No! Alexis, don't say that you fear Shahrazad! I'm still holding out vain hope that we can get it one day...
On the other hand, I'm happy to hear that you think the rest of these are doable. Though, as I state above, you probably shouldn't unless it's strictly for the programming challenge. Or it's Word of Command.
I'd expect to see him a lot in commander. And I assume there will be ways to cheat up 10 mana (maybe a reprrint of cloudpost or an equivalent mechanic) in Rise (for limited play at least).
Annihilate is going to be an absolute pain in the butt in the casual room.
Interesting sheet. My own experience day 3 was Wolfbriar sold easily for 3+, Kalastria for 5+, and Basilisk for almost 6. Ravine sold for 8. Also Talus is probably the most broken ally printed in white. I believe that explains it's rise as people are starting to catch on to it's possibilities. Will it stay up? I suspect allies is not the deck for tomorrow though they hold their own in casual play.
Prices seem to be going down - other than Jace, Ugin and Talus, everything is lower now than when I started tracking (the 1st). My google spreadsheet if anyone is curious:
The obvious drawback is the lack of haste. Still crazy huge creature who will, on turn 4, wreck your opponent's board with FoW + Daze backup seems pretty good, even if you don't get the 4 cards.
I would love to see another overhaul of the trading user interface.
The main problem i see with the trading system is that it is trying to emulate a flawed system - the one we use in real life. You are *online*, with 1000s of other players who have the cards you need, and yet you still have to enter a 1-on-1 trading screen, to trade face-to-face with a bot who is trying to rip you off.
Why, oh why, can't they just implement an escrow system for trading cards? Just like eBay, or a WOW Auction House, or the EVE Online market, it gives traders the benefit of being online in a large community. It also eliminates the need for Bots. If you want a particular card, you get it for the lowest price someone is willing to sell it. Also, the whole hashed-up of traders cutting up tickets and using store credits ("BUYING Scalding Tarn for 3.6 tix" etc) is a sign that the currency system is flawed.
Annihilator is a keyword. For Eldrazi. I would imagine the if WotC wants to see the Eldrazi get played there will be some at lower manacosts as well.
Eldrazi and Eye might be viable with ramp and a curve (even though that curve may be somewhat high) if there are enough Eldrazi with Annihilator. Even a 6 mana creature with Annihilator 1 is playable if you have an Eye.
Destroying your opponents board position while building your own is a sure way to win
"VJustin" knocked a LOT of players offline with its RAM requirements (2gigs vs my old 256 ram machine) which is why there is not the same sense of community that previous versions had. It also hurt that they did not restore Leagues or Clans and did not give us a decent set of tools/areas for trading. Those are the reasons VJustin sucks more than 2.5. I am looking forward to the changes made in "Gloria/Worth" coming up but I hold back my high hopes based on the hype that came prior to VJustin's release. (Note I replaced 3 with Justin everywhere and after the fact.)
AJ congrats on winning the PRE this week! I knew that deck was an asskicker when I played against it in testing. I am a huge fan of sweepers. Sweepers on a stick is just awesome.
WWK seems like an interesting set so far. It also hard to tell if a set is going to be high impact or not on formats until you start playing with the cards and seeing how they interact with what has gone before. It is so obvious to me that WOTC has worked consciously and conscientiously to provide a different experience with this cycle. I think they have succeeded to the point where I am not sure where my prewwk decks stand now. Been busy redesigning and rethinking.
I expect Rise will provide more of the same. The one thing I hope isn't the case is that pattern Sets get into where the Justinrd set has to top the prior two and falls flat on its face. I am certain the R/D people are aware of this hurdle and tried to avoid it but it is a tough one to avoid and easy to fall into. Eldrazi seem quite broken if they carry abilities like Annihilate:X. Scary stuff, certainly makes tribal more iffy.
The usual advice to wait until the last week of release events to buy does not apply for this set, apparently. (All the rares/mythics I bought from the set are more now compared to when I bought them)
Except, I see Jace for 42 tickets right now, so I am not sure if we are using different sources or yours aren't as up to date.
I watched the price of Jace and bought it when it was at its lowest (that I saw) of ~34 tix.
BSA is also rising with the price of Jace, which is interesting.
Assuming there is enough playable (ie. CHEAP) Eldrazi creatures, the Gateway seems like a good way to cheat Kozilek into play.
Play some creatures in the first few turns, cast Gateway on turn 4/5, sneak Kozilek into play on opponent's end step - good game after the butcher wipes the other side of the board.
I don't really understand the comparison to Leviathan, considering that Leviathan is absolutely loaded with drawbacks and this new guy doesn't have any.
This card reminds me of the first time I saw a Leviathan.... I screamed when I saw its p/t, much to my girlfriends horror as she was driving at the time.
I thought, well thats it, game over I get this guy out your gonna die... and then you read it properly.
Anyway, my thoughts are that this will not be the only creature with the Annihilate ability. Maybe there will be a 3cc 1/1 that has Annihilate 1.
The wording of that ability should read, if it succesfully deals combat damage to an opponent then defending player sacrifices 1 permanent.
I agree, just merely attacking with it, and that triggering the ability is wrong.
"If you can cast it, and if you can attack with it, odds are very good that you will win the game. Those are pretty big ifs."
i gotta say i really dont agree with this... sure it may not be a top tier card for std constructed, but there are so many simple ways of getting 10 mana.. there are a ton of lands (urza set, couldpost, temple, ancient, eye, etc etc) that give extra land, green ramp decks can get to 10 without blinking, there are cards to reduce cost it's really not hard to get that mana.. and if you can attack? that's not a stretch really either (though i guess more challenging to have it survive then pay for it)..
i personally dont like the power of it.. in formats like prism its a piece of cake for 10 land and for that cheap cost u get a 12/12 that draws and destroys things just for attacking.. doesn't even have to do damage it just has to attempt it
I agree with pretty much everything you've said here. When I first saw the card I was squeeled like a little girl. Then, I actually thought about casting it and realized that this card is going to be relegated to the casual bin. 10 mana = the suck, especially in modern standard where everything is so cheap. However, there is a lot of information we don't have here. Perhaps there is a way to make this much better coming in the next set. Clear Eye of Ugin is not the answer. I think that explains, Eye's sudden spike and then equally sudden plummet in price. People saw this and thought, "wow Eye is amazing!" but then they reread Eye and said, "Oh, wait... no."
I, however, thought the same as you. The first thought that went though my head was Sneak Attack. That's probably cause I've been playing Sneak Attack forever and have been waiting for it to arrive online so I can stop playing bad versions of it, like Killer Instinct and Through the Aether. This guy plus Sneak Attack makes me worry that Sneak Attack (while already no being overly casual friendly) will become one of those cards that NO ONE will like seeing in casual and may produce a lot of auto-concedes. Le sigh!
He's a great tron/cloudpost finisher, probably better than darksteel due to the cards. He'll need particular decks, but, it's not unlikely that someone will figure out a tournament deck for him. DC has been in tournament winning decks before - namely tooth and nail 12post/etc.
Thanks for the feedback guys, glad you like the article. I'll try the things you suggested, including upping the Dread Statuary to two (three is too many)
for real.
No! Alexis, don't say that you fear Shahrazad! I'm still holding out vain hope that we can get it one day...
On the other hand, I'm happy to hear that you think the rest of these are doable. Though, as I state above, you probably shouldn't unless it's strictly for the programming challenge. Or it's Word of Command.
another card that will stay in the dusty pages of history and never see decklight.
I'd expect to see him a lot in commander. And I assume there will be ways to cheat up 10 mana (maybe a reprrint of cloudpost or an equivalent mechanic) in Rise (for limited play at least).
Annihilate is going to be an absolute pain in the butt in the casual room.
Interesting sheet. My own experience day 3 was Wolfbriar sold easily for 3+, Kalastria for 5+, and Basilisk for almost 6. Ravine sold for 8. Also Talus is probably the most broken ally printed in white. I believe that explains it's rise as people are starting to catch on to it's possibilities. Will it stay up? I suspect allies is not the deck for tomorrow though they hold their own in casual play.
at least the Pedal will give you a mana fix in a pinch.. there is nothing in Zen/Wake that Eye could even help with.
Prices seem to be going down - other than Jace, Ugin and Talus, everything is lower now than when I started tracking (the 1st). My google spreadsheet if anyone is curious:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AtCjGKYHoqwXdDNVcEVmblF0ZnUzQTZP...
Hmm. Might be a good time to finish my manlands. I wonder why Talus is going up?
For god's sake, his name is KoziLEK.
This card and the Sneak Attack combo make me cringe. LD is no fun.
The obvious drawback is the lack of haste. Still crazy huge creature who will, on turn 4, wreck your opponent's board with FoW + Daze backup seems pretty good, even if you don't get the 4 cards.
How about a decklist good sir.
I would love to see another overhaul of the trading user interface.
The main problem i see with the trading system is that it is trying to emulate a flawed system - the one we use in real life. You are *online*, with 1000s of other players who have the cards you need, and yet you still have to enter a 1-on-1 trading screen, to trade face-to-face with a bot who is trying to rip you off.
Why, oh why, can't they just implement an escrow system for trading cards? Just like eBay, or a WOW Auction House, or the EVE Online market, it gives traders the benefit of being online in a large community. It also eliminates the need for Bots. If you want a particular card, you get it for the lowest price someone is willing to sell it. Also, the whole hashed-up of traders cutting up tickets and using store credits ("BUYING Scalding Tarn for 3.6 tix" etc) is a sign that the currency system is flawed.
Annihilator is a keyword. For Eldrazi. I would imagine the if WotC wants to see the Eldrazi get played there will be some at lower manacosts as well.
Eldrazi and Eye might be viable with ramp and a curve (even though that curve may be somewhat high) if there are enough Eldrazi with Annihilator. Even a 6 mana creature with Annihilator 1 is playable if you have an Eye.
Destroying your opponents board position while building your own is a sure way to win
"VJustin" knocked a LOT of players offline with its RAM requirements (2gigs vs my old 256 ram machine) which is why there is not the same sense of community that previous versions had. It also hurt that they did not restore Leagues or Clans and did not give us a decent set of tools/areas for trading. Those are the reasons VJustin sucks more than 2.5. I am looking forward to the changes made in "Gloria/Worth" coming up but I hold back my high hopes based on the hype that came prior to VJustin's release. (Note I replaced 3 with Justin everywhere and after the fact.)
AJ congrats on winning the PRE this week! I knew that deck was an asskicker when I played against it in testing. I am a huge fan of sweepers. Sweepers on a stick is just awesome.
WWK seems like an interesting set so far. It also hard to tell if a set is going to be high impact or not on formats until you start playing with the cards and seeing how they interact with what has gone before. It is so obvious to me that WOTC has worked consciously and conscientiously to provide a different experience with this cycle. I think they have succeeded to the point where I am not sure where my prewwk decks stand now. Been busy redesigning and rethinking.
I expect Rise will provide more of the same. The one thing I hope isn't the case is that pattern Sets get into where the Justinrd set has to top the prior two and falls flat on its face. I am certain the R/D people are aware of this hurdle and tried to avoid it but it is a tough one to avoid and easy to fall into. Eldrazi seem quite broken if they carry abilities like Annihilate:X. Scary stuff, certainly makes tribal more iffy.
Again thanks for the podcast.
The usual advice to wait until the last week of release events to buy does not apply for this set, apparently. (All the rares/mythics I bought from the set are more now compared to when I bought them)
Except, I see Jace for 42 tickets right now, so I am not sure if we are using different sources or yours aren't as up to date.
I watched the price of Jace and bought it when it was at its lowest (that I saw) of ~34 tix.
BSA is also rising with the price of Jace, which is interesting.
I was referring to 'Rich Man, Poor man, Beggar Man, Purple', an article dating back to May 2007 and accessible here: http://puremtgo.com/node/316
However, I'm tempted to do a one-off Art of Tribal Wars with those decks, just because. The troubl is this is a busy week in my studies.
Assuming there is enough playable (ie. CHEAP) Eldrazi creatures, the Gateway seems like a good way to cheat Kozilek into play.
Play some creatures in the first few turns, cast Gateway on turn 4/5, sneak Kozilek into play on opponent's end step - good game after the butcher wipes the other side of the board.
I don't really understand the comparison to Leviathan, considering that Leviathan is absolutely loaded with drawbacks and this new guy doesn't have any.
This card reminds me of the first time I saw a Leviathan.... I screamed when I saw its p/t, much to my girlfriends horror as she was driving at the time.
I thought, well thats it, game over I get this guy out your gonna die... and then you read it properly.
Anyway, my thoughts are that this will not be the only creature with the Annihilate ability. Maybe there will be a 3cc 1/1 that has Annihilate 1.
The wording of that ability should read, if it succesfully deals combat damage to an opponent then defending player sacrifices 1 permanent.
I agree, just merely attacking with it, and that triggering the ability is wrong.
"If you can cast it, and if you can attack with it, odds are very good that you will win the game. Those are pretty big ifs."
i gotta say i really dont agree with this... sure it may not be a top tier card for std constructed, but there are so many simple ways of getting 10 mana.. there are a ton of lands (urza set, couldpost, temple, ancient, eye, etc etc) that give extra land, green ramp decks can get to 10 without blinking, there are cards to reduce cost it's really not hard to get that mana.. and if you can attack? that's not a stretch really either (though i guess more challenging to have it survive then pay for it)..
i personally dont like the power of it.. in formats like prism its a piece of cake for 10 land and for that cheap cost u get a 12/12 that draws and destroys things just for attacking.. doesn't even have to do damage it just has to attempt it
cant wait to see that article from AJ, pingers + mythics + invitational winners? sounds good to me
I agree with pretty much everything you've said here. When I first saw the card I was squeeled like a little girl. Then, I actually thought about casting it and realized that this card is going to be relegated to the casual bin. 10 mana = the suck, especially in modern standard where everything is so cheap. However, there is a lot of information we don't have here. Perhaps there is a way to make this much better coming in the next set. Clear Eye of Ugin is not the answer. I think that explains, Eye's sudden spike and then equally sudden plummet in price. People saw this and thought, "wow Eye is amazing!" but then they reread Eye and said, "Oh, wait... no."
I, however, thought the same as you. The first thought that went though my head was Sneak Attack. That's probably cause I've been playing Sneak Attack forever and have been waiting for it to arrive online so I can stop playing bad versions of it, like Killer Instinct and Through the Aether. This guy plus Sneak Attack makes me worry that Sneak Attack (while already no being overly casual friendly) will become one of those cards that NO ONE will like seeing in casual and may produce a lot of auto-concedes. Le sigh!
Summoning Trap is the answer in Std. Watch and see.
He's a great tron/cloudpost finisher, probably better than darksteel due to the cards. He'll need particular decks, but, it's not unlikely that someone will figure out a tournament deck for him. DC has been in tournament winning decks before - namely tooth and nail 12post/etc.
Thanks for the feedback guys, glad you like the article. I'll try the things you suggested, including upping the Dread Statuary to two (three is too many)