#signature spellbook: jace

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Counterspell

Artist: Jason Chan TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[art-of-mtg]

Mystical Tutor (Signature Spellbook: Jace) - Yongjae Choi

[jaceoshi]

waited too long to buy the jace signature spellbook in my cart and now it’s $70… why did they have to unban gifts ungiven……….

[whatsthatmagiccard]

what sets do these symbols correspond with?

Signature Spellbook: Jace, Signature Spellbook: Gideon, Zendikar Rising Commander, and From the Vault: Lore. All were on sight.

[chelsea-beleren-vess]

Yeah!

My foil was a Mystical Tutor

[jace-beleren]

THE BOI HIMSELF!! The packaging for the spellbook is incredible, from the foil box to the pack itself. Plus I was rewarded in the first book with a foil Jace, as is only fitting. 1 foil negate and 1 foil counterspell obtained via trades, only 3 more of each to go

[mtg-realm]

Magic: the Gathering - Signature Spellbook: Jace

Signature Spellbook: Jace is a collection of eight cards plus one random premium foil version of one of those eight cards for the serious blue mage. Each card has Jace-flavored art and special frames just for this set.  For a suggested retail price of twenty clams (USD), here are the following 'spells' in this spellbook -

MORE DETAILS - HERE - and - HERE.

• Jace Beleren, illus. Aleski Briclot.

• Blue Elemental Blast, illus. Slawomir Maniak.  "Contrary to popular wisdom, I find it's best to fight fire with its opposite."

• Brainstorm, illus. Daarken.  "I have a plan. Actually, I have three."

• Counterspell, illus. Jason Chan.

• Gifts Ungiven, illus. Chris Rallis.

• Mystical Tutor, illus. Yongjae Choi.  "It's not just what you know. It's knowing where to find what you don't."

• Negate, illus. Jason Rainville.  Centered rules text, no flavour text.

• Threads of Disloyalty, illus. Tyler Jacobson.  "Every thought is a string. You just have to find the right ones to pull."

[zargasheth]

[radramblog]

Planeswalkers in Cube: White

It’s been a while since I’ve discussed cube, I think, and also a while since I’ve just dived into a stupidly long topic without thinking too hard about it. And so here we go.

Planeswalkers are kind of in an interesting place in Cubes. Most of the time, they’re powerful midrange or control threats, but a lot of them have more specialised roles that can make them better suited to particular cubes. They’re also popular to include, seeing as they’re big, cool, and splashy, and a lot of people really like playing with them. What home exists for something like Liliana, Death’s Majesty in any other format? (I know it’s fine in commander hush)

However, you can only afford so many slots for Walkers in your cube, depending on how you treat them. And so, you’re not going to see all of them very often. Here, we’re going to go through all of them, colour by colour, and figure out why you should or shouldn’t play them, and which go better in different builds. Starting off, as many things do, with Mono-White.

Some ground rules: I’m not going to talk about the Planeswalker deck cards in this post, because the answer to whether you should play them is pretty much universally “no, why”. I’m also not going to talk about the creature->planeswalker transform cards, because they get treated more like creatures in a Cube environment. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy is kinda just Merfolk Looter.

My next point before I talk actual cards: I’m far from an expert on this sort of thing, and this is going to be my opinions! If you want a different perspective, Season 4 episode 6 of Solely Singleton is a great podcast about this exact topic, though it’s two and a half years old at this point so some things might be a bit outdated.

Finally: White is a colour that tends to get more good Planeswalkers than other colours. Turns out, most Gideons and token-producing walkers are good in slower decks, who’d a thunk it. So unlike, say, Black, the average here is a bit higher than most of the time.

Let’s get into it!

 Ajani Goldmane

Ajani is kind of a classic, but the original iteration is kind of showing its 14 years of age. It’s a 4-mana walker (which is a very competitive slot) with a +1 that doesn’t really do anything, a turn-3 ultimate that dies to removal, and while the minus is good (see cards like Unbreakable Formation, or other Ajanis), it requires a board and isn’t really worth a four mana cast.

I had thought he’d be good in more budget lists, though. Except he hasn’t been printed since 2010 and so even though he sees no play he’s still like 5 bucks. So I’d pass on this version of cat dad.

 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

On the other hand, Elspeth pt.1 is still one of the best Planeswalkers you can play. She makes blockers for days, can push through some serious damage, and does both of those things while getting more resilient rather than less. Her ultimate might not be game-breaking, but since she’s constantly pushing towards it anyway you don’t really mind. Also she’s only 4 mana, holy moly.

Elspeth is good in aggro, good in midrange, and arguably still more than playable in control. At 12ish dollars, it’s not the ideal price point, but if you can afford it (or have one sitting around), she’s absolutely worth the include.

 Gideon Jura

Gideon 1 is a bit more specific. Aggro is not going to want him, seeing as the minus does basically nothing in that deck and the +2 isn’t really worth your time at 5 mana. On the other hand, this card is nuts in control. It’s a hard-to-kill wincon that is also removal that fuels its own condition and survives boardwipes. Gideon Jura is a chad in those decks, and kind of takes over the game the moment he comes down.

The other nice thing about Gideon Jura is that due to recent reprints in Mystery Booster and his Signature Spellbook, as well as not being very good in Commander, he’s ludicrously cheap. You can get one of these for under a dollar, making it perfect for budget cubes (that still include rares). Although, at that point, he might be warping to a cheaper format where aggro is worse, so keep an eye on him.

 Elspeth Tirel

Elspeth’s second incarnation (which is the one with her last name, because ???) is significantly worse than her first. If you’re in a slower deck where you want the ultimate, she’s probably not going to live to make it there. If you want the tokens, there are better options at cheaper mana costs. And you don’t want the +2, unless you somehow have a decent board against a red aggro deck.

I remember really liking this card when I first started playing Magic. That was a long time ago, and we have had much better options in the near-decade since then.

 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

The first 3-mana walker on this list, and one that shows the conservativeness WoTC had when first testing them at that mana cost. Just kidding, this came out after Liliana of the Veil.

Ajani 3is theoretically fine in an aggressive deck, but white has some seriously good 3-drop creatures that you’d rather just cast instead. Because when your options are a Blade Splicer or putting a +1/+1 counter on your two drop…I’m taking that token. And let’s not act like this card has any place in a midrange or control deck.

 Gideon, Champion of Justice

This was the first Planeswalker I ever opened, so I have a soft spot for it. But not enough of one to put it in my cube.

As potentially threatening as this Gideon is, he basically doesn’t do anything? While token decks might have a hard time taking him out, seeing as his loyalty can get pretty huge against them, they can also just block him forever. The ultimate is a game-ender, but also would leave Gideon so small that your opponent might just have enough time to draw lands and get back in the game. And he doesn’t do anything to protect himself aside from get big, and doesn’t really progress your board, so. Sorry Gids, you’ll get them next time.

 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

Elspeths alternate being good, I guess. Elspeth, Sun’s Champion is basically unplayable outside of slow midrange or control, but is utterly incredible in those decks! She wipes out anything that would threaten her and makes enough blockers to easily protect either herself or you, and stalls long enough that those tokens can turn into a wincon via her ultimate.

It is not as universally powerful as the four-drop Elspeth, but the 6-drop one undeniably shapes the game when she hits the table. She stops aggro in its tracks, and nukes the shit out of midrange, especially green-based decks. I suppose there are times when she might be awkward to cast because she hits your own threats…but then just hold her back or +1, dude.

 Ajani Steadfast

Ajani Steadfast is kind of trying to be a better version of Ajani Goldmane. And yet, funnily enough, the Vigilance on Goldmane’s -1 is so important, as is being a -1 instead of a -2, so he’s kind of in a similar tier. The loyalty counter upside is so utterly niche that it might as well not exist, but the +1 is unquestionably much better at least.

Like with Goldmane, Ajani Steadfast isn’t really doing anything at 4 that cheaper cards don’t do better. And he’s at about the same price point. At least the ultimate is better?

 Nahiri, the Lithomancer

Nahiri is really specific. Like, if you’re at a power level where you have equipment worth playing Nahiri with, then you’re probably at a power level where she’s completely outclassed by things like Angel of Invention or…I mean, most other playable 5s. And some unplayable ones.

…I just remembered this card has 3 starting loyalty. On a 5-drop walker. You can -2 her and she’ll die to literally a goblin token. I sure hope that Equipment you got had Living Weapon!

 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

The first 4-drop that really steps to Elspeth, Knight-Errant. This Gideon is kind of just good in any deck- aggro decks like a 5/5 top end that makes a token T1 or just is an unkillable Glorious Anthem, midrange loves an infinite source of 2/2 to block or beat down with, and control loves an infinite source of blockers that can clean up after a wipe. He’s just kind of a disgusting piece of cardboard for a whole variety of decks, making him easily one of the best walkers in the entire format.

Also he’s…surprisingly cheap? After one “real” printing, and being on The List (which doesn’t do much, trust me), Gideon Ally of Zendikar is still only like 5 bucks. So if you can justify spending that much on one card…probably do that? He won’t let you down.

 Gideon of the Trials

Unlike our first 3-mana walker, this one is more than playable in slower decks. Gideon of the Trials is kind of awkward for aggressive decks, put what he does do is effectively remove some seriously big threats, adjust for whichever is the biggest problem around, and still punches peoples as a 4/4 Gideon. And he also has the unique benefit of being a Planeswalker that makes combo decks think twice, given that Emblem- though you’ll still go to 0 life if Splinter Twin or a similar combo is in play, and then die since they probably killed him too there.

Once again, though, this card is pretty cheap, sitting at about 3 bucks. As we get towards the more recent end of this list, a lot of these cards are going to look like that. I remember when I made my first cube, with the restriction of “Rares/Mythics that are under $2 US”, and getting 0 white Planeswalkers. I was playing the Planeswalker deck Gideon, for fuck’s sake! Things are so much better now.

Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants

I could never really get a good read on this Ajani. It’s obviously something control doesn’t want, and the +1 isn’t doing a huge amount in midrange decks. But the -2 is powerful in creature-based decks, and the +1 is solid for quicker builds, but not enough to really justify 4 mana? There’s a lot of power here, but the parts kind of form a strange whole.

I guess it depends a lot on how deep that 2-drop slot is in your cube, and how deep the 4-drop slot is. Because you kinda need good 2s and medium 4s for Ajani to really shine. I’m a little bothered by how meh Ajanis are apparently in general in Cube, but the multicoloured ones are a bit more solid.

 Gideon Blackblade

Take Gideon of the Trials, make it not playable in control, and make it really fucking good in aggressive decks. There you go, that’s Gideon Blackblade. Cheap in money and in mana, he’s here to die, aside from the part where he’s hard to kill.

The +1 on this card is not super great, but you have to keep in mind that you get that at the same time as Gideon being a creature. Honestly, it’s kind of easier to think of this card as a creature with a triggered ability than as a planeswalker, at least as far as cube is concerned. It also helps that the -6 isn’t actually that hard to hit, considering you can keep a creature back by giving it vigilance. He’s quite solid, and might just be the best aggro walker White gets. Certainly at 3, at least.

 Teyo, the Shieldmage

A bit of a step down from our last 3-drop, Teyo is clearly not built for the same formats as Gideon Blackblade. But with him, we can talk about weaker formats, like Peasant, where Teyo is…still not great? 3 mana gets you a pair of 0/3s and immunity to burn spells, which I suppose control might like in formats where you don’t really get board wipes, but I can’t imagine any other deck wanting him. And that’s not a great place to be.

 The Wanderer

Much like Teyo, I don’t think even Peasant wants this. I do think it’s kinda better- their static abilities are virtually the same, except Mx. ??? here extends the burn protection to your creatures. And they do serve as removal, but its both expensive and narrow. Like, how often is this just going to kill a 4/4 and then get killed by their 2/2? I wouldn’t play Smite the Monstrous but it gains 2 life.

I’m interested to see this character return at some point. Maybe next time they can be playable. Some of the uncommon walkers from WAR were great for Peasant (and some even in higher formats), but this isn’t one of them.

 Serra the Benevolent

Okay, so. 4 mana Serra Angel that can stick around to make another one is quite powerful! Though the +2 basically does nothing, it’s still a +2, meaning you can get an unkillable Worship the turn after you play this if you aren’t under pressure, or go token into pump into token. Serra is clearly quite solid!

However, it suffers from two issues. One, it’s competing for that 4-drop slot, and is less playable than Elspeth or Gideon in slower decks since she makes tokens slower than those two do. The tokens are more threatening for sure, but token decks generally want more tokens rather than bigger tokens. And two: it’s more expensive than Gideon and similar in price to Elspeth, not to mention another card we’ll get to later, so she’s not even getting into cheaper cubes. Since a lot of cube slots like this are taken by cards with more general playability, Serra is going to sit on the sidelines more often than she maybe should. If you’re at like a 720 list, though, spare her a thought.

 Ajani, Strength of the Pride

Take everything I just said about Serra, and make it worse, basically. I suppose 4 mana for two Ajani’s Pridemates is fine, but the plus doesn’t do anything (unless you have those tokens, in which case it’s okay) and you are never activating that 0 unless you’re already winning.

Oh also he’s more expensive than she is and is still at the same mana cost. Yeah nah I wouldn’t bother. Ripper in my Cat EDH deck though.

 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis

This card is actually really interesting. Our last Elspeth is still mono-white, despite the art and flavour, but she almost doesn’t play like she is. I think most of the time, she’s likely to make 4 tokens and then probably cack it, but the Escape on this is really interesting. By the time you reach 6 mana, you probably will just have enough cards in the yard to cast this again.

I really don’t know how to interpret this card. She’s in my own cube, but I don’t remember seeing her cast yet, so that’s not really any help. My guess is that she’s mostly good in slower decks, but also making and pumping tokens does output a fair bit of damage over time. She’s only like a dollar, so maybe try her out? At least she won’t be an expensive mistake if she is one.

 Basri Ket

Mr. Sandman here is pretty much just a better Ajani, Caller of the Pride. The +1 does more, the -2 actually puts things on board and is better for aggressive decks to get value out of, and the ultimate is actually attainable. He’s basically aggro-only, but he’ll get the job done in those decks.

However, the 3-mana Gideons kind of just outshine Basri here. He does literal jack squat without a creature on board, and his -2 is quite weak with only one or two attacking creatures to work with. The ultimate is nice, but +1ing over and over is extremely bleh, and you probably have better things to do. So sorry, Basri, maybe next time.

 Grand Master of Flowers

Bahamut, you aren’t fooling anyone, it’s on the typeline. For reference, Monk of the Open Hand is a 1/1 for W that gets a +1/+1 counter if you cast two spells in a turn- so it’s not really worth running? And even if you do put it in your cube, there’s no guarantee you’ll have both in a deck, or want to play both in a deck…so…

Okay, fine, let’s assume you just get a copy of Monk of the Open Hand when you draft the card. I’m still not super enthused about this Planeswalker. The lockdown ability is going to miss more than you think it will, and a lot of the things it misses are the things likely to kill you. It can make a 1/1 every turn, but only one at a time, and if they exile it then the ability does stone nothing. And that “ultimate” takes forever to actually get to. Also it’s another 4-mana White Walker. I think I’ll pass on this one. Somehow, both Tiamat and Bahamut were disappointments.

 Teyo, Aegis Adept

I wasn’t sure whether or not to include this, but I didn’t really want to end on GMoF, so. I’ve done a whole post on the digital-only cards, and I do think Teyo, despite being a Planeswalker, is one of the less fucky ones. You will need to track a lot of things, though.

So how does the card stack up? Honestly, I think it’s surprisingly solid. Aggro probably isn’t that interested, though Lumbering Lightshield’s ETB (makes a random card in the opponent’s hand cost 1 more) could be a real pain if you’re lucky. It makes a 4/4 every other turn for a bit, which is quite solid, and the ultimate isn’t that unobtainable. And you don’t have to worry about money, because this could only ever exist as a proxy.

I’d be really interested to see how Teyo, Aegis Adept plays. I don’t think I’m likely to, outside of Arena-based cubes, with the whole stigma around these cards and the added layer of having to proxy them. But in an Arena cube, with a restricted list of cards he’s competing with (It’s Adversary of Tyrants forward), he could really shine.

 This concludes White Walkers, the post. Please join next week when we discuss Blue Walkers. Make your own Game of Thrones joke here, I haven’t watched or read it.

[incorrect-mtg-theories]

Translation Mishaps #1: French Jace’s Son

Hello everyone to what might become an irregular series, of us looking at mishaps brought forward by Magic’s translation into other languages. Now, a number of these will probably be related to French, since that’s the only non-english language I (mod Barrin) personnally speaks. But if you have ideas, don’t hesitate to submit them!

Now that this is out of the way, let’s get to the main subject, the reason you’re probably reading this. It all comes down to one card:

This card right there comes from Jace Beleren’s Signature Spellbook, an ensemble of spells that we’re told are closely tied to the planeswalker. The Signature Spellbook was only printed in English, but all the cards in it were reprints of cards that already existed. In this case, Threads of Disloyalty was a Betrayers of Kamigawa card that was translated in French by... Fils d’infidélité.

I assume a large majority of you don’t speak French, so let me explain this translation. It’s fairly literal, “Fils” is the plural version of “Fil” (and is pronounced the exact same, this ‘s’ is silent). It means Threads or Strings, and has an extra flavor point because it’s the word used to describe a puppet’s strings. “Infidélité” is a straightforward translation of Disloyalty (literally, “fidélité” means loyaty). “D’“ serves as a ‘of’ here.

So, this translation is straightforward, works and is well and good... Except... French, as most languages, is weird.

“Fils” is also a word by itself. It’s the singular or plural (they’re identical) version of the word that means “Son”. This time the ‘L’ is silent, for some reason. In written form, no way to separate “Fils” and “Fils” outside of the context they’re in.

“Infidélité” is used to mean Disloyalty approximately as often as Disloyalty is used in english, once in a blue moon. However, it has another meaning used way more commonly. “Infidélité” is a ‘proper’ way of describing a spouse cheating on their partner. This is the first meaning of the word every french people will go to.

So, when you put all of this together, Fils d’infidélité can have two (well, to be simple) meanings in French. Either “Threads of Disloyalty”, a made up thing that makes little sense, or a floral yet insulting way to talk about someone’s bastard son(s).

Here we come full circle. Thanks to the signature spellbook, we know that this card is intimately linked to the Planeswalker Jace Beleren. From that, we can deduce that the French version of Jace has at least one son running around somewhere, and that he was married at some point.

[housebeleren]

2020 Commander Products

Well, they promised us something big for Commander for 2020, and boy did they deliver. After this announcement, I’m beyond stoked for what next year is going to bring us in terms of goodies for our favorite format. Today, I’m going to just really quickly run through what products they’ve announced, and my thoughts for each. For the full rundown from Wizards, head to the mothership here: Big Things are Coming for Commander.

Commander 2020: Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths

So, first thing on the docket for next year, as far as Commander is concerned, is the Commander 2020 product. The big news here is that this time around, they’re going to tie the annual Commander release to the Spring set: Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths. These decks will focus heavily on new cards, just like previous Commander releases. So here’s what that means:

No Planeswalker Decks for Ikoria

New Legendary Creatures will all be flavored from Ikoria

The decks will center around Ikoria mechanics

Honestly, I like this quite a bit. This feels like the evolution of the four Eldraine Brawl decks, all of which were honestly pretty great. They also announced that for this release, they would go back to 5 decks, rather than 4, which honestly makes more sense anyway. Magic is built around the number 5.

As for no Planeswalker Decks, I can say I truly will not miss them. They always felt like a product designed for no one, because they’re not good enough to play as 60 card constructed (despite what Wizards said), but they also didn’t have enough playable singles in them to draw other players to buy them (with a few rare exceptions). So the only people who bought them were crazies like me who have completionism issues. Also, having “powered down” Planeswalkers was really... lame. It just made the coolest card type in the game feel more common (not as in rarity, as in un-special) and again, lame. So good riddance having Planeswalker decks with every set. Wizards has said that the Core Set release next year will have them, but honestly, the Core Set is where they belong. We don’t need them with every set.

The only thing I’m not sure about is if the Commander release being tied to a set will get restricting, if they intend to do it this way in future years. I really like the idea of Commander decks tied to specific planes in smaller numbers, but it is nice to have the major release that can pull from all of Magic’s history to find characters. So, given that they have a giant release at the end of 2020 specifically to address this need, I think having the set-themed ones for the main release will be fine. For future years, they’ll have to figure out that balance.

Commander Decks: Zendikar Rising

After the Summer Core Set normalcy, the Fall set Zendikar Rising will bring two Commander decks tied to it, also replacing the Planeswalker Decks for that release. These two decks will have more reprints and only a few new cards, so they’ll really be more “introductory” products, similar to Brawl decks or Planeswalker decks, which could be seen as a happy middle.

From the sound of it, the Zendikar Rising approach is what they are planning to use as the mold for most non-core sets going forward. Sets will come with 2 decks (maybe alternating Commander & Brawl?), with some focus on the themes of that set and providing some good reprints. That last piece is encouraging, because one of the issues with Planeswalker decks is that they are not a method to reprint needed staples, whereas these Commander decks might be.

Commander Collection: Green

Coming sometime slightly after the Zendikar Rising Commander decks will be a box set called Commander Collection: Green. From the sound of it, this will be the equivalent of the Signature Spellbook series, but I don’t think they confirmed if this is meant to replace those or if they will actually do both next year.

My hunch is they’ll only do the one, since there is only so much appetite for limited-print box sets every year. The good news is that they understand the audience who is looking for pimped out cards is mostly Commander, so focusing the cards on what’s playable in that format will serve them better than, for example, Signature Spellbook: Jace, which seemed to focus on cards for 60-card formats. The one thing I don’t like about this is that they plan to have a “normal” version and a “premium foil” version, which really just feels like a cash grab. I liked having the one random foil that they did in the Signature Spellbooks.

Of all the announcements, this one feels the most like a mixed bag to me.

Commander Legends

Of all the announcements, this one is the big one. A full 200+ card set, designed for drafting, AND designed for Commander players. 70 new Legends! A foil in every pack! Reprints! New Cards!

This is something a lot of Commander players have been requesting for years, and it sounds like a bunch of fun. I mean, Draft and Commander are the two best formats, what could possibly go wrong combining them? (The sarcasm was intentional, but truly, I am optimistic about this.)

Commander Legends will be next year’s innovation product, so that means it fills the slot that Battlebond, Conspiracy, and Modern Horizons have filled in recent years. What excites me about this is that it means there’s a huge opportunity here for them to add tons of copies of desperately needed reprints into the market, all in one go, and it honestly just sounds like a blast.

Final Thoughts

Okay, so now I just want to recap my general feelings about next year.

On the one hand, I’m really stoked about this suite of products. The single biggest issue for Commander as a format is that its popularity has produced a situation where Wizards has been unable to effectively manage the price of many important staples, pushing the format out of reach. The presence of more products in the year geared towards Commander will give them more opportunities to address that issue and put more reprints into the market.

On the other hand, the added emphasis on Commander will draw more people into the format, especially on the heels of the big Brawl push this year, and as more people who started playing on Arena transition to paper. So, the downward push on prices could be countered somewhat by an upward push in demand. Only time will tell on that one.

Back on the positive side, all of these products seem like a lot of fun (minus the Commander Collection, which sounds less “fun” and more “cool”). I’m looking forward to the themed decks coming out with Ikoria and Zendikar, and I’m really looking forward to drafting Commander Legends. Commander is going to be big next year, and I’m all for it.

The final less positive note, though, is that it is going to continue being hard to track and remember what products are coming with what sets. I mean, here’s the lineup:

Theros: Beyond Death - 2 Planeswalker Decks

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths - 5 Commander Decks

Core Set 2021 - 5 Planeswalker Decks

Zendikar Rising - 2 Commander Decks

And remember, the Zendikar Rising Commander decks are different from the Ikoria Commander decks. Fewer new cards, different packaging, and likely not as pushed in terms of value. But not everyone will understand that. 

And this is just next year. What comes after? Is every set going to get its own accompanying product that’s different every time? What is the logic or pattern to what sets will get what products? And will the dedication to providing necessary reprints continue after this flood in 2020?

So basically, I have a lot of questions. Personally, I think it would benefit Wizards to come up with a dedicated release schedule. Say what you will about Masters sets, at least they had some familiar predictability to them. Personally, my preference would be to have each set come with 2 Brawl decks (5 for Core Set), completely eliminate Planeswalker decks, then to have a separate Commander release of 5 decks once a year, unattached to a specific set. That, plus an innovation product every year, should be enough to provide enough new cards to get players excited, but also provide enough of the reprints they so desperately need.

In any case, I’m excited for next year. I hope these products do well, as much as I hope for Wizards to figure out a routine release cadence for them.

[jaceoshi]

oshikatsu is alive and well‼️‼️ (mini haul from going to my lgs today + coord photo)

i can’t wait to order my jace signature spellbook soon + a ton of origins cards with my oshi 💗

[arvadthecursed]

Signature Spellbook: Ikal, Biomaster

Blue/Green

Ikal is a merfolk planeswalker from Ixalan. He and his brother Yaxkin spent their days sneaking away from training with the River Heralds to instead study the local vegetation. Ikal had a natural affinity for green mana, which he used to mutate plants. He soon discovered that he also had a penchant for blue mana, keeping a journal of ways he used telepathy on his tribe – never in harmful ways, but in mischievous ways suggested by Yaxkin. In their early 20s, Ikal and Yaxkin went exploring to try and find new plants to study. They were cornered by the Legion of Dusk, who killed Yaxkin when he tried to fight back. Ikal’s agony at Yaxkin’s death caused his planeswalker spark to ignite, sending him to Vryn. Upon hearing tales of Alhammarret and his prodigy, Jace Beleren, Ikal was inspired to continue studying mutation and telepathy, determined to become a telepath/biomancer more powerful that the famous mind-mage himself.

Ikal’s signature spellbook reflects more of his blue side, due to him choosing to study telepathy over biomancy following the ignition of his spark. However, he carries his roots with him, manipulating plants to his will.

[jacebeleren]

decided to open up my signature spellbook today and my foil was jace!!!!!! dream come true!!!!!!

[mtgfan]

Getting lucky with a Signature Spellbook: Jace. There's a random foil of one of the cards in the set that comes as an extra. I landed an extra foil of Jace. The button set is a gift from my girlfriend over here at Crunchyroll Con.

[markrosewater]

Where can we give feedback on Signature Spellbook: Jace? I personally loved the product, but I felt choosing Blue Elemental Blast instead of Ponder was a mistake, for a product intended to be about Jace magic. The lack of a Telepathy with Jace art was also curious. Otherwise, I loved getting Jace themed spells. Just could have been more accurate on the card selections.

A lot of the decisions were based on which cards saw more play in certain formats. Telepathy, for instance, isn’t played in any constructed format.