#can you tell i love the abzan?

[incorrect-mtg]

Flavor Text Highlights - Khans of Tarkir

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Cool - Utter End

“I came seeking a challenge. All I found was you.” —Zurgo, khan of the Mardu

Cool - Incremental Growth

The bonds of family cross the boundaries of race.

Worldbuilding - The Banner Cycle

Stone to endure, roots to remember.

Discipline to persevere, insight to discover.

Speed to strike, fury to smash.

Power to dominate, cruelty to rule.

Savagery to survive, courage to triumph.

Emotional - Duneblast

The Abzan turn to this spell only as a last resort, for its inevitable result is what they most dread: to be alone.

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[talenlee]

Decima Vex Gallery 3: The Cazas Dawn

The Emperor was not the head of the only church. The vision of an organised relationship to life after death was not exclusively the domain of Kraivh’s leadership. Before the Necrocalypse, with the coming end teetering before people, there were also the Cazastan, believers in the power of the sun and a willingness to die and be reborn.

The Cazas were a threat to that imperial power. They were an avenue to eternity that didn’t comply with the Emperor’s will. And that meant, when the Ghostlands were created, when the Billion Dead were selected and cast out of the Empire, it was convenient to dispose of those who called themselves the Cazas Dawn.

Decima Vex is a custom magic set created by Talen Lee. It’s composed of 187 cards, with 71 commons, 60 uncommons, 41 rares, and 15 mythic rares. Decima Vex is a custom Magic: The Gathering set, with at least one card spoiled a day, on Cohost, Kind.Social, and the r/custommagic subreddit.

WOTC Employees: This post in full presents unsolicited custom Magic: The Gathering card designs, which I understand current employee practices forbid you from looking at unsolicited. You shouldn’t be here!

The Cazas Dawn were, before the Ghostlands, before the Necrocalypse, a sun-worshipping church that stood apart from Kraivh’s orthodoxy. They believed in the importance of the sun as a source of life and crafted a world for themselves that exulted in that – great cathedrals of white and beautiful stained glass to celeberate the way the sun could illuminate and transform things. Cazas, their leader, died a long time before the Necrocalypse. She wrote about the importance of a preparation for the rebirth, for being willing to make war against even your own gods, when they became unfit for purpose. Cazastan perspectives see religion and even gods not as things to serve, but things that exist to serve the people who love them.

This was always a hypothetical, but then when the Necrocalypse happened and the Ghostlands became the Ghostlands, the Cazas saw their world transformed. The Sun worshippers were suddenly looking up at a cursed sky, and an undead sun – which made all their shrines and worship damaging and cursed. They renamed this thing in the sky, that they refused to acknowledge as the sun, as the Saun, a dreadful and cursed light in the sky, and used its cursed energy to strengthen their nation and power their magic.

The result is that the Cazas have some of the largest and most stable fortresses, peopled with ghosts that have been found from the Ghostlands that seem to have long, strange memories and always know the future. This is because the Cazas ghosts are capable of recognising the time loop they’re stuck in. The Ghostlands resets every few years, when they are appropriately traumatised, and it is the ghosts of the Cazas that tell them what they missed and how to best approach their future with the information they already have. The Cazas are fearsome, they’re defensive, they’re resilient and they endure everything that can be presented to them. They are the ones who find ways through death and find ways back to one another.

As far as invigorating the Cazas with identity, this was a difference to what I normally deal with when creating factions for MTG. See, unlike the other factions I haven’t been particularly bored by them – I actually think that the Abzan represent one of the best examples of their colour identity. Like, as a fan of the colour combination I don’t feel like they lost something in their identity. The challenge then was to present a faction that was in the same colour combination as the Abzan that didn’t just replicate them but still kept true to green, white, and black. I also wanted to avoid just ‘more graveyard stuff’ for the white-black-green wedge, like Nethroi used. And that pushed me towards something that cared about battlefield presence, without a reliance on tokens.

The Cazas mechanic was exalted, which was an easy enough pick since it’s showed up in all three colours and works just fine on mono-coloured cards. Black exalted cards don’t want to risk themselves or want to be the centre of attention. White exalted cards want to share in the strength of the group, or lend their strength to an ally. Green exalted cards want to benefit from an ecosystem with different strengths and weaknesses. It also encourages you to attack even as it maintains a good defensive posture.

Now, on for some card-by-cards:

Distant Wandering is an attempt to be a riff on Path to Exile that doesn’t involve shuffling. It is a problem that it is a card that’s at the same level of power as Path and I’d be okay with it costing two, but the fundamental idea is there.

Wing of the Hateful Saun is a riff on Retaliate, but reworded to work more in the context of multiplayer.

Power in the Blood is the card I expect to see the most intense scrutiny. Mechanically speaking, the card absolutely works. Creature cards have power, and a creature can be turned into an aura – the game handles all these things. I can see a case for pushing it to rare for complexity’s sake, but it has niche problems. Like, it doesn’t mention attaching to a creature you control because it doesn’t need to?

White Gold Archer interests me a lot because it’s tense and both sides of what it offers are pretty good – like, a 1/3 reach for 2 isn’t a bad card and a treasure for every other turn is interesting.

Pinned to the Dark fascinates me because I don’t know why this card doesn’t already exist.

De Rais is a woman, she returns cards from the graveyard to the battlefield tapped so you don’t have any way to use their tap abilities. She’s basically trying to collect ghosts of cool passive abilities.

Saunburnt Endmage is a reference to Putrefy and Qasali Pridemage.

Primrose! This is not Primrose, the Emperor’s Daughter, but is the woman Primrose is named after! Primrose, Saun’s First is the moral leader of the Cazas Dawn, and serves as a guide to people along with Ashe and De Rais – who often contend with her about different appraoches to people. She tempers their ambition with kindness and they respect her guidance.

Throne of First Ghosts predates the card Atraxa, Grand Unifier. It was in an old file from 2022 (and much smaller). I made it bigger and gave it the keywords to give it more of a proper vibe for a huge Mythic threat.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[antipathiczora]

What Your Commander Colors Say About You: 2021 I Remembered Colorless This Time Edition

Mono-White: You're either an ordained priest or really, really into edging.

Mono-Blue: You regularly get shoved into lockers, even by people who are smaller than you.

Mono-Black: You have regularly had extensive arguments about what exactly qualifies as necrophilia.

Mono-Red: Whenever you walk into a room, Deja Vu begins to play at full blast. It cannot be turned off and the volume cannot be reduced. It is your aura.

Mono-Green: Your ideal dream home is a tiny hand-built shack in the middle of the woods.

Azorius: You read user manuals for fun.

Dimir: There is a knife hidden on every square inch of your person. Yes, even there.

Rakdos: You have "Damaged" tattooed on your forehead.

Gruul: Somebody once told you the world was gonna roll you. You ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Selesnya: You have a collection of essential oils and probably work for a multi-level marketing firm.

Orzhov: "If you or a loved one have been affected by mesothelioma..."

Izzet: You own and are trained to operate an authentic, vintage Tesla coil. You use it exclusively to power your kitchen appliances.

Golgari: Tell me the name of god, you fungal piece of shit.

Boros: You're the author of the Navy Seal Copypasta.

Simic: You live in a pineapple under the sea.

Esper: You have the Wikipedia article for 'chair' memorized and can recite it on the spot whenever asked.

Grixis: You're still a dentist.

Jund: You probably bit somebody's nipple off in kindergarten.

Naya: You're a frequent poster on r/DragonsFuckingCars.

Bant: Your favorite song is Bananaphone.

Abzan: You were into macro before you ever knew what macro was.

Jeskai: You have seen the other side, and the other side is full to the brim with sexy, sexy ghosts.

Sultai: You're the proud owner of at least 17 lizards, each individually named and taxonified down to the subspecies.

Mardu: You may or may not have beaten somebody to death with their own leg bone at some point in time.

Temur: You thought the live-action Avatar movie was pretty good, actually. Which Avatar? Yes.

Yore-Tiller/Artifice (WUBR): You firmly believe that Evangelion was the pinnacle of not only anime, but entertainment itself.

Glint-Eye/Chaos (UBRG): You have the cilantro soap gene. You eat the cilantro anyway.

Dune-Brood/Aggression (BRGW): You live your every waking moment with Rasputin by Boney M bouncing around your head like a screensaver. When it hits the corner, the chorus plays.

Ink-Treader/Altruism (RGWU): In terms of instant relief, sitting in your vegetable garden and gorging on all the tomatoes is like heroin.

Witch-Maw/Growth (GWUB): You have forced every single one of your friends to scoop by playing a superfriends deck and spamming the extra turn ults.

5-Color: You still don't exist.

Colorless: i̱̩a͎͡ ̨̫͈̘̫͜i҉̸̺͔̜͚̖̺͚ͅą̣̺̯̳̞̮̲ ̜̥̺̰̩̪̠͡c̨̙ͅt̟̞͖̻̟̯͉̮̖h̤̲̥̪̖̩͘͡͝u̶̯͜͜l̛͚̞̻̺͇͡h̳̻̲̝̼̻ͅu͟͏̹̱̠̕ ̛͈̯̥̩͔̪̺f̢͏̧͖t̛̘͈̹̭̬͎̲̀ą̟̟͉́g̜̤̠̼̼͈̥̜h̨̻͔̣͙̻͓͔ņ̴̶̯̣̩̩̹̞ͅͅ

[mtg-battlebond]

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.

[inventors-fair]

Weird Commentary: Thanks

I would call this one of our most successful contests. Not every card was a gold standard, not every card made me squeal with glee, but every single one had love, thought, and heart put into them. I’m even more impressed with the fact that over 2/3 of contestants actually made their own art! As a not-artist myself, I understand how challenging that can be sometimes. I’m just having a moment where I’m proud of everyone.

Also, for this commentary, I’m trying something a little different. Tell me if you like it!

@3smuth​ — Burrow-Wing Amalgam

What I like: Besides the gorgeous art (look at the curve of the moon behind the wing!), the wording is great, and the abilities are well-rounded for an uncommon. I like how the flavor text builds up the “character” of the creature, making it seem more alive, and tying in to the abilities as well. That’s hard to do!

What we can improve: I find that the first ability giving it two mono-black abilities a little jarring. There are only two BG fliers in black-border canon, and that’s not to say that this couldn’t be added to that list, but it’s mildly off-putting; I kept thinking that this could be an Abzan card, maybe with G/W hybrid in the cost? But that’s entirely dependent on the environment. It’s hard to visualize one in which BG has an uncommon pseudo-flying beater, but it’s not to say that it’s impossible — just a hard sell.

Allison — Salheim, The Twisted Storm

What I like: This feels like a fun commander who would also be good in draft. A cheap body means that your spells can be small bodies that return at the start and huge potential bodies later. I like how it limits it to the first spell, so you can’t go infinite for less than ten mana with some other combo pieces. Honestly, this is a fantastic mechanical card.

What we can improve: There are a few grammatical mistakes to clean up, small pieces of Magic wording. “The” in the name should be lowercase, as should “Blue” and “Red” in the text box. “spells” should have a possessive apostrophe, and “it’s” shouldn’t. Don’t forget a period at the end before the quotation mark! I would also shorten the trigger: “...you may pay (X) [symbol], where X is that spell’s converted mana cost.”

@ceta-maelstrom​ — Camouflage Krasis

What I like: “Cat fish” is an awesome creature combo! Your art brings that across really well. With the new-ish arrival of Cat tribal and the rise in the creature type, I think that this is a welcome addition. I like the hexproof clause. It gives it a flavor of “as long as I’m small, I can’t be seen.”

What we can improve: Metamorph is a little hard to parse. Because of the “if” in the middle breaking up the sentence, I thought “it” referred to the creature entering the battlefield, and that that creature would get two counters. My mistake. Hm, how to reword it... “Whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, put two +1/+1 counters on this creature if it has no +1/+1 counters on it.” No, that’s a little awkward too... There can be a little more clarity. I think the mechanic is worth playing around with.

@dancepatternalpha​ — The Rat King

What I like: Simple, easy to understand, cool synergistic potential. I think this would be a fun build-around-me card. You mentioned something about Innistrad not having a rat king; would you believe they had one mechanically, in the form of Dark Imposter? I actually thought it was potential inspiration, different flavor.

What we can improve: Like Dark Imposter, I believe that the “all activated abilities” should be a separate line. When it comes to that, the similarities are a little stark, but I think the King distinguishes itself from the Imposter by its legendary status and the fact that it exiles your own creatures. I’m not getting a strong sense of either “ooze” or “construct,” though. “Ooze,” I would honestly just take off altogether. “Construct,” in Magic history, implies an artifact creature, something built by something else, and I’m not getting a sense of that either. “Noble” might be fun, if a little on the nose.

@dimestoretajic​ — Cryptizub, Steel Abomination

What I like: It’s certainly a limited beater, something that reminds me of Scuttling Doom Engine from back in the day. It can be incredibly powerful in the late game and can fit into any slot. Oof, give it lifelink? And you’re in good shape.

What we can improve: The first thing I got from this card that’s iffy is the name; it sounds like a legendary creature. “Steel Abomination” would be just fine. For the activated ability, I believe going off of Banshee’s oracle text, that you need to say “~ damage equal to its power to target creature, and damage equal to its power to you.” Not an absolute, but it’s one possibility. Don’t forget to italicize Threshold. The flavor text is a little on the nose. I would either shorten it or just leave it off. The card carries a world by itself as a magic beatstick.

@gollumni​ — Severed Stone-Seer

What I like: This is a card that would definitely get you a-head of the curve!..... Ahem. I think this card successfully fits into the world of Theros, with a little jank. The flavor text is really great. It’s a powerful card with a big butt. I can imagine this taking over games of limited quite easily.

What we can improve: Five toughness might be too powerful. A 3-mana 2/4 with deathtouch is pretty nasty as-is; at five toughness, stuff becomes a lot harder to remove. As much as I do like what you wrote here, I’m still having trouble fitting “Gorgon Hydra” into my mind as something reasonable, considering that the two have such distinct qualities already. “Gorgon Head” could be fine, maybe even “Hydra Head.” Both have great mythological flavor. Small note that I’m unsure of: would it be “create a token copy of” or “create a token that’s a copy of”?

@grornt​ — Carnivorous Multitusker

What I like: Yup, that’s a mutant boar hydra all right! It’s big, it’s bad, it’s green, it takes over games, and it’s a great bomb. This feels like a quintessential green creature right here, with the exception of the weird types. Maybe the Simic and the Gruul could come together to make something like this, yeah? I’d love to open this in a pack and/or add it to a starter deck. Wish it was powerful enough for Standard. Maybe it is, who knows? I like how your added aspects of both boars and hydras from Magic’s past.

What we can improve: This is a pedantic point, but I’d like to see “Mutant” at the end rather than the beginning. Aside from that, I think the flavor text, smirk-worthy as it is, doesn’t really add to the card or to the world. I’d rather see something like on Protean Hulk, a little more expanse. 

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ — Apex of Evolution

What I like: Wow, you really went all-out with the creature types, huh? I think that you used the mechanics pretty well to get the feeling of “a creature that grows from your experience and also eats other creatures to gain their strength.” It’s a build-around-me card that’s fun if you can beef it up.

What we can improve: Firstly, the flavor text pushes the card from “wordy” into “too much.” I love adding it where needed, but with this much text, and with this strong a mechanical focus, you don’t really need it. I feel that in this instance especially it doesn’t add anything that the card doesn’t already have. For the second ability, it should be a full if-clause: “If a creature dealt damage by ~ would die, exile it instead.” And the game already knows that those cards are imprinted “with it” so you don’t need to add that. For the last ability... That’s way too many clauses. “Apex of Evolution has all abilities of cards exiled with it.” It does add some baggage, yes, but most creatures won’t have those negative effects, and, well, that’s a risk of combat to take. This creature already makes combat complicated.

@ignorantturtlegaming​ — Fabled Fox

What I like: Cool art, and cool combo! I think that two creature types works well here; it’s a Fox, and it’s a Dragon, and that’s that. This seems like a card that, when it hits, can really get you ahead in a game. I like how the last ability implies a world with Fox tribal; that’s grokable.

What we can improve: There are a few things that this card has that it doesn’t necessarily need. The mana cost has no reason not to be 3WRG; why the doubling-up? I don’t really understand the blue restriction. Is this card a bomb, or a hate-card? I don’t feel that it needs to be both. In the Cycling part, don’t forget to add the cycling cost inside the reminder text and add a colon. I believe the last ability could be — and be mindful of the punctuation — “When you cycle ~, you may search your library for a Fox or Dragon card, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.” See Krosan Tusker. Small note: I believe the way that abilities go, it should be worded “Flying, lifelink, haste” in that order.

@industrialsalad​ — The Origin of Oddities

What I like: I find it a little hard to take seriously, but you went ham with the types here, and I love reading “Elder Vampire Sponge.” It’s an interesting take on fossils as a concept. I think that with the advent of ability word counters, this card could be a fun little build-around me. I also like how it can steal counters from your opponents’ permanents!

What we can improve: This card does not feel legendary. I understand that it’s “the origin,” but I mean more in terms of how Magic’s other legends feel, what this card brings to that set of established unspoken rules. Maybe some flavor text could have amended that, and it could definitely explain the Vampire type, which feels distinctly out of place, especially for a colorless artifact. Small grammatical notes: “Oddities’s” doesn’t need “’s,” and it should be “fewer than five” spelled out. 

@ishouldgetatumbler​ — Ash, Hydromorph Shaman

What I like: This is a distinct Simic feel! An elf shaman who becomes a hydra, who morphs themself into a mutant. Very nice. This is indeed a powerful card, and I think this is one of those legends that would be great in limited and in the other 99 in a commander deck. Or you could build around putting it into your hand! Fun stuff!

What we could improve: Not a lot to make better here. Firstly, though, this could be a rare in this day and age. It only brings it to hand, and you need to commit a fair amount for it to matter heavily. Small grammar notes: “counters on it” for the first ability, “its power” instead of “its,” and...that’s about it! Save it for a cube!

@jsands84​ — Dandylion

What I like: This was really close to being a runner-up. I love the types and how they come together, the use of a powerful hybrid card and the pushing of it to uncommon without it feeling OP, the use of spore counters, the aggressive P/T for limited, and man, there’s flavor in the fact that it doesn’t fog itself. It’s like, Everyone has allergies except for me! It’s super cool. Shoutout to @iguanamouth​.

What we can improve: Small notes. I think the name is a little cutesy for Magi, but that’s not a biggie, more of a personal quirk. I feel that “Cat Plant” parses better than “Plant Cat,” and maybe there’s alphabetical justification, idk. “Three” should be spelled out instead of “3.” I’d love to see flavor text here, just a line or so. Other than that, radical cat-ical!

@lyxine​ — Ahrizhel, the Wanderer

What I like: Now that’s a combo! It’s a bomb in limited to be sure, a great token-maker and legend to be reckoned with. I’ve always been a fan of Lure effects in green, even if they don’t always work out for me. Giving it to any creature you want is pretty neat.

What we can improve: My main concern is green fliers. I know that for dragons it’s an okay bend, but making more fliers as well? I think that’s too much of a bend; Hornet Queen is almost a break as-is, despite the massive cost. And the fact that this one can create 4-5 of them the turn after it hits the battlefield? That by itself is far too powerful. I would unfortunately call this one a break. Wording notes: “deathtouch” shouldn’t be capitalized, and there should be commas after the green mana symbols. The flavor text could use a little pizzaz, some more specific poetic words.

@mistershinyobject​ — Ludevic’s Familiar

What I like: That is indeed a weird zombie dog. The unique mechanical approach you took here is fascinating and experimental. It’s strange enough to warrant questions if it’s playable in certain formats. Modern Dog Mayhem? Hey, who knows. 

What we can improve: This is a weird targeting system, and I don’t know if it’s in the good way. The fact that you can pay BB for a redirect effect is potentially a break, but it makes sense otherwise. (B)(U/R) could have worked, perhaps? I’m not entirely sure why the hybrid was chosen in this way here. It’s probably for the best, honestly, but it’s still a little iffy for me. I like the flavor text in a memetic way, but a) I don’t think I can see Ludevic saying this and b) it really toes the line. I think it would be best not to have it, or to have more wordplay and not a quote. I would also put the types as “Dog Zombie Weird” personally, but there’s probably not precedent for it.

@nine-effing-hells​ — Chalkyri Resplendent

What I like: Bonus points for having me learn a new word and new creature type. I had no idea the name was an actual thing! It’s useful for getting something like this, I suppose, and you did an amazing job with the art and flavor text. This does indeed seem like an awesome angel serpent thing.

What we can improve: My main concern is giving the permanents hexproof. It works for white, but not RW multicolor, in my opinions. Seems a little too powerful, despite the flavor work-in. I’m 65% sure the wording should be “it’s not your turn” instead of “it isn’t your turn,” but don’t quote me on that. See oracle text on Angry Mob. Aside from that, this is a fine beat-worthy beast.

@real-aspen-hours​ — Octothreat

What I like: Octopuses and spiders go hand in hand in hand in — etc. This is a huge limited card that reminds me of Pelakka Wurm from Rise of the Eldrazi when it first came out: big beefy boy. I think that it would be an interesting card for sealed, a huge blowout, and a great body. Very powerful card. Oh man, blinking it? Lordy.

What we can improve: Most of what we can improve are minute wording things for presentation. Keep in mind that if you do a text submission, your wording is copied exactly. The types should be capitalized, there doesn’t need to be a period after “Trample,” and there should be a period at the end of “step.” Mechanically, the text should say “up to eight target creatures.”

@shakeszx — Wyrveplasm

What I like: A big oozy boy! This feels appropriately like a drake and appropriately like an ooze. It’s a complicated card that works just as well on its own as it would in a deck centered around it. And I think that mythic is the right choice here, honestly. This thing can run away with games.

What we can improve: ...except for the death loop. If it had no counters on it when it dies, then it creates a 0/0 who dies and creates a 0/0, ad infinitum. Infinite death triggers on a single card, well, that’s a no-no. So how do we fix it? Change the last ability: “When ~ dies, if it had any +1/+1 counters on it, create a token that’s a copy of it, except that token’s base power and toughness are equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on ~ when it died.” ... Okay, it’s not perfect, but the token wording is right and the “base” is there. Modern Magic, woo.

@snugz​ — Chronocular Bivalve

What I like: Chronocular is a brilliant word. This card was super close to being a runner-up/winner as well. This is a control card for limited to the max. It’s powerful, it’s super complicated, and it exists in a world of theoretical phasing that’s, well — I might not want to play in it, but I know people that would. Super cool.

What we can improve: Not much to improve here. “Non” shouldn’t be capitalized, and I’m not entirely sure what the point of that second ability is, but that’s just about it. Sorry there’s not a lot to say here, but you did a fine job and the card speaks for itself.

@starch255​ — Roving Squidtaur

What I like: It’s strong! It’s tentacled! It’s...got nipples? Squipples? Right, before I get any more sexually confused, let’s talk about the card. This is a world of sentient half-squid monstrosities. And I kind of love it. I think that mechanically you did some really neat things with this card. You included all aspects of the colors together, and they make for a three-colored beater that’s just plain good in the formats it would see play in.

What we can improve: I’m super bugged by vigilance in a way I shouldn’t be. Yes, I know it’s green, but it just feels...off?? Like, why is a berserker vigilant? I always got the impression that they would be more tramply, that they wouldn’t be as keen-eyed or direct. But that’s just me being weird. There’s nothing “””wrong””” with it. This one could definitely 10/10 have used some flavor text, though. I want to know more about this roving squid-person!

@tmstage​ — Bandicooze

What I like: Whoa! Yep, that’s a five-mana 3/3, but it’s a fine limited beater for its cost. Instant counters in the right deck and it’s good to go! I’ve only tangentially been connected with Crash games, but I get exactly how you tied it together nicely. This card just makes me smile.

What we can improve: I might make it a 4/3, or give it trample or haste or something. Aside from that... It’s a meme, and memes get what they deserve: a nice chuckle.

@whuh-oh​ — Arctic Narwhuck

What I like: The simple two-type “Whale Bird” aspect fits pretty well here. Other people did a diving/burrowing theme, and I think yours works well here. Four mana for a 3/2 flier with potential upside is pretty great in limited for an uncommon!

What we can improve: Islandwalk and landwalk in general hasn’t been in the game for a while, and I don’t know if this card needs that throwback. I get how it works flavorfully, and I like that part a lot. It’s just that modern sensibilities would let it just have hexproof. See Canopy Dragon’s oracle text as well; I think it gains things before it loses things. The flavor text is fine, but very vague, and doesn’t necessarily add to the card.

@woman-of-the-fen​ — Goldenhump Camelsaurus

What I like: Naya dinosaurs are always welcome! I also like the way you tied camels and deserts together to make a hybrid. The ape and rampage go together, I assume, and you conveyed that well in the art. 

What can be improved: Rampage, well, hasn’t been around for a while, just like landwalk, and for good reason. It’s simply not a great mechanic. I can see it working as a one-off in a Horizons set, but it’s still not the aspect I would have chosen. The first ability creates an infinite loop that lasts until the Camelsaurus dies; you fight, get dealt damage, then fight again, etc. Give it indestructible and it’s a boardwipe. Wait, and it creates an infinite loop; if it survives, then it’s forced to target itself. “Enrage — Whenever ~ is dealt damage, you may have it fight target creature you don’t control.” Still doesn’t fix the board-wipe issue. Might need to take this one back to the drawing board. For the flavor text, don’t forget that if you’re quoting someone, their name belongs on a separate line.

@wpandp​ — Apaprik Muster

What I like: Gosh darnit. Deviled eggs. C’mon man... I do love it, though. I like the concept of an egg filled with demonic creatures, imps and whatnot. It’s a scary thought! I like how you played around with mutate here. I personally don’t like mutate as a mechanic, but it’s not a huge issue. You used it well.

What can be improved: I’m still a little uncertain as to what world this card is inhabiting and what the name is implying. Why are devils and demons mutating? Why is “Muster,” an abstract noun, being used as the naming convention for an egg? Why does it have the food ability? I mean, I know, it’s all part of the play that this card is making, but it doesn’t really make mechanical sense.

~

Thank you all for your entries! Get ready to make cards for tomorrow.

[mtg-thrill-of-possibility]

A Reflection on Magic, the Pandemic, and the Dark Side of Arena

Hello to all the readers who may stumble upon this in the search for new Magic content. I wrote this mostly to fill a void in my life that has opened up over the last year and more of a mental health thing than some form of Magic related advice but since it is about that, I thought they’d go hand in hand. I love Magic. Or at least I have loved Magic? It’s hard to tell. Like nearly everyone on this planet, I’ve been shut off from in-person Magic and it had/has me left down. I normally volunteer at my LGS and help them organize their tournaments and judge the events and generally whatever else they ask me to do because I really love Magic. I love playing with my locals who don’t spend hundreds of dollars and craft GP/MF level decks. I love watching a group of people playing draft chaff and off beat home brews and where adults and teenagers can compete with one another on that level. I enjoy sitting off to the corner on the store’s EDH night and listening to games and drawing tokens for games in my own corner while I wait for my own games or sometimes my ow turns. I also love traveling with my wife to cities and go compete in GP/MFs where we usually both scrub out of the main event by round 3 or 4 and then hit the vendors and side events as well as explore the cities for new restaurants. I miss Welcome Days where adults bring in kids and I show them the ropes. I love meeting adults who poke their noses in and ask me “Magic is still a thing? I played that in high school” and show them the changes. I can still remember the Theros Beyond Death prerelease last year and thought how much fun it was to not work the event for once and just play. And looking back, boy am I glad I entered the THB prerelease.

February was the start of the downturn. Our EDH night was slightly less full but I just figured it was due to the weather since the winter usually has a downturn in the attendance for every event. But then the rotating cast of 10-15 FNM players was 6; Pioneer on Saturday had 3. The next week, the EDH crowd was down to from the usual 6-8 pods to 2. FNM and Pioneer failed to fire. The news that COVID-19 was starting to creep into the Midwest prompted me to ask the store what precautions we wanted to take and when we were going to stop in general.

I work in chemical research and I have a background in pharmaceuticals and once (or twice) studied the MCATs and considered going to med school. I was definitely concerned but in February it hadn’t reached my state (yet) and I wanted the store to be ready for the imminent shutdown and continued downtick in participation (my LGS and I had been strategizing how to move up in events and the store ranking on the WPN). But it’s a red state. Science denial must be a recessive trait that the Midwest incorporated into its identity for a long time and I was told that I had some freedom but to not go crazy. I thought I’m a volunteer. I’m not spending what little money I have on stuff for you guys. So, I did the best thing I could think of for free, I started a Discord server. I was really excited at the prospect. I had just bought a webcam in case my workplace started working from home and thought how cool it would be to be able to organize events in Arena and talk through Discord when the store wasn’t available. I asked if we could hang up a flyer and tell all the Magic customers that they continue with tournaments and Magic if they joined the Discord I set up in the store’s name.

My LGS asked how much this was going to cost them and I said exactly as much as it costs them now if not a little less since we don’t need the store’s utilities or a cashier behind the counter in the after hours to work the tournament. They were happy and I got the greenlight. Things worked okay at first. Those with Arena accounts showed for a few weeks. Others I knew were interested were convinced that we were overly sensitive to the virus and FNMs continued to limp along with 4-6 people until everything ground down to a halt.

Come mid-March, COVID had finally reached the state and the city. Cases were light, a few hundred people tested each day, single digit cases detected but I again was worried. My workplace had already begun educating everyone on how to wash their hands properly and disinfect every surface and everyone was issued a bleach spray bottle with their name and a serial number on it. While the mayor and governor hadn’t ordered a shutdown yet, I advised strongly that the store go ahead and if they wanted to continue that I wouldn’t be there to assist until the curve was sufficiently flattened.

I’m not sure why but they trusted me and listened. I was glad and I pushed again for people to join the Discord server. Players were reluctant but I assured them that this may be the future for some time and if they get on now, they can still get the Ravnica intro quests and start building up their Arena collections. I got more on my side, we had 8-10 and got them all to try and hook anyone else they knew to join us. However, by the end of March, my workplace had moved to 100% virtual and with my extra time, I had begun to unwittingly shift the power dynamic in the store by accident. You see, I really love Magic. I was now working from home for a job that required me to have direct physical access to hundreds of thousands of dollars or sensitive equipment that need recertification when they get moved 12 inches down a work bench and dangerous chemicals I don’t want near me unless I know there’s an inspected chemical shower nearby. When the campus shut down, I got very bored. I did what research I could from my home portal, attended virtual conferences and webinars every day, but I had tons of down time. That meant watching my wife play Animal Crossing, playing with my dogs, marathon sessions of Civilization but most crucially, I also began grinding Arena.

My local meta had been defined by the understanding that none of us were really Arena players. I had played when the Kaladesh and Amonkhet closed betas were happening, but I was turned off by the fact that all my playing of those formats amounted to nothing when it launched with Ixalan and I would start from square one. Everyone in the group typically shied away from tier 1 tournament decks because to all of us, it was more fun to goof around with RG auras and Tilonalli’s Summoner decks than it was to grind Esper Hero or the new Uro decks. And the limitation that everyone didn’t have all the shocklands meant we were all playing on roughly the same card pools with some variation due to our play styles. So when I suggested we all start playing Arena to replace the tournaments, it worked because it meant we all played the same dumb decks we’d play in person with a few exceptions of having less than perfect mana bases.

But I would find myself grinding Arena everyday where my friends and locals were not. Even though I jumped into Arena at mid-March, I finished the Theros Beyond Death mastery at level 78 when Ikoria began to creep around the corner. I had just begun to get back into Magic when Fate Reforged hit and didn’t realize how much I love wedge color alignments over shards but boy did I love Abzan in Khans standard and now I was in love with Abzan again in Ikoria standard. Grinding the way I did meant I drafted most afternoons for the first month of Ikoria (and forced Temur every time) and started climbing the ranked ladder in the evenings. Ikoria would also mark the first time I spent money on Arena. I’m notoriously spend-thrift in video games and anything you can free-to-play I do religiously because you shouldn’t make a game grindable over the course of years if you give me that option. But drafting took gems and I really love drafting but most people at my LGS are too concerned about rares than learning to do it properly and a lot of younger players feel lost when I draft a zero rare deck and go 4-0 and collect my prizes. By the end of April, I would reach Platinum in constructed and Gold in limited. But now my LGS was far less inclined to play with me. I didn’t brag about any of my rankings but the skill disparity had begun to creep in as well as the difference in our collections. Having played so much Arena, I could see the tells the software gives away that paper Magic doesn’t. I learned to read when the game would hang up on the beginning of combat and end steps because they’re holding potential responses. I began to do the full control shortcut to bluff counter spells and removal. In paper Magic, if my opponent would sequence things wrong or tap their mana wrong, we’d make jokes and rewind it because it’s one of those human errors that we all make and redo it the right way.

But Arena was different; some learned the hard way to not trust the auto-tapper, some didn’t realize that the way they normally stack triggers in paper is backwards and too late to fix after a spell or ability resolved. And I couldn’t help them. And I let them make their mistakes because I can’t change Arena. If they use the auto-tapper and they realize that Arena doesn’t tap the Castle Vantress even though they couldn’t activate it anyway and they lose a dual source, I couldn’t help them. If they have the lethal Explosion in hand but forgot to hit Control in their second main so they can stack the Wilderness Reclamation triggers in their end step, I don’t concede out of pity.

In May, I try and keep the Magic going by suggesting that we shift the format to a draft limited but they’re unconvinced of the website that allows you to simulate an 8-person draft and then import the drafted card lists to Arena. Why? Because they don’t have the cards already and I’ve changed the dynamic. They know I’m much more skilled at Arena and Ikoria drafting. The news has also been reporting that the curve was flattening, and our state was lifting restrictions on gatherings. They want to play EDH and paper Magic, not this digital intangible game. I reluctantly agree but keep grinding on Arena anyway. My friends didn’t want to play Magic on Arena and I couldn’t understand why. I was getting burned out on drafting at this point and the drafts were harder to fire off a month and a half later, work was returning on a limited schedule where I was onsite 75% and virtual 25%, it really did seem like things were returning to normal.

In June I finish the Ikoria mastery and at this point my wife had begun to show more interest in playing on Arena and trying to get her account a little more stocked since our normal paper system is I aggregate everything we typically need and I make her desired deck and hand it off to her to wreck people on FNM but since I didn’t have to judge, I got to play and we couldn’t both play from my account at the same time. I casually start hers and I get the wild hair that maybe I should make a loaner account in the store’s name and if anyone says they don’t have the cards, they can borrow the store’s account for the tournament. I make the account but put the pipe dream on hold when Wizards announces that in-store play can resume with the Core 2021 prerelease. I could read between the lines and see that the curve was trending the wrong way and thought it was a bad idea but at my insistence, everyone would have to wear a mask at all times and hand sanitizer was available every 15 feet and the store had lots of space for players to spread out. The turnout was low which helped as well, and I had everyone who showed up at least aware that I was trying to keep the Discord going and that in case there’s another shutdown that there was another avenue for them.

Well, I got my wish because within a week of the launch of Core 2021, my state had regressed, and cases were exploding and gathering restrictions were sent back in place. Shortly after that, Wizards suspended in-store play again and with that I created the store’s Arena account. At the time, things were pretty good. The locals weren’t playing as much and my server was still fairly empty but most of the Magic Twitch community I interacted with had strongly adjusted to the new paradigm. EDH streaming was commonplace, I had my new Arena account to focus on building up as well as my own. Pro level events and Opens were being held on Arena and the expansion of Amonkhet Remastered gave me hope that Magic was on the mend. But I also think it was with Core 2021 that things started to slide into the negative for me. Grinding the second account was frustrating me a lot. The lack of human interaction was tilting me out for no reason. Some days the server would have me wait a whole minute (the horror?!) for a game and then my opponent would be the world’s slowest red player where everything seemed delayed. There would strings of games I would play where I couldn’t get a third land drop after a mull to 4 and other times where I’d flood out and would have won if it weren’t for generic whiny reason why everyone says they lose.

Maybe it was when I began to see that Arena is not Magic the Gathering as much as it is a video game that it began to really sour on me. For those of you who don’t play a lot of Arena and instead interact with humans over webcams is that Arena is designed for you to not play off beat home brews except in direct challenges with your friends. The game is meant for you to play the best combination of 75 cards and for you to help it machine learn through millions of matches what is and what is not the correct play pattern based on the available information you have. It wants you to play the very best decks in a format against the other best decks. I started to see this in Ikora standard when decks would scoop if you were on the play and went turn 2 Agonizing Remorse. Decks were and still are so linear that they can’t handle that kind of disruption or it’s a matter of the players know it’s faster to accumulate wins by scooping than grinding out a long game.

If you need evidence of whether or not this is true, you should play Arena now and see how often people scoop against the double Ruin Crab opener with a Fabled Passage back-to-back. Or if an opponent against your Lurrus Auras deck will time out when they know they can’t win. In paper Magic, when you drive 4 hours to a major venue, pay your entry fee, you never see your opponent rage scoop unless it’s Legacy and you know what your opponent’s on and you mull to zero so you can see what’s in their deck. You call a judge to your table if they start stalling. Nothing is more annoying that an opponent spamming “Good Game” at you through a match when it’s obvious that you’re not killing them that turn but they’re empty handed and have nothing relevant on board.

I’ll admit myself that what my wife calls “Wizard Chores” for the Daily quests, if I’m 1 red spell short of finishing a quest, I’ll log in for one more game and Boulder Dash my opponent’s creature or cast Shock to face and immediately scoop. Who is that helping? I’d spend the week at work in my down times thinking about what dumb cards I hadn’t played with from a set, start making a list, furiously find the cards on a Friday afternoon and grab dinner with the wife and then race to my LGS for FNM.  Magic used to be something I only got to do twice a week with people in a shared setting and we’d unroll our playmats, shuffle up our jank, and laugh and generally have a good time for three to four hours. With Magic at my fingertips, Arena is a distillation of efficiency at spell slinging combined with the minor rewards system we’ve come to recognize the free-to-play traps to “encourage” us to play different things. If I want to play 100 matches in a day, all I need to do is sit at my computer long enough. If I want to play my old jank on Arena, I can’t even count on the Casual play channel to help since it’s always filled with people with 55 of the 60 cards that make the best deck learning how to play before they commit the wild cards for the deck.

Zendikar Rising has been a pretty dark point for everyone on Arena I believe. It seems like a lifetime ago that Omnath was printed and that I had immediately cashed in four mythic rare wildcards for the deck I would get to play with on Arena for 2 weeks before Wizards realized their mistake. Honestly before I had started writing this in the week before Kaldheim will hit Arena, I forgot that Omnath was part of the most recent set as all I can remember Zendikar Rising giving us is the extremely irritating Ruin Crab and Soaring Thought Thief. The few locals I had left on my Discaord server when ZNR released had lost interest in Arena since they enjoyed the Ravnica standard that was rotating out and Pioneer was not yet available for Arena. I’ve encouraged nearly everyone I know from my LGS to buy webcams since October given that the current state of the COVID world is not likely to go away and the new culture and channels that have opened up in the world to fill the void of EDH has some level of benefit even when in-person play resumes. Not many people play and I’ll search for an occasional game on the official Discord when the craving strikes. Some of my friends have been taking advantage of the webcam world and started playing older formats with me over webcam such as Pioneer and Modern to rekindle their love for Magic and the hope that we can start playing tournaments over webcam. Finishing up the ZNR mastery passes on my two accounts and my wife’s account has been giving me a much-needed break from Arena and honestly, it’s probably done the most to lift my spirits.

I’ve been taking a lot more time to reflect on why I love Magic and I plan on doing in the future. The first thing I know I’m going to do and stick to is not get a Mastery Pass for mt LGS store’s account. They don’t pay for all the work I put into the one already grinding multiple accounts is not good for my mental well-being. The second thing I know I am going to do is relearn how to have fun in Magic again. Not really hinted at in this article so far is the fact I love the art in Magic and I’m often inspired by my own crazy mind to illustrate my own works or reimagine my favorite cards with my own art. Since the release of Rise of Skywalker, I had been working on a personal project of creating a second expansion to the largely underground Star Wars the Gathering card game and ended up making 200 unique, draftable cards. I wouldn’t call myself an artist because I’m still learning and I don’t necessarily aspire to an artist but I would love to improve my skills and one day make a piece that’s so good someone wants on a card. Over the last two years, I’ve been deeply jealous of how amazing and hard working the Magic cosplayers are and that I should put my art to good use and make my own cosplays. And then there’s the playing of Magic. I miss the Gathering part of Magic. So this brings us to the bedrock of this piece. I hope to continue this blog steadily as time moves forward. I’m rarely ever satisfied or have my attention on any one project for too long but 2021 is a new year. And I hope that the title is a hint to the future. Whatever it is; whether it’s deck construction, art alters, or Magic cosplay, story, general discussion, that’s what I’m here for. It’s the Thrill of what I might work on next and I promise because I’m terrible right now at doing so, I’ll be sure to take pictures and try and stream when I can to keep myself honest about the whole deal. I hope you’ll all join me or at least join the Discord to yell at me.

[blogging-phelddagrif]

Legacy Deck Tech: Nic Fit

[you can see every deck tech here]

Hello & welcome to this weekly deck tech! This week it’s time to talk about legacy with a pretty funky deck that has been on my radar for some time: Nic Fit. Disclaimer, the deck varies, A LOT, between users, and has quite a few iterations and different strategies, what seems to be constant is the WG Goodstuff package of the deck. I want to thank @island-delver-go who pilots this archetype as one of his legacy decks who helped me out by giving me his decklist and some tips. I’ll be going over the core of the deck, which seems to be very similar from one version to the other, and then talk about the kinds that are specific. In any case, lets dive right into it.

Toolbox 101

That’s pretty much the core of the deck, weirdly. The deck is very toolbox-y, which means you have a bunch of cards that do specific things, for different situations, including a lot of 1-ofs. To make it all consistent, you have to play Green Sun’s Zenith to tutor whatever 1-of you need in a situation; we’ll see the different creatures over the deck tech.

Disruption/Enabler

A really solid card in legacy, especially if you name counterspells in general, Cabal Therapy really shines in this deck. On top of protecting your stuff by disrupting your opponent’s hand, the flashback of sacrificing a creature is really helpful, we’ll see all about it in a second. But in any case, this card is dope.

Acceleration

A very interesting card imo in this deck is Veteran Explorer. I’m very familiar with it since it’s an all-star in my Group Hug deck, but in here is serves a different purpose. The idea is to play an Explorer and sac it right away with Cabal Therapy (which also helps you attack your opponent’s hand) to get 2 basics. The fun part is that besides Death & Taxes, most legacy decks play less than 2 basics...so odds are your opponent won’t benefit from this. If you can chain a couple of these you’ll have some great mana acceleration to start casting your big spells.

Value Engine

Tireless Tracker did quite some work in standard, and sees some play in modern, but it also found a home in legacy. This card lets you gain some card advantage over the game and out-value your opponent hopefully. Just a solid card all around. I don’t think most decks play a full playset though.

Recursion

A really great card in this deck, Eternal Witness lets you bring back a card from your graveyard to your hand; you can recycle some removal spells, a Cabal Therapy to disrupt your opponent, one of your creatures, a Green Sun’s Zenith to grab something else, or even a Veteran Explorer to gain more mana. Decks play between 1 & 4 of these because of its versatility.

Swagtusk

Now we’re getting into the 1-of territory! I loved playing Thragtusk back in Innistrad standard and seeing it be played in legacy sparks joy in my heart (Marie Kondo would be proud). This big beast does it all! You gain some life, you get a token and its big body applies some nice pressure.

Slimy Boy

This card can be good in a lot of situations, but not against every deck, which is why you only play 1 of them. Being able to destroy an artifact, enchantment, or land can be pretty useful, so Acidic Slime is a nice addition to the deck.

No Control Allowed

Honestly one of my favourite card from the deck, Gaddock Teeg just tells control players to chill. Noncreature spell of cmc 4+ or with X in their cost just can’t be played. Just throw those FoW in the bin, no funny stuff here. Just make sure you use your Green Sun’s Zenith well before getting this since they’re turned off too.

Graveyard Hate

A very useful card against graveyard decks, Scavenging Ooze lets you rival with those unfair strategies. Plus it can grow and gain you quite a bit of life over the game so that’s also a big advantage.

Battlebond Bomb

A great new addition to the deck, Archon of Valor’s Reach is just a powerhouse! Being a 5/6 flying vigilance & trample is already huge, but being able to stop players from casting a chosen card type can win you the game by itself. Really neat card to be honest, I like it a lot.

Removal

Being in Abzan colours, you kind of need to play Abrupt Decay, it’s just an amazing removal spell that hits pretty much every important card of the format and can’t be countered. Some decks also play Assassin’s Trophy since it hits bigger cards, but that’s up to you.

The Funky Part

A lot of the Nic Fit decks go with a Rector gameplan, which is very interesting, and this is what makes the deck differ so much from one deck to the other. Wether they play both or just 1 kind is already up for debate, but between Academy Rector & Arena Rector you have a lot of room for some cool things. With those you can play a bunch of 1-of enchantments &/or planeswalkers to you can tutor as soon as you sacrifice your Rector with a Cabal Therapy. Cards like Cruel Reality, Ethereal Absolution, Omniscience, Overwhelming Splendor, Elspeth Sun’s Champion, Garruk Relentless, Kaya Ghost Assassin, Ugin the Spirit Dragon, Nicol Bolas God Pharaoh, Liliana the Last Hope, or like, any planeswalker you feel could be strong, I’ve seen A LOT of different builds. Nowadays it seems more about the planeswalker plan than the enchantment one but the fun part is figuring out what you prefer!

Wrap-Up

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this deck tech as much as I did. The deck is very fun and very unique to it’s owner, since it varies a lot from person to person, I especially love the WG Goodstuff package of it. I want to thank again @island-delver-go for helping me since I was kind of lost through all the different iterations of the deck. If I missed anything please let me know. I’ll see you all next week for a pauper deck tech!

[magicarasa]

CFAC 02 Season 2 Entries - Part 1

Lothorewyn, the Corrupted by velinov 

The tree isn’t the only horrifying thing this week--my schedule has been frightening and has kept me from delving into the awesome selection of designs I’ve received. I’m excited to get to show you all what’s been submitted this week. The story elements are really coming through and this tree is proving itself worthy of scaring denizens all over the multiverse.

@aethernalstars

Originally i was gonna do something involving zubera from Kamigawa but there’s just not enough to design with from them. However that did lead me to the idea that the tree was formed from a bunch of pieces of spirits, similar to the kin-trees of Tarkir. So if we have anafenza the nice tree, why not a pissed off tree made of all the other spirits? Thus Abzan, who I couldn’t think of a better name for, but i think fits, given Tarkir’s current state, with the forgotten clans and all.

It’s definitely easy to see a more dangerous take on the kin-tree business, especially if you consider one possible twisting of that tradition when forced into hiding. This design has some weird complication going on and it’s all the result of that second ability. What is so important about this the +1/+1 counters being denied half of what they do and this tree being an N/5 barring other toughness boosting effects? The first ability is fine and while I think green usually gets it (not certain on that as it isn’t seen often), it’s fair in black or probably white too. That last ability is cool and seems well-balanced to me. The weird part is that it doesn’t synergize too well with spirits. They don’t typically have a lot of +1/+1 counter play so while that was an Abzan thing, this card is screaming EDH Spirit tribal to me. Which isn’t strong, but could still be fun. If we drop the second ability, it could be replaced with something as simple as “Other Spirit creatures you control enter the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter.” Effectively building on Spirits and making them benefit with the rest of the card.

Two points!

@amtgplayer

It is all in the name: this is a corrupted version of Kodama of the Center Tree, caring about cards in the graveyard rather than creatures on the battlefield. I am not quite sure how exactly would Kodama become corrupted (not too familiar with Japanese mythology), but apparently many entities in the Japanese mythology are very double-faced, so I think this is definitely possible.

This is a cool and relatively simple shift. It feels like something you could see in Planar Chaos. Without a Standard or Limited environment to judge these cards in, I tend to lean toward EDH as the place to look at these cards. This one wants you to play black Spirit tribal as well (or else run Conspiracy) and while you have enough spirits to put one together, they generally just aren’t terribly powerful. Pus Kami has some synergy here. This also plays into black graveyard play and allows you to nuke the board and get stuff back, all the strengths of soulshift, especially in black. That said, any Standard or Limited environment with a number of good Spirits is in a position for this card to shine.

Two points!

@dimestoretajic

Me: *sitting at work, working on some stuff that doesn’t require a lot of attention*

Me: Is there anything I forgot to do? I feel like I forgot somethi-SUBMITTING MY CARD RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT

Anyhoo! Morinsün (derived from the Mongolian phrase “muu yoryn süns”, meaning evil spirit) is a literal and figurative monster. Obviously, because I wanted it to be in both Abzan and Mardu colours (they’re my two favourite Tarkir clans, so this one was right in my wheelhouse), it had to be four colours, and as far as I can tell (not that hard since Saskia and the nephilim are the only cards in these colours), Blueless is a “combat damage matters” set of colours. So I gave it the stuff it’s got… and then I accidentally added “combat” to the first ability, then realized that probably balanced things out anyway, and kept it. If I should have put it back, let me know, but I think it keeps it from being SEVERELY OP. Have a great day!

Glad you got it in! This is an interesting way to produce tokens and while this is probably RB overall in its abilities, it still manages to feel WBRG to me. Limiting it to combat damage seems fine. What’s weird to me is the defender bit. I understand why a tree might have that. But combined with the combat damage it means it will never trigger from hitting a player and your opponent has to choose to attack into it. Losing defender and perhaps giving it vigilance means Morinsun could attack, then tap to deal some damage before combat goes through if you can afford it, and then actually deal combat damage. The result being if you keep the mana up and invest it at that time you can get a bigger token.

Flavor-wise I’m a bit hung up on a (partially) Mardu tree but it’s not like trees don’t exist for them, they just move a lot.

Two points!

@gitblog-monster

This art screams Golgari to me! I wanted to incorporate a form of Scavenge that only worked on itself, representing the flavor of the tree feeding on dead creatures. I think the ability cost of 2BG is fairly balanced, if not a little cheap.

I love this composter. Die near the tree (perhaps because it killed you) and then it eats you up. In fact I’d make an argument that for the flavor and the cost of the ability (which could be tweaked if needed) it should be able to target a creature card in any graveyard. Nice twist on scavenge!

Two points!

@nine-effing-hells

The Planeswalker’s Guide to Theros mentions here that the catoblepones of the plane are said to be the result of the gods (Mogis in particular, but he was apparently told to by the others) cursing a boastful herder’s livestock. It’s not out of the question, then, that they could do something similar to, say, the trees of an equally proud orchardist. So, take one Therosian tree, add black (I’m assuming Mogis is doing it again, and that art doesn’t look red), and make it a monster as only Theros and Fiora can.

Monstrous is a self-contained story and this works well with that. It’s great that the off-color cost feeds directly into that story as well. Turning it monstrous turns on a lot of abilities. Menace, hexproof, and a 4/7 body is a rough thing to deal with. I think this card should either be a rare or perhaps lose hexproof when it becomes monstrous.

Two points!

[jacethebeltsculptor]

Magic the Voltron-ing

So, this is one mostly dedicated to @pidge-midge, because I hadn’t even thought of Voltron/MTG headcanons. A couple notes- 1, this applies only to Legendary Defender, and not the old Voltron. Second- I love this crossover so goddamn much you guys oh my god.  SHIRO FAVOURITE COLOURS:White/Green/Black FAVOURITE DECK:Abzan Midrange, any format it works in MISC:Shiro is a pretty plain Magic player. He’s courteous, kind, and offers any advice he can to other players. He likes Abzan because it offers him a range of tools to handle any threat, and a flexible game plan. He likes having options. Among the Paladins, he’s the resident best guy to playtest with, and he’s always got a way to help you improve. He’s also crazy good at manipulating opponents in Commander- nobody at the table wants to attack him, because he’s only going for the biggest threat at the table. Then he gets scary, and wins. KEITH FAVOURITE COLOURS:Red/White FAVOURITE DECK:Pauper R/W Metalcraft MISC:Keith is the resident aggro player among the Paladins. If you sit down across from him, you know he’s coming at you fast. He doesn’t really like Control or Midrange, or Combo, because they’re usually way. way more complicated than they need to be. It’s not that he doesn’t know how to play them- rather, it’s just way harder to optimize them. Plus, he likes the proactive element of always being on the front foot. He’s a bit intimidating to play against, thanks to his generally intense focus on the game, and one of the more competitive players on the team. He’s a mainstay of the top 4 at FNM, and as a result, the rest of the team tends to playtest against him to see if they can beat aggro. Keith’s favourite games are the ones that come down to the wire- where minute differences in sequencing and skill, rather than the luck of the draw, decide the outcome. As a result, Keith really, really likes Pauper. It’s a format where the cards are simple but powerful, and it takes deep knowledge of your deck to come out victorious. LANCE FAVOURITE COLOURS:Black/White/Red FAVOURITE DECK:Tariel, Reckoner of Souls EDH MISC:Dragons are awesome. Angels are super awesome. Demons are super mega hella awesome. Lance just likes playing with cool and cool sounding cards- from removal spells with badass names to cards with some of the most intensely cool abilities, Lance loves them all. He’s really competitive, and he’ll try super hard to win, but all of his decks are based around the coolest card in his possession. Right now, he’s in love with Indomitable Creativity, and has been trying to break it since it was spoiled. He wants to win, but to do so by playing the coolest deck imaginable. 2.00$ mythics are a staple of Lance’s decks, and while they don’t *normally* work, it’s a thing of beauty when they do. He’s preview season buddies with Hunk- the two will gush together about how the new card spoiled is “the most broken thing ever” or “how could they print something this good?”. Lance has a personal distaste for Blue mages though- countermagic is almost always his Achilles heel, and he still doesn’t really know how to play around it. He beat Keith one time- literally one time- and won’t shut up about it.   PIDGE FAVOURITE COLOURS:Blue/White/Black FAVOURITE DECK:A dozen flavours of Gifts Ungiven  MISC:Pidge, while not the most competitive of the group, is probably the best at the game. She’s won every “what will win the pro tour” bet four years running, and the only person still betting against her at this point is Lance. Her grasp of technical play is absolutely stunning, and she’s always thinking of new angles to hit the format. She loves Gifts Ungiven decks because they’re built under fundamentally different rules than the rest of Magic, and offer consistency and a control/combo gameplan to tweak to her liking. In Commander, she’s known as the one that durdles until she just plain wins, and her Sydri deck is feared around the galaxy. Pidge, like Keith, usually hits the top of the stands, but she’s just as happy to lose an intriguing game. She’s also got a deeper understanding of the rules than just about anybody, and had planned to become a Judge at some point. Also, Magic was pretty popular in her family- she and Matt would play for *hours* with his collection. She has a very fond memory of them building deck after deck with his cards, playing one game with them, and tearing them apart to do something new. Their parents made them clean up the mess, but it took hours.  HUNK FAVOURITE COLOURS:White/Red/Green FAVOURITE DECK:Mayael of the Anima Zoo EDH MISC:Hunk is the biggest timmy out there. He loves ramp decks and big creatures, and makes stompy sound effects whenever he attacks. He’s not really concerned with winning, only having an awesome time. He mourns when his creatures die, and combs through spoiler season for new “friends”. He’s named every single creature in his Mayael deck, and has a page in his binder dedicated to the cards he’s retired from it. He doesn’t play much 60 card, save for a couple of casual decks, but he’s always organizing Commander events. He loves coming up with crazy formats, too! One of his game nights involved using the training deck to create holograms of spells and creatures, while in another, a rule was made that you had to charades your way through all of your game actions. That said, Hunk is like, everyone at the LGS’s best friend, and often invites people over for a night of Commander and food. Most of his sleeves have a crumb or two in them, so he replaces them often to keep them from getting grody.  ALLURA FAVOURITE COLOURS:Blue/White FAVOURITE DECK:Blue/White Dragons, featuring the Ojutai clan MISC:Allura learned to play from Hunk, and she *loves* the story. He showed her a bunch of Ojutai dragons, and she thought they were gorgeous. She doesn’t really get the rules perfectly, which is fine, since she mainly plays with Hunk, and a lot of the cultural background we have to help us understand, she doesn’t have. Still, she loves the game, and she listens to Hunk tell her about the plot and the Gatewatch with absolute glee. Her favourite cards all have really striking artwork, and Watercourser from Origins is a personal favourite. Allura might be super-casual, but she’s learning quickly, and Hunk wants to help her build a Commander deck soon. Plus, she’s always happy to have a bonding experience for Team Voltron.  CORAN FAVOURITE COLOURS:Red/White FAVOURITE DECK:Boros Battalion/Soldier Tribal MISC:Like Allura, Coran learned from Hunk. He’s built a Boros soldier deck from Hunk’s RTR block draft chaff for his military pride- he calls it a victory for the Battalion when he wins. Coran has had to be talked out of holding a memorial service when somebody blocked his Captain of the Watch. Coran will literally never concede, ever, and he’s known for his impressive bravado when flunging- that is to say, attacking with everything because you lose anyway. He and Allura also play together, sometimes, and their enthusiasm and passion for the game is always a nice reminder for the rest of the team by they play.  BONUS ROUND  ZARKON:This guy only plays the exact same list that won the last Pro Tour. His only Commander deck is Yidris Ad Nauseam, and it’s all foil. He has a Powered, all-foil cube, the best Modern decks, and a trade binder so stuffed with money that it has its own page on MTGGoldfish. He’s the worst guy to play with- he’s rude, gets pissy when he loses- a problem made even worse by the fact that he ALMOST NEVER LOSES- and responds to most new spoilers with “It isn’t good enough for Constructed”. He wins almost every event he joins, and usually does so undefeated. He probably plays Lantern Control on MTGO, too. Fuck this guy. 

[housebeleren]

Core Set 2020 New Commanders

Alright alright alright, it’s time again for a new set. Now that Core Set 2020 previews are officially done, it’s time to start evaluating cards for that very, very best of formats: Commander. I’ll run through the new Legendary creatures first, and see what looks like fun to build around. 

With that in mind, I just want to say that this core set has knocked it out of the park on the EDH front. Seriously. There are so many goodies in this set for us. It’s clear they had some Commander fans in the design team, and for that I am thankful. With that, let’s get to it.

I could’ve started anywhere, so why not start here? Apparently Wizards has figured out that people like foil Legendary Creatures & Planeswalkers, and that by putting them as buy-a-box promos, people will buy boxes. Smart cookies.

As for Rienne, she’s pretty sweet. People have been asking for more variety on Angel commanders, and Naya angels is one of the ones that was missing. Her ability is pretty frickin cool, and will encourage some specific deckbuilding choices, which I am very much for. She’s definitely casual, but could end up being surprisingly effective too. Cards you’ll definitely want for her are Saffi Eriksdotter, Qasali Pridemage, and any other multicolored creatures you can sac for value. Also, she could be great friends with Brion Stoutarm, if that sort of thing interests you.

Now, on to the actual in-set cards. Just look at this beauty. Daarken is a master at illustrating creepy crawlies, as this piece fabulously demonstrates.

As if the art weren’t cool enough, Yarok is likely the best new commander in the set. Panharmonicon is a format staple, and having one in your command zone is epic. Not only is Yarok a Panharmonicon, he also triggers off of Enchantments & Lands. Landfall triggers get doubled! Constellation triggers get doubled! The potential value is immense, and I think there are probably dozens of viable builds for this... guy? 

Yeah, we’ll go with that.

I’m sensing some flack out there about my old buddy Omnath, and I’m here to tell you that I won’t stand for it! Sure, he’s not inherently busted like Yarok, and Horde of Notions as a thing that is also Elemental tribal but with access to all colors. But no, I actually really like the design of new Omnath, Who Somewhere Acquired Blue in his Adventures. 

This, like previous versions of Omnath, is still a base Green deck as you’ll want plenty of access to ramp. But adding Blue gives you some nice perks, such as being able to run Mulldrifter and Master of Waves, which not only makes a bunch of bodies for Omnath’s first ability, but also is a lord for a tribe that really doesn’t have many of those. Tempt With Vengeance looks a lot better when all your Elementals are bigger than everyone else’s. Also, Blue opens up the possibility of running Deadeye Navigator (not an Elemental), which plays nicely with a pile of mana and Omnath’s first ability. All told, I like him, and I think he’ll be a casual favorite from the set.

I love this design. It’s very Jeskai while still being something I haven’t exactly seen before. Kykar wants to be a spellslinger, and there is no doubt about that. She (I’m totally guessing here, so apologies if I got it wrong) plays sort of like a twist on The Locust God, only... without as easily abusable of a trigger, no self-recursion, and no... mandibles? BUT, you do get access to White mana (good for wraths & powerful removal) and a mana ramping ability to keep the cards flowing. And let’s be real, you’re going to play ol’ Bugeyes in this deck too. Also Skullclamp, because you’re not going to turn down that shit, are you?

In the end, I suspect Locust God is probably more competitive, but I would be surprised if Kykar didn’t have some fans that prefer her. Oh! And there’s Bird tribal, so that’s a thing if you’re a masochist.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the trouble with Kaalia is really herself. Her old card, Kaalia of the Vast, somewhat overshadows this new “fixed” version. And ultimately, they make basically the same deck. Sure, in this version, you might aim for a little lower CMC on average, since you can’t cheat things out as easily, and you’re also probably not going to dedicate so many slots to giving her Haste & generating extra combats. But besides that, the decks will be the same. So, maybe 80% identical? But honestly, probably the best use for new Kaalia is in the 99 of the build of old Kaalia to help replenish her hand (which was a problem sometimes, trust me, I know from experience).

Cute card, and honestly I kinda prefer this design for being less degenerate than her first incarnation, but I doubt she’ll get much play outside of OG Kaalia’s 99.

I don’t know who wanted this card, but whoever you are...here it is. (Seriously, was anyone clamoring for Abzan Legends?) 

Mostly, my suspicion is that a Kethis deck will work something like a Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck, but with a greater emphasis on Legendaries. That said, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s some sort of bizarre combo in here. Paradox Engine and the newer Moxen are Legendary, and there are a bunch of Legendary creatures that tap for mana, such as Rishkar, Marwyn, and (of course) Rofellos. It shouldn’t be hard with some self-milling and a couple quick tutors to assemble a Paradox Engine fueled untappy-fest of awfulness from your graveyard.

To what end? I have no idea.

Two things. First, I “generally” hate 5 color generals. (Apologies for that one.) Second, I love this one. I think Golos may be my favorite new Commander from the set, and the one I’m the most likely to build. What I like about him is that he doesn’t fall into the trap that so many 5 color generals fall into, which is the trap of just being generally superior to other options. Why would you run any Warrior tribal other than Najeela? For that matter, why use the existing options for any tribe when Morophon is a thing? Like Legendary things? Who doesn’t? But why would you ever build a Kethis, the Hidden Hand deck when Sisay just does it better? No need for creativity anymore, Wizards has taken all restrictions away so you can fill any deck with the best every color has to offer.

Sorry, should’ve warned about the rant. So what I’m saying is, I love Golos because he is NOT that. There are better options out there, so if you’re going to build a Golos deck, you’re going to do it because something about this weird little golem speaks to you. Yes, I’m aware that there are likely plenty of ways to break this. Yes, I’m aware most of those ways involve Paraox Engine (quelle suprise). But mostly, he looks fun. He goes around finding lands, and then uses those lands to make some random shit happen. I like.

Okay, we’re done with the multicolor Legends, now it’s time for the apparently obligatory monocolor Cycle. First things first: who the hell named this card? Drakuseth? What, was Dragobob not quite good enough? I don’t think I’ll be able to say this card’s name without rolling my eyes. It’s like a bad 90s shareware fantasy RPG character name.

In any case, Wyverjohn, Mouth of Burns is as ineffective at doing anything as his name implies. He’s big, he’s dumb, and he’s not worth including in any of your decks. Sorry Drakaphil.

Well, this one is named slightly better. (In the same way that getting kicked in the face is slightly better than getting punched in the dick.) But the real good news is that as a Commander potential, he’s waaaaaay better. Yes, Hydras are a massively derpy tribe, so we’re just going to keep that as a given. 

But he’s an enormous 8/7 for 6 mana, can attack and block well, and he helps ramp out your other Hydras. Not only that, but he offers some level of protection against spot removal, since he’ll eat something else off the board any time one of your creatures gets targeted. Honestly, this might be the best Hydra tribal commander we’ve ever seen. That’s not saying much, but it is saying something. And if for some reason you’ve decided to build a different hydra general (for... reasons?), he’ll go in the 99 for sure. 

Okay, Miss Sephara here isn’t half bad. She’s crazy expensive for 7 mana, but she’s huge, and granting Indestructible to a whole pile of other Angels is no small thing. But the real fire is casting her for her alternate cost. Tapping 4 creatures with flying isn’t nothing, but there are plenty of decks that can make that happen fairly easily with Spirit or Bird tokens or some other such nonsense. 

Honestly, I think the place she’ll see play is in Angel tribal decks, where she offers some additional Avacyn redundancy to protect your flight. I’ll probably find her a spot in my Angel deck once the set comes out.

Atemsis is a weird design, but pretty damn cute design too. Let’s just say, casting her for 6 and then trying to loot your way to her win con one card at a time probably isn’t going to get you anywhere. No, what you’ll want to do here is draw your entire deck or some ungodly amount of cards, at which point you should easily have 6 different CMCs present. Then, all you have to do is deal some damage to your opponents. Attacking is so... uncertain. I’d rather find a way to have Atemsis deal damage safely from my side of the board, thank you very much. There are some janky equipments out there that can have her tap to deal damage, plus Livewire Lash, which only requires that she be targeted by something. In any case, I think there is a build in here somewhere, and she’ll also do fine as an inclusion in Sphinx tribal decks as well. Or other random decks that are just looking for weird alternate win conditions. That too.

Again with the names. Vilis sounds so much like Phyllis, so every time i read this card I can’t help but think that this demon is a trans great-aunt of some sort. So that’s a thing. Well, when evaluating this card, there’s an obvious comparison that has to be made. Razaketh, the Foulblooded is also an 8/8 Demon for 8 mana that has a card advantage ability. Vilis has the leg up of coming with built-in removal, as well as naturally synergizing with tons of other Black cards that will incidentally also cause you to draw cards. Plus, he naturally deters attackers because every point of damage taken will cause you to draw more gas. However, Razaketh is a repeatable tutor on a stick, provided you have enough bodies to chuck at him. And at the end of the day, why are you drawing a mess of cards if not to get to the specific ones you need to win? 

So, my hunch is that Razaketh will remain the more competitive option, but Vilis may very well be the more “fun” of the two. And in decks that can handle the mana, there’s no reason you can’t run both. I’m considering adding Vilis to my Rakdos, the Showstopper deck as another Demon & source of card advantage. (Also, I don’t have unlimited copies of Razaketh, so Vilis may do in a pinch.) All told, I think there’s space in EDH for both of them.

Oh, just whatever you do, don’t bring this guy out against a Nekusar player. K?

So that’s it. All the new Legendary creatures from Core Set 2020. Honestly, despite my griping, this is a really solid crop of Commanders, and I think nearly all of them have homes in EDH somewhere. (Drakuseth excluded. He knows what he did.)

[housebeleren]

Hour of Devastation Draft Recap - 9/1/17

Last night, I thought I’d try another Hour of Devastation draft at Friday Night Magic and see if I could get my hands on a sweet Fatal Push promo. I’ll go into a bit more detail below the cut, but suffice it to say I thought there was a reasonable chance that I had built something that worked. The goal for my deck was to have a lot of potent 2-4 drops and just power through with Exert creatures, then if the game went long, out durdle any opponent with The Scarab God:

But even ol’ Beetleface couldn’t save me from what I was about to face down.

The Draft

The Draft itself started out okay. My first pick, first pack was Devotee of Strength, which is reasonable, if somewhat unexciting. That pick was followed up with Farm // Market, which is premium removal. Sure, it put me into like 2.5 colors, but base Green can handle that easily in this format. Embracing Bant, I picked Unsummon and Harrier Naga as early picks, plus the first of two Oasis Ritualist to help get my colors. I think my first Sidewinder Naga came up in this pack as well, so I made sure to grab a couple deserts as I could.

Going into Pack 2, all I was looking for were good ramp targets. I thought if I could pull a Sifter Wurm, Overwhelming Splendor, or Sandwurm Convergence somewhere along the line, I’d be in good shape for a 3c ramp build. But Pack 2 began with bomb rare The Scarab God. There was no way I was passing him, and I figured by the time I needed to cast him, I could splash Black pretty easily. So for the remainder of Pack 2 I prioritized color fixing. Grabbed a Manalith, Beneath the Sands, and another Oasis Ritualist. I also picked up some other solid inclusions, such as Vizier of the True. I particularly love the synergy between Vizier of the true and Oasis Ritualist, since you can exert the Ritualist on your opponent’s turn as a sort of build your own tapper. I also grabbed Unquenchable Thirst in this pack, since the deck was light on removal.

Pack 3 was mostly about curve filling. I got passed a lot of Exert creatures, so I picked Champion of Rhonas, Bitterblade Warrior, and Tah-Crop Elite easily. I was unsure about Champion, but I did manage to get some decent value out of him throughout the game. I also grabbed Splendid Agony and Illusory Wrappings for some extra removal, and Giant Spider to help protect against pesky fliers. So in the end, my deck looked something like this:

And so it began.

Match 1

The first round pitted me against a W/B Zombies deck with a Green splash for some ramp & value creatures. Game 1 progressed reasonably with some back and forth until he landed his bomb: 

The one thing I didn’t pick up was any artifact removal (DUMB), and I didn’t have enough board presence or fliers in the first game to win in the face of that card, so on to game 2 we went.

Game 2 went much more my way, with my aggressive Exert creatures pushing through for enough damage to keep him on the back foot. I did draw into The Scarab God in this game, but by that point I had it already locked down so I opted not to play & reveal him. I won Game 2 and we progressed to the final battle.

Game 3 was stupid. He had the absolute nut draw of two Mummy Paramount AND two Binding Mummy, so he overwhelmed me before I even got a solid board state out. So I lost the round.

Match 2

This format is very, very different from triple Amonkhet. I know because God-Pharaoh’s Gift was not the only 7 drop to kick my ass during the night. The other one was this little gem:

This card was near-unplayable in Amonkhet draft, but has become a solid win-con in Hour of Devastation. So Round 2 pitted me against a W/U Approach of the Second Sun deck. In the first game, my opponent successfully managed to stall long enough to cast his Approach, then (with some help from Naga Oracle) recast the thing for a win with only 1 life remaining! I was so impressed that I wasn’t even angry that I would have had it on untap.

Games 2 and 3 went to me, though. Game 2 I was ahead on board the entire time, and managed to land The Scarab God for the first time of the night, which my opponent couldn’t recover from. And Game 3 was just all about my Exert creatures, with Tah-Crop Elite leading the charge to a swift victory. So, 1-1 record going into Match 3.

Match 3

The final match was against a Naya deck centered around one card:

To be clear, this card is fucked. And if you draft it early, it’s not at all hard to craft a deck designed to abuse it. A little bit of basic math:

Crested Sunmare + Dune Diviner = Fucked

Crested Sunmare + Glory-Bound Initiate = Fucked (Initiate is a ridiculous card to begin with, but having both in one deck is just wrong.)

Crested Sunmare > The Scarab God

What I mean by the final piece is that a deck built around the Sunmare will always beat a deck built around Beetleface. 5/5 horses outclass 4/4 zombies, especially since the horses are indestructible, and the life loss from The Scarab God’s first ability is mitigated by the life gain built into a Sunmare deck.

The only real hope for a Scarab God build is removal. If you can remove the Sunmare immediately, you stand a chance. The problem is that so much of the removal in Hour of Devastation is either enchantment based (which doesn’t solve the problem), damage based (of which only a few can deal 5+), attack/block based (and nobody is stupid enough to attack or block with the non-indestructible horse), or bounce (which is temporary).

So all of that is a long way of saying that I died in games 1 & 2 by being trampled to death by a heard of invulnerable horses.

Recap

Overall, the nice thing about Hour of Devastation draft is that it’s still fun. The problem with triple Amonkhet was that if you didn’t have a super aggro deck, you just lost in the most un-fun way imaginable. The slower pace of Hour allows a larger variety of strategies to shine, so it feels a lot more diverse. 

My main quibble is that, as my night demonstrates, the format seems pretty bomb-dependent. The fact that I could basically sum up the decks as 4c Scarab God, Abzan God-Pharaoh’s Gift, W/U Approach, and Naya Sunmare tells you a lot. 

As it stands now, I’m feeling Hour of Devastation draft at about a B+, which is pretty good, and a significant upgrade from Amonkhet.