Magic: The Gathering C/D

i wanna play that in a Skies-type deck so badly

i never preorder cards but if this one is like $10 or less to start, i will be very tempted

4 delver 4 snapcaster 4 duskmantle seer 4 ??? creature
22 lands 22 spells

i want to try this but that one threat slot really needs a good candidate, preferably at 1U or UB. not sure invis stalker is aggressive enough, since you really want to have them low on life by the time you drop the seer or they can rip their way out of it

You guys think Seer is that good? Bloodgift Demon is really similar, except only you get the card advantage, and it sees almost no play. I guess if there's an aggro deck where the idea is to refill your hand while punishing your opponent for their expensive cards, it might find a home, but I can't remember a UB aggro deck... ever.

I'd expect a good 2-drop with evasion in this set. Maybe even a reprint of the hybrid 2/1 unblockable from Ravnica. Dunno if that's good enough but it does have synergy with Cipher at least.

I realize that it's similar to Bloodgift but I will say this - one, the extra mana matters a LOT, and two, I think Bloodgift is definitely very playable but there hasn't been a deck to fit it in. I do see how this one may run into the same problem but it also seems like it may work in Modern. I dunno, cards like this tend to find good homes somewhere.

i don't think seer is 'that good' i just like it a lot. i do think it's more likely to see play than bloodgift demon though, 5 is a lot more mana than 4 and the extra reach when they flip a 4 or 5 drop will win some games

is 5 really 'a lot more' in this meta?

i guess its less of a jump when there aren't good counterspells, but the type of deck that wants this effect is going to have to be very compact

final UG mythic is spoiled but its not very exciting

2UG for a 2/4 that makes all your creatures ETB with extra +1/+1 counters equal to its power (usually 2)

the only card that i really want to open is a thespian's stage. i guess the r/w mythic although i don't know how useful itll be

i hope r/w aggro is good but i have a feeling it won't be

that ball lightning w/ lifelink is pretty good...

its obv way too good at 3 but i really, really wanted it to cost 3

it's way too good at 4!

naw its fine

you don't think that's too swingy for limited games?

is 5 really 'a lot more' in this meta?

its essentially one activation

you don't think that's too swingy for limited games?

there the difference between 3 and 4 isn't much...ball lightning effects usually aren't great in limited. it's tough to get a great balls-out start in limited because the really good aggro stuff is usually at uncommon or rare.

I just feel like that 12 point life swing pretty much defines the game if it's in your opening hand

it depends on the format though

definitely playable in Limited and probably a high pick but I actually think those types of cards tend to play better in Constructed

if that's not a first pick for most packs I don't want to see the rest of the set

playing that w/ boros charm...

12 point life swing is a lot but you need to capitalize on it, if you being down a card means you end up surrendering the board then it doesn't matter how far ahead you are on life totals. you can certainly first pick it but i can imagine being in R/W and opening it pack 3 and not wanting it if your deck isn't streamlined aggro already

well i'm sure it'll fit well into the Boros strategy. playing Batallion dudes turn 2 and 3 and then this on turn 4 would be incredible. but I mean sacrificing cards for life swings is not something every deck wants to do. look at how often Essence Harvest tabled in AVR.

yeah it seems like the sort of thing in limited you're really going to want to use as a finisher rather than a turn four play most of the time? maybe not most because the temp swing could be pivotal in setting up for the late game but its not a game winning rare the way the best ones are

I think it becomes one in context, w/ a surprise battalion trigger

also, the later you play it the easier it will be for your opponent to throw out blockers. a card like Loxodon Warhammer, on the other hand...

i dunno, this thing seems like it will steal wins sometimes but generally play fair, as opposed to something like Firemane Avenger which is actually just unbeatable when you start attacking with it

ok this is the last time i talk about firemane avenger i promise

haaa

i will say that i will buy any and all of the firemane top 8 promos any of you pick up

gonna play boros promos at the gp

i think my favorite cards in the set so far are ghor-clan rampager and skarrg guildmage. pretty sure the rampager will be standard-playable, not so sure about the guildmage but i'll certainly test it

welp the B/W guildmage just got spoiled and its 2nd ability appears to form an instakill with Exquisite Blood from AVR provided you can either deal 1 point of damage or gain 1 life while they're both active

Maybe I'm just getting jaded but the Seer doesn't excite me at all. Feels like a rehash and just not that powerful. 4 mana is better than 5, true, but the type of deck that wants this card is so narrow; at least Bloodgift Demon I can see fitting into some decks. Would be happy to be wrong and see it get constructed play though.

New Ball Lightning is fun. I agree with frog, it's much better in constructed than limited, and I don't even think it's a good early draft pick. Powerful, but very hard on the colors and commits you to an aggressive deck so that you can overcome the card disadvantage (though Boros will probably be angling that way anyway).

I can see Rampager and Gruul Guildmage both getting Standard play, there's bound to be some strong aggro/midrange Naya decks after this set (it's already a deck now). Rampager in particular is so versatile, I love it.

yeah Rampager seems like it'll be a staple in midrange. it's like the RG Boros Charm.

i can see why you're down on the Seer, but I have to believe some aggressive Skies-like Dimir deck will emerge that features a lot of hard-to-block creatures and abuses Cipher. I agree it's only good in certain metagames (for example, one in which aggro is not very good) but if U/B can go aggro, the two-way ability of the Seer is really something

http://i.imgur.com/8IWxMEb.png

finally got to try doors.dec

how would you guys build this?

really can't say but I question how much you're going to be able to fire Psychic Spiral off for. I'd probably fit in Skywatch since it's really a nice dude to have, especially if you can get him out fast. what were your results?

i will say that's about the coolest 5c deck i've seen in RTR though. and they're becoming a lot more frequent.

would probably play weird and injunction over maybe spiral and one of the axebanes. spiral only really seems worth it w/chronic flooding

I'd probably swap out Lobber Crew and Trestle Troll for Skywatch and Rites of Reaping. Would consider siding in Golgari Charm if Stab Wound or various Azorius enchantments were a problem and otherwise use either Frostburn or Vassal Soul.

24 mana sources is a ton, you can play 16 or even 15 lands in that deck i think. i'd go 16 and consider cutting a vine or guardian too

it does feel weird to just have frostburn in the board and ya 17 lands seems a bit much considering. the gatecreeper in the board is probably better than a land isn't it?

oh wait i just saw how many 7-drops youre playing, dont cut a land

i think the 3rd gatecreeper is worse than a land in most decks

dunno if i'd say that here. looks like turns 3 and 4 you're not gonna do much but play walls anyway. gatecreepers essentially produce 2 mana w/ axebane, enable doorkeeper, thin out your deck...I'd probably play as many as I got

lost the 1st match (0-2) against a so-so rakdos deck due to bad luck w/ mulls
lost the 2nd match (1-2) against v good selesnya deck cause lol 7 centaurs
won the 3rd match (2-1) against a so-so rakdos deck, deck went off

I really wanted / needed a 3rd doorkeeper, I think I passed the third one for hover barrier hoping it would wheel

anyway it was fun to play for sure. never had any mana color problems tho this was essentially a simic deck. I sided the second horncallers in for most games. casting huge d00ds was a lot easier than the mill win.

didn't draw archon a single game!

my last two decks have been real goofy 3-4 color builds with a ton of bombs; I've gone a combined 1-5 with them. lots of 1-2 losses where I get killed by some guy playing 5 counterspells, or random discard, or I just draw way too many lands (twice I've drawn 15 lands with about half my deck left), or guys just randomly rip Cyclonic Rifts. kind of disheartening but the Jace/Hypersonic/Archon/Utvara Hellkite/Detention Sphere deck sure was fun to play..

in this case the first pack was super weak, it was seriously like axebane or daggerdrome imp, the second was also pretty bad but there was a gatecreeper, and the third had a chromatic lantern. I hadn't really set out to loldraft but it was definitely in the cards.

full gatecrash set is up on the wizards site

looks pretty solid for limited. will probably play significantly faster than RTR due to the mechanics, but the removal is a bit better/cheaper and the cards feel tech-ier so drafting could be pretty hard at first

what do we think the key commons are gonna be in limited?

leyline phantom and deathcult rogue both seem like they will be pretty high picks