I'm sure it's wonderful for sellers, but I'd never buy from a seller using the GSP. Fees are determined by the final value of the sale, which isn't necessarily reflective of the item's true value. I also don't like how I can't even filter out sellers that use it.
For example, in this auction (mods, please delete if I can't link to eBay auctions) the import charges are $11.77 for a $60 item in addition to $10.50 to actually ship the cards, which means I'm actually paying more than SCG or anywhere else. I can understand why sellers would want to use it to relieve themselves of the liability, but it's just not worth the price.
Semi-unrelated: the one time I did buy something with the GSP, I was charged import fees at the door anyway. I can echo Gatt's concerns that the low-level eBay help desk doesn't know a thing about it, and it took several hours of phone calls and explaining the situation for me to get the fees refunded.
Scrying isn't evergreen iirc, and I think Maro might have confirmed they avoid block mechanics on planeswalkers. Even if so, I don't think scrying and searching would be on the same card since the shuffle makes them a little counterproductive.
I'm sold on the bounce and search abilities though.
Phyrexian Ingester's Imprint works the same way as any other ETB in that once its ability is put on the stack and the active player passes priority, your opponent has the opportunity to respond before the ETB resolves.
So yes, it can be Searing Speared before a creature is Imprinted. The Ingester will die, but the ability will still resolve so the targeted creature will still be exiled.
i) If you Wave for >15, you have the option of putting Emrakul onto the battlefield (although you won't get the extra turn as it wasn't cast).
ii) If you Wave for <15, or choose not to put Emrakul onto the battlefield, Emrakul and all other cards not put into the battlefield are put into your graveyard as part of Genesis Wave's resolution. Its ability will trigger (because Genesis Wave has to resolve before any ETB triggers are put onto the stack), you'll shuffle your graveyard in, and then Eternal Witness's ETB trigger will resolve.
So in short, you won't be able to return Emrakul or any other card in your graveyard before it Emrakul shuffles it all in.
Could be enemy in BNG and ally in JOU... Something tells me they don't want to favor either side anymore after printing GTC duals first.
They put the GTC duals first just to give those guild colours the spotlight after the RTR pairs for more attention this time last year.
I could see the next five duals being spread out the same way the DKA and AVR ability lands were, but then again last time the cycle was unbalanced because AVR was drafted on its own, which kind of compensated (or probably overcompensated) for the extended period of time that DKA was on the market.
There's an awkward conflict in Dimir mill decks in that you have to decide whether you want to win with creature damage or by milling them out. You could mill to power up creatures like Consuming Aberration but it's kind of a lot of effort to go through.
I'm probably just in the middle of my late-night round of idealistic, unfeasible deck ideas but I'm considering a green splash for Sylvan Caryatid and...Doorkeeper. Axebane Guardian helps ramp as well, and with ramp Mind Grind becomes a lot better. Prophet of Kruphix enables double Doorkeeper, Gatecreeper Vine soaks up damage and fixes your mana, and Hover Barrier, Wall of Frost, Murmuring Phantasm, and Wall of Frost are all there for support if necessary.
Ashiok is probably too good not to run, and Jace, Memory Adept can help finish if Mind Grind isn't available.
This is more of a Simic defender deck with black as a support/removal/wincon colour, but it wouldn't hurt to throw this together for an FNM someday. The only problem is that I'm relying heavily on Axebane Guardian and Prophet of Kruphix, so without those the deck seems like it'd fall apart.
Going back to the Judge's Familiar thing, I can safely say that Tidebinder Mage is the card I hate seeing the most across the board against a mono-U player. The fact that it resolved already set me back a turn, and if it stays on board any longer than that, you're just getting extra value. Making Shock cost 2 or Lightning Strike cost 3 (as a result of Judge's Familiar) will set me back another turn by preventing me from playing another 2-drop on turn 3, at which point you'll probably be able to just resolve Jace and take back control of the game.
I'm still new to the deck, but I've found Goyf to be a bit underwhelming, as we lack the discard necessary to release its potential. I've found that it's often just a Nissa's Chosen (or worse, a Squire) on turn 2 with the occasional Bolt and Fetch in the yard.
Are there any sorceries to play to make it a bit more effective? Would it be counterproductive to cut creatures for spells? I'm already running Pillar of Flame and Forked Bolt in the Searing Blaze slot and the regular combination of Bolts/Dismember/Rancor, but you generally don't want Rancor to see the yard anyway and the spells can't be reliably drawn. Pillar's also sort of counterproductive if it exiles whatever it hits.
And is it worth Dismembering an opponent's creature on turn 3 just to feed Goyf? I suppose it's matchup-dependent, so in which cases is it the right move?
Red/White/Black already has a very limited and boring selection of generals..
Kaalia of the Vast was kind of a big deal two years ago, it's probably best to give the wedges some cooldown time before they get their second run in the spotlight.
Punish Heresy W
Instant
Exile target creature CMC 2 or less.
I feel like this would be the Mental Misstep of Modern if this ever saw print. Exiling Goyf, DRS, Bob, Goblin Guide, Ravager, manlands, Spellskite, anything in Infect, Birds, and countless other creatures at instant speed with no drawback for W?
For example, in this auction (mods, please delete if I can't link to eBay auctions) the import charges are $11.77 for a $60 item in addition to $10.50 to actually ship the cards, which means I'm actually paying more than SCG or anywhere else. I can understand why sellers would want to use it to relieve themselves of the liability, but it's just not worth the price.
Semi-unrelated: the one time I did buy something with the GSP, I was charged import fees at the door anyway. I can echo Gatt's concerns that the low-level eBay help desk doesn't know a thing about it, and it took several hours of phone calls and explaining the situation for me to get the fees refunded.
I'm sold on the bounce and search abilities though.
So yes, it can be Searing Speared before a creature is Imprinted. The Ingester will die, but the ability will still resolve so the targeted creature will still be exiled.
i) If you Wave for >15, you have the option of putting Emrakul onto the battlefield (although you won't get the extra turn as it wasn't cast).
ii)
If you Wave for <15, or choose not to put Emrakul onto the battlefield, Emrakul and all other cards not put into the battlefield are put into your graveyard as part of Genesis Wave's resolution. Its ability will trigger (because Genesis Wave has to resolve before any ETB triggers are put onto the stack), you'll shuffle your graveyard in, and then Eternal Witness's ETB trigger will resolve.
So in short, you won't be able to return Emrakul or any other card in your graveyard before it Emrakul shuffles it all in.
Edit: Drifting Skies is correct.
They put the GTC duals first just to give those guild colours the spotlight after the RTR pairs for more attention this time last year.
I could see the next five duals being spread out the same way the DKA and AVR ability lands were, but then again last time the cycle was unbalanced because AVR was drafted on its own, which kind of compensated (or probably overcompensated) for the extended period of time that DKA was on the market.
This doesn't actually work as Tome Scour is a Sorcery.
...But if you're just going for some casual fun, you can try Doorkeeper with Returned Phalanx and Ogre Jailbreaker.
Ashiok is probably too good not to run, and Jace, Memory Adept can help finish if Mind Grind isn't available.
This is more of a Simic defender deck with black as a support/removal/wincon colour, but it wouldn't hurt to throw this together for an FNM someday. The only problem is that I'm relying heavily on Axebane Guardian and Prophet of Kruphix, so without those the deck seems like it'd fall apart.
So yeah, it does more than chump.
On a 2/x creature, it also translates to 4 additional damage (if unblocked) instead of 3.
Not that I think it's really worth including though. What would it replace?
Are there any sorceries to play to make it a bit more effective? Would it be counterproductive to cut creatures for spells? I'm already running Pillar of Flame and Forked Bolt in the Searing Blaze slot and the regular combination of Bolts/Dismember/Rancor, but you generally don't want Rancor to see the yard anyway and the spells can't be reliably drawn. Pillar's also sort of counterproductive if it exiles whatever it hits.
And is it worth Dismembering an opponent's creature on turn 3 just to feed Goyf? I suppose it's matchup-dependent, so in which cases is it the right move?
I can confirm this. Deckbuilder's Toolkits sit at $25, Fat Packs at $45-50, premium decks at $25. It's really kind of disappointing.
Kaalia of the Vast was kind of a big deal two years ago, it's probably best to give the wedges some cooldown time before they get their second run in the spotlight.
I'm arguing semantics here, but Misstep was banned upon Modern's inception, while Legacy endured four months with it in the format.
But like dotmatrix says, white usually cares about power rather than CMC. Austere Command is one exception that comes to mind, however.
I feel like this would be the Mental Misstep of Modern if this ever saw print. Exiling Goyf, DRS, Bob, Goblin Guide, Ravager, manlands, Spellskite, anything in Infect, Birds, and countless other creatures at instant speed with no drawback for W?