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http://media.wizards.com/2015/dftyuv...fj23ulqkul.png
Set Name: Battle for Zendikar
Block: Set 1 of 2 in the Battle for Zendikar block
Number of Cards: 274
Prerelease Events: September 26-27, 2015
Release Date: October 2, 2015
Official Three-Letter Code: BFZ
Gideon and Nissa would be (2 of) the planeswalkers.
Gideon by Eric Deschamps
http://data.iplaymtg.com/attachment/....jpg.thumb.jpg
Nissa by Raymond Swanland
http://data.iplaymtg.com/attachment/....jpg.thumb.jpg
Other spoilers depict Gideon and Nissa fighting with eldrazis.
http://www.iplaymtg.com/data/attachm....jpg.thumb.jpg
http://www.iplaymtg.com/data/attachm....jpg.thumb.jpghttp://www.iplaymtg.com/data/attachm....jpg.thumb.jpg
I thought Gideon was supposed to look like Bruce Willis:
http://s3.gatheringmagic.com/uploads...7/06/MS_38.jpg
But then Magic Origins happened. Now he looks more like this guy:
http://mtv.mtvnimages.com/uri/mgid:u...=495&width=660
Wotc Tweet
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJrcQM4WsAAGqhm.jpg
"Here's another look at some of the allies we'll see in #MTGBFZ... what's that in Kiora's hand? "
Two things:
1. "allies" - seems like a phrasing WotC wouldn't do on accident - probable return of ally mechanic
2. Bident of Thassa in Kiora's hand - Theros gods somehow involved with the battle for zendikar? - possible enchantment theme
It's the Bident, she tricked Thassa into throwing it at her and then Plane walked away with it. In effect, she stole it.
Edit:
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles...rop-2015-05-20
We better get a playable Kiora walker.
pic.twitter.com/J1CcpwAWCm
ObNixilis is confirmed by official Wotc twitter.
I am not impressed. No art of Kiora chilling in a hot mountain pool.
Shitty ally mechanic confirmed for return. Boy, do they know what the people want.
Maybe they will make it "good" this time, though "good" means limited and kitchen table playable.Quote:
Originally Posted by iamajellydonut
Allies were appearently a popular casual mechanic.Quote:
Originally Posted by iamajellydonut
Think of it as a poor man's slivers before Wizards ruined them.
This time we will get allies with LEVEL UP! Amazing!Quote:
Originally Posted by Barook
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post...allies-do-they
MaRo confirmed ally is in.
Personally, I dislike ally mechanic, both flavor and mechanism.
Slivers are the Kicker of tribal mechanics, so it's hard to get behind most of what's been going on with tribal themes ever since Lorwyn decided that Merfolk obviously deserve the most Lords. I have a personal soft-spot in my heart for Kithkin because JUST WOOK AT THEIR WITTLE FACES but everyone else need to find their own niche, god dammit.
there are 5 merfolk lords, and counting eladamri there are 5 elves who give a buff to other elves.Quote:
Originally Posted by TsumiBand
Merfork do not have the most lords, they have the cheapest, and merfolk did not have the most lords with lorwyn, Lorwyn give merfolk their second lord in Reejerey, but it also gave Elves their second +1/+1 lord, and goblins its second +1/+1 lord as well, though Goblins also had warchief as well as 2 +1/+1 lords at that point.
I'm just going to assume he meant "most PLAYABLE lords" when referring to Merfolk. I am also annoyed that fish people are better at pumping each other than the almighty Sliver.Quote:
Originally Posted by sjmcc13
Allies were super fun in standard the first time around, lots of different ways to build them and lots of fun to pilot.
Sure not relevant for Legacy, but just cause you don't like them doesn't mean no one liked them, they were a lot of fun for me and really really popular at FNM's.
Slivers still have more playable pump slivers then any other tribe. They have 3 2 mana everyone gets +1/+1 on top of all the other slivers doing something.Quote:
Originally Posted by Admiral_Arzar
Merfolk has 2 lords and Phantasmal Image :P
Slivers could also run images.Quote:
Originally Posted by HdH_Cthulhu
So could everyone else. 1U is hardly an unsplashable cost in any Legacy deck. Merfolk lords also grant evasion at which point stacking more +1/+1 pumps becomes very relevant which is one of the reasons why that deck plays 12 to 14 lords and non-combo beatdown Elves is not a thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tokugawa
Allies really aren't that far from hitting eternal power levels, and there's a lot of design space that the tribe could still usefully explore.Quote:
Originally Posted by sjmcc13
Everyone's already forgotten about Hardened Scales?
Nope.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
Hah! Yeah, based on your signature it looks like TsumiBand remembers it exists. :tongue:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bed Decks Palyer
Also, I feel obligated to point out that this thread is going to be an off-topic shit show for the next few months...
On-topic-ish?
If WotC does it right, Allies could be a credible deck in Modern after BfZ.
I mean, I'm at least trying to forget about it.
I have "fond" memories of allies if only because that mechanic was literally the only break you got from the endless tedium of "one- or two-color mono-two-drop aggro" in triple Zendikar limited. And by "fond," I mean the mechanic was utterly forgettable even when it was current, just because it was patently a slivers knockoff.
I guess I'm glad they're bringing that back as opposed to Landfall. Zendikar and Zendikar-Worldwake limited were miserable in no small part because Landfall stacked things so heavily in the favor of the active player.
Is Landfall confirmed as not in? I just assumed it would be, along with a reprint of all the fetches. (Note to self, sell off all Zen fetches)Quote:
Originally Posted by Aggro_zombies
It took WotC 13 years to reprint the Onslaught fetchlands. It's only been 6 years since Zendikar. I'm not saying it will take 13 years, but I personally suspect they will be reprinted in a future Modern Masters (3 or 4). Selling off your Zen fetches may give you a headache come October when the prices spike after confirmation of no reprint. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Cheese
For what it's worth:
- I do not expect full art lands
- I do not believe we will see Landfall return
- Our heroes will defeat Ulamog
- The search for Kozilek and Emrakul will continue until everyone is bored with it
The only item on my wishlist is that WotC complete the cycle of dual-colored man-lands.
What if we're already bored of it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew
Then you can enjoy playing with Allies. :tongue:Quote:
Originally Posted by iamajellydonut
WotC really put themselves in an awkward position by not defeating the Eldrazi the first time around...
If they print a nerfed Ulamog, everyone will complain about the nerfing.
If they power creep, Show and Tell gets better.
You guys remember when UG survival was the biggest thing ever? The Vengevine deck that got Survival banned? I loved that thing.
Then I took it to an SCG and in the 3-0 bracket got my ass fucking handed to me by a guy who metagamed everyone with an Allies deck. I shit you not, he beat 2 other UG Survival decks to get to me, and dream crushed me with a 2-0 as well. It's cute getting a 4/3 with haste out on turn 2, but you know what can eat salad elementals like no one's business?
Kazandu Blademaster.
He got 2 of these things to 3/3 or higher and I was just locked out of the game. That card withHada Freeblade, Ondu Cleric, and Aether Vial were enough to easily destroy the scariest, banworthiest deck in recent Legacy history.
Everyone here thinks they aren't scary or good, and maybe they won't be now that Miracles is fucking everywhere, but that deck still gives me nightmares.
There's no good reason to put the fetchlands in Modern Masters. Fetchlands move booster packs incredibly well, and putting them in Modern Masters, a set with a limited print run, is a complete and utter waste. You put then in Standard sets because those have unlimited print runs and you make a whole lot more money doing so. When the choices are "make a small amount of money" versus "make a lot of money" the latter is going to win out, particularly considering that unlike some other cards, they're completely harmless in Standard.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew
All that said, I think there might not be fetchlands in Battle for Zendikar. They may not want all 10 fetchlands simultaneously Standard legal. Additionally, while the fetchlands can go potentially into any block, the dual manlands are more unique to the Zendikar plane. Additionally, with the return of the enemy painlands, it would be odd to have only enemy fetchlands in Battle for Zendikar, as that destabilizes the color fixing in favor of the enemy colors (unless the enemy fetchlands are accompanied by the allied manlands, but I think they would want to complete the manland cycle). My prediction is that we'll see the manlands in Zendikar (probably with the cycle completed) and the enemy fetchlands will be in the block after Zendikar. But there's basically no way they're going to waste such a valuable and Standard-friendly reprint on Modern Masters.
As for Landfall, considering that's apparently one of the most popular mechanics they've done (according to Mark Rosewater, anyway), it's hard to see them not returning it, particularly while the fetchlands are around. If they have fetchlands in the block after this, landfall will be simultaneously legal with the fetchlands for its entire Standard tenure.
Onslaught came out in 2012, so 12 years actually.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew
Though they were not expensive enough to need a re-print for a most of that 12 year span. and there was need gameplay need until Modern started to become a success.
I assume 2012 is a typo. :smile:Quote:
Originally Posted by sjmcc13
Wikipedia says Onslaught came out in October of 2002.
Khans came out in October-ish of 2014. So yeah, my bad. 12 years.
I think I understand your second point (but again, typos :wink:), but Modern would not have affected the price of Onslaught fetches because they were not legal for Modern until the Khans reprint.
Excellent point! That'll be my reasoning now too. :tongue:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Seth
Yes, I make allot. Especially when rushing to get a thought out of my head.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew
Price now, that would likely have come from EDH, but it would have created a demand for a re-print to get the cycle into modern. to balance out the color/mana options a bit more, as only having enemy fetches did put some weight on decks using those combinations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew
It's possible that their philosophy is "get it over with" so rather than having multiple era's of standard with infinite shuffling you overlap them so you don't drag or space it out forever. The price of Zen fetches is an issue in modern already, and Wotc seems to be attempting (unsuccessfully) to keep the secondary market under control. Also if landfall is in the set, but fetches aren't, then once Khans rotates out of standard BFZ will have a year of landfall being essentially unplayable, which is a pretty miserable experience for people who buy into it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Seth
I too think that "get fetch lands over with" could be their plan. Putting them in the Zendikar small set would mean they would be legal in Standard for the shortest possible duration, and then all the fetches would be over and done with for another 5+ years.
Allies were sweet in draft, probably no constructed applications, don't really care.
I'm just hoping for the enemy manlands, and maybe throw us Legacyfolk the usual 1-3 cards in the "not completely awful to good" range.
Modern wasn't driving the price of the Onslaught fetches up, but reprinting them helped drive the price of Zendikar fetches down. From the data on mtgstocks, it looks like all the Zen fetches took a small dive shortly before the release of Kahns, although they all took a much bigger dive right before Journey to Nix. Not sure what happened there, maybe that's when the Khans fetches actually got spoiled, or something to do with Modern 'season'?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace/Homebrew
Why the hell didn't I sell my Tarns at $100 each?!?!