Magic: The Gathering

[Icemage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Still nothing spectacular from M15 spoilers.

Mostly agree, with one exception:

Chasm Skulker, 2U
1/1
Whenever you draw a card, put a +1/+1 counter on Chasm Skulker.
When Chasm Skulker dies, put X 1/1 blue Squid tokens with islandwalk into play, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Chasm Skulker.

This guy has "You'd better kill me NOW" written all over him, and may see play in other formats as well (Brainstorm to give him permanent Giant Growth? Ye gods...).

EDIT: I just checked and Tolarian Winds was last reprinted in 7th edition, otherwise it'd be absolutely frightening with this guy in Modern (8th edition is the cutoff, sadly).
EDIT 2: Whoah, I just realized Brainstorm is indeed legal in Modern. So yeah, this guy's going to be really good in Modern I think.

Icemage

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

EDIT 2: Whoah, I just realized Brainstorm is indeed legal in Modern. So yeah, this guy's going to be really good in Modern I think.

Conspiracy is not a Modern-legal set.

[Icemage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Conspiracy is not a Modern-legal set.

That's weird, Gatherer shows it as somehow being Modern-legal.

Brainstorm (Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy) - Sets & Legality - Gatherer - Magic: The Gathering

But you're right, I don't see any qualifying sets for Modern, unless there's some weird exception for one of the one-off sets that I'm not aware of for tournament legality? Actually, wait, Gatherer is having a bad day. It shows Brainstorm as legal in Standard too, and I know that can't be right.


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Mostly agree, with one exception:

Chasm Skulker, 2U
1/1
Whenever you draw a card, put a +1/+1 counter on Chasm Skulker.
When Chasm Skulker dies, put X 1/1 blue Squid tokens with islandwalk into play, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Chasm Skulker.

This guy has "You'd better kill me NOW" written all over him, and may see play in other formats as well (Brainstorm to give him permanent Giant Growth? Ye gods...).

EDIT: I just checked and Tolarian Winds was last reprinted in 7th edition, otherwise it'd be absolutely frightening with this guy in Modern (8th edition is the cutoff, sadly).
EDIT 2: Whoah, I just realized Brainstorm is indeed legal in Modern. So yeah, this guy's going to be really good in Modern I think.

Icemage

Yeah he does look pretty sick. And luckily Ravnica Block won't officially rotate out until Warlords comes in so there'll be plenty of simic/golgari janky fun to be had with him.

Seraph of the Masses also looks like a potentially ridiculous finisher for white weenie.

My other 2 favorite cards so far are Military Intelligence & Waste Not.

Holy crap waste not could be ridiculous if they reprint Megrim to go with it.

I *want* to like Goblin Rablemaster as he's basically piledriver 2.0 but with the higher CMC and no pro blue he's just not as awesome.



Seems to be a common thing with a lot of these cards, like they could be fun/cool but nothing really jumps out as "Holy crap this is epic!". Phytotitan is kinda funny, I mean I like that it's essentially unkillable.


Actually I kinda have to retract my original statement, a lot of the black cards are looking quite strong.





Pretty strong synergy with Desecration Demon. Too bad that enchantment from Innistrad's gone (the one that lowers CMC by 2 but gives your guys -1/-1)

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Goblin Rablemaster is bad news simply because he's trying to be Piledriver again. Piledriver was shit design and they need to stop trying to make shit that's as broken as Piledriver.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Piledriver or no, Goblins have truckloads of broken tribal support anyway. Knowing that, I still don't understand why Piledriver specifically is a point of contention for you, but okay.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

It's the embodiment of everything I hate about people who play Goblins but don't understand the jovial, carefree and casually suicidal nature of goblins. Goblins aren't supposed to be that good, they're supposed to set themselves on fire and explode in a glorious death that may or may not actually accomplish the intended task of killing one's foes.
It's a card that hyper competitive people will play because of how much damage it can deal, not because it's a goblin and goblins are hilarious and awesome. To actually play Goblin Piledriver is to lose sight of what makes Goblins so endearing.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

So I take it you also hate Goblin Recruiter, Kiki-Jiki, and Goblin Guide then?

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Kiki-Jiki is just strictly not a goblin.
Recruiter is fine outside of combo decks.
I'm still on the fence about Goblin Guide.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

Kiki-Jiki is just strictly not a goblin.

Tell that to every other Goblin card ever.

Also, if you're playing Recruiter and not following it up with Ringleader, you are quite simply doing it wrong.

[Malacite]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

It's the embodiment of everything I hate about people who play Goblins but don't understand the jovial, carefree and casually suicidal nature of goblins. Goblins aren't supposed to be that good, they're supposed to set themselves on fire and explode in a glorious death that may or may not actually accomplish the intended task of killing one's foes.
It's a card that hyper competitive people will play because of how much damage it can deal, not because it's a goblin and goblins are hilarious and awesome. To actually play Goblin Piledriver is to lose sight of what makes Goblins so endearing.

I disagree because I do both - I loved Goblins in Onslaught both because of how retardedly OP they were but also because Goblins are just fun. Hell one of my favorite cards ever was the Charbelcher from mirrodin that more often than not would just whiff badly for me but every so often I'd get off a RIDICULOUS hit with it. And then there's stuff like Goblin Firemarshal that just suicides the board and everyone at the table rofl...

You're not wrong in saying you have to embrace the crazy to love gobins - or Red in general really. It's why my favorite deck ever is still my UR Jhoira deck that just spends the entire game screwing with everyone XD


Sometimes I'll actually get my Kraken or whatever big fatties I have suspsended out and wreck face, or Obliterate and just destroy everything. But even if I don't I just have fun messing with everyone else. It didn't originally have Teferi in it and I did add him later though I almost felt bad about it just because Teferi was kinda taking it a bit too far.

[Icemage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

The latest M2015 spoilers are significantly better.

Wirzards just revealed a bunch of spoilers of cards designed by video game designers:

Magic: The Gathering Cards Designed By Star Video Game Designers

Markus 'Notch' Persson's (Minecraft) card is fascinating:

Aggressive Mining
2R, Enchantment
You can't play lands.
Sacrifice a land: Draw 2 cards. Activate this ability only once each turn.

Just because you can't play a land doesn't mean you can't put land into play...

Justin Gary's (Solforge) card is amazing:

Spirit Bonds
1W, Enchantment
Whenever a nontoken creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may pay W. If you do, but a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying into play.
1W, Sacrifice a Spirit: Target non-Spirit creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn.

Brad Muir's (Iron Brigade, Massive Chalice) card looks like it has a ton of potential in a meta-game reanimator deck in older formats where searchlands are common:

Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
4BB, Legendary Creature - Demon
4/4, Flying, Trample
Whenever an opponent searches his library, that player sacrifices a creature and loses 10 life.
Whenever another creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on Ob Nixilis, Unshackled.

Some other interesting stuff:

Encrust
1UU, Aura
Target permanent does not untap during its controller's untap step, and its activated abilities cannot be activated.

Return to the Ranks
XWW, Sorcery
Return X creature cards with converted mana cost 2 or less from the graveyard to the battlefield.

Jace's Ingenuity
3UU, Instant
Draw 3 cards.

I mention this one specifically because of its synergy with Chasm Skulker...

Military Intelligence
1U, Enchantment
Whenever you attack with 2 or more creatures, draw a card.

As if Devotion to Blue needed more weapons in its arsenal...

Sign in Blood
BB, Sorcery
Target player draws 2 cards and loses 2 life.

Black variant of Divination? Could be really good if there's enough weapons in the arsenal.

Waste Not
1B, Enchantment
When an opponent discards a creature card, put a 2/2 Black Zombie token into play.
When an opponent discards a land card, add BB to your mana pool.
When an opponent discards a non-land, non-creature card, draw a card.

Wow. Discard decks just found some new teeth.

Goblin Rabblemaster
2R
2/2 Creature - Goblin Warrior
Other Goblin creatures you control must attack each turn.
At the beginning of your combat step, put a 1/1 red Goblin token with haste into the battlefield.
Goblin Rabblemaster gets +1/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking Goblin.

Totally fair yet hyper aggressive.


Icemage

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

I've actually been outright boycotting M15. In small part because some of those game designers are less than pleasant people. (Not to mention they all look the same . . .)

Encrust, Jace's Ingenuity, and Sign in Blood (really, IM?) are all reprints. You're late to the party on Waste Not and (if cid is any indication) Goblin Rabblemaster.

Good to see Obnoxious still living up to his name. Boy is it a good time to play anything-but-Magic.

(Four days ago I spoiled my personal card for a certain other game, for any curious parties . . .)

[cidbahamut]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

The new card frames are still an eyeblight.

- - - Updated - - -

Goblin Kaboomist has way too fucking many words to be a goblin.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Magic: The Gathering

The new card frames are still an eyeblight.

Spoken surprisingly like an Elf, for a Goblin player.