Commander 2018 7/23 spoiler thoughts

Connor and I are looking over the spoilers released so far for Commander 2018.  It appears to mostly be from the Exquisite Artifact deck, which is the one that both of us have been wanting to see the most.  We are not disappointed with what we have seen. 

Big hypes for us: Planeswalkers as Commanders for this set.  Treasure Nabber looking like a lot of fun to hamper mana rock driven decks. Lots of tokens and copies. 

Our not so neat card list. Coveted Jewel, we have a general dislike for putting out 'pass around' cards, they tend to bite you in the ass later.  Varchild, while neat that is a odd ability and I'm not sure how useful it could be in the end.

We'll do some more in depth posts of what we think of the cards throughout this week.

Heirs to the Blood POD Bundles for VTES

Well two new Print on Demand bundles went up on DrivethruCards this month and I didn't even notice.  Here are the details for each. 

Heirs to the Blood Bundle 1

Power Pulses in the Vein

The descendants of Caine are many, and their blood is diverse. It may infuse a vampire with spiritual hunger, or stony endurance, or the maddening touch of the fae. Bloodlines arise and struggle for power against the entrenched clans. The blood will prevail.

This set is a fixed assortment of 120 cards for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle – 60 library cards and 60 crypt cards of clans Baali, Blood Brothers, Gargoyles, Harbingers of Skulls, Nagaraja and Samedi. All were first created for the original Heirs of Blood expansion 2010, since long out of print and in great demand among players.

Follow the link for complete list of cards included.

Heirs to the Blood Bundle 2

The descendants of Caine are many, and their blood is diverse. It may infuse a vampire with spiritual hunger, or stony endurance, or the maddening touch of the fae. Bloodlines arise and struggle for power against the entrenched clans. The blood will prevail.

This set is a fixed assortment of 120 cards for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle – 56 library cards and 64 crypt cards of clans Ahrimanes, Daughters of Cacophony, Kiasyd, Salubri, Salubri antitribu and True Brujah. All were first created for the original Heirs of Blood expansion 2010, since long out of print and in great demand among players.

Follow the link for the complete list of cards included.



This makes five sets available via POD now. Wondering just now much life this is breathing into the old game.  Especially since there really isn't a good POD option for new players wanting to get in on the game. 

Ravnica books for Dungeons and Dragons?

Now I've seen this picture floating around.

I was unaware of full blown Ravnica supplements coming out for Dungeons and Dragons.  But this is certainly what it appears to be.  No source for the image though, any ideas where they found this?

Edit found them on Amazon.  Release date as November 20, 2018. No price but this description:

Explore a worldwide cityscape filled to the brim with adventure and intrigue in this campaign setting for the world's greatest roleplaying game
A perpetual haze of dreary rain hangs over the spires of Ravnica. Bundled against the weather, the cosmopolitan citizens in all their fantastic diversity go about their daily business in bustling markets and shadowy back alleys. Through it all, ten guilds--crime syndicates, scientific institutions, church hierarchies, military forces, judicial courts, buzzing swarms, and rampaging gangs--vie for power, wealth, and influence. These guilds are the foundation of power on Ravnica. They have existed for millennia, and each one has its own identity and civic function, its own diverse collection of races and creatures, and its own distinct subculture. Their history is a web of wars, intrigue, and political machinations as they have vied for control of the plane.

More details as I find them... or somebody tells me.

First card spoiler for Commander 2018

Evidently a spoiler a day early for Commander 2018.  I must say it's one that I may be putting into a deck sooner rather than later.

Geode Golem.

Basically letting you pay your Commander for free from the command zone with the exception of paying commander tax.  Effectively making those high priced Legendry's a bit more affordable as it reduces their initial cost to zero IF you can get this guy out quickly.  Which in all honesty shouldn't be a problem with so many fetch cards out there now.  Maybe just pump this guy up a bit so he doesn't get himself destroyed to soon.

All in all a very nicely priced card at five mana for a 5/3 with trample and an ability that could save you a ton of mana in upcoming rounds.

Can't wait to see some more of the spoilers that are supposed to come out like a flood gate being opened tomorrow.

Art of Magic the Gathering 'Ravnica' cover image has been released.

A little bit of a spoiler.  Viz released the cover image for one of the upcoming 'art of' books for Magic.  This time it was for 'City of Ravnica', the upcoming expansion that return to the city that so many players loved.  But it's a nice little sneak peak at the art and it appears that we get Teysa right up in the front there.

Decklist - Scion of the Ur-Dragon

My current Scion of the Ur-Dragon commander deck. Basis was a Draconic Domination Commander deck that I've been slowly modifying and is very much a work in progress as I get new cards and swap things out here and there.

Edited 7-22-18

Commander

Scion of the Ur-Dragon

Artifacts

Blackblade Reforged
Door to Nothingness
Dragon's Hoard
Dreamstone Hedron
Fist of Suns
Gilded Lotus
Herald's Horn
Lightning Greaves
Manalith

Creatures

Atarka, World Render
Bladewing the Risen
Boneyard Scourge
Broodmate Dragon
Crosis, the Purger
Deathbringer Regent
Demanding Dragon
Dragonlord's Servant
Dragonspeaker Shaman
Dromoka, the Eternal
Hellkite Charger
Intet, the Dreamer
Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Numot, the Devastator
Ojutai, Soul of Winter
O-Kagachi, Vengeful Kami
Orator of Ojutai
Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner
Ramos, Dragon Engine
Ryusei, the Falling Star
Scalelord Recknoer
Scourge of Valkas
Silumgar, the Drifting Dead
Spellbound Dragon
Steel Hellkite
Sunscorch Regent
Taigam, Ojutai Master
Teneb, the Harvester
Territorial Hellkite
The Ur-Dragon
Tyrant's Familiar
Utvara Hellkite
Verix Bladewing
Wasitora, Nekoru Queen

Enchantments

Aqueous Form
Crucible of Fire
Dragon Tempest
Elemental Bond
Frontier Siege
Kindred Discovery
Palace Siege

Instants

Rescue

Lands, Basic

Island x3
Forest x2
Mountain x 5
Plains x3
Swamp x2

Lands, Other

Arcane Sanctum
Bloodfell Caves
Blooming Marsh
Command Tower
Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
Crumbling Necropolis
Dragonskull Summit
Frontier Bivouac
Haven of the Spirit Dragon
Jungle Shrine
Memorial to Folly
Mystic Monastery
Nomad Outpost
Opal Palace
Opulent Palace
Path of Ancestry
Rupture Spire
Sandsteppe Citadel
Savage Lands
Seaside Citadel
Vivid Crag
Vivid Creek
Vivid Grove
Vivid Marsh
Vivid Meadow

Planeswalkers

Sarkhan, Dragonsoul

Sorcery

Broken Bond
Crux of Fate
Earthquake
Farseek
Soul Salvage

Commander 2018 full art spoiler

Here is some of the artwork for Commander 2018 that has been shown so far. 

Commander 2018 deck set up spoilers

With the new set for Commander about to drop my excitement level is a bit up.  Especially considering it's my favorite format to play in.  Actual card spoilers are about to start dropping but at the moment we do have list of what the actual decks will be called and what tactic they will feature.

The 'Exquisite Artifacts' deck caught my attention the most as it captures the color combination I use most often in play along with centering it around another favorite of mine, artifacts.  One card I'm calling to be in there is the much under used Pia's Revolution from Aether Revolt.  It's a wonderful red enchantment that forces other players to give up life or let you return artifacts back to your hand when they are going to your graveyard.

Nature's Vengeance and Adaptive Enchantment aren't on my to buy list.  I've had enough green to last me a lifetime and I need a break.  While Subjective Reality I'll have to look into once the spoilers start dropping. 

What decks are you looking forward to?

Take some control

Originally published 5/13/18.

Back in the original days of Magic the Gathering some of common cards were quite good.  Some becoming staples in decks almost as soon as they came out or becoming more sought after than some rares.  This led to a common phrase "Common cards and common sense".  Basically telling people not to get wrapped up in chasing the rare cards for your decks and instead looking at what you have plenty of how they can work really well for you. 

So I'm going to try to follow up with that a bit with some common cards worth using in Commander that get overlooked by many.

Let's look at something wonderful for people who like red.  Hijack is a card most people have but never use (or Act of Treason, Traitorous Blood, Traitorous Instinct, etc. as it gets reprinted with slight differences and name changes often).  The simple basics, you take control of an opponents creature until end of the turn and it has haste.  Now why this may not seem like a lot of awesomeness at first glance it is something to hold onto until later in the game. 

Don't blow these cards on something small. Somebody always seems to go Voltron and pumping up a creature into a real ass beater.  Laying down devastation every chance they get.  So grabbing that which somebody else has spent a lot of time and mana on and swatting them (or somebody else) with it for only a handful of mana is a really good feeling. Especially if you've been playing many red right and your opponents have their life already knocked down a bit. 

I've won games by suddenly dropping one of these cards and suddenly taking out the very person who was about to take the win by ousting me. Nothing like seeing their face when they are suddenly snatching defeat with what they thought was their victory. 

Some not so common cards that work well are any cards that let you sack a creature (hello Ashnods Altar) to toss their big bad into the graveyard or Willbreaker and take them permanently.

Not Magic but good news for another old CCG

I've had several other CCGs besides Magic that I have loved.  Doomtown for it's crazy set up and setting.  Kult for some amazingly simple, elegant design that tested the most skilled card floppers tactical skill.  Legend of the Five Rings for taking unique, at the time, methods of card mechanics.  Then there is the granddaddy of all multiplayer games, the one that does it the best.  Vampire the Eternal Struggle, originally released by WotC as 'Jyhad'.

Now thanks to Black Chantry Productions it's back.  Just not in collectible form.  They are going the route of Print on Demand through One Book Shelf on their Storytellers Vault/DriveThruRPG sites.

First up is the Lost Kindred Bundle which is the first run of actual new cards.  While the number of new cards isn't many they do give you full playsets for most of the Library cards. 

Also coming out are Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1 and Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2 which are reprints of the last two micro expansions for the card game.  Which, from what I hear, were hard to come by at release.  These two are heavy on the Crypt side and don't seem to have full playsets of the Library cards... which is not a good thing. 

While I am quite hopeful that this helps revive the game to some level there are some issues.  There so far isn't a 'new player' option of getting into the game expect tracking down a bunch of the older cards.  Something badly needed for this would be premade starter decks.  Even if just a handful it would make it much easier to bring somebody new into the fold without telling them to go hit up ebay or dig through a local game shops dead CCG boxes. 

Eventually I hope to pick up the Lost Kindred Bundle and give a full review.  But that may be a while as I have a lot of other things on my 'want to get list'. But if anybody else gets ahold of them and wants to give their opinion feel free.  Heck post your thoughts or a link to your post about the new stuff.

The new limited board wipe

Originally published on 4/9/18

With Dominaria comes a few cards that change things around a bit.  This is a board wipe that does just that.

While I do like this card there are some limitations to it that any player needs to be aware of.  Especially in the first few months following it's release. 

Mainly Dominaria is a legendary heavy set, really heavy.  So that means most people will be loading their decks up with them.  Thereby limiting the damage this card can do.  I mean if you are running all legendary stuff it does cut down how bad your board wipe can hurt yourself but if everyone has stacked their decks the same.  It just won't do much good over all.

My advice would be if you see people starting to do this very thing then you need to change up tactics really quickly. *cough*sideboard*cough*  Toss in some old fashioned board wipes that don't care about the legendary status along with a few cards to help you recover from the wipe.  So when people are popping of Ruinous Blast and doing next to nothing you are taking them to the cleaners.

But this card is obviously useful.  Either to start with and switch out when it's not viable or to keep in your sideboard for when you go up against the guy who is legendary light. 

the new Mox is not so Mox

Originally published on 4/8/18

With the new expansion for Magic ramping up a lot of excitement with the return to it's original world people have been jumping at all the spoilers and leaks.  I'll admit that I have as well.  But sometimes I don't think the cards people are raving about are really all that special. 

Take for instance the Mox Amber.

While I'll admit it is a useful card people are freaking out about it being an all new Mox.  When really, it isn't.  It has that casting cost that made the original Mox cards really popular but unlike those of old this one is absolutely useless on the first couple of turns.  Which was pretty much what everybody loved about the originals when the game first came out.  First turn you had the chance to draw up a Mox or two and drop them in addition to a basic land and start pumping out mana faster than you opponent could.

This one absolutely does not do that.  It can be dropped on the first turn BUT it can't produce any mana until you get a legendary creature or planeswalker out on the battlefield.  Most of which cost more than a couple mana.  Later in play it can become useful as a generator for different colors but it is also weakened by the fact that a board wipe taking out creatures could render it, yet again, useless.  Especially with more and more cards targeting planeswalkers. 

Now if I get one I'll use it (or sell it if the price gets stupid high on it for some reason) but I don't see it becoming a stable in many of my decks.  Maybe those with a lot of legendaries or in Commander deck or two.  I'm not sure how many people will be making it a staple once the new and excitement wears off.

Just my two cents.  Your mileage may vary.

A Saga that can cause a stir

Originally published on my old blog on 4/11/18.

One of the new card types from Dominaria will be Saga's.  They come into play and create an effect, then after each of your next two draw steps it does an additional effect before being sacrificed.  Some aren't all the great, some are more Lore than anything else. However this one has caught my eye.

Being a big fan of artifact decks this will be going into the next one I build.  Usually most of the creatures I run in those decks are already artifact creatures.  But decks like that aren't super common and tend to have a slow build along with a weakened sorcery/instant game.  However this changes that up a bit.  A creature wipe for only four mana that, if you build a deck right, won't affect you at all.  On top of that it cleans out your opponents graveyards on it's farewell... but not yours.  Not to mention that graveyard cleanse is only one turn after the wipe so it limits how many cards a player can save. For the price you pay it is well worth it.

Of course other artifact creature heavy decks won't be affected except by the graveyard flush.  But honestly you don't really see people playing many of those.  So honestly for me I see this as more useful than Urza's Ruinous Blast.  Now if only it wiped Planeswalkers as well....