As we take stock of the past year we can’t help but ponder the next twelve months and all they might bring. What will happen in 2010, and more importantly will it be good or bad? This is the inherent dilemma in creating prediction lists with very little actual information. These lists are fun, and useful at times, but mostly provide fodder to gossip and argue over. We can’t pretend to prognosticate without mixing a little of what we hope will come to pass. Therefore an objective list of future events involving something you care about (in this case MTG) is impossible. Sprinkling in conjecture mixed with a heavy dose of hope is only human. Fine, but hope is a good thing (“maybe the best of things” – Copyright Andy Dufresne) so without further ado we present- a Wishlist of Predictions for 2010:
coming soon....
1. Rize of the Eldrazi will contain at least one planeswalker. And this planeswalker will be another ’second generation’ walker along the lines of Ajani Vengeant and Chandra Ablaze. In the effort to maintain brand continuity WotC has shown dedication to the original five walkers. They have been featured in books, web-comics and each expansion set since Lorwyn. With the new Jace being revealed for Worldwake there won’t be room for another original walker in the same set. However by the time Rise of the Eldrazi comes around a ‘new’ Garruk or Liliana will be due. Certainly Sorin and Nissa are much larger plot figures in Zendikar, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a second black or green walker within the set. After all both Garruk and Liliana have been involved with Zendikar lately (along with Jace and Chandra) and the white walkers, Elspeth and Ajani have not been. All this adds up to what will be a new Liliana Vess in 2010.
2. Magic 2011 will have many of the same cards as Magic 2010, especially the core cards that made M10 so popular. Cards like Lightning Bolt and Duress aren’t going anywhere after only a year in Standard play. Same goes for more powerful cards like Earthquake and Planar Cleansing. When M10 rotates out with the release of the next big expansion it would be odd if these popular basics vanished as well. Changeover from core sets before was easier to handle as there was a 2+ year window to play them in Standard. Now that window is just over a year, meaning in the future core sets will mirror each other much more than in the past. Does this mean that all the chase cards from M10 will just be back in M11? Probably not, and a new cycle of planeswalkers are almost assured. But the classic utility spells released in M10 will almost all see reprint in M11 (not to mention M12).
a lot to look forward to
3. Expect some chase cards from newer sets to be included in M11. The lion’s share of speculation regarding M11 content has been the next cycle of planewalkers. Will Elspeth take over white for Ajani? (Probably.) Will the revolutionary Jace and Chandra bump out their old counter-parts? (Most assuredly.) And so on and so forth. But these won’t be the only prized re-issues from recent sets to be included in M11. While M10 hit some classic favorites and re-invented the wheel on some others (like Honor of the Pure and Baneslayer Angel) Magic 2011 will draw more heavily from recent sets. Expect something like the Command cycle from Lorwyn (yes that means Cryptic Command!), or the dual lands from Shadowmoor/Eventide. There will be no gold cards (sorry Alara) and it’s doubtful Baneslayer, Elvish Archdruid, etc. will be back. But there will still be plenty to get excited about with Magic’s core set of 2010.
WotC gets a do-over
4. A Premium Deck will be released that everyone will want to spend $35 on. We here at Gathering Magic have explained the shortcomings of Premium Decks: Slivers here and here. Why then would we be excited about the next release of the Premium series? Say what you want about WotC, but they usually get things right after a try or two. Slivers was a test run, like Mythic rarity in Alara. By Zendikar the Mythic mystery was basically solved. From the Vault had a similar genesis. Dragons was fairly popular, but didn’t generate nearly the same buzz as Exiled. That is why we can expect good things from Premium Decks in 2010. The Premium Deck is something most MTG fans agree is a great idea. Now all Wizards has to do is put more good cards in. Expect next year to be when that happens.
5. The next large Expansion block (New Phyrexia) will give us the next great tournament deck. This one is pretty easy. The release of the new expansion is when the currently dominating Jund build will rotate out. Ridiculous you say, there must be something in Worldwake/Rise of the Eldrazi/M11 that can slow Jund’s roll. Doubtful. Because Jund isn’t built on one card, or some combo that WotC can screw over. Its built on superior card advantage and utility, two attributes that are nearly impossible to nerf. (Ed note: Yes, Naya Lightsaber’s anti-Jund build bested Jund at Worlds, but Jund is still clearly the most competitive build in Standard.) Take faeries for example. WotC offered two clear anti-fae cards in Great Sable Stag and Volcanic Fallout and the build adjusted and continued to win until Lorwyn/Shadowmoor were out. So Jund will remain king for now, but at least that will change in 2010.
expect less of this in 2010
6. With Cascade out 2010 will herald the return of control (despite a simpler mana-base). There are really two predictions here. First control magic will return with a bang when Alara/M10 rotates out taking Cascade and Great Sable Stag with it. Day of Judgment, and Mind Sludge are among the massively powerful cards not getting their due play because control is so fragile right now. Add a few more cards in white, black and blue (or even red) and true control is back. Second, mana will simplify greatly in 2010. Without the need to appease difficult sets like Alara Reborn, WotC can ease up on releasing crazy mana-producers after two years of doing just that. Of course this makes building control much harder, but with a few key additions dual or even mono-colored builds will be competing for Top 8s to start the next decade.
the tip of the iceberg
7. More experimental add-ons for casual players along the lines of Planechase. There are really three types of players Magic needs to market to: Timmy, Johnny, and Spike. Timmy likes just about anything card-related including dual-decks, expansion sets, and special pre-cons. Spike will always cherry pick the best tournament cards from the newest set. Johnny however is unique. Often these players are grizzled MTG veterans who care much more about having fun with friends than placing in PTQs. They have seen it all, and can be pretty hard to please with new card sets only. That is where products like Planechase fit in. Perfect for the MTG veteran playing casually with buddies. We assume WotC recognizes this and will produce more add-on products in 2010 perfect for this sect of duelists.
There you have it. Seven predictions for the upcoming year, and all of them something we look forward too. After all, what good is conjecture if it fails to excite or at the very least draw interest. Hopefully we are not alone in looking forward to 2010 and what WotC has in store for us. Until then shuffle up and enjoy the last remaining days of 2009.
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I love speculation articles! This is one of my favorite parts of Magic!
As far as Core Set ‘Walkers, I do hope you’re right about Elspeth replacing Ajani. However, I hope you’re wrong about Chandra Ablaze replacing Chandra Nalaar. I like the original better.
For Rise of the Eldrazi, what about Sarkhan Vol? He’s on Zendikar. Perhaps he’ll show up?
I must say.. its hard to read this comic:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Multiverse/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/feature2/57b
.. and take Vol off of Zendikar.
Id say it’s almost confirmed that Vol is going to be on a card in a Zendikar set.
He looks to be turning evil but im doubting we’ll see another black PW (Liliana, Sorin AND Vol?) So I couldn’t tell you what exactly his colors will be but It’s pretty clear that he’s on Zendikar.
I also think there’s been a little bit of confusion about Liliana and Garruk.. I don’t think it’s been confirmed that theyre actually on Zendikar. Garruk tells Jace to be careful while JACE is on Zendikar.. but I think he’s chasing her somewhere else, for the veil. I think people just assume that Liliana’s new book is going to include that scene and is confirmed to feature Jace at around the same time and therefore have something to do with Zendikar. But I think Vol is more likely than either of those walkers for RotE. Though I can’t see them having an entire book about Liliana and not releasing another version at some point.. also.. wouldn’t it be cool to release a NEW Liliana, never before seen.. in a core set?!
Not sure if you meant to imply that BSA won’t be printed in M11.. but I definitely think Baneslayer will be in M11.. I doubt they want to simultaneously piss off anyone with a 200$ playset and miss an opportunity to sell packs of cards. Plus it’s just such an.. important card right now.
I agree with the rest though I’m betting they’ll just release more Planechase as opposed to creating anything new. They’ve already got a bunch of stuff going every year with dual decks, premium decks, FTV, novels as well as the normal expansions. Its pretty close to saturation at this point, right?
I also agree that some of the Planeswalker speculation is unfounded. I say Vol or no one.
The predicition may not have been clear, but I was trying to say there would be a ‘core’ planeswalker in Rise of the Eldrazi.
I wasn’t counting out any other planeswalkers from Worldwake (likely where we’ll see Vol).
I thought Garruk and Liliana were still on Ravnica according to the comics.
im hoping that they will make a new kraken or a kraken type planeswalekr considering they made quest for ulas temple without an ula so ula will hopefully show up somewhere
Some new planechase would be nice. Cascade rotating out will definitely bring some control back. Right now the best you can do is mind break trap a heavy cascade run.
I dunno, I liked the sliver deck. I also think its unfair to always compare it to the Exiled set. Its like apples and oranges. Exiled is a set of 15 cards, not a product that has to be a playable deck as well as appease the fans. Exiled’s theme was also banned cards, so of course you’re gonna get a group of the most powerful and iconic cards banned in magic.
My point was not to compare the two in value, only to show that WotC always does better the second and third time around with new products.
Rise of the Eldrazi is stand-alone. Therefore, it’s a real possibility that there will be more than one PW in the set… Sarkhan and Lilliana maybe?
I would love to see the return of MBC. One of my all time favorite decks (Circa Odyssey block). Also, maybe they will do an Ob Nixilis Planeswalker? He could regain his spark (wishful thinking perhaps). I miss the mono color metagame though so I can’t wait for Alara to die.
Maybe this isn’t the time or place for this rant but here goes..
The problem with Alara.. or a block LIKE Alara is that everythign has to be built AROUND it for two entire years. Each set you HAVE to keep releasing dual lands.. color bonused cards like Kird Ape (cards like this are confirmed to be featured in WWK) etc. You will never be rid of the design that was put in to Alara even after it rotates out. Zendikar is forever tained by the measures they used to try and keep an All Gold set viable.
I can’t wait for it to rotate out and free developer’s hands in terms of coming up with a great mono-colored meta. Right now, even new cards are looked at like “How can I fit this into Jund/Naya/Grixis.”
Yes, but it would have worked without a set that was ENTIRELY gold thrown into the mix, I think.
You may be right about Ob Nixilis, once they give a hint in the flavor text that extreme it would be hard to get away with not having it go somewhere.
I want a black tainted Garruk.
Awww…no love for white? Yes I know Ajani, Ajani, and Elspeth are all solid constructed playable, but two of those were released over a year ago and likely won’t ever be back. Between GvL, Jund, and 2 of the 3 Zen planeswalkers, I’m getting a little tired of BG saturation…and something has to knock Baneslayer down a peg.
So your suggesting we need another white card to knock Baneslayer (a white card) down a peg. And you are saying Elpeth (the best planeswalker ever) isn’t good enough for white?
White had its heyday during M10. The other colors are simply catching up.
I want still good illustrations in Magic cards ! (sorry for my english, my blog is in french)
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/ld/60
In this article, Tom LaPille talks about his Future Future League deck on Oct 16 2009, which contains Baneslayer Angel. FFL decks for that date should be ZEN-M11-Lights/Camera/Action standard. It therefore seems likely that this means that Baneslayer Angel is in M11.
. . . I’m sorry, is this a joke?
Elvish Archdruid is the new baseline elf lord. Why on earth would it be removed after only one year? Cryptic Command oppressed entire nations of FNM during its time in Standard. Why would it ever come back?
Do you work for Wizards? Do you know someone who does? There is no other justification for making such frankly outlandish claims.
Nope, this is no joke. And no I don’t think they will reprint all the lords in M11. Also, they need some cool new rare cycles, so why not the Commands?
Keep in mind these are predictions, not previews.