jeskaim

[jeskaim]

Now that the green mythic land has officially been spoiled I get to share this. I've been wanting to make it since they were first leaked.

[jeskaim]

Edge of Eternities

With today officially starting spoiler season for Edge of Eternities I figured I would share my thoughts on some of the more notable cards and mechanics in the set.

First of all the return of two of the most popular tribes in Magic history. A lot of people were expecting Eldrazi to be in this set since this set basically takes place where they call home but Slivers came as a surprise to a lot of players, including me. As if Slivers didn't have enough support they get Thrumming Hivepool which is sure to see play in every Slivers deck out there with how broken it is. I'm sure these won't be the only support Eldrazi and Slivers get in this set. It's only day one of spoilers so we're sure to see more in the next few weeks before the official release on August 1st.

Now for the mechanics. I already talked about Station in my last post but Warp and Void are new in this set. It seems like these two mechanics go hand-in-hand with Void being a retrain of the Revolt mechanic way back in Aether Revolt and Warp triggering when a nonland permanent leaves or a creature warps onto the field. I assume that's how Void works. Tragic Trajectory is sure to see a lot of play in constructed formats because it's a cheap removal spell that gets around indestructible and has mid- to late-game potential with its Void ability. I just wish the artwork wasn't so creepy with a guy heading toward a black hole with his helmet breaking.

With Edge of Eternities being a "futuristic" set based on outer space I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to see cards with artifact support. The last time we saw "affinity for artifacts" was in Aetherdrift but the affinity mechanic feels more at home here. Emissary Escort is sure to see a lot of play in affinity decks with cards that have big CMCs but get cheaper for each artifact you control. I can especially see it being played in UW artifacts in historic on Magic Arena. I also like the concept of Lander tokens letting you sacrifice them to search your library for a basic land and put it into play tapped. It's an interesting mechanic but you need the right cards to make the most out of it.

Some of the mythics in this set have serious potential, especially The Endstone. This is one broken card. It's pretty expensive at a mana value of seven but its abilities more than make up for it. I mean letting you draw a card every time you play a land or cast a spell AND at the end of your turn making your life total equal to half your starting life total rounded up is insane. If your life total is above that number you'll lose life but if it's below it can be a real lifesaver. Ouroboroid is another seriously powerful card. In a few turns it can get seriously big which will make the rest of your creatures bigger as well.

That's it for this post. If you want to see the rest of today's spoilers (there were a TON I had to leave out) you can check them out at https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/edge-of-eternities-spoilers-july-8-debut-planets-warp-eldrazis-and-more. I have some SERIOUS thoughts on the mythic Planet lands but I'm waiting for the green one to be officially spoiled before posting about it. Hopefully it'll be sometime later this week.

[jeskaim]

Edge of Eternities

What's up, Tumblr? I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm not a big fan of Final Fantasy which is why I didn't post for it but with our first look at Edge of Eternities a couple of days ago I figured it was time for a new post.

First of all the new Tezzeret. This is absolutely insane and is sure to see a lot of play in constructed formats. I've already seen talk of this seeing play in Lantern Control with the focus on cheap artifacts and untapping them to mill your opponents. I'm currently saving up for a playset of Mox Opals now that it's unbanned in Modern but once I do I might have to make room for this new Tezzeret.

I remember when Kaladesh first came out and we got our first look at Vehicles and with Spacecrafts it feels like an upgrade. Station is like a better version of Crew because once the Spacecraft has enough charge counters it becomes a creature permanently and gains the Spacecraft's effects.

Also for those who haven't heard with the release of Edge of Eternities Legendary Vehicles and Spacecrafts will officially be legal commanders which I think is a good move.

With every standard set we get a rare land cycle but I wasn't expecting the return of shock lands. This is the first time shock lands have been printed in a standard-legal set outside of Ravnica with the corresponding Guild symbol watermark. Someone also pointed out that these ones are a combination of allied and enemy colors just like with Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance. These are definitely going to make an impact on standard and chances are we're going to get the rest of them in a future set.

With Edge of Eternities being a deep-space set I can't say I'm surprised to see a card like Sothera, the Supervoid that I assume is supposed to be a black hole. I can see this being abused in certain decks with aristocrat strategies to get rid of problematic creatures controlled by your opponents and when they run out put them onto the battlefield under your control.

I also LOVE these new Stellar Sights cards of popular lands throughout Magic's history. So far we only have Mutavault but I can't wait to see what other lands get this treatment.

That's all for now. Once we get more spoilers I'll make another post. With the Eldrazi being from the Blind Eternities I wouldn't be surprised if they made an appearance in this set but we'll have to see.

[jeskaim]

Seriously, that was pure evil.

what it feels like to walk into the wrong house in Undella Town

[jeskaim]

Tarkir: Dragonstorm

Now that the entire set has pretty much been spoiled I think it's time for me to share my thoughts. I thought about doing one post for each clan in Tarkir but I decided to just do one since the mechanics of each one don't need much explanation.

These planeswalkers are INSANE, especially Ugin. In colorless decks like Tron you can keep exiling your opponent's permanents which can get out of hand pretty quickly. Then that ultimate can be a game-ender if you have enough mana. Elspeth can also build a board of 1/1 soldier tokens with her +1 and once you have enough you can use her 0 ability to give them +1/+1 counters and flying to wipe out your opponent. Combined with the Mardu mechanic of mobilize or the Abzan mechanic of endureyou can easily get a ton of tokens to overwhelm your opponent.

Back when we first went to Tarkir the Jeskai were my favorite clan and the subject of my first strategic deck built around their prowess ability. This time around I like how they sort of kept the theme of casting smaller spells for big payoffs in the Jeskai ability of flurry. The only difference is that it applies to all spells instead of just noncreature spells to trigger flurry. Taigam, Master Opportunist is a powerful card and I can see being as strong as his lore rival Narset in commander with the right build. Four time counters is a bit much though.

Back when I first got back into MTG the Mardu intro pack (remember those?) was the first one I got so even though they're not my favorite clan I still have a soft spot for them. Considering that the Mardu are based on the Mongolian hordes it's not surprising that their mechanic triggers with creatures attacking. Even if you have to sacrifice the tokens at the end of the turn with enough creatures with mobilize you can slowly chip away at your opponent's life total and win.

One of the cards that surprised me the most from this set was Songcrafter Mage. I mean it's pretty much Snapcaster Mage but for one more mana but you can tap your creatures to reduce the cost of the spell by the power of the creature tapped for it. It's only a few dollars on Cardkingdom which is surprising for me. I guess the extra mana compared to Snapcaster Mage makes a huge difference in constructed formats.

Back when Khans first came out I remember how powerful the Sultai mechanic of delve was to the point two cards with it had to be banned. I'm glad their mechanic of renew keeps the graveyard theme where you fill your graveyard with cards to exile them for powerful effects. It seems like a fitting mechanic for the Sultai.

Now for everyone's favorite clan when it came to drafting this set: the Abzan. Considering that the Abzan Houses symbol is a dragon scale to represent their endurance and just like their original mechanic of outlast their ability lets you put +1/+1 counters on your creatures to make them stronger. I like how the endure mechanic also references their worship of their ancestors by giving you the option to create a 1/1 white creature token instead of putting a +1/+1 counter on the creature when it attacks.

Another card that surprised me in this set is a reprint of a classic commander staple: Craterhoof Behemoth. This is sure to bring the price down as well as make a considerable impact on Pioneer. I'm not sure it's fast enough for Standard but it's still a game ender.

For the rare land cycle I was expecting dual lands like we usually get in standard sets but considering that Tarkir is built around wedges dual lands don't really fit and instead we get mono-colored lands for each clan that enter untapped if you control a basic land type of one of the other two colors with an effect that goes with the corresponding clan. I don't see these seeing much play except for Mistrise Village which can come in handy against control matchups. Cori Mountain Monastery also has some potential in aggro decks when you run out of cards in your hand.

That's all for Tarkir: Dragonstorm. I plan on getting some cards for my Sarkhan deck once the set comes out next Friday and the prices start to come down a little because the ones I want are way too expensive. Even the dragon-eye basics are $6.99 a piece. Right now I'm saving up for a playset of Mox Opals and the Jeskai dual lands so once I get those I'll get the dragon-eye basics for Sarkhan. I don't know if I'm going to go to prerelease tomorrow but if I do it'll be to play some commander like I always do.

[jeskaim]

Tarkir: Dragonstorm

For the people that actually read my blog I apologize for the lack of posts on Aetherdrift. To be honest the whole set was kind of "meh" for me. Plus besides Radiant Lotus and the new Amonkhet gods there weren't that many notable cards.

I've been MUCH more interested in the next set: Tarkir: Dragonstorm because Khans of Tarkir was the latest set when I first got back into Magic over ten years ago and I can't wait to go back. Obviously I can't wait for the new support for dragons and to see how the five clans have evolved since last time.

First off the card that's getting the most attention: a new Mox artifact and a card with the Storm mechanic. I honestly don't know which one is more surprising. I guess it has to be a card with Storm being in a standard-legal set with Stormscale Scion. The last time we saw Storm was in Bloomburrow on the Ral Emblem but that only gives other cards Storm while this one has it printed on the card. At six CMC it's not the cheapest dragon but Storm is a mechanic that's so powerful a scale was named after it to judge how likely mechanics are going to be seen in a Standard-legal set. For Mox Jasper I can definitely see it being used more in commander than 60-card formats like Standard and Modern since dragons don't see that much play. Who knows? With how many dragons that are bound to be in this set we may see a deck put it to use. These two are definitely going into my Sarkhan deck.

Return of the Clans

With our return to Tarkir it's a given that we're seeing the five clans again. Back in Dragons of Tarkir when Sarkhan went back in time to prevent Ugin from dying and as a consequence prevented dragons from going extinct we saw the dragons Kolaghan, Silumgar, Atarka, Ojutai, and Dromoka as the head of their clan counterparts but according to the story that's been released they've all died and the originals clans are back along with the clan watermarks. I'm obviously excited for the new Jeskai cards (it's literally in my username) but I'm also excited to see what other cards we get for each clan.

(Former) Planeswalkers

With our return to Tarkir it's no surprise we see its two resident planeswalkers: Sarkhan (who was originally a member of the Mardu before his spark ignited for those who don't know) and Narset. Sarkhan definitely fits more into dragon decks but Narset is definitely a powerhouse. That ability to let you draw cards at the end of your turn for each spell you cast if you discard your hand can easily be abused.

Now for the last two cards that have been revealed so far. I'm glad to see Sieges come back as two-colored enchantments that let you choose a clan with those two colors. I assume we're going to see more color combinations like UR for Jeskai and Temur or BG for Sultai and Abzan and we do they remind me of the "Bond" cycle from War of the Spark where we saw two guilds that share a color teaming up and fusing their symbols to combine their power to help defeat Nicol Bolas. Rally The Monastery looks interesting. I'm glad to see the return of 1/1 white Monk creature tokens with prowess like we first saw on Monastery Mentor back in Fate Reforged and March of the Machine. Since Narset is in the artwork it's obviously suited for Jeskai decks.

We're still a few weeks away from release so I'll post more cards as we get them but for now that's all. I can't wait to see more cards because I'm super excited for this set.

[jeskaim]

Looking through my blog and came across this from when Jeweled Lotus was first revealed. Considering the fact that the card just got banned I would say my thoughts were right on the mark.

Today in “What the Hell was Wizards Thinking Designing This Card”

The title speaks for itself.  I mean a BLACK LOTUS reprinted with the limit that the mana can only be spent on commanders is as broken as it gets without the power nine being commander-legal.  I preordered some cards from Cardkingdom last night and the price was $150 which isn’t surprising.  This card is sure to be played to death in commander and unless it gets banned it has the potential to get to the point where the only way to even compete in the format is to play it.  It’s basically the commander version of Hogaak.  If the price does come down I might pick up a couple copies for Narset and Yisan but if it skyrockets I’m doing a HARD pass on it.  Of all the cards that have been spoiled so far for Commander Legends this by far takes the cake for most broken card.

[jeskaim]

Commander Bans

I wasn't initially planning on posting about this but it's just so controversial I felt like I had to. Yesterday when I woke up to the news I was shocked to say the least. This past month I spent $3000 on a cEDH Birgi, God of Storytelling deck with three out of four of these cards and to say I was upset would be an understatement. I've seen a lot of people on Facebook and Instagram either celebrating the bans or, like me, expressing how bummed they are that they spent hundreds of dollars on cards for their commander decks that they can't play. I got into cEDH a few years ago with Narset and Yisan and was excited to add Birgi to my list so I decided to go all out to make it as fast and as efficient as possible. With that I decided to splurge for Dockside Extortionist, Mana Crypt, and Jeweled Lotus along with other mana rocks like Mox Diamond and Mana Vault. For Narset and Yisan I know what to replace the Lotus and Crypt with but Birgi is a little harder to find replacements since the best substitutes are already in the deck. I'm thinking about Springleaf Drum as a substitute for one of the artifacts and a cheap cantrip like Academic Dispute (I'm not sure if it technically counts as a cantrip since it lets you discards and draw with the learn mechanic and doesn't replace itself). For now I replaced Dockside Extortionist with Simian Spirit Guide which I think is good enough but I also ordered a Walking Ballista and Ragavan as other possible replacements.

For me this feels bittersweet because on one hand my cEDH decks suffered a major blow but at the same time it slowed them down enough so that more casual decks can compete better. I guess I'm just upset that I spent $400 on cards for my Birgi deck that I can't use anymore and they synergized so much with her. There's still a SLIGHT chance they'll be unbanned after the backlash so I'm going to keep them. I've seen a lot of people say they're going to keep playing with them anyway with rule 0 in casual games since Wizards doesn't care about them.

For Nadu it's just another Oko and Hogaak situation and shows that every few years Wizards prints a card that's so OP they don't know it until after it's been released. Considering how much havoc it's been causing in Modern I would say it was a good call, especially with the larger card pool in commander. Apologies to anyone who built Nadu as a commander.

And The One Ring is still $100 and is played in almost every deck in Modern.

[jeskaim]

New Commander: A Storm is Brewing

So last month I did something I never thought I would do: I built another commander deck. This is another commander I feel like I have a personal connection to so I wanted to go all out like I did with Yisan.

For me this one is personal for a few reasons: the first being that I consider myself a storyteller and I've been honing my craft since high school. I don't know if I mentioned it here but I've had a speech impediment since I was ten years old and I'm 34 now so almost 25 years. Because of that I turned to writing as my main means of communication and developed a talent for it to the point I've had two college English professors tell me I was a good writer and one of them actually keeping one of my assignments to use as a good example for future classes. I started writing one series and I'm gathering ideas for another and I got a box of Kaldheim last year to open and hopefully pull one to use as a good-luck charm. I got another copy for my deck though.

The second reason is that my father's side of the family is from Minnesota and I have a lot in common with my grandfather who died when I was in first grade. My dad and my sister are Vikings fans and I've been an Eagles fan since middle school but this year I decided to finally switch teams. With Kaldheim being a set based on Vikings and Norse mythology I wanted to save it to open during my first official game as a Vikings fan. It also synergizes well with one of my favorite mechanics: storm. A few years ago I built The Professor's storm build for Elsha but Birgi is a much better commander for storm with her first ability. She was built for storm and there are plenty of one-mana cantrips to get up your storm count and with with either Grapeshot or Aetherflux Reservoir. Grinning Ignus combos perfectly with Birgi for infinite casts and infinite mana with cost reducers like Ruby Medallion or Helm of Awakening. I also have Guttersnipe for extra damage and as many rituals as I can fit like Pyretic Ritual and Desperate Ritual in true storm tradition.

Just like with any cEDH deck you have to have cards from the Reserved List. Just like with Yisan where I have Gaea's Cradle and Survival of the Fittest making up more than half of the cost(with a Mox Diamond in reserve) I have four cards that make up half of Birgi. First is Wheel of Fortune (Revised) which I got for a super cheap price on eBay because the back has signs of play but that's to be expected for a card that's almost 30 years old. I got Mox Diamond and City of Traitors from TCGPlayer and I got Lion's Eye Diamond on eBay. I'm just waiting for it to get authenticated so I can finally get it. If it can't be authenticated or it comes back as counterfeit I'll just get one from TCGPlayer. I have my fingers crossed that it's real because it's in excellent condition. I played some test games on TappedOut and with the right hand it can win on turn one.

Here's my list. The reason the land count is so low is because a deck like this can fizzle if you run into a land which is why I have Burning Prophet and Dragon's Rage Channeler to filter the top card of my library and Sensei's Divining Top to draw unwanted lands. Overall I think it's a good build and is definitely cEDH.

[jeskaim]

Duskmourn: House of Horrors

With most of the set spoiled I think it's time for me to share my thoughts. When I first heard this set was themed around horror I knew we would get some good artwork as well as a ton of referenced to classic and modern horror movies and I think it's safe to say they didn't disappoint.

Rooms are an interesting mechanic. When MaRo gave his traditional teasers he mentioned "A component of the set with a frame using technology first designed for an Un-set" but this isn't what I was expecting. It's definitely an interesting concept where you can cast one side to unlock that room and then pay the cost at sorcery speed to unlock the second. This reminds me of the split cards from the Return to Ravnica block with the Fuse mechanic but in permanent form. I also like how the artwork is one cohesive image that depicts both rooms.

It's not a standard set without a rare land cycle and these ones definitely blew my mind. I can definitely see these being used in commander but not on turn one unless you have a card to spend the mana on. They definitely have potential mid- or late-game and I can see them becoming staples in commander. Now we just need the enemy versions.

MaRo also mentioned a Meathook Massacre II in the list of card names which got a lot of players speculating about how it would compare to the original. If you ask me the original is better because this one is too expensive at 2X and four black while the original pretty much does the same thing at a cheaper cost and gets around indestructible like this one. I can see it being played in some decks but like a lot of graveyard-based strategies it's a lot less powerful against graveyard hate. On a side note i like how some cards have a treatment called "lurking evil" where they have a monster in the artwork that the other version doesn't. It seems fitting for a set like this.

I love the references to famous horror movies in this set just like the references to famous detectives and mystery movies in Murders at Karlov Manor. I'm not much of a fan of horror movies but I like the Final Destination series, especially the third one which is referenced in The Rollercrusher Ride. I love how even people who aren't fans of horror movies can recognize the references to "Ghostbusters" in Ghost Vacuum, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in Chainsaw, and "Children of the Corn" in Orphans of the Wheat. Not to mention "Saw" in Let's Play a Game and "The Ring" in Cursed Recording.

Now for my favorite reference. I'm honestly not sure if John Carpenter's "They Live" counts as a horror movie since it's more action/sci-fi but apparently Wizards considers it one. "They Live" is one of my favorite movies (not because of the critique of capitalism and consumerism but because I'm a huge Roddy Piper fan and one of his most famous lines came from that movie) so once I saw the alternate artwork for Doomsday Excruciator I knew I had to get myself a couple of copies. I actually dressed up as his character a couple of years ago for Halloween and tied for second at my work's costume contest. I might do the same this year since Roddy would have been 70 this year. This may not be the most obvious reference but it's definitely my favorite.

I think that's pretty much it for my thoughts on Duskmourn. I think the mechanics are pretty self-explanatory and I like how we have desparked versions of Tyvar and The Wanderer. The Wanderer is one of my favorite characters so I got myself a copy for my collection. Honestly if anyone can survive the house of horrors that is Duskmourn it's her. Liliana would have been cool to see because she would fit right in on Duskmourn but she fits well on Innistrad with all of the dead bodies she can resurrect to do her bidding. I have my cards preordered and I can't wait to get them.

[jeskaim]

That sounds a little too Farfetch'd to be true. #PokemonPuns

Just to be clear. I don’t like leeks.

[jeskaim]

Bloomburrow: No Humans Allowed

Boy has it been a busy season for Magic. We just had Modern Horizons 3 come out with Universes Beyond: Assassin's Creed a week away from release and we're already getting previews for Boomburrow and Duskmourn. Some of these we've had for a while but I think it's time for me to talk about them. When I first found out this would be the first set in Magic history without any humans I didn't know what to expect but now that we have more cards I have to say I'm excited. One of the cards I'm most excited for was one of the first ones we saw with Bria, Riptide Rogue. I've always liked cards that revolve around casting instants and sorceries and Bria fits right in. Almost all of the pages for spellslinger commanders I have on EDHREC have this card as recommended and it's not even out yet. Right now I'm not sure if I'm going to put it in any of my decks but if I do it'll probably go in Adeliz (wizard tribal) because it has the perfect balance of creatures and noncreature spells. Mabel, Heir to Cragflame is also interesting. Mice are an underrated tribe and Mabel is the perfect commander for them. I can also see it being played in decks that revolve around equipment with her ability that creates a Cragflame token that gives the equipped creature +1/+1, vigilance, tremple, and haste.

With the spoilers from Magiccon we got some more information on what to expect from the uncommon lands of the set. With no humans in this set it's not surprising there are a ton of animals with each getting their own color combination. From the looks of it bats are going to be WB, Birds are going to be UW, Mice are going to be WR, Rabbits are going to be GW, Frogs are going to be GU, Otters are going to be UR, Rats are going to be UB (this one is the most surprising since a lot of rats are red), Lizards are going to be BR, Racoons are going to be RG, and Squirrels are going to be BG so one animal type for each color combination. I'm super excited for Mudflat Village as an addition to my new Totentanz, Swarm Piper deck. From the looks of it rats are going to be getting some love in this set.

And last but not least Lumra, Bellow of the Woods. Bears are already a good creature type but I can see this one seeing a lot of play in commander, especially in landfall decks like Omnath. Six is a bit high for a cost but if there's one thing green is good at it's putting out mana dorks.

That's all for Bloomburrow. I know more cards have been spoiled but I'm waiting for them to officially be spoiled before posting about them. My next post will be about Duskmourn because there wasn't enough room on this one.

[jeskaim]

Time to Pay the Piper

What's up everyone? I haven't posted on here since the last previews of Outlaws of Thunder Junction and MH3. I figured I would make a post about my newest commander and it's one I've been itching to build since it came out last year. I even got the deck box and sleeves along with cards I might need but decided not to build it and instead build Fezzik, Rhyming Giant. Then last month I decided to treat myself to a Gibson Les Paul I've been wanting to get for months and I had a couple hundred dollars left over so I decided to finally build Totentanz, Swarm Piper. Those who have followed me for a while should know why I wanted to build him.

Back when Wilds of Eldraine first came out I found a YouTube video with a decklist that cost over $400 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKMtFYHgPQA) but I decided to rebuild it using EDHRec and that got the cost down to around $250 by cutting some of the pricier cards like Urborg (which I already have a copy of) and cards that don't fit the theme like Ob-Nixilis. Back when Murders at Karlov Manor was released I bought a copy of Vein Ripper from one of my friends who pulled one at prerelease and put it in my original build but when I did some playtesting I found out I had trouble drawing lands so I ended up cutting it for another land. Plus the cost is kind of high and the effect targets opponents instead of draining all of them at once like some other pieces do.

Basically it's your standard aristocrats build that focuses on creating rat tokens with cards like Tangled Colony and Song of Totentanz to overrun your opponents and sacrifice them for death triggers with cards like Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat. Right now I don't have a lot of sac outlets but I just can't find the room.

Then I have the heavy hitters like Ashcoat and Marrow-Gnawer to close out the game for massive damage with my army of rats. Since this is a tribal deck as much as it is an aristocrats deck so I had to put in Shared Animosity to pump up my rats when they attack. Plus if my opponents don't have any black or artifact creatures to block with they can't be blocked.

And finally with all of the cards I'm trying to find room for Plague of Vermin. I feel like it would be a good fit since Totentanz is based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin who helped rid the town of a rat infestation. Plus I could pay all but one of my life and if I have one of my creatures or enchantments that deal damage to my opponents whenever a creature ETBs I can instantly win considering something doesn't happen to the other combo piece or I get bolted to the face and die. It's a huge risk but it could pay off if I can find the card to cut for it.

Here's the deck for anyone who's interested. I can't wait to test it out.

[jeskaim]

Outlaws of Thunder Junction - Mechanics

Now for the new mechanics. Spree is definitely interesting. I preordered my cards from Thunder Junction today and I picked up a copy of Great Train Heist for Aurelia. I like how the base cost is either one or two and you can pay mana to add more effects. It reminds me of the Escalate mechanic back in Eldritch Moon. I can definitely see these getting a lot of play for added versatility.

Now that we know more about the Plot mechanic I definitely like it. It's like you can pay for it ahead of time using the Plot cost to cast it at the right time or pay the cheaper cost like on Stingerback Terror and cast it the next turn. I got a copy of Slickshot Show-Off for my Adeliz deck.

I'm glad to see the "second spell" effect returning in Thunder Junction. It seems perfect for a setting like this because usually the Old West has a lot of gunslingers but this time it's spellslingers. It goes well with the Plot mechanic because you can cast your spells using Plot and cast them when you need to. If I ever draft it (which I doubt since I haven't drafted a set since New Capenna) I'm definitely aiming for Izzet.

You can't have an old-west-themed set without a mechanic like Mount. in MaRo's teasers he talked about a mechanic that players have been wanting to see for several years but I wasn't expecting it to be Mount. It seems fitting for a set like this because cowboys usually ride some sort of animal like a horse. This is definitely a step up from vehicles because they're still creatures even if they're not saddled and just gain the bonus effect if they are saddled. The only downside is they die to removal while vehicles require artifact hate when now crewed and regular removal if they are.

Also in MaRo's teasers was a set of dual lands with a subtype never seen on dual lands before an it fits the theme for it to be Desert. They go well with the crime mechanic since they deal one damage to a target opponent when they enter the battlefield and since it's on a land it gives you an easy way to do it without having to cast a spell that can be countered. Plus at common rarity they'll be easy to pick up during a draft if you're drafting around crimes.

Besides these the rest of my comments are about the cultural references which I don't have enough room for and don't want to make a separate post for. Some of them are good like Shoot the Sheriff referencing "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley and the Wailers with the flavor text asking where the deputy is. I also like the reference to the Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons from Looney Toons with the artwork connecting to make a whole picture of the coyote chasing the roadrunner. I heard in real life coyotes run faster than roadrunners but this is a card game with all sorts of things that can't happen in real life so I'll let it slide. I also like the references to common phrases found in old westerns like "reach for the sky" and "this town isn't big enough for the two of us."

I think that's it for Thunder Junction. Next time I'll post when we get more previews from MH3.

[jeskaim]

Outlaws of Thunder Junction

I would say by now most of the set has been spoiled and I think it's time for me to share my thoughts.

First of all I like the "Joins Up" cycle. It seems fitting for a setting like Thunder Junction with villains from all sorts of different planes joining together for one huge heist. From what I ready on the MTG Wiki This set was a villains set before it was a Wild West set. These are definitely a callback to the "Oath" cycle from the Gatewatch arc and it'll be interesting to see if we get any more in the future. These definitely have a lot of potential in commander since they support legendary creatures.

With this being a set that focuses on villains from across the Multiverse thanks to Omenpaths it's not surprising we have some familiar faces in this set but some of them surprised me. Of course we have characters like Rakdos, Oko, Tinybones, and even Eriette but to me the characters that stand out are some of the ones from non-standard sets like Marchesa from Conspiracy and Bruse Tarl from the first wave of commanders with the Partner mechanic. The Cecani siblings I was surprised to see in this set but they seem to be a perfect fit. I also love how in MaRo's traditional teasers he teased at Gisa by referring to her as "a typical card for Skeletons and Zombies" because besides Liliana she's probably the most likely character to be associated with zombies.

Now onto reprints. I definitely wasn't expecting to see enemy fast land reprints in this set but they're overdue so they're more than welcome. I like how we have the allied fast lands in Phyrexia: All Will Be One and now with enemy we're going to have all ten in standard at the same time. With these reprints the prices are sure to go down.

Here are two more welcome reprints. With Archangel of Tithes at around $20 right now this is one reprint I wasn't expecting. I wasn't playing standard back when Origins came out so I don't know how much play it saw but I can definitely see it being used. I still prefer the original printing because of how special it is to me. Terror of the Peaks is also a solid reprint. It was a beast when it first came out and now it's back. I'm definitely expecting it to see play in standard now that it's back.

That's all for now. Next time I'll talk about the mechanics and other miscellaneous cards.

[jeskaim]

Outlaws of Thunder Junction and Modern Horizons 3

I know these have been out for a couple of weeks but I never really got around to writing about them until now. I've been busy with work and it was my birthday last month and I went on a trip to Las Vegas where I first saw these. So here are my thoughts:

Outlaws of Thunder Junction

I've been looking forward to this set since it was revealed late last year because we've never had a wild west set before. After the war with the Phyrexians and Omenpaths now a thing which nonplaneswalkers can use to get to other planes it was kind of given that we would see other characters in this set like Tinybones and Fblthp. Fblthp seems perfect for this set because he's always ending up in places he shouldn't be and with Omenpaths I'm expecting to see him pop up in other places (assuming he doesn't die in this set). I'm not surprised to see Oko in this set since he was in the preview art but his Planeswalker card is a little underwhelming which to me is a good thing. This is nowhere near as powerful as Thief of Crowns (remember when he was all over standard before he got banned in Standard, Modern, AND Legacy because he kept turning things into elks?) but he has potential. I've already come across a three-card combo with him with Doubling Season to get infinite Oko tokens and card draws but I can't remember the third piece. I'm also not surprised to see Vraska in this set for the same reason as Oko. I like the artwork that's been revealed so far with her sitting at a poker table with everyone else petrified. I also can't tell if she's still compleated but with her tentacles she might still be. One of the cards I'm most excited for is the new Sword. I have a Sword collection of all 11 Swords (including Sword of Dungeons and Dragons) so I'm excited to add a 12th Sword to my collection. I can definitely see myself putting it into Kess because it fits right in. I can't wait to find out more about this set. We already know what crimes are (for those that don't know you commit a crime is when you target something of your opponent's with a spell or ability) but I'm curious to learn what Plot is as seen on Fblthp but based on the text it's an alternate casting cost of some kind.

Modern Horizons 3

Here we go for round three of Modern Horizons and from what we've seen so far it's going to be as good as the previous two. Hopefully it won't be as format warping as the last one but we still have a lot to find out about it. First of all I'm glad we're getting allied fetchland reprints. They're long overdue for a reprint and since we got the enemy set in two it's fitting we have allied in three. Considering they usually go for $20 to $40 right now these are much-needed. Just like last time it also seems there's a cycle of cards that you can pay an alternate cost for. So far all we have is the green one but it seems like you have to sacrifice a nontoken creature. For the debuts from vintage sets I'm glad to see Priest of Titania getting reprinted in this set because it'll really go well in my elves deck I built way back when I played at Tradesmart. It was my first "netdeck" and was recommended to me by another player because I built a general elves deck using cards from the Freyalise commander deck. It still has a place in my heart because one of my favorite colors is green so I might have to find room for it. Laelia I'm a little surprised to see in this set. I play Magic Arena on a daily basis and sometimes I see her in historic mono-red. She has potential in modern in some decks like mono-red prowess but we'll have to see.

That's all for now. My next post will be when we have more cards spoiled from Thunder Junction or MH3, whichever one comes first.

[jeskaim]

Really like the YuYu Hakusho reference. I dressed up as him for Halloween last year.

Some of the references in Murders at Karlov Manor! There's probably more that I'm missing, this set is chock full of everything from murder mystery to noir.