At Gathering Magic, community is everything. We absolutely love our twitter friends, forum members, loyal commentors and even our hatemailers! So that is why, from time to time, we give each of you a chance to share in the ever-brightening limelight that shines splendidly over this realm. In this mailbag, you’ll find questions from old-time members, first time tweeters and even a Wizards of the Coast R&D member! So sit back, relax and watch the knowledge bombs drop.
Well, well well… look what the.. very large cat dragged in. Looks like all of the rumors about Rise of the Eldrazi were true! Annihilator was predicted months ago as well as the colorless nature and hugeness of these guys. One interesting thing of note is the lack of Indestructibility. Doom Bladers unite! Also, check out that sweet almost full frame art! Gorgeous! I also like the other two abilities as well. The collector’s number seems to be out of place.. artifacts/colorless cards are usually higher up in the set number while this one is a the front end (6/248). Is the entire set colorless?!! Or is it just a new way of numbering for non-colorless, non-artifact spells?! Speculate away in this thread or on our Rise of the Eldrazi spoiler page. Be sure to check out the full reveal at DailyMTG as well. It’s worth watching!
Arix: If you could eliminate a colour, what would it be?
The premise of this question is sort of like asking “which limb would you remove if you were forced to choose one?” Each of the colors is so packed with flavor, history and nostalgia that losing one would be like losing an old friend. That’s why I know I’m going to need a snowshovel to get through the pile of hatemail coming my way after I say this.. If I were forced, at wand-point, to eliminate a color, it would have to be white. Of all the colors, I think white is the least unique and its abilities could easily be parsed with the other colors. Blue is already quite defensive and could absorb that aspect of the color. Black already mirrors white in creature destruction and graveyard manipulation. Angels and soldiers aren’t a critical part of the game, to me as they’re fairly simple to replicate in other colors. Again, horrible, horrible, unfair question, Arix.. but I think White is the answer.
rianad: If you were to have a tourney with all of “the deck’s” from previous sets which would come out on top?
I actually posed the question of Fae v. Jund to our twitterers the other day and it was almost a 50/50 split between the answers! It’s really tough to judge a “the deck” outside of its own format. The quick answer to your question would probably be the “Turn 2 Win” channel-fireball decks from the legacy days. Or maybe the Dark Ritual / Hymn to Tourach / Hypnotic Specter decks that I always wished I were around for. I think a more interesting and workable question/answer would be to compare two “The Decks” from the same era. Jund vs. Fae? I’d put money on Fae. If the leeches start landing on turn two you’re going to have problems, but if you can keep blightning at bay with Negate, and Glen Elendra, Archmage I think you’ll be set with your evasive creatures and board lockdown.
slickmickers: Will there ever be a term for “can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control”? if so, what will it be?
Probably not. But if there were, it would be called “No Touchy!“
Twinblaze: If you were to have a tournament with every Theme Deck and Intro Pack ever made, which one would win?
I think the “Premium Sliver Deck” could have used a few more rares but it is definitely one of the strongest preconstructed decks ever printed. I’ve also had a lot of success with the “Jace Deck” in Jace vs. Chandra. I wasn’t around for the Tempest slivers or any of the other classic precons but generally speaking, cards are more powerful today anyhow so I’d go with one of the planeswalker’s decks or the Premium Sliver deck.
mtgradio: Favorite EDH general? Or favorite “hidden gem” cards for EDH? (If you play EDH that is)
Well, I think the best general is different from my favorite. I personally enjoy the bigger generals who only come out once or twice but are always lurking in the background with game-winning abilities like Oona, Queen of the Fae, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, or even Lorthos, the Tidemaker. But that’s just me. Other people tend to play generals that are 3CMC and have some bonkers ability like “Suspend Darksteel Colossus for 2, please”. Did that sound bitter?
mturian: How come there are only 5 colors in Magic?
However much Mike Turian wishes there would be both “Green” and “Dark Green” in Magic the Gathering- it ain’t happening. I think you could make a strong case that Artifacts are more or less their own color. Though they can be used by other colors, they still have their own unique strengths and weaknesses and tribal elements. There are only so many things you can do in Magic the Gathering. If you think about the abilities on cards in the core sets, are there any abilities that are “colorless” that you could really divvy up to another, 6th color? R&D would have to either take abilities from the other colors or just start making up stuff for this potential new color. Both of which aren’t very likely or desirable. I think there’s something to be said for simplicity in a game that revels in its own complicatedness. Adding another, entire color would change the game fundamentally, and while I’m not afraid of change once in a while, I am in love with the fundamentals of Magic the Gathering. I could see something like the Eldrazi sort of being their own “color” for a set or two but a permanent change to the color wheel would be a disaster. Don’t do it Mike! Keep fighting for the fundamentals! Freeedooooooooom!!!!
10 cards would need their own article! I think Fireball is one of the more satisfying cards to draw, cast and split into two or three targets! I’m also having fun with Treasure Hunt because, for some unknown reason, I’m averaging a 3 card draw with that puppy! Great feeling to draw 3 or 4 for two mana.
thephoenix5: How many allies is ‘critical mass’ in a draft deck? What is the leading archtype in ZZW?
I think you need to look for quality over quantity when playing allies. That Jwari Shapeshifter isn’t going to help you if you aren’t playing quality allies. I’ve even put allies in a non-ally deck just because they’re a 2/2 for two! – Kandazu Blademaster comes to mind as an “always play” for me. As far as the leading archetype.. I’ve seen a lot of white equipment decks (Basilisk Collar?!) taking tournaments as well as the old landfall ZEN decks that dominated ZZZ.
I’m no judge, but.. a clone of a permanent is a clone of the permanent without any effects applied to it. It doesn’t matter if you pumped up your Shivan Dragon before you Cloned it. The Clone would come in to play as a brand new, just cast, creature. In your scenario, you would get a copy of an unanimated man-land (or 5 if you kicked it!) Feel free to activate them all if you’ve got the 20 mana!
mtgcolorpie: What’s your preferred block structure? Two Mini-Blocks (Big-Small-Big-Small), Regular (Alara) Or U (Big-Small-Big)? Other?
I don’t really mind any of the combinations we’ve seen so far. I like the new system (something new every 3 months) because it doesn’t leave people waiting six months for a new set. I suppose, if I had to choose, I’d prefer Alara’s structure. I’m excited for Rise of the Eldrazi of course, but one has to wonder how many boxes of it I’ll have to buy to get what I need in the large set! I don’t mind the small sets at all (as long as they’re done well). I was almost as excited for WWK as I was for ZEN. But maybe that was more because of my new BFF…
Baneslayer Angel has the tactile advantage, for obvious reasons. But if the Persecutor brought his Trader friend from the Bazzar, I think things might be exponentially more awkward.
RobertEStevens: If you cascade into a card with kicker/multikicker, can you pay the kicker/multikicker cost?
Yep, happened in the final match (Jund vs. Jund) at Pro Tour San Diego actually. Bloodbraid Elf cascaded into a Goblin Ruinblaster which was then kicked. Deadly!
h2o_ohmalley: How do you see Magic evolving in the next few years, and yourself along with it?
M10 was a big turning point for Magic. Whatever your opinions of the Alara block, you have to admit that it is one of those “love it or hate it” expansions. % 100 gold sets get a lot of people excited but alienate a lot of the casual, new players who don’t have the $200 mana base, or even the skills to pull off a proper tri-color deck. M10 did an about-face from Alara and firmly declared that the colorwheel was back. Zendikar has followed up with more of that philosophy. That background established- I think Magic should and will continue towards a more wholistic approach to creating and marketing their cards. I’ve written about this in almost every article in the past year but I’ll say it again- Magic needs to appeal to the masses. If fantasy like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter can take the world by storm, Magic can too. I hope it will keep moving in the direction I see it heading now. The Wii-methodology- The more players in the game, the healthier it will be for everyone. Bigger prizes, more tournaments, more cards, more interesting side products, etc.
Personally, I’ve been trying to sharpen my MTGO skills lately and want to start really trying for Pro Tour invites online this year. I think Magic will become more and more integrated with the digital world. I’ve written about that as well. The future of Magic looks very bright and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it more “main-streamed” some time in the next few years!
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Sigh, you forgot the best answer for Turian: There’s only five colors on the back of the Magic card. They can’t fit another color back there without screwing everything else up!
Good job on the mailbag.
Hmm.. As much as I LOVE the idea of drafting a completely colorless set, I don’t see it happening. Sure, it’s got the collector number ‘6′ but its name starts with the letter ‘K’. So unless there are only 5 cards starting with ‘J’ and up it’s probably “just a new way of numbering for non-colorless, non-artifact spells”, as you speculated.
It’s not a new way, we’ve never seen just colorless spells before so it would make sense for them to be either at the beginning or the end of the set. The order for numbering has been:
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Gold
Hybrid
Artifact
Non-Basic Land
Basic Land
There are only two rational spaces to put colorless – at the beginning or after hybrid. They just picked the beginning.
So I clicked the link for that BFF pic, expecting to see Reinhart and Jace together. Instead, I see some chick fondling the Mind Sculptor. Reinhart, did you know about this? Did you do something to drive Jace away? Maybe you can win him back!
Also:
“Tezzeret is the droid you’re looking for.” <— Full of win and awesome.
So the Eldrazi are just huge creatures that kill everybody, I was hoping for so much more! Question, why did Sorin and the other two imprison the Eldrazi? If they (the Eldrazi) aren’t a threat to the multiverse just Zendikar (because they’re not planeswalkers) then why go to all that trouble just to stop them, can anyone one see Sorin bothering to help a world without gaining anything!?
Maybe he wasted all of his Blades on Elves and Kithkin!
In all seriousness, I think you’ll be more terrified of these guys once RoE is fully revealed and has tons of ways to buff them, get them out faster etc. Eldrazi Monument comes to mind as a nice card to pair with this guy!
they dont kill everyone they destroy everything the defending player sacs permanents. i agree witht the whole only a threat to zen tho, but you never know their may be a card that justifies them being able to travel the multiverse.
We have learned in the past that it’s possible to travel between planes without being a planeswalker. For instance, the Weatherlight was able to traverse planes, as was the entire Phyrexian army.
One funny thought about our new Eldrazi friend: What is up with the name? Apparently this massive being is a filthy liar. Such a filthy liar that he butchers the truth!
As if destroying everything in his wake wasn’t enough….
Maybe he promises that he’ll give you back the permanents you sacrificed, and then doesn’t?
Yeah, I agree with you, Leaf. When I read his name, I expected subtle, tricky abilities. Instead, he’s just “woohoo card advantage”.
Yeah, I expected the Eldrazi to be both powerful and big but especially cunning (just like Nicol Bolas), but so far they just seem to be giant killers!
(Sigh…) Looks like I’m going to be bored between June and October. Oh wait, everybody’s predicting the next block is Phyrexian/Mirrodin artifacts. I’ll be bored until October 2011.
so guys how do u expect the plane answer to defeating the eldrazi ? um elves get sacd cuz of annilator sorin thows a doom blade baaammmmm idk maybe lil guys have somewhat a chance going super aggro idk long live the vamps o and reinhart ima make i fully blue deck wahahahahahha
No, No troll, at least I hope I’m not. I just run 3 Keepers of Progenitus, pulling at least 1 per match since I got them. I’m also thinking that most people are going to run just two, allowing for some breathing room once one exits play with it’s arse being burned alive. If they choose to use four, then paths will be abused.
I’m still confused. Why is a 12/12 creature “Fireball fodder” instead of “a prime target for Path”? And what does Keeper of Progenitus have to do with anything?
The Keeper is why I consider it fireball fodder, it doubles my mana output, allowing for a turn six shot against the ‘drazi, but I also don’t like wasting absolute kill cards more then I have to.
Let’s just chalk this one up to different preferences?
Ah, I think I understand you now. You’re saying that you personally play a mana-rich deck that uses Fireball, and you see this card as one that doesn’t get out of your Fireball range and into “must Path it” territory. Is that right? If so, then sure, I can see why you might be disappointed. It’s just that not many people are using Keeper or Fireball, and I’ve never seen your deck. :D
Also consider the +4 cards that is drawn when he is played. This guy gets pathed and you lose a bunch of tempo but that’s +6 cards right there. In a deck that doesn’t have to include blue. Granted it is 10 mana, but people are cheating Iona in to play all the time.
But remember that the card drawing triggers on casting him, not getting him onto the battlefield. So tricks like Summoning Trap (often used with Iona) won’t get you those cards. Of course, they still get you a 12/12 with Annihilator 4….
Seriously, I am very disappointed with that card. I hope the other Eldrazi aren’t like this. It looks like one of those cards that a 12 year old who just started playing would create. If this is the most powerful eldrazi out of all of them, I’m okay with it; but seeing as how they released this one and released it so early, that’s probably not the case.
It was cool to see it rise out and destroy the Wizards site though.
It could well be the most powerful, just because it was spoilered first doesn’t mean it isn’t good (quite the contrary actually, both Jace and Sorin were spoilered first, and they are two of the best cards of Zendikar/Worldwake).
Careful using the word “best”. Sorin hasn’t made a splash on the tournament scene, yet if he was any cooler the multiverse would freeze. So “best” depends on which of those factors you deem most relevant.
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I actually posed the question of Fae v. Jund to our twitterers the other day and it was almost a 50/50 split between the answers! It’s really tough to judge a “the deck” outside of its own format. The quick answer to your question would probably be the “Turn 2 Win” channel-fireball decks from the legacy days. Or maybe the Dark Ritual / Hymn to Tourach / Hypnotic Specter decks that I always wished I were around for. I think a more interesting and workable question/answer would be to compare two “The Decks” from the same era. Jund vs. Fae? I’d put money on Fae. If the leeches start landing on turn two you’re going to have problems, but if you can keep blightning at bay with Negate, and Glen Elendra, Archmage I think you’ll be set with your evasive creatures and board lockdown.
However much Mike Turian wishes there would be both “Green” and “Dark Green” in Magic the Gathering- it ain’t happening. I think you could make a strong case that Artifacts are more or less their own color. Though they can be used by other colors, they still have their own unique strengths and weaknesses and tribal elements. There are only so many things you can do in Magic the Gathering. If you think about the abilities on cards in the core sets, are there any abilities that are “colorless” that you could really divvy up to another, 6th color? R&D would have to either take abilities from the other colors or just start making up stuff for this potential new color. Both of which aren’t very likely or desirable. I think there’s something to be said for simplicity in a game that revels in its own complicatedness. Adding another, entire color would change the game fundamentally, and while I’m not afraid of change once in a while, I am in love with the fundamentals of Magic the Gathering. I could see something like the Eldrazi sort of being their own “color” for a set or two but a permanent change to the color wheel would be a disaster. Don’t do it Mike! Keep fighting for the fundamentals! Freeedooooooooom!!!!
M10 was a big turning point for Magic. Whatever your opinions of the Alara block, you have to admit that it is one of those “love it or hate it” expansions. % 100 gold sets get a lot of people excited but alienate a lot of the casual, new players who don’t have the $200 mana base, or even the skills to pull off a proper tri-color deck. M10 did an about-face from Alara and firmly declared that the colorwheel was back. Zendikar has followed up with more of that philosophy. That background established- I think Magic should and will continue towards a more wholistic approach to creating and marketing their cards. I’ve written about this in almost every article in the past year but I’ll say it again- Magic needs to appeal to the masses. If fantasy like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter can take the world by storm, Magic can too. I hope it will keep moving in the direction I see it heading now. The Wii-methodology- The more players in the game, the healthier it will be for everyone. Bigger prizes, more tournaments, more cards, more interesting side products, etc.
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Sigh, you forgot the best answer for Turian: There’s only five colors on the back of the Magic card. They can’t fit another color back there without screwing everything else up!
Good job on the mailbag.
It was so obvious! I took it into a whole “Not-obvious” direction! Darn you Mike Turian! I’ll get you next time!
hm…. if colorless is indeed the sixth color…. then the beige background at the back of the card could possibly the legendary sixth color of magic
That clip never gets old.
Hmm.. As much as I LOVE the idea of drafting a completely colorless set, I don’t see it happening. Sure, it’s got the collector number ‘6′ but its name starts with the letter ‘K’. So unless there are only 5 cards starting with ‘J’ and up it’s probably “just a new way of numbering for non-colorless, non-artifact spells”, as you speculated.
It’s not a new way, we’ve never seen just colorless spells before so it would make sense for them to be either at the beginning or the end of the set. The order for numbering has been:
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Gold
Hybrid
Artifact
Non-Basic Land
Basic Land
There are only two rational spaces to put colorless – at the beginning or after hybrid. They just picked the beginning.
In that case, since it is #6 in the set, that means there would be at least 5 more eldrazi/colorless spells in the set.
So I clicked the link for that BFF pic, expecting to see Reinhart and Jace together. Instead, I see some chick fondling the Mind Sculptor. Reinhart, did you know about this? Did you do something to drive Jace away? Maybe you can win him back!
Also:
“Tezzeret is the droid you’re looking for.” <— Full of win and awesome.
So the Eldrazi are just huge creatures that kill everybody, I was hoping for so much more! Question, why did Sorin and the other two imprison the Eldrazi? If they (the Eldrazi) aren’t a threat to the multiverse just Zendikar (because they’re not planeswalkers) then why go to all that trouble just to stop them, can anyone one see Sorin bothering to help a world without gaining anything!?
Ya! Why doesn’t Sorin just cast Doom Blade!?
Maybe he wasted all of his Blades on Elves and Kithkin!
In all seriousness, I think you’ll be more terrified of these guys once RoE is fully revealed and has tons of ways to buff them, get them out faster etc. Eldrazi Monument comes to mind as a nice card to pair with this guy!
they dont kill everyone they destroy everything the defending player sacs permanents. i agree witht the whole only a threat to zen tho, but you never know their may be a card that justifies them being able to travel the multiverse.
We have learned in the past that it’s possible to travel between planes without being a planeswalker. For instance, the Weatherlight was able to traverse planes, as was the entire Phyrexian army.
One funny thought about our new Eldrazi friend: What is up with the name? Apparently this massive being is a filthy liar. Such a filthy liar that he butchers the truth!
As if destroying everything in his wake wasn’t enough….
Maybe he promises that he’ll give you back the permanents you sacrificed, and then doesn’t?
Yeah, I agree with you, Leaf. When I read his name, I expected subtle, tricky abilities. Instead, he’s just “woohoo card advantage”.
Or maybe Truth was a city and he Butchered it?
Yeah, I expected the Eldrazi to be both powerful and big but especially cunning (just like Nicol Bolas), but so far they just seem to be giant killers!
I thought these were only the titans though, so wouldn’t there be some sort of tricky eldrazi leader behind everything?
I would hope so
(Sigh…) Looks like I’m going to be bored between June and October. Oh wait, everybody’s predicting the next block is Phyrexian/Mirrodin artifacts. I’ll be bored until October 2011.
so guys how do u expect the plane answer to defeating the eldrazi ? um elves get sacd cuz of annilator sorin thows a doom blade baaammmmm idk maybe lil guys have somewhat a chance going super aggro idk long live the vamps o and reinhart ima make i fully blue deck wahahahahahha
Great article, hope to see more like it. Thanks for getting to my question and appreciate the spoiler as always.
So utterly tarded for the first eldrazi revealed. I was expecting something that would make its self a prime target for a path, not fireball fodder.
Are you looking at the same card everyone else is? It IS a target for Path, especially given the re-shuffling ability.
…..or did I just fall for a troll?
No, No troll, at least I hope I’m not. I just run 3 Keepers of Progenitus, pulling at least 1 per match since I got them. I’m also thinking that most people are going to run just two, allowing for some breathing room once one exits play with it’s arse being burned alive. If they choose to use four, then paths will be abused.
I’m still confused. Why is a 12/12 creature “Fireball fodder” instead of “a prime target for Path”? And what does Keeper of Progenitus have to do with anything?
The Keeper is why I consider it fireball fodder, it doubles my mana output, allowing for a turn six shot against the ‘drazi, but I also don’t like wasting absolute kill cards more then I have to.
Let’s just chalk this one up to different preferences?
Ah, I think I understand you now. You’re saying that you personally play a mana-rich deck that uses Fireball, and you see this card as one that doesn’t get out of your Fireball range and into “must Path it” territory. Is that right? If so, then sure, I can see why you might be disappointed. It’s just that not many people are using Keeper or Fireball, and I’ve never seen your deck. :D
Also consider the +4 cards that is drawn when he is played. This guy gets pathed and you lose a bunch of tempo but that’s +6 cards right there. In a deck that doesn’t have to include blue. Granted it is 10 mana, but people are cheating Iona in to play all the time.
But remember that the card drawing triggers on casting him, not getting him onto the battlefield. So tricks like Summoning Trap (often used with Iona) won’t get you those cards. Of course, they still get you a 12/12 with Annihilator 4….
I strongly hope all the Eldrazi aren’t this overpowered.
I love that movie (Downfall) – the guy they got to play Hitler is an amazing actor.
The next time I hear you complain about Counterspell not being reprinted, it’s DDoS time.
“Can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control” is called “trollshroud” I think.
He meant an actual thing like flashback or trample. People call it troll shroud because asetic troll was printed with it first.
Seriously, I am very disappointed with that card. I hope the other Eldrazi aren’t like this. It looks like one of those cards that a 12 year old who just started playing would create. If this is the most powerful eldrazi out of all of them, I’m okay with it; but seeing as how they released this one and released it so early, that’s probably not the case.
It was cool to see it rise out and destroy the Wizards site though.
It could well be the most powerful, just because it was spoilered first doesn’t mean it isn’t good (quite the contrary actually, both Jace and Sorin were spoilered first, and they are two of the best cards of Zendikar/Worldwake).
Careful using the word “best”. Sorin hasn’t made a splash on the tournament scene, yet if he was any cooler the multiverse would freeze. So “best” depends on which of those factors you deem most relevant.
spoiled, sorry.
I like spoilered more, actually. Can I start using it?
Finally, a card truly worthy of the Mythic classification.
rise of the eldrazi is rediculas and yu gi oh
Arix: Who’s the greatest Dragon in Magic?
Dragon Whelp. So much potential! (and so cute!)
WHAT THE HECK! its Nicol Bolas!
Nicol Bolas is the greatest ragon to ever have luved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!