War of the Spark: Spoilers and Speculation
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on March 31, 2019, 10:56 a.m. by AgentGreen
Spoiler season technically kicks off today
JANKYARD_DOG says... #2
What abilities are we not going to see? Battalion, prowess, now heroic (Tenth District Legionnaire). What's next, Landfall, metalcraft, and/or inspired (without saying it on the card like the rest)?. Seems like they're just mashing everything the possibly can into one set. Drafting will be strange for sure if this keeps up.
April 5, 2019 12:31 p.m.
Now this is what I have been waiting for Pollenbright Druid now that is going in my Atraxa deck for sure
When Pollenbright Druid enters the battlefield, choose one —
• Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
• Proliferate
April 5, 2019 12:37 p.m. Edited.
dbpunk I had the same thought. I think it compares favorably to Eldritch Evolution , which cost 1 more mana and gave you more flexibility with what you could find (x+2 or less, rather than exactly x+1), but also exiled itself.
April 5, 2019 1:27 p.m.
Green got a nice creature removal card in Band Together they have needed another instant speed other than Thrash / Threat bonus the card is a common not a rare like Thrash
April 5, 2019 1:59 p.m.
Turn 1 Llanowar Elves , into turn 2 Neoform searching for Incubation Druid sounds like fun.
April 5, 2019 3:02 p.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #7
Called it... Evolution Sage has Landfall. That moment when you run out of ideas so you just jam everything into one set... Smh
April 5, 2019 8:10 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #8
Mj3913 I don’t think think it’s a creativity thing.
This is Wizards’ Infinity War. Three and a half years of story is culminating in this one set. Everyone is here. Everything is coming together. I actually really like that all of these old mechanics are returning in various forms- a nod to more experienced players and an intriguing “dude, are there other cards like this?” for new players.
April 5, 2019 9:35 p.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #9
ZendikariWol good point. Hopefully though, they add enough that there is synergy for limited play rather than a random show.
April 5, 2019 9:46 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #10
Yeah. As for heroic, it looks like noncreature spells are going to be a subtheme, as Burning Prophet does have a sort of semi-better-prowess thing going on and Mizzium Tank is SICK.
Landfall can kinda slot into anything, as with Battalion.
Only thing I’m a little disappointed by their execution of in this set is my boi Davriel. Wizards really screwed the pooch on him imo.
April 5, 2019 10:13 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #11
Rescuer sphinx really should have had flash, to make it more useful.
Grateful apparition is strictly better than Thrummingbird , because its ability triggers when it deals damage to both creatures and planeswalkers, and, having said that, this is one of the first times that there has been a creature with an ability that triggers upon dealing combat damage to a planeswalker, so I wonder if that ability shall become more common.
Merfolk skydiver is an interesting comparison to Viral Drake ; on one hand, it has a lower initial cost and also provides counters for its own proliferate ability, but, on the other hand, its activated ability is more expensive, and, for that reason, I shall remain with viral drake, because I shall be using the activated ability far more often than I shall be initially casting it. If only its ability had cost , which would have been perfectly reasonable, then I definitely would have put it in my Atraxa EDH deck.
On that subject, courage in crisis would have been a perfect replacement for Grim Affliction in my Atraxa EDH deck, since that deck has a much greater focus on +1/+1 counters than it does on -1/-1 counters, except that it is a sorcery, not an instant, so I shall remain with the card that I currently have, since instant speed is simply too great of an advantage to surrender.
Heartfire is more expensive than is Goblin Grenade and deals less damage, but it is an instant and also is much more flexible in what can be sacrificed to it, so I feel that it is better overall.
At last, there is a card of Massacre Girl! I am partially excited about that, but I must admit that I also am slightly disappointed, but that likely was inevitable, given how great her fame and hype has become since she first was mentioned. First, as a member of the Rakdos guild, she should be black and red, not mono-black. Second, I feel that she should have had either deathtouch, given her fondness for killing, or flash, to help make her enters-the-battlefield ability more devastating.
April 6, 2019 1:18 a.m.
Massacre girl is basically Plague Mare with better stats and menace and cost more; still if I am running black is she really even worth using with Cry of the Carnarium which is a better removal in black for tokens and small creatures really good against skeletons and other grave yard stuff. Not sure she is worth running at 5 cost until things like Doom Whisperer drop out of rotation
April 6, 2019 10:37 a.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #14
Massacre girl effect triggers multiple times if one or more creatures die the turn you cast her though...
April 6, 2019 11:05 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #15
hejtmane - Massacre Girl is much more powerful than Plague Mare . The Mare always applies -1/-1 while Massacre Girl can go all the way up to -20/-20 (I don't think anything is bigger than Marit Lage) if the situation allows it. I think you can consistently expect her floor to be around -3, -4 against most creature based decks and higher against token decks.
DemonDragonJ - Flash probably would be too strong on her as WoTC doesn't often print such efficient, non-bounce, board wipes at instant speed. Deathtouch would've been nice, but I could see that still being too strong as that effectively turns her into 2 removal spells (1 for the board wipe and 1 for when she trades with a future creature).
So far I think the set is interesting, but the second week really needs to provide a few more efficient answers to PW's. I do like the shift from cards that would have normally only triggered off dealing damage to players to instead trigger off both players and PW's.
The cards that I am most interested in from the first week are (in descending order): Massacre Girl, Emergence Zone, Vivien's Arkbow, Deathsprout, and Mayhem Devil.
April 6, 2019 7:34 p.m.
My problem with Massacre Girl by the time I usually need a 5 drop for tokens outside a vampire deck which are less and less. The biggest token issues right now that i see is Biogenic Ooze and I still see alot of Tendershoot Dryad with the cities blessing so unless you combo spell then the -20 -20 is not happening. Maybe against Mono green when they drop carnage and they have all there lanowar elves out. Yes I understand she can be good in the right situation but overall I see her as better side board card against certain decks or if you want a 4/4 with menace then bonus. She's not a bad card and she would probably be great in commander deck against an Edgar Markov deck wrecking shop when she hit the field.
April 6, 2019 9:18 p.m.
Massacre girl looks real good. As long as there is any one toughness creature in play, everything 2 toughness will die, and the -1/-1 effects stack. Even if your opponent has no 1 toughness creatures, if you do it dies as well so there will be times where you will be killing some of your own small guys to get a board wipe with a big menacing body attached. Even if there are no one toughness creatures in play, she makes blocking your creatures that turn way more complicated. As if they kill some of yours; or trade with some, it could start a chain which will kill everything but that girl. And she does more if you have sac outlets you can use.
April 8, 2019 12:16 a.m. Edited.
LittleBlueHero says... #18
Feather finally gets a card!
And a damn fine one at that... Boros actually has a playable and interesting commander that doesn't have to care about combat! (though I like combat)
April 8, 2019 3:13 p.m.
I think the real issue is Esper control is about to get even more out of whack I bet they are already drooling at the thought of fitting Teferi, Time Raveler in there deck because if they can get one of those dropped Mono blue is going to have a rough day and he is only a 3 cost to get down.
April 8, 2019 3:40 p.m.
Bwahahahaa another terrible card I get to use in my Sea Stompy to kill people with! Me gusta!
April 8, 2019 3:58 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #21
Woah...Feather looks amazing. That is a really unique way to give Boros card advantage. She is also extremely resilient. Well done WoTC.
Sunforger just got even more bonkers.
April 8, 2019 5:07 p.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #22
Kasmina's trasmutation is a blue, weaker Darksteel Mutation
April 8, 2019 5:09 p.m.
Is it me or is everything thats going on with each day of spoilers making the war seem to be going more and more insane of a story?
Like all of a sudden, there's the boros helicarrier?
April 8, 2019 5:29 p.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #25
So... how do you cheat 8cmc artifacts out to the field in standard these days? Haven't played standard in a long while.
If someone kills it you can legitimately claim "you sunk my battleship"
April 8, 2019 6:05 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #26
Finally, Feather has a card! Her ability seems much more red/blue than red/white, but it is nice to see red/white being given abilities beyond additional combat tricks.
Sunblade angel could have been awesome, but is simply far too expensive for what she does.
Ral's outburst is a smaller version of Prophetic Bolt , which means that the bolt is now unlikely to be reprinted in Modern Horizons.
Kasmina is now the second most mysterious planeswalker in this set, behind only the Wanderer, so I do hope that more is revealed about her, eventually.
April 8, 2019 8:38 p.m.
DemonDragonJ isn't modern horizons only reprinting non modern legal cards though? If that's the case, then they wouldn't reprint Prophetic Bolt anyways since it was reprinted in a modern legal set.
April 8, 2019 8:52 p.m.
It hasn't been in a modern legal set. Apocalypse, Duel decks, and commander sets.
April 8, 2019 8:59 p.m.
Super secret Tron tech appears! How salty would your opponent be if they flung Path to Exile at your Reality Smasher only for you to change the target to their Blade Splicer lolloollolololo
April 9, 2019 2:24 a.m.
NecroPony huh I thought it was reprinted in RTR for some reason never mind.
April 9, 2019 8:54 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #31
Anyone else just notice that Sacred Foundry 's art was Parhelion II being constructed? Even it's flavor text makes more sense now. I just assumed it was a giant anvil, not some battlecruiser. Also, its a pretty nifty card too.
April 9, 2019 9:59 a.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #32
Dovin, Hand of Control
Artifacts, instants, and sorceries opponents cast cost more to cast
-1 until your next turn prevent all damage dealt to and by target permanant an opponent controls
5
April 9, 2019 11:16 a.m. Edited.
Bolt Bent literally says "Change the target of target spell or ability with a single target" = it can change the target of a counterspell to Bolt Bent, effectifely countering counterspells for 1 red mana if you have the 4 power thing going on.
And it is probably the only solution for stopping Dovin's Veto in Azorious Control, which will soon dominate standard format.
April 9, 2019 11:38 a.m.
What about the raven man? That weird gold-eyed dude that lives in Liliana's head.
April 9, 2019 12:43 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #35
Jaya's greeting is very disappointing for being named in honor of such a famous character; scrying is useful, but does not compensate for not being able to target players or planeswalkers in comparison to Lightning Bolt .
I also am very disappointed that Jaya herself is only an uncommon, whereas Chandra is a rare, considering that Jaya is both more famous and more powerful (in the story) than is Chandra,
The new Karn is nice, but still a major disappointment, compared to his two previous incarnations; focusing on artifacts is Tezzeret's gimmick, not Karn's.
Also, this is changing the subject, but why is the text on the tokens that Karn, Scion of Urza generates written as "this creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact that you control" and not "this creature's power and toughness are each equal to the number of artifacts that you control," which is the more commonly-used template?
Also, why was the ability of Ajani's Pridemate changed from optional to mandatory? Was it because it is a beneficial ability?
April 9, 2019 10:33 p.m.
@DemonDragonJ The fact that Jaya is uncommon signifies pretty heavily (at least to me) that she’s definitely not gonna make it through this story.
As for Karn, he was doing arifacts matter waaaaay before Tezzeret. See Karn, Silver Golem .
April 9, 2019 11:42 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #37
Guys, we all know Jaya’s gonna sacrifice herself for Chandra. That’s just how these things go.
April 10, 2019 12:06 a.m.
saj0219 - you left out that it also has haste.
That said, the casting cost is a bit of an illusion. If you only have five mana available, it's effectively a 9/9 with flash and haste that enters tapped as you'll have to use one of your lands to cast it. Once you have six mana, this thing starts to get pretty scary, particularly in Limited, which tends to be slower.
I would be quite happy pulling this at prerelease, particularly if I have a number of populate cards to really sweeten the deal.
April 10, 2019 11:46 a.m. Edited.
DemonDragonJ says... #40
There is a card of Ilharg, the raze-boar, but I was expecting it to be red/green, due to its association with the Gruul guild, and I also feel that five mana is too low a cost for what it does; if it had cost six mana, it would have been balanced.
heckproof, why do you believe that rarity has any connection to a charatcer's chances of survival?
April 10, 2019 10:18 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #41
Sooo, anybody else noticing serious power creep red flags from this set? Couple 4-mana 5/4s with upsides, a 3-mana 3/4 with a wicked ability, a 2/3 flier for 2 with an upside, fucking Flux Channeler ? Little worrisome, no? Just me?
April 10, 2019 11:07 p.m.
TheDragonking564 says... #42
ZendikariWol honestly, ive definitely noticed the power creep. today with Ilharg the Raze-Boar, we got a 5 mana 6/6 trampler that cheats your threats in then bounces them back at end of turn, which certainly feels pretty insane. and we are only half way through the spoiler season. while im not super worried about EDH, the format i primarily play, standard is gonna be super busted with this new set.
April 10, 2019 11:50 p.m.
ZendikariWol says... #43
The only thing I’m worried about, TheDragonking564, is my second favorite format after EDH: kitchen table, the format that suffers most from power creep. I worry that my casual two-headed giant or modern decks will become part of a rotating format; that is, having to constantly buy the newest, strictly better version of a card I already own and use.
I worry that I’ll have to make my own format- one that doesn’t allow cards printed past War of the Spark.
Hopefully Wizards looks at this reception and thinks “yeah, that’s fair, we may have put too much sauce into this set,” then starts to get that that’s where the creep needs to go back to normal.
April 11, 2019 12:12 a.m.
@ZendikariWol I know from the edh side Flux Channeler is ok but it is no Inexorable Tide and I think Evolution Sage is a card which I can do way more things with because I can cheat land onto the battlefield every turn in edh example Ghost Town and many many other tricks to cheat land onto the battle field especially in decks running green.
Even in standard I am thinking Evolution Sage can pull off more stupid proliferate like oh lets say Crucible of Worlds + Evolving Wilds so two land fall triggers and just keep cycling it then add in Growth Spiral and Circuitous Route .
I think we are about to see a ton of decks in standard that have very few creatures and tons of plane walkers. I am already tired of esper control but they are about to get another power bump and I already see a bunch of decks starting to pop up with all planes walkers. I run a deck with zero creatures or planewalkers for fun and win rate is all over the place some days it sucks and some days I wreck shop but I am already thinking that maybe if you are not running a planes walker deck you need to be running 4 The Immortal Sun
April 11, 2019 1:37 a.m. Edited.
And then they make a card called "silent submarine" and don't give it Islandwalk. facepalm
April 11, 2019 7:23 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #46
hejtmane, like I said, I'm not worried about my casual play: doing slow sh_t with myself and my broke friends. They're presenting so many curve-shattering creatures in this set, I'm worried. Neheb, Storrev, Feather, Ilharg, Vitu-Ghazi, Tomik, Flux Channeler, Evolution Sage, even Tenth District Legionnaire is a strictly better, color shifted Battlewise Hoplite
April 11, 2019 9:28 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #47
ZendikariWol - I'll preface that most of this is coming from an EDH/Limited perspective and that it is a lengthy post.
The TL/DR version is that I am not worried about most of the cards that you have listed, casual environments are safe, and I still have yet to see anything that makes me change my mind about this set being a mistake (for Limited).
Most of those cards you listed don't worry me. Regarding EDH, only Flux Channeler seems to be alarmingly strong. Feather also looks strong, but I think she will run into the same issue as Zada, Hedron Grinder : If she is dealt with you have a bunch of synergistic cards that don't do much and you will struggle to rebuild. Tomik, Neheb, and Evolution Sage all will go into existing decks but don't move the needle too much. Vitu-Ghazi and Storrev don't do enough for EDH. I don't believe Ilharg is as strong as people are saying. He wants to fit into decks that run Sneak Attack , but they don't really want him since you lose out on your 'on attack triggers'. Furthermore, I don't think mono-red has enough support for him on his own as a commander.
From a limited perspective only Neheb, Vitu-Gahzi, and Ilharg seem like bombs. Storrev, Feather, and Tomik are great, but their mana requirements are intense. We have yet to see much color fixing so unless a bunch of gates get spoiled, casting those cards on curve will be difficult.
Now Flux Channeler and Evolution Sage are concerning for Limited. Again, I know I sound like a broken record, but the main issue with this set in my eyes is the proliferation of PW's (pun intended) with little-to-no direct answers. We have 2 days (including today) left of spoilers. I am afraid WoTC won't provide much more, and I don't see enough that prevents this Limited environment from devolving into a lot of staring matches and "who drew their planeswalker first?".
Lastly, while power creep has happened over the history of Magic, it is still cyclical. For every Mirrodin, Kaladesh, potentially this set, etc., there is a Kamigawa, Ixalan, Core set, etc. It is inevitable that you may have to update some cards as newer better versions are created, but I wouldn't worry about needing to make wholesale changes to casual decks.
April 11, 2019 11:10 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #48
Sorry for the double post, but I guess spoiler season is now 3 weeks? That's news to me. Well that makes my one comment a bit of a moot point for now since there is more time.
April 11, 2019 11:21 a.m.
ZendikariWol says... #49
For the second time, I am NOT worried about EDH! I'm worried about lower-power formats, ie me playing hyper-budget modern with my group of noobs. Maybe I'm inflating the problem, the only real thing is that Ilharg looks bat-shit crazy.
April 11, 2019 11:28 a.m.
JANKYARD_DOG says... #50
God-Eternal Bontu
Legendary Creature - Zombie God
Menace
When God-Eternal Bontu enters the battlefield, sacrifice any number of other permanents, then draw that many cards.
When God-Eternal Bontu dies or is put into exile from the battlefield, you may put it into its owner's library third from the top.
5/6
dbpunk says... #1
Honestly how is Neoform not a rare though?
April 5, 2019 12:29 p.m.