MTG Color Pie

Non-Comprehensive Thoughts on Unofficial Leaks

Mana Leak I have a very interesting perspective in all of this leak discussion and I’m going to be a little vain and egotistical for a moment. I apologize in advance for that.

For the first five years of the PAX party here in Seattle, I felt that I had a job I had to do. For those that don’t know, the PAX party held every PAX Prime shows off the new plane for the upcoming year. During that party WotC prints up a bunch of oversized cards from the new set for people to see. It’s been my “job” to get the photos of those cards onto the internet, mainly through my twitter feed (@MTGColorPie, shameless plug). Is this a job that’s be officially sanctioned by WotC? Am I getting paid for this job? No. But when the party happens, there were members of WotC who let me know if other preview cards are coming up (Pay attention to those cards on the wall, something might happen to them later – Innistrad Flip card debut), or making sure I get all of the ones that were on display.

Let me tell you something, it’s a rush to be able to be one of the first ones to see a new card. Take a photo of it, and send it off to the internet for the community to digest. There’s a bunch of pride there; I’ve seen my images from PAX being used on eBay auctions to the rumor forums to Tumblr and a bunch of fan sites. That feeling of that it was you who “previewed” this card is thrilling and you felt like you did the community some good.

Continue reading “Non-Comprehensive Thoughts on Unofficial Leaks”

Everything That’s Pretty Okay with Battle for Zendikar

Editor’s Note: I’ve been sitting on my PAX report for a while after some delays (my brother getting married, life and work). I’ll visit it later; it hasn’t come out the way I want to.

Earlier this week, Pro Player (and notably better Magic player than I) Paulo Vitor Damo de Rosa put out an article on ChannelFireball.com called “Everything That’s Wrong with Battle for Zendikar.” In it, he explains why he doesn’t like the philosophical direction that BFZ has gone and believes it’s a bad set. He came from the angle as a competitive player completely acknowledges that angle; that’s what I want when I read something from him. While I don’t fully agree with his position I want to take a look at this groundswell I’ve seen online about the hatred for BFZ.

There has been a little bit of an issue with Channel Fireball moving his article around trying to hide it so it doesn’t effect sales of the new set in their store. I’m not looking to comment on this as I’ve had my own issues with a large online retail site/store before with their content. I’m all for an author writing what they believe without being tied to sponsors; that’s the major reason why I don’t have advertisements on this blog. If I write something like Paulo had and a sponsor didn’t like the content and this article might hurt sells, I might be pressured into writing something different or censoring myself. Paulo wants to start a conversation while giving his thoughts on the topic, and I fully applaud that even if I don’t agree with him. Continue reading “Everything That’s Pretty Okay with Battle for Zendikar”

After MaRo – State of Design Response 2015

Another year, another State of Design response.

While I’ve tried to keep up every year that Maro has written one, I think it’s important to voice your opinion about what you have thought about the past year. I know Maro gets so much player response, especially on Tumblr where it’s short bursts of info, it’s also good to write something a little longer. If you’re giving feedback, there’s something you need to communicate that can be very hard to do:

Explain why.

If you liked something, explain the reason. Same for not liking something. There is nothing as useless as “this sucks,” but don’t explain why. “I didn’t like that there were too many aggro decks,” is a valid reason, “I don’t like dragons,” is a valid reason, “Because why can’t we have Counterspell back?” is not a totally valid reason but if that’s the way you feel, please respond that way. Be kind, be courteous. I’m not trying to “tone police”, but even if you disagree with what has happened you can still be respectful. If you want your voice to be heard, write something; WotC will read it.

I know that last year I kinda went into a “Theros wasn’t an enchantment block so it missed its mark” midset and in hindsight, I still believe that. It’s okay to disagree with how things turned out. Did I think Khans block turned out better? Let’s find out. Continue reading “After MaRo – State of Design Response 2015”

Magic Cinema – Eldrazibusters

I’ve got two major passions in my life: movies and Magic. Sometimes they combine. This is one of those times. I apologize to any Vorthos that may see any canon that is off here. But as far as I know, this is a completely true story that I know totally happened like this.

EldraziBusters

There have been unconfirmed sightings of the mythical beings known as Eldrazi seen all over the plane of Zendikar destroying the landscape. Cultures on Zendikar worshiped them as Gods for thousands of years until their release a few years ago. Now, four Planeswalkers are on Zendikar to stop these giant beings. Ob Nixilis, a former demon Planeswalker, is trying to prevent this group from completing their mission. The dragon Planeswalker Ugin, who has just awoken from his slumber, is in his old cave, the Eye of Ugin, trying to save the plane from the mysterious destruction that is taking place.

INT – EYE OF UGIN – AFTERNOON

The great dragon Planeswalker UGIN is talking to a collection of his best minds in front of a map of Zendikar.

UGIN
I’ve got a plane blowing up and you guys are not giving me any answers.

VAMPIRE
We’re checking Akoum The Roil, Tazeem…

A GOBLIN enters the room and cuts him off.

GOBLIN
The Planeswalkers are here, Mr. Ugin.

UGIN
The Planeswalkers, okay, the Planeswalkers.

Continue reading “Magic Cinema – Eldrazibusters”

Branding with Magic Origins

Editor’s Note: I wanted to get this in before the Magic panel at SDCC, where hopefully they will talk about some of this stuff.

My three-year-old daughter doesn’t know who Chandra is.

She knows Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Iceman, Spider-Man, Firestar, Captain America, and Hulk are. She knows R2-D2 (whom she affectionately calls “Buddy”) and anyone in the Star Wars universe with a hood is called “Doom” (Yes, after Dr. Doom). There’s Red Doom (Darth Maul) and White Doom (Darth Sidious).

Nicol Bolas and Ajani are a mystery to her.

She rummages through my extra Dice Masters cards because she knows the characters. “Who’s this?” She asks, holding up Hawkman. I mention his name and she just shrugs. “Ok,” she uncaringly remarks while shoving the card into her pumpkin basket that she carries with her along with the Batman, Wonder Woman and Hulk cards.

She doesn’t play Magic, so she can’t just appreciate the game or the characters just yet. There’s been very little exposure to the game aside from the Pop Funko figures above my computer while we play LEGO Star Wars. Is it my fault?

Or is it WotC’s? Continue reading “Branding with Magic Origins”