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Happy Friday MTG Peeps,
This is our last post for a bit as we are away for a much needed vacation at the fam's cottage next week. While we are away playing with bears (our bear vid here) in the wilderness and dreaming of an internet connection / cell phone coverage, we invite you to check out the latest posts over at our good friends at Gathering Magic, Casual Magic, or get some trading done at CCG Tradepost.
Magic the Gathering loves Fridays, so make sure you make tracks to your local game store as it is FNM, or perhaps just wipe the chicken wing sauce / pizza droppings off your kitchen table before your mates pop over. Righto - you lot were likely looking for another article - so let's yatter about the horrid state of our Eldrazi Green deck. We've not touched this build for rather some time and think we took a few key cards out for other decks and cannot quite remember what was in there to start.
What got us thinking about this build again was the interesting interaction between Mycoloth (SoA) and Primal Cocoon (M11). One can put this green aura on Mycoloth and enjoy additional saproling tokens each turn - rather fun. Alternatively, we were thinking about fishing additional lands out each turn (via Harrow and the like) to pave the way for Avenger of Zendikar. The punchline with either (or both) of these routes is of course Eldrazi Monument. There's always a moment however in most of our games where we are feeling nekkid / exposed to removal of Mycoloth / Avenger before they pay out - similar case when we have our puked out a board of saproling / plant tokens before getting Eldrazi Monument out in play - yeah - we're thinking about Chain Reaction and the ilk.
Anywhoos - Here is what we found after blowing the dust off . .
Some solid mana acceleration with Lawnmower Elf and Lawnmower ver. 2.0. Some insurance against removal with Vines of the Vastwood and Canopy Cover (love both these cards). Oddly, we found two Elvish Visionary - not sure if we had a deck set of these or they simply bled in some time ago from the side-board. There is also a deckset of Deadly Recluse which certainly saved our bacon a few times in the past by forcing our opponent to think twice before swinging in with Fatty McFatster. Finally, the build gets a bit more interesting with Leatherback Baloth, Garruk Wildspeaker, Mycoloth, Eldrazi Monument, and Avenger of Zendikar. As for land, we found the requisite Oran-Rief, the Vastwood and Khalni Garden.
We were thinking perhaps using Fauna Shaman to fish out the correct cards at the most strategic moment and then lost our train of thought (done fairly easily unfortunately), as we thought about our Knight build from yesterday - Imagine the slim chances of getting two Knight Exeplars out in play - this could be potentially solved with Fauna Shaman - anyways - more to think about we guess.
Right - as this build is no where ready to hit the game table, we would very much appreciate any suggestions you may have - send 'em in as we are away next week and we will get back to work on it upon our return (if the bears don't eat us).
Lastly, if did not know, MTG Mint Card has for you, a 5% Off Coupon. You may be asking, hey MTG Realm, how do we get the deal? - Glad you asked, just enter "FACEBOOKMTG" on the checkout page, and you will get 5% off.
Thnx - and don't forget to eat your Greens.
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Good Day my MTG pickles,
In today's post, we wanted to yatter about just how awesome Knight Exemplar is. Like many of you, as soon as this M11 card was spoiled, we wanted to build a deck with it. Similarily, like many of you, as soon as we started thinking about it, we came to the conclusion that the standard-legal pool was somewhat shallow with only 3 knights in M11, 7 in Zendikar block, and 12 in Shards of Alara block, we would have to choose carefully what buddies Knight Exemplar should hang out with.
If we were playing extended, the auto-include in a Knight deck would be Kinsbaile Cavalier (giving all your knights double-strike) and the lifelinking Knight of Meadowgrain. Yeah - that would have been cool. Another hang-up is that we did not want to go back to Shards to buy cards that we did not already have (like Rafiq of the Many and Knight of the White Orchid unfortunately) which will rotating out of standard in just a few short months. So here is what is on the kitchen table for your consideration . . .
KNIGHTS available in standard : Caravan Escort, Cloud Crusader, Kabira Vindicator, Knight Exemplar, Knight of Cliffhaven, Knight of the Skyward Eye, Knight of the White Orchid, Knight-Captain of Eos, Lightwielder Paladin, Paragon of the Amesha, Sigiled Paladin, Student of Warfare, Talus Paladin, White Knight, Ethersworn Adjudicator, Outrider of Jhess, Arrogant Bloodlord, Black Knight, Dragonsoul Knight, Goblin Roughrider, Ethercaste Knight, Knight of New Alara, Knight of the Reliquary, Knotvine Paladin, Steward of Valeron and Rafiq of the Many.
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What we are presently thinking about is constructing a build with Knight of the Reliquary, Student of Warfare, and Steward of Valeron.
Knight of the Reliquary is able to fetch out lands such as Tectonic Edge, Sunpetal grove, Stirring Wildwood, and very importantly, Serjiri Steppe to provide protection against coloured threats.
Speaking of threats, our local meta-game as we are certain yours, is chocked full of red burn (usually of a Jund flavour) so we might consider using Mark of Asylum and Leyline of Sanctity.
After further thinking, we wished to pimp out knights with equipment meaning that Stoneforge Mystic would be needed and perhaps Behemoth Sledge, Sigil of Distinction, Basilisk Collar and perhaps Quietus Spike.
Anywhoos - we need your help to get a standard Knight deck to the games table, so please drop a comment in below - Friday Night Magic is tomorrow night so there's no pressure - THANKS!
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Good Day MTG peeps,
We have for you today, what we would like to call a 'filler' post - this is a blog post which may be mildly interesting to some and rubbish to others. Today's post concerns the recent Dev Chat (or Magic 2011 Developer Chat) which took place on Tuesday, July 27th at 3pm PDT / 6pm EDT. In this forum, players and MTG fans of all variety are afforded an opportunity to ask a limited number of questions of Wizards of the Coast personalities regarding the last set release - this being the Magic 2011 Core Set - all in real time.
On Tuesday, a number of questions were put to the head of R&D Aaron Forsythe and designer/developer Tom LaPille. Many thanks to forum member PhoenixLAU, who posted the transcript. We suggest you read the full transcript here as we have provided only Question and responses related to the upcoming Scars of Mirrodin release . . .
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<%Mono789> What efforts were made to connect M11 to the blocks surrounding, i.e. Zendikar block and Scars of Mirrodin block?
<@TomLaPille> We used individual cards to do that, mainly
<@AaronF> Erik Lauer, the set's lead dev, is always looking to make those kind of cross-block connections, and the design team helped out.
<@AaronF> There are several "artifact-matters" cards, like 
Hoarding Dragon, Phylactery Lich, and Steel Overseer for Scars.
<@TomLaPille> For example, Primeval Titan connects well with both landfall and expensive spells
<@TomLaPille> We tried to go in both directions.
<@AaronF> Right, green Titan was definitely made to interact with ZEN.
<@AaronF> There we even cards made to interact with Shards block, although they were subtle and I don't recall them at the moment.
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<+andrew_holder> Voltaic Key has a history of being a strong card that leads to many powerful interactions and even sees eternal play. How much debate, if any, went into giving the Key a reprint, especially with Scars around the corner?
<@TomLaPille> Key breaks with other broken artifacts, like Mana Vault and Time Vault (heh)
<@AaronF> Key wasn't ever really the problem card, it was always the other insane cards like ... see above
<@AaronF> It's like blaming Hypnotic Specter when the real broken card is Dark Ritual.
<@AaronF> Key does stuff with Scars block, but I don't anticipate brokenness.
<@TomLaPille> Key does cool and fun and reasonable things with cool and fun and reasonable artifacts
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<+GlenDonald> Was there specific thought given to making M11 feel nostalgic so as to tie in with Scars?
<@TomLaPille> To me, M11 is built to be nostalgic for anyone who knows anything about baseline fantasy
<@TomLaPille> Everything there is sometihng you recognize
<@AaronF> Not particularly more than I'd want any Core Set to feel nostalgic. They should all contain familiar cards, as well as some new hotness. So no, no special treatment here.
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Well that's it. Make certain you keep your ear to the ground for the next Dev Chat. One can participate through the following methods . . .
via widget: tinyurl.com/mtgdevchat (Should take you directly to a login screen)
via mibbit: mibbit.com/chat (Takes you to a screen where you type in your desired username and your channel name (the channel will be #mtgdevchat )
via IRC: If you have an IRC client, you can access it by going to the mibbit IRC (irc.mibbit.net) and then the channel (/join #mtgdevchat).
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And lastly, we suggest you get over to MTG Mint Card - this is your LAST CHANCE to get the discounted M11 Card Sets from only $29.99 ! Check out this solid deal for Magic 2011 Core Set M11 Uncommon & Common Set X4.~
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We are going to yatter about a post M11 artifact deck today. Quite a few cards in this build will not be around when they Shards of Alara block and M10 rotate out of standard this fall so we suggest, get in the best 3 months of gaming right now while you still are able.
Anywhoos - starting off, let's have a peak of that metallic angel found inserted in your M11 boosters. The art suggests a new Platinum Angel art, or a new Angel not seen before (most likely). Some rumours insists that we could see a return to coloured artifacts.
Text : Scars of Mirrodin
The corrosion begins October 2, 2010
Journey back to this harsh metallic Plane. This time, will you leave in one piece?
We many hints from all quarters that Scars of Mirrodin will be artifact heavy, we ensured we had our deck set of Steel Overseer now for $4 before it jumps to $14 this fall. Speaking of artifacts, and Steel Overseer, we had a great weekend testing a post-M11 artifact deck, starting at Friday Night Magic, and then a few times throughout the weekend at the kitchen table going up against a variety of different decks. We had a blast, not only was this deck fun to play but also performed not badly.
Here's the deck list - as usual, we ask you the readers to help us out and provide suggestions as to what you would do . . .
38 Spells
3 x Ornithopter
3 x Elixir of Vitality
3 x Voltaic Key
4 x Etherium Sculptor
3 x Metallurgeon
4 x Steel Overseer
3 x Oblivion Ring
3 x Fabricate
4 x Master of Etherium
3 x Lodestone Golem
3 x Scourglass
2 x Platinum Angel
22 Lands
11 x Plains
7 x Islands
2 x Gargoyle Castle
2 x Dread Statuary
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Right off the bat - Our original build had the Ornithopters sitting in the sideboard - that was a mistake. Since main-boarding, we count over half the games won by a pumped-up Ornithopter. The exilir of Immortality was good as well and saved our butt a few times by supplying a quick life boost.
Voltaic Key and Steel Overseer are at the heart of this deck and makes everything bad-a$$. We especially loved any game which had Etherium Sculptor and Lodestone Golem out - cheaper artifacts for us and more expensive spells for our opponents. Fabricate performed well by allowing us to look for an artifact in our deck and Master of Etherium was always a solid drop. The big kick to our opponents was Scourglass which wiped their side of the game table but left ours intact. We never really got a chance to play Platinum Angel which means we need more play-testing - we feel that having the Anel out along with the Exilir of Immortality could save us from otherwise stalled games.
The number of mana appeared to be good as well but we did not really get a chance to use Dread Statuary of Gargoyle Castle which means more play-testing again which we will not mind at all given the big fun factor of this deck.
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And lastly, we suggest you get over to MTG Mint Card - this is your LAST CHANCE to get the discounted M11 Card Sets from only $29.99 ! Check out this solid deal for Magic 2011 Core Set M11 Uncommon & Common Set X4.
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Hello MTG peeps - we now are posting our second Scars of Mirrodin spoiler thanks to folks like Matt Wang and Alender (the GiftsUngiven fella) who attended the San-Diego Comic Con Magic panel in Room 26AB yesterday from 6:30-7:30pm. In attendance were Mark Rosewater, Aaron Forsythe, Brian Tinsman, Richard Whitters (Magic Lead Concept Artist) and others (as well as some very lucky gamers) to yatter about upcoming products for Magic the Gathering to rock your game table.
Right off the bat, lets get to the anticipated Sword of Body and Mind which will not only be in the premium deck series From the Vaults : Relics, but also in the fall 2010 set, Scars of Mirrodin . . .
Sword of Body and Mind, 3
Artifact - Equipment, Mythic Rare
Whenever equippe creatuer deals combat damgae to a player, you put a 2/2 green wolf creature token onto the battlefield and that player puts the top ten cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
Equip 2
Dang - that is nice. Here is what we are planning . . . Use Stoneforge Mystic to pull this card out of the deck, then using evasion such as Canopy Cover (or perhaps Whispersilk Cloak) or perhaps Emerge Unscathed to hit home, mill 10 and get my wolf.
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Righto - next up . . .
We can expect two Planeswalkers in Scars of Mirrodin - one is be an Elspeth variant and the other one is Koth, so far just a name and image.
The panel also indicated that an old Mirrodin mechanic would be returning. We can only recall three mechanics in the original Mirrodin -> Imprint (This ability found on artifacts allows you to remove a card from the game and "imprint" the attributes of the removed card onto your artifact), Affinity (Spells that are cheaper for the more artifacts you have in play.) and Entwine (Spells that give you two options, or pay an extra cost and do both) and we have already been told that Affinity will not be back.
Hey - time for some random Scars of Mirrodin arts . . .
Also - from one of our fav readers, WRTCHD1 who attended the panel -
* There will be a new version of Elspeth, no abilities specified
* There will be a new Planeswalker by the name of Koth, no color or abilities specified
* Vamps may possibly get a replacement for Nocturnus (tongue in cheek), they will have a bigger presence on Mirrodin now than they did in the past
* The Sunburst mechanic will make a return, along with a new version of Etched Oracle
* The Elspeth vs. Tezzeret DD features new artwork for Honor of the Pure with Elspeth leading an Army
* In addition to Sword of Body and Mind (G/U) there will be another legendary sword, color combo wasn't spoiled but Aaron Forsythe said " Mirrodin had a B/W sword and a R/U sword, Scars has a G/U and a you figure out the rest of the sequence..."
* Mark said this set was his baby and he's really excited. He also spolied that the next expansion set thats going to be released next fall was developed and worked on heavily by Richard Garfield
Very cool indeed - we are so totally looking forward to this set in the fall. Apparently there is another sword in SoM. That's it for now but many thanks to WRTCHD1, Matt Wang and Alexander Shearer (as well as others) for sharing updates from the San-Diego Comic Con.
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We just got around to perusing a post over at our buddies at Gathering Magic which reminded us we were again lagging behind MTG news and spoilers. This special set was announced way back in January, but we had an update just last week via a packaging image posted to a Chinese MTG / Gaming forum.
Quick Blurb if you have no idea what we are talking about . .
All powerful. All famous. All incredibly rare. These are some of the mightiest weapons of the Planeswalkers. From the Vault: Relics contains fifteen battle-tested artifacts, culled from throughout the history of Magic: The Gathering
Anywhoos - here are the 15 Premium foil cards to be expected in this set :
AEther Vial
Black Vise
Isochron Scepter
Ivory Tower
Jester's Cap
Karn, Silver Golem
Masticore
Memory Jar
Mirari
Mox Diamond
Nevinyrral's Disk
Sol Ring
Sundering Titan
Sword of Body and Mind
(Sword is the mythic rare from the October Magic set Scars of Mirrodin)
Zuran Orb
The cards receiving new art are:
AEther Vial, Black Vise, Isochron Scepter, Ivory Tower, Masticore, Mox Diamond, Nevinyrral’s Disk, Sol Ring, and Zuran Orb
Here is the corporate blurb from the Mothership ->
Contents
* 15 Premium foil cards, including 9 with new art
* An exclusive spindown life counter
* A collector’s guide
* Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the “From the Vault” series.
* The 15 cards are all printed in the current card frame – for several, it is for the first time.
* From the Vault: Relics will be available world-wide in English only, and will have an extremely limited print run.
* All cards are black-bordered and tournament legal. This means that these cards are legal for use in any tournaments where the original printings are still legal.
Product Concept and Development Team: Mark Rosewater, Tom LaPille Release Date: August 27th, 2010 MSRP: $34.99
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Where to get your paws on this ? - Try the upcoming GEN CON Indy event . . .
From the Vault: Relics Convention Promotion
Gen Con Indy 2010 - August 5-8
Wizards of the Coast will once again be selling the popular From the Vault series at Gen Con 2010. A limited quantity of the new set Magic: The Gathering From the Vault: Relics card boxes will be sold at Gen Con Indy 2010.
* Only 400 units are for sale for the duration of the show, 100 boxes will be sold each day.
* Attendees wishing to purchase From the Vault: Relics are required obtain a ticket. The ticket card allows you to purchase From the Vault: Relics.
* 100 tickets will be handed out each day from 10 - 11 a.m.
* Limit one (1) ticket per person.
* Tickets can be obtained from any one of 4 Wizards of the Coast representatives wearing a red FTV t-shirt. Representatives can be found in and around the TCG Hall/Hall G
* Tickets can be redeemed for From the Vault: Relics at the Wizards of the Coast Booth 1721 beginning at 1 p.m. and ending at the close of the exhibit hall each day. You must turn in your ticket in order to purchase your copy of From the Vault: Relics. No Ticket, No Purchase, No Exceptions
* Tickets must be redeemed the day they are issued. Tickets will not be allowed to roll over to the following day.
* The limit for From the Vault: Relics is one per person for the duration of the show. Attendee badges will be marked to verify purchase. Badges should be presented out of the badge holder to help in this process.
* From the Vault: Relics will retail for MSRP ($34.99) plus applicable IN state sales tax.
* All retail exclusives are available in limited quantities, while supplies last.
* All sales are debit or credit card only; and all sales are final.
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Good Day and Happy Wednesday MTG Peeps,
We are taking a moment to have a quick look at Magic 2011 singles prices today to ensure that you are making fair trades with your so-called buddies you hang out with at your local game store. Without further adieu, here is the price guide - just remember - these prices are approximate and are subject to change even by the time this post goes live.
| Primeval Titan | $42.00 |
| Baneslayer Angel | $30.00 |
| Grave Titan | $26.00 |
| Fauna Shaman | $12.00 |
| Time Reversal | $9.00 |
| Sun Titan | $8.00 |
| Gaea's Revenge | $6.25 |
| Garruk Wildspeaker | $6.25 |
| Knight Exemplar | $6.00 |
| Obstinate Baloth | $6.00 |
| Inferno Titan | $5.00 |
| Jace Beleren | $5.00 |
| Nantuko Shade | $5.00 |
| Ajani Goldmane | $4.75 |
| Leyline of Anticipation | $4.50 |
| Day of Judgment | $4.00 |
| Demon of Death's Gate | $4.00 |
| Dragonskull Summit | $4.00 |
| Glacial Fortress | $4.00 |
| Leyline of Sanctity | $4.00 |
| Liliana Vess | $4.00 |
| Phylactery Lich | $4.00 |
| Frost Titan | $3.75 |
| Steel Overseer | $3.75 |
| Sword of Vengeance | $3.75 |
| Birds of Paradise | $3.50 |
| Drowned Catacomb | $3.50 |
| Dark Tutelage | $3.25 |
| Captivating Vampire | $3.00 |
| Chandra Nalaar | $3.00 |
| Destructive Force | $3.00 |
| Elvish Archdruid | $3.00 |
| Leyline of the Void | $3.00 |
| Rootbound Crag | $3.00 |
| Serra Ascendant | $3.00 |
| Sunpetal Grove | $3.00 |
| Brittle Effigy | $2.75 |
| Mystifying Maze | $2.75 |
| Mitotic Slime | $2.50 |
| Platinum Angel | $2.50 |
| Reverberate | $2.50 |
| Conundrum Sphinx | $2.25 |
| Honor of the Pure | $2.25 |
| Leyline of Punishment | $2.00 |
| Mass Polymorph | $2.00 |
| Redirect | $2.00 |
| Temple Bell | $2.00 |
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Also of note today, we should mention what awesome promo cards to expect during M11 Game Day which will be taking place August 14-15, 2010 . . .
If ya don't know - Game Day takes place at participating Wizards Play Network locations worldwide one month after the Magic 2011 release. Game Days are the first opportunity to play Standard format on a global scale with the cards from Magic 2011!
All participants receive an exclusive Liliana's Specter promo card (while supplies last). The top 8 players each receive an exclusive full-art Mitotic Slime promo card. The cards are awarded to the Top 8 players even if the tournament cuts only to the top 4. Two Mitotic Slime promo cards will also be awarded as door prizes at each location.
Righto - so make sure you have all the M11 cards you need to construct that deck to make your game awesome - MTG Mint Card has a really decent deal on right now - Magic 2011 Core Set M11 Uncommon & Common Set X4 - check it out here.
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As you know, Magic 2011 is now officially released and you should expect a whole slew of launch parties today. Yesterday, when my local games store opened, we dropped in to pick up an M11 Fat Pack as is our custom to dissect its contents for you.
Let's have a look,
Our fav pack opened of course was the one that had Garruk and the foil Brittle Effigy. Here's the list of the pulls we had.
RARES
Serra Ascendant, Silence, Angelic Arbiter, Stormtide Leviathan, Reverberate, Garruk Wildspeaker, Elvish Archdruid, Obstinate Baloth,
Brittle Effigy (foil).
Uncommons
Armored Ascension, Condemn, White Knight, Alluring Siren, Call to Mind, Sleep, Black Knight, Deathmark, Reassembling Skeleton, Liliana's Caress, Howling Banshee (foil), Chandra's Spitfire, Combust, Earth Servant, Fireball, Atumn's Veil, Duskdale Wurm, Garruk's Packleader, Nature's Spiral, Prized Unicorn, Dragon's Claw, Crystal Ball, Gargoyle Sentinel, Sorcerer's Strongbox (x2)
If you have not noticed, we love Fat Packs - why? Even with the crazy-a$$ Canadian price of $45, it is still worth it - you get EIGHT boosters and a nice box to store your awesome new cardboard.
Here is exactly what you get in the Pack : 8 Magic 2011 booster packs, the Magic 2011 Player's Guide, 1 learn-to-play insert, 1 pack of 40 Magic 2011 basic land, 1 Magic 2011 Spindown Life Counter, and an excerpt from Test of Metal, a Planeswalker novel.
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What got us thinking about this build again was the interesting interaction between Mycoloth (SoA) and Primal Cocoon (M11). One can put this green aura on Mycoloth and enjoy additional saproling tokens each turn - rather fun. Alternatively, we were thinking about fishing additional lands out each turn (via Harrow and the like) to pave the way for Avenger of Zendikar. The punchline with either (or both) of these routes is of course Eldrazi Monument. There's always a moment however in most of our games where we are feeling nekkid / exposed to removal of Mycoloth / Avenger before they pay out - similar case when we have our puked out a board of saproling / plant tokens before getting Eldrazi Monument out in play - yeah - we're thinking about Chain Reaction and the ilk.
