Mirrodin Emblematic

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Before we start speculating as to what new Planeswalkers (singular or plural) we may see in the next Magic the Gathering set, Mirrodin Besieged, we were talked into doing a brief revisit of some planeswalkers from the first set, Scars of Mirrodin.

We won't at this time do a review of Elspeth Tirel, but will touch upon both Koth of the Hammer and Venser, the Sojourner as they both seem to enjoy more popular play than the Elspeth (why we serious don't know - and yes, we are still looking for one to own). To learn more about all of the MTG Planeswalkers, drop by the mothership page here.

Anywhoos, here is the run down, prices one can expect to pay for these great cards to take your game to the next level and some Cranial Insertion from one of the best MTG forums, like evar.

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Venser is a planeswalker who wields blue and white magic. His specialty is teleportation magic and building his own unique and powerful artifacts. Venser is brilliant and able to think fast on his feet to find a way out of any sticky situation he encounters. He relies on his knowledge of artifice and teleportation to pave his way through the Multiverse, where he satisfies his boundless curiosity of all things mechanical.

Venser, the Sojourner, 3WU
Planeswalker - Venser, Mythic rare
+2: Exile target permanent you own. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step.
-1: Creatures are unblockable this turn.
-8: You get an emblem with "Whenever you cast a spell, exile target permanent."
Loyalty Counters: 3

Q: How does Venser, the Sojourner's first ability work? If I use it on him, does he come back with his starting loyalty? If I use it on a leveler, does that leveler lose all its level counters?

A: A permanent that changes zones is treated as a new object. So when it goes into exile, the game's memory of that object is wiped, and when it comes back, it enters as a fresh new card, free of anything it used to have like counters (unless it enters the battlefield with those counters, such as Venser or any other planeswalker), pump effects, and anything else temporarily granted to it.

Q: Venser, the Sojourner flickers Volition Reins – can it come back on a Sphinx of Jwar Isle?

A: It sure can! Auras only target when they're spells – an Aura simply dropped onto the battlefield can go on anything it can legally enchant. Shroud only stops targeting, not enchanting, so you can have that Sphinx.

Prices
Low 17.99
Average 25.42
High 48.94

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Koth is a planeswalker who wields red magic. His specialty is geomancy, spells that move mountains, shatter stone and melt iron. His earth magic has a special strength in it that allows him to purify metal, which reflects Koth’s own inner desire to bring peace and harmony to his people.

Koth of the Hammer, 2RR
Planeswalker - Koth, Mythic rare
+1: Untap target Mountian. It becomes a 4/4 red Elemental creature until end of turn. It's still a land.
-2: Add R to your mana pool for each Mountain you control.
-5: You get an emblem with "Mountains you control have 'T: This land deals 1 damage to target creature or player.'"
Loyalty Counters: 3

Q: After Koth of the Hammer animates my Mountain, can my opponent blow it up with Tectonic Edge since it's no longer simply a Mountain?

A: Your Mountain is no longer a simple Mountain, but Tectonic Edge doesn't target a non-simple land, it targets a nonbasic land. Nothing in the game other than copy effects can change whether or not a land is basic – that means that it has the basic supertype, not that it only has one ability, or that it's named whatever, or that its type matches its name. All that matters is the basic supertype, which Mountain has, even while animated.

Q: So if I make a second emblem with Koth of the Hammer, do my Mountains deal 2 damage when I tap them?

A: The two emblems will give two activated abilities to your Mountains. But you can't tap a Mountain to activate two abilities at once, so you can only activate one ping at a time and only deal 1 damage per tap.

Low 26.00
Average 36.91
High 48.00
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