M10 – MTG Color Pie

In Defense of – Reprinting the M10 Duals in M12

Editor’s Note: New column (like always). Sometimes when WotC does some that confuses or upsets a group of people with the choices that they’ve made, I’ll step in and defend WotC’s actions. Now, I don’t agree with all of their choices either, but I will defend the ones I think are right.

Yeah, I was disappointed too.

I mean, Wizards has so many dual lands to choose from to make this cycle of cards better. They could’ve at least printed the Ravnica Duals, which would be awesome with the Zendikar Fetchlands. Or maybe create even new dual lands that we would have more incentive to buy this Core Set.

But this? We’ve seen this cycle three times now. I’ve got playsets of each and when I open my M12 boosters I really don’t want to be staring down at these guys again. The lands are not all that great for Commander, but it’s not even that. You have to keep surprising players or they get restless. We’ve seen this, time to move on.

Let me come to the M10 Duals’ defense: They had to be reprinted.

Continue reading “In Defense of – Reprinting the M10 Duals in M12”

A Slice of Pie – My Girlfriend’s Back (And You’re Gonna Be in Trouble)

: Now You’re Gonna Get a Beatin’

http://wp.me/p5VSx-Nn

Editor’s Note: New column where the point is short and sweet, just like a piece of pie. Except this piece is a little bigger then I thought it was going to be. Title reference for you younger readers.

Today Tom LaPille announced some of the card choices to M11. The biggest news was the official confirmation of M10 hottie Baneslayer Angel making the return to the Core Set this year. There was some speculation of her returning or not and making her a one-hit wonder. After all, her $50 price tag is pretty expensive (and something I touched on earlier) and taking her out of Standard so there would be that (possible) drop in price because she won’t be in high demand. Then there are those that say Baneslayer getting reprinted will cause her price tag should go down since there will be more of her. Those who already have a playset of Baneslayers and happen to open more might be more compelled to trade/sell them off getting more of her into the market.

That, luckily, isn’t the point of this article. Looking at the card choices so far, it’s easy to see what direction the Core Set is taking: Flavor.

Here’s what Tom spoiled:

In:
Fireball
Lightning Bolt
M10 Duals
Baneslayer Angel

Out:
Open the Vaults
Mold Adder
Twincast
Divination
Planar Cleansing
Essence Scatter
Shivan Dragon

Assumed in:
Deathmark
Celestial Purge
Flashfreeze

Let’s not play the speculation game on all of these cards, but take a look at the philosophy of their decisions so far.

Continue reading “A Slice of Pie – My Girlfriend’s Back (And You’re Gonna Be in Trouble)”

Monthly Mailbag – Slivers, Why Does It Always Have to Be Slivers?

Indiana Jones Slivers

Ah, the mailbag. It’s where a writer goes when he/she runs out of ideas or wants to talk about a variety of topics without putting a small post out. Today, I talk about my “favorite” creature type, why Wizards needs to slow it down, and card drawing in colors other then Blue. Time to use this thinly veiled concept.

Yo,

I like slivers. You’re bashing them on MTGSalvation for their new promo set: Premium Deck Series: Slivers? What gives?

In case you haven’t heard, Wizards is printing another special set (more about this in a moment), this time with Slivers. The new collection, called Premium Deck Series, are going to be all foil (premium is what Wizards calls foils) with some new slivers that have yet to be in the new-border and a Mythic sliver. What’s my beef? Continue reading “Monthly Mailbag – Slivers, Why Does It Always Have to Be Slivers?”

After MaRo – In the Year 3000

M10 has had it’s pre-release and hasn’t even had it’s release to the public yet. Is it time to focus on the Core Set (M11) for next year? According to MaRo, of course it is! From his Twitter account:

We’re working on M11. What advice can you give us from your experiences with M10? I’d like both things to change and things to do again.

For those of you who think that this is a little early to start to forget about a set that hasn’t even been released then you are right. Well, in the case of designing a set then it’s not too early. It’s not like these sets get thrown together at the last second (right?), they need planning and debating and seeing what would fit and what doesn’t. I think it’s time we look into the future.

MaRo: (Walking into the room from behind the curtain) The future Robby?

Robby: That’s right MaRo. Let’s look into the future, all the way to the year 3000*.

Randy Buehler: (Singing) In the year 3000. In the year 3000!

Robby: Green will once again have a 2/2 bear for 1G. The name will change again, only this time its flavor text shall read, “Only you can prevent forest fires.”

Buehler: (Singing) In the year 3000. Continue reading “After MaRo – In the Year 3000”

The Magic 2010 Core Set That Could’ve Been

27a_m10_spys5 Warning: Again spoilers about reprints in the Core Set.

Not every Core Set is going to be great. Sometimes Wizards puts in cards that go great in the environment, other times, you think a rare is so good, then you never play it for two years. I’m not talking about money spike rares that you have to play with to win, but sometimes even they don’t cut it in the environment (See: Troll Ascetic).

But sometimes you’re tired of seeing the same rares over and over again in the card pool and no one plays them. Sure there will be those people that do play the decks and that’s who you have to consider, but sometimes even they don’t have a need for 5 Flying Carpet decks.

With M10 adding new cards and throwing some repeats in there, I was tired of seeing some of the same rares over and over. So I thought, “What if they replaced a previously used rare with one that hasn’t been printed in a Core Set before?” Brilliant! So, as we say goodbye to the old Core Set and Hello to M10, I want to toss out some rares that have been printed at least twice in the Core Sets and throw in new rare cards that haven’t got the second chance that I believe they deserve.

White

I agree that Mesa Enchantress should be in the Core Set (plus I was really high on this card for Planar Chaos) and no other white cards have been reprinted. But, I wanted the list to be ten cards added in, so I chose a White enchantment that would see some play again.

Nothing Out -> Solitary Confinement

Why: White is the champion of trying to protect itself and what better way of doing that then putting yourself in a bubble? While this enchantment would slow down the game a little (and who wouldn’t be opposed to that at the moment?), it would allow control decks to prosper a little better after WoG and Cryptic Command leaves. Plus, it would have White with a marquee control card for M10.

Other Possibilities: Pristine Angel, Promise of Bunrei, Reverence Continue reading “The Magic 2010 Core Set That Could’ve Been”