#like can we at least get a prerelease damn

[snowdeong]

Wdym expected not confirmed 😭

[shieldmonokuma]

Day 1.

I remember the sensation of falling as I slid the nerve gear over my head, as though my restless mind was trying but unable to fully escape. I could feel sparks run down my arms as I waited in anticipation for the black screen to turn to the game menu, and then finally, a new world. 

Finally I can have a piece of the life I’ve always wanted. To think that I might not have bought the prerelease if it wasn’t for her. In fact, I almost stopped myself from joining right there, due to the bitter feeling in the back of my throat, the lightheadedness that I felt as I looked at the package. Still, I took a deep breath and started.

It’s just my nerves. I’ve never had this chance before, and I can’t afford to hesitate now.

I looked at the menu as it booted up. It scanned me and told me to enter my personal information, everything that it couldn’t gather by itself anyway. It displayed my in-game avatar-an image that I couldn’t even distinguish from myself-and allowed me to edit it from there. I tentatively entered the settings, then finally joined the game.

As the screen loaded in, I saw her waiting for me at the spawn point.

“Ah, hi Izuru!” ChiakiX3, as I had known her online at least, called out.

“I’m glad to see you again too,” I laughed a little. Was it due to my amazement, or just the awkwardness of meeting an online mutual in well, almost real life? It really was surreal. She was a girl who looked to be about my age. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see her walking through the halls of my highschool. It was almost eerie, how closely she seemed to match up with her online persona. She had a calm face, framed by taupe bangs and roughly shoulder-length hair. She wore the same uniform that all players were given, but had chosen to make her tunic a shade of dusty pink that matched her eyes.

To be honest, I felt like a poser recalling the effortlessly cool persona that I could keep up online. Like my attitude, I had only slightly altered my avatar in game, giving it a slightly longer hairstyle. My classmates would definitely call me an e-boy if it was like that in reality.

I choked back the sub-par remarks and unnecessary compliments that came to mind. “Would you like to try fighting something?”

She pressed a finger to her chin, and looked towards the horizon “Well, I actually signed in early. I’ve already learned the base fighting mechanics…” She paused and looked back towards me, the prior excitement returning to her voice, “I’d gladly show you the ropes though.”

“If you’d like to, then of course I’d be up for that.”

“Good. We just need to head to the plains then.”

I watched the scenery go by. An old fashioned village you might expect to see in a tourist town, plains with grass just slightly too green to be real. Finally, we found ourselves in a meadow surrounded by giant rats and wild boar. This was clearly meant to function as the tutorial. I unsheathed the dual short-swords I had selected in the startup menu. She already had her long sword in hand and was gazing at our opponents, apparently lost in thought.

“Okay, so you should start out by getting an idea of how fast your opponent moves, and their movement patterns. These ones are slow enough that you should be able to build momentum and focus on offence, but later on, there will be enemies that pose more of a threat. To perform a power attack you need to hit the opponent as hard as you can. I’d recommend running towards them before attacking to accomplish that, like this.”

      She ran to a boar and sliced it across the side, so calmly she made it seem effortless. I tried to focus on copying those movements exactly. I ran forward, readied my swords and…

“Your technique is quite impressive,"

An unfamiliar voice caught me off guard. I missed, and the boar stayed up to charge me. Damn it! I took five damage (a quarter of my hit points) and slashed wildly, hitting the boar near its eye. 

I felt a dull kind of pain in my leg, where the boar had hit me, but I reasoned that it was probably nothing. I looked around myself In attempt to find the source of that interruption. Chiaki was standing next to him. Another teenager? Probably a highschool student, but possibly just starting college. He was tall, with white hair that took on a slightly reddish hue at the tips. His silver eyes were hidden in shadow and he seemed to look past me as he watched my approach.

Looking back at Chiaki, he asked in a tone that emanated reverence, "You're the one with that five minute speed run of Monokuma Pizzeria, right? The one that blew up online?"

"Who are you?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed with the newcomer.

"I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? Not that it matters, but my name is Nagito. You just have to linger on my avatar if you happen to forget. As to why I'm here, I simply admire talent."

Nagito_the_ultimate_stepping_stone_for_hope… I think I've seen weirder… probably on Reddit, at least.

"I'm Chiaki Nanami, but it seems you already know that." 

"I'm Izuru."

"Since we've been introduced, would you mind teaching someone as worthless as me?" Said Nagito. Now I honestly couldn't tell if this dead-eyed stranger was messing with us or not.

“I was already training Izuru, so I don't mind."

"Sure," I agreed in the most polite tone I could muster, then sighed and resumed practice, killing several more enemies while Chiaki coached Nagito. By the time we decided to stop training, it was late evening, about an hour after I had first logged in.

“We could try searching the town," Chiaki suggested, "I mean, since we have some items we could sell now."

"I was actually thinking about heating up dinner, but I guess I could stay for a little longer."

"It would be an honour to continue playing together." Nagito insisted as he stared directly into my eyes with that strange, placid smile on his face, “I mean, not that I’d want you to put your evening on hold for us.”

I wasn't sure if I should laugh or not, "Well, when you put it that way!” I moved to a more comfortable distance and continued, “It’s really not like I have anything better to do."

Wordlessly, we walked back through the fields until we reached town. The main street was full of other players; talking, breathing, living. I was still a bit stunned by the sheer number of people here on release. We walked into the store following Chiaki, but unfortunately this excursion would come to an untimely end.

Suddenly, the sky changed to a bright crimson. The announcement blared "ALL PLAYERS MUST MEET AT SPAWN IN 5 MINUTES."

Is this some sort of entrance ceremony?

      "It's probably to thank the people here on launch." Nagito said, casually brushing his hair out of his eyes.

      "...Yeah, that sounds right." I agreed as we started walking towards the entrance. "Still, this seems a little excessive."

      He shrugged, and spread his arms as if to gesture at the world in general, “Couldn’t you say the same for all of this?”

      "4 MINUTES…"

      There were thousands of people gathered around the spawn point. Everyone looked uncertain. The incoherent buzz of their whispers only added to the tense atmosphere. My friends, or at least, my current company, had gone silent. We waited there like students about to hear their exam results, or kids about to open gifts. 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1, finally it appeared. A towering, cloaked figure whose face was hidden except for a single, glowing red eye.

It spoke in a grating, nasal tone, too much like machinery to assuredly be called a voice, "I hate to be this cliche about it, but this game is designed for a higher purpose than just your entertainment. In fact, it would be completely accurate to say that this game will become your life."

The ghoul paused to let those words sink in, or perhaps, to relish in the audience's disbelief at what was to come next.

"You may have noticed that the exit button is curiously absent. That is not a flaw but a feature of this experience. I want you to live out your action hero dreams, so that was a must. There have to be stakes afterall, so your health and your avatar's health are one and the same. If you want to escape, though, I was generous enough to provide an escape route: just complete all one hundred floors, or… there is always the easier way, …isn't there? To keep it short and sweet, I hope you’re grateful for the wonderful opportunity I’m granting you. Fare-well.”

I froze. Those words were now burned into my memory. They were a dream, a killer’s speech in some movie. Nothing like that could happen to someone like me, a completely average, boring nobody-

"Are you okay?" A familiar voice said to me. I blinked. Something about the world around me had changed. We no longer even appeared to be the perfect avatars of ourselves we had created, but flesh and blood, …and yet he seemed unchanged.

"N-Nagito?"

He smiled with relief, "Ah, you're conscious. That's good. You stood there for a while without moving."

"What I heard back there… did you hear it too?"

“Yes, it appears that we’re stuck here.” His eyes shifted downwards, but his voice remained level, “I already checked, the no exit part is accurate at least.”

It is true then. It wasn't just in my head. Then there's no denying it. Still, I tried my best to fight that deranged conclusion. "This could be a publicity stunt, right?"

My companions looked doubtful.

“Even if that is the case, wouldn't it be better to stay here for the time being, in case the safezone rules hold true?” Chiaki asked.

“...You know there's only one way to test that hypothesis, right?” Chiaki and I looked straight at him, he raised his hands defensively in response, “I mean, you can hit me if that gives you peace of mind.”

I sighed, “No, I don't think that'll be necessary. We’ll figure it out sooner or later anyway.”

“At least we still have each other.” Chiaki pointed out, eyes still fixed on the point where that thing had stood. “That must count for something.”

The silence that followed said everything. I wanted to muster a smile, to tell her that I believed we’d be okay… but this was the beginning of a deadly game, we didn’t even know what we were in for yet. That was just the beginning of our new lives, our new reality.

[horowitzbekker5-blog]

Release Anything

My story is that an author that 'd done online composing for such dot gones as Themestream, Created By Me, and also The Vines, someone striving to have fiction, poetry and also nonfiction in print for real, suggested PublishAmerica. She claimed it was a conventional publication author. I was struck with their slogan, "We deal with authors the old fashioned method-- we pay them." Had not been that what authors were intended to do? However considering that my novel was simply resting on the DiskUs Posting site and doing nothing but providing me with sufficient loan to acquire a pair of skate laces every three months, I believed maybe it would have a better chance over at PublishAmerica where it would be readily available as a profession dimension book both on and also off-line. So this author, Ellen Du Bois, had a big thing on her Geocities website about publications being available in brick & mortar bookstores & they would certainly have ISBN numbers and also be online and all that things. Additionally had her full dimension publication hide so I rested there for 5 minutes waiting for the damn thing to show up. Not impressive, however she liked it. Ellen was a supporter for her book as well as sent out reviews from a weekly neighborhood cloth and also she bulk e-mailed numerous pieces of correspondence throughout those spirituous days when her book was in prerelease, after that launch phase in the summer of '03. I damaged down and got a copy from Amazon.com-- took virtually 3 weeks to get. And I battled to read all 176 web pages. Tripe. Clichés abounded. Spelling/grammatical errors weren't there at the very least. But the writing was slim. The tale relocated also swiftly. The primary personality was one of the most reasonable as it was probably based on the writer. The discussion was okay. The descriptions were marginal. Had there been an actual editor, the book could've been very good. I wrote to Ellen and told her the positive things about the story, preventing the negatives thoughts. She would certainly been an on-line correspondent for almost two years, yet after I didn't assess her book on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble she didn't contact me. Practically a year later she sent me one more e-mail-- to advertise a publication of her poetry. I was simply somebody to market a book to as well as she was just thinking about the sale and with any luck a radiant write up. A Future PublishAmerica Author Since I 'd currently authorized the agreement with PublishAmerica, I wished to cancel it after reading that trash. Currently my publication would be affiliated with a business that produced almost any piece of creating that came its way. I wasn't expecting a lot what with my dealings with the extinct eNovel and also RJ's digital books, along with a tiny digital book author named Crafts Throughout America where I had not been paid monthly as promised. And my unique as well as narrative collection suffered at DiskUs, residence of the alleged Number One Best selling digital book writer of perpetuity, Leta Nolan Childers. PublishAmerica sent me an author's questionnaire where they requested for basic biographical details; cover art tips, and a lengthy checklist of individuals who could intend to review my upcoming story. " Please prepare a listing (names, and addresses,) of individuals that know you all right to be curious about your success as a writer: personal friends, colleagues, loved ones, etc., to receive a publication announcement ... Please limit your listing and your tags to an optimum of 100 get in touches with. Likewise, please do not consist of companies or companies of any type of kind, consisting of book shops, media contacts, or government companies. Consist of buddies and affiliates just." The editing process of my manuscript took two weeks over the Christmas vacations. LA restaurants had the ability to determine that the very first few pages had actually been read as some minor modifications had been made, yet no adjustments adhered to for another 50 or so web pages. Among the mistakes that happened was plainly the outcome of a spellchecker on the part of PublishAmerica as an enigma appeared after the end of a declaration. I 'd check out of real authors obtaining guidelines to alter phases, change endings, erase various web pages, in other words, really struggle to rewrite a book. Why so much initiative? Names. Track record. The publisher intended to put their name on the most effective high quality book that they had purchased. The writer desired a publication that was salable but additionally well composed as well as something they took pride in. PublishAmerica's editing consisted of neither perfect as all they did was put the computer program's spelling/grammar mosaic right into action. My 2 complimentary writer's copies showed up in very early March as well as it behaved to see my trade paperback publication in print sans a cheesy cover and stapled spinal column. 'North of Sunset' really had good looking stock cover art of a couple of silhouetted palm trees, a noticeable font, and also a spine where the book title, publisher and also writer's name appeared. It would look excellent on book shop racks, I thought of. Testimonials-- What Examines? What was Publish America doing to make sure my book was evaluated? Nothing. I made a decision to get in touch with local everyday and regular papers by e-mailing a press release. The only responses I obtained were two e-mail autoresponders introducing the editors were on holiday. I invested $40 on copies of my book's galley and mailed them to 3 national papers as well as the Collection Journal magazine. Then I phoned a book reviewer at the 'San Diego Union-Tribune' and also asked if he would certainly want evaluating my publication yet prior to I can even describe what it had to do with, he asked who my author was. I told him. "We don't evaluate publications by that author," he mentioned. I called all the regional bookstores and also talked to the managers as well as/ or area relations individuals concerning my book, consisting of a number of shops that were literally situated on the road I 'd blogged about. An independent book shop proprietor told me that because PA really did not have a return policy she was incapable to equip my book. Another said that I can sell my book on consignment. The chain stores of Borders and Barnes & Noble said my publication would certainly be offered with Ingram if any individual selected to order it. Tried getting PublishAmerica to send out testimonial duplicates out and it took them weeks to do so. Had to call as well as make certain on 2 events that guides had actually been sent by mail. Maybe estimating one of their passionate marketers on the message board, an individual with a natural wizard for advertising and the budget plan to back it up, got 3 publications sent out to reviewers. After that I sent my book to Piers Anthony, kept in mind sci-fi as well as dream writer of greater than 100 books. I would certainly been in touch with him considering that 2000 when I notified him to the truth that eNovel was a rip-off. Although the action in his books usually occurred in alternate time periods/universes, he really did not mind checking out a mainstream Hollywood novel. He did so. "North of Sundown by Lisa Maliga. She's the one noted in my Study as I'm a Released Author Ha Ha! Ha!, a pertinent caution for starry-eyed aspiring authors. Her web site www.lisamaliga.com deserves checking similarly; she informs it as it is. If you took a couple of years off my age and altered my sex, the result might appear like Lisa. North of Sunset is fun, regarding a Hollywood manufacturer as well as his temporary secretary, revealing a bargain of what I assume is fact. It is written with the omniscient perspective, which I dislike, however it held my rate of interest no matter. " I would certainly found with a distressed author on the messageboards, which I keep reading occasion, that a person was whining concerning PublishAmerica. Uncovering the Absolute Write History Inspect area I invested several hrs reading, at the time, greater than 40 web pages of problems regarding PublishAmerica. Authors not obtaining books in time for booksignings that they set up themselves. Bookstore owners/managers rejecting to stock their shelves with unedited PublishAmerica titles. Writers not able to obtain their publications assessed. Doing a search on LexisNexis, the respectable on-line legal research study system, for all PublishAmerica publications receiving paper testimonials, I saw that from July 2002 to June 2004, only 24 books had been assessed across the country. Papers in Syracuse NY, Tulsa, OK, Fort Pierce, FL, Wilmington, NC and Lakeland, FL were stood for. Just Salt Lake City's 'Deseret Morning News', the 'Tulsa Globe', 'Pittsburgh Post-Gazette' as well as the suburban paper, the 'Chicago Daily Herald' were in fact major papers. Seemingly, the 'New York Times' or the 'Los Angeles Times' were not evaluating anything by PublishAmerica's authors. According to the PublishAmerica website in the Realities and Figures area, "Fact # 3: Once more, exceptional among all standard publication posting business, each day an ordinary 15 times a PublishAmerica author shows up in the news media, in newspapers, publications, radio or TV." Yet also mathematically tested folks can identify that by using the LexisNexis search stats, we find out that the standard is a puny when a month that a PublishAmerica book gets discussed in a paper somewhere in the United States. Editing-- What's That? Below's a treasure of a post on the PublishAmerica message board: "When it appeared in book develop a month back, my friends discussed the editing and enhancing issues in it, so a buddy of mine with a masters in education and learning went through it for me. It had close to a thousand editing and enhancing errors in a 182-page book. So, have some who really recognizes what literary web content should remain in a book, go through your publication for you before you send the final draft back to PublishAmerica. Due to the fact that the last draft, IS!, just how guide will be when it appears." I discovered that via the misspellings, grammatical mistakes, as well as basic poor writing that practically any person was publishable via the 'standard' author located in Frederick, Maryland. Such posts as: "I also am not the very best editor LOL! I did get my finished books. And when I consulted with a woman that is significant in the advertising and marketing area, she informed me that my publication at it's length of 132 web pages needs to have phases." A couple of PublishAmerica writers reviewed editing and enhancing. "I felt like you did when I found mistakes, yet after that I recognized, hey individuals read it for the tale, not seeking blunders in typo land! LOL Now I just keep a keepin on!" Sales Figures Question: I 'd actually like to recognize the amount of copies I've offered. Solution: Purchase all of guides on your own and afterwards count them. No matter how naïve PublishAmerica authors showed up, they will eventually concern the realization that PublishAmerica isn't really a traditional author, specifically when those twice-yearly aristocracy checks arrived. Every few months or two PublishAmerica sent them an e-mail proclaiming their success, extoling a heavyweight author they're discussing with, or, more just recently, doing a take care of the New York Times. On August 17th, an e-mail bearing the pleased subject heading 'Marketing Our Topsellers in the New York Times' appeared in author's online mailboxes. PublishAmerica was well named because they intend to publish any individual in The United States and Canada who has churned out a manuscript, despite quality. They declare to have anywhere from 9,000 to 12,000 "pleased" writers and also they want more and more of them as that undoubtedly suggests more money for the hoggish owners, specifically Willem Meiner and also Larry Clopper. The PublishAmerica name and logo is seen as a joke to those in the media, bookstores and also collections. Publications can not be returned. All PublishAmerica titles do not have the essential CIP [Cataloging-in-Publication] information, which is essential for collections to buy titles, and also who wishes to check out unedited and overpriced tomes besides the writer's cronies? Oh yep, and also while PublishAmerica asserts that they're a 'typical publisher' why on earth do they have in their major page keyword phrases note the term 'self publishing' three times? As well as in their website's summary, they boast: "PublishAmerica, Inc., a traditional publisher, approving and also publishing manuscripts and books at ON THE HOUSE to the author. Aristocracies paid to authors, books sold in shops. Manuscript submissions by mail and online" In the beginning of September I got a royalty check. To my shock, I was not only able to manage to acquire a set of shoelaces for my skates, I forked over the $12 it set you back to develop my blades. That recognized that this company would offer extra earnings allowing me to continue participating in my recreational skating hobby? Yet it cost me more than the $160 in author-bought publications, the $40 for galleys, which were possibly plunged into a recycling bin, the $87 shade calling card, $20 press release-- as well as the many hrs building and also reconstructing my website so people would take place throughout it and also buy a book that was only available online-- like any various other book. PublishAmerica enables the misconception of being a 'typical' publisher, a term not utilized before the development of the Web, to fester. The lie is perpetrated in those HTML resource codes that search engine spider robots deliver; the future writers led to the guaranteed realm of posting, a net web of woven myths fanning across the online world. PublishAmerica resembles most various other ePublishing companies guaranteeing tales of bestselling publications and authors. PublishAmerica is just another scam, just another future dot gone. If you are a PublishAmerica author, or know of one, that is sadly released and also will certainly tell your story, please get in touch with: Federal Profession Commission attn: CRC - 240 Washington, DC 20580 FTC Consumer Problem Form Frederick County Board of Region Commissioners Winchester Hall 12 E. Church Road, Frederick, MD 21701 Telephone: 301-694-1100 Fax: 301-694-1849 www.co.frederick.md.us/BOCC/ John L. Thompson, Jr., President Winchester Hall 12 E. Church Street Frederick, MD 21701 Telephone: 301-694-1028

Fax: 301-631-23 Discuss the following factors: Your publication is not offered in traditional bookstores and collections Your book is not returnable if a bookstore owner/manager must stock it 7-year-long contract is considered in inappropriate amount of time Your book is released by a vanity press You had to pay for your own copyright PublishAmerica will not look for the CIP, which allows it to be acquired by collections PublishAmerica overprices guides PublishAmerica offers a nonstandard price cut PublishAmerica's service version is to offer to their own authors PublishAmerica's books are NOT modified-- absolutely not line-by-line as they claim on their internet site but have actually since admitted that they only edit for grammar as well as spelling PublishAmerica approves about 80% of submitted manuscripts [most authors decline 99% of their submissions] PublishAmerica will just accept charge card orders over the phone when booking for one of their workshops or to purchase your own titles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7pJcweygAg

[pepperstrawberry]

So I just learned that there has been major big buy outs of Masterpieces across the board. Mostly it looks like the really BIG money cards that have been really hit, but still, this is frustrating.

Like, Mox Opal was already out of my reach reasonably, but I was hoping that make I could figure out some trades someday or maybe get someone to commission me for one in return... But it’s already over 300 for one.

I mean, sure ‘Bright side’ is my Sol Ring has gone way up and I could likely turn it over for some serious cash if I was desperate... but I really don’t want to.

I collect cards to play, and every card I ever sold, I regretted selling not long after.

(rant incoming, putting it under the cut)

And sure, these are super prestige cards, I get they are going to be expensive. But there is a big difference between them gaining value as less are cracked open, more are held on to, and thus less are in the actual market place.

But a buy out? Buy outs are straight up BULLSHIT. It’s someone FORCING the ‘value’ up. That isn’t value, that’s just pure greed.

Sure we all play a bit of a ‘stock market’ thing when it comes to trades and getting cards, but this isn’t that. This isn’t like cards moving out of Standard and loosing a lot of value or a new card finding play in any format at a protour. This is just a forced raising of prices.

And sadly... it’s just how this crap works with less prints of something. I think this is the moment I kinda have gotten burnt on the idea of Masterpiece cards (at least as they currently work being done) and I’m actually glad there were none in Dominaria. Would I be happy to see a return? Sure, but maybe something that would be less of a lotto ticket and more of a nice bonus.

I rather like the Professor’s idea of doing Masterpeices in the future. Less cards to find, so there is more of a chance of finding the one you want, and there would be more of any one of them in circulation. At the very least, it would keep this crap from happening a while longer if nothing else.

This is why I have problems with the second market. It should be there to help support the game, enable people to get cards easier for their decks. Not force folks to pony up more cash.

And no, this doesn’t just happen to the luxury cards. It’s been some weeks so I don’t remember the card, but there was a COMMON that wasn’t in print any more that was a target of a buy out because of how much it was seeing play again thanks to Pauper becoming a thing. It went from something like $1 to $10. Sure, it’s not -that- much... but seriously... a 10 DOLLAR COMMON. I don’t know what to cost is now, if it is lower again, or went back up or what... but damn. This is a problem anywhere were there are less printings of a card.

A luxury printing of a card should gain value because of actual physical rarity. A normal printing should never really be expensive to begin with. This is a big reason why I do support the idea of luxury/prestige prints, as well as reprints of basic printings enough so that the normal costs can be lower.

We players will still always love to bling out our decks (especially those playing in any of the eternal formats), so value of the prestige cards should always be higher... But folks need to play the game too...

Sorry, this went from a small frustration about a single card into the wider issue that Wizards has trouble with for a lot more complicated reasons then I will likely ever understand in full. (I’m sure some of the reasons why the reserve list is such a touchy subject for those like MaRo might figure more into how cards are chosen for Master sets then we might realize...)

Anyhoo, If you were looking to pick up any Masterpeice cards (Expeditions, Inventions, Invocations), and you have been sitting on the fence, and you have the cash for it, AND it hasn’t been hit by this nonsense yet... You might want to consider pulling that trigger.

I’ve been debating on it for Aggravated Assault. I love that art and despite the issues I have with how they made the frame in general, I still love the final result of the foiling effect they went for.... But I could use that 30+ for Prerelease, and I already have a modern framed Aggravated Assault in the “Explorers of Ixalan” game box. There were a surprising amount of cool reprints in there that actually covered some bases and ticked off a few wish list items. One of the best buys I have made in a long while for sure XD

... sorry for the rant... but yeah...

[burmecianblackmage]

Goodbye 2017 - Hello 2018

[[EDIT: tumblr did mess it up. Urgh. So this is now two hours late... sorry guys -.-]]

If tumblr doesn’t mess things up (and it hasn’t during the advent calendar, so I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it won’t), then this post should hit the dash exactly when the clock strikes midnight over here in Switzerland, and the new year begins. And that means it’s the perfect time to say...

Happy 2018 guys!

I hope you all will have a wonderful new year, one that will make you forget all the bad things that happened in 2017, and leave you a happy and content little human by the time 2019 rolls around in 365 days.

May your year be full of moments that make you smile, moments of love and friendship, moments of success and accomplishment, and above all, full of health and happiness. I am very happy to have met all of you, and to have interacted with you, whether it be by playing, by talking, or even just by reading some of each other’s works. You lot have been a big part in what kept me going this year, and I want you to know I’m really thankful for that. I hope we can enjoy much of the next year together as well, and that no matter where the year will lead you, you will be happy. I love you all.

As a little extra, I’ll put a little review of my and Sceada’s year under the cut - at least I hope it will remain somewhat little. But you know me... Anyhow. I’m placing it under the cut so as not to spam you, and also because I will address some stuff regarding my health and Sceada’s sexuality as well, and I know not everyone is comfortable with that. I’ll mark them with a small header so you can skip them, but I just wanted to warn you beforehand~

With that out of the way, here we go! And for those who don’t wanna read it: Happy 2018!!

The Mun’s Year in Review

Well, you all know that this year hasn’t been an easy one, and I daresay it was a rough one for everyone. Still, I do feel like I should talk a little bit about the hardships I’ve had to face, and the struggles that’ll accompany me for much of the year to come, if not the entire one. So... here goes.

Health

As many of you know, I had a tumor in December 2016, namely an Ependymom that was lodged in my spinal marrow, at about the tenth to twelfth thoracic vertebrae. It had caused me stiffness and loss of sensitivity in my legs, and once we found it, there had been little choice but to remove it asap.

Ever since then, I’ve been needing a wheelchair. And I started 2017 at rehab in the Swiss Paraplegic Center in Nottwil. Mind you, it’s probably the best facility in the world for such a situation, and I learned a ton of stuff, including how to walk again with the help of crutches - still, spending half a year stuck at rehab ain’t exactly fun.

Especially when you also have to relearn stuff like bladder management, using the toilet and what not. Do you want to take a wild guess at how helpless you feel when you can’t even go to the toilet on your own, when you can’t help but soiling yourself because you have yet to regain control over your lower body functions? If you don’t know, you don’t ever want to find out. Gods was I relieved when it all turned out to be functioning properly after all...

And it’s not like it’s been the only health thing that affected me. I needed another eye surgery, for the Keratoconus developing in my right eye after we already had to do the left one last year, and I’ve been struggling to get used to it since then. First with my old glasses, now with the new ones I still cannot wear for more than like two hours at a time... - Oh, did I mention that insurance didn’t cover the 1700.- surgery by the way? Goodbye my savings I had been clinging onto...

And let us not forget that due to my immune system having gotten weaker, I also have this amazing pleasure of falling sick faster! Stomach flu? Come right in and stay three weeks! Dizziness? Hello darkness my old friend! Regular cold? Knock me out for four days, feel free to! Urgh -.-

Add to that a heap of spasms in my left leg that have been present all along, but got considerably worse now that winter rolled around. We know by not it’s not due to the tumor resurfacing (because it can do that, they couldn’t remove it entirely after all without cutting my nerves!) but can you imagine how nervous you get while waiting for the answer? And it’s not like the spasms are any help walking either, rendering me less mobile again after I had improved so much beforehand...

But enough of that. I could sadly go on and on here (I haven’t even brushed my mental stuff yet, oh boy...), but I’ll spare you that. It’s gotten long enough as it is anyhow... Let’s move on to other topics.

Work and Finances

Look, it’s not as though I had a job really when they found the tumor - or actually, yes it is. I may have been in an internship of sorts organized by disability services, but I had a job lined up where I could have started in January - Alas, it never happened. And seeing how I can no longer work my original job in retail (no electronics store will hire someone in a wheelchair. You can’t do the cleaning jobs, can’t fill the shelves and are slow to get around. Plus, how the fuck are you gonna fetch a 55′’ TV from the storage when a customer wants to buy it?), I am now actually trying to find a new purpose for myself. Gladly, disability services will help me with that... though it won’t be easy, and I dunno if I’ll be ready to start a new apprenticeship in summer like they hope. Cause it’s unlikely any spots will still be available...

Still, they are hopeful, and in order to get me back in the swing, they placed me in the same internship/training thing again, starting with just two hours daily. By now I’m in the office the entire morning on weekdays, and it’s going good so far. I’ll be there at least three more months.

And then, who knows? Maybe they’ll send me into finances and banking, or perhaps communal administration? We’ll see.

What is upsetting is the financial situation though. Due to being at rehab, I had to file for social aid - and the money they give me is very, very little for swiss measures. While I was at rehab, it was about 240, now it’s roughly 760 I get - even though I do actually get almost 3500 per month for the internship form disability services. But all that goes to social services to “pay off the debt”... Urgh >.>

For reference, an average 42 hours per week job in retail would pay between 3900 and 4200 per month. So yeah... Granted, they cover my health insurrance (which is 55o-ish per month, mind you!), but it’s still rough... The price levels here in Switzerland are just so damn high...

Social Life

Which leads me to this... I barely ever go out anymore these days. I can’t afford doing much, and what little I do afford is a pain to do due to the wheelchair. I can no longer just spontaneously go somewhere, or attend an event, I always need someone to drive me or even join me - and that inevitably leads to you not doing much anymore, you know?

I barely have any real contact with my rl friends anymore, I at most attend a MTG event every 3 months (PreReleases, nothing more sadly...), my DnD group also fell apart (though that was unrelated)... - Honestly, if it weren’t for you guys here online, especially those who talk to me on Discord and such, I’d be completely socially isolated, and that sucks. It sucks big time...

Gladly my girlfriend sticks with me, believes in me and loves me. Even if I can’t see her as much anymore, as we both can’t really afford the flights to visit each other, which is rather lonely too... We only managed to afford a few weeks in August together, when she visited me here with my room still unfinished. If the paraplegic foundation didn’t have the kindness to pay for her flights and hotel in March while I was still at rehab, that’d have been the only time I’d seen her this entire year....

So yeah. Things aren’t easy right now. Which is why I hope... next year will see improvements. It just has to...

Sceada’s Year in Review

When the last year ended, Sceada was a heartbroken virgin longing for affection and deeply missing the woman he loved, Leonora. He knew who he was though, a talented mage and a scholar of old languages who found work here and there, traveling wherever he pleased and slowly but surely building friendships with more and more people.

If you look at him now, he is instead riddled by insecurities, questions pretty much everything about himself to the point he is neglecting work at times in order to investigate his origins and maybe find his father. And the answers he longs for. Oh, he’s also entered a relationship with Maria and become - and here I quote Locke who was very, very pissed about this a few days ago - an accomplished lover.

But let’s look at things a bit more step by step, shall we?

A brief overview

Following Leonorâ’s prolonged absence, Sceada begins looking for other sources of affection, becoming rather flirty and sometimes even bold with Fran and Selphie, while deepening his friendship with Maria during their trip and afterwards

Sceada and Maria get rather close following him finding her having a nightmare, and staying with her to offer comfort

Leila captures the mage and, after tying him to her bed and appealing to his curiosity, takes his virginity. Later a second encounter occurs, where he they both are drunk at a Festival, before parting ways again.

Upon having spent Valentine’s Day with his friend Maria, Sceada discovers he has developed feelings for her. However, when voicing them, he finds them to be unrequited, and he tries to distance himself from her for a while.

Leonora finally returns, and during the initial happiness the two share a passionate night before the Sage encourages Sceada to follow his heart and pursue Maria, suggesting he could be or become polyamorous.

Sceada spends more time together with Maria, becoming closer again, but is content with just being friends. This changes when the pair are attacked by Coeurls, and Sceada nearly sacrifices himself to protect her, causing Maria to realize her feelings. When he recovers, the two become a pair, and slowly, over time, grow closer and closer.

Conflicted by his feelings for both Maria and Leonora (and to an extent, Leila as well...), Sceada seeks out a Goddess of Love, looking for advice. His silent hopes for reassurance in loving both women are however aptly crushed when the deity questions his motives for loving them, leading him to realize how much suppressed doubt and insecurity he has carried with himself.

Upon trying to tell Leonora more about Maria, Sceada’s motives are once again questioned, leading to an unfortunate argument that exposes a lack of trust on his end that Sceada had not been aware of. Unwilling to let herself be hurt by this any longer, Leonora suggests they part ways - they have not seen each other nor communicated in any way since then.

Sceada tries to forget about it all, hoping he could overcome it all with Maria’s love. However, when she wishes to take their relationship to the next step, he feels guilty over not having told her, and in the subsequent conversation many an uncomfortable truth and emotion are laid bare. Still, the pair reconcile, staying together and eventually consummate on their relationship.

Knowing that he will not be able to ignore the burning questions in his heart and mind any longer, Sceada begins to prepare to leave on a journey, just as the Goddess had suggested. He arranges for the eventuality that he might not return with his old rival Seshat Khnum, but before he can leave, Maria implores him to stay with her until the new year.

Making the most of this opportunity, Sceada holds his advent calendar again, and at the end of the year, attends the Garden Festival organized by Selphie.

Of course, there have been plenty of other plays as well, and I wouldn’t miss any of them. For example, Sceada finally opening up to Freya, or adventuring together with Jack in order to grab a certain book from the library of Burmecia, and all the shenanigans with little Stabby McStabstab Vani the Helfling Rogue - There was so much I adore, and not enough room here to mention them all. Just know that I loved all of our interactions!

A little note about the Smut

Yes, you read that right. I already mentioned stuff further up, but I still wanna note it here too, and add what’s missing up there.

We’ve already seen that he slept with Leila twice and Leonora once before he then got together with Maria, and well... let’s just say that those two may have taken a long time to get started, but haven’t been exactly innocent since - Sindays ahoy, is all I’ll say ;) But there have also been others, which I am not yet exactly certain whether to consider them canon to his main story, or separate cases - there’s merit in both, mind you, and I’ll probably ask the ladies involved eventually too. But who were they?

There is an as of yet unfinished thread with Fran, where the two engage in intimacies in a spring in the woods, after Sceada followed her and her enticing scent. One could argue that this is mainly heat relief, but it is not as though Sceada is exactly unwilling or that he is uninterested in the beautiful Viera...

The few encounters he’s had with Selphie were things got frisky somehow all share a similar pattern: Be it a playful argument, a bet they had or simply because sharing a bed leads to some “friction”, there is always something triggering the situation getting a bit more intimate and well... no one can deny that Selphie is a person you can have much fun with...

I also want to mention Aria, though the way our plays so far have played out, I kinda headcanon it as the two of them having been willing to get more physical three times so far, and Sceada stopping it each time because he noticed Aria wasn’t certain about it, and quite nervous, even afraid at times. And if there’s one thing he wants more than to avoid hurting her, it’s for her to enjoy this decision and not regret it... Perhaps the moment will still come, should we resume playing and point them in that direction.

There are two more ladies I played with, where things are rather kinky. One of them is on Discord and a fellow Black Mage, who’s been tons of tun to write with - the other a blog dedicated to sinful threads. I’ll refrain from naming either for now, as these two are likely to remain their own verses.

Final notes

Finally, I’d like to mention that there is also one more I play with on Discord after she left tumblr, and that her muse Anima is a pleasure to write with in all three verses we came up with. Also, I just wanna thank everyone who played with me this year, and I look forward to continue doing so - as well as meet new people!

Sceada will soon leave on his journey, and that means there is plenty of room for new friendships to be forged, and acquaintances to be made - or rivalries and enmities! I’m open for anything!

With that said, if you’re still reading this, I apologize for rambling for so long. I wish you a very, very good new year and thank you for putting up with me! Have fun tonight, have fun the entire next year, and I hope to interact with you again in 2018!!

Thanks for everything,

Patrick~

[dentos-wife]

Alright I finished Ultra Moon! Game play was fun, the new totems were interesting I love the new outfits you can get (should have given us more darnit what are there two?!). And Ultra Space is fun probably the best thing about this game honestly.

But...anyone who knows me know I LOVED Moon, it actually has my favorite story in any Pokemon game as of late, a great cast and a wonderful plot. When USM was announced I had some concerns about how the plot would be handled. The only reason they had two games instead of one for their third game was because Nebby was two Pokemon they needed one for each. I was concerned due to Necrozma being the focus they’d kill the plot that made SM so good. Especially as when looking it prerelease material it seemed to be the same game with little touches here and there.  

If you enjoyed the original and want to play more go for it there are some differences you might enjoy but if you never played an Alola version and want to jump in I would call the original better in terms of the world of Alola but Ultra better for gameplay so it depends on what matters to you. I generally prefer character and plot, so my recommendation goes to the original most would say the opposite.

My full review with spoilers for USM under the cut

Sun and Moon was not really your story, it was Lillie’s and the bond she had with Nebby. Ultra Moon is treated just like Moon until the very last half of the game, and then the new plot starts and it’s a total train wreck. See, if they were going to do a new plot you’d think they’d start it earlier and not have all the dialogue be the exact same because it doesn’t work with the new plot. 

Here’s what I mean by the dialouge is the same at one point it’s hilarious because Hau beat Hala in USUM, but Gladion still states that Hau can't beat Hala when you first meet him. It’s just wrong and lazy. That a minor thing but then it cuts into story.

Lillie is still treated the exact same until everything starts and she’s roughly shoved aside. The touching moment between you and her on Executor Island? Gone. You go alone. She still does her Z form and all that but because Lusamine is so different (more on that later) it just feels pointless and all the power behind that scene is sucked away. She doesn’t even go to Ultra Space with you and obviously because her plot is chopped up she doesn’t go to Kanto either. She’s just there. And it would be okay because I get it different game but then why set her up to be the exact same as she was in the original games and then violently shove everything aside to make up for the new plot. It. doesn’t. work.

Lusamine....oh Lusamine, one of the most interesting villains we’ve ever had was reduced to wanting to go to Ultra Space to fight Necrozma because she has a hero complex and is selfish, same basic stuff we always had but it’s very hard to tell what they were trying to do with her. Because most of her dialogue is exactly the same and she still has the frozen Pokemon room and again it just doesn’t work. People are upset she’s now redeemable but she was in the first game too and at the very least it made sense in that one.

She lost her husband and due to it became an ultra beast obsessed Nilhelgo poisoned drug addict who continued to get more and more batshit insane the more she came in contact with said UB eventually becoming Mother Beast and needing a good old fashioned beat down and giving us one of the greatest confrontations and lines from her daughter. 

In Ultra Moon she goes to ultra space to fight Necrozma and comes out. Lillie and her apparently talk while you’re fighting Necrozma and...that’s it. 

Which again would have been fine if they didn’t set her up exactly like the original. Nilhelgo still shows up in Aether Foundation and you still battle the thing her lines are exactly the same. They don’t change until Lillie gets kidnapped.

Minimal changes usually do work, Platinum is the best example of that. But it doesn’t work with the plot SM had, USM should have gotten rid of the family drama then because that only works with Lusamine being the antagonist she was it doesn’t play as well with her sidelined role. Granted because she’s not toxined and Kanto’d you can unlock this but...that was also very underwhelming.

Hau on the other hand they tried to make this game more about him, and honestly they should have thrown Lillie’s plot out then because what they do do with him works. It was nice to see him beat his grandfather and being the “champion” you had to face instead of Kukui. That was all nice, but then they should have had him be involved in the main plot more. Then in post game it’s back to Lillie as Lusamine is kidnaped by Rainbow Rocket. And we see what we always wanted to see Lillie as a trainer! But it’s...meh not that powerful she’s only a double battle partner and then gives up and heals you along the way.

So what is the main plot? Necrozma fuzes with Nebby once it becomes Lunala (or Solgaleo if you’re playing Ultra Sun) retreats to Ultra Space and you with help of the Ultra Recon Squad’s Pokemon to get you there (otherwise they still do nothing) beat it and come back. In that Ultra Megalopolis thing right? Except man you’d think something with that name would be massive right? Even the prerelease material hyped it up. The distortion world was really cool! This though was a tower. That’s it. You can even do anything in the place it felt really bland. I half wonder if they planned to do something with it and then ran out of time. 

Anyway Necromza retreats and you can catch it right before the league on the mountain. Little underwhelming really. The URS was more of a walking plot device then actual characters too which is a shame as I wanted to like them but they would appear talk plot and then leave. And Necrozma isn’t even evil like advertised (Surprise! Who’s surprised? No one.)

So yes game play and all that is fixed but the plot is damn terrible. Seriously, yes URS is new but for the first four islands: "Hello. Cryptic stuff about our world. Bye!" and then straight back to the Sun/Moon plot. Which shouldn’t be how it was, they should have done more with them everything hits too late and EVERYONE suffers because of it. Except Hau, Hau did pretty well.

As someone who likes to get invested in the characters and plot I’m very disappointed. The Looker and Anabel quest is gone which...is a damn shame. That also gave us some more world building about Alola. Instead you get this Rainbow Rocket which is alright I guess. Ghetsis and Corless having a showdown was neat and you see a little into the past villains with some text. Guzma gets something which is cool too but why replace something that expanded on Alola for this? Could you have had both somehow then? I know Pokemon doesn’t have DLC and thank goodness but eh RR plot should have without a doubt been DLC. Delta Emerald was a great post game plot, it expanded on the world gave our new people some character and we learned more about Hoenn. Compared to that Rainbow Rocket was....fanservice. 

Since most people are into Pokemon for gameplay this will be fine I’m sure but as for me this game was basically my worst fears. I didn’t need to exist the same way BW2 didn’t need to exist (and as much as I rag on BW2 AT LEAST it was a sequel so there was nothing to ruin) I don’t agree with their choices and it was a total let down from BW but compared to this...which was a third game for a already pretty complete game. The one that NEEDED the fix was XY and it got nothing. I would have rather had Z over this honestly.

But the gameplay is solid at least, I’m just more of a involved with the world kind of person.

[housebeleren]

Ixalan Limited - Bomb Rares

So the last piece of my rundown for Ixalan Limited are the Bomb Rares. These are the first picks, the must-answer threats, and the cards you will otherwise be stoked to open but hate facing yourself. This will cover the Rares & Mythics of the set that you really want to see in your prerelease pool this coming weekend.

White

BOOM. Wakey wakey eggs & bakey here is serving up some Kool-Aid realness and gurl I am drinking it up. Okay yes, 8 mana is a lot. And yes, triple-White can be annoying. But I honestly think this card will be totally playable, particularly in sealed. The format seems like it will be slow enough to stall to 8 mana, and there is some ramp between Explore, Treasure, and Dino-centric cards like Kinjalli’s Caller and Drover of the Mighty that I think it’ll be doable. And once she comes down, gurl, it’s game over. You done won.

Honestly, I think Mavren Fein here will be underestimated at first, since people will assume that he’s the one that has to be attacking, and by himself, he’s behind curve. But if you can play a 1 or 2-drop Vamp, then drop Mavren turn 3 & swing, you got your value. From there, it’s just extra gravy. If you’re on the beatdown, he’s absolutely brutal. I’d prioritize other Vampires with evasion as well as combat tricks quite highly if I found one of these in my pool.

Dusk Titan here is going to be an absolute headache. She’s a little under curve, so removal and tempo to keep her clear of large blockers will be critical. But man, if you can keep her alive for even a few attacks, she’s a value machine. Again, combat tricks will be your friend here to keep your Bishop swinging away into the sunset.

Blue

I predict that, more than any other card in the set, this is the one that will immediately be followed by the word “Scoop.” This effect is absolutely devastating, and will even be good when you’re pretty far behind. This will obliterate token strategies, and if your opponent has multiple 4 drops & up, forget it. Just be sure you have at least something on the board before you play this, otherwise your opponent gets the chance to rebuild before you do. But honestly, this is the kind of card that will steal wins out of nowhere, and that’s an effect I am pretty damn stoked for.

Yes, I am hot for Jace. Yes, I want him to make a illusion copies of himself so I can fulfill my all-Jace orgy fantasies. No, I have no shame.

All that is beside the point. The point is that Pirate Jace has real potential to dominate games right from the get-go. I mean, if you’re able to play one of the several 1 or 2 drop Blue fliers, you’ve got yourself a build-your-own looter machine. If Jace is your first play of the game, he can at least drop a blocker in the way to keep himself alive until you can start playing bigger threats & tempo. And if you do manage to get him to 5 loyalty, then he’s going to run away with the game faster than you can say “Arrrrrggh.”

Or in this case, “Unnnngghhhh.”

LOVE me some control magic. This card basically speaks for itself. Steal their shit, LOLs ensue.

Seriously though, play this card.

Black

This is one card I’m anxious to see in action. Personally, I think it’s great. He comes down and eats a chunk out of everyone’s life, but then protects you by being a big body with Deathtouch. On your next turn, your opponent has to decide between letting you hit them for 4, which will be nothing to shrug off when they’ll already be at 13 or under, or double block, thereby handing you a 2 for 1. In an aggressive Pirate deck, he seems like he can nab you a turn 5 or 6 win pretty easily, and in a defensive deck, he can help you stabilize. He also is a fine inclusion in a Vampire lifegain deck. Imagine swinging with a bunch of Lifelink creatures immediately after landing him. 

I already know I’m going to lose hard to this guy. He gives weenie decks the one thing they desperately need: reach against an opponent who has stabilized. Vampires will be excellent at hitting for some early damage, then mucking up the board with tons of tokens. But they’ll be outclassed by Dinos & maybe even Merfolk in size pretty quickly, so cards like Sanctum Seeker are going to be just the topdeck you need to close out the game, maybe not with a bang, but rather with a mournful sigh.

Premium removal be premium removal. Pick this card highly and make sure to bring your best shit-eating grin when you cast it. Like “Oh damn, that’s a big Dino. Shame he’s fucking exiled mothafucka!”

Just kidding, always be courteous to other players. Be smug, but be smug on the inside. And shake hands nicely after you own their sorry ass.

Red

Again, I understand that this is a 7-Drop. I understand its base stats are below curve. I also understand that if you have any sort of reasonable board presence out, you can probably just end the game on the spot the turn you cast this. This is the card that ends board stalls, because suddenly your creatures all outclass your opponent’s creatures. You only want one card in your deck that’s above a 4 or 5 drop, but this card will win games. Period.

Suck it, Vampires! (LOLZ GET IT?!?! SUCK? VAMPIRES?!)

Sorry, I won’t do that again. But seriously, this card nerfs the Vampire deck so hard. And a 3/3 Menace creature is super solid for 3 mana anyway. Clearly the idea is to play fewer large threats, and if you can do that, you’ll win by sheer attrition. Other players won’t see this coming, and I guarantee they won’t have a game plan for adjusting their strategy for it post-board either.

What makes this card baller is that it’s pretty close to on-curve anyway, so you’re really not paying for the ability. (Except, obviously, for the 3R that you actually pay for the ability.) But the issue with Threaten effects is that they’re typically not worth the card slot. Being able to bash your opponent’s face with their best creature every turn seems like a sweet deal to me, particularly since it also clears their best blocker out of the way at the same time. Once your opponent starts having to block and trade their own creatures to keep from getting pummeled, you know you done right.

Also, way to go Wizards commissioning the fantastic Winona Nelson of 8-Pack fame to do this art. Very clever, and I emphatically approve.

Red did good on the Rares this set, which is good because the Commons kinda sucked nuts. Repeating Barrage is serving up Hammer of Bogardan 2.0 fierceness, and it is giving me life. Or, y’know... giant arrows to the face. But honestly, this card can take over a game single handedly. You’d play this card even if you couldn’t buy it back, but having that Raid ability takes this card from a solid removal spell to the best card in your deck.

Green

Big Dumb T-Rex is big and dumb. And can’t be countered or removed. In other words, this card is going to cause so much groaning when it shows up to ruin someone’s day. Seriously. Remember when 4GG got you a 6/4 vanilla? Jesus.

In case Green didn’t seem like obviously the most busted color of the set, allow me to introduce you to this friendly fellow. Just your run of the mill, unimpressive 4-mana 4/5 card advantage machine. Nothing special, right? 

Attacking into this with anything other than a 5/x creature is just plain incorrect, as is chump blocking. And even if you do trade in combat, the Raptor-wrangler still ends up a card ahead! Cards like this make bad cards like Rile good.

Yeah, that seems good. Play a bunch of early Merfolk and beat face early, then once you run out of cards just start chucking Lands at your opponent. No biggie. 

What I love most about this design is that it ensures that no card is a blank draw in the late game, even Lands, making this a virtual form of card advantage that I think people will underestimate.

Multicolored, Artifacts, and Lands

Bigger, Dumber T-Rex is bigger and dumber. So... if you can cast Gishath, and you have even a few other Dinos in your deck, I don’t see how you can lose. The problem will be whether or not the format can support 3 colors reliably. If so, I could totally imagine slamming Gishath. I have a hunch that this will work, but also that more people will try to make it work than should.

Huatli is the real deal. Even if you never do anything other than pump out 3/3s, she’s paid her dues after only 2 turns. Seriously... you could just treat her as an enchantment that makes a 3/3 every turn, and that would be a card we would all play. The rest of the abilities are gravy. Though I do like the ultimate as a good way to break board stalls. Make no mistake, Huatli is a limited BOMB.

Pirate Vraska is a little less certain, particularly since she’s in a relatively unsupported color combo. But, on the other hand, I am absolutely convinced you could play a U/B or B/R pirates deck that uses nothing but treasure to splash for the one Green mana you need to cast her. Once you do, she’ll own the board. Destroy whatever else is pissing you off, or just churn out pirates every turn because why not?

Here’s the thing. Forget even being able to cast the creature and just focus on one fact: Worst case-scenario, Hostage Taker is a Blue-Black Banisher Priest. In other words, highly playable. Once you cast the creature you exiled, you’re in phenomenal shape. If you can find a way to retrigger via blink or recursion after casting said creature, your opponent should just fold because you just won at Magic.

Oh, y’know, whatever. Just spending 5 mana for 7/7 worth of stats, as per usual or something. Like, are they kidding here? Honestly, the only reason I believe this card exists is because Verdurous Gearhulk already broke my disbelief glands beyond repair. Make no mistake, 5 mana for a 4/4 and a 3/3 with Haste is gross.

So... this is another card where I think people are going to be distracted by the high life cost of the Vindicate ability and overlook the simple fact that a 4/4 Vigilance Lifelink creature is worth 5 mana. Vona is super playable just on stats alone. And if/when you need to snipe something, you have that option. Once you do, you can keep swinging and just regain the life you paid. I definitely do not look forward to facing this card.

Most of the Transform cards have enormous Constructed potential. However, out of all of them, Treasure Map seems like the best suited for Limited. The price on the ability is right, and the filtering is super useful. Once it transforms, you get all the mana back plus an immediate way to cash in the tokens for card draw. I honestly don’t see a downside. All but the leanest, most aggressive decks will want this.

So, this one may seem a little out of place, but I mention it for a reason. And that is that nobody will want this piece of shit except one player, and that player is the lone weirdo who is drafting B/G Explore. In that deck, this could be a solid bomb. If you can get this to 3/3, you’re almost on curve for Vehicles. At 4/4, you done good and have a solid threat on your hands. If you can get it to 5/5, you’ve built your own Renegade Freighter, and that’s just disgusting.

So that’s that. The bombs of Ixalan. There honestly were a few more, particularly in Red & Green, that I could have highlighted. But these struck me as the most likely to be the powerhouses of the format. Let me know what you think. We’ll start talking Ixalan for EDH soon.

[mtgsharzad]

GRN Prerelease Notes

WeIt’s been a while since I’ve gone to a prerelease. I think since...BFZ? But with the free Arena sealed voucher and the return to return to Ravnica, Magic’s greatest setting, I schlepped my way to the game store (after swallowing two edibles).  It’s a different store than the one I used to prerelease at. A narrow room is filled with one line of tables and barely enough space on either side of them to walk past. The counter stretches...6 metres? It’s a game store, like many and unlike many others. I showed up 3 minutes late and all the non-Izzet prerelease packs have been taken. Not much of a choice, izzet? God, kill me. I get a promo Firemind’s Insight and a really conflicted Sealed pool. I have three Selesnya rares, a Steam Vents, an Assassin’s Trophy (which I’m going to trade away) and the new 1R growing elemental guy.  I have, like, no playable creatures, and end up reaching for two copies of Muse Drake just to be able to play more than 8 battle dumplings. I built into a grixis fliers/midrange deck, mostly anchored around my copious removal and my UUBB guy.  I always forget how long we’re allowed for deckbuilding at these events. I’m usually a quick deckbuilder, but the drugs kick in and I find myself looking at the same 25 possible includes for a straight 15 minutes. I cut my second copy of the 1UB enchantment and grab basics, and proceed to have a really pleasant conversation with the guy diagonal from me about Legacy Pox. What a beautiful deck! He confessed to running the 1-of granddaddy Pox, as well as 4 Sinkhole, 4 Wasteland, 4 Smallpox, etc. Gotta love a man who plays the 1-of. He said he plays Percy as a finisher though, instead of the Nether Shadow recursion/beats strat - “make a percy, swing three times, you’re dead”, he explains. Sounds interesting! Round one. I’m up against a friendly Asian guy in his late 20s. He’s on BUG, and we have a good back-and-forth, but I take the series 2-1. Nothing really memorable or exceptional here; just some good old fashioned Sealed gameplay. I take game 3 with a reasonably-thrilling combo kill out of nohwere with Wee Dragonauts buffs and 6 points of burn going dome. Really great games, I say, and he agrees. I report the match win to the store owner, who I think gives me a little wink of approval. Who is this strange newcomer, who can win her first game? I imagine he’s saying. She must be a powerful sorceress. Round two. I deckbuilt across from this guy, so I know that he’s on Naya and has a foil Trostani (jealous). He had a bye R1, so I’m nervous, but I pretend I didn’t know this when he explains it to me. “So, you feeling good, then?” I ask, and he replies with something that’s music to my ears: He’s a total scrub! He has no idea how to play Magic, and is “usually the worst guy in the room”. I’m about 5% wary of some kind of hustle, but I don’t think I’m being hustled; this guy is earnest about how bad he is at Magic, so let’s just have some fun games! In game 1, I keep a risky hand with UR mana and two B spells. I never find a Swamp, and Sammy Scrub over here just develops a board and beats me down.  The whole time, he’s table talking nervously about how this is the best it ever goes for him, and this is probably the best he’ll do all day. A turn before I’d die, I say gg and flop the hand, which now has 4 B spells and still no B mana.  ”That explains a lot”, he says. In game 2, I take a dicy mull to 4 looking for lands. I’m sitting on Swamp, new Rupture Spire, Dinrova Horror, Goblin Cratermaker, which is at least an all-stars version of my shitty, shitty deck. I manage to do some nice stack trickery with Cratermaker that fizzles one of his Auras. After clarifying the difference between Auras and Equipment, I take game 2 easily. 

This seems like an apt point to take a moment to take a personal stand: I hate the way he taps his mana. He keeps all his lands in a single pile, behind his library (and therefore more or less underneath his arm from my viewpoint). This game, he did this thing where he’d hold up 3 mana for like 4 turns, and I’d have to keep clarifying that he had mana up, with him even doing things like casting a Worldsoul Colossus with X=2 so he could hold up mana (I Dead Weighted it. 😭Brutal😭). Turns out he was holding onto a Plummet effect; when I slammed the Dinrova Horror, he said “oh, that has flying, right?” and tried to kill it. Damn, sorry dude, but it also has Hexproof... Anyway. The experience of playing against multiple people with really incoherent mana presentation made me resolve to be even better about my own land display. It’s something Magic Arena couldn’t possibly have reminded me about; the messiness and personal flair that goes into the way each player taps, plays, and manipulates their cards, all outside of the game itself.  Game 3 also comes down to some board stall where I blunted his early assault and stabilized with Wee Dragonauts. Once I hit 6 mana I did the 4UR split card spell to search for an instant (the jumpstart draw 2) and a sorcery (the 3bb murder surveil 2). That was my endgame value chain, and he just couldn’t beat it. I played really forgivingly and walked him through my understandings of several combats in a way that I think made him a more equitable opponent to me, and so for that reason I think we had some really captivating fun games. I really liked this guy, and I hope he did well after we fought. We go to turns, so my idea to buy pizza before R3 is tragically dashed on the rocks. I still haven’t eaten (always take pills on an empty stomach, kids), and I’m starting to feel it.

 My opponent this round is a happy looking fat kid, who the entrenched player cracking a box to my left apparently mentored in Magic’s rules. The moment we square up I realize he’s a “Real Opponent” in a way the round 2 guy simply wasn’t; he does the pro player card shuffling tic, announces every trigger, and his cards make the loud SLICK SLICK SLACK of a player who knows exactly which card he’s putting where, and who intends to waste no time doing so.

We both mull to 6. “Ooh, hope you didn’t keep a fast one, or I might need to go to 5″, I tease. He tells me he kept a fast one, I stay on 6, and true to his word, he grizzly bears me into the dust by turn 6. Brutal! I mire in self-abnegation. You IDIOT, I think. He said it was a fast one, I castigate. Oops! This is not the mindset of a champion. I reset quickly for game two. At this point we’re comfortable enough in the dance, two mature players (one a child) with cleanly-laid-out mana and creatures and full understanding of the Stack, and we’re bullshitting and talking Modern while we play. It’s a joyous experience, the best time I’ve had playing paper Magic recently. I take game 2 pretty cleanly when he’s stuck on two lands, and the land clump he hits on turn 5 is too little too late, even though he slams a locket as soon as he can play it. I misplay a little by forgetting some of his announced triggers during combat, and get a 1-for-1 on my Dinrova Horror instead of the 2-for-1 I’d planned on. Oops! I win handily, though.  In game 3 I kept a risky 6 - 5 lands and a two-drop. I draw more lands and just can’t spend gas fast enough to keep up, and he curves me into the dust with his efficient little battle dumplings. RIP, really great games. The thrill of combat and the hot copper taste of blood (I think I bit my cheek accidentally?) fill my veins.  In the pizza meta selection subgame, I walk in the door thinking Potato, but audibled to Feta and Sundried Tomatoes because I heard Boros had good chances against the field. 

I walk back down the street to the LGS. The pizza did what it needed to and has loosened the feelings of self-doubt that come with your first tournament loss of the day. I am a champion. I am a queen. I’m beautiful. I visualize myself going 3-1.  My opponent for the fourth and final round is another teen, but he’s way worse than the cute friendly pro-to-be. He’s really soft-spoken, which wouldn’t be a problem but Putative Pro is the other match on this table and he and I are still occasionally shooting the shit, much to Surly Kid’s annoyance. Sorry, dog! I would normally use your turns to plan strategy or whatever, but he takes such ponderous long turns I feel like I have no choice. He’s moaning that he’s had to mull to 5 5 times already. My heart goes out to the kid, but maybe he should learn to trust in the heart of the cards!~ He’s built a pretty solid GWr aggro deck, lots of lifegain and Mentor effects. Exactly the kind of deck I’m not built to answer! But it turns out that spot removal works okay against mentor if you can keep them from having two guys attack on any given turn. I bleed out before I can stabilize game 1, though.  Game 2 I barely remember also, but I think I had a solid early curve and managed to discard his 1 answer in-hand. Hard to complain about that!

Game 3. Game 3 is scary. We both mull to 5 and have shaky starts. He hits me with early pressure and takes me down to like 5 real early, while I’ve managed to chip him down to like 16. FIVE TURNS, comes the booming announcement. Oh shit, I think. I have to take this. A 3-1 finish is so close, I can taste it. I end up stacking Wee Dragonauts and Electrostatic Wall triggers to find exact lethal on my last of the 5 extra turns. It’s incredibly, viscerally, beautifully satisfying. I feel electric, triumphant, and exultatory. This is my apotheosis. 

I win...three packs! Oops. The kid who beat me in R3 came first (satisfying to only lose to the winner), but because of the byes, someone has a 3-0-1 record, and they get the 6 packs due to second. Still, it’s a delight to place. TRADES:  traded away my Assassin’s Trophy for a K Command, new Niv, some cube cards / foils and some pocket change. 

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark Limited - Power Commons

Hoo boy, it’s time for another set already. War of the Spark is exciting for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it is a whole new limited environment. And it looks to be a pretty fun one, if I do say so myself. Planeswalkers at Uncommon add a whole new dimension and calculus to gameplay decisions. The power level of cards at Common has been stepped up a notch in a number of cases. And the flavor is off the charts. I think this is going to be a blast, if I do say so myself.

With that said, let’s start taking a look at the cards that you’ll want to keep your eyes open for during Prerelease weekend. There’s a lot to go through. Also, for the first time, I’ll add a preliminary rating to each of the cards.

White

It always starts with removal, doesn’t it? Gideon’s Reproach has always been good, and I suspect it will be here too. (I suppose they can’t use Gideon’s Reproach anymore, huh? It’ll have to be Divine Arrows from now on. *Sad Face*) But yes, 4 damage is a good amount for this effect that will take out a lot of threats, and 2 mana is nice and flexible. You probably don’t want tons of these, but every deck will want one. 3.0/5

Tappers are hit or miss, but I suspect this one will be a hit. One mana to cast and one mana to activate are the right stats for this, and the condition of 2 or greater is hardly a restriction at all, in most sets any way. The only problem is it can’t tap Army tokens, but I still think this guy will see plenty of play in the format. 3.0/5

It feels so heartless to put the horse on the same list as the card that kills it, but what can I say, they’re both great Commons. This is a new take on Pegasus Courser, and I’m here for it. The extra point of power makes it more of a threat in and of itself, and will be great for when you need to lay some threat on opposing Planeswalkers. In fact, I predict this card will be an all-star at taking down annoying ‘Walkers. The loss of a point of toughness is relevant, as it means it dies to removal more easily. This means there are two cards at Common (Sorin’s Thirst and Chandra’s Pyrohelix) that can take this guy out that couldn’t do the same with Pegasus Courser, so do keep that in mind. However, don’t take that to mean you shouldn’t play this card. You should. 3.0/5

Sure, it’s expensive, but I’ll pay 5 mana to remove any creature in limited, and I won’t complain. The format looks like it won’t be especially aggressive, so you shouldn’t be super behind when casting this. Tacking Proliferate on it is pure upside if you have creatures with counters or any Planeswalkers, and I expect this to be a high pick for decks running either. Or just, y’know... any deck. 3.5/5

Overall, White strikes me as actually being a really good defensive control color. Sure, it has some great options for Flying creatures and combat tricks to pressure the opponent, but it also has really strong removal and a lot of good defensive cards to sit behind while you proliferate your army or grind value out of your Planeswalkers.

Blue

Now, I totally am prepared to be wrong about this, but hear me out. First off, it’s a Wind Drake with an upside, so the floor is pretty high to begin with, since that’s almost always a playable card. The ETB is also a good one, since it spreads 3/3 worth of stats across 2 bodies, either by making a 1/1 token or pumping up the Army you already have. This is also a way to get some +1/+1 counters on the battlefield at a relatively early spot on your curve, which is important, since Blue is the only color to overlap on both Amass & Proliferate. You want to get that army going early so you can start pummeling with it quickly. 3.0/5

Even though this is a lower cost than the aven, you’re going to use it in the game later. In fact, this is a great trick to follow up the Aven. Bounce whatever they land, then swing with your now-larger army & the bird, with 2 mana open to do something else. One other reason I think this card is good is that it isn’t restricted to your opponent’s cards. In other words, you can target your own Planeswalker with this card to reset it.

I hope I made that point clear. I don’t think that mode is going to come up every game, for sure, but with Uncommon Planeswalkers who can only go down in loyalty, this is a cute way to return it to your hand to get extra value out of it. If you have The Wanderer or Kaya or something, that’s seriously worth considering. 3.0/5

I love a good looter. Sure, costing 2 isn’t the best ever, but it’s a decent early play, and it will help you get rid of excess lands and turn them into playable cards in the late game. It’s an unassuming little card, but it’s a good blocker early and relevant late? I’m sold. 2.5/5

Blue never gets much in the way of true removal, so this works for me. I love that it hits any creature and nerfs not only their stats, but also removes their abilities, which can be relevant. Do note that this does nothing against opposing Army tokens except make them bigger, so don’t try using it against them.

Huh, I wonder if there’s ever going to be a use case to cast this on your own Army as a permanent +1/+1 buff? It could happen... 3.0/5

Blue, normally relegated to only being control, actually seems pretty balanced to me this time. The fact that it is the only color to get both Amass and Proliferate cards means that it’s well-suited to flex in multiple direction, and gives it a lot of potential to snowball out of control if they can’t remove your Army token. There’s some decent tempo & removal at Common, and some very serviceable Flying creatures to get damage in while you build up a giant Army monster on the ground. Seems good to me.

Black

How good this is depends entirely on one thing, and that’s if you have a Planeswalker in your Graveyard. If you do, this is a solid 2 for 1 and a ticket straight to Value-town. Again, given that the Uncommon Planeswalkers (which will be the ones you have most often) all have only minus abilities, finding ways to get multiple uses out of them is excellent. And this seems like basically the best way to do it in Black. 

Also, this is some premium flavor text right here. 2.5/5

Black doesn’t have any Common creatures that I’d call true standouts, but this one is the closest. 3/2 for four mana is intensive, but it is going to trade with something pretty often, and once it does, it leaves you with a 2/2 for your trouble. That’s some pretty solid value and I’d basically always run this. 3.0/5

Woooo baby! Remember when we used to pay 5 mana for -4/-4? Damn! To be clear, a large portion of the time this is going to be Murder, except easier to cast, with an exile clause, and at Common. Like, what?!?! 

That’s spicy. Don’t expect to see these late. 3.5/5

Aside from giving me all the feels, this is going to be your bread & butter kill spell for the format, and it’s a good one. It’s essentially a split card Bone Splinters & Death’s Caress, that also can hit Planeswalkers, and that flexibility is great. I expect to be harvesting a lot of sparks in this format. 3.5/5

When I look at Black, one word comes to mind: Value. The best cards in Black all net you really solid value by offering flexibility or helping you maximize your resources. Black seems like it will be a really solid partner to any other color in the format.

Red

It’s not crazy good, but I think it will be a useful tool. 2 damage is enough to threaten most Planeswalkers whose owners let them get too low, and this can help pick off little creatures. It’s not flashy, but it’s super flexible, and I suspect it’s something most Red decks will want one of. 2.5/5

Jaya’s signature spell is less flexible, but more powerful, so having access to both at Common is nice. This will cleanly take out most creatures into the mid-game, and tacking on the Scry 1 is a nice touch to help smooth out draws. I definitely expect to be running these. 3.0/5

I had to include the Kronch! First of all, whoever came up with that name deserves a million high-fives, because it is simply perfect. On top of that, it’s a pretty sweet card. 4/3 is huge for a 3 drop, so it will serve as a potent blocker even if you don’t have a 2 drop to swing with. If you do, this threatens a real beating, and that’s space I like Red to live in. 2.5/5

This pick is a little more optimistic, but it really doesn’t take much for it to be netting you value. Honestly, even one trigger gets this to playable territory, and two+ and you’re really in business. Don’t run it in a deck that’s 23 creatures, but assuming you have at least 5 ways to trigger this, I think it’s going to be solid. I’m going to give this one a cautious vote of approval. 2.5/5

Red is where it likes to be, low on the curve and full of fire. There is a pile of burn at Common, which gives us a lot of flexibility to work with in deciding what we need in our deck to deal with the threats at hand. And the creatures seem to have pretty solid stats, though none of them are blowing me away. There’s enough payoffs between Red & Blue to make it seem like the spellslinger deck could come together, so I’ll be excited to see if it does.

Green

I remember Ambuscade being good, and this seems like it’s basically that, so I’m here for it. Sure, it’s worse if you only have one creature out, but all the rest of the time it’s better, so I’ll take it. It’s a good removal spell for Green, and I’ll take a couple of them. 3.0/5

This seems really good. I’d play a 4/4 for four mana pretty much any day, and tacking on Proliferate just seems solid. I worry that people will fall into the trap of holding on to this instead of playing it on turn 4, hoping to maximize value out of it. If the format is reaaaaaaaaly grindy, I could see that being the correct move, but usually I would say play this on curve whenever you can. The Proliferate will be useful if you draw into it later in the game. 3.0/5

We haven’t had good old fashioned Giant Growth for a long time, and I’m really excited to see it make a return with good boy Mowu. It’s just a huge amount of stats for 1 mana, and you’d better be prepared for this to ruin your day if you see that one forest untapped mid-combat. 2.5/5

Thornhide Wolves are usually playable, and this is better. 4/5 seems like a really good size in this set to stymie all sorts of attackers, and threatens major damage if allowed to attack. (Toss a Giant Growth on this thing for maximum results!) If you draw it in the late game, it can help push through a board stall, assuming you have some big enough creatures out to be relevant. Either way, I like it, but won’t take more than one, maybe two. 2.5/5

Green has the biggest threats of the bunch, as per usual, but this time they really do seem to tower over most of the other colors’ threats by a considerable amount. I suppose that’s because Blue, Black, and Red all have Amass, so they can grow taller than Green, given time. That implies to me that Green will want to be one of the more aggressive colors in the set, to take your enemy down before they can Amass a large Army.

Colorless

This set is pretty heavily multicolor, and splashing will likely be pretty common, though I don’t expect lots of people to run full three-color decks. If you want ramp and a splash, Mana Geode is probably your best bet. It makes all colors and has Scry 1 just to one-up Manalith. 2.5/5

Guild Globe is decent if you only have a single card you need to splash for, since it’s not repeatable. It has little cost to adding to your deck, since it replaces itself, but that doesn’t mean you can run a ton of these for no reason. The other reason I’d consider a card like this are for some of the “noncreature spell” payoffs in Blue/Red, since it triggers those and cantrips. 2.0/5

Prismite costs you mana for the ability to filter, but it has the added benefit of being a completely reasonable 2-drop creature to get some early swings in. I could definitely see running this in a 3+ color deck that wants early drops. However, if such a deck is viable is completely up to how the format shapes up. 2.0/5

If it were White or Blue, it would need to be 3 mana for me to get excited about these stats. But for completely colorless, this is totally reasonable. I’ll say it again: fliers are good against Planeswalkers, and I can absolutely picture running this in a deck that is short on evasion in its natural colors. The ETB effect is pretty much decorative. 2.5/5

For the cards that didn’t make the list above, here are my preliminary ratings (All ratings based out of 5):

Battlefield Promotion - Solid combat trick. 2.5

Bulwark Giant - Expensive for ok stats, but playable. 2.0

Charmed Stray - Trust me, I would kill for an all Charmed Stray deck to be viable, but I’m not expecting it to be. If you get like 5 of these, go for it. 1.5

Defiant Strike - This was better in KTK, when White had Prowess. Here, it’s a subpar combat trick, and it’s in the wrong color for cheap spells that cantrip. 1.5

Enforcer Griffin - Perfectly serviceable. 2.5

Gideon’s Sacrifice - All the feels, but the use case is narrow. 1.5

Ironclad Krovod - White feels super defensive in this set. ‘Saright. 2.0

Loxodon Sergeant - Decent if you can curve into it. 2.5

Makeshift Battalion - I like the literal throwback to the Battalion keyword from Gatecrash. Totally playable. 2.5

Martyr for the Cause - Value entirely based on how many proliferate targets you have. Probably ranges from a 1.5 to a 2.5 based on the deck, so I’ll split the difference. 2.0

Pouncing Lynx - Fresh-Faced Recruit seems way worse in this format than it was in Guilds, but still playable. 2.0

Rising Populace - Eh, I think this will get there about half the time. 2.0

Teyo’s Lightshield - White is SO DEFENSIVE this time. I’ll be optimistic and give this a try, because the counter can be relevant. 2.0

Topple the Statue - Despite the cantrip, I think this is still sideboard. 1.0

War Screecher - Good blocker early, mana sink later? Okay, I’ll try it. 2.0

Ashiok’s Skulker - Seems playable, and a decent way to spend excess mana later in the game. 2.0

Contentious Plan - I see why it’s contentious. You have to be super heavy on proliferate to make this happen. 1.0

Crush Dissent - 4 mana makes this a tough sell for me. 1.5

Kiora’s Dambreaker - Totally reasonable top end with upside. 2.5

Naga Eternal - Strictly filler. 1.5

No Escape - I like this a touch better than Crush Dissent, since creatures & ‘Walkers are what you want to counter mostly anyway. 2.0

Relentless Advance - The rate isn’t great, but I can see it happening if you need filler. 1.5

Sky Theater Strix - Bird is a little flimsy for my preference. 1.5

Spellkeeper Weird - I like this guy, and actually think he’s pretty good. Could bump him up later if he ends up overperforming. 2.5

Stealth Mission - I usually don’t have room for these effects, but the counters are nice. 2.0

Tamiyo’s Epiphany - Decent in control. Bad otherwise. 2.0

Teferi’s Time Twist - Mediocre trick. 1.5

Thunder Drake - I doubt the ability will activate often, but fortunately he’s almost on curve anyway, so I’ll play him. 2.5

Totally Lost - Always just a touch more expensive than I’d like. 2.0

Wall of Runes - Great flavor text, mediocre play otherwise. 1.5

Banehound - If you can pile some counters on him, it can be a beating. On its own, too flimsy to be excited about. 1.5

Charity Extractor - French-vanilla blocker is vanilla. 1.5

Davriel’s Shadowfugue - Not sure the 2 life is worth an extra mana over Mind Rot - 1.5

Duskmantle Operative - Bear with an upside? 2.0

Kaya’s Ghostform - Ok way to protect a bomb or reuse an ETB. 1.5

Lazotep Behemoth - HERE for the zombie-potamus, stats are fine. 2.0

Lazotep Reaver - Decent stats for a 2 drop. 2.0

Shriekdiver - Could be a good way to hit a PW out of nowhere. 2.0

Sorin’s Thirst - Good card, double-Black can be tricky. 2.5

Spark Reaper - The activation cost is just a little too expensive for me to be really excited about this, but the stats are decent anyway. 2.5

Tithebearer Giant - This actually seems pretty playable to me. It has a presence and replaces itself right away. 2.5

Toll of the Invasion - I generally advise against playing these in limited. 1.5

Unlikely Aid - ‘Saright. 1.5

Vampire Opportunist - If the format ends up being suuuuuper grindy, I could see this, but I highly doubt this will be your go-to way to close out games. I’d rather have Child of Night most of the time. 1.5

Vraska’s Finisher - Stats are decent on its own, the ability won’t come up too often, but may enable early creatures to trade up, at least until people begin anticipating this line of play. 2.5 now, 2.0 once people wise up.

Ahn-Crop Invader - With enough fodder, this is pretty threatening. I’ll give it a try. 2.0

Blindblast - Fun way to push damage through or pick off an X/1. 2.0

Burning Prohpet - I like this and would usually run it. 2.0

Chainwhip Cyclops - Seems solid. 2.5

Demolish - NOPE. There are very few targets worth hitting in this set. 0.5

Goblin Assailant - Vanilla goblin is still vanilla. 1.5

Goblin Assault Team - I like that this is in the set to threaten Planeswalkers for people who don’t leave defenses up. 2.0

Grim Initiate - Maybe? But mostly I see constructed here. 1.5

Heartfire - Red gets a Bone Splinters, which is fine. 2.0

Honor the God-Pharaoh - I think most Red decks will be fine with one of these. 2.0

Invading Manticore - I like this very much actually. 6/7 worth of stats is totally decent. 2.5

Nahiri’s Stoneblades - Seems playable, but not amazing. 1.5

Samut’s Sprint - Ditto. 1.5

Sarkhan’s Catharsis - I really wish this hit creatures, but taking out Planeswalkers makes this better than Lava Axe. 2.0

Turret Ogre - There’s enough flying in this set, and they’re mostly small, so this seems playable. The other text is just decorative. 2.0

Arboreal Grazer - Eh? I don’t think this will be a format where getting ahead on curve is massively important. 1.5

Arlinn’s Wolf - The definition of playable. 2.0

Centaur Nurturer - I like the stats, I like the ability, but there’s not tons to ramp into in this set. Does help a splash though, and a good blocker. 2.5

Courage in Crisis - I wish this cost 1G instead. 1.5

Forced Landing - Classic Sideboard. 1.0

Kraul Stinger - ‘Walker protection. Interesting how few Deathtouch creatures there are after two sets that were full of them. 2.0

Kronch Wrangler - I really want to love this card, but I think most decks will only have 1-2 ways to trigger him, since most big creatures will use Amass or Proliferate to get that way. 2.0

New Horizons - Cute way to get a counter on a creature, plus fixing. 2.0

Pollenbright Druid - Strict upgrade to Satyr Grovedancer, and I’m here for it. A bear when you need it, a slight pump when you need it, and a massive pump when you have the setup. Flexible druid is flexible. 2.5

Primordial Wurm - Always playable. 2.0

Return to Nature - Sideboard bullet. I like the added mode. 1.0

Snarespinner - Totally decent blocker that holds off most fliers well. 2.0

Steady Aim - This trick has always played well. 2.0

Vivien’s Grizzly - I like this a lot. Fine body early, great mana sink late. 2.5

Wardscale Crocodile - In a set with virtually no playable auras, this goes down in value for me. Still threatens a lot of damage. 2.0

Iron Bully - There are better ways to get counters going in this set, but the menace can be relevant. I’ll give it a shot. 2.0

Gateway Plaza - Lack of Gate synergies makes this worse than before, but still useful for fixing when you need it. 1.5

Whew. That’s it for now. I’ll be back with the Uncommons & Rares soon!

[housebeleren]

Ravnica Allegiance Limited - Premium Uncommons

Alright, we’ve gone through the Commons, now let’s take a look at the Uncommons from Ravnica Allegiance, and see which ones are likely to make a splash at prerelease.

White

This is a card I think people will overlook at first, but this card is value town. If you can trade with another creature, you’re doing great, but it also makes a great target for Sacrifice effects. Either way, I have a sneaking suspicion this card will overperform.

This is a super-efficient way to remove an aggressive threat, and it clears the way for your fliers to get through. Guilds of Ravnica was often defined by fliers, and I have a feeling that Allegiance will be similar, so this card could make a huge difference in helping close out the game.

Speaking of fliers, this seems pretty damn good (though not as good as its Blue counterpart below). That said, this will help keep your fliers safe, and has solid stats on its own, so I can’t imagine any White deck would cut this.

Blue

This seems like a really sweet trick. On your turn, it could work as a two-for-one by helping you eat an attacker, then replacing itself. If you’re the aggressor, it’ll tap down the best blocker, then keep you drawing into gas. A card that’s a solid trick on offense or defense? Sounds good to me.

In a dedicated Simic deck, I have no doubt this will be anything short of amazing. Granting a bunch of your creatures Flying is an advantage that will be super hard to overcome for your opponent. In the late game, this turns into a real beater.

This is a premium Uncommon without a doubt. This will turn all your Spirit tokens into 2/1s, and that’s a great way to win some shit. Not much more to say here.

Black

At its worst, this is some expensive removal, which is not the worst floor this card can have. But, if you have any creatures with high power, this is a built-in 2-for-1, and will be a massive tempo play. I see this being best in B/R, with some of the good big Red creatures. Either way, it’s a card worth noting.

Now this is clean. It trades with anything, and leaves you with a token flier behind. That’s pure value, and I will take these with much satisfaction. It will play well both in Orzhov and Rakdos, so don’t expect to see these late.

This is sweet. I’m loving Flash in Black becoming more common. A lot of the time, this is going to play like a combat trick, trading with an attacking creature with toughness 4 or less. But the flexibility is what makes it. Sometimes, you can use this on the offensive, to push through an attacker of your own for some extra damage. Worst case, you can flash this in at end of turn 3 to start attacking on 4. A 2/1 Flier for 3 is a good deal no matter how you slice it.

Red

I’m guessing most of the time this will be a 2/2, but every now and then you’ll use it as a way to punch some damage through after your opponent leaves an open window. Either way, this seems like the perfect inclusion for any Gruul or Rakdos deck looking to wreak some havoc.

There are a ton of X/1s in this format, and if this takes out even one of them on ETB, it’s a great deal. If you can wipe out a swath of 1/1 Spirit tokens, this could be the play of the game. Either way, it seems like an auto-include in just about any Red deck.

Now, I could be very wrong about this if the format turns out to be super fast, but this could be a game-ending play in a Gruul deck, especially if you’ve picked +1/+1 counters throughout the game. And once you’ve swung out, if they are still alive, you’ve got a 6/6 left over. Seems good.

Green

As is, this is +6/+6 spread amongst up to 3 creatures, which is pretty sweet as-is. If you already have some creatures with counters on them, this could be a massive game-ending play. I like this as a top end.

5 Mana is a lot, but Instant speed goes a long way to making this worth the investment for me. This will play great in Simic, where the option of either casting this or Adapting a creature you control is a pretty solid way to make sure you’re maximizing your mana.

I would play this as a 5/5 for 5 without any of the other abilities. Add in the fact that this can turn into a 7/7 with Trample on the next turn, and you’ve got a winner. Add the fact that it gives all your other Adapt creatures Trample, and this is a card you’re never cutting from a Green deck. 

Multicolor

These double-double costed creatures were all amazing in Guilds, and I expect they’ll all be good here. This Spirit seems to fit the bill of the Orzhov value machine, eating a card from the opponent’s hand while leaving you with a solid body. 

This is something of a buildaround, and the funny thing is it plays better as a splash in a Simic deck than in a true Gruul deck. But in any deck with lots of counters, this will just eat up little creatures and put a solid clock on the opponent. It’s not an auto-include, so don’t treat it as such, but in the right deck, it could be excellent.

Again, all the Guildmages are going to be playable, no doubt about that. For this one, I suspect the mode you’ll use the most is the first one, helping you to push through damage.

With this one, I suspect the second mode is the one that will get the most use. If you have a few creatures with counters on them, this can make combat a nightmare for your opponent. Not only that, but it will allow you to trigger Adapt multiple times by shuffling counters to other creatures.

And this guy is awesome. Maybe the best guildmage of the bunch. At first, you’re just going to use the second ability as a cheap way to trigger Spectacle. Later in the game, you can ensure your opponent never keeps a card in hand. The early to late game scale makes this a great Uncommon for Limited.

Dovin’s Acuity is like a variant on Disinformation Campaign from Guilds, which as such a bomb in the Dimir deck that this automatically deserves a little attention. This version probably isn’t as good, since it doesn’t create as much card advantage, but if you can bounce this one time, it’s a solid card. 

This guy seems like a pretty solid aggressive threat. And he provides one of the few ways to trigger Spectacle for free, provided you have a steady stream of disposable creatures. Worst case, he can always sacrifice himself, but chances are he’ll get several points of damage in first.

Mystic Snake is one of my favorite Simic value cards, and this new variant seems like all kinds of fun. Having the extra point of power means this is much more likely to trade with another creature for a solid 2-for-1.

Not gonna lie, this is maybe my new favorite card in the set. As a playable card, it does need to eat at least 1 counter for it to be on-curve (coming in as a 5/5), but if you can get it to eat any more than that, it’s just insane. This is one of the best ways to abuse Adapt in the set.

Hackrobat seems really freakin good, and liable to make combat a nightmare for the opponent. Swinging in with this, the opponent will be stuck between potentially trading it with something by activating its deathtouch ability, or just letting it through. Problem is, if they let it through, a single red mana makes it hit for 4. I’m looking forward to slamming this in my Rakdos builds.

Mortify has always been great, and it will continue to be great here. Efficient, Instant speed removal is premium for sure, and the added flexibility of getting rid of Enchantments is just icing on the cake.

Bare minimum, this is a 2/2 for 2, so we know it’s playable. But this can gum up the board better than just about anything else. Essentially, if your opponent attacks you, you can trade your worst creature for their best every time, and that incremental advantage will be hard to come back from.

It’s not Flametongue Kavu (it never is), but this guy seems like he can pretty reliably eat a creature on ETB, and at that point, you’re already ahead of the game. 

Honestly at first glance I thought this was just okay. But the more I look at it, the more nuts it becomes. Pumping all your creatures that enter from then on seems really good, especially since this stacks with creatures who already have native Riot. I suspect this will be a card people overlook until they realize how it works.

Not just super cute, but also super fun. This is a particularly good creature to continue Adapting over and over, or finding fun ways to continually add more counters to him. If you can do so, the tempo swing will be insane.

I wasn’t immediately sure about this one, but then I looked at it again. this is a 4/3 flier for 4 mana, which is a great start. From there, it also has Vigilance, so it can play offense and defense, and it’s resilient to removal. I can’t see anything wrong with this package.

Okay, a 2/2 Haste for 2 is a good deal, and a plain 3/3 for 2 is a good deal too. Either way, this is a great deal, and you should treat it as such.

The Uncommon split cards from Guilds were pretty universally great, but this time around, most of them are niche players. This one, however, is fantastic. For one mana, you can dig 5 cards deep to find a creature, and for 3, you can blow up any creature and turn it into a Frog Lizard, which is about as good as removal gets in Simic. Either way, this card is excellent, and you should always run it when you are in the colors.

So that’s it for the Uncommons. Finally, I’ll tackle the Rares & Mythics!

[pepperstrawberry]

Still need to record everything, but Prerelease cards have been shorted into their spot in my standard boxes

speaking of prerelease... lets see...

My brain is mashpotatoes over all, but I’ll try to recall this past weekend.

First off, I’m going to say how fun it was. Even though I really lost more games then won, almost every single one I was able to do something fun out of my deck.

First up was Saturday night’s event:

I sadly didn’t take a shot of the deck I built, but it was a fun orhzov deck with, as you can see, Lili and Oketra. And yes, my promo did pull it’s weight exactly once (and was the only time I actually main decked it).

I will tell you, anyone that says the gods are hard to get on line I will flat tell them they don’t know how to use them at all. Every single one was suprisingly easy to get on line (I watched Hazoret, Rhonas, and Kefnet against me swing in). Oketra (cardwise) is easy friends with Liliana for sure.

Now, I don’t know how good they will be in standard (tournament level), but they are very fun. As far as ease to get on line to hardest, I would rate them at: Oketra, Bontu, and Rhonas being the easiest and Hazoret and Kefnet being the hardest.. but that is by shades. And even then the three easiest have their drawbacks that can sometimes make them seem harder to get on line.

Also, for those having issues with the ‘flavor’ issue, I’m planning on a ‘flavor’ post soon about a bunch of cards/cycles, and what not, but here, their difference from the Theros gods is clear. Theros gods are felt (enchantments first), but Amonkhet’s gods stand among their people (always creatures). Like the gods of theros, they must be appeased to help, but one set of gods it’s in focus/pray/devotion, these gods are about action (amassing an army, gathering knowledge, willing to give up something to get the job done, growing in strength, and to rush in with total confidence)

Anyhoo, event 1 was a blast.

And I got an extra box that night:

neat addtions to my quickly growing collection. X3

Day two, events 2-4 where a whole lot of fun, though I did miss out on the first match on event 2 due to sleeping in, but still.

These were my rares, and this was my deck:

Tons of fun to play, It’s weakness? Tresspasser’s curse. Lost to that dang thing. Still, I had no trouble getting Bontu to swing when I needed him to.

And these are my spoils:

Tied and one a match. The tie was with a really nice woman that doesn’t play magic outside of prerelease for the most part, so not only did she give me the pack, but when I joked about wanting Hazoret (when I saw her hit the table against me), she was like ‘sure, after this, she is yours’. I was super shocked and even stated I was only joking, but I happily accepted. If you are here on tumblr, Demi, and you remember me form Comics FTW in santa rosa, Thank you so much.

Event 3:

These being my rares,  I forced myself to move away from B/W... but with extra time to build, I got 2.5 decks out of the pool. My main one was this Gruul deck:

It was very fun to play, it was mostly just a straight beat face deck. First match was against another gruul deck that was almost the same. The first game went almost half the time, cause we kept matching creature for creature where the first one to swing would loose. It was tense in the funnest way.

I also had those 1.5 other decks: My U and B where fairly potent, and so I made it that I could just move my white between them as a splash to fill out each, thus effectively maing 3 decks.

it worked out pretty one the one time I swtched from my main deck to the W/U. X3 (the painted bluffs moved between all versions)

The last even was simple:

I JUND’em out, with a sepcal appearance by Oketra to close things out. Funny enough, it was only getting mana screwed on red mana that caused me to loose as much as I did. But when this deck worked? Damn. I mean...

Damn. I often swung in with Oketra and at least 3 worms.

These were my rares for that last set:

Now between the two events, I dodn’t remember my actualy win/lose ratio, and my planeswalker points thing doesn’t seem accurate at all..., but these are the last winnings:

I also payed in for a friend that just wanted to play. She let me keep the box of cards and winnings. She just plays commander right now, and she already got the 3 cards she wanted from the set. Buuuut, I forgot to take pictures of that pool ^_^;

Still, all and all, the minis were greatly fed this past weekend. Only to be out done by the pile I’m cracking into this friday

[housebeleren]

Throne of Eldraine Prerelease Recap

I’m a little behind here, but I did attend the Throne of Eldraine Prerelease, and generally had a good time. The preview season made me super stoked to crack open these packs, since the flavor of this set is off the charts. I’m very happy to say that opening the packs was every bit as fun as I expected. If only the limited environment play lived up to it.

Art: Joe Slucher

For this Prerelease, I ended up doing 2 Headed Giant, because that was the only option available at a time I could do. The combined pools had a lot of good options. Our promos were Robber of the Rich and Giant Killer, both of which deserved to be played. I also opened Embercleave, which was probably the biggest bomb of our packs. So it was very clear we were going to do Red and White in some combination of our decks. The next question was what else would we play.

After a cursory look at our pool, the odd color out was Blue. Our Blue was awful. Nothing great, and only a few even playables. Black had amazing removal, and Green had some solid threats. In the end, we decided that Green & Black paired better together, since they had the Food synergies (plus we had Savvy Hunter, and that was a strong pull into the color combo). So that left Red & White to combine into the second deck.

In play, the decks performed decently. We won the first round, with my Red removal keeping the board clear and ultimately winning with Tempting Witch to break the board stall. The second matchup was going okay for a bit, but they had one incredible Red/Blue control deck that blew up in the late game. The final match was a joke. They had 2 copies of Outlaws’ Merriment, and they landed them on turn 4 and 5. There was no fighting that, and we lost in short order. So, only 1-2 for the night, but some decent gameplay.

General Format Notes

Control is real. There are lots of defensive early creatures, not a lot of super aggressively costed threats, and plenty of card draw, removal, and counterspells that are actually worth playing. Time will tell how the format itself balances out, but it definitely feels like control will have a seat at the table.

There are bombs, but they’re not all Mythic. Certainly most of the Mythics are pretty close to bombs, but there are lots of cards at lower rarities that can run away with the game too. 

The removal is pretty universally good, but not necessarily plentiful. It’s going to be really difficult in this format to choose between removal and riskier high-payoff cards like Improbable Alliance.

Mono color seems like it will be a thing, but don’t expect to always be able to make it work. Most of the time, 2 color decks are probably your best bet, but every now and then a mono color deck will come together.

Adamant rewards skewed mana bases. If you have Adamant payoffs, or cards that are heavy in one color like the Rare legends, try to push your deck towards a 10-7 split, favoring one color strongly over the other.

Food is kinda a nuisance, and honestly should have been downgraded to gaining 2 life. Gaining 3 life a pretty big rider on a lot of cards, and it can make the games stall out really easily. But if you’re playing Food, it’s great. 

Card-Specific Notes

For this, the theme is going to be Read the Fucking Card. Seriously, this format has so many “gotcha” cards that punish you for not reading them carefully. If I had one last general format note, it would be to read cards very, very carefully, because they often don’t work exactly as you think.

Questing Beast is the poster child for this. The card is a wall of text, and even after playing against it in Arena for the last few weeks, I still can’t remember what it’s fucking abilities all are. Do yourself a favor and read this card every single time you see it. Don’t assume you remember what it says because you’ve probably forgotten. Oh, it’s also pretty damn good, but not actually unbeatable. A lot of the removal in the format will get it.

Acclaimed Contender is a card covered in words. It gets you a Knight. Or an Aura. Or an Equipment. Or a Legendary Artifact. But definitely not a non-Legendary non-Equipment Artifact. Oh, but it only does any of this if you already control another Knight, so don’t forget about that and cast it on curve without a buddy out, you fucking ninny. Seriously, they tried so hard to make this fit into every possible limited theme that white touches, and the end result is this utter mess of a card.

Hushbringer? The ‘80s called. They want their album cover back. Oh, and don’t forget this shuts down death triggers too, not just ETB triggers like every other card in this space has historically done. Honestly just the way the line splits, the word “dying” is so easy to skip over.

Merfolk Secretkeeper should have been a 0/3. Creatures are small in this format, and having a 0/4 is such a brick wall against anything except big Green decks. 

Midnight Clock triggers on each upkeep. Don’t miss that crucial line of text because it honestly changes everything. This card is playable.

You’ll need to read Syr Konrad at least once each turn that he is on the board. Or, just put a rubber band around your wrist and snap it every time you say or even think the word “Graveyard.” 

Opportunistic Dragon can only steal Artifacts and Humans, two totally similar things.. I guarantee someone fucked this up and tried to steal an Ogre or something on Prerelease day.

Robber of the Rich...... oh Jesus. This card has 10 rulings upon release in Gatherer, so we must be doing something right. Okay, so his ability only triggers when you attack if an opponent has more cards in hand than you do. And then, you get to cast the card only if you attacked with a Rogue this turn. Fortunately, there are a plethora of Rogues in Eldraine... What? There are 4 others, and two of them are Mythics, so practically speaking there are only 2 others? Cool. Thanks for adding a confusing and basically worthless line of text that only serves to make the card more inscrutable. Why have this text about Rogues in a set that literally does not have anything to do with Rogues? Why not just say “during any turn you attacked” or just not have a condition at all? Seems fine to me. Oh, and it has Reach, because sure. Apparently there was a sale on Reach in this set, because it shows up on all kinds of Rares for reasons, instead of on Commons and Uncommons that could actually use it.

Oko, Thief of Crown’s +1 ability doesn’t wear off. Ever. So... yeah, just track that with normal methods that you definitely brought to FNM with you. Maybe just write on the card. Also, have I mentioned this card is busted?

And now we get to the single biggest missed flavor opportunity in the entire set. Crystal Slipper. Seriously, why on Earth is this a Red equipment that grants Haste? What person runs faster after they put on glass footwear? Literally nobody, not even Cinderella, which is why the damn thing fell off as she was trying to run because glass shoes are probably goddamn heavy and not meant for running in. How’s this for a better flavor win? 1W, equip 2. Equipped creature has Lifelink and can’t be blocked by creatures with power 3 or greater. In other words, the Crystal Slipper turns the creature into a Beloved Princess! And then when the slipper is removed, it goes back to what it was before! Seriously... the current version is a flavor fail of pretty epic proportions.

Alright, that’s it for the Throne of Eldraine prerelease. I know I got into some other stuff at the end there, but that’s because some time has passed since the actual event, and I have thoughts. Hope everyone enjoys this format. Looks to me like it’ll be a mixed bag that alternates between fun and hair-pulling. Hooray!

[housebeleren]

Core Set 2020 Draft Format Review

Throne of Eldraine prerelease is done, so it’s now time for a final look back at Core Set 2020 and review how it played in Draft. In general, when I’m evaluating draft formats, here’s what I’m looking at:

Speed - Consisting of its Tempo, Aggression, and Explosiveness

Variety - Consisting of its balance between the Colors/Archetypes, Threats to Removal, & Deck Strategies

Depth - Consisting of the depth within individual cards, within archetypes, and within the metagame as the whole

Fun - Consisting of the Flavor & Theme, the Gameplay itself, and the amorphous “X-Factor”

I’ll also go through my thoughts on the themes & mechanics, any noteworthy decks, notes on draft strategy, and give it a final grade.

Art: Igor Kieryluk

Speed

Tempo - Core Set 2020 is, like most core sets, perfectly average in this regard. There are a few really solid 2 drops that are best if you can put up a corresponding threat quickly, but there’s not such an abundance that the games feel unfair if you don’t start piling out the creatures that quickly. I’d call it a turn 3 format, where you really don’t want to have no early curve, but you’re not punished too heavily for taking your first couple of turns just establishing your mana base.

Aggression - Again, this set feels very average. There are no specific mechanics to speak of, so nothing we can look to as obvious signs of an aggressive format. There are some good early drops, but nothing particularly skewed either direction. As for Equipment, Auras, and Tricks, there’s very little to speak of. Heart-Piercer Bow leans very aggressive, as do Infuriate and Growth Cycle. But Feral Invocation is best as a defensive trick, and there are numerous creatures with Deathtouch to serve as defenders, plus Bladebrand, but that can serve either side fairly easily. I’d say that once again, Core Set 2020 is pretty decently balanced on Aggression.

Explosiveness - Core 2020 definitely has some bombs at the high end, but for the most part the games proceed turn by turn fairly cleanly. There are some opportunities for super explosive starts, such as a Blood for Bones into Drakuseth on turn 4, but those are the exception & not the rule. Otherwise, the decks most likely to win out of nowhere are some of the aggro builds or W/U Fliers, but even those are more predictable than in some previous sets.

Variety

Balanced Colors/Archetypes - Unlike typical core sets, 2020 is built around 5 3-color wedges that share a unifying theme, and the 2-color combinations that make them up. The Mardu “Aggro” archetype feels the weakest, with White/Red being probably the worst color pair in the format. White/Black plays best as a Lifegain strategy, completely independently of the two wedges it falls into. The Jeskai “Fliers” and Abzan “Go-Wide” wedges are somewhere in the middle, with some variants more successful than others, and the Temur “Elementals” and Sultai “ETB Effects” wedges feel the strongest. I wish White felt a little stronger, which would go a long way to making the set feel balanced.

Balanced Threats to Removal - As promised, the removal in this set is excellent, with all colors getting really strong answers even at Common. I love having Murder and Pacifism at Common, and there’s also just really good variety across the board. There’s always enough removal to go around, but it doesn’t feel like it’s stifling the threats. Very well balanced.

Balanced Deck Types - Like most core sets, 2020 leans midrange, with most of the decks wanting to put together a nice curve and win combats rather than go hard aggro or control. The closest to a true aggro deck in the format is White/Blue fliers, which can come together in the first 2-3 turns and close it down shortly after, and occasionally an aggro version of Elementals or a Red/White aggro/fliers deck will come together. Probably the closest to a control deck is either the Black/Green or Black/Blue value deck, which seeks to earn value out of its ETB effects, and put together graveyard loops to generate advantage. Backed up with removal, this strategy functions as the control element of the format. As for offbeat strategies, there’s the High Toughness deck using Gauntlets of Light, but that doesn’t come together often and is very weak to removal. There’s also the Golems deck which tries to play lots of Artifact Creatures, and this one can be viable if you manage to open a Steel Overseer. But most of the decks are pretty straightforward, with the occasional brave drafter trying something different.

Depth

Individual Card Depth - The Wedge-based groupings in this set allow for a lot of really complex interactions, and individual cards frequently serve multiple roles. For example, the reason that Cloudkin Seer is so damn good is that it’s not just a decent set of stats for the price, but it’s also a Flier if you’re in the Jeskai wedge, an Elemental if you’re in the Temur wedge, and has an ETB effect for the Sultai wedge. Not every card has this level of cross-synergy, but almost all playable cards can find homes in multiple decks, with only a few struggling to make it anywhere. As far as core sets go, this one knocked this aspect out of the park.

Depth Within Archetypes - Most archetypes feel pretty flexible, but they do need some specific types of cards to work. I’ve found the Sultai decks struggle if you don’t manage to pick up at least 2 good pieces of graveyard retrieval, but exactly which ones aren’t important. On the other hand, the go-wide decks absolutely require Raise the Alarm, and any aggro strategy will be severely handicapped without the Uncommon signpost cards. Overall, I’ve found the Sultai wedge to be the deepest, while Jeskai is probably the most straightforward. Pretty average on this front.

Metagame Depth - On this angle, Core Set 2020 is a delight. It feels pretty well-balanced overall, with lots of options and a pretty dynamic metagame. While there aren’t a ton of decks, they all have slightly different angles of attack, and there are just enough off-the-wall builds to keep things interesting. It feels less stagnant at the end of its run than Core Set 2019 did, so that’s a great sign.

Fun

Flavor & Theme - In this area, Core Set 2020 is pretty much a dud. They had some promise with Chandra as the poster character, but beyond having her 3 variants in the set, they really didn’t do much with her. I would have loved to see more tie-in to her life and experiences reflected in the cards, much as Core Set 2019 did with Bolas. In this case, it felt a little underwhelming. Maybe that’s the new trend they’re going for, and we just need to get used to it.

Gameplay - The gameplay is overall pretty average, right where Core Sets tend to fall. I will say that it stayed fun longer than M19 did, so I’d probably mark it a notch above average, which is honestly pretty good. The games are overall enjoyable, with lots of fun synergies to discover. But there’s a little predictability to a set like this that keeps it from being excellent.

The X-Factor - Overall, the set feels pretty solid. It isn’t the type of set to run away with your imagination and have crazy exciting gameplay stories you’ll always remember. But it’s surprisingly deep, has some fun interactions, and is a great place to get started.

Themes & Mechanics

ETB Effects - I thought this was the best theme in the set, and there were a lot of great ETB effects to work with, and plenty of ways to reuse them for extra fun. The Sultai wedge was by far the deepest, and it had a lot to do with the extra bit of value tacked on to every card, and finding creative ways to link them together and get multiple activations.

Elementals - An underserved tribe got a good showing. It’s always a sign when an entire Standard deck basically comes straight out of one of the draft archetypes of a single set. There were plenty of synergies here, but not too many for it to get overly complicated.

Fliers - Including Red into the fliers grouping was a nice addition, and gave way to some really interesting design space I really like. That said, the Red/Blue deck tended to be Elementals, and really only the Blue/White deck felt truly like a fliers build, since Red/White just didn’t have enough support to come together the way it wanted to.

Aggro - Most of the Mardu wedge’s “aggro” decks tended to be either Red/Black aggro/midrange or White/Black lifegain, with very few true aggro decks to be found. I think it just needed a couple more ways to peck in for those last few points of damage for it to really work.

Go-Wide - The go-wide deck came together once in a while, always as a base White deck aiming to combine multiple Raise the Alarm with an Inspired Charge to win. Barring that, there weren’t a lot of good options here.

Noteworthy Decks

Reanimator - This deck is all built around Blood for Bones, which is one of the best cards in any Black deck. You’ll also want cheap ways to get cards in your graveyard, of which Gorging Vulture and Tomebound Lich are two of the best. Get a big creature in the bin, then use Blood for Bones and cheap creatures to sacrifice to it. Drakuseth, Gargos, and Agent of Treachery are the best, but even a Vorstclaw will do in a pinch. Getting a 7/7 out on turn 4 is still big game.

Sultai Graveyard - This deck is very similar to the Reanimator deck, but less all-in on Blood for Bones and big monsters. Here, you’ll want lots of graveyard retrieval a la Gravedigger, Soul Salvage, and Pulse of Murasa, along with lots of cards with good ETB effects, particularly those that make creatures, like Ferocious Pup and Boneclad Necromancer. The linchpin card for this deck is Scholar of the Ages, which allows you to rebuy removal and another retrieval spell, which can set up some disgusting value engines. The goal with this deck is to use lots of removal and good defensive creatures (spiders are great in this deck) to gum up the board and keep your opponent from making any headway. Once you have enough mana, you should be able to start recurring things from your graveyard until your opponent is topdecking with no defenses, at which point you can pivot to offense.

Lifegain - This deck is all built around one card: Bloodthirsty Aerialist. There’s no better payoff in the set unless you happen to get lucky and open Ajani. Once you have a couple of payoffs, various lifegain cards (including the Common taplands!) will turn them into giant monsters really quickly. A curve of Blood Burglar into the Aerialist is an incredibly strong start, and many decks won’t be able to overcome it. You’ll also want some graveyard retrieval in case the Aerialists get removed.

Golems - Typically this deck starts with an early Steel Overseer, but sometimes you’ll grab some other pieces and pick that up later. The best payoffs for the overseer are Anviwrought Raptors, but any Artifact creature will do the trick. This is also an incredible deck for Master Splicer and Masterful Replication. The nice thing is that the Artifacts pair with any color combination, but you’ll often pair this with Blue. 

Strategy Notes

Like most core sets, 2020 is a pretty straightforward draft. Pick open colors, look for good synergies, and know what archetypes pivot easily into other ones. If you start with enemy colors, they go into multiple wedges, so that’s often a good starting point. 

If you’re new to draft, don’t try for offbeat decks like the Gauntlets of Light deck. Look for the basics: Bombs, strong unconditional removal, and cards that can get you efficient 2-for-1s, like Gravedigger and Cloudkin Seer. Stick to 2 colors unless you open something crazy like Yarok or Omnath. As you get more experienced and know how to properly prioritize mana fixing against other playables, this format is highly splashable. I’d say most experienced drafters end up with more than 2 colors about half the time, usually just as a splash, but sometimes fully 3 colors.

Overall Grade & Final Thoughts

I’ve enjoyed Core Set 2020 quite a bit. It’s surprisingly deep, and the metagame has plenty of options to stay interesting. It’s also a set that scales really well for beginners to experienced players, with lots of opportunity to hone your skills. All told, it’s a strong set and a really good showing for the core sets.

Overall Grade: B

[housebeleren]

Throne of Eldraine Limited - Bomb Rares

Alright. Last but definitely not least, we have the Rares & Mythics of Throne of Eldraine. Let’s see which ones are going to dominate the battlefield during prerelease and which ones are ... less exciting.

White

I may be very wrong, but I have this pegged as not only the best White card, but also the best Rare in the set overall, at least as far as limited is concerned. In White, it shouldn’t be difficult at all to get this to cost 4 mana, and if you untap with it, it will take over the game in short order. The Legendary text is mostly fluff, but you don’t need it for this to be incredible. 4.5/5

Cheap tappers are always good, and adding a kill spell to it pushes this into the great category. If you can take out a big monster first, then this will allow you to control the board pretty easily. I’m erring on the side of always running this. 4.0/5

A 7/7 Vigilance for 7 isn’t great on its own, but this Giant comes with a board wipe attached to break parity. There’s basically no way this card isn’t going to provide advantage, and it shouldn’t be hard to make it work out even more in your favor. 4.0/5

Blue

Blue really doesn’t have any bonkers Rares, but its lower rarities are solid enough that it should still be a good color. Brazen Borrower is an efficient trick tacked on to an efficient flier, and it will always be good, even if you just cast the creature half. But it’s definitely not broken. 3.5/5

Gadwick definitely has more potential in formats like Commander, where you can draw piles of cards off him. In Limited, you should probably be content to cast him for 4 or 5 mana, and draw a couple cards off him. The good news is he scales well into the late game, and if you untap with him in a heavy Blue deck, he can completely dominate the board. 3.5/5

Black

This seems pretty nuts. If they can’t deal with it immediately, they’re almost certainly going to pay the toll, at which point you’ll be drawing cards and keeping your life total healthy. Even if they kill it after they untap, you’ve successfully 2-for-1d them, and if they don’t have an answer for this, it’ll completely run away with the game. Pretty solid bomb. 4.5/5

Hero’s Downfall would already be a top pick, but attaching that to a solid creature is just nuts. Definitely first pick material. 4.0/5

Wow, this also seems super good. If you can keep this around for a while, you’ll create a rat swarm, and once you get 3 of them, you can just start taking over your opponent’s board. This also combos nicely with Mad Ratter. 4.0/5

Black does have some bonkers Rares, doesn’t it? Rankle would be playable on base stats alone, but the ability is crazy. Sure, they’re all symmetrical, but you only have to choose those ones that are more advantageous to you at the time. It takes some smart usage, but a savvy player can build this to be totally busted. 4.0/5

Red

You’ve heard of Flametongue Kavu, right? Well, this is pretty damn close to that, just with the effect and the creature split up over 2 casts. It’s completely reasonable to torch your opponent to the face or whatever creature they drop turn 2, then just immediately play this turn 3, at which point you’ve swapped the tempo entirely. If you draw it late game, you can do it all at once, which is a pretty big hit to the board. this will be good any way you slice it. 4.0/5

On attack, assuming you’re swinging with more than one creature, Embercleave acts a lot like Uncaged Fury, a totally solid trick, but with the upside that you get to keep the benefit around for later turns. That’s pretty bonkers, and I’d always run this. 4.0/5

Okay, there is a condition on here which a lot of people will forget, which is that it can only hit Humans or Artifacts. That said, most decks will have some targets, and if they do, this is basically Dungeon Geists with an extra point of power, and that’s crazy good. But the failsafe is it’s a 4/3 flier for 4, which is already a strong card. 4.0/5

This is effectively a 4/4 for 4, which is some decent stats to begin with, but it immediately buffs all your Red creatures for +2/+0, and that will lead to some big swings very quickly. This even scales up your burn spells, allowing you to take down big creatures or realistically taking down your opponent with them. You want to be heavy Red to maximize this, for sure, but it’s an incredible playoff if you are. 4.0/5

Green

It’s a hefty mana requirement, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve in this format. Once it’s out, it’s going to be the biggest thing on the board, and it can come back over and over with some good Food support. 4.0/5

There’s no way this isn’t going to be insane. It’s a pile of stats and abilities, with evasion, and it even gets through any protection your opponent may have. The Planeswalker text will rarely come up, but that’s more for constructed. In limited, the rest of the stats already push this over the top. 4.0/5

I mean... this seems good. If you have a Food when this comes down, you can immediately sacrifice it to win any fight it gets into. Either way, it’s going to take something out, and it threatens to become an impossible to remove, massive threat with just a little bit of support. 4.0/5

Multicolored & Colorless

Planeswalkers are typically great, and Garruk seems like no exception. For the most part, you’ll just pump out Wolves one turn after another, and occasionally you’ll use his minus to clean up the board. Seems good. 4.0/5

This seems... really good. It’s your top end for sure, but it ambushes attackers and eats basically anything when it does so. Not only that, but once you untap with it, it becomes a hard to block, card-drawing threat that can come back from the dead. So um yeah... Seems really fucking good. 4.5/5

Oko is a little less certain than Garruk, but I suspect he’ll be good. He comes in with a pile of loyalty, and can swap the Food he makes for their creatures, including the ones he transforms. My guess is that he’ll play better than he looks (and he looks damn fine.) 4.0/5

Assuming you’re not literally about to die, this seems completely insane. A free creature every turn is big game, and after only a few turns, this will very quickly overwhelm your opponent. I suspect this will be awesome. 4.5/5

So that’s it for the crazy bombs. Let’s quickly run down the other Rares and see how they stack up.

Acclaimed Contender - Solid stats and will often find a friend when it comes in. Seems good. 3.0

Charming Prince - Most of the time, this will be a bear that Scries when it comes in, which is pretty good. Once in a while, it’ll flicker a creature that’s under a debilitating Aura, in which case it will be great. 2.5

Happily Ever After - Alternate win cons are usually more for constructed than limited, and this is no exception. Don’t play this. 0.0

Hushbringer - For the most part, this is a Healer’s Hawk, but without all the synergies that made that card work. I’m not expecting this to be great. 1.5

Linden, the Steadfast Queen - Triple White on turn three isn’t easy to achieve, but Linden will be a solid play through most of the game. You really want to be heavy White so you can cast this on curve. 2.5

Worthy Knight - This is a solid turn 2 play, and with enough Knights in your deck it’s going to churn out dorks, which can rapidly get out of hand. Definitely prioritize Knights when you get this early. 3.0

Emry, Lurker of the Loch - I mean, I supposed there’s an Artifact deck around this somewhere, but mostly it just seems underwhelming. Save this for breaking in Commander. 1.5

Fae of Wishes - Wish cards are much better in constructed, since in limited you’ll usually have all your playables in your deck. But, the fail case as a 1/4 flying isn’t awful, and once in a while you’ll be able to get some extra value out of it. 2.5

Folio of Fancies - This is the most likely way you’ll get a milling win out of this set, but for the most part, it’s a card that does a lot of nothing. 1.5

The Magic Mirror - You’re rarely going to be able to cast this for less than 6 or 7, and that’s way too much to do nothing for a full turn. You really want 3 turns off of this for it to be at all worth it, and I don’t see that happening often. 0.5

Midnight Clock - If you need a mana rock for Blue, knock your socks off. But the rest of the text on this card is meaningless. 1.0

Mirrormade - Clones are usually decent, but this one only hitting Artifacts & Enchantments is a major drawback. I’d pass. 1.0

Stolen by the Fae - Sorcery-speed bounce is not usually where I’d like to be, but this one mitigates it by making a flood of flying tokens. 3.5

Vantress Gargoyle - Obviously, it’s efficiently costed, but it’s unclear how easy it will be to overcome either drawback. I’ll start by saying I think this card will be good, provided you put a little work into the build. 3.0

Ayara, First of Locthwain - Ayara is certainly a good deal for 3 CMC, but triple Black is no joke, and she becomes a lot less potent the later the game goes. Try to have plenty of Black sources to run this. 2.5

Blacklance Paragon - Most of the time, this is going to be an ambush blocker, or a way to trade a cheaper Knight for a big threat your opponent throws down. A lot of action for 2 mana. 3.0

The Cauldron of Eternity - I think a lot of people will run this in decks that shouldn’t. Most of the time, by the time you are able to cast this, the game will be almost over. 1.0

Oathsworn Knight - I like this guy a lot. He is efficiently costed and hard to take down. The only thing I don’t love is his must attack trigger, which keeps him from being incredible. But still good. 3.5

Wishclaw Talisman - Save the tutors for constructed, especially ones that come with a downside. At least if your opponent does use it, I guess you get to use it one last time? 1.0

Witch’s Vengeance - Most of the time, this will kill a few things, but it may be hard to line it up to kill what you want, since chances are your creature types will overlap with your opponent’s. 2.0

Fervent Champion - This feels much more like a constructed plant for the Knights deck, since a 1/1 gets outclassed so fast in limited. 2.0

Fires of Invention - I don’t get this card, since it doesn’t even help you draw into cards to play with its ability. Seems like a great wast of a card slot. 0.0

Irencrag Feat - This is a bunch of ramp, but the restriction means you really need something huge to cast for it to be worth anything. My hunch is you won’t have that card often enough for this to work. 1.0

Irencrag Pyromancer - You really want to get a couple triggers off this, but as soon as you get one, you’re in business. Chucking bolts at things is no joke, and with a solid enabler like Loch Dragon, this could win you the game. 3.5

Robber of the Rich - 2/2 with Haste for 2 mana is a decent start, but this guy will get blanked fairly quickly, which means you’ll often have to sacrifice him to get to cast anything he steals. Which seems... eh? And what if you hit lands? Play this mainly for the base stats, which are solid. 3.0

Sundering Stroke - Okay, of course the dream is to cast this off Irencrag Feat, which I totally get. As-is, it’s a good effect, but the mana cost is intense. If this format ends up being slower than I expect, I could see it being playable, but for now I imagine it languishing in hands. 1.5

Gilded Goose - An unexciting card on its own, the real power here is the ability to generate Food on demand. In decks with good payoffs, this can be a powerful enabler. 2.5

The Great Henge - This definitely requires the right buildaround, as it is definitely not for weenie decks. In decks with lots of 4-5 power Creatures, I could see it happening, especially if you can immediately follow it up with a 2 drop to get value right away. 2.5

Lovestruck Beast - This is really more of a 4 drop, but you can split it up over two turns, and that’s super solid. From there, it’s crazy stats, and all you need to do is make sure you keep your 1/1 safe. Or, y’know, make new ones if they die. 3.5

Once Upon a Time - Without the “first spell” text, this would be a Common we see every set, and it’s about that good here. 1.5

Return of the Wildspeaker - Most of the time, you’ll cast the trick half of this for some combat blowout, and that’s pretty solid in the right deck. Once in a while, the card draw will be the choice. 2.5

Wildborn Preserver - 2/2 with Reach & Flash is great to begin with, but being able to make this bigger as the game goes on seems great. 3.5

Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig - Yorvo is super potent, if you can get him out on-curve, which is no easy feat. Trample would’ve been nice. 3.5

Dance of the Manse - In the deck, this might get you back a few useful pieces, even if you never get the second bit of text. 2.0

Doom Foretold - Normally, attrition effects like this are not very good in limited, but the fact that this rewards you once they can’t pay anymore makes this better than it would be otherwise. But it is possible to hurt yourself more than your opponent with this, so I’d mostly leave it for constructed. 1.5

Escape to the Wilds - This is some potent card draw & ramp, bundled into one, and I suspect it’s worth trying out. 2.5

Faeburrow Elder - This guy goes against everything else in the set and wants you to play lots of colors. That makes me think it will be worse than it would be in a normal set, despite it being pretty solid on base. 3.0

The Royal Scions - There’s a lot of hating on these two, but I think they’ll play decently. They come in with tons of loyalty, trigger any of your “draw two” triggers every turn, and can make some of your threats impossible to block effectively. Not the best ‘Walker, but seems good. 3.5

Stormfist Crusader - The card draw bit is a wash, so mostly I’m evaluating this on the stats, Menace, and relevant creature types. S’aright. 2.5

Sorcerous Spyglass - Nope. Leave it for constructed. 0.0

Stonecoil Serpent - Jesus, remember when Endless One seemed like it was ridiculous? Just add Reach, Trample, and Protection onto that. No biggie. 3.5

Castles - These all seem decent, and are mostly free to include in your deck. 3.0 for Castles Ardenvale, Locthwain, and Vantress. 2.5 for Castle Embereth. 2.0 for Castle Garenbrig.

So that’s it. Good luck at prerelease!

[housebeleren]

Ravnica Allegiance Limited - Bomb Rares

Final pre-prerelease post on Ravnica Allegiance is for the Rares & Mythics. These are the cards you hope to open in your prerelease packs and will hopefully form a cornerstone for your deck strategy. Let’s get to it.

White

Let’s start this one off with a bang, shall we? This card doesn’t need any of the text after 5/4 Flash Flying for me to be sold. Really, for the most part, that’s all you’re going to use it for 9 out of 10 times. But once in a while, you’ll also be able to use this to save yourself from dying for a turn, and those rare moments will be absolutely worth it. The final line of text is mostly decorative, but it may come up once in a great while. Let’s just say if you find this card in your pack, you’ll have to have a phenomenal reason to not play it.

The White Rares drop off quickly after the Angel, and I’m not sure this card will be more than a 4/5 Vigilance more than half the time. If this were on Kaladesh, I’d windmill slam this and hope for the W/U ETB archetype, but here that’s only a minor supported theme. That said, if you can “champion” a cheap creature with a good ETB (Basilica Bell-Haunt in particular seems like a good choice), this could be a solid inclusion in your deck. I’m including him on the list out of cautious optimism.

I think this card will play better than it looks at first blush. Bare minimum, it will save a creature from a removal spell, and sometimes it will manage to spare more than one. But if you can build up a good board presence, this will be a really effective way to break a board stall on your turn. And the creatures get to keep the counters and get Vigilance, so it’ll be really hard for your opponent to come back from it too. Seems damn good to me. Also, there’s a Beyonce joke in here somewhere.

Blue

Blue’s Rares are more consistently good than White’s, which is a bit unusual. This guy seems really good. He’s an excellent turn 1 play, because then you can Adapt him right away on turn 2, at which point he’s a 2/2 on turn 2, except he can already attack. Not only that, but activating him gets you a loot out of the deal, so your game plan will always progress smoothly with him in your opening hand. Ways to reuse the Adapt or add more counters to him are going to move him from good to great really fast, so keep an eye out for those.

The mono-Blue Mythic is wordy and confusing at first glance, but will prove to be a major pain in the ass to fight against. This gums up the board better than just about any creature around, with a reasonable body and two chump blockers that lock down anything they block for a full turn. There’s just no good way to profitably attack into this thing, which will buy you plenty of time to set up your win conditions.

A 4/4 Flier for 4 is always going to be good, but one that gives you a free Scry each turn is even better. The opening hand text is cute, and will help you set up your first turn, but the card is excellent even without it.

Black

A lot of Black’s Rares seem designed for other formats, but this guy is priced to move in Limited (and probably Standard too, for that matter). He’ll come out early, help trigger Spectacle a couple times, then you’ll use him to chump block or as sacrifice fodder until you can start recurring things. One fun note is that he combos especially well with Priest of Forgotten Gods, provided you have enough other creatures to sacrifice. But this doesn’t need to be part of a combo to be good. He’ll pull his weight all on his own.

Ignore the cute Instant & Sorcery text for a minute. At its core, this is a creature with Menace & Deathtouch, and more than 1 Power. That means this guy is a guaranteed 2 for 1 if your opponent decides to block it. If not, he’ll just keep swinging away for 3 every turn, activating Spectacle with ease. This card is best suited for Rakdos, because even then the second line of text may turn out to be relevant, as it can help Red burn spells take down bigger threats.

Spawn of Mayhem seems nuts, as appropriate for a Mythic demon. Bare minimum, he’s a 4/4 Flying, Trample for 4, and that’s completely excellent as-is. But with the option of casting this for 3 mana (totally doable with some good turn 1 or 2 plays), and the potential to grow ever larger, this guy can easily be a full on bomb. Grab him early and with great relish.

Red

X Damage spells are always good in Limited, and this one is baller. Not only is it Instant speed, but it can hit any target and comes with a free spell from your hand as a bonus. Can you imagine casting this for X = 3 or 4 when your opponent declares attacks, then dropping in a creature to block with while taking out something else, all at Instant speed? The potential for blowouts is huge, and worst case scenario, it’s X damage removal. What’s not to love?

A lot of people have already commented on just how good this card will be for Constructed, but I predict it’ll be a strong play in Limited as well. Bottom line, it’s a 2 drop 2/2 that rummages for one card on ETB. Not amazing, but a card I would usually play. But if you can land this for Spectacle, it’s a phenomenal way to refill your hand in the mid-late game. Rakdos decks will run the risk of going Hellbent anyway, and this can be a great way to prevent that from happening.

Nobody needs me to tell them that this is good, but here I am. I mean... just look at this ridiculousness. I suspect the +1/+1 counter will be the right choice most of the time, and if you untap with that second ability online, forget it. You’ve won.

Green

Speaking of untapping and winning, I don’t see any way you’re losing (loozing?) if you untap with this on the board. At its base, it’s going to be two 3/3s, but the fact that it continues growing, and has a mana sink to pump out more Oozes makes this beyond nuts.Honestly, at that point just keep stalling until you have an army of slime to win with.

Green only gets two Rares mentioned here, since most of their other Rares seem much more Constructed-oriented. These badasses, however, will end games. 8 mana is a lot, but Green does have the tools to ramp into this, and even if not, having one expensive spell in your deck isn’t an awful idea. Once you do cast this, it should win on the spot, provided you have at least a couple other creatures out. Which seems like a low bar for Green to clear, don’t you agree?

Multicolored

Efficient, flexible removal is efficient & flexible. If you are in these colors, you’ll take it.

This one’s a little more of a buildaround, but I think it’ll work out really well if you do. First, he acts like ramp for Adapt creatures, making their abilities less expensive. But then, as if that weren’t enough for a 2/2 bear, he also allows you to Adapt your creatures multiple times. If this card sticks around for any length of time, it’s going to be insane.

Domri is good. Is he great? Maybe, in a deck with a high enough creature count. For the most part, you’ll toggle back & forth between his top 2 abilities, digging for creatures, then casting them and making them big & fast. I can think of worse ways to spend 4 mana.

Planeswalkers are usually pretty good in Limited, and Dovin seems great. If you’re ahead, you can just start piling on the loyalty and threaten to draw a pile of cards. If you’re behind, he can at least pump out a 1/1 and gain you some life to stall with. I definitely think there will be times where he isn’t the card you’re looking for, but if you can land him on a relatively stable board, I think he’ll take over the game pretty quickly.

This seems like a great way for Orzhov to finish the game. It will sweep the opponent’s board of any stray Spirits or assorted X/1s, and make all of their creatures line up poorly against yours. In fact, this is probably one of the best ways to pull ahead from behind I can imagine. Once you have mana open, you can just start churning out 2/2 Spirits of your own to turn the tides in your favor. I predict this will be a strong finisher for Orzhov decks, and is a card worth running Enchantment removal for if you see it.

Most of the Riot cards seem good, and this one in particular seems excellent. Unlike most Riot cards, this one’s stats are on-curve either way, so you’re really happy to play her in either mode. The Hexproof line of text is great with the Haste option, since you know they can’t remove her even if they have mana up, so you’ll likely get one swing in.

You’re never casting this for X=1, so the bare minimum is this is a 4 mana 2/2 flier that draws you a card on ETB. I’d play that as is, so the fact that this scales makes it even better. If you can cast this for 6, it’s bonkers, and any more than that will just be insane. The flexibility is what makes this, but don’t fall in the trap of holding on to it for too long just in the hopes of making it bigger. If it’s your only play on turn 4, play it on turn 4.

Judith really is stealing the show this set. Pumping up all your creatures is a cute line of text, and will sometimes help you sneak in some extra damage or allow your creatures to trade up where they otherwise couldn’t. Add in the damage effect whenever one of them dies, and you’ve got yourself a solid bomb in the Rakdos deck. You’re always threatening Spectacle with Judith out, and she can pick off 1/1 Spirit tokens with ease as well. I have no doubt she will be great when she sticks around.

You don’t need much other text to make a 6/6 Flying Trample creature great, but Rakdos really gets there. Obviously, there’s a chance for this to go south with some really bad luck, but in general, he’ll probably snipe a couple of creatures from both sides. Keep in mind that Rafter Demon & Carrion Imp both dodge the effect, so their value might go up slightly in a deck with the big bad. Okay, Footlight Fiend and Spawn of Mayhem also dodge it, but the former you don’t really care about, and if you have both Mythic demons in your Limited pool, then you’re winning anyway.

I like Ravager Wurm a lot. Most of the time, this is going to come out as a 5/6 that fights a creature on ETB, and that’s damn good already for 6 mana. Sometimes, you’ll opt to keep it as a 4/5, take out their only blocker, then swing in for 4 to the face, in which case it’s also great. The second ability is really for Constructed, so I don’t see it ever coming up in Limited. But either way, this is a great top-end for a Gruul deck, and is probably splashable in Simic as well.

Again, you don’t need me to tell you that Mythic Angels are usually good in Limited. Just as is, the stats on this are bonkers. A 4/3 Flier for 4 will go uncontested in a lot of games, but if they decide to remove her right away, you’re left with two 1/1 Spirits for your trouble. Seems great. Oh, and the fact that she plays both offense and defense well is just icing on the cake. This card is great, and well worth splashing if you’re already in one of the colors.

I don’t love Vannifar for Limited, but Zegana is the real deal. If you have even one creature with a counter on it, she draws you a card and is already worth her value. If you do get to Adapt her, she turns into a giant monster and will take over the game from there. I also like that she just passively works with your other Adapt creatures, making them better. She’s the total package, and will dominate any game she sticks.

The split cards seem really hit or miss this time around. The Rakdos & Simic ones are basically one-sided, but this one from Gruul seems priced to move. It’s a Rabid Bite on one half, and a 4/4 beater on the other. I think you’ll cast Thrash more often than Threat, but either way it’s a card you won’t be sad to include in your deck.

I debated on this one for a bit too, but in the end I think it’s still going to be pretty great. Warrant will probably come up more often as a really potent combat trick at a fantastic low cost. If you’re already ahead, you may decide to go for the Warden half and create a giant Flier, which also seems pretty good. Again, I think you’ll be happy either way.

So that’s it! We’ve gone through all three rarities of cards. I probably misevaluated some, but only time will tell as we start playing the format. Good luck everyone at Prerelease!

[housebeleren]

Ixalan Prerelease Recap

Check out this super sweet Pirate Vraska binder I got. HECK YEAH!

Okay, so I feel like I always say about every Prerelease: "I haven't been this excited for a Prerelease since..." Well, I'm not going to this time. Don’t get me wrong-I was absolutely stoked for Ixalan, make no mistake, but I'm not sure I can honestly say that I was more excited than I was for Shadows Over Innistrad or Kaladesh, when those were things. Equally excited-ish. That said, the prospect of Dinos, Pirates, and all around Mesoamerican gorgeousness definitely had my Magic nerd grin going. 

Aaaaaaand... the set really delivered. Probably my favorite part of the night was that I actually played my Dino deck against all three of the other tribes, and summarily stomped them all. In other words, it was a good night.

The Pool

My Prerelease pool was... pretty straightforward. The promo foil was Ripjaw Raptor, which is an absolutely busted card. and I was definitely stoked to play with it. My other rares were Star of Extinction (meh), two copies of Primal Amulet (which I'll be happy to have for EDH, but not here), a Dragonskull Summit (Good if those are my colors, bad if not), Sanguine Sacrament (extra meh), and another copy of Ripjaw Raptor (YEEHAW!). I didn't even care that I had no other really playable rares. Getting two copies of an absolute bomb is sweet enough. Once I opened Raging Swordtooth as well, there was no doubt: I was going Dinos.

Seems good, right?

The rest of the pack fell in line pretty quickly. My Black was laughably bad, and my Blue was unfocused and underwhelming. It was clear that Red & Green were my two best colors, with some decent ramp for Dinos a la Blossom Dryad and Otepec Huntmaster, some solid removal with Pounce and Firecannon Blast, and some other early playables like Fathom Fleet Firebrand ad Ixalli's Diviner to help me get to the late game at all. I also got a few solid Dino top end cards, including two copies of Sun-Crowned Hunters (of which I only mainboarded one) and Thundering Spineback, which was going to be my big finisher. In the end, I didn't have quite enough playables, so I splashed white for Territorial Hammerskull, Imperial Aerosaur, and Pious Interdiction, all of which are great cards. I figured that since my curve was so high, I could play 18 lands, and with cards like Ixalli's Diviner and Commune with Dinosaurs to help me filter, I wouldn't have too much trouble finding the colors I needed, despite my lack of other fixing. Here’s what the deck looked like:

And so it began.

Round 1

First, I was against the Vampires deck, though my opponent splashed Red for... something. I never really figured out what. This round went very fast, since he seemed to be going for Explore payoffs like Lurking Chupacabra and Shadowed Caravel, but without very many Explore triggers, at least that I saw. The first game, he was color screwed, and the second game he was just flat out mana screwed. So my Dinos thrashed him in no time at all. 

After the match was over, we looked over the deck and we moved him into Grixis Pirates, which looked to be a much better build for his pool. His Blue was better than his White, and he was already in the Black heavily and Red lightly. He had one or two Vampire payoffs in Black that he had to ditch, but overall I think his Pirates build was much stronger. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to connect later in the evening to see how it was working out for him. 

Round 2

Next was against Merfolk. This deck was much more streamlined (punintentional) and focused, and made definite use of the +1/+1 counters theme. The other thing that made his deck so frustrating was Dowsing Dagger. 

He'd equip that on some creature with evasion like Shaper Apprentice and ramp from 4 to 7 all in one go, which seriously put me on the back foot. I managed to take the first game with a well timed Unfriendly Fire to the face, but he got the best of me in game two with his flying, beefed-up Merfolk. Game 3 was where my Ripjaw Raptor really shone, netting me a nice tidy 2 for 1 trade, and I ramped into Thundering Spineback ahead of curve. He had no answer for that, and I overwhelmed him with sheer Dino might. (Again, punintentional.)

Round 3

This was the toughest, pitting me against a Grixis Pirates deck. He had tempo for days, and every damn looter in the set it seemed like, including Daring Saboteur and multiple Shipwreck Looters. As if all that wasn’t enough, he had not one but three copies of Watertrap Weaver to tap down my bigger creatures, along with multiple ways to reset them.

Frost Lynx 2.0 says “Hiiiiiii FUCK YOU Hiiiiiiiii!”

All that plus some bounce and mega-bounce a la Perilous Voyage and Run Aground. So yeah, life was tough. That said, I still won the first game pretty squarely, thank you Imperial Aerosaur. Game two I didn't even start casting until turn 4, so he just demolished me with tempo, and I lost quite swiftly. The final game went my way again, however, as I was able to maintain critical mass of blockers and keep his board pretty clear with my removal. Raging Swordtooth was great here, as I managed to take out two 1-toughness creatures of my opponents, plus draw a card off Ripjaw Raptor. Honestly, it felt like cheating...but it wasn't! So the third game went to me, and I cleaned up the night with a 3-0 record, my third prerelease in a row to do so.

Recap

There was no doubt at all that my pair of Ripjaw Raptors were the powerhouses of the night. They are just such good cards, and short of countering them (which did happen once with Lookout's Dispersal), they netted me at least one card's worth of advantage every single time. Killer raptors be killer.

General Format Notes

The speed of the format does seem to be somewhere in the middle. Like, definitely slower than Amonkhet, but faster than Hour of Devastation. Most of the tribes have aggro cards that can take over a game quickly, but the removal and defensive cards are strong enough to hold off for the late game. This means I think there will be room for Aggro, Midrange, and Control to all exist in this format, and that makes me super excited.

Explore is BONKERS good. Like... really really good. My sense of the mechanic is that the best Explore cards are early drops. Basically everyone played every 2 or 3 drop Explore creature they had, but I didn't see as many of the 5 or 6 drop ones going around, since by that point in the curve, they were severely outclassed with or without the counter.

Treasure is super good as well. It mana fixes, it ramps, and it turns on synergies. Obviously the natural home for Treasure is in Pirates, but the good Treasure cards will play anywhere.

Raid and Enrage are both solid mechanics. If you have good Raid cards, it's worth making sure your curve easily supports getting them out on time with attackers one CMC below them. Enrage doesn't need specific synergy, but Fight cards like Pounce are especially good with the mechanic.

Vehicles were basically nonexistent.

Even though I played 18 lands, I definitely don’t think this is a default 18 land format, like Battle for Zendikar was. 18 lands was good for me because I was playing three colors and my curve was so high, plus I had several mana sinks and a lot of filter/draw to help move through the deck. If you’re sticking to two colors, or have a lower curve, I could definitely see 17 or even 16 being correct.

I heard a lot of people saying that Dinos were the best tribe throughout the night. If I had to rank the tribes in order of # of players I saw in them, I'd say it was Dinos first, then Pirates, then Merfolk, then Vampires last (which makes sense because Dinos & Pirates have more color combinations than the other two). Dinos, as the ramp/go big strategy, is probably better in Sealed than it will be in Draft, so I expect the more aggro tribes to catch up as the format progresses. Vampires seemed to be the bastard stepchild all night, and I really didn’t see anyone doing particularly well with them. Vampires, unlike Dinos, will almost assuredly be better in Draft than in Sealed.

Card-Specific Notes

Again, I can’t say it enough: Ripjaw Raptor is nuts. It's just such an amazing card. Play it, love it, and make your opponents cry.

I really was impressed by Ixalli's Diviner. A 0/3 blocks a lot of early drops in this format, and a 1/4 completely blanks Vampire tokens and a lot of the x/1 Pirates. Even Merfolk and Dinos needed to get to their 4 and 5 drops to be able to attack through her. Like I said, the low CMC Explore cards should basically all be autoincludes in most decks. You won't want the Diviner in super aggro decks, since it doesn't attack well, but when it comes to stalling until I could land my Dinos, there was no other card I was happier to see on turn 2.

Imperial Aerosaur is good, as predicted. Play it and profit.

Pious Interdiction would have been a lot better at 3 mana. 2 and 3 drop threats are very strong, and it's tough to wait until turn 4 to have interaction with them. Don't get me wrong, you'll still play this and like it, but I would have really preferred a Pacifism or Arrest , especially since activated abilities are not irrelevant in this format.

I definitely heard of at least one blowout from Settle the Wreckage. In the late game, ramping your opponent doesn't matter, but removing 4 or 5 creatures at once when they're topdecking does. Not saying this is always great, but there's definitely potential to ruin someone's day here.

Watertrap Weaver really is the second coming of Frost Lynx and don't underestimate it. It's actually better, since it has a relevant creature type.

Vanquish the Weak is excellent. Complete Disregard agrees.

I totally didn't realize it during the spoilers, but the reason Dual Shot is in the set is Enrage. Ping two of your Dinos for profit, or ping one for profit and pick off a token at the same time. Not for every deck, but for the decks that can utilize it, it's not a terrible card by any means.

Fliers are very real in this set, and for this I think Grazing Whiptail is one of the best cards for the Dino deck, which is weak against fliers. It blanks nearly every flier in the format.

I totally underestimated how good Dowsing Dagger is. It's surprisingly easy to transform if you have any evasion whatsoever, or you can just leave it on its front side as some solid equipment.

Anyway, that’s all for Ixalan prerelease. Hope everyone else has a blast with the new set!