Kaldheim. It's going to have Snow. And Vikings.

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

Yep, exactly. Another overcosted creature that can't ever do anything about a PW; a truly great use of a rare slot. WotC needs to put pro-UG rather than "can't be countered" if they want cards like this to matter. Like what is this card? Is this just throwing a bone to Commander players who want a second [crappier] Edric?

Yeah, card's unplayable because it loses to the best planeswalker ever printed that's banned in every format but legacy?

[phonics]

The sheer creative bankruptcy at wizards is astounding.

After they left Dominaria, they never ever managed to make any interesting stories or create a continuous narrative.
It was already pretty bad that they had to unearth Nicol Bolas to make him a Thanos to give the multiverse power ranges a reason to exist.

Going back to the Phyrexians again after the last Mirrodin block is just embarrassing.
For Mirrodin it at least fit thematically.

I'm just waiting for them to bring back Yawgmoth because they can't come up with an engaging story if their life would depend on it.

What bothers me is the general though behind bringing back the Phyrexians.
How much of the standard crowd actually remembers sets with Phyrexians, let a lone has an emotional attachment to them?
New Phyrexia was released almost 10 years ago and even that lacked the year long build up and a setting the sets up to Invasion had.

However reference for reference has worked well for Dominaria, Modern Horizons, and the past Commander products, even though the later to don't attempt to tell a story.

I guess it's only natural in a sense given the trend in other media in the last decade to remake and recycle everything thinking it's safe while still failing at almost every attempt.

After the success of innistrad they probably realized they had struck gold with top down design, which is why majority of everything since has been built on top of a derivative of some real world mythos. Its probably why they have dinosaurs, pirates and other meme creature types as well. It may be creatively bankrupt, but this is what people who spend money on mtg want. They are probably just going to continue this and sprinkle in a return to ravnica / mirrodin/ zendikar/ dominaria, doing something like reveal phyrexian venser as the next big bad for the next few years until he enables bolas' eventual return (who will be corrupted by phyrexian oil no doubt).

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

Isn't magic the story thoroughly dead ever since WAR?

[Barook]

Yeah, card's unplayable because it loses to the best planeswalker ever printed that's banned in every format but legacy?

Oko is also legal in Vintage, for what it's worth. I'm sick and tired of the "can be Elk'd" argument - can we just ban Oko and call it a day? The way he warps everything is ridiculous.

As for the creature itself, it isn't too impressive in a format with StP and Karakas.

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

Oko is also legal in Vintage, for what it's worth.

Which is nothing.

[Pittplayer]

Yeah, card's unplayable because it loses to the best planeswalker ever printed that's banned in every format but legacy?

Nope. Because it's a 4 mana 1/1 that has some who cares abilities. The fact that anyone would even try to claim this card would see any play, in any format, is not even worth having a conversation about. Vintage? Nope. Legacy? Nope. Modern? Nope. Standard? Nope.

[Cire]

That squirrel is an excellent representation of Ratatoskr! They're really delving into norse mythos there!

[Pittplayer]

Can almost stop Oko.

Also anyone actually reading the conversation would understand the comments were directed at the claim that this card is somehow a answer to Oko, not just some random " dies to Oko " comments.

[Zoid]

After the success of innistrad they probably realized they had struck gold with top down design, which is why majority of everything since has been built on top of a derivative of some real world mythos. Its probably why they have dinosaurs, pirates and other meme creature types as well. It may be creatively bankrupt, but this is what people who spend money on mtg want. They are probably just going to continue this and sprinkle in a return to ravnica / mirrodin/ zendikar/ dominaria, doing something like reveal phyrexian venser as the next big bad for the next few years until he enables bolas' eventual return (who will be corrupted by phyrexian oil no doubt).

Most sets were top down design which in itself is not wrong.
They have been doing it since the beginning of the game.

What matters to me is the internal consistency of the world/story they create.
Ixalan was very meme heavy but kind of made sense in the theme they were going for.

As they have basically given up on telling a story by forsaking the block structure, the room for lore in one set is very narrow.
Instead of just doing a norse world which has ample material to work with they shoehorned the phyrexians back in because reasons.

I also don't mind revisiting older planes/settings and giving the people what they want.
However they completely forgot how to still make a set it's own thing.
Sets like WAR or DOM look more like fan fiction than something that advances existing material.
References for the sake of references.

I don't really follow the story since I despise the multiverse planeteers.
They use cards a lot better now to tell a story which is good, but the story they tell sucks ass.

Bolas was a terrible villain and thankfully not used for long.
The eldrazi were actually interesting but killed off to quickly to be effective.

Yawgmoth was an interesting character because he was an ominous faceless entity which didn't talk.
The agenda and means were rather clear, no need to twirl mustaches.

Without him, the phyrexians might as well be zombies or vampires.

Isn't magic the story thoroughly dead ever since WAR?

Was there ever a real story in the last decade?
The rest of the old world died with Time Spiral.

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

Nope. Because it's a 4 mana 1/1 that has some who cares abilities. The fact that anyone would even try to claim this card would see any play, in any format, is not even worth having a conversation about. Vintage? Nope. Legacy? Nope. Modern? Nope. Standard? Nope.

It draws cards, lol.

[Zoid]

Nope. Because it's a 4 mana 1/1 that has some who cares abilities. The fact that anyone would even try to claim this card would see any play, in any format, is not even worth having a conversation about. Vintage? Nope. Legacy? Nope. Modern? Nope. Standard? Nope.

Well it's a green and improved coastal piracy for what it's worth.
Commander players are probably already moist thinking about this.
I can also see this seeing some play in Standard and Pioneer giving mono/heavy green decks more card advantage.

It also counters most routes which green creature decks without Hendge active lose:
Mass removal and getting caught with your pants down since you've run out of steam.
Besides -/- or exile this furball survives everything.
Given the recent trend of printing ridiculous dorks like Questing Beast and Elder Gagaroth, I'm unsure if that was really necessary though.

[mistercakes]

This squirrel is purely for EDH and standard. Enjoy it for what it is.

[morgan_coke]

I kind of hope that's the only Phyrexian in the set. The first tease on a new Phyrexian set came way back during Ixalan in the flavor text of a card. It'd be nice if they kept up that slow burn.

[Zoid]

I kind of hope that's the only Phyrexian in the set. The first tease on a new Phyrexian set came way back during Ixalan in the flavor text of a card. It'd be nice if they kept up that slow burn.

Do you mean Fountain of Ichor?
AFAIK they said somewhere that this was not a reference to Phyrexians but to the fact that oil is basically made from dinosaur remains.

Good thing they dropped the theme or people maybe would have remembered that Prohpecy was basically a set about a war for oil.

Also, teasing/slow burn is a bit difficult if you start with one of the heavies.

[morgan_coke]

Do you mean Fountain of Ichor?
AFAIK they said somewhere that this was not a reference to Phyrexians but to the fact that oil is basically made from dinosaur remains.

Good thing they dropped the theme or people maybe would have remembered that Prohpecy was basically a set about a war for oil.

Also, teasing/slow burn is a bit difficult if you start with one of the heavies.

WotC going with the wildly inaccurate dinosaurs to oil myth? Why does that not remotely surprise me. Phyrexia long plant hint was so much of a better concept, and, obviously, more than they could come up with.

[Zoid]

WotC going with the wildly inaccurate dinosaurs to oil myth? Why does that not remotely surprise me. Phyrexia long plant hint was so much of a better concept, and, obviously, more than they could come up with.

Well, dropping a "hint" in a masters set is bad anyway.
Also it was much less of a hint since people immediately spotted it and asked about it.

If anything we should have learned in the past years that wizards and subtlety don't go well together.
Same goes for good design in general to be honest.

[Fox]

WotC is like Rocket Launcher, but what they lack in subtlety, they make up for with FIRE.

[Barook]

Soul Sisters?

This seems pretty good in the right deck. It becomes a 4/6 flyer itself aside from a double Anthem when the condition is met. And since it isn't legendary, you can run multiples of it. Two of it already become two 6/8 flyers - that's pretty scary. Speaker of the Heavens seems to be tailor-made for it.

Edit: It's worth mentioning that this thing shits on flipped Delvers no matter what, which can be very relevant.

Edit #2:Foretell was spoiled:


Edit #3: Okay, it's trash, since the is a fixed cost.

[Ronald Deuce]

Edit #2:Foretell was spoiled:


Edit #3: Okay, it's trash, since the is a fixed cost.

And you can't cast it on the same turn you foretell it, if the wording is anything to go by.

The question is whether you can cast it at instant speed.

[Barook]

And you can't cast it on the same turn you foretell it, if the wording is anything to go by.

The question is whether you can cast it at instant speed.

I would assume that normal casting restrictions still apply. Otherwise, you could cast it on your opponent's turn.