There are the little red guys who care about land coming into play or going to the graveyard, after WotC's stated policy of nerfing land destruction.
As I said somewhere else, I think WotC likes to make precons showcasing each set's themes. Since a precon hasn't been printed yet showcasing the Akki/LD theme, I suspect one will appear as a Saviors precon, including an extra Saviors card or two that fits the theme.
I love it when people have a go at me and then they want to play with cards like avalanchers and blizzard herders.Come on guys get a grip.Disscussion is good though.
Any Block Sligh list played outside of the 0-2 bracket will have 4 Akki Avalanchers.
Blizzard-Herders are arguable, but Avalanchers? They're a given.
"In the largest metropolis of a city-covered plane"
I think a bit too much has been made of "city-covered" -- i.e., I've seen a lot of people assuming that the plane is onlycity.
There will be wilderness areas. The implication of "largest metropolis" is that there's more than one metropolis. Something has to separate the largest metropolis from the smallest metropolis. The areas between the cities give them room for green and red creatures without having to print something like "Central Park Druid" or "Backyard Squirrel" or something.
Just from the look of the pic, I wouldn't be surprised if it's something like Byzantium, and the late medieval Eastern Roman Empire. That'd mean a city-based culture with well-trained professional armies and a tradition of scholarship, besieged in its later period by tribes of hostile "barbarians."
Regardless of whether there's a historical inspiration, I'd say the city will be depicted in its later period, when decadence has set in, as this would allow more opportunities for factionalism, black cards (the rot eating at the heart of the metropolis), encroaching tribes (w00t Goblins!) and wilderness, etc.
Anyway, BoK, as a whole, is an okay set, and I'm sure I will crack a draft booster or two or ten of it in the near future. And Magic is definitely not dying.
The point I was trying to make that nowadays, many, if not most, cards in a Magic set are not 'designed'. They are cranked up, stamped, mass produced, call it as you may. Those cards are definitely not a labor of love, but the product of a standard factory-process.
OK, I didn't catch this point, and I do agree with you on this to some degree.
I think WotC is a bit too concerned with "brand" at this point -- by which I mean, they want "iconic" characters and a very well-defined set of characteristics for each color -- the much-maligned color pie. They've sacrificed some of the early game's quirkiness for consistency.
I obviously can't say for sure that "Magic branding" is a bad thing. It certainly seems like it's working from a business standpoint. You have to admit there's also a certain comfort to knowing certain broad types of deck will probably be supported by each set -- you can alwayscount on there being undercosted white weenies, solid red burn, black discard and creature destruction effects, blue counters, etc.
I agree that Magic has lost some of its weird charm in the attempted transition to a mass market game. But when 1,000 people show up at a Regionals, or 1,500 show up at a foreignGrand Prix, you can hardly fault them for doing things this way. But I do see what you mean and to some extent agree.
BUT (usually a code word for "ignore everything I've said up to this point, because I'm about to be a total ass")
I strongly disagree that this isn't a labor of love for Mark Rosewater (who didn't even head up R&D until recently). If you have ever met Mark Rosewater, I challenge you to tell me with a straight face that the man does not love Magic. He does not have free reign to do whatever he wants. No Magic developer does ... they have to deal with Branding and their pie charts, etc.
All that said, your bit was well-written. I just get a little squirrelly when it seems like what I consider the neatest game on earth is getting constantly bashed, and I think WotC does make a good faith effort to keep everyone as happy as possible under the circumstances.
Goon and a restriction on Roar of the Wurm or Mongrel... :/
This will not happen in a million years. It didn't happen (and didn't need to happen) in Standard, and there were less decks to compete with Goblins and Madness. Goon?! Um.
And Extended does not, has never had, and will never have a Restricted list.
Affinity stuff
I honestly think the metagame will compensate for Affinity post-rotation. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if you're right and I'm wrong on that. The specter of banning is why I don't currently own any Ravagers, though I have the rest of the deck lying around.
One thing to check out on rk post's site ... he sells artist proofs for $5 each, and for (I think) $10 will draw a neat b&w portrait on the back. Occasionally you'll see one on eBay -- the example I saw was an Avatar of Woe artist proof, and on the back was a face portrait of the Avatar in black ink, shaded with gold and silver metallic. SO COOL.
Probably the next Magic art purchase I make will be a similarly customized Vulshok Sorcerer.
He is also a very nice guy. I just wish they'd give him more red commissions. I *love* his work, but most of the stuff he paints will never end up in one of my decks.
Mike Sutfin used to be in a really cool hardcore band called Charles Bronson, and later the Killers (not the "Somebody Told Me" band). I've never heard the Killers, but at some point I'm going to pick up some off him. But if you like hardcore at all, you should really look for Charles Bronson.
I also think the banhammer will be coming down hard right after the rotation, though.
What cards do you think are candidates for banning? I think it's clear that Skullclamp should never be unbanned in any relevant format. Other than that, what do you think should be banned?
I'm looking forward to a slower environ where I can create a fun deck that will also do well on the tourney sceen.
It won't satisfy the "slower" criterion, but in terms of diversity, Extended is an absolutely blast right now. There are at least a dozen decks that can t8 on a given day. Obviously there's a tier 1, a tier 2, and a rogue tier, and every deck has bad matchups, but there's no 800-lb gorilla.
I think they're doing a great job of balancing sets these days. After the Extended rotation, only Entomb and Skullclamp will be banned, and I don't think Entomb will remain banned.
It's a stupid inside joke based on the last name/screen name of a long-running fixture at another site. It's as funny here as it is there.
As I said somewhere else, I think WotC likes to make precons showcasing each set's themes. Since a precon hasn't been printed yet showcasing the Akki/LD theme, I suspect one will appear as a Saviors precon, including an extra Saviors card or two that fits the theme.
Any Block Sligh list played outside of the 0-2 bracket will have 4 Akki Avalanchers.
Blizzard-Herders are arguable, but Avalanchers? They're a given.
I think a bit too much has been made of "city-covered" -- i.e., I've seen a lot of people assuming that the plane is onlycity.
There will be wilderness areas. The implication of "largest metropolis" is that there's more than one metropolis. Something has to separate the largest metropolis from the smallest metropolis. The areas between the cities give them room for green and red creatures without having to print something like "Central Park Druid" or "Backyard Squirrel" or something.
Just from the look of the pic, I wouldn't be surprised if it's something like Byzantium, and the late medieval Eastern Roman Empire. That'd mean a city-based culture with well-trained professional armies and a tradition of scholarship, besieged in its later period by tribes of hostile "barbarians."
Regardless of whether there's a historical inspiration, I'd say the city will be depicted in its later period, when decadence has set in, as this would allow more opportunities for factionalism, black cards (the rot eating at the heart of the metropolis), encroaching tribes (w00t Goblins!) and wilderness, etc.
No worries, man.
1. Shouldn't Yukora have supertype Legendary Creature?
2. I believe the second word of the flavor text for In the Web of War should be "desperation" instead of "depression."
OK, I didn't catch this point, and I do agree with you on this to some degree.
I think WotC is a bit too concerned with "brand" at this point -- by which I mean, they want "iconic" characters and a very well-defined set of characteristics for each color -- the much-maligned color pie. They've sacrificed some of the early game's quirkiness for consistency.
I obviously can't say for sure that "Magic branding" is a bad thing. It certainly seems like it's working from a business standpoint. You have to admit there's also a certain comfort to knowing certain broad types of deck will probably be supported by each set -- you can alwayscount on there being undercosted white weenies, solid red burn, black discard and creature destruction effects, blue counters, etc.
I agree that Magic has lost some of its weird charm in the attempted transition to a mass market game. But when 1,000 people show up at a Regionals, or 1,500 show up at a foreignGrand Prix, you can hardly fault them for doing things this way. But I do see what you mean and to some extent agree.
BUT (usually a code word for "ignore everything I've said up to this point, because I'm about to be a total ass")
I strongly disagree that this isn't a labor of love for Mark Rosewater (who didn't even head up R&D until recently). If you have ever met Mark Rosewater, I challenge you to tell me with a straight face that the man does not love Magic. He does not have free reign to do whatever he wants. No Magic developer does ... they have to deal with Branding and their pie charts, etc.
All that said, your bit was well-written. I just get a little squirrelly when it seems like what I consider the neatest game on earth is getting constantly bashed, and I think WotC does make a good faith effort to keep everyone as happy as possible under the circumstances.
This will not happen in a million years. It didn't happen (and didn't need to happen) in Standard, and there were less decks to compete with Goblins and Madness. Goon?! Um.
And Extended does not, has never had, and will never have a Restricted list.
I honestly think the metagame will compensate for Affinity post-rotation. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if you're right and I'm wrong on that. The specter of banning is why I don't currently own any Ravagers, though I have the rest of the deck lying around.
Probably the next Magic art purchase I make will be a similarly customized Vulshok Sorcerer.
He is also a very nice guy. I just wish they'd give him more red commissions. I *love* his work, but most of the stuff he paints will never end up in one of my decks.
What cards do you think are candidates for banning? I think it's clear that Skullclamp should never be unbanned in any relevant format. Other than that, what do you think should be banned?
It won't satisfy the "slower" criterion, but in terms of diversity, Extended is an absolutely blast right now. There are at least a dozen decks that can t8 on a given day. Obviously there's a tier 1, a tier 2, and a rogue tier, and every deck has bad matchups, but there's no 800-lb gorilla.
I think they're doing a great job of balancing sets these days. After the Extended rotation, only Entomb and Skullclamp will be banned, and I don't think Entomb will remain banned.