mtg-battlebond

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Innistrad. There's a lot of potential for some cool developments in the Innistrad story regarding Sorin and the different factions in it.

I asked this question on my Twitter, so I’ll ask here as well. What product that we’ve announced for 2021 are you most excited about and why?

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Hey folks, good news!

I'm now a writer with EDHREC, the primary EDH deckbuilding website on the web!

In my first article, I give Rhystic Study the boot and find some cool cards to replace it.

https://edhrec.com/articles/staple-remover-rhystic-study/

Sadly, I'm not very active on Tumblr anymore. If you want to find some great MTG content, I suggest you watch that website and my twitter, @rosequartz_26.

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When I played casual 60-card kitchen-table magic (plus a bit of Standard), my favourite decks were Izzet Spellslinger decks. I played a bit of Izzet Phoenix, yeah, but my favourite one was a casual deck where I would create, like, 5 Clones of Guttersnipe or Charmbreaker Devils and win from there.

Anyways, I think I've finally found how to translate that deck into Commander.

Melek is so much fun. They're a challenge to get out, as they cost 6 mana, but when they do, they're fun.

This card really makes the deck sing. I don't even care about the prowess ability, just setting the top of your library and getting that card advantage is awesome.

With this and a random assortment of Seething Songs, Twinning Staffs, etc. it can get out of hand quick. Bring a calculator.

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When I played casual 60-card kitchen-table magic (plus a bit of Standard), my favourite decks were Izzet Spellslinger decks. I played a bit of Izzet Phoenix, yeah, but my favourite one was a casual deck where I would create, like, 5 Clones of Guttersnipe or Charmbreaker Devils and win from there.

Anyways, I think I've finally found how to translate that deck into Commander.

Melek is so much fun. They're a challenge to get out, as they cost 6 mana, but when they do, they're fun.

This card really makes the deck sing. I don't even care about the prowess ability, just setting the top of your library and getting that card advantage is awesome.

With this and a random assortment of Seething Songs, Twinning Staffs, etc. it can get out of hand quick. Bring a calculator.

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Kudos to you, Maro. Lmao

Hi Mark ! I LOVE Phage. Any change she'll be back anytime soon ? Thank you. David

I want up do an expansion where she fights the Phyrexians. I’d call it Phage Against the Machine.

No takers, so far.

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I'm kind of sick of WOTC printing auto-include cards like this. Deckbuilding is so boring nowadays.

Obstinate Familiar

“Lizards make excellent familiars. They never know when they’ve lost.” —Matoc, lavamancer

Artist: Terese Nielsen TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

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This ad is terrifying, Tumblr

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I want a 5-colour "Vore" cycle over the next few sets. I expect big things, @markrosewater.

Well, Magic finally up and did it. We’ve been joking about it for years and here it is.

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There are very few lands without activated abilities - Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Glacial Chasm, Halls of Mist, the Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Vesuva, and that silly "legends band with other Legends" cycle from Legends.

Holy hell, that’s a really interesting Boros commander

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SHE'S BACK!!!

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Partner Commanders

If you couldn't tell from my URL, Battlebond is my favourite set in Magic history. A large part of that is because of the Partner Commanders, which were fun, flavourful, and allowed for a fun synergy both in and outside of Commander.

Ikoria's Commander product sees a return to Partner Commanders, this time showing Bonders with their animal companions.

Brallin and Shabraz, the Jeskai commanders, are in the cycling deck. Brallin gives you value off of discarding, Shabraz gives you value off of drawing. Pretty simple, right? There are so many great synergies with these cards, and a love for extra value off of drawing was sparked for me back when Teferi, Hero of Dominaria was released.

I really appreciate WOTC embracing some lighthearted, ridiculous fun here with a Shark Bird. It's really not something I expected them to do.

The Sultai partners are Cazur and Ukkima, and they are from the Mutate deck. These two share a fun aesthetic, and have a cute synergy, but Cazur's ability seems a little too clunky for a powerful +1/+1 counter build. This might be fun with Ninjitsu effects, however, since Ukkima is unblockable, or perhaps a Voltron build with the extra oomph of Ukkima's trigger.

This Temur pair mirrors the Chakram Slinger and Chakram Retriever pair from Battlebond, a personal favourite of mine. They're found in the Instants deck, and while they might not synergize with that theme specifically, they're still dripping with flavour. With both of them out, you can exile cards off the top of everybody's libraries and cast them whenever you want - like a more powerful, 3-colour version of Etali, Primal Storm. Maybe some Fateseal effects would be fun in this deck!

The flavour behind this Mardu pairing is a little worrisome - Trynn appears to set unsuspecting Humans "free" for Silvar to devour at their whim. This is a despicable pairing, and isn't all that surprising given the negative disposition Humans have in this plane. Besides that, this pair is difficult to build around - Trynn's token generating is clunky and hard to guarantee, and Silvar appears to be a nerfed Yahenni. I suppose if you like Yahenni, but wanted more than just mono-black, these guys might be for you.

Last but not least, we have an Abzan pairing from the "counters matter" deck that I've affectionately dubbed "Keyword Soup". These two do have a few interesting mechanics between them - Yannik can distribute a ton of counters around, and Nikara can give you extra value when your creatures die. Between the two of them, there are plenty of good synergies - Yannik's effect can be abused pretty easily with cards like Ephemerate, and I'm sure there's some hidden combo with them and a card like Felidar Guardian. Nikara is great because she gives you card draw from the command zone, meaning you don't need as much in your deck, allowing more slots for interaction or what-have you.

Well, thank you for reading this overview of the new partner commanders! I just get so excited about mechanics like these that I can't help but share my love for them.

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I cannot wait until I can kill somebody with this and tell them "don't underestimate the Otter, Endris!!!"

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Aw hell yeah!

(I designed Frantic Scrollreading)

Foretold Glory

Congratulations to our winners, in order @nine-effing-hells, @somethin-to-nothin and @reaperfromtheabyss!!

We start with the beautiful monstrosity, Herald of Erstwhile gods! I got a soft spot for cards with two mechanics and to think you could combine another mechanic with the somewhat boring forecast to make such a wild card! The random factor of the forecast trigger ties everything up really nicely. You really exceeded my expectations!

Next up, Frantic Spellreading! The name and overall flavor fit very well. I like that the forecast ability is begging to be abused repeatedly but there’s also a chance A) you might not get something for the mana you spent because you either you found a pricey or situational card. B) Lose important cards in the self mill process (planeswalkers, artifacts etc)

While I can keep using the ability “forever” there’s also this opportunistic nature of the spell copying, so if you dig up something good or there’s another opening, I would definitely go for it and make a splashy move!

Funny that both cards I picked as winners have a random element in them. Maybe a little RNG is what forecast really needs. But will the Senate approve?

Let’s ask Azorius Writbearer for an official opinion. It’s the winning card from the forecast support pool. While it doesn’t support the recklessness of the two winners, as the discount doesn’t apply for them, it appreciates all the card revealing for a good old azorius flying punch in the face XD

In a more serious note, forecast is a bit pricey, any discount is welcome. The trigger is pretty powerful, you might wanna just reveal anything just to push some damage in, or give your opponent something to worry about, other than your revealed cards that is.

That’s all for today, thanks again for participating. See you again for the group commentaries this weekend!

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Magic: the Gathering - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths

Some important changes to the release schedule for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths to note :

•  April 2 – Ikoria Debut, trailer launch, (7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET/2 p.m. UTC) and the start of previews

•  April 10 – Last day of previews

•  April 16 – Ikoria released on Magic: The Gathering Arena and Magic Online

•  April 17 – Prerelease/release in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong

•  May 15 – Prerelease/release in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia/New Zealand

Source : https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/changes-release-ikoria-lair-behemoths-2020-03-26

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Yeah, but only, like, Ugin and Jace know that. So he could just tell everybody he's the Elder Dragon Highlander

So... Did Ugin finally become the Elder Dragon Highlander?

No; Nicol is still alive.

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I thought they were talking about this for a second and I was VERY confused.

(To those who don't know, this card is banned in, like, everything)

Hi mark! Curious question. Will we see Channel reprinted in a standard or straight to modern legal set again?

My biggest issue with Channel is it’s a little too broad as a mechanic, but it plays fine, so sure, there’s a chance.