In General: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something Blue. And no, this is not a wedding announcement.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I know I am. I am Grandpa Growth. This column is In General, where we talk about basically anything at least loosely related to the game of Magic.

Many of you may be asking: "Grandpa, where were you last week? Are you, in fact, dead?" No, loyal reader, I am not. I missed my first posting in two years. A record which I held firmly for many months and, based on the work ethic of these other characters on the blog, one that will stand in monolithic infamy.

I have been moving. And while I had an article planned for last week, I did not have the internet access that is so critically important to being an internet author. Now I am back though, so prepare yourself.

Although a lot has happened in my personal life over the last two weeks, even more has happened in the Magic world. There was a Pro Tour. An awesome and exciting tournament to celebrate the release of a set which is also both of those things. In light of that I am going to be pushing that previous article in favor of one that relates specifically to current events.

I want to focus on one particular bit of  news from the weekend: spoilers. With preview cards from Khans of Tarkir, Speed vs. Cunning, and of course Commander 2014, there is a ton of new stuff. Obviously, I don't care much about the Duel Decks series, since those are all collectors edition reprints of cards I already own and usually don't play. What is important to the content of this blog is Commander.

The Commander 2014 product is going to be a similar to the previous installments, but it will be mono color pre-constructed decks. This is awesome news to people who like the format, because we have already seen the wedge colors and shard colors get the full Wizards treatment. However, it is bittersweet for those of us who have been fans of Wizard's official Commander products...

It gets me thinking, what could the next hook be? We have seen all combinations of three colors and are now going to see the single color edition. What is left to do? I am going to rule out the possibility of a five color or four color deck release because, even if they do this at some point, it will just be a shallow cash grab and is unlikely to contribute to the format in a way which is significant AND positive.

There is a definitely possibility of two color decks, but that feels obvious even to me and I would like to think that they have a team of professionals who can be more creative than just one man.

For now though, we got a super sweet spoiler. Check this out:

Let's address some obvious concerns.

• The +1 is very similar to the latest iteration of Jace (just better), however that doesn't really matter because they are never going to appear in the same deck. Teferi isn't going to be Standard legal and Jace the Living Guildpact is so weak it won't get played in Commander. 
• It is indeed strange that Wizards decided to print a card specifically meant for use as a Commander, especially when it would break the normal rules for doing so. I don't think THIS CARD is a problem. It won't upset the format. However, the fact that Wizards thinks it can and should print cards specifically for use in Commander and no other format rubs me the wrong way. They didn't make it, they don't need to act like you're helping when you aren't.
• Speaking of not upsetting the format, this card really isn't very powerful. The ultimate is something that we have all dreamed about before, but it is definitely not going to win you the game on the spot. Something that a six mana planeswalker absolutely should be able to do. So that is one crucial benchmark failed. It also has no way to protect itself from removal or attackers. That is two down. The third and final check: does it generate value while ticking up, is a huge yes. The -1 definitely has potential to let you go big on certain boards, but I would imagine that, at this price tag, you should be expecting some serious competition.
• My final question is one of time. A tricky subject for a character that we know has traveled through it. I have heard tell that this is supposed to represent Teferi before he lost his spark repairing Dominaria. What I want to know is, how can we decipher the timeline? How do we know what events happened when? Are major set releases now coming out in chronological order? There seems to be a story, but it never seems to last long. We know how the Chandra, Jace, Gideon, Nissa storyline goes, and where it stands now. We know that Liliana, Garruk, and Sorin interacted during Innistrad block. Also that Sorin was present on Zendikar at some point. So if we ask him maybe we will be able to piece everything together.

Well that is all for today. Did you enjoy the Pro Tour? Excited for the new spoilers? Let us know what you liked most in the comments and tell us what you want to see next!

-GG

TGZ NEWS 4/11/14: Duel Decks, Duels 2015, and Spoilers

After a short lull following the release of Born of the Gods, TGZ News is back with some exciting new developments in the world of Magic: the Gathering! New duel decks, Duels of the Planeswalkers 2015, and Journey into Nyx spoiler season is upon us! Let's take a look.

Duel Decks: Speed vs. Cunning
Announced earlier this week on Daily MtG, this Summer's Duel Deck release will be called Speed vs. Cunning. Not much information was given in the initial announcement, but we can safely assume that it will follow the same formula as previous Duel Decks offerings: a few cards will feature new arts, there will be a couple of cards that haven't been printed in the new card frame, and there will be one or two money cards to try and hook us into buying an otherwise extremely boring product. Unlike other limited print Magic products like From the Vault or retro booster boxes, you can expect this to hold MSRP for a while...mostly because there won't be anything of value inside. Link to the announcement below:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1463

Duels of the Planeswalkers
This year we will get yet another iteration of Duels of the Planeswalkers, the annual release video game that ties into the annual release of the Core Set. This year's offering has some interesting twists! It will include the ability to fully customize decks from a larger pool of cards and to build your own decks. Whereas previous games have forced you to use under-powered pre-constructed decks and substitute only a certain amount of cards, Duels 2015 will push the game closer to the full customization potential of the Magic Online platform. Speaking of platforms, Duels 2015 will be available on Steam, Android, Xbox Live, and Xbox One. The expanded story mode will focus on escaping Garruk, who has been cursed by the Chain Veil. This essentially confirms that the Garruk featured in Magic 2015 will, in fact, be Garruk the Veil Cursed. This points towards Transform being the featured mechanic in this year's Core Set, although that has not been confirmed. Link to the announcement below:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1470

Journey Into Nyx Spoilers:
In an exciting change of procedure, Wizards has begun running previews a week earlier than usual. We will get to enjoy a full three weeks of spoilers leading up to the release of JiN. Stay tuned to Dailymtg.com for the latest spoilers as they are previewed and make sure to read our ongoing coverage of all the spoilers right here on The General Zone.

Till next time Zoners, this is Grandpa Growth signing off.
-GG

Theros: Land of Heroes, Artifact Enchantments, and Ponies

Hey Planeswalkers,

I'm sure you guys are excited to see Theros come out later this month. Or maybe not. Either way, we've got some spoilers as they relate to Commander, the only format where you get to cast a cool dude even after he's been killed multiple times.

Today, I'm only going to be focusing on some of the big changes in rules and cards that I find particularly notable (in a good or bad way).

The Heroic Mechanic

So, "Heroic" is another block specific mechanic that is supposed to invoke images of Odysseus or Theseus or that guy who did that impossible feat in that one Greek myth. But how does it relate to EDH?

Well, for starters, the "Heroic" mechanic only triggers when the creature's controller casts a spell that targets it. So it seems like if you really want a "Heroic" deck, you'll have to load up on instant speed creature buffs, protectants, and anything that can target your creature. Which at that point, I'd say lose the Heroic mechanic if you're already giving one creature Giant Growth, Might of Oaks, Hunter's Insight, Run Wild, etc. Could Wizards be getting more convoluted as they try to invent fun new mechanics?

I guess we'll have to look at some "Heroic" creatures before calling judgment. Let's start with this cute Quasi-Greek couple, Anax and Cymede.

Now, their ability is pretty darn good if you ask me. Definitely worth wasting a spell on. It could even be a great general. First Strike and Vigilance seals the deal on these guys. This is both a flavorful card and an effective one.

But you do have to have spells on hand to make the best use of Anax and Cymede, or any other heroic creature. Considering what A & C does in particular though, you'll most likely be using a lot of instant speed buffs/protections like Barreling Attack or Bathe in Light.

I feel this card will play in well with mechanics like Battalion from RTR or Battle Cry from Mirrodin Besieged, simply because all three of these play off having a nice little army of 1/1s or 2/2s.

Weenie/token deck builds will probably also be a feature in decks built around Anax and Cymede. Few things are scarier than twelve 3/3 trample creature tokens charging at you.

In the other couple heroic cards I saw, you can get a 1/1 soldier (good for token decks, but I couldn't find a good quality pic) and this shameful creature they call the Setessan Hero. More like a Setessan Zero.

Why do I say it's a Zero? Start with the creature itself. A 5-drop 4/5: good for most creatures, but I'd expect a bit more generosity from green.

Secondly, you'd have to spend mana on spell triggers for her heroic, which targets mana, which leaves you with less mana to use as attackers or defenders. Seems counter-intuitive to me. You're better off using Animate Land or Vivify, cards that get right to the point rather than having to target a creature in order to target another target. Kamahl is the original land creature-making creature, and he would certainly disapprove of this joke of a warrior.

Maybe if "Heroic" triggered on abilities that target the creature, I'd be a bit more pleased with it from a playability perspective. Otherwise, I just feel that this mechanic beats around the bush.

Until I see more heroes from Theros (slant rhymes, clever Wizards), they'll be an afterthought in my
books.

Except for you Bowie. You will always be in my forethoughts.

Card Type Shakeup

I'm still wondering why it must be both an artifact and an enchantment. Maybe normal enchantments can't be tapped. Maybe it has something to do with an artifact/enchantment-based mechanic that will be utilized in the other two sets of Theros block. Maybe it will make it easier for red decks to destroy or blue decks to take control of.

Regardless, the Bow seems pretty good for a commander like Trostani or Kamahl. It's built for aggression and covers some of what green decks need: flying protection, life gain, and graveyard retrieval. Not to forget Graft/Evolve mechanics working in conjunction with the first option. Put this next to your Fathom Mage and draw like crazy.

A green artifact is a little hard to comprehend though. Isn't green the color to usually destroy artifacts? I mean I've seen plenty of artifacts in green decks, but never an artifact that carries a green identity (the artifact creatures from the Scars of Mirrodin block don't count).

There are also a bunch of enchantment creatures, but we'll get to that with next week's spoilers.

And finally, we have this lovely gem to the right. That's right, it's a Pegasus, not the first of its kind either. But for two mana, you get a better version of that terrible Chasm Drake from M12. This card will make an Mikaeus deck or any white weenie/human token deck many times more awesome (combo with Anax and Cymede???).

Innistrad block was chock full of human creatures that would love to get a ride on this pony (this is not meant to be sexual in any way, stop giggling). This is to human creatures as War Falcon is to Knights/soldiers. As with the heroic Anax and Cymede, I see this card being paired with Battle Cry in a weenie deck. It just makes too much sense.

Plus it's a Pegasus!

Fluttershy approves this card for Commander.

Until next time, stay classy Planeswalkers.

-VJ

Super Secret Sunday #10: Spoilers In General

Hey everyone, welcome back to Super Secret Sunday, where normally we talk about under played cards, under the radar strategies, and under-thought thoughts. In lieu of the regularly scheduled discussion of super secret tech, I am going to talk about something completely different! Spoilers! And a preview of a different kind of article that I will be doing for the blog. A broad-based column about pretty much any topic in Magic, loosely tied to EDH; called In General. This is a 3S. Written in the style of In General. Preview. B00m.

R&D is in the business of making new cards. Which I love and fully support. I like when they make NEW cards. I even like a good reprint every now and then. I may sound like a bit of a miser, but I don't like that they make so many 'new' cards every year that are really just for the sake of doing it (to make a whole bunch of fast money). Every set has new keyword mechanics, most of which are too niche to have a real impact on constructed, e.g. Sweep, Kinship, or Fateful Hour. These mechanics don't have much resonance and suffer from the all-too-common problem of poor conveyance. These mechanics just end up being forgotten. They aren't useful for competitive play and aren't appealing to casual players. No one has ever come up to me and asked if I wanted to battle their Sweep deck. Never happens. I want an R&D department that takes more time to get things right, instead of just using a 'shotgun' approach; throwing out mechanics all willy-nilly.

Something else that really gets my goose is when they make the same mechanic over and over, but they give it a new (usually worse) coat of paint each time. Kicker is the poster child for this. There are like a hundred versions of Kicker. Some are more obvious than others, but the 'extra price, extra effect' mechanic is very prevalent, and not just in Magic either, it's all over the place. Toppings on ice cream, luxury cars, combo meals. People love options, and optimization problems, but mostly options. So all kicker really is, is a modal choice. In fact, people often replace the names of other lame mechanics by just saying they will 'kick it' instead. I have even gotten into the habit of replacing Unleash with Kick. Let's look at the latest iteration of Kicker on a new Gatecrash card.

Extort basically gives your other spells Kicker. Much like Equilibrium or Mentor of the Meek. Except Extort is not a powerful evocative name. It is the kind of name that I will just automatically be dropping in favor of 'kicking'. The flavor also doesn't make a whole of sense to me. Extort is trying to equate the trading of life in game to the trading of money in the 'story' (for lack of a better word). R&D is sending a confusing message about the role of the player, flavor-wise. Now it seems like we are a corporation or a bank account; just a big stack of money getting moved around. Secondly, extortion is not exactly a two way exchange. One party, in a position of dominating power, makes demands of the weaker party, backed up by the threat of punishment. The Extort mechanic involves a trade. I pay mana and I get your life. This, again, sounds like a business deal, but is also a pretty fair deal. Extorting someone should not feel like a customer-vendor relationship.
Final note: I like this card. Seems like a fine, limited quality rare, with potential for use as a card advantage engine in specific decks. Kinda weak. Fun. Sure.

Bloodrush eh? I remember a mechanic called Channel. Which was sweet. Evoke was also sweet. They give you the option of using your creature as something other than a creature. Which is an awesome design space, in my opinion. Bloodrush is just Channel. A silly, narrow version of Channel, with a terrible new name. Channel had flavor, you use up the 'spirit' of your creature card to use the essence of that creature, which makes more sense in the Spirit/Arcane set. Bloodrush...you...well...make your guy big and angry by...discarding a...NOPE. Bloodrush has no flavor, mostly because it crosses the boundary between flavor and game mechanics. To understand it within the game...you have to go outside the game? Terrible conveyance.
Mark Rosewater said in an interview, that each guild would be getting a new keyword mechanic, which I hated automatically, but I would be excited if it meant 10 GOOD NEW mechanics. This is poor execution of an old mechanic. This is not something I want. Also this card is horribly weak. Really, really pathetic.

 I once heard Aaron Forsythe talk about design in a presentation he called, "Between the Ravnicas". In said speech he talks about why Haunt was such a poor mechanic. It had flavor, but lacked resonance. People just didn't latch on to it. It was a bit confusing; it has exiled cards interacting with cards in play, it always does something different, it doesn't leave any visible, in-game, marker of the Haunt trigger, so it is easily missed, and the rules don't specifically address what happens to the exiled card after it does its thing. It just stays out there in no man's land. I find it really strange that Forsythe, as head of R&D, would approve the printing of a mechanic which is almost EXACTLY THE SAME AS HAUNT (which was actually just Imprint in disguise anyway).
Cipher has all of those same problems, which are even worse now because of the new trigger rules. This card generates a ton of triggers, but doesn't give you a convenient way to acknowledge or address them. It also has one of the same problems that Sweep, Kinship, and Fateful Hour have. Why make a keyword if you are just always going to explain what that word means?

This art really throws me as well. I get it, the ghost is whispering mad thoughts in his ear. Why the extreme angle perspective? Why the visual curvature? It looks like I am inside a snow-globe and he is examining me.

Next let's talk name. Cipher is most often used as a noun, but this is the much rarer verb form of the word. Are we going to say, "Cipher this guy?" And why does the reminder text reference 'encoding' a card? Encode isn't a rule, or a game action; not yet at least. This reminds me of Obsidian Fireheart. Lastly, why isn't this just called Encode instead? (Is that even any better?)

Flying makes sense. One creature flies over another so they don't interact the same way in combat. Pretty intuitive. It is actually LESS effective when they spell it all out for you, like on Orchard Spirit. Cipher is the opposite of making sense. The mechanic is so complex that you will ALWAYS need reminder text. Giving it a short name is useless if you need the long-form explanation of what it does.

The idea behind making up new words usually falls along two lines. Something new is created, so we need a new term to define it. The other route is to refine previous words to shorten them, make them more powerful or easier to identify. Reach is great, Shroud is great. They shorten long blocks of rules text. In short: More refinements and improvements. Less weird, off the wall new key words that don't make sense and are only usable for one block.

Well, I've had just about enough of my own complaining for today, but I will be back soon with a follow-up piece on some of my favorite card designs, mechanics, and what can be done to improve the way mechanics are created. Super Secret Sunday will be back to the regular grind next week.

Your go kid.

A Planeswalker that's GB? Yes Frickin' Please!

I'm usually a, "Check the Spoilers in the Morning" kinda guy.

Patience has always done me well- but boy, was I happy I got to see this new beautiful face. Pun now intended.

Check out this new face to the Ravnica beat. Vraska the Unseen!

She made my night. Love her abilities. Love her art.

Vraska makes me wanna start a whole nother site.

ILOVEVRASKATHEUNSEEN.COM.

I'll wait till the morning for that though. Hopefully, the domain name won't be taken by then. Hell, it probably is now.


Go To Sleep.

-UL

Hello Old Friends! RTR Spoiled Cards Update

Today we got our first look at some of the familiar faces from Ravnica. Two Old/New Guild Leaders!

And the flavor and builds seem sweet!

Here's the new Niv-Mizzet. With a P and T boost and an inversion of his previous ability, the newly dubbed Dracogenius seems pretty awesome. I love the art too. Very regal.

And the other new/old face. Isperia!

Add caption

The Sphinx Azorius Legend is now a 6/4 with a HUGE upgrade in abilities which I'm super excited about.

Yeah, it's CMC is now 5 instead of 6... But it seems a small price to pay.

The art was spoiled at Comic-Con a while ago, but it still looks awesome now that it's bordered by a card.


A few other cards were added too. A huge beater named Worldspine Wurm and some smaller dudes.

I'll let you check 'em out.

Return to Ravnica Spoiler



Pass Turn.

-UL

Return to Ravnica Hath Gifted Us With Spoils

On this leisurely Sunday afternoon, the world was just turning.

And suddenly... Spoilers. Return to Ravnica Spoilers!

Today we get our first look at about 40 of the cards in Return to Ravnica that weren't spoiled via the Izzet vs. Golgari Duel Decks scheduled to come out next week. 

There's plenty to be excited about here for us EDH players, so I'll tell you about a few of my new faves and then give you the link to gander at it yourself.

We got us some sweet land, with new art reprints of the original Ravnica shocks.  This set will be home to Steam Vents, Overgrown Tomb, Temple Garden, and Hallowed Fountain.

In addition to these, RTR is running a cycle of land called Gates, which are pretty straightforward dual lands that come into play tapped. The best part is that they're all commons. So no mana-troubles this time around, and Pauper EDH is all the better too.

A few spells caught my attention, and are definitely worth the mention here.

Dreadbore. A R/B sorcery for RB that destroys a creature or planeswalker. I will be definitely playing this card. Somewhere. 

Chromatic Lantern. My god, this is an EDH gem! a three cost artifact that allows lands you control to be tapped for whatever you want. Plus, it taps to add mana! Seems pretty sweet. 

Selesnya and Azorious Charms. Both seem pretty strong.

The spoiled the new Jace. Color me unimpressed, with baby Hydrosurges and a baby FoF, that's what you should expect though. Let's just say is Mind-Sculpting days are hella-over.

Alright. I found all this stuff out on MTG Salvation, so here's the link.
Return to Ravnica Spoiler

See and enjoy.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to mark the days off until Ravnica finally Returns. Hopefully, I won't be salivating as much over all the sweet new EDH tech.

Passing the spoils onto you.

-Uncle Landdrops

Some More Return to Ravnica / Izzet vs. Golgari Spoilers

Today Wizards of the Coast spoiled some more of the cards that will be in the Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari and in the Return to Ravnica Set. 

My favorite so far is Korozda Guildmage. A little different take on the flavor this time, the cards being gold instead of hybrid. Seems sweet.  

I think Scavenge as a mechanic could be okay. Not particularly exciting, but it seems like it could be strong. Here's Dreg Mangler, sporting the new tech.  

There was some red/blue stuff spoiled too, and I have to say boy, "Izzet" looking up for them.  
Check out Street Spasm, sporting the Overload mechanic. Yeah,  Earthquake will still be better, but hopefully red will get some upgrades in the Return block. 

They also spoiled Izzet Charm, which looks sweet for Standard, and not particularly thrilling for what we do here in EDH land.  

The last spoil was Goblin Electromancer, which looks like a great Pauper EDH card along side Nightscape Familiar.

In addition, there will be 20 Ravnica basics, so 4 for each color.  They haven't spoiled the art, but I'm sure it'll be good, even if it's reprints of the original.
 
I'll let you know when get a peek of that, cause Ravnica land is sweet.

Passin' it up.

-Uncle Landdrops