#tarmagoyf

[markrosewater]

How long until we know what the new "battle" card type is that's listed in the new Atarxa card? Noticed you guys slipped that in Tarmagoyf style ;)

The only thing I can say right now is not today.

[milfmoder]

tarmagoyf gf

[thecornwall]

Cornwall’s Random Card of the Day #252: Altar of the Goyf

It’s Goyfin time!

Altar of the Goyf is an uncommon from Modern Horizons 2. It’s a big reference to Tarmagoyf, itself a reference to Lhurgoyf. Lhurgoyf was an iconic card which got bigger based on the number of creature cards in graveyards. Tarmagoyf from Future Sight riffed on that by getting bigger based on how many card TYPES there are in graveyards. Well, this thing gives any one creature you control that power buff. If they’re attacking alone, which I am sure is some part of a larger MH2 archetype.

It also acts as a lord for your goyfs, giving them trample, just the ability they need to get their massive power through enemy bodies. And the flavour text is a reference to the flavour text of a cycle of Goyfs from Odyssey block, which each cared about a different card type being in the graveyard.

Ach, Hans, Run! It’s an inanimate statue!

[neingel]

Far Wanderings: Modern Masters 2017, a Critical Review

Well, we’re back with another episode of Far Wanderings! Where I talk about a certain format/topic/deck in the game, this week or two has all been about Modern Masters 2017-which I hoped many of you had the chance to open a box with your friends or just sit down at your local game store for a simple draft.

Well...MM17 was a blast! I wrote a small article back then with a slight tinge of ranting, in which I was disappointed about the lack of good reprints in the set when it is very close to it’s release date. With much fear among stores around the world dumping pre-order boxes of the set. Not only did MM17 prove me and many others wrong, it smashed through everyone’s biggest hopes and dreams, had an awesome draft environment and the box design was ~Amazing~. 

But first, how good was my box?

I did have a good chance to draft MM17, when a fellow lecturer of mine could get a box around SGD250(around USD178), a few of us decided to chip in seeing it was bought at a cheaper price. This was the “notable results” of our box:

The box overall was not as bad as I have though it would be, having hit both Goyf, Lili and Voice aside from the other jank mythics was extreme luck on the box’s part, I also pulled myself a foil Venser which was something I really wanted( besides Snapcaster of course :] ). However, the biggest letdown was 1 Fetch and the fact there were no Damnations, Blood Moons or even Goblin Guides. Considering that we bought the box for cheap, we still broke even and manage to keep the remaining rares, commons and uncommons for free.

Seeing other box openings though, especially on Youtube such as Alpha Investments, Boogie, Tolarian and many others have done. The whole topic on box openings seems to me like a big hit or miss. Some boxes can have 1 or 0 fetches, whereas others have all 5 fetches and 3 solid Mythics. Considering they all of them have opened at MSRP/Net Price, I would consider myself to be very lucky where I had someone who could pre-order for a considerably cheaper price.

The draft environment 

This is what I clearly like about this set, the fact that there is strong support pushing 2, 3 or 4 color draft archetypes. The fact that all 10 Signets, all 10 Guildgates as well as the 5 Tri-Lands from the Shards of Alara clearly is not only helpful support for the draft environment but also provides a strong welcome challenge towards draft, going 3 or more colors. Something which has not been open or encouraged to do in draft, is now possible and could very well be playable.

Some of the archetypes I felt were well supported, often could do better with the addition of a 3rd color, such examples would include:

UW Blink to Bant Blink (Thragtusk and Vital Splicer are strong additions together with Stoic Angel/Rhox War Monk)

BG Sacrifice to Jund Sacrifice (Holy crap Red/Jund offers some really strong value creatures that would LOVE to be sacrificed)

RG Aggro to Naya Aggro (Thornscape Battlemage gives more reach and GW provides all the beatdown any aggro fan would love in draft)

UB Control to Grixis Control (Not sure about you, but if you picked Cruel Ultimatum at any 1 point, changing the deck to Grixis Control is worth the try with access to Terminate, Falkenrath Aristocrat or even Sedraxis Specter)

If you really couldn’t have more fun drafting a strong 2 color archetype, the set is quite forgiving at giving players the reach they need for a 3 color manabase, at the same time providing more powerful options for their 3rd color.

I managed to draft twice, my first time trying out a spicy Jund aggro deck featuring Broodmate Dragon and Desecration Demon, my 2nd attempt however was UW Blink with 2 Vensers, Restoration Angel and Deadeye, together with an unruly crew of creatures having an ETB I could grab at that point.

Let’s talk about Rarity

Many would have known by now, a bunch of cards having their rarity downgraded, most possibly to allow an easier/much forgiving draft environment or to help Pauper out(Pauper players unite!). As me being quite a Pauper man at heart, I was extremely excited to see some cards finally getting a downshift to common. I’ll just make a small section of the top 5 MM17 Pauper Cards here.

#1: Burning-Tree Emissary

Everyone’s dream card that was in Pauper has finally finally printed as a common. Burning-Tree Emissary might finally be the final piece that Pauper Zoo or any RGx Shenanigans need. The 2 drop previously from Gatecrash is a very sick card, effectively a 2/2 for 0 that can follow up with a tempo play. Whether you decide to use the RG it produces for removal or another creature, Burning-Tree Emissary is one of those cards that is sure to shake up the Pauper metagame.

#2: Mortician Beetle

This little beetle got turned from Rare to Common :/ . Not something we see everyday in a reprint set but it seems to be another new toy for Pauper to play with. Pauper already has a BG Aristocrats/Sacrifice deck, that features Carrion Feeder, Bloodthrone Vampire and a bunch of other creatures that produce value when they die, Mortician Beetle not only fits perfectly in that deck, but it is scary with the already favored sac outlet/win-con Carrion Feeder, having 2 one-drops that are sure to grow big when the engine of the deck starts going makes GB  Aristocrats a deck to be reckoned with sometime in the future.

#3: Magma Jet

Magma Jet is probably one of my favorite red instants in the whole game, though cards like Lightning Strike and Searing Spear do 3 damage for the same cost. What has made Magma Jet an Uncommon all this while before MM17 was the fact that it had Scry 2. I could see this played in almost any Aggro shell, Burn or even a spicy UR Tempo build anytime soon. Overall, I’m very impressed with Wizards’s decision to push Magma Jet down to a common.

#4 Augur of Bolas

Augur of Bolas has only been printed 2 times, both at uncommon. With it now at common, control decks in Pauper finally look like they have a solid choice of dig in the form of a 2 drop. Augur will die to a bolt and any other removal, but it does provide a solid body early game. Generating card advantage for 2 mana is quite strong at any stage of the game. Thumbs up to Wizards again :)

#5 Dinvora Horror

Instead of playing the Chittering Rats/Archaeomancer combo in UB control, that deck sure has a new toy to play with. It sure is large and really reminds me of Capsize. Dinvora Horror is more than Capsize though, being a 4/4 for 6 isn’t really amazing but the fact that blinking it multiple times is ridiculously powerful. This might be a very big piece of the UB control deck already smashing results in the Pauper meta or it could also give rise to UBx control decks in the format. I was definitely not expecting this to show up in the set at common but I’m quite happy it is!

There were a bunch of other cards that were downshifted in rarity too, making the draft environment more exciting and the cards themselves easier to get as well as making them legal in certain formats/cubes. A few of the noteworthy ones include:

Placing Obzedat at Rare is pretty rude though >_<

A score for the set?

Every set needs a rating, I really find it hard to put a fair score on MM17 though. I did enjoy the set very much, the reprints and draft environment were very well designed by R&D team, for this, I feel we have to compare this to...

The Original!

Modern Masters 2013 probably has a special place in everyone’s hearts, the set was just sick. Like literally sick, it was filled with raw power at every level of rarity, the reprints were awesome and the set in today’s standards is brimming, if not overflowing with value~.

Modern Masters 2017 was good, wayyy better than 2015′s and slightly edging over Eternal Masters if I say so myself. It was a very special set with meaningful reprints and strong color support in draft. I would say it’s quite close to the original but not really what the original Modern Masters would bring. Overall, it was a solid set that definitely took many people by surprise. We will never know when we will see cards like these getting reprinted again:

I guess the reprints really speak for the set :D

Conclusion

I do believe that MM17 deserves to be one of the higher, more respected Masters sets in time to come, Wizards really put the ace in the hole on this one, fair credit to them. With the increasing prices of cards, I do believe MM17 is helping the playerbase in one way or another, which is clearly what the community wants. If Wizards could keep such a trend with their upcoming sets, I’m sure much good is sure to come for most formats. Until next time! 

[mollyjames]

Our next passenger will be arriving tomorrow. She dispatches Tarmagoyfs with ease. (Or, at least, with enough Green mana at her disposal.)

[sp1c3-r4ck-synd1c4t3]

They should ban Teferi and Blood Moon and Snapcaster and Tarmagoyf and Death’s Shadow and Skyclave Apparition and also most other Modern staples and the only notes are “They’re just not fun to play against :(“

[takebacktheyuri]

I felt like a real minnow... I was flipping thru binders picking out a few 2 to 5 dollar cards, and there was a dude to my right trying to sell his $2000 worth collection with a playset of Tarmagoyfs... oof

[jones-friend]

Droopy Land Face and My Droopy Face So, I haven’t heard too much m25 hype or discussion after the set was spoiled. After spending some time on reddit it was easy to find a LOT of players who have a shared animosity over it. My initial feelings were of excitement. Imperial Recruiter? Phyrexian Obliterator? Animar, my first commander? It looked like a great time, like a culmination of all my favorite experiences in MTG and I was considering buying two boxes at release. Then the rest of the set was spoiled. And discussion over the set seemed to die out. I remember seeing the rest of the set and not feeling disappointed, but also not caring either. What happened? Some people pointed fingers at Tree McHangar. Some people pointed fingers at Mr Unlucky Thirteen. Some people pointed fingers at the value of each pack being around $3. I’ve thought about it for a while, and I think those frustrations are valid, though symptoms of a bigger problem. Now I’m no expert at MTG, but I have noticed some things about whats going on with M25 I felt was worth discussing. Masters sets were initially devised as a way to balance collectability with accessibility. Make a way for your players to enter Modern but not ruin the value of people’s favorite cards. One of the main issues I take with M25 is its been breaking the market and making formats even less accessible. Unbanning then printing Jace tMS was a good move. It reintroduces an old power card while giving access to new players. Unfortunately unbanning Bloodbraid caused Jund staples to spike. Now Dark Confidant, Tarmagoyf, and Lili of the Veil are seeing spikes that make playsets incredibly taxing. Lili of the Veil is even rising past pre MM17 levels of pricing. Now that masters sets are being printed 2 times a year, collectors are binging on what ISN’T hit. Lili of the Veil is seeing that right now. Normal Gaddock Teeg recently spiked past his judge foil pricings. M25 hit a few cards for accessibility, but there is a wide array of common staples that weren’t hit that are going wild in price and it looks like it will make formats unaccessible. Masters sets are also revered for their money cards. With $220 a box you better expect a payoff for it to be worth THAT much, even if you’re just drafting. Imperial Recruiter was chosen as one of the money cards of the set. The problem I see with that choice is its price comes from its scarcity, and I have concerns about its choice as a money card if its abilities are strong enough to carry that $60+ price tag, especially when M25 boxes are being discounted because they aren’t selling well enough. My personal excitement in Masters sets comes from what I could open. Even seeing the priciest cards in the set, I’m not enthralled. This is no Karn, no Tarmagoyf. Its disappointing because to me there are cards that need reprinting but haven’t seen one in a set in so long. Through the Breach spiked as a consequence of not being reprinted and is reaching $50. There are a lot of things this set could have been, but it is none of them. Instead, its just another masters set. One of two we now have every year that are forced to pull from a pool of money cards that narrow by the set. At the same time, not enough money cards are released behind one masters set (since Iconic) that gain hype for the set itself and the market goes crazy with what wasn’t reprinted and it makes everything terrible. Now I think Wizards wants us to have the best game possible. They want us to have fun. But I also know they are owned by Hasbro. I can’t speculate too much about that, but its possible the two are related. The whole release of M25 has just got me down. A set that was supposed to be a celebration of MTG’s made hard to find cards even more expensive and hit a narrow selection of powerful cards compared to its predecessors. It just makes me wish they’d go back to one masters set a year. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. What did you think of M25?

[askkrenko]

The hell is going on with DOM goblins?

So it looks like Dominaria’s full set has been revealed, and I am... Confused.

At rare, we have Siege Gang Commander and Squee and Goblin Chainwhirler.

At uncommon, we have Goblin Warchief and a new sorcery: Goblin Barrage, which seems pretty decent.

At common, we have Bloodstone Goblin and Skirk Prospector.

Is there something missing from the set? This is a very weird level of goblin seeding, because there are FOUR cards that care about the goblin creature type, but there are only SIX goblins, and only two at common.

In Limited, it’s basically not possible to get enough goblins for Goblin Warchief to be a good card. You might see one of Siege Gang or Squee or Chainwhirler, but neither Chainwhirler nor Skirk Prospector gets the full benefit from Warchief, so to make Warchief work right you have to go hard on Bloodstone Goblins (who are, admittedly, entirely solid for limited.) 

I am happy to see all these cards show up for standard and modern, but Goblin Warchief seems like a surprisingly bad card in DOM limited due to a low number of goblins all around.

Now, this isn’t to say the goblins won’t be decent- they mostly all synergize with each other- but that the “goblin deck” is sort of half-formed and not something you can really focus on. Even alone, Goblin Warchief is a 2/2 haste for 3, and all the other goblins are entirely solid even if you have no other goblins.

As a contrast, Wizard and Saproling both have decent numbers and support... And then there’s Knight. Knight has HUGE numbers in this set but almost no support. Yes, there’s a knight lord, but it’s rare, and a knight saga, but it’s mythic.

Of course, this set’s real tribe is Legendary, which is getting plenty to work with here, but I’m here to talk about goblins, not things that aren’t goblins.

...Orcish Vandal should’ve been a goblin. Orcs aren’t supposed to be 1/1s. 

On a barely related note: Shivan Fire? Really? You could’ve just put in a reprint here. Why deny me the chance to open a card that’s better than a Foil Tarmagoyf? Was it too good for standard?

[markrosewater]

Adding a new card type has interactions with Tarmagoyf and Delirium as well as any other similar effects, would this be taken into account? Or if it made any of these older cards/effects too powerful would the individual cards or group be banned?

Individual cards can be banned. As I like to say, we don’t keep the future hostage of the past.

[jamesbregenzer]

TARMAGOYF - Magic The Gathering MtG Modern Masters 15 Card

[noxrynne]

still praying for the day i find my futuresight holofoil tarmagoyf 

[magicjudge]

I have some questions regarding vedalken shackles. If I shackle my opponent's activated mutavault, do I maintain control of it when it reverts back to a land? If I shackle a tarmagoyf, and its power becomes greater than the number of islands I control afterwards do I still maintain control of it?

The targeting restriction of Vedalken Shackles (“target creature with power less than or equal to the number of islands you control”) has to be legal when Vedalken Shackles’ ability is activated and has to still be legal when the ability goes to resolve. 

After that point, these restrictions don’t matter at all. The permanent you took can stop being a creature or its power can get bigger than the number of islands you control. Vedalken Shackles won’t care. You’ll keep that permanent for as long as you control Vedalken Shackles and as long as Vedalken Shackles remains tapped.

[shunliveshere]

Now that we got the hate from flip and rip out of the way, now onto the main topic.

So I'm going to be opening more boosters on my channel, hopefully weekly. I want to something close to flip rip but instead of ripping the half of the booster, I'm going to give them away to someone.

It's a nicer vers of Flip rip. I keep half, someone gets the other half, we all win. Unless the other half is a tarmagoyf. Then I cry.

[erdbeerstreuselkuchen]

is it just me or is fatal push going to be insane in modern

like tarmagoyf? dead

dark confidant? dead

like so many utility 2cmc creatures are going to just be destroyed

[gameonstore]

Modern Masters 2017 released Friday!!! With reprinted favorites like Snapcaster Mage, Damnation, Liliana of the Veil, and Tarmagoyf, this set is sure to excite both new and experienced Magic players. Be sure to pick up your booster box today! We also have Modern Masters card accessories, perfect for highlighting any deck! The new sleeves and deck box feature Snapcaster Mage, as does one of the three new playmats, the other two displaying Ranger of Eos and Goblin Guide.