, that already is unaffordable to many middle-class people in its competitive form (but you can afford those parts of it, so screw them, right?) -- is not a grand injustice that Wizards has to forfeit their self-interest as a company to remedy.

Quote from Fatty McElbows

It amazes me that we live in capitalistic society, but consumers are often dismissed as 'entitled' and 'moochers' and 'want everything handed to them' when expressing an opinion on a company's practices.

There is a difference between "man, I sure wish this company would reprint the Power Nine" and "god why don't those greedy bastards reprint the P9 so a Nice Player like me can play along those rich jerks???"

Quote from fnord

The problem with that is that WoTC makes lots of decisions. People generally agree with some and disagree with others.

There is a difference between talking about Wizards's bad business decisions, talking about decisions you personally don't like and getting all "but I waaaaant to play Vintage!" It is like the dual land talk all over again. As a player, I would love duals at uncommon -- that is where they belong according to every standard MaRo gave for rarity --, but it is better for Wizards if they put them at rare so the sets sell more.

Now, of course, I'm not sure if not reprinting the Power Nine is a bad business decision, and that is an interesting discussion to have, but that sure isn't the aspect the adults whining over the sheer injustice of a piece of cardboard being inaccessible to them are whining about.

Quote from Magicman657

I own an actual Black Lotus that I paid over a grand for and I whole heartedly support reprinting Power Nine so that they are affordable to newer players. I don't care if I lose money on it if everyone else gets a chance to enjoy it. Is that me feeling entitled to cheap Power Nine too?

Capitalism arguments are stupid and I would be all for a system where new players could also afford to play at the same level as me, even if it meant my collection lost a significant portion of its value. Not everyone wants cheap cards for themselves because they can't afford it; I personally want cheap cards so there are more skilled players able to challenge me on even footing.

That is cool. If you can get everyone who owns Power to agree on this, then you can send this to Wizards and maybe they will shift their stance on reprinting Power. Keep in mind that Wizards has broken many rules and did plenty of obvious cash grabs (mythic rares, for one), but since they resolved to adhere firmly to the Reserved List, they never broke that. There must be a reason.

Quote from Fatty McElbows

Look! It's the not-at-all-overused 'entitlement' meme. I've never seen that used as some sort of invincible trump card to win arguments before in the history of anything ever.

Entitlement sure applies when the situation is about adults whining over the sheer injustice that certain pieces of cardboard are inaccessible to them. Magic cards aren't anything essential and the whining over how Wizards should give you the chance of an actual Black Lotus for $7 is absolutely ridiculous.

Caught up with the spoiler now and Darksteel Mutation should really have been called Darksteel Metamorphosis.

"One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a darksteel bug."

Quote from quizzlemanizzle

spear would be better but the legendary thing makes it at best a 2 of - so I'd say a mix of both and 2 of each at the most

This is the best choice. Both of them aren't that far in terms of utility and playing a mix allows you to put two buffers at a time instead of only one.

Quote from Xyx

Could someone clarify something for me? I only play paper, but I occasionally watch Pauper vids. Why do people dislike Glimmerpost? I get that Cloudpost is "really good", but Glimmerpost... just gains life. Is playing an extra turn of Magic a problem? Would anyone prefer a meta dominated by monocolor 1-drop decks?

Glimmer makes it much harder for any deck to kill Post, especially once Ghostly Flicker gets into the mix.

Bouderfall (6RR, Instant, 5 damage divided as you choose among any targets) grabbed my attention. Fetchable with Teachings and a Post base won't find the cost too scary. 1-of in UR Post?

Omenspeaker, Benthic Giant and Read the Bones also all look like great contributions.

This can see play in a deck with high amounts of redundancy. That it sends stuff to the grave also makes it interesting. Not sure if there are decks that will want either, though; as pure Fact or Fiction, it's not very good.

I think people who are seeing Heliod as a controllish card are seeing it wrong. He complements a white beats deck by being a 5/6 indestructible ocasionally while letting it recover rather aggressively from a sweeper.

Quote from LeoninKha

Thats a whole different thing

Agreed, efficient removal is being made rarer, not ceasing to exist. It only really impacts Limited (and Pauper, I guess, but Pauper is well-provided enough with removal anyway).