The current state of Magic

[Barook]

So this is from the official Ixalan page - Pirate Vraska fighting dinosaurs.

This is silly enough to be actually awesome. At least it isn't "Jacetice League joins a new plane to ruin everything yet again!" plot.

[phonics]

Best news yet.
I wasn't even excited until now. :)

I think the last set he was on was INN?

And what on earth are they going to put in FTV transform? I had to look up to see what they could possible put in that set.

5 planeswalkers
delver
avacyn
bruna/ gisella
hanweir battlements/ garrison?
huntmaster?
titi?
elbrus?
garruk?

[Lord Seth]

New set stuff

The more or less important stuff
- FTV: Transform, aka flipcards (aka we reprint Baby Jace - yawn)
- Masters25 next year
- new Unset in December (who the fuck buys this shit?)

The problem of Gotcha cards aside, Unhinged was actually a lot of fun in Limited.

- Return to Dominaria April 2018 (given their track record with Return sets, I don't have my hopes up)

I'm not sure I'd call it "return" in the way previous sets were, because Dominaria was a much more varied world than the others. Mirrodin is just Artifact Land, Innistrad is Spooky Land, Ravnica is City Land, and Zendikar is Land Land. Dominaria didn't have any themes on it, which was actually nice because it made it feel more real and less like one of the gimmick planets they'd visit in an episode of Star Trek ("A Piece of the Action" perhaps being the quintessential example of what I'm talking about). You could do a lot of things in Dominaria, as shown by how long the game took place there (with excursions to other planes the exception rather than the rule). This actually makes me happy to be going back, but I hope we go back and stay there for a while, rather than it just being a "hey, you remember this place, right? Okay, moving on..."

Richard Garfield being back does sound cool though.

[Barook]

The problem of Gotcha cards aside, Unhinged was actually a lot of fun in Limited.

I'm not sure I'd call it "return" in the way previous sets were, because Dominaria was a much more varied world than the others. Mirrodin is just Artifact Land, Innistrad is Spooky Land, Ravnica is City Land, and Zendikar is Land Land. Dominaria didn't have any themes on it, which was actually nice because it made it feel more real and less like one of the gimmick planets they'd visit in an episode of Star Trek ("A Piece of the Action" perhaps being the quintessential example of what I'm talking about). You could do a lot of things in Dominaria, as shown by how long the game took place there (with excursions to other planes the exception rather than the rule). This actually makes me happy to be going back, but I hope we go back and stay there for a while, rather than it just being a "hey, you remember this place, right? Okay, moving on..."

Richard Garfield being back does sound cool though.

What's the state of Dominaria after the we've last seen it? The Time Rifts are closed, but shouldn't the slivers still be furiously multiplying?

[Kanti]

NWO came with Shards, if memory serves, and at least to me Alara block was the first truly different one - Lorwyn was a beginning of something new, to be sure, but it still straddled a line.

Lorwyn was amazing. How could you hate on Lorwyn?

The EV out of cracking a box of Lorwyn or Morningtide is insane. Definately wish I would have kept some boxes in my closet, fml. And it should have been obvious, as it had powerhouse rares like Cryptic Command and Bitterblossom for the standard enviroment, and shit like O-Ring to Thoughtseize for eternal. Not counting the value of like Heritage Druid, Nettle Sentinel, Tarfire, the list freaking goes on.

[Crimhead]

What's the state of Dominaria after the we've last seen it? The Time Rifts are closed, but shouldn't the slivers still be furiously multiplying?

As far as I know.

But this could be millennia in the future. Or Jace could be traveling back in time to save Dominaria - or to loot the Academy.
Lots of play.

Lorwyn was amazing. How could you hate on Lorwyn?

I don't hate it my any stretch. But...

• It was the beginning of the end of combo support.
• It was the beginning of the end of draw/go.
• It was the beginning of the end of diversity in Standard.

[(nameless one)]

So this is from the official Ixalan page - Pirate Vraska fighting dinosaurs.

This is silly enough to be actually awesome. At least it isn't "Jacetice League joins a new plane to ruin everything yet again!" plot.

This Ixalan thing is straight out of Hearthstone's Un'goro set.

[ESG]

1. Unlimited
2. Unglued
3. Unhinged
4. Unstable

Get's 'em every time!

Unfunny.

[Barook]

This Ixalan thing is straight out of Hearthstone's Un'goro set.

Maybe it's just a coincidence? Un'goro was announced in February 2017.

We already got a picture of pirate Vraska in December 2016, when Ixalan/Explorers of Ixalan was spoiled with a different name:

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles...tlantean-plane

[Crimhead]

This Ixalan thing is straight out of Hearthstone's Un'goro set.

Hearthstone has Un-sets too now?

[Claymore]

Dominaria was wrecked by the planar overlay, and the Sliver Queen (plus the majority of her brood) was killed when a volcano was overlayed on top of her lair. Some reports are that the remaining slivers were eradicated during the battles of Invasion.

The Riptide project on Otaria resurrected the slivers and they bred wildly without the control of Volrath's Hivestones or the Queen. Slivers were drawn to the Mirari's magic pulses because they thought it was their Queen, so they were wiped out again when the Mirari exploded to create Karona. That explosion apparently merged several into the Sliver Overlord. Some speculation is that after Karona died, the Overlord separated again.

So the remaining slivers were those that survived that Mirari apocalypse and others that timeshifted in from the overlay (shadow sliver). The "dying plane of Dominaria" was mana deficient, so slivers evolved to mimic other species (vampires, basal thrulls, birds of paradise). They were controlled by a few walkers (Freyalise, Lord Windgrace) and the Weaver King. Those walkers and the King died or whatever, so again the slivers just continued to multiply and search for a new leader.

I don't know how it fits in, but the plane of Shandalar has both the humanoid slivers and the original sliver type, plus the Hivelord which controls both.

So as far as I know, the official stance (probably by the old books) is that the Riptide project resurrected some slivers, the Overlord is gone, and slivers otherwise continued to breed out of control across Dominaria since they did not have the Queen there to control them anymore. As Dominaria recovered, I imagine the slivers surged in numbers, but the plane would have adapted by now to be able to keep the slivers in check. Sliver Legion hinted at a new sliver leader being present on Dominaria, so we will probably see that.

[tescrin]

What's the state of Dominaria after the we've last seen it? The Time Rifts are closed, but shouldn't the slivers still be furiously multiplying?

Nah, wizards Fucked Them To Death™

20 years of power creep meets Kavu. I don't think anyone wants to see usable Kavu :D

[Lord Seth]

I don't hate it my any stretch. But...

• It was the beginning of the end of combo support.
• It was the beginning of the end of draw/go.
• It was the beginning of the end of diversity in Standard.

Huh? Faeries was the best Draw-Go deck since Psychatog.

Heck, even that wasn't the end. Draw-Go was actually pretty good during the Return to Ravnica Standards thanks to Sphinx's Revelation.

[Hanni]

Does this mean we finally get Urza as a Planeswalker?

[Barook]

Does this mean we finally get Urza as a Planeswalker?

But Urza is, you know, dead. If anything, we would get him in some kind of Commander/Eternal-related product. Blind Seer was a total troll card.

[supremePINEAPPLE]

Zombie Urza, easy. He could even be Liliana's sidekick in the gatewatch!

[Hanni]

Why does it matter if he died in the original story? They could go back in time, at least long enough to print Urza as a Planeswalker, damnit.

[Barook]

Zombie Urza, easy. He could even be Liliana's sidekick in the gatewatch!

I'm pretty sure his head (which was kept alive by the powerstones) was vaporized alongside Gerrard and the rest of the Legacy (minus Karn) when Gerrard fired of the Legacy Weapon by inserting the powerstones into Karn (which also turned Karn into a Planeswalker).

[Hanni]

I'm pretty sure his head (which was kept alive by the powerstones) was vaporized alongside Gerrard and the rest of the Legacy (minus Karn) when Gerrard fired of the Legacy Weapon by inserting the powerstones into Karn (which also turned Karn into a Planeswalker).

Then he could be a Spirit. Stop trying to kill the dream.

[Kanti]

Shoudn't Tahngarth, Sisay, and Squee be having their own adventures on the Victory? I would be excited for Squee 2.0, a new series of ships that are playable, and some Sisay draw spells plz.