I wonder if they push off some of the crazier, stronger cards for set 3 to minimize the amount of time they're in Standard in case there's a mistake? It always seems like they do the weirdest, most potentially broken stuff in set 3. I guess BNG cards will be Standard-legal for 19 months and JOU cards for 16 months so not much difference really
― Vinnie, Thursday, 17 April 2014 14:57 (ten years ago) link
i don't think so, though they'll sometimes put something that's really strong with the previous year's block in the core set so that you get 3 months of that interaction e.g. infect with rancor
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:01 (ten years ago) link
so it looks like ral zarek is going to be a card in 'conspiracy' and has been partially spoiled
― dude (Lamp), Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:08 (ten years ago) link
DACK FAYDEN yeahh
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:13 (ten years ago) link
I think they've publically stated that they do this and it seems like they've been doing it ever since Apocalypse. I can see why they'd want to minimize the amount of time something like Phyrexian mana was in Standard
― frogbs, Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:13 (ten years ago) link
his first ability is almost certainly faithless looting based on that partial image
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:14 (ten years ago) link
Brain Maggot wins the award for most disgusting card that references both Funkadelic and Wrath of Khan
― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:24 (ten years ago) link
new Enchantress is gonna be awesome, especially in conjunction with the new O-ring
― frogbs, Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:26 (ten years ago) link
haha DACK FAYDEN yes jeez im an idiot. here is the partially spoiled card
current odds seem to be:
+ 1 faithless looting- 2 gain control of target artifact - 6 standstill emblem
but only the first two seem reasonably hammered out. i like these because they all correspond to cards that have been released as idw promos
i've been avoiding JOU spoilers because i like playing the prerelease with as little foreknowledge as possible but this conspiracy stuff is so much more interesting to me - i love that wotc is spending all this time seeding dummy twitter accounts with encrypted spoilers. but im kinda bummed that im going to be working overseas all summer and probably wont get to do any paper drafts of it.
― dude (Lamp), Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:30 (ten years ago) link
i'm getting the sense that Conspiracy won't be done on MTGO so you may be out of luck
― frogbs, Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:33 (ten years ago) link
yeah, it would make sense that conspiracy is a paper-only thing since it roughly coincides with vintage masters, which is mtgo-only
― dude (Lamp), Thursday, 17 April 2014 15:35 (ten years ago) link
The casting cost and loyalty on Dack are the most intriguing to me. Will be interesting to see how far they will push a Planeswalker that isn't Modern/Standard legal
― Vinnie, Thursday, 17 April 2014 16:19 (ten years ago) link
had an idea for a card while i was waiting for lunch:
creature - ooze0/1
indestructible
CARDNAME must block if able.
if CARDNAME blocks or becomes blocked, CARDNAME becomes a copy of one creature blocking or blocked by it. it gains this ability and is indestructible.
interesting? already done? cost? feels simic-y
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:07 (ten years ago) link
oh and the initial 1 T is so it can be dealt with and to keep the casting cost down, but i might've overthought that
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:08 (ten years ago) link
i don't think that's been done but Serene Master has essentially the same functionality with a completely different rules text
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:33 (ten years ago) link
i think its an interesting card but the mechanics dont quite match the flavor, oozes always have to 'eat' the creature who's abilities they are copying, although exiling the card blocking or blocked by makes the cards really powerful. cards that just copy w/o exiling are usually shapeshifter/wizards i think?
― dude (Lamp), Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:39 (ten years ago) link
seems like a good way to prevent your opponent from ever attacking you in Limited, at least
an idea I had floating around for a while was a Gifts Ungiven type thing - something like
[something] 3G SorcerySearch your library for 3 creature cards with different names. An opponent chooses one and puts it into play under their control. Put the other two into play under your control.
― frogbs, Thursday, 17 April 2014 17:56 (ten years ago) link
If Brain Maggot is destroyed, does the card it exiled go back to its owner's hand or somewhere else? Do exiled cards when un-exiled always return to where they last were in the game?
― nitro-burning funny car (Moodles), Thursday, 17 April 2014 18:14 (ten years ago) link
yeah it goes back to their hand
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 18:19 (ten years ago) link
yeah, if a card is exiled from the battlefield e.g. with banisher priest, it returns to the battlefield. one thing i've never actually understood is why the wondering on fiend hunter (or mesmiric fiend) allows for you to permanently exile a card but the 'fixed' versions banisher priest and now brain maggot do not. i vaguely have assumed its because in the older cases the trigger happens 'when' but they changed it too 'until'? but dont really understand the rules minutia that govern these things
― dude (Lamp), Thursday, 17 April 2014 19:22 (ten years ago) link
wondering = wording in the above jeez
frogbs' card seems like a one card win combo once the right 3 creatures are discovered
― iatee, Thursday, 17 April 2014 19:30 (ten years ago) link
yeah i was gonna say, you can get 2 game-winning creatures and a big game hunter or whatever, and it's essentially a natural order without the sacrifice cost
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 19:43 (ten years ago) link
maybe they get 2 you get 1
― iatee, Thursday, 17 April 2014 19:52 (ten years ago) link
still probably broken
that one's trickier to break but it probably involves creatures that you don't want to have in play
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 19:55 (ten years ago) link
like, if leveler is in the package then they have to give that to you, meaning you just have to find a combo of 2 creatures that lose you the game if you control both of them. can't think of one off the top of my head but it probably exists
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 20:00 (ten years ago) link
or another creature like leveler that loses in a turn but doesn't auto-lose like phage
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 20:01 (ten years ago) link
leveler, phage, abyssal persecutor does it if they don't have instant removal
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 20:05 (ten years ago) link
well I guess that's why they haven't printed something like that yet. I didn't come up with anything particularly devastating though I have thought that having one creature being a Man o'War would probably really mess things up
― frogbs, Thursday, 17 April 2014 20:09 (ten years ago) link
in general, any card that circumvents both randomization and the mana system is too dangerous to print at reasonable-seeming mana costs (hi stoneforge mystic)
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 20:12 (ten years ago) link
http://cdn.magicspoiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Tethmos-High-Priest-Journey-into-Nyx-Spoiler.jpg
feels like you should be able to do something gross with this but maybe heroic is just a little bit too clunky for a combo.
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 17 April 2014 21:15 (ten years ago) link
still, could go off in a limited fashion with cheap enchantment creatures and a good constellation card
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 17 April 2014 21:16 (ten years ago) link
that card is cool. this set's trying so hard to pull the block out of 'mediocre' status for me
― ciderpress, Thursday, 17 April 2014 21:44 (ten years ago) link
yeah that's the kinda card you first pick just because you want to play it
― iatee, Thursday, 17 April 2014 21:45 (ten years ago) link
full spoiler is up on the card image gallery
this set still looks really strong, there's a bunch of commons that seem like they'd be uncommon elsewhere and uncommons that seem like they could be rare elsewhere. also, Supply-Line Cranes.
― ciderpress, Friday, 18 April 2014 05:12 (ten years ago) link
i noticed the new yoked ox, same stats and cmc but with +1/+1 heroic, also at common!
― Roberto Spiralli, Friday, 18 April 2014 10:31 (ten years ago) link
Cards that caught my eye:
Reprisal: I've wanted them to reprint this for years, so yay. It's a little weird to see the "can't regen" clause nowadays, surprised they didn't make a functional reprint without itSkybind: Feels breakable, though I can't think of what would break itSupply-Line Cranes: 3/5 flyer for 5 is already quite good for a common, and the ability to have a point of haste is relevantCloaked Siren: Love the picture combined with the ability. 3/2 flyers for 4 have rarely been worse than they are in this environment thoughWar-Wing Siren: Super efficient card, I think it's even better than Wingsteed Rider because it's harder to initially kill and the CC is easierBloodcrazed Hoplite: Another high pick common, even without the ability to remove countersFelhide Petrifier: Well here's the lord we getAkroan Line Breaker: Damn, only takes a couple Titan's Strengths to make this lethalKnowledge and Power: Finally a build-around enchantment. I suspect too slow for this environment thoughSigiled Skink: I love this card and don't totally understand whySwarmborn Giant: I don't think they've ever used that clause before. This is bad, right?Fleetfeather Cockatrice: What a weird set of abilities. Seems quite good
Power level of the set seems higher than BNG for sure, maybe higher than Theros. Strive cards all make the aggro heroic decks much stronger.
― Vinnie, Friday, 18 April 2014 14:02 (ten years ago) link
yeah I suspect that Knowledge and Power was the card a lot of people were waiting for but I really wish it just cost one less. still, the U/R scry deck looks like it got a lot stronger. conversely Minotaurs seem undraftable now.
― frogbs, Friday, 18 April 2014 14:43 (ten years ago) link
new Yoked Ox seems like a trap, unless you're full of Ordeals I don't see what spells you'd spend on this dude. but it at least seems playable.
― frogbs, Friday, 18 April 2014 14:44 (ten years ago) link
Oh I like the new Yoked Ox, think it's fairly good once you have a few Bestow and Strive cards in your deck. Not a top pick or anything, but I think it has a high upside in the best case scenario.
― Vinnie, Friday, 18 April 2014 14:51 (ten years ago) link
yeah great ordeal target but very few ordeals floating around. he'll be playable in the right decks, just not universally.
― iatee, Friday, 18 April 2014 14:52 (ten years ago) link
Turn 4 Eidolon onto new Ox is not as broken a play as Eidolon on Wingsteed Rider, but if they have mana up, there's almost no spells that can disrupt you.
― Vinnie, Friday, 18 April 2014 14:53 (ten years ago) link
I have a free month of SCG Premium from going to GP Richmond, and in one of the recent vids Brad Nelson built a janky UWR Heroic aggro Standard deck that actually seemed pretty good if it gets tuned. Basically a bunch of 1 or 2-drops and cipher and cheap targeting spells. It played 4x Sage of Heroes and he got off the free turn in a couple games. I almost never speculate-buy, but seems like Sage has the potential to be worth a ton if the deck does well, and I'm thinking about it. It's low enough right now that I wouldn't lose a lot of money investing.
― Vinnie, Monday, 21 April 2014 19:54 (ten years ago) link
that deck is pretty much what i had in mind when i saw the card, but i don't have high hopes for it being a tier 1 deck
― ciderpress, Monday, 21 April 2014 19:57 (ten years ago) link
Yeah tier 1 may be pushing it but I think it has a shot. I was only seeing it as a combo card, not as an attacker who gives you a free turn 1 out of 4 games. And it still has combo potential too.
― Vinnie, Monday, 21 April 2014 20:06 (ten years ago) link
can you give us an idea of the decklist? curious what the red is for
I never thought of Sage that way b/c in limited you generally don't want too many heroic dudes out as they all sort of interfere with each other - stuff like Launch the Fleet may change this a bit
― frogbs, Monday, 21 April 2014 20:18 (ten years ago) link
Plays Akroan Crusader, Favored Hoplite, Nivmagus Elemental, Satyr Hoplite, Sage of Hours as creatures + God's Willing, Retraction Helix, Triton Tactics, Hidden Strings, Trait Doctoring, Mizzium Skin, Bioshift, Ordeal of Thassa as spells.
Like I said, total junk cards but it has some very explosive draws like t1 Hoplite, t2 Hidden Strings, tap blocker, untap a land, and add a counter to Hoplite, Nivmagus Elemental, attack for 2, cipher Hidden Strings, add a counter to Hoplite, exile copy to add two counters to Nivmagus. Very vulnerable to removal though.
― Vinnie, Monday, 21 April 2014 20:35 (ten years ago) link
Er ignore tap blocker, that should be target Hoplite to add a counter.
― Vinnie, Monday, 21 April 2014 20:36 (ten years ago) link
I've been playtesting the Eidolon of Blossoms deck in Block and it is *so much fun* in that Momentary Blink my mulldrifter way where you just absolutely drown people in value - going off and discarding like Boon-Satyr-quality cards to hand size each turn is hilarious. I don't know how it is against Polukranos decks (I imagine... not great?) but the control and aggro matchups feel weirdly solid for such a casual-vibing deck.
― Maps, Monday, 21 April 2014 21:21 (ten years ago) link