Avacyn Restored: Visual Spoiler (Complete)

Posted on April 22, 2012 by General

You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “Avacyn Restored: Visual Spoiler (Complete) ”.

 

  1. That angel is just nuts. Luckily it’s mythic and costs 8 mana
    or is this a late April fools joke?!

  3. I guess that’s about right. This seems like a dangerous card to have when there’s a recursion deck going around. It’s a bit sad, but in the wake of so many recent protection/indestructible angels, she doesn’t feel as mythic as the storyline suggests she should. I mean, Avacyn will win matches by herself in limited if AVR is a mercifully slower format, but she costs Akroma mana. You’d expect her to be cooler, maybe have an ability to get her into play earlier with Helvault. As it is, I see her getting slided into block Frites as the finisher of choice, with little impact beyond that. Other formats have access to Elesh Norn and Titans. Unless the indestructibility is crazier than I think, this is another mythic that will destroy draft without much impact or value beyond.

  4. 4/5 mana 8/8 angels that wreck the world is a pretty good start to avr

  5. This mythic will make me cringe to pass in a draft. I might just pick it for the value instead of being playable in my deck. 5 WWW is too oppressive to be useful in most draft decks. If this lovely lady is my first pick then my draft deck would have to be mono white from that point. On the other hand I have a solar flare standard deck that could find the room for this angel. Forbiden alchemy to the graveyard and unburial rites to the board on turn four could be sweet. I can’t wait to see the rest of the cards in the set.

  6. You do realize right now the removal spells of choice are Vapor Snag, Oblivion Ring and Tragic Slip? This card is suitably mythic but also 100 percent unplayable in constructed as it stands. Without any relevant protections (White, Blue, Black) or any ETB effect and (thankfully) no hexproof, this card seems aimed at EDH. Image and Metamorph see far too much play for an 8-drop to have no immediate effect on the board.

    I’m personally glad, I don’t think we need an Akroma format. She fits nicely with other sweet unplayables like Nicol Bolas and other similar 8 mana reanimate targets.

  7. I think we will be seeing an exile card similar to path in AVR… if not a direct reprint. the one thing against this theory is the recent reprinting in the venser vs. koth deck.

    question: is the keyword “exile” a color wheel specific mechanic? is white the only color that can exile creatures/permanents? or can other colors gain a removal spell similar to ‘path to exile’ but in a different color like black or red. red doesn’t seem logical, but black perhaps. unfortunately that theory runs against tragic slip which was just printed, and also is the only answer for the new angel.

    so many things to speculate on now. great spoiler.

  8. Need a solution to indestructibility? Just put her back in the Helvault.

  10. Yeah – how have we come to a place where Indestructible is almost meaningless text on an 8/8 body? Might as well have said “can’t be terror/GFTT’d”. Mythic angel is yawn.

    Yay for spoiler season starting though.

  11. Whoa, 1/244? Avacyn restored is a large set?!

    Thats wild, I don’t remember seeing that mentioned in the block structure discussions, but maybe I missed it completely.

  13. So I gathered – thats really a shame. I really loath two pack/1 pack draft formats (much preferring triple or 1/1/1) and its a shame that we won’t get to draft DA in three sets. I assume that means flip cards cards and the like will make way for a new set of keywords, but maybe they won’t make the shift as drastic as in Rise.

    On the other hand, Rise was one of the all time great draft formats – so here’s hoping Avycyn can live up to that legacy.

  14. Cool card. Not playable in standard. Too vulnerable to vapor snag. Reanimator decks and ramp will usually rather have a titan or Elesh Norn.

  15. It’s not playable in standard, but IMO, that’s how mythics ought to be (aside from planeswalkers). Standard is way too mythic-heavy at the moment which makes building a deck from scratch a financial nightmare. Mythics are great when they’re flavorful fatties with unique abilities, no-so-much when they’re format-defining cards like huntmaster, swords, or geist of saint traft (all of which should have been rares IMO).

  16. I have a feeling that ‘exile this beast’ will be handled by one of the othe 244 cards in this set. And probably a quick-play option as well..

  17. I think that there might be other cards coming out in this set that will let you get Avacyn out faster. But hey, what about Quicksilver Amulet and Heartless Summoning? Those can get you your Avacyn out faster plus makes room for other big creatures because Quicksilver Amulet and Heartless Summoning because they’re undestructible. Maybe that could be a good deck.

  21. was just wondering- on the miracle card- if you say think twice end of their turn and its a miracle card can you pay the miracle price or is it on your turn only?

  22. soulbound = banding (but a-lot simpler)

    also that mythic g/w angle is soooo going in my sesay edh!!! :D screw you annihilator

  23. @kaos…miracle says ‘first card you drew this turn, so it would be either your turn or opponents turn. with ponder, and scry, you can set up the lava axe for 1R real nice.

  24. Soulbound is intresting. If for example you have a Silverblade Paladin, and you cast creature a and pair the paladin to it, and then creature a dies, does the paladin become “unpaired” from it? if he does, that means that when you summon a new creature you can bind the paladin to it.

    Also, this mechanic works really well with creatures that have flash.

    Thunderous Wrath might be playable in mono red decks, right? it’s a dead card in your opening hand but other than that it’s the perfect draw evrey single turn of the game… though I suppouse if you go second you get an extra drawstep where you really don’t want to draw it… maybe it has a place in the sideboard, for games when you lost the previous game and know that you are going to be on the play?

  25. It sure doesn’t look like banding. Soulbond looks like a mini-lord effect just for the bonded creatures. I don’t think they would compress the stats if each paired creature has double strike. That reminder text is pretty unwieldy. Oh man, Geist of St. Traft plus Paladin has some potential, huh?

  26. @sylvan: 0_0 you are an evil, evil men 0_0

    to be clear, what you meant is that you bond the paladin to the angel whenever it enters the battlefield, right? oh jeeze, this plus an honor of the pure in the battlefield means you can be swinging 19 damage with geist+paladin…

  27. What are you people even doing on an mtg strategy site if you are busy swooning for as terrible of a card as Avacyn is in standard. Not so much because learning isn’t needed on their part, but because they’re clearly beyond grasping anything. Look at the dominant decks in the format and look at Avacyn…every deck has a way to deal with her and that’s not counting winning the game before she matters.

    Use your heads. Just because you like a card does not mean that it is good.

  29. The art on the lands is the coolest Iv’e seen in Magic so far, ever. They are the same basic lands from ISD except now they are not as dark, and the coming sunlight heralds hope. genius, IMO.

  30. WTF time walk? this and the burn spell and whatever crazy good miracle cards they print are going to ruin legacy, this miracle mechanic is so easily abusable it’s not even funny.

  31. Oh, hyperbole! How 1.5 players are wont to employ you when they consult their crystal balls.

  32. Time Walk eh? 5 Damage is one thing, and always fair to an extent…Time Walk is not fair at all and this card is big trouble. Love it though!

    And it’s not banding, it’s not close to banding, it doesn’t even resemble banding in the slightest way whatsoever. At all.

  33. Soulbound: Seems like a powerful and fun draft mechanic. Might make a splash in standard, but nothing spoiled yet is all that powerful. Dumb name for a Mechanic.

    Miracle: In a format with ponder or preordain it seems just insane. Maybe even broken. I mean time walk? Really?

    Undying: Could be extremely annoying in a Triple large set draft format. It was OK in DA cause you only saw one pack. Hopefully its pretty sparse and hangs out mostly in uncommon/rare. It would suck to have to kill EVERYTHING twice.

    Loner: Seems OK. Don’t have much to say about it.

    Blink: This is a fun mechanic. The Blink angel seems like a lot of fun.

    Sigarda: I already hate this card. Not hard to imagine how frustrating this is going to be when your opp slams this down turn 5 in draft. Oh, an undercosted 5/5 flier, that I can’t interact with? Sounds fun! This better make a splash in constructed for the amount of frustration its going to cause in limited.

  34. One thing about miracle that worries me, don’t you think a lot of people will cheat? What’s going to prevent people from saying they just drew the card when they’ve had it all along? Do you have to cast it as you draw it or what?

  35. Bobby, you have to reveal the card when you draw it if you want to play it for it’s miracle cost. I quote from Wizards’ official page, “As you draw an instant or sorcery with miracle, if it’s the first card you’ve drawn this turn, you can immediately reveal it. When you do so, you may cast it for its miracle cost. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an instant or sorcery; if you choose to cast it, you do so right away, even if it’s at a time (such as your draw step) when you couldn’t normally cast it. You’re not required to reveal a miracle card, even if you could pay for it. You can always choose to just draw it as normal.”

  36. @ Carrotus: Yeah, the Paladin looks a lot better once you realize it’s a may ability.

    The miracle cards look like the classic let’s push the envelope then bust out the ban sword. I mean, Time Walk is so busted there is a deck that will make it work. Of course you can just draw it. If the rest of the cycles ( I imagine there are two cycles, mythic rare and uncommon [Uncommon Miracles sounds like a sitcom from the 80s starring Gary Coleman and Chris Gaines]) are similarly ridiculous (except for white’s, which will be a jank lifegain card “Gain 40 Life!”), it could be warping. Green is likely an extra big overrun effect for two with a miracle. I feel like Black will get some sort of miraculous equivalent, but that mechanic doesn’t work flavor wise.

    Otherwise, Sigarda just makes me think how far we have come since Juzam Djinn. Can you imagine the havok this beast would have reaped in the past? As is, she’s going to be a giant pain in the neck wherever she shows up. It’s another unfun, noninteractive Mythic, solidifying hexproof as one of the most ill defined and annoying mechanic in years. Is it blue? Is it green? I guess it’s mostly white now!

  37. Indeed, hexproof sucks. Can’t get how Wizards think pushing that much non interactivness into their cards makes the game better.

  38. In small amounts and on unassuming bodies it can be fun and flavorful. “Ooh, now my Silhana Ledgewalker is a 4/4!” But lately, it seems like hexproof is the lazy Wizards way to pass the Doomblade test. Not that anyone plays Doomblade anymore, but you know what I mean.

  40. Oh how I miss mass exiling effects! Those were the days my son. I feel that to balance the miscarriage that is “hexproof” this set really needs something to the tune of “exile all non-land permanents” or “target player exiles two creatures” or “all creatures get -X-X” for reasonable mana costs. If this doesn’t happen in avacyn or the next set then i’m going to be a sad panda.

  41. Angel of Jubilation is a card to get excited about. The spear is a good card, but whether or not it will see play is say with any certainty.

    To the guy crying about hexproof: it is part of the war on control decks, which caused bad players to whine as they did about Mindsculptor and Caw-Blade, except for about a decade continuously. Hexproof was around before it was made a keyword and makes it so equipment and enchant creatures will always have a chance of being seen in competitive play.

    It is interesting how you don’t see longtime control players bemoaning cards, like Thrun, even though they represent the general ethos that has killed the archetype, yet the same types who used to whine about vanilla counterspell being better than their Rathi Dragon are now whining about creatures that are better than vanilla counterspell.

    Get it over with and just quit playing magic, please. The game is better off without you whiny idiots.

  42. EOT brainstorm put temporal mastery on top, nice time walk bro… This is sick in legacy
    seriously

  43. Temporal mastery seems like a card that is going to get quickly restricted in vintage and legacy and probably modern. I cannot see it lasting past one major tourney in any of those formats before getting restricted/banned. Legacy especially since you can play 4 brainstorm and never have to worry about having a temp in your starting hand.

  44. Glorious Anthem Angel: Really cool card. Seems like a sick card for White Weenie decks in standard.

    Overrun Beast: I think I’d usually just rather have an actual overrun in decks want this effect. As long as primeval titan is legal it makes a better ramp target, but there’s a shot this makes it as a 1 of in those decks. Even though if you pod into this you are going to win, the same is true of Elesh Norn.

    Killing wave: A really cool and interesting design. I have no idea how powerful it is. Hard card to evaluate without playing it. Could be really powerful. Could be unplayable.

    Spear: Another card I hate. I don’t really like when limited bombs are colorless. And this certainly qualifies as a bomb, and its not like this is going to make a splash in constructed.

  45. Wow. Won’t be long before everyone’s doing “The Wave” instead of “The Wrath” lol.. You’re talking about the ability of tapping 2 mana and wiping the opp’s board (best case scenario) and this is very doable if built around properly and timing is right. My forecast: The Wave is gonna be HUGE.

  47. Angel of Jubilation looks to have the wrong stats for older formats (too much mana and too little toughness) and probably wrong CC for current Standard. It always loses out to Hero of Bladehold, right?

  48. @ChrisKool: I think Angel of Jubilation goes in the Honor of the Pure Slot/Intangible Virtue slot. Not the Hero slot. You usually want to play a gather the townsfolk or a creature on turn 2 anyways. Don’t know if it’ll be good enough but that’s how I would test it.

  49. So there’s angels and demons all over the place. Dan Brown would love this. I wish they would print Kaalia of the Vast in this set.

  51. My translation for Chemin des descendants, whose title I translate in the same way as Druids’ Repository because I assume some kind of cycle is at work:

    Descendents’ Path (G2) – R
    Enchantment
    At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If it is a creature card that shares a creature type with a creature you control, you may play it without paying its mana cost. Otherwise, put it on the bottom of your library.

  52. Vexing Devil is sick NASTY! Forcast #2- I’m going to hate him, as if I don’t already! Lightning Bolt just arguably got an upgrade. Sure, losing instant speed plus ability of targeting creatures hurts, but that extra point of damage is BRUTAL. Can you see burn decks NOT running 4 of?? Holy UNHOLY S**T..

  53. @PlanetWalls

    Sounds about right to me!

    @MikeC

    Vexing Devil isn’t really like lightning bolt, but I totally agree that it will see play. However, lightning bolt was good because it was cheap removal for a wide range of creatures, not because it burned for 3. Also, since the devil is a creature card, it can’t be snapcaster’d which is something that made lightning bolt much better. Finally, it’s only really a burn card when you don’t want it to be — if your opponent is at low life late game and have board presence, the devil is a miss, and that’s the stage of the game at which red aggro is already weak.

  54. Vexing Devil: Really cool, Really powerful card. Probably doesn’t have the support to make it in standard, but should find a home in older format burn decks.(which are never good but always exist)

    Gisela: Another legendary angel? Are we going to get a cycle of these. One for each color except black? That would be pretty cool. This one isn’t actually standard playable though.

    Tandem Lookout: This card will be a house in draft. Absolutely insane. Its powerful enough for standard and should find a home. Maybe in a deck with invisible stalker? Even when its bad it’ll always trade for a removal spell or replace itself. When its good its just going to take over the game drawing up to 3 cards a turn!

  55. Man, does having Maro on the design team of every expert level set mean that all of our awe inspiring Mythics come in forced feeling cycles? The RW one has a certain elegance to it which is thrown by the mana cost. It also feels like it should have haste for seven.

    It would be cool if this set is skewed mana-wise like in some older sets. The spoiler so far hints at a you choose: White versus Black feel in which one of those two is the base color with other colors as a support. Flavor-wise, that would be awesome.

  57. Gotta love how every time a new set is spoiled the competitive players come out of the gates with, “this won’t see standard play” etc. These are awesome cards. Half these cards are gonna go straight into my commander deck. May even build a deck around a couple. Love the angels! Innistrad is the best block to come out in years and Avacyn restored already looks to be one of the best. Scars block was absolutely awful and Zendikar block was only saved by Rise of the Eldrazi. Really excited to see these flavorful cards in this set.

  58. Screw Snapcaster; Havengul Lich with Vexing Devil is retarded powerful… I love this!

  60. Except all your opponent has to do is shrug and allow Vexing Devil enter play because it is just a 4/3…so stupid.

    Tamiyo is cool, but there’s no way I am gonna be getting any copies for whatever obscene price they debut at. I had no issues paying fifty bucks for each jtms because they are absolutely sick, but Tamiyo…meh. On par with all of the other planeswalkers so far.

  61. Emancipation angel: 3/3 flying for 3 is way above the curve for limited. Especially since its drawback is usually an upside. The uncommons in this set have been quite powerful.

    Bruna: This card seems like an amazing EDH commander. I like that WOTC designs cards specifically for that format now.

    Taimyo: I love the art on this one. Ultimately I don’t think its going to make much of an impact. Its definitely worth testing with, but it seems like it is one mana away from being a powerhouse.

  63. Okay, so the first thought I had after seeing Miracle was reverberate and spells of the like. Red/Blue Temperal Mastery, Reverberate. Done! Three turns in a row for B1RR! lol oh yeah!

    Red/Green, Revenge of the hunted, reverberate. +12/+12 with trample for RRG?! Oh yeah!

  64. Hunger for the hunted, reverberate on predator ooze…works for me. Make sure it’s soulbound to the nightshade peddler and board wipe with lots of counters…

  65. Bruna does look like a commander, if only because they did everything to make Auras work with her on the battlefield. The result is a pretty ugly block of text and an Angel that feels funny in UW, but yeah, she’s cool.

    Am I the only person that sees Tamiyo and shrugs? This might be the first blue planeswalker wih no impact on standard. At five, you have to do something crazier than half a frost breath. The ultimate is cool but should never effect a game. Maybe the fact that I didn’t play Kamigawa means that I’m missing a parallel between INN and that set, but she is out of place in so many ways.

  66. Emancipation angel is going to be better than we think. White and blue appear to have flicker themes. ETB abilities are going to be better than usual. Targetted removal, especially auras, are going to be worse.

  68. My friend and I have both been playing magic since before iceage, (the set not the era) and we both agree that this new mechanic does not mesh with the ebb and flow of what MTG is, and has been.

    The attempt to remove as much variance as possible should be the goal, but at the same time, not giving too much power to s single card or even card type. I played way back in the day, when there was no limit to the number of one type of card you could have in a deck.

    Of course a rule had to be added or changed to prevent people from main decking 40 lightning bolts and 20 mountains! And so the 4 card rule began.

    Miracle, as a mechanic, greatly increases the variance of a deck. (We also believe that it will increase deck stacking and cheating for that purpose)

    I give 1 to 1 odds that all miracle cards will be banned from all formats other than standard, and MAYBE modern, but even that is doubtful.

    I digress slightly, if the miracle ability was not so strong, and so cheap to cast, then maybe the mechanic could have gone on to other formats, but these are just silly.

  70. If validity of opinion relating to design design is a matter of years spent on mtg, mine will be acceptable- The Dark.

    Anyway, information that doesn’t really matter aside, I think that you’re missing something, which is what I remember professional Japanese players between Mirrodin and Kamigawa bringing back to the game after a long hiatus. What the Japanese brought back was miser cards. With none to upper end of moderate(Ex: 1.5 B&R) draw-fixing and cantrips to fuel miracles getting ripped, they become like non-permanent spell miser cards that are always useful, but not efficient unless they are being played off the top. Cool. They’re good SDT and stuff in 1.5. They all have effects that are obtainable with other cards and accelerated mana in formats where they can be manipulated with regularity. Even time walking is marginal compared to other things that you can do with accelerated mana and/or thorough knowledge of a card-pool.

    As for the Standard format, miser cards are already super-popular. LSV loves it and he is influential in how people approach things like deck building if only by the tenure he has had since time spiral. When I think back to Tempest/Urza Standard( Finkel and Budde were wrecking shop then), the notion of singletons that weren’t being directly fetched or EXTREMELY manipulable was pretty hard to find in high profile top 16s. The game has changed and people will be jamming miser cards into their decks because pulling the best card for a situation is quite good depending on what you’re doing. Miracles are very cool in that they are misers that are always going to be mediocre if not being cantripped via: instant or draw phased. Miracles are very cool and the set has yet to have the other 75i-sh percent spoiled…the sky is not falling…relax, players who aren’t tragically familiar with theory.

    Randomness is not entirely new to the game(unglued, dice/coin, and ’93-’96), but it hasn’t been done wit the top of the library or draws to the point it was worthwhile for competitive play is new. Harnessing variance is interesting and requires lots of risk assessment in a few facets of the game: deck design and play strategy. There is always the option to not pursue such lines of play. Cheating is a fact of life in any game. People should not cheat, period and that’s why some relatively recent events were good for tournament play. This game should not be about winning alone and if someone wants to approach go against the game’s most fundamental principle to the point that it is essentially a con, then they should be shunned or otherwise buggered with a vigor that suits the value of whatever their con is trying to get.

    Cheaters belong at kitchen table; not tournaments. F**k cheaters.

    On a lighter note: I like Tibalt a lot and I don’t even play red…ever. Cheap planeswalkers that offer subtle advantages are really awesome. I absolutely loathed the idea of ever running any other random discard+draw effect(Desperate Research included because it sucks too) in a deck prior to seeing Tibalt. I have no idea whether it would be competitive or not, but depending on what the rest of a card pool looks like etc, I could totally see myself making it so a deck can swing the casting cost by the second or third turn. Very cool card.

  71. Translation of Fanatische Rekruten:

    Zealous Conscripts 4R
    Creature – Human Warrior
    Haste
    When Zealous Conscripts enters the battlefield, gain control of target permanent until end of turn. Untap that card. It gains haste until end of turn.
    3/3

  73. Red is getting the rare hookup. Fifteen days from now we get the barely playable common creatures to make up for it. My prediction is that white will be the dominant color of the set. Angels are a predominant theme and so far they deliver smashingly. Any skies deck will have to contend with all of the other 3/3 and larger fliers. This could be a “zeppelin war”, in which each side tries to assemble the largest luftwaffe. I desperately want this to be a slower format. After M12 and INN/DKA, a format in which Griselbrand or an awkward mythic Angel is playable would be a breath of fresh air. We’re seeing the bombs now, what we need are efficient walls and blockers (Wall of Denial, Reverance, Omens, Fog, 2/4s and 1/4s), decent removal and ramp to get there. If there was a common echo to Herald of War, that would help.

  74. ahahaha…luftwaffe…white domination…I see what you did there. I hate humans too.

  75. Bonfire: Another insane miracle mythic. Not time walk insane, but still incredibly powerful. I do not know yet how to feel about these cards. Might be too format warping, but if they’re not they look like a ton of fun.

    Tibalt: RR is a pretty exciting casting cost for a planeswalker. At RR it almost has to be good. Someone just has to design a deck for it.

    Zealous Conscripts: I think this one is deceptively powerful and could surprise people by showing up in standard. Its a ton of damage out of nowwhere, and if you can abuse the ability with sac effects its just a blowout on any board it resolves. Absolute bomb in limited.

  76. Decks that are designed for a planeswalker suck. They compliment decks.

    I like how the card in kraut-speak is a MENSCH. Super-awesome. I would actually play humans if all of them read “mensch”.

  78. @Abon: I see your point. Deck manipulation has and always be a part of the game. And miracle is basically two cards in one, with the same ability. My complaint is more with the cost than the mechanic. If a card’s casting cost was reduced by say 2 or 3, at the most because of miracle, then it would be okay. But a second turn for U1?! What are they thinking? RX for damage to player AND ALL HIS CREATURES! Wow… That is not broken, that is unglued status. (Which I beleive you mentioned!) Thank you for your feedback though. I guess time will tell if any of these get banned in any format.

    @New cards: I too love the new planeswalker. RR is the first two drop PW we have ever seen, and he delivers! RU and RG are going to dominate WB.

    First, buy all the Noxisous Revivals you can, they will be $1.00 to $1.50 soon. Second, Increacesing Vengence or Reverberate DO work on Miracle cards. So…

    R/G could include:
    Tibalt
    Faithless Looting
    Revenge of the Hunted
    Noxious Revival
    Increasing Vengence

    AND

    R/U could include:
    Tibalt
    Forbiden Alchemy
    Temperal Mastery
    Noxious Revival (got to love phyrexian mana!)

    And then go from there on your basic RG or RU cards. This is going to get out of hand really really fast!

  79. It needs to be the first card drawn that turn, so making it work will be cumbersome at best. Noxious revival is sweet with a miracle card, but so are delvers that get flipped on the first turn and so on. Taking multiple turns has generally been something that combo decks have done, so it will be interesting to see how a format that is dominated by creatures will manage to capitalize on Temporal Mastery when it basically requires:

    4 ponder
    2-4 probe
    2-4 thought scour
    4 delver
    4 vapor snag
    4 snapcaster
    2-4 mana leak

    and that’s just the blue stuff. After the blue stuff, higher impact stuff will be needed, like equipment and efficient beaters. Then, all the stuff to make miracle triggering more often will need to get jammed. Such is life with new set- cool cards that seem really sick and then once you actually get around to making the deck, space reveals itself to be hard to come by. Havengul Lich comes to mind, as a recent example of a zomgbbqbahroken card that unsurprisingly fell flat.

    All of the miracle cards so far need support. Taking an extra turn is especially bad if you have little else to do beyond drop a land after drawing and passing. I don’t know about you, but I remember playing Time Walk as a cantrip, as well as Time Warp and Final Fortune and both were cards that took considerably less resources than Mastery and they were still conditional.

    Actually hash-out numbers for decks that use miracles, proxy the deck, and see how well it works. More likely than not, as it stands(current cards that are spoiled+T2 pool), the results will be a deck that frequently takes extra turns that it isn’t able to capitalize on very well OR it will be an okay deck that occasionally takes extra turns, but could stand to have the slots taken up to do so more effectively…

    3 Forbidden Alchemy
    4 Thought Scour
    4 Ponder
    3-4 Revival
    4 Temporal Mastery
    18-20 slots are dedicated to consistence and taking extra turns. Let’s assume that 22 lands does the trick; that means you’ll have approximately 20-22 slots available for stuff that makes the consistence and extra turns worth it. If you plan on running delvers, that means an emphasis on tokens. My forecast is people shoehorning temporal into spirit-delver decks and managing to make it even more sketchy than it already is.

    I don’t mind being wrong with these predictions because pragmatism has a pretty good track record with myth-busting hype cards and saving loads of money on sleeper cards.

  80. @abon: Temporal Mastery is never going to be broken in a fair deck. It’ll be OK. Extra turns is always good. People are scared of its brokeness because of its utility in degenerate combo decks. These are decks that already want to run library manipulation and can most take advantage of extra turns. Thats a scary combination. Luckily ponder and preordain are banned in modern, legacy already does such powerful things that this card won’t break it, and standard doesn’t as of yet have a tier one combo that can take advantage of it. So yeah…overhyped but still has the potential to do some insane things.

    Wolfir Silverheaert: a 5 mana 8/8 is hyper efficient plus it gives another guy a bonus. Vanilla creatures not named ‘goyf aren’t usually good enough for constructed but this is a guy worth looking at for your green beat down decks. Soulbound isn’t really a natural fit for constructed given how hard it is to keep multiple guys alive at a time, so ultimately I don’t think this guy makes it, but he is a potential sleeper.

    Smuggler: Cards like this make me more excited for the set than any of the splashy rares. Seems like a fun powerful uncommon for limited. Blinking is a really fun mechanic.

  81. The blink effects are helpful with soulbound. Resp to Doom Blade, blink! Whoops fizzled. Soulbound is not good across the board, but saying that it is not feasible in competitive play is a rather sweeping generalization when the set hasn’t been completely spoiled. The five mana guy costs five mana, which means it is in direct competition with Vorapede and Acidic Slime. It is more accurate to point put that it is 3gg for twelve power; not merely an 8/8. The idea of one being played the turn after a Primeval Titan against a lame deck that has issues dealing with creatures, like humans, is pretty funny though.

  82. Fortaleza de asesinos, PlanetWalls’ translation:

    Assassins’ Fortress
    Land (Rare)
    T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
    RW, T: Target creature gets +2/+0 and gains vigilance and haste until end of turn.
    Its courtyards are always lit so that night never falls within its walls.

  83. Holy Avacyn, this land is powerful in Limited. just adding +2/+0 to any one creatue completly wracks combat for opponent….basically enables you to suicide weenies into Big Guys in the later stages of the game…

  84. Damn Tibalt is cool. If nothing else just how he looks. Cant wait to see the story and findout why he is on the plane of Innistrad.

  85. What is the deal posting the foreign versions? All you’re doing to giving me a reason to leave your site and look it up on a competitor’s site.

  87. Macray, the reason that foreign versions are posted is that sometimes the English version isn’t yet spoiled. You’ll find that Marin (Plejades) and I have translated the foreign cards in the comments. However, now that you mention it, I’ll glance at Wizards’ site to see if I can replace the foreign versions with English ones.

    For the record, though, not everyone is a native English reader and speaker.

  90. the =0/1 druid:
    tap to add 3 mana of any one color to your mana pool…creature spells only.

  91. Translation of Daemmerwald-Weise:

    Somberwald Sage 2G

    Creature – Human Druid
    Add 3 mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast creatures.

    0/1

  92. So, that means I can go – turn 3: Somberwald sage then turn 4: land, Elesh Norn. Seems spicy.

  93. UWb Reanimator anyone? Mill every fatty angel into the yard and use Unburial Rites and Defy Death to bring them back.

  94. Angel of Glory’s Rise is kinda cool with flickering, eh? putting reverse zombie apocalypse on a stick is amusing, I think.

  95. Sage: Seems really strong. Birthing pod decks and other green decks that want to power out fatties should look at this. Turn 1, Birds. Turn 2, This guy. Turn 3, 7 drop or Titan. Pretty easy to disrupt but still…that’s a powerful enough turn progression to take the risk.

    Defy death: Another strong card, although Burial rites is just better. Reanimator decks in standard now have access to 8 reanimation spells but is still probably less consistent than ramp.

    Entreat: Mana leak being so prevalent makes this a lot worse than it looks. Are you ever going to want to tap out in your draw step If your opponent has 1U open. Still powerful but I wouldn’t run it in the current metagame.

  97. To my point about Entreat. The value of counter-spells applies to all Miracle cards. If your opponent is incentivized to play their key cards in their draw step it makes it really tough to play around counter-spells. I suspect we’ll get a playable counter-spell(for precisely this reason) in this set to compliment leak and dissipate. That will give us enough redundancy to build a powerful draw-go control deck which will just hose Miracle decks. As a nifty bonus for draw-go players(Or really anybody not running a deck with miracle cards), making live reads on your opponents hands becomes a lot easier once they start tanking in the draw step.

  98. Bummer, Zombies are still going to be good, but I can some really bad Sideboard hate. Humans are going to wreck, I am actually glad to see some human hate. I thought we were dealing with a situation like with blizzard and their love for the terran… Human’s are so weak! lol (Not in MTG, but irl?!)

  99. I really like how the art on Descendant’s Path has nothing to do with anything that ever existed…

  101. Aw man, bloody vampire chewing arm is going to be great in… yeah I just wanted to say that.

  104. I love the art on Descendant’s Path. It makes me sad that Rebecca Guay hasn’t done anything since Lorwyn Block. (You’ll have to pry my Stronghold Mulches from my cold dead hands!)

    I wish there was more of those thematic pieces like Descendant’s Path.

  105. Crippling Cold 2U

    Instant
    Tap target creature. It doesn’t untap during its controller’s next untap step.
    Draw a card.

  109. Sanctuary of the Seraphim

    Land
    When Sanctuary of the Seraphim enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.
    Whenever an Angel enters the battlefield under your control, you gain 1 life.
    Tap: add 1 to your mana pool.

  110. Willow Hill Gallows 3

    3, Tap, Tap three untapped Humans you control: Destroy target creature. Its controller puts a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying onto the battlefield.

  111. Angelic Armaments 3

    Artifact – Equipment
    Equipped creature gets +2+2, has flying and is a white Angel in addition to its other colors and types.
    Equip 4

  113. Thachers’ Rebellion 2R

    Sorcery
    Put three 1/1 red Human creature tokens with haste onto the battlefield. Sacrifice those tokens at the beginnig of the next end step.

  115. Malicious Intend 1R

    Enchantment – Aura
    Enchant creature
    Enchanted creature has “: Target creature can’t block this turn”.

  117. Murderous Recluse 4B

    Enchantment
    As long as you control exactly one creature, that creature gets +3+1 and has lifelink.

  123. Predator’s Gambit B

    Enchantment – Aura
    Enchant creature
    Enchanted creature gets +2/+1.
    If enchanted creature is the only creature you control, it has intimitade.

  124. Vital Harvest 2B

    Sorcery
    Target player loses X life and you gain X life, where X is the highest power amongst creatures you control.

  125. Grave Exchange 4BB

    Sorcery
    Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. Target player sacrifices a creature.

  126. Bearer of the Dead 3B

    Creature – Vampire
    When Bearer of the Dead dies, return target creature with converted mana cost 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.

    3/2

  128. Chaingeist 2U

    Creature – Spirit
    Flying
    At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Chaingeist unless you pay 1 for each other creature you control.
    3/4

  129. Peel from Reality 1U

    Instant
    Return target creature you control and target creature you don’t control to their owners’ hands.

  130. Ghostly Touch 1U

    Enchantment – Aura
    Enchant creature
    Enchanted creature had “Whenever this creature attacks, you may tap or untap target permanent.

  132. Necrotize B

    Enchantment – Aura
    Enchant creature.
    Enchanted creature gets -1/-1 and is a black Zombie in addition to its other colors and types.

  136. Cards that will see tourney play:

    -Polluted Death
    -Chaingeist
    -Bearer of the Dead
    -Butcher Ghoul
    -Vital Harvest
    -Risky Bet
    -Willow Hill Gallows
    -Sanctuary of the Seraphim
    -Crippling Cold

    Some of the cards that are left off, are becuase they are sorcery speed, when they should be instants. Here are some that stand out, and won’t see much tourney play becuase they are sorcery speed spells:

    -Barter in Blood
    -Gather the Components – hard to argue, but there are better cards than this in standard. (Not in block though, it will see play in block for sure!)
    -Push into Nothingness
    -Thachers’ Rebellion

  137. Thacher’s is very sick with anthem effects and champion. Barter saw a fair amount of play when it was in standard before; what aggro decks are doing will always dictate what control does, so time will tell whether it is useful or not.

    Considering the biggest issue with barter is the fact that the format is filled with tokens, yet you say that sorcery speed is the big issue…that’s a pretty big strike against your thoughts having any validity.

    Additionally, Not being able to waylay the tokens off of thacher’s is trivial compared to the fact that with anthem/rally effects, it can be pretty ridiculous…the biggest factor in whether it’ll see play pther token generators; not whether it is an instant or not.

    Don’t interpret this as an attack on you, so much as it is a reminder that you have some learning to do, I’d say.

  138. “Don’t interpret this as an attack on you, so much as it is a reminder that you have some learning to do, I’d say.”

    You probably didn’t mean to sound arrogant and obnoxiously condescending, but boy did you ever.

  139. No, I completely did. It annoys me when people who are clueless speak with a sense of authority.
    Arrogance and confidence are a matter of opinion in most cases. I prefer pragamatism to making ridiculous assumptions based on incomplete or entirely wrong information, so that’s how I manage to be so confident in what I say.

    On a lighter note- rite of ruin and mauler are going to probably be good. The latter makes the comes into play tapped caveat of a few zombies seem especially thought-out. Rites seems like a pretty desirable thing to ramp into. Neither of the cards in question would ever go into anything that I can see myself enjoying playing with, so I’m not so excited about them lol

  140. Translation of “Anima della Mietitura”

    Soul of the Harvest 4GG

    Creature – Elemental
    Trample
    Whenever another nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may draw a card.
    6/6

  141. Pit Dweller: This card is crazy. A 2 mana 4/3 is definitely worth taking a look at, but that is a serious drawback. The natural fit is a blue deck, play this on turn 2 and protect it the rest of the game, but BB wants a mono-black or close to it manabase. Cool card.

    Mauler: This is the first soulbond card that’s basically a slam dunk for constructed. A little awkward its not a goblin, but creature based red decks will want this anyways. Its a pretty powerful followup to a 1 drop. Giving your turn 3 play haste is good too. It might also have a place in a combo deck that wants to give its finisher haste. Of course the creature based mono-red deck will probably not be tier one, but that’s not this cards fault.

  142. The 2U 3/4 Flier seems far superior for a blue deck than a BB 4/3 that needs to be tampered with if it dies or else it’ll be taking chunks out. Control decks have a hard enough time finding good wincons; running one that is rarely going to be cast early and becomes a threat if it dies seems pretty bad actually.

  143. True, but some of the creatures are looking to be alone. You might see this in a sidebaord against that demon that makes you sac a different creature on your upkeep.

  144. Pit-Dweller + Torpor Orb 4ever

    This set is bantastic. So many cards begging to get broken. It won’t work out for all of them, but somebody is going to make a decadent deck using some of these cards. Miracle and undercosted creatures are an open invitation for abuse. As LSV said, you don’t play them in a fair deck.

    @ abon: There is no matter of opinion here; you are acting like a colossal ass. The next time you have something unnecessarily rude to say, I suggest you keep it to yourself. Remember, this is a game for children. You could hurt someone’s feelings with your casual insults. Stop acting like an authority when less than half of the set is spoiled.

  146. saying magic is a game for children manages to be unnecessarily rude to people, in general. I’m correcting people. Additionally, I’m not the one calling names. Be more artful in your white knighting and cognizant of irony.

  147. @abon says:

    April 17, 2012 at 11:34 PM

    Thacher’s is very sick with anthem effects and champion. Barter saw a fair amount of play when it was in standard before; what aggro decks are doing will always dictate what control does, so time will tell whether it is useful or not.

    Considering the biggest issue with barter is the fact that the format is filled with tokens, yet you say that sorcery speed is the big issue…that’s a pretty big strike against your thoughts having any validity.

    Additionally, Not being able to waylay the tokens off of thacher’s is trivial compared to the fact that with anthem/rally effects, it can be pretty ridiculous…the biggest factor in whether it’ll see play pther token generators; not whether it is an instant or not.

    Don’t interpret this as an attack on you, so much as it is a reminder that you have some learning to do, I’d say.
    _____________________________________________________________________________

    I do have some learning to do; you are right about that, but not in the sense of Magic. I need to learn a better way to state my original points.

    There are three different factors I take into consideration, 1 – card advantage, 2 – effective uses, and 3 – what the card actually does (meta, format, mana cost, etc.).

    First:

    In this format, and with what I have seen so far, creature removal at instant speed is the only viable option, and there is plenty of it. Cards that hit the field and swing (or otherwise hurt) are becoming very powerful. That is the reason why I stated that Barter in Blood will not see play. I guess what it should say is that it shouldn’t see play. Here is why:

    1 – Card advantage: this card has the potential to give only a +1 advantage, if you don’t have any creatures in play, and your opponent has 2, then it is a +1 card advantage. Here is the card advantage break down for this card:

    Number of creatures for:
    You Him Card Advantage
    0 – - – - 2 – - – Advantage +1
    0 – - – - 1 – - – Advantage +0
    1 – - – - 2 – - – Advantage +0
    1 – - – - 1 – - – Advantage -1
    2 – - – - 2 – - – Advantage -1
    2 – - – - 1 – - – Advantage -2

    As you can see the down side to this card can potentially be a -2 card disadvantage. And any decent player knows that card advantage wins games. The only deck that might have a better advantage using this is an undying deck, or some other type of reanimation; or a deck that does not use creatures as its wincon. Also, tokens are always a part of the game, and prove even more so the need for instant speed kill cards; especially when it comes to sacrificing a creature rather than targeting one.

    2 — Effective uses: The amount of hexproof in standard (which I am surprised you did not mention) gives added value to this card because there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that a need to make an opponent sac rather than targeting is going to be needed. But not needed enough to offset a potential -2 card advantage. Heck, even Geth’s Verdict is better than this.

    3 — What the card actually does: Sacrificing two creatures is really strong. And it pulls that together for the same cost as having two Geth’s Verdicts in your hand (even less if you take mana weight into consideration, but the same CMC) which is amazing (I am all about getting two for one!); but minus the loss of life, and only at sorcery speed. Which means it cannot be played at the end of turns. In this set, the whole agro vs. control theme is multiplied greatly. If you want to be ready to play into counter spells, you are going to need some eot spells that beg for attention. And this spell my friend, is not that card. You will never get it off on your turn, and even if you do, at what cost; to break even, or even drop in card advantage? No, not against control. Now, for playing it against aggro, well any decent aggro deck is going to be pumping tokens out. You think that you are going to get a lowly token and a fatty off of the board, you cast, and he responds by getting a couple of instant speed tokens in play. Now you are down your creature(s), one or two cards, and 4 mana!

    Conclusion: This card is junk, in this format. It sucks vs. control because it cannot go off at instant speed, and it sucks against aggro because aggro can produce tokens like mad, and some of them at instant speed. So, as my original post stated, this card will not see play because it is a sorcery.

    Next:

    Thatcher’s does not need as thorough of an explanation because it is actually an okay card. Yes, sorcery slows it down, but it is still a good card. The types of creatures it brings, and the fact that they leave at eot makes this almost unplayable in Standard at the moment; anthem effects can bring it up no doubt, but now we are talking about 8 — 12 card slots just for one turn of damage. I am not saying that someone will not break this card and make one turn of damage lethal, but there are currently better ways to make a turn 3-4 aggro win deck. It would have been a lot more playable if the creatures did not die at eot. I digress, in this regard; you are as close to correcting me as I have even seen. Good call, maybe — only time will tell for this one.

    Final thoughts: I do like a good debate. And I do not take offense to your thoughts. I simply should have defended myself more to begin with. If you need any help understanding any of what I have written, please feel free to contact me.

    Brandon Howe
    (MindEcho)

  148. @abon and Sylvan: I have to agree with abon on one point. This is not a game for children. Or rather, children can play it, but it is not FOR them.

    Children can play Chess too, and some of them very well, but you don’t see two children in Russia playing for the title of world champion.

    Likewise with Magic. If you look at who has played at the high levels over the last 20+ years, you will find that it is equally as rare as is a child grandmaster.

    But I think I do see your point i.e. – this is just a game, and so much more of the set is to come; so don’t get high and mighty.

    That pretty close?

  149. Pit Dweller hits the BF on your side first, then target player takes control of it. Hmm… Answer these two questions: (I know the answer to both, this is good practice for your MTG minds! :-)

    When Pit Dweller Dies and comes back, can you sac it to some other ability, or target it with a card like cloudshift, before target player takes control of it?

    What happens when it dies if Metamorph copied it?

  150. It’s how misinformation spreads though- someone accepting something because the speaker seems credible. That’s why I am partial to trying to elucidate my thoughts fully; others will understand how I arrive at something and I won’t have to revisit the same points because someone missed something.

    Barter doesn’t belong in a deck where it’s symmetrical. Tokens have not always been part pf the game, but they currently are. I’m not saying whether it will see play, nor did I before because I don’t think there’s enough information to say so. That was the basis of my point- you don’t know.

    Yes, barter will be bad against token, obviously. It would be incredibly silly to run it in a deck that doesn’t break its symmetry though- it’s really no different why you won’t find many human decks running DoJ outside of their 15s on occasion.

    The reason the 2U 3/4 Flier is good is because it fits into a deck that runs no other creatures, like UB control’s sideboard, so it can have a man plan, like esper has with GoST.

    White Knighting(see Sylvan’s post) is just the product of someone who wants to lash-out troll style, without any social repercussions. It’s an interesting social phenom.

    That’s cool that we’re seeing eye to eye, MindEcho. :)

  152. I was sure “Thatcher’s Rebellion” was going to have something to do with the Falklands.

  153. @abon: I agree the 2U 3/4 flier is a good card for creature light control decks. Probably nothing more than a good sideboard option though. Don’t act as if you’re correcting me if you’re just going to restate my point in a different way.(Although I don’t really care if you’re rude, I wouldn’t have even said something if it wasn’t already a thread in the comments) My point was that BB is basically uncastable in decks that want the effect.

    Terminus: This is just worse than all the other wraths in the format, right? Even if there was some sort of hyper aggressive deck that can kill you consistently before you hit 4 mana, you still have to draw this in your first 3 turns to make it better than day of judgement.

    Misthollow Griffin: Interesting ability on this one. I imagine their must be some sort of interaction I’m not familiar with that makes this card good but I’m just not seeing it. The fact that its mythic is like WoTC goading us into trying to break its ability. It could have some sideboard applications against decks that only run exile effects for removal but that doesn’t seem likely.

    Alchemists refuge: Another cool card. I’ve played UG decks in the past where the goal is to land an undercosted beater early and protect it with counterspells. This plays perfectly into that strategy although I don’t remember it ever being a tier 1 deck, and I don’t think refuge puts it over the top. Anyways with the advent of delver, blue decks don’t even need to play green at all to play aggro-control.

  156. BUG? Instant all my black creature removal… That land is really powerful. It feels like they spoiled that card becuase of our debate yesterday.

    Wow, this set is “bantastic” as another user said. It is getting out of control.

  157. @Abon ( Or sophisticated troll? )
    So you were not “White Knighting” when you called me a “whining idiot who should just quit playing magic” ?
    I was not crying about hexproof but decrying rather.

    I only play in draft formats which I did not state earlier, however I figure that a man of your caliber and mental prowess would have taken that into consideration, apparently I figured wrong. When you repeatedly face down butchers cleaver+invisible stalker+auras and realize that there’s no interaction whatsoever then it doesn’t feel like Magic anymore. You would know that though wouldn’t you? Since your an expert at not playing magic but rather a sophisticated troll who uses their intelligence to point out where everyone else is wrong in a condescending fashion.
    I’ve always wondered about people like you. How come you have such a deep psychological need to be “right” by claiming others are “wrong”? I know your personality type and modis operandi and people like you never get that you win more arguments with honey instead of vinegar. When other people are wrong it is not an attack against you, so why attack them as though it was? An expansive vocabulary doesn’t give you the rite to bash people over the head with it like some kind of savage brute, take a more civilized approach by keeping your intentions pure. Your not our father, teacher or grand poobah so stop putting yourself in that position!

    Aside Begin

    They printed the answer to hexproof like I hoped they would with Terminus
    ( Maybe those whiny idiots had a valid point after all?)

    Aside End

    Here’s another word for your vocabulary: Erudite

    It must get lonely up there on your pedestal so come on down every once in a while, or in the words of Marshall, ” come on in, the waters fine “.

  158. The reason I stared using this spot to talk about the new set is because there was no childish banter. Please everyone, let’s stop the contention and just talk about magic. Let’s walk away from the people, and focus on the facts, the card in print!

    I am sorry if I started this argument in anyway. And I hope that anyone else who may have contributed to so much contention will apologize too.

    Let’s focus on the game guys, not the people in this spot.

    Thank you.

  159. @mindecho

    Amen to that, my first post was done in joy and humor. Things got a little sour though because some people…….

    I love magic and can’t wait to draft this set, it’s awesome!

    I’m going to make my friends draft restored/ascension/ins! mwa ahahahahahahahha

  161. Do you guys feel that this system of magic has gotten a little too combo based? I know someone will find a rediculous combo with Infinate Reflection. It will be like splinter twin, only sucky becuase the CMC is too high! lol

    Wait!, how about Somberworld Sage and Thatcher’s Rebellion! I have SOOO MUCH MANA! lol

  162. define combo-based because the last one that amounted to anything, in standard was splinter twin, which ended up falling flat. Formats older pools have always had combos- it has only been over the last eight or so years that they started to dilute the game into turning creatures sideways.

  163. Sure.

    Many of the cards released are based almost soley on interactions with other cards. Even some of the mechanics are too.

    Soulbound is begging for a combo, and I am sure we have not seen all of the soulbound cards yet.

    Miracle is really good, but it gets broken when you can control it. Putting cards on top of your library could have a signifigant meaning moving forward. In that sense, it becomes a combo.

    Splinter Twin was lame… I played it, and aginst it. Lame.

    I know that the entire game of magic is based on how cards interact with each other, but having cards that are really worthless UNLESS they are paired with another, has a very heavy feel to it. Maybe combo was not the right word to use.

  164. I think that calling a set “bantastic” before having played with any of the cards is a little presumptuous. Some cards look awesome on paper but end up not really affecting the metagame that much. Whereas some seemingly innocent cards end up having to be banned even though they looked underwhelming (Blazing Shoal I’m looking at you!)

  165. I do not know what order this happens in. Primal Surge, reveal Primeval Titan, do I search for the land first, or do I “repeat this process” again first?

  167. genesis wave for 7 that hits your entire deck? now we have two big green cards to ban in EDH
    @MindEcho: prime titans ability would go on the stack, but you would continue resolving primal surge, putting any other ETB triggers onto the stack when they hit the battlefield.

  168. That makes sense. It is a really strong card, but for 10! Wow, I wonder if it will see tourny play…

  169. @MindEcho

    I was told by a level 1 judge that when you encounter a “period” ( . ) in a cards text you can treat it as though it’s a pause or sorcery speed effect. When you see a comma to treat it as though it’s an instant speed effect.
    For example: Phantom Nishoba enters the battlefield with 3 1/1 counters on it. If Phantom Nishoba would be dealt damage, prevent that damage. Remove a 1/1 counter.
    So if I were to enchant this creature with say, Armadillo cloak which gives it +2/+2, when damage is dealt to the creature it’s always prevented because of the ( . ) and then I remove a 1/1 counter. Now even if this creature has no more counters left to remove it still lives due to the +2 defense and the damage is still prevented since the counter removal text happens after. If this was worded with a comma then it happens at instant speed and you would have to have a counter to remove to prevent the damage.

    Since Primal Surge says: “put it onto the battlefield.” allowing “come into play” abilities to resolve before you have to repeat the process.

    Fun fact. Did you know that when the printed wording for the “undying” mechanic first saw REL competitive play judges were flummoxed at first since when the creature with undying dies, since there was no way to respond according to the way it was worded? I.E. that Thraben creature that exiles a creature when you tap it couldn’t remove an undying creature in time! So, the errata for undying text was treated as though a period exists in there somewhere. lol. ( how do you like that for specifics? )

    It would be fun to primal surge into inferno titan + infinite reflection! Or if some one can find a card that puts a permanent on top of your library at instant speed, it would have to be a repeatable ability with no mana cost though so thats a stretch.

    Sadly, 10 mana is very restrictive.

  170. it does go onto the stack however, since it goes onto the stack before the period it resolve first then you continue with primal surge. If it was a comma then all the “enter the battlefield” effects would go on the stack and you would continue with primal surges’ text.

  171. There is going to be some fun decks made with that… Just give me a modern deck with all of the modern fatties, and no spells other than 4 of these! lol

  172. Angel of Dawn looks to be very dependable. Probably amongst the best commons if this set is as air based as it looks.

  175. you know, have you seen exquisite blood? pair it up with sanguine bond and its an instant win…
    wizards, why? these 2 cards are going to be the most popular combo be the end of April…

  176. Good question, Anonymous. Does Misthollow Griffin stay imprinted when it’s on the battlefield or the stack?

    And Alex, that’s pretty funny. 5-mana enchantments seem way worse in, say, Modern than do Splintered tappers, but mono-black EDH now has a new humorous win condition.

  177. On MTGO, if you Pull from Eternity or cast a general (old rules) from under an imprint artifact, the card was no longer imprinted. So I assume it just stops being imprinted.

  179. Yes! They listened to everybody who wanted Angel’s Mercy reprinted! I finally have a reason to play constructed.

  180. I know! Angel’s Mercy is better than Snapcaster, and Black Lotus combined! I bet it will be worth like $200.00 this time around!

  181. So far whick color combinations in Limited AVR you guys see strong? My vote goes to B/R (removal and loners) or U/W(bounce spells and evasion creatures). Any comments?