April 2016: Shadows over Innistrad
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Oct. 31, 2015, 6:42 p.m. by JWiley129
Announced during GP Indy, the Spring 2016 set is Shadows over Innistrad!
Edits for FAQ:
- Here is Mark Rosewater on why we're getting two returns in a row.
secondwhiteline says... #2
Yeah, I'm digging the new Sigarda. Generates tokens, good application against Fiery Temper...Curious to see if there's going to be any solid Humans in this set. I doubt we'll get anything on the level of Champion of the Parish, but maybe there'll be some support here.
March 16, 2016 11:16 a.m.
Sigarda will be strong as an EDH commander. Even if you lose her you can still bring her back in pretty quick time considering you're playing Selesnya. So you basically have a consistent resource to give yourself and your army hexproof. Not to mention a good number of "sacrifice" attributes require you to target a player.
March 16, 2016 11:19 a.m.
Actually Sigarda's ability is an improved version of the old one somehow... since you having hexproof cannot be targeted to sacrifice creatures too, among other benefits.Having wet dreams with new Olivia plus Drana... anyone aboard the hype train for a Jund vamps with CoCo? Crossing my fingers so the new lands can allow us to put it in play
March 16, 2016 11:39 a.m.
@ Kravian: My apologies. Apparently I should have said "Unplayable in cEDH." I sometimes forget that casuals will play anything.
March 16, 2016 11:41 a.m.
Hexproof on a stick isn't bad. Will also be around after Orbs of Warding leaves us in another six months.
March 16, 2016 11:46 a.m.
@NarejED. If every new spoiler is going to be evaluated at a cEDH level, then it gets boring. I am a casual, and I love the guy in my pod who does that janky walker-season deck, so i thought it bore mentioning. I'm just thinking you don't see too many people popping up to complain "unplayable in vintage: trash card". And it ruins the mood a bit when the hype train starts choo-ing.
March 16, 2016 11:58 a.m.
Walker Season can be built quite competitively actually.
Look at Dreno33's list
March 16, 2016 12:11 p.m.
NarejED - Don't use the word "casuals" like a slur. The reason Magic is great is because of all the different ways there is to play Magic. So don't disparage someone for liking a card when it's "unplayable" in your format of choice.
March 16, 2016 12:13 p.m.
@JWiley129: I'm good. Thanks anyway. I prefer not to limit my freedom of speech needlessly.
March 16, 2016 12:18 p.m.
Not many walkers are considered good in competitive edh. Most are too vulnerable or don't do enough to justify their cost the turn they are played in a 3-4 turn format (which is the norm for competitive edh, as I have played against some very finely tuned decks). I, and most the people I tend to play with, are more inclined to not like games where seeing who can combo out first is how each game goes.
Do I have degenerate decks...yes. do I play them trying to combo out. Depends on the playgroup. Do I have the cards and/or means to build top end end decks, yes, but choose to have many types of decks(currently have 18 built).
That being said, New Jace will find a home in at least 1 of my edh decks. I like it...heck he might also get a spot in my mono blue deck with mind sculptor.
I play for the social interaction, not just for winning...last game I played I lost, but had fun using Feldon to be the last one knocked out of a 6 player game.
March 16, 2016 12:20 p.m.
Anyways, back on topic. The new Sigarda looks fun. Similar to her previous incarnation in that she shuts off certain strategies and protects your stuff well.
March 16, 2016 12:21 p.m.
Let's not get into dragging out 'freedom of speech' arguments on a fantasy card game message board and drop it.
March 16, 2016 12:21 p.m.
Rise From the Tides
5U
Sorcery
Put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield tapped for each instant and/or sorcery card in your graveyard.
March 16, 2016 12:40 p.m.
Meme was in reference to all the shenanigans that were just happening at the top of this page...
As far as that card... SOI triple drafting will be fun. Can't wait for the full spoiler so people will start running sealed events on Xmage.
March 16, 2016 12:44 p.m.
Truce called. Interesting to see an uncommon that rewards delirium but doesn't have delirium. Less "all or nothing".
March 16, 2016 12:48 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #20
The only drawback with that card is that yes you can get a big army of zombies; but you can't use them till your next turn; thereby giving your opponent a chance with a sweeper to KO them
Killer in limited; but unlikely for constructed
March 16, 2016 12:52 p.m.
I look at this card and can't help thinking they missed a good opportunity to add Madness (Either 
or possibly 
).
March 16, 2016 1:03 p.m.
Interesting flavour...
New Sigarda can't stop new Avacyn from killing your humans.
My guess is that any abilities that Bruna and/or Gisela card(s) will have will be targeted abilities, so Sigarda can stop them.
March 16, 2016 1:18 p.m.
KillDatBUG says... #24
Man, this Jace feels so uninspired. It's like:
+1. Yay, I get to draw a card. k
-2. Yay, I get to bounce a creature. Because blue. yawn
-8. Yay, I get an emblem that lets me counter spells. zzzz
I don't even think he's that great, either. His minus ability is terrible against anything with an ETB, he's terrible against anyone going even slightly wide, and he costs five mana. And the worst part? He's so... boring.
yawn
At least Olivia and Sigarda look kinda decent.
March 16, 2016 1:30 p.m.
Olivia and Relentless Dead are just bonkers in Standard or am I just wrong... with two or more Relentless Dead in hand you can play one and discard the rest, then sac and return to your hand/play the graveyard one and repeat the process till your mana lets you, right? You would have hasty zombie vampires to attack with/take sac benefits with Zulaport Cutthroat, use Stoneforge Masterwork to pump them... jeez hype is real lol
March 16, 2016 1:35 p.m.
Harness the Storm may be the what Storm needed to make a comeback. Card looks gross.
Doesn't say you exile the card that you cast either. Seems broken.
Harness the Storm
2R
Enchantment
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand, you may cast target card with the same name as that spell from your graveyard. (you still pay its costs.)
"There is no place like a rooftop laboratory in a lightning storm. It's where genius strikes." - Renna, Selhoff alchemist
March 16, 2016 1:40 p.m.
Yeah with all the tribal now might be a good time to grab Stoneforge Masterwork.
So uh... Harness the Storm...
Doesn't that just like... break Storm...
March 16, 2016 1:48 p.m.
So... Sigarda protects everyone but herself. Meh.
Olivia is pretty decent, but goddammit that art is the worst I've seen in a Magic card since I don't know, Mirrodin times?
Jace is okay. He's a nerfed Mind Sculptor, and I'm okay with a nerfed Mind Sculptor.
March 16, 2016 1:48 p.m.
Wow... going to go look for cards that return an instant or sorcery from graveyard to hand (plus another ability)... could make for quite some interesting reoccurring effects.
March 16, 2016 1:50 p.m.
square711 - What on earth does this Jace have to do with JTMS?
The have one similarity... and that's it.
Just because they print a Jace doesn't mean we hold it up next to the banned planeswalker people... They're all their own cards.
March 16, 2016 1:51 p.m.
Harness the Storm doesn't exile the cards either...
So doesn't Storm just go infinite????
March 16, 2016 1:52 p.m.
You have to cast the spell from your hand to get the copy of a spell in your yard, and you have to pay the mana cost...
March 16, 2016 1:53 p.m.
So not infinite but you can conceivably ramp hard. You get to just recast all the red ramps you used already.
March 16, 2016 1:56 p.m.
TMBRLZ: they are similar. They have the same minus, and the new Jace's +2 basically serves the same purpose JtMS's 0 does (except obviously much worse, the same way Preordain is worse than Brainstorm).
When I say he's a "nerfed JtMS", I don't mean he's gonna get banned. Quite the opposite. He's what JtMS should've been in the first place (well, maybe a little worse than that, but you get what I mean).
March 16, 2016 2:07 p.m.
Harness the Storm makes Ritual stupid good. I think this helps Storm make a comeback.
March 16, 2016 2:08 p.m.
Harness the Storm even has storm in the name. It also casts the spell, so more storm synergy. You don't really even need to set it up.
March 16, 2016 2:11 p.m.
...where the heck is the exile clause in Harness the Storm?
lol
This is so wrong I can't even... lol
March 16, 2016 2:12 p.m.
Should only need to get Storm count to 5 and have 6 mana with 2x Grapeshot in hand...
Cast... Storm trigger, 5 copies... resolve all, 6 damage.
Cast... Storm trigger, this trigger... cast from grave... storm trigger. Resolve all... 7 damage, then 8 damage.
That's 21 damage!
Even if the Storm count was only 4 before casting the first one... that's 18 damage (5+6+7)... and they probably took some fetch/Shock damage.
And 6 mana, while this is out can be reached with 2x Pyretic Ritual and 3x Mountain in play... Plus that's a storm count of 3 right there...
So T2 Simian Spirit Guide into this, T3 go off? (using 1x Manamorphose)
March 16, 2016 2:29 p.m. Edited.
JohnnyBaggins says... #45
Nah, not infinite but damn close to it. With an Electromancer and some rituals this gets out of hand very quickly. I'm not sure if the deck does actually need it though, Past in Flames usually will do the trick.
March 16, 2016 2:33 p.m.
secondwhiteline says... #46
Rayenous - They're still $30 on Cool Stuff Inc. (If anyone needs another, that's where to go, especially if you have their loyalty program.) And even they've gone up. I ordered mine at $25 on there yesterday.
March 16, 2016 2:41 p.m.
I'm lukewarm on Harness the Storm. It's a strong effect, but I don't think it's worth it in older formats.
March 16, 2016 2:43 p.m.
It's also really good with Buyback.
Cast one copy, paying buyback,... cast the other without buyback.
Pay buyback once, get to recast both again.
March 16, 2016 2:45 p.m.
Harness the storm+manamorphose or probe in yard plus some rituals=nonsense
March 16, 2016 3:03 p.m.
I've already asked that... people claim that he simply finds another one on the battlefield, but I don't buy it!
I'm sure it's always the same horse... always looks identical. - If all the horses look that identical, they would have to be clones.
Rayenous says... #1
Compare her to Sigarda, Host of Herons
March 16, 2016 11:13 a.m. Edited.