Hour of Devastation Spoilers
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on June 14, 2017, 1:43 a.m. by Zaueski
Number of Cards: 184
Prerelease: July 8-9
Release: July 14
Cards released thus far Show
Ramunap Excavator (aka Magus of the Crucible) seems absolutely insane.
With The Gitrog Monster and Tireless Tracker in Standard? Fetchlands in Modern? Gitrog and Omnath, Locus of Rage in Commander?
Yeah, I'll take some of that!
June 14, 2017 4:30 a.m. Edited.
EpicFreddi says... #6
He's too slow for modern and standard has Splendid Reclamation. I don't think he'll be that good. :/
June 14, 2017 5:20 a.m.
EpicFreddi,
Idk ... the more I think about Excavator the more I like it!
The Gitrog Monster saw some play in Sultai Aggro back in OGW Standard, and most of the pieces are still available. Seems like a BGx deck, with Excavator + Cycling Lands + Blighted Fen and Blighted Woodland would be FNM-playable, at least. And Tireless Tracker + Evolving Wilds wants Excavator for sure. And we're supposed to get more Land - Desert cards in HOU (like Sunscorched Desert), so it'll be interesting to see what shenanigans are possible there.
And yeah, being a three-drop makes it super-slow for Modern, but between Fetchlands, Horizon Canopy, Ghost Quarter/Tectonic Edge, and Chord of Calling/Green Sun's Zenith, I bet there's a deck. Or maybe in a Life from the Loam shell?
We'll see ...
June 14, 2017 6:30 a.m.
landofMordor says... #9
I'm liking that Afflict mechanic. Spicy tech, there. I feel like Combustible Gearhulk, Sin Prodder, and now this guy are exploring cool design space for Red. In a roundabout way, it's forcing your opponent to play with limited knowledge, just like all of the million turns I've bluffed countermagic in U. I think this new element of "impulsive randomness" in R plays well to R's slice of the pie without being trite and also starting to give Red the power to hang with the other colors in EDH. Love it.
June 14, 2017 6:40 a.m.
landofMordor says... #10
Also, Eternalize has got to be a busted mechanic, if Adorned Pouncer is Rare. I mean, a 1/1 double strike for 1W is about the going rate for a common, and frankly, that Eternalize cost didn't impress me. I guess the payout is going to be much greater than that of Embalm. (Maybe they'll return from the grave as a black Angel with flying).
June 14, 2017 6:44 a.m.
EpicFreddi says... #11
Maybe it's just something like "Put X +1/+1 counters on it".That would make the 1/1 to a 4/4 doublestrike.
June 14, 2017 7:05 a.m.
Winterblast says... #12
Eternalize could be something like giving them indestructible and hexproof, making them stick on the table "eternally"...that would justify the high costs.
landofMordor casting free spells is really insane in commander...this guy could bring a free Jokulhaups just for the lulz. Or something like Thieves' Auction or Warp World, which makes you flip the table and quit on the spot.
June 14, 2017 7:12 a.m.
One more thought (for now) on Ramunap Excavator in Modern: Seems like it could find a home in something like Todd Stevens' GW Company (Top 8 SCG DFW).
June 14, 2017 7:16 a.m.
Abrade seems good. Don't want to play Harnessed Lightning? Here you go.
That Excavator is obviously seeing play somewhere- commander seems like the best place. It's pretty much to Crucible what Magus of the Moon is to Blood Moon- extra, flimsier copies. It isn't going to break Standard or anything, but you might be able to make something neat with it.
Wildfire Eternal might just be horrible in every format but commander. It's horribly below curve. See: Champion of Rhonas. It really needed haste.
... Actually, is that the same jackal?
June 14, 2017 7:24 a.m.
I can has Fetch Lands from my Graveyard?
SIGN ME UP!!
That word looks more like Affect than Afflict, to me.
June 14, 2017 7:44 a.m. Edited.
The original picture is clearer, I found a cropped version to post here Argy. The mechanic is named Afflict.
I don't know what Eternalize means, but my two best guesses are Bestow from graveyard or something like embalm for exile
June 14, 2017 8:14 a.m.
I would to see a mechanic like Bestow.
Loved that during Theros.
I think that was a rather Enchantment focused set, though, as opposed to this one.
June 14, 2017 9:16 a.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #19
I think the bestow theory is as solid as any... kinda like Bestow+Scavenge.
I really like Afflict. Lots of potential there. Hopefully we see some awesome afflictions.
June 14, 2017 10:04 a.m.
GeminiSpartanX says... #20
Wildfire Eternal is going straight into my jeleva deck!
Ramunap Excavator will go into every deck in EDH that runs green and Strip Mine, Wasteland, or fetches. It will go great in the Omnath, Locus of Rage deck that I'm in the process of making.
June 14, 2017 10:12 a.m. Edited.
Calling it now:
Eternalize: This card can't be banned in Standard.
:-)
June 14, 2017 10:14 a.m. Edited.
Ramunap Excavator says: ONE LAND TO FETCH THEM ALL
Litterally, you only need 1 fetchland, go fetch, play the fetch from the grave next turn, and keep fetching if you don't draw the exact land you need.
That also means LANDDROP EVERY TURN, no misses.
We all know how deep missing a land drop can cut, that problem is fixed now if you have a fetchland or if you play fast draw&discard decks.
And OOOHH, wait for my Strip Mine or Wasteland to come back every turn... Vintage gets wrecked.
June 14, 2017 10:14 a.m.
Short edit: basically a crucible of worlds slapped on a 2/3 body.
Crucible is propably still first choice bc mishra 3 mana land drops it faster.
My theory about eternalize:
either something like indestructible + hexproof + immune to globals, or something like spawning a copy of this card every turn, similar to the epic mechanic.
June 14, 2017 10:20 a.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #24
What if Eternalize gave you an emblem that granted one of your creatures the cards abilities each upkeep?
June 14, 2017 10:31 a.m.
AgentGreen says... #25
LittleBlueHero Emblems are Walkers only.
Eternalize might be something reverse of Embalm; meaning that in order to trigger it the creature has to stay alive. If you are able to Eternalize it; it may become a huge bomb.
Why else would they give a 1/1 Doublestriker a rare slot? 1/1 doublestrike doesn't seem all that exciting
June 14, 2017 10:43 a.m.
Excavator with Wasteland, Stripmine, etc. won't be that great if they ALSO have one out.
I wonder if Eternalize is, if you pay that cost, the Creature is Indestructible.
June 14, 2017 11:05 a.m.
Besides which, everyone's listing all these wonderful things that Excavator can do which Crucible does way better. Because it doesn't die to a stiff breeze (other than Fracturing Gust). Of course you'll play it as more copies in some cases though.
I mean, it's a "dies to removal" argument, which is only really valid if it needs to stick around for many turns and costs a significant amount of mana.
June 14, 2017 11:12 a.m.
Planeswalker deck Nicol Bolas, seen in the trailer for HOU:
Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver 5UBR
+3 each opponent loses three life unless that player sacrifices a nonland permanent or discards a card.-3 Destroy target creature. Draw a card.-11 Nicol Bolas deals 7 damage to each opponent. You draw 7 cards,
Starting loyalty unknown
June 14, 2017 11:18 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #31
I have never been enticed to pre-order a card until now as generally cards are way overpriced...but that Ramunup Excavator is such a welcome sight for my Omnath, Locus of Rage EDH deck. Finally, an affordable Crucible of Worlds, let us rejoice Omnath and Gitrog players! Hooraaaah!
On the Eternalize mechanic. Judging by the low CMC of the cat, the immensely powerful keyword, its low P/T, and the high cost of the eternalize mechanic, my bet is that Eternalize is essentially embalm, but with a lord effect attached to it. Each creature with eternalize has a specific keyword and once you eternalize the creature, it grants that keyword to all of your tokens. So I guess, more powerful Aven Wind Guide type creatures. It definitely won't be granting +1/+1 counters since they already have a -1/-1 counter theme.
Abrade also looks fantastic
June 14, 2017 11:57 a.m.
Shitty Bolas version for Planswalker decks.(Bolas Deck sounds exciting tho)
June 14, 2017 12:49 p.m.
I know people are inclined to always say that the Planeswalkers from the Planeswalker decks are "shitty", but I don't agree that this Bolas is.
+3 is similar to the +2 for Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
-3 Is a better version of the Ob Nixilis Reignited -3
-11 Is so fricken awesome. Deal a massive hit, refill your hand. Yes, please.
June 14, 2017 12:56 p.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #34
I think the Planeswalker deck's walkers are only "shitty" because of their CMC. Personally I think most of them would be fine at what they do just at much smaller CMC.
Bolas has some solid abilities but getting him on the table at 8cmc will be tough. If he doesn't start with loyalty of like 6 he's too easily dealt with for the cost.
However, we will have two bolas walker cards and Dark Intimations so if someone finds a way to be able to cast these high cmc spells consistently you could see something for sure.
June 14, 2017 1:02 p.m.
Speaking of Deceivers, you can't imagine how often people misread my username. It's even worse in League of Legends where a character's title is The Deceiver.
Anyway, if I were new to the game, I'd love to hate that Bolas deck. In that sense, it's a great card.
June 14, 2017 1:06 p.m.
He's for sure worse than God Pharaoh, and control decks might not even want a playset of that Bolas.
Actually, my favourite thing about him is that he brings the number of cards in exactly Grixis colors up. With God Pharaoh, it's like 33 cards- probably the most of any shard. Almost enough to build a tribal 3-color cards commander deck. Any good rewards for that other than Seal of the Guildpact and the 3 familiars (Stormscape, Thunderscape, Nightscape) in Grixis colors?
June 14, 2017 1:17 p.m.
Don't forget that Ugin, the Spirit Dragon was ALSO 8CMC.
People just stuck him in a control shell, which is EXACTLY what you can do with this new Bolas. He's in arguably the best Control colours, right now.
June 14, 2017 1:47 p.m.
I know, but Ugin was actually really good, you know? You can cast Bolas, but his plus is dreadful (never give your opponent a choice, but builds quickly I guess) and his -3 is... Subpar, for 8 mana (see: Ugin, big Chandra, big Elspeth, big Garruk even). The ult we can't really judge till we know the starting loyalty, but isn't game-winning (see: practically any 6+ mana ult).
June 14, 2017 2:05 p.m.
Ob Nixilis Reignited has a worse -3, and comes in with only 5 loyalty counters, but I can't tell you the amount of times using that ability has turned games around for me.
I guess everyone views cards differently, probably based on how they play.
I like the look of this new Bolas.
June 14, 2017 2:44 p.m.
The thing with Ugin was that a single -X cleared the entire board and left him alive in most cases. After that, you could bolt down all but the biggest creatures. As a result, casting Ugin stabilized you hardcore. The new bolas just doesn't have that kind of immediate impact, and if all he does is destroy target creature, draw a card, gain 3 life, then he's pretty meh.
June 14, 2017 2:54 p.m.
DarkLaw,
A potential reward for your Grixis EDH deck: Demon's Herald (into Prince of Thralls). The Demi-god Auras and Lieges from Lorwyn-Shadowmoor might be useful too: Helm of the Ghastlord, Fists of the Demigod, Clout of the Dominus, Glen Elendra Liege, Ashenmoor Liege, and Mindwrack Liege. There's also Dire Undercurrents.
June 14, 2017 3:06 p.m.
SwaggyMcSwagglepants says... #43
Lands seems pretty viable. Noose Constrictor + Gitrog lets you trade all the lands in your hand for nonlands. Maybe theres a 28-land midrange deck with cycle lands and all the land-value cards like tracker, gitrog, and crucible snek.
June 14, 2017 3:38 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #44
SwaggyMcSwagglepants I wanted to respond to you comment for two reasons. 1) You are a genius! You could even run Groundskeeper for an added land recursion ability in case the Naga bites the dust. And 2) I just wanted to have an excuse to write your name because I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it.
June 14, 2017 4:35 p.m.
Splashing red would give you a lot of cycle lands in that deck SwaggyMcSwagglepants and don't forget about Splendid Reclamation either.
June 14, 2017 5:04 p.m.
The Magus of the Crucible is absolutely insane in a deck with Knight of the Reliquary and Collected Company.
I'm really hoping it gets put into Magic Duels because the format there never rotates. You'll be able to use it to your heart's content with Tireless Tracker and Omnath, Locus of Rage.
Some of the better ideas I've heard for Eternalize over at Mythic Spoiler were:
- Exile this card from your graveyard: you get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+1 and Double Strike."
- You may cast this card from your graveyard or from exile by paying its Eternalize cost.
June 14, 2017 5:07 p.m.
Maybe Eternalize is like embalm, but the token gains indestructible ala Fated Return.
June 14, 2017 8:13 p.m.
I still think the most likely explanation for Eternalize is to make a token from the graveyard but it doesn't exile. So you can eternally embalm a creature.
June 14, 2017 8:53 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #50
Zaueski In the case of Adored Pouncer; all you're getting in that case is a 1/1 double-striker for 5CMC. That's alot of mana for such little value
Zaueski says... #2
Epochalyptik the leaks have started in full force. You wanna sticky this?
June 14, 2017 1:48 a.m.