Izzet vs. Golgari

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

We have another announcement to catch up on - this one from WoTC Monty and his post Magic Arcana on Monday.  If you are a Magic the Gathering player, love Duel Decks products and have a soft spot for Ravinca, then we are certain you are looking forwar to the September 7 release date.

First up - some MTG history . . .

The Golgari

The Golgari believe you can't truly live until you die. For them, death gives life meaning, and from death comes new life. With its vast horde of undead serving as both standing army and labor force, the Golgari operate in Ravnica's undercity, slowly taking over abandoned and derelict areas like a fetid slime mold. This guild contains many factions, from undead abominations of plant matter and flesh, to Ravnica's dark elves, known as the Devkarin. Leadership of the guild is never uncontested.

The Izzet
The Izzet run hot and cold—literally. In fact, they keep nearly everything running, from Ravnica's heating networks to its water systems. The undisputed masters of spellcraft and invention on Ravnica, they're the only guild that understands metamagic: how magic itself works. Led by the capricious and unfathomably brilliant dragon Niv-Mizzet, the Izzet magewrights endlessly create and destroy, driven only by passion for discovery. Experts in elemental magic, the Izzet use elementals to guard their alchemical labs and power their turbines. They've even created their own crossbreed elementals called weirds. Unlike most other guilds, the Izzet fail to see the importance of power, dominion, or wealth. The rabid pursuit of knowledge is the guild's only concern.
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And here's the 4•1•1 for the Duel Decks . . 
 
The Izzet League, under the ingenious mind of its guildmaster, the dragon Niv-Mizzet, has dabbled, delved, and decoded many mysteries in its insatiable thirst for knowledge. Now the dracomagus seeks to plumb the depths of Ravnica’s undercity. But the Golgari don’t welcome interlopers in their dank, moldy realm.

Under the command of the elvish lich lord Jarad, the Golgari have dwelled in darkness long enough. The Swarm grows restless and its rot farms need fresh corpses. Jarad believes the time is right to teach Niv-Mizzet’s magewrights a lesson: that there is no place for Izzet research in the vicious cycle of life and death.

Initial Deck Design: Chris Millar
Final Deck Development: Mark L. Gottlieb
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGIVG
Languages Available: English, Japanese
Release Date: September 7, 2012
MSRP: $19.99d

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With the fall block 'Return to Ravnica' hitting games stores early October,  we are planning to pick this Duel Deck as it is perfectly timed to get a dose of Ravnica flavour ahead of the new block.
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