Strixhaven spoiler season
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on March 25, 2021, 3:29 p.m. by Coward_Token
Thought I'd make a general thread as a complement to the more specific ones.
March 25th stuff (with risk of EDH centrism) Show
My thoughts? I HATE the MDFCs. I loved them in Zendikar - what a novel way to try and fix mana-screw and mana-flood! I appreciated them in Kaldheim - equipments and 5-color enchantments are super niche, so it helps playability to have them stapled to a creature sometimes.
These don't make any sense. They aren't in the spirit of what a MDFC should do, which is ease bad draws, and I hate that they're two different characters on the same card with no transformation flavor or anything. It's just... ??? I don't understand!
I'm also pretty concerned about Learn, just given what we found out about free cards from outside the game in whatever that Mutate set was. But if the Learn cards are as underwhelming as they currently are, and only at common, it could be fun.
I like Ward, and I like Magecraft. The apprentices are cool so far. I like the flavor they're giving Orzhov and Boros in this set with spirits and counters.
March 25, 2021 4:10 p.m.
Hardhitta7 says... #4
I’m loving the set so far, I’ve always been a spellslinger player and this set has a lot of that.
This is gonna be perfect for my Adeliz, the Cinder Wind deck!
March 25, 2021 4:20 p.m.
Nerdytimesorwhatever says... #5
Mutate and Learn feel like Yu Gi Oh mechanics. In other words, mistakes.
The Deans are lame. They feel like they were made into MDFCs in a slap-dash attempt to avoid further flak for partners/partner with. They seriously feel like they were changed at the last minute.
Maybe Im just experiencing intense spoiler season burnout, but there are only a couple worthwhile cards thusfar. Magecraft does look pretty neat, though!
March 25, 2021 4:37 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #6
I'm not excited over any of the Deans but I'm fine with them? (If nothing else Stolen Strategy in the command zone is pretty neat.) Like the Kaldheim Gods, they're probably meant as tweak on Legendary for non-Highlander formats. The respective sides obviously synergize too.
March 25, 2021 4:53 p.m.
Nerdytimesorwhatever says... #7
Or they'll make it a weird combo of partner with and mdfc. Start every game with a 99 card deck and all the benefits of 2 commanders (being the inherent card advantage).
March 25, 2021 5:01 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #8
Oh and Plarrg is another source of semi-novel boros repeatable card advantage. These things must be noted.
March 25, 2021 5:06 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #9
Slightly yet still disproportionally excited over the possibility of the golgari Elder Dragon having flying and vigilance
March 25, 2021 5:44 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
Previews for Strixhaven have finally begun!
I shall first say that I am not particularly fond of the learn mechanic, because being able to obtain cards from outside the game is very powerful and prone to abuse, so I believe that that ability should have bene abandoned.
I also severely dislike the wording on Augusta, dean of order, because players do not attack, their creatures do.
Even further, Will, scholar of frost being able to unconditionally exile permanents is yet another break in blue; it does not matter that the players are given tokens to compensate for the loss of the permanents. Blue is not supposed to be able to remove permanents, other than by returning them to their owners’ hands, so why does WotC continue to give blue such powerful removal?
Why does Uvilda not use the suspend mechanic? That would have been much easier than creating an entirely new type of counter for her ability.
Willowdusk’s ability would be so much better if it could be used at any time, as the fact that it can be used only as a sorcery severely limits its usefulness.
Lisette is mostly worse than is Archangel of Thune , but it is nice to have that effect on a legendary creature, for use in EDH. However, Valentin is far too inexpensive for such a powerful effect; how did WotC think that such a card was balanced?
Breena, the demagogue is very nice, but her ability is useless in one-versus-one games, so any deck that contains her must be used only in games with three or more players.
I do like the cards in the mystical archive, but only two of them are multicolored, thus far, so I hope that more of them shall be. Another reprint of Time Warp is always welcome, to me.
The flavor text on both Blue Sun's Zenith and Krosan Grip implies that the students of Stirxhaven are aware of the existence of other planes, which is actually a nice departure from the majority of planes being utterly unaware of each other’s existences.
Ward being a new keyword is nice, so I do hope that WotC gives it to all previous cars that had it (which were admittedly not many).
Adrix and Nev render Parallel Lives obsolete, but still cannot replace Doubling Season , due to them lacking that card's other ability. Also, why has the wording been changed from "if an effect would create one or more tokens" to "if one or more tokens would be created under your control?" I dislike that, because there is a difference between a cost and an effect.
I see that the "reveal land" cycle from Shadows Over Innsitrad is the cycle that is being completed, which is nice for fans of that cycle, but disappointing, to me, as I was hoping for the "battle land" cycle from Battle for Zendikar to be completed, but I am certain that that cycle shall eventually be completed, some day.
I cannot make any room for archmage emeritus in my
Riku of Two Reflections
EDH deck, but that card will be great for the
Elsha of the Infinite
deck that I am currently constructing.
March 25, 2021 8:24 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #11
I’m super excited to see the throw-away commons for each of these new sets. I’m hoping for a new card for my Briny Deep or a new natural disaster. I think it’s more likely to get a witch or two! Spoiler Time is Best Time.
March 25, 2021 9:59 p.m.
Well, I'm building something around Witherbloom Apprentice. No idea what yet, but it's going to be either pure sparkling jank or redefine at least one meta.
March 26, 2021 1:52 a.m.
golgarigirl says... #13
I super like the white Learn uncommon Professor of Symbology. I will take more efficient mono-white card draw where I can find it. Looking forward to seeing if there will be official rulings on a commander sideboard because of this.
March 26, 2021 9:23 a.m.
So far, the Lessons to be Learned look pretty straightforward--basic, simple utility effects. Make some small tokens, small card filtering, expensive but flexible removal, that sort of thing. Confront the Past has high potential, but it's narrow. As long as it stays this way--either small utility effects or narrow strong effects--I don't see Learn getting out of hand.
Of course, they haven't revealed everything yet. There might still be that pre-errata Companion level card.
March 26, 2021 12:25 p.m.
I'm getting a sense that this set is designed to be strongly separated from EDH. The double-faced legendaries and the "outside the game" Lessons make me think that this set was deliberately made to swing away from EDH, especially after the commander-like companions. There was a lot of discussion about how Ikoria Standard was turning into Commander Lite, and this set would have been well into development at that time.
So, Ikoria Standard was Commander Lite, and Strixhaven Standard is looking like Anti-Commander. I'm wondering now if they're measuring something, or if I'm seeing patterns that aren't really there.
March 26, 2021 12:33 p.m.
FormOverFunction says... #17
Soooo... the new Faithless Looting art is for April Fool’s Day, right? That’s the best way to do an April Fool’s Day joke...right..? Early...?
March 26, 2021 7:58 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #18
I'll be honest, I have zero interest in Strixhaven...however, I must have a copy of these Dean Pelton alters:
https://www.reddit.com/r/community/comments/mdvgmn/magicthe_gathering_just_created_a_bunch_of_deans/
March 26, 2021 8:03 p.m.
Hardhitta7 says... #19
FormOverFunction that was my thoughts as well. Like wtf? I like weird/different art on cards, but idk about that one!
March 26, 2021 10:36 p.m.
Mcat1999 I get your concern, but your first hypothetical effect just showed in Kaldheim for a split-payment , with Behold the Multiverse . Good card, but not exactly tearing up multiple formats. Your second example I would compare to, let's say, Fierce Invocation or the Elvish Rite I just looked up and Brute Strength , with New Rowan out. Not quite as perfect a parallel, but I'm not sure your example is much worse. Your final example involves cheating out a creature, plus two planeswalkers, for Sorin's Vengeance and Syphon Life .
Of course, if they reveal a completely broken low-cost insta-kill Lesson, I retract everything and condemn the design fully. But I'm cautiously optimistic that the Lessons are going to stay fairly clean and healthy. From what I've seen, any potential gains in colorlessness and flexibility are offset by cost and effect size. After all, unless you have New Rowan out, you still have to pay and an opponent's card draw for Utter End .
March 27, 2021 12:26 a.m.
That card example above should be Elven Rite .
Mcat1999 The problem with Energy, as I remember, wasn't that it had no drawbacks (first strike doesn't have drawbacks, either), but it creates a new resource that couldn't be negatively interacted with. You spent mana, you got energy, you spent mana and energy to get more energy, and your opponent couldn't do anything about it. Lessons are just more sorceries (and instants?) that can be countered or discarded.
Compare Field Trip to Nissa's Pilgrimage , or study break to Expose Evil . Even the Learn cards so far are nothing extraordinary.
Catching up to your new post, because I spent a long time writing this one, that Learn tax with cost-rediction effects would be a good failsafe, and you still have the fake-cycling option if you can't/don't want to pay. I'd like to know if that was ever considered during development.
March 27, 2021 12:49 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #22
Adrix and Nev could easily have been mono-white, since both of their effects have been used in that color, before: the token doubling in Anointed Procession and the additional cost for spells in many cards, so, hopefully, WotC shall eventually print such a card in the future.
Also, having mentioned Adrix and Nev, how does everyone here feel about the last several Commander sets being connected with the "normal" sets that have released around the same time as them? I have no trouble with WotC doing that, on occasion, but I hope that it does not become a regular occurrence.
March 27, 2021 4:53 p.m.
I like the idea of double-faced legendaries. Legendary cards always have the problem of wanting to have multiples in your deck, but you only want to draw one. Having MDFCs means you can run 4 in a deck, but not feeling bad when you draw more than one.
Also, why can't we get more unique art as just the regular art? Like, just look at this:
It would give the set a more distinct flavor and allow for some artist creativity.
March 28, 2021 4:24 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #24
Why is it that every card from mystical archive has now been revealed, but only a small percentage of the normal set has? Why did WotC do that? Would it not have made more sense to do the opposite and reveal the entire mystical archive only after the entire normal set was revealed, to increase hype for MA?
March 28, 2021 8:45 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #25
Elite Spellbinder: White taxing pseudo-discard
Rip Apart: Surprisingly edgy name for a boros card
Venerable Warsinger: yay, finally more Sun Titan s!
"Potion of Empowerment": Potentially explosive. Instant too!
Beaming Defiance: I don't know why it took so long for white to get an unconditional hexproof spell. Now where's my bleached Heroic Intervention ?!
Thunderous Orator: I wish this plane skipped on Kor, they just look like creepy humans here.
Returned Pastcaller: No super innovative design space here, but that mana cost tho
Radiant Scrollwielder: unofficial commander potential right here
Lorehold Excavation: self-milling is moving into boros, although I think red could do it on it's own; it can already get cards to the graveyard rapidly trough rummaging & wheeling
Reconstruct History: It's boros Concentrate + 1, kinda.
Velomachus Lorehold: spellslinger voltron gooooo. MV 7 is kinda oof tho
March 29, 2021 11:51 a.m.
I'm getting the odd feeling that is getting better at old-school Reanimator decks than , especially in Modern. A lot of key cards are either banned in Modern, or too old to use outside of Legacy or Commander. Recently, it's been getting stuff like Back for More , Return Upon the Tide , and Nissa of Shadowed Boughs ( is trying to be a support color). Yeah, Goryo's Vengeance is still around, but when was the last time it was used for anything but Griselbrand ? Unburial Rites is easier to cast for from the graveyard than from the hand.
Now, I haven't actually seen a competitive dump-and-revive Reanimator deck since Dread Return , Golgari Grave-Troll , and Bridge from Below all went away, and losing Faithless Looting didn't help either. But there's a lot of recent cards trying to do that, and I'm wondering if Mardu or even Boros will be the first to crack the code.
March 29, 2021 12:49 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #27
Strict Proctor: Increasingly relevant creature types. Dunno how much the noncreature ETB taxing part of it will come up. Compare Hushbringer and Hushwing Gryff , obviously
Hofri Ghostforge: Boros undying in the command zone, kinda! You could immediately sac a creature after casting it to get it back with haste, trample, and an anthem boost. Is there perhaps a 2-card combo to be had involving an ETB tutor?
Curate: It's Instant Discovery / Dispersal with less reminder text. I kinda wish that Surveil got a more flavor-neutral name so that it could maybe get the deciduous treatment across sets
legendofa: not that odd since Lorehold basically has Golgari's mechanical guild identity in this set, with a twist
Uh speaking of which, what are people's impressions of the other college's mechanical identities? Withbloom seems quite Orzhov-esque with lifegain, and Silverquill seems to like its +1/+1 counters. Not really seeing what sets Quandrix and Prismari apart from their Ravnica counterparts yet tho
March 29, 2021 4:50 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #28
Already been aluded to but I'm confused why Breena, the Demagogue didn't say "has more life than another player" instead, or even just dethrone wording. Not like reliably having a Phyrexian Arena in the command zone (that situationally cantrips) 1v1 is particularly broken
March 29, 2021 5:42 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #29
Reconstruct history is very nice, although I personally feel that it should not have been able to return a planeswalker, as that makes it too powerful.
Potion of empowerment should have been a green/white hybrid card, because I feel that green alone should not have an effect such as that.
Why does blade historian grant double strike only to attacking creatures? Why is WotC making card that force players to attack, rather than both attack and defend?
Rip apart is not too bad, but the fact that it is merely a sorcery prevents it from being useful, so I shall keep Wear / Tear in my red/white decks, instead.
It seems that there shall be a cycle of campuses and pledgemages for each school, and, thus far, I am not impressed; Lorehold pledgemage could have been good if its ability increased its toughness in addition to its power. It is not yet known if all of the campuses shall have scry, but, if they do, 4 mana to scry one card is terrible, so I shall not be using them, in any of my decks.
Elite spellbinder is very nice, as it explores new design space for white while still feeling appropriate for that color, so I am very pleased by with it.
Venerable warsinger is awesome, so I do hope that I can put it into at least one of my decks.
Dueling coach is almost entirely worse than is Mikaeus, the Lunarch , so I will not even bother with it.
On returned pastcaller, why is the hybrid symbol between the two mono-colored symbols? Would it not make more sense for it to be after the colorless mana symbol?
Strict proctor is thankfully not as annoying as Hushwing Gryff or Hushbringer , but why is WotC printing so many cards that punish permanents with enter the battlefield abilities?
Efreet flamepainter will be amazing for the
Elsha of the Infinite
deck that I am building, so I shall definitely get a copy of it.
I shall presume that each school shall have an uncommon legendary creature, who shall be students who are the main characters of the story, and Quintorius is acceptable, but too narrow, in my mind.
Velomachus Lorehold, the founder of the Lorehold school, is as impressive as I would expect an elder dragon to be, so, perhaps, I may put him into one of my decks, but his high mana cost is unappealing.
Given that nearly every card that was revealed today was red/white, is it now safe to presume that each day this week shall feature cards from one specific school?
March 29, 2021 6:06 p.m.
Velomachus Lorehold + Bonesplitter + Ruinous Ultimatum from the trigger!
March 29, 2021 6:19 p.m.
Mcat1999 So far, I'm very happy with how different approaches to the two-color philosophy have been shown. I hope it keeps up through the week.
March 29, 2021 7:58 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #32
Huh, the take on reanimator in this set is rather interesting. Use Hofri to get extra milage out of ETB triggers and add some Mob Rule effects paired with a sac outlet and you have a pretty interesting Boros reanimator deck. That nerfed "Narset" Boros Dragon is also pretty interesting. Pairs very well with Sunforger , Waves of Aggression , and Armageddon effects.
March 29, 2021 10:19 p.m.
Coward_Token Re: Reanimator: Yeah, it's an interesting direction to take this color combination in. I was mostly thinking about Modern and Lorehold's potential there.
March 29, 2021 11:02 p.m.
sergiodelrio says... #34
Disclaimer: I don't want to step on anyone's toe who like this set. Not at all saying you shouldn't.
That being said, I have to get this off my chest: spoiler season sucks, so far, at least for me.
I feel like all the cards are 4+ drops, wtf?! I even like the mechanics and the setting but come on the cards are unplayable the way they're costed. Of course I'm biased here as a modern player (and I know I'll likely get good cards in MH2) but still, what a let-down so far.
Half a year ago when they realized they overpowered cards in Eldraine et al I jokingly said to a friend "Hey I bet they'll be overcompensating that for the next year or two, brace yourself" and I guess it's actually happening, sigh.
/rant
March 30, 2021 12:20 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #35
Codie, Vociferous Codex: Rainbow spellslinger Nikya of the Old Ways ! Taps for a profit of one mana and gives spellslinger cascade. Might want to include at least a few permanents for casting before this
Magma Opus etc: okay so the Prismaris mechanical identity seems to be big MV spells matters + Treasure tokens, partially trough "Treasure Cycling".
Solve the Equation: curiously, I think this is the cheapest and least convoluted way for blue to tutor for an instant or sorcery directly to hand
Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING? Really creepy and aesthetically out of place with the rest of the set. That front side ability is pretty wild too. Taxing on all spellslinging, or copy as punishment? And it's entirely colorless?? Whew.
Gálazeth Prismari: Obvious Urza, Lord High Artificer comparison here. Turn all those Treasures into spellslinger mana rocks. Not nearly as much gravy as Urza (for one, you have to actually have the artifacts tap themselves, like a peasant), and it's a bit awkward that you kind of want both artifact cards and spellslinger cards, even if tokens are a thing.
Tanazir Quandrix: kinda underwhelming design-wise, but I guess the simic soreness has had time to set in by now. Feels kinda weird that the first ability encourages you to go tall, while the second one wants to go wide. Ezuri, Claw of Progress buddy?
Multiple Choice: Maybe not extremely powerful, but it's hard not to love the flavor
Rootha, Mercurial Artist: A reusable Fork in the command zone? Pretty weird, Wizards.
Exotus: Kinda disappointing seeing as he's the set's big bad? Even greater tension between spellslinger and creatures than the Prismari Dragon
March 30, 2021 12:44 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #36
Resculpt: SIGH. In EDH, this is basically Putrefy . Really wish blue would stick to Auras for its transformation-based removal.
March 30, 2021 2:34 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #37
The thing is I have hated Pongify , Rapid Hybridization , and Reality Shift for quite some time since they basically make blue the second best color at single-target creature removal in EDH, it's perverse. Giving it Abrade on steroids isn't exactly moving things in a desirable direction for me
March 30, 2021 3:04 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #38
Solve the equation is exactly the spell that I was seeking, and WotC printed it only shortly after I asked if such a card would ever exist; what an amazing coincidence! I wish that it was an instant, but it will still be perfect for the
Elsha of the Infinite
deck that I am currently building.
Revel in silence is very nasty, and this is a rare instance in which I am very glad that a spell exiles itself upon resolution, because it would be far too powerful, otherwise.
Codie, vociferous codex is a very fascinating card, so I will be very interested to see how players use it, in the future.
Magma opus and creative outburst are both very awesome, but they are too expensive for me to seriously consider using them.
Wandering archaic looks exactly like an eldrazi, so I wonder if it has any connection to those beings? It would be awesome for some of my decks, but there is no guarantee that my opponents will have instants and sorceries (although it is usually safe to presume that they shall).
Galazeth Prismari is actually rather subdued compared to many of the card in his school, but he (the name sounds masculine) still provides excellent support for certain strategies.
Tanazir Quandix is likewise rather modest, but still excellent as a support card for decks of the appropriate colors.
Coward_Token, I agree that it is ridiculous that blue continues to have such powerful creature removal when it is supposed to be the color that is worst at removing permanents (due to its ability to counter spells), so I hope that WotC soon realizes that and stops printing such cards.
I see that all of the campuses have the same activated ability, but I still say that 4 mana is too much to scry only a single card, especially when Crystal Ball can scry 2 cards for 1 mana.
March 30, 2021 8:52 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #39
The Stadium basically gives all your creatures poisonous 1 , kinda. For EDH, I find it neat that it plays to white's strengths since it's good at both pillowfort, evasion, and going wide.
Cogwork Archivist: Pretty funny flavor text there, but the MV and power is unfortunate for Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
Conspiracy Theorist: It's not quite Falkenrath Gorger for everything (sorry Anje!), but this is pretty solid mono-red card advantage
Approach of the Dragon: Kinda wish this fetched from your hand as well. Oh well. Discard the other four so that you don't have to spend 15 mana before you can get your Trogdor out. Knollspine Dragon seems pretty nice to keep going. Tribal+Spellslinger Niv-Mizzet, Parun ?
(Really minor but kinda disappointing that the Fractal tokens don't have a more abstract appearance)
March 31, 2021 12:25 p.m.
Strixhaven Stadium looks like it would be nice for alt-wins. It's not great as just a mana rock but the fact you could just tap your way to a win with it anyways while getting mana off of it is interesting.
It's a kind of combo piece/mana rock/alt-win that has to be dealt with or can be an auto-loss.
Might have a home in EDH or in a sideboard for aggro decks as an alt win maybe?
March 31, 2021 12:32 p.m.
Mcat1999 This I want to see!
As soon as I saw Stadium, I was like ah, Edric, Spymaster of Trest has found a new and probably less-annoying win-con...
March 31, 2021 2:16 p.m. Edited.
Coward_Token says... #42
Echoing Equation: Brudiclad is very sad that this card has a simic color identity (cough Thousand-Faced Heroics cough). Anyway, point this at Najeela, the Blade-Blossom or Ezuri, Claw of Progress and you'll likely threaten to kill someone. Xyris, the Writhing Storm can produce an absurd amount of sneks for similar results on the turn after, while Edric, Spymaster of Trest can probably make you deck yourself with a source of evasion
Fervent Mastery: Look, it's red Buried Alive !
Spined Drake: Ironically, this set will probably not have Tidehollow Strix and friends
March 31, 2021 4:18 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #43
"Body of Research": OKAY THEN. This is basically simic Phage the Untouchable huh?
March 31, 2021 5:35 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #44
Oh and worth noting about the Conspiracy Theorist is that Learn gives you the option of rummaging
Oh oh and everyone probably already figured it out but cards like Fervent Mastery are an artifical way of casting MV 5+ spells for the purpose of various MV matters triggers
March 31, 2021 5:49 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #45
Strixhaven stadium would be nice in my Atraxa deck, but I cannot make any room for it.
I do like multiple choice, but the card’s effects do not scale, so there is no point in putting more than 4 mana into X.
Why does teach by example need to have that wording? Why could it not have used the same wording as Twincast or Reverberate ? Other than that, it is an awesome card.
Manifestation sage could work with “flicker” effects to produce unlimited tokens, but the tokens would need to have haste, which should not be terribly difficult to achieve.
I like Zimone, but she feels too similar to many other blue/green creatures, who are reminding me of how far too many red/white creatures feel similar to each other, as well.
Ecological appreciation is very nice, and could affect the course of a game, if used properly, but why does it say "library and graveyard," rather than "library and/or graveyard?" Is WotC making another change to wording on cards?
The flavor text on teachings of the archaics implies that there are multiple archaics, and I wonder if they are perhaps benevolent relatives of the eldrazi; the similarities are too great to be a coincidence.
Verdant mastery is a very interesting effect; if the player cannot or is not willing to spend additional mana, their opponent benefits, so I would like to see further cards in the future that have the option for reduced costs at the expense of an opponent benefiting.
Dragon’s approach is the first non-permanent card of which a player can have any number in their deck, but it does not scale in effect by having more copies, so why does it even have that ability?
Why is it that Eladamri's Call is an instant that costs 2 mana, while solve the equation is a sorcery that costs 3 mana? Are instants and sorceries more powerful than are creatures?
March 31, 2021 6:27 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #46
Double Major: sadly, this doesn't work like you'd hope with Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
Secret Rendezvous: Here we go, white Concentrate , kinda. Or updated Temporary Truce / Truce . Obviously goes with not only Smothering Tithe but also Alms Collector . I wish it was Instant though; not only would that typically let you make better use of the cards than the gifted opponent (which I think it's fair since the drawback is pretty big), in EDH it could let you help one opponent dig for answers in response to another opponent's threat.
"Frog Mystic": Unremarkable common but this is cute :]
"Talent Exam": Ugh, I do not approve of them printing this in the same set as Approach of the Dragon.
"Dream Strix": lol okay spoke kinda too soon
Access Tunnel: restricted cheaper Rogue's Passage
April 1, 2021 4 p.m.
So for anyone wondering, Exponential Growth on a 1/1 creature produces the following:
Value of X | Power/Toughness
0 1
1 2
2 4
3 8
4 16
5 32
6 64
7 128
8 256
9 512
10 1,024
11 2,048
12 4,096
13 8,192
14 16,384
15 32,768
16 65,536
17 131,072
18 262,144
19 524,288
20 1,048,576
21 2,097,152
April 1, 2021 5:34 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #48
Mavinda, Students' Advocate: more? For a short while I wondered if this was April Fools
Mila, Crafty Companion: Boros superfriends isn't really a thing; meh
Lukka, Wayward Bonder: Oh? Interesting pushing of red's design space here; +1 is actual card advantage that feeds the -2 to booth; I think it's fine that red gets unearth reanimation (also, take note that the reanimated creature gets exiled on your next upkeep, not end of turn.
Killian, Ink Duelist: Pretty neat Aura commander right here, with a cheap cost, built-in evasion and removal support on the side. My favorite of the uncommon legendaries so far (ball's in your court, presumed Witherbloom Dryad)
Deadly Vanity: obvious Duneblast comparsion, cutting out green entirely with MV +1
April 1, 2021 7:13 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #49
With double major now existing, it seems that copying permanent spells will now be an ability that shall appear, on occasion, which I was really hoping would not happen; why could it not simply copy a creature that was already on the battlefield?
Baleful mastery is similar to many previous spells that can exile creatures or planeswalkers, but it is nice to have another addition to that group of cards. That card will actually be nice for a Nekusar, the mindrazer EDH deck, where the player can cast it for the reduced cost specifically to make an opponent draw a card and hurt themselves.
Basic conjuration is not worthy of being a rare, in my mind; it would have been much better as an uncommon.
Access tunnel is a worse version of Rogue's Passage , but I know that some players will appreciate it.
Fracture is awesome, but it already has a significant amount of competition in those colors, most notably from Despark , Mortify , and Anguished Unmaking , so I am not certain if I can use it in any of my decks. Closing statement is also nice, but not quite as impressive, in my mind. Vanishing verse is also amazing; if I ever build a black/white EDH deck, it will have so many awesome options for permanent removal!
Dramatic finale would have been awesome, if only its ability triggered each time that a creature died; the fact that it triggers only once per turn severely limits its usefulness.
Crackle with power is insane, and I am certain that it shall prove to be a powerful finishing move for many games, but I still prefer Comet Storm , since that card is an instant.
Why does necrotic fumes require that its controller exile a creature instead of sacrificing it? That completely bypasses abilities that trigger from creatures dying, which is a central aspect of black’s identity, profiting from the deaths of others.
Secret rendezvous is a new idea for white, but the opponent benefits more greatly than does the caster, since the opponent spends no mana on it and also does not lose a card from their hand.
Devastating mastery is another mass destruction spell, but the fact that it costs 4 white mana is very restrictive, so most players will cast it for its reduced cost. Obviously, the opponent shall return their most valuable permanents to their hand, but it shall still destroy all of their other permanents.
I was wondering if there would ever be a black/white version of Meddling Mage , and, now, there is, so I am very pleased about that.
Why does exponential growth increase only the creature’s power? Would it not make sense for it to increase the creature’s toughness, as well?
I wonder if I should replace Castigate in any deck that contains black and white with humiliate? Exiling a card is better than discarding it, but making one of my own creatures more powerful is also nice.
April 1, 2021 9:03 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #50
sylvannos, as someone who works with, and is enthusiastic about, computers, that chart is very familiar, to me.
abby315 says... #2
Link to the Twitch vod with spoilers: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/962617661
New Mechanics:
Learn: You may reveal a Lesson card you own from outside the game and put it into your hand, or discard a card to draw a card.
"Lesson" is a new sub-type of instants and sorceries.
Ward X: Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays X.
We also have the return of Modal Double-Faced Cards. This time they appear to be two different people on the same card? E.g. Will and Rowan Kenrith.
And they have revealed the new cycle of lands, which completes the Shadows Over Innistrad Reveal Land cycle.
March 25, 2021 4:06 p.m.