Tumblr Thursday

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

As it is Thursday, we thought it somewhat à propos to get around to yet another summary of posts to our sister site, MTG Realm on Tumblr.  This is something of a dust bin of all things miscellaneous to our Magic: the Gathering gaming passion.  Anywhoos - strap yourself in and let's go . . .
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January 30, 2013

81 notes

Bob Ross - Blood Artist
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Photo

January 30, 2013

42 notes

grumpybstrd:

Prerelease aftermath.

DANG! Gamer casualties !

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Photoset

January 30, 2013

60 notes

 

Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt

This Wizards of the Coast Magic: the Gathering product will be released on March 15, 2013, with an MSRP is $20.  The product will contain two preconstructed theme decks, one centered around Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and the other around Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded.
• Features two alternate art, premium foil, Mythic rare Planeswalker cards.
• Contents include a total of 12 rare cards.
• Six cards feature alternate art not available anywhere else.
• Contains two 60-card decks ready to play right out of the box.
• Designed for engaging head-to-head duels between experienced players.

On the world of Innistrad, humans have always been pawns. For the mighty vampire families, humans are the source of blood and the foundation of their power. For the werewolf packs, humans are prey. For the ghouls and ghosts of the plane, humans are reminders of lives gone by, the despised living to be hunted and terrified. And for demons and devils, humans are targets for their hatred and torment.

Sorin was among the first generation of vampires created on Innistrad. He saw how his kind spread over the plane, feeding on and ultimately diminishing the populace. He argued for restraint, but the other vampire families resented his intrusion. Unknown to his kin, however, Sorin was a Planeswalker. He traveled the Multiverse searching for a solution to the grave situation on his home plane. Ultimately, he created the archangel Avacyn, a protector that would watch over the humans of Innistrad and serve as the symbol of hope. Thousands of years later, Innistrad is still afflicted with monstrous creatures, but thanks to Sorin’s intervention, the Avacynian Church continues to lend its protection to the world’s humans.

The fiendish mage Tibalt was born human, but immediately showed a predilection for inflicting pain. When a dark invocation caused his essence to be merged with infernal devils of Innistrad, his Planeswalker spark was ignited. He was free to traverse the Multiverse looking for new unfortunates to torment, but the innocent people of his native Innistrad were always his favorite victims.

Sorin, with his long-sighted, vampiric perspective, knows that humanity may lose its tenuous grip on survival if Innistrad’s monstrous forces hunt too recklessly. The young pain-mage Tibalt, on the other hand, respects no authority but his own vicious whims. As they clash, neither will tolerate anything but the utter defeat of his foe. Who will prevail is up to you.

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Photo

January 30, 2013

42 notes

Today at Gathering Magic - Hilarious Boros Censorship

Planeswalker Weekly: A Legionnaire of Controversy (Vorthos) by the brilliant MJ Scott.

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Photo

January 29, 2013

27 notes

thatguyjamesart:

New infographic up on Gathering Magic today, this one is all about Gatecrash.
You can see the whole deal here.

Like the most awesome infographics like ever.  Great work James and congratz getting the post onto Gathering Magic !

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Photoset

January 28, 2013

9 notes

 

 

Magic: the Gathering -  New deck ideas
The Gatecrash PreRelease weekend left impressed with a few of the new cards.  Vizkopa Guildmage in a deck with Exquisite Blood / Bump in the Night is a lovely combo which might land in my current whhite / black deck.  I was also impressed how well (and many times during the event) my Fathom Mage made friends with Forced Adaptation for some decent card draws - just not sure if I could squeak a deck out of this for standard.

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Photoset

January 28, 2013

3 notes

 

Magic: the Gathering - ManaBase
I was rather lucky to pull a Breeding Pool at the Gatecrash PreRelease this weekend and am now working on my manabase for my green/blue Momir Vig EDH / Commander deck.  Simply could not get a hold of the original (Dissension) Breeding Pool~

Photo

January 31, 2013

2 notes

Just one guess - which Guild Tifa Meyen played during Gatecrash PreRelease ?
Tifa Meyen and fiancé Michael Robles, both with WotC took in the PreRelease event at Hobbies & More.

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MTG Gatecrash Wallpapers

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We were going to talk about how some of the new Gatecrash cards and how they might fit into our existing standard constructed decks but then we lost concentration (Look! A kitteh!) - so we'll save that up perhaps for tomorrow and perhaps even put another few videos out after all our awesome preorders come in from MTG Mint Card.  

 










For today however, we'll do a quick round-up of some very beautiful Magic: the Gathering Gatecrash wallpaper recently posted to the mothersite.  As an aside, we're glad not to have overly smexy wallpaper like Skyknight Legionnaire with the chest-canons or overly gruesome wallpaper like the squirty Primal Visitation - thanks Wizards - just lovely / interesting art like these.

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Hellkite Tyrant, illustrated by Aleksi Briclot'

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Gideon, Champion of Justice, illustrated by David Rapose

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Tin Street Market, illustrated by Noah Bradley2560x1600
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Domri Rade, illustrated by Tyler Jacobson2560x1600
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Gateway Shade, illustrated by Ryan Yee2560x1600
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Dragon's Maze Prerelease

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Sorry - not a very long post today but we had to share something rather interesting WotC Monty shared on the Mothersite yesterday.  Check this out . . . 
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All Ten Guilds

When you walk in to a Dragon's Maze Prerelease, you'll get to select your favorite guild from among all of the ten guilds of Ravnica! That guild pack will have a secret allied guild, which will share one color with your chosen guild, and also always be from the opposite set as your chosen guild.

So let’s look at an example: You’re a Dimir player, so that’s the guild you pick. That guild pack might have Return to Ravnica's Azorius as its secret ally (although it could also be Izzet, Rakdos, or Golgari). That guild pack would have four Dragon's Maze booster packs, one Gatecrash Dimir guild Prerelease pack, and one Return to Ravnica Azorius guild Prerelease pack. The two guild packs will be the same as they were in their original Prerelease, but will not have that set's Prerelease promo for those guilds. The guild Prerelease packs will not contain a Spindown life counter, sticker, or guild welcome letter.

One Prerelease Card
Everyone who plays in a Dragon's Maze Prerelease will get the same alternate-art promo foil card, while supplies last. This card will not be playable in your Prerelease deck.

The Maze
There's also a maze! Players (that's you) will work collectively to advance their chosen guild through the Implicit Maze each round. There are prizes for each guild that gets all the way through the maze, and special prizes for the first guild that does it. And when the maze is completed, all participating players will receive a premium (foil) basic land promo card!
No Basic Land in Dragon's Maze Booster Packs

Wait... that sounds kind of negative. Let's rephrase it.
Dragon's Maze Booster Packs All Contain Nonbasic Lands

That's better! The fifteenth card in all Dragon's Maze packs isn't basic land; it's nonbasic land. All ten guildgates will be showing up (with the Dragon's Maze expansion symbol), as will all ten shocklands from Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash (with their Return to Ravnica or Gatecrash symbols). You are about half as likely to open a shockland in Dragon's Maze as in Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash and, since this is for all ten shocklands rather than five, that means you are about a quarter as likely to open a specific one. There's also a mythic rare land from Dragon's Maze that will show up there sometimes!

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Sooo . . . . we're getting two different guild packs and four Gatecrash packs.  This sort of set-up seems like fun times to ensue at the PreRelease - who knows - maybe sealed deck construction might even be a little less challenging than that with Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash.  The non-basic land line that Monty delivered has us intrigued.

Oddly enough,  the rumour mill churned out an interesting theory which states that this may be a mythic rare land which essentially provides an alternate win condition should you control all ten Guildgates - weird, interesting and cool all in one we think.

Anywhoos - we'll be expecting our preorder from MTG Mint Card fairly soon and will most definitely locking ourselves in the basement to modify existing builds and leverage new strategies.  See y'awl at the game tables! 
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Gatecrash PreRelease

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Wow!  What a great weekend we had at the Gatecrash PreRelease.  Magic: the Gathering players around the world were able to play for the first time with all the very cool new cards and from what we heard from the gamers at OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, the sealed format with this new set rocks.  

This post is the second in our prerelease series and covers off the event we attended on Sunday.  Check out our previous one for the midnight prerelease event with an Orzhov Guild Pack.   We'll be sorting through all our new cards over the next few days and will start evaluating inclusions to our standard and our EDH / Commander builds.  To round out your new collection, drop by MTG Mint Card and get new Gatecrash cards quickly and inexpensively.

Anywhoos - onto the post!  Here's a short video - 
 
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 . . . And here's our pulls 

Simic Guild Pack : Fathom Mage (PreRelease foil promo), Simic Guildgate, Unexpected Results (rare), Zameck Guildmage, Miming Slime, Gridlock, Verdant Haven, Shambleshark, Adaptive Snapjaw, Scatter Arc, Spire Tracer, Bioshift, Forced Adaptation, Keymaster Rogue, Crocanura, Metropolis Sprite

Gatecrash Booster Packs:
Pack 1 : Legion Loyalist (rare), Boros Elite, Serene Remembrance, Boros Keyrune, foil Forest
Pack 2 : Breeding Pool (rare), Ordruun Veteran, Aetherize, Nimbus Swimmer
Pack 3 : Mystic Genesis (rare), Duskmantle Guildmage, Crackling Perimeter, Coerced Confession
Pack 4 : Skarrg Goliath (rare), Undercity Informer, Rapid Hybridization, Skarrg Guildmage
Pack 5 : Mystic Genesis (foil rare), Mind Grind (rare), Mindeye Drake, Ground Assault, Gift of Orzhova

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We were happy with our pool and was able to construct a decent sealed deck with several creatures with evasion or unblockable to win 2 games, 1 loss and 1 draw to score us a few booster packs in prizes.  Stay tuned latter as we provide some new insight to some of the cards we played or played against.
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GTC Midnight PreRelease

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

Late last night, or rather very early this morning we headed out to the Gatecrash midnight prerelease event being held at our local card shop, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario.  When we arrived, just shortly after the regular Friday Night Magic event was wrapping up, the store had a good-sized crowd eager to start playing with the newest Magic: the Gathering set.

We went with Orzhov and will be heading back to take in another prerelease event on Sunday - we were just too dang tired to go to any of the ones today - plus we wanted to post this video for you -  

 
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For this PreRelease, just like with the last set, players get to choose a Guild Pack.  In the Guild Pack, you get a 'booster' specific to your chosen Gatecrash guild and five booster packs which you then build your 40-card deck.  Here's what we pulled : 

Orzhov Guild Pack : Treasury Thrull (R), Orzhov Guildgae, Alms Beast (R), Call of Orzhova, Thrull Parasite, Debtor's Pulpit, Assault Griffin, Prophetic Prism, Shadow Alley Denizen, Dutiful Thrull, Purge the Profane, Court Street Denizen, Devour Flesh, Beckon Apparition, Syndicate Enforcer, Zarichi Tiger.

Rares in Packs : Five Alarm Fire, Aurelia the Warleader, Consuming Aberration,  Merciless Eviction, Ooze Flux.

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The field was a fairly even split between the guilds with a slight favour to Orzhov and Simic.  We only stayed for two matches before dropping (from being just exhausted - we get up fairly early every day).  The matches we did have were against Orzhov with the 'Extort' mechanic and Simic with the 'Evolve' mechanic.  Fun times, great games.  Tomorrow we will certainly be staying for the full event and hope to have some thoughts as to how each of the five guilds performed in a sealed event.

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OMG Games - Gatecrash PreRelease

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Hey there MTG peeps,

Just a final reminder that tomorrow at midnight, Gatecrash PreRelease events will be taking place around the world.  Check in with your local gaming store (here's the store locator), to see what day(s), times they are running events and if they need you to pre-register or reserve  a PreRelease Guild Pack.  Finally, remember to bring along your dices, sleeves, lucky troll doll, whatever and be prepared to have FUN.  Good Luck and may the odds be forever in your favour.

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MTG Realm will be snapping pics and taking vid at our local store, OMG! Games near Georgian College, here in Barrie, Ontario  ('bout a short one-hour drive north of Toronto).  Here's the 4.1.1. on the events along with some Gatecrash product shots to get ya salivating.
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Gatecrash Pre-Release
OMG! Games - 130 Bell Farm Rd  Barrie, ON L4M 6J4, (705) 721-4263
 
Saturday January 26th
12:00am(Friday Midnight)
10:00 am
3:00 pm
7:30 pm

Sunday January 27th
11:00am
4:00pm - Two-Headed Giant

Format
Sealed Deck — Each player receives one Gatecrash Guild Prerelease Pack to use for building a deck.

Two-Headed Giant Sealed — Each team of two players receives two Gatecrash Guild Prerelease Packs to use for building their decks. (one Guild Prerelease Pack per player)

Each Guild Prerelease Pack contains items designed specifically for the chosen guild.

5 Gatecrash booster packs
1 Guild Booster Pack
1 Promo Card
1 Achievement Card
1 Spindown™ Life Counter
1 Letter from the Guildmaster
1 Guild Symbol Sticker
For this event, players may use the promo card included with the Guild Prerelease Pack in their tournament deck.

Cost & Prizes
$35 For all regular sealed events
4-0 record recieve 14 packs Gatecrash
3-0-1 record recieve 10 packs Gatecrash
3-1 record recieve 6 packs Gatecrash

$60 Two Headed Giant ($30/player)
Beat the Owners in swiss rounds and recieve 2 additional prize packs.  Additional Prizes given out based on attendance. May include Guild Prerelease packs.

5 Guild Special
$150 enters you in any five events and will reserve you 1 of each guild pack for your events. 

 
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Gatecrash PreRelease Prep

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

To those Magic: the Gathering players planning on attending one or more Gatecrash PreRelease events this weekend, this post to the MTG Realm blog is for you.  For the Gatecrash Prerelease, you will be able to choose from five Guild Prerelease Packs. The options (while supplies last) are Orzhov, Dimir, Gruul, Boros, and Simic. Each Guild Prerelease Pack contains five Gatecrash booster packs, a guild-specific booster pack, a special alternate-art prerelease card unique to each guild (which you will be able to use in your deck), an achievement card, a Spindown life counter, a guild symbol sticker, and a letter from the guild's leader.



Well, that was the easy part.  The next step is to select from your pool, cards which will support your strategy and hopefully win you games.  One aspect which had been important in limited deckbuilding is not only including spells which will create threats game table threats to your opponent but also including a number of cards which may remove your opponent's threats or provide you with possible combat stage tricks to move damage past a potential blocker onto your opponent.  Reddit user toolofthedevil provided a pretty comprehensive list of removal and combat tricks which should be reviewed to ensure you get the most value out of your pool.

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White
Removal
C Angelic Edict 4W Sorcery; Exile target creature or enchantment.
C Smite W Instant; Destroy target blocked creature.
Combat Tricks
C Aerial Maneuver 1W Instant; Target creature gets +1/+1 and gains flying and first strike until end of turn.
C Shielded Passage W Instant; Prevent all damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn.


Blue
Removal
U Agoraphobia 1U Aura; Enchanted creature gets -5/-0. 2U: Return Agoraphobia to its owner’s hand.
U Rapid Hybridization U Instant; Destroy target creature. It can’t be regenerated. That creature’s controller puts a 3/3 green Frog Lizard creature token onto the battlefield.
Combat Tricks
U Ætherize 3U Instant; Return all attacking creatures to their owners’ hands.
U Gridlock XU Instant; Tap X target nonland permanents.
C Totally Lost 4U Instant; Put target nonland permanent on top of its owner’s library.


Black
Removal
C Death’s Approach B Aura; Enchanted Creature gets -X/-X, where X is the number of creature cards in it’s controller’s graveyard.
C Devour Flesh 1B Instant; Target player sacrifices a creature, then gains life equal to that creature’s toughness.
C Grisly Spectacle 2BB Instant; Destroy target nonartifact creature. Its controller puts a number of cards equal to that creature’s power from the top of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
U Killing Glare XB Instant; Destroy target creature with power X or less.
Combat Tricks
None

Red
Removal
U Homing Lightning 2RR Instant; Homing Lightning deals 4 damage to target creature and to each other creature with the same name as that creature.
C Massive Raid 1RR Instant; Massive Raid deals damage to target creature or player equal to the number of creatures you control.
C Mugging R Sorcery; Mugging deals 2 damage to target creature. That creature can’t block this turn.
Combat Tricks
C Furious Resistance R Instant; Target blocking creature gets +3/+0 and gains first strike until end a turn.
C Scorchwalker – Bloodrush 1RR +5/+1
C Skinbrand Goblin – Bloodrush R +2/+1
U Viashino Shanktail – Bloodrush 2R +3/+1 and First Strike.
R Wrecking Ogre – Bloodrush 3RR +3/+3 and Double Strike

Green
Removal
None
Combat Tricks
C Burst of Strength G Instant; Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature and untap it.
U Hindervines 2G Instant; Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn by creatures with no +1/+1 counters.
C Scab-Clan Charger – Bloodrush 1G +2/+4
R Skarrg Goliath – Bloodrush 5GG +9/+9 and Trample
C Slaughterhorn – Bloodrush G +3/+2
U Tower Defense 1G Instant; Creatures you control get +0/+5 and gain reach until end of turn.
U Wasteland Viper – Bloodrush G +1/+2 and Deathtouch

Orzhov
Removal
C Executioner’s Swing WB Instant; Target creature that dealt damage this turn gets -5/-5 until end of turn.
R Merciless Eviction 4WB Sorcery; Choose one – Exile all artifacts; or exile all creatures; or exile all enchantments; or exile all planeswalkers.
U One Thousand Lashes 2WB Aura; Enchanted creature can’t attack or block, and its activated abilities can’t be activated. At the beginning of the upkeep of enchanted creature’s controller, that player loses 1 life.
U Orzhov Charm WB Instant; Choose one — Return target creature you control and all Auras you control attached to it to their owners’ hands; or destroy target creature and you lose life equal to that creature’s toughness; or return target creature card with converted mana cost 1 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Combat Tricks
None


Dimir
Removal
U Dimir Charm UB Instant; Choose one — Counter target sorcery spell; or destroy target creature with power 2 or less; or look at the top three cards of target player’s library, then put one back and the rest into that player’s graveyard.
R Soul Ransom 2UB Aura; You control enchanted creature. Discard two cards: Soul Ransom’s controller sacrifices it, then draws two cards. Only an opponent may activate this ability.
Combat Tricks
None

Simic
Removal
None
Combat Tricks
C Hydroform GU Instant; Target land becomes a 3/3 Elemental creature with flying until end of turn. It’s still a land.
U Simic Charm GU Instant ; Choose one — Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn; permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn; or return target creature to its owner’s hand.
R Biomass Mutation X(G/U)(G/U) Instant; Creatures you control become X/X until end of turn.
C Bioshift(G/U) Instant; Move any number of +1/+1 counters from target creature onto another target creature with the same controller.


Gruul
Removal
R Clan Defiance XRG Sorcery; Choose one or more – Clan Defiance deals X damage to target creature with flying; Clan Defiance deals X damage to target creature without flying; and/or Clan Defiance deals X damage to target player.
U Ground Assault RG Sorcery; Ground Assault deals damage to target creature equal to the number of lands you control.
C Pit Fight 1(R/G) Instant; Target creature you control fights another target creature.
Combat Tricks
U Ghor-Clan Rampager – Bloodrush RG +4/+4 and Trample
U Gruul Charm RG Instant; Choose one — Creatures without flying can’t block this turn; or gain control of all permanents you own; or Gruul Charm deals 3 damage to each creature with flying.
P/R Rubblehulk – Bloodrush 1RG +X/+X, where X is the number of lands you control.
C Zhur-Taa Swine – Bloodrush 1RG +5/+4


Boros
Removal
M Aurelia’s Fury XRW Instant; Aurelia’s Fury deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or players. Tap each creature dealt damage this way. Players dealt damage this way can’t cast noncreature spells this turn.
U Arrows of Justice 2(R/W) Instant; Arrows of Justice deals 4 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.
Combat Tricks
U Boros Charm RW Instant; Choose one — Boros Charm deals 4 damage to target player; or permanents you control are indestructible this turn; or target creature gains double strike until end of turn.
C Martial Glory RW Instant; Target creature gets +3/+0 until end of turn. Target creature gets +0/+3 until end of turn.
 
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Gathering Gatecrash

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

At midnight, Wizards of the Coast upload all new Gatecrash cards to Gatherer, the Magic: the Gathering database.  If you are a MTG player who has been brewing up decklists for a while, then you know just indispensable this searchable databse is.  For a round-up of frequently asked questions as to some of the finer points on how to search for a card or a series of cards given your query, then check out the Gatherer FAQ page here.

Why are we yattering on about Gatherer just right now?  That's a good question.  Going into the Gatecrash PreRelease weekend (in just a few very short days), we like to pop onto the database and begin to evaluate some of the cards we would likely see in a sealed pool.  Basically, one could count on seeing a good spread of commons in your pool and this is essentially the foundation upon which you will build your prerelease success.  So, for this reason, as we already know which Guild Pack we will have reserved for us at the store, we'll look to evaluate all commons that could possibly advance our cause.

 

Anywhoos - which Gatecrash Guild are you playing at the PreRelease ?
Oddly enough, from on on-line poll of over 500 mtg fans attending this weekend, there appears to be very little difference in popularity compared to the prerelease for Return to Ravnica.  In order of choice, Simic (127 votes), Orzhov (107), Boros (105), Gruul (99) and Dimir (68).  Each of the Guilds have their very own tech to contribute - we think only after this weekend will we be able to determine which one may be more suited to a sealed format.  You may recall that Selesnya (at least from all we heard) performed slightly better than the others, who knows where the guilds stand at the end of the weekend.

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Gatecrash Intro Pack Decklists

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

We now have in hand courtesy of WotC Monty, the decklists for the soon to be released Gatecrash Intro Packs.  Magic: the Gathering Intro Packs are an inexpensive and great way to get into the game and the flavour of the most recent Magic: the Gathering set.  As with the previous Return to Ravnica set, Gatecrash has five Intro Packs representing the five Guilds featured in the latest set.  

Each Intro Pack contains two rares and a dozen uncommons ready to upgrade to your personal taste as you collect more cards - check out MTG Mint Card to score additional singles of the card you're looking for.  For a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $15, here is what you can get in each Intro Pack :

• 1 60-card theme deck
• 1 premium foil card
• 2 (TWO!) Gatecrash booster packs
• strategy and rules insert

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Boros Battalion R/W Gatecrash Intro Pack
The Boros Legion fights as one fierce army, joined together under a banner of righteousness. Take command of the "Boros Battalion" deck to construct an ever-growing army and march it right over your enemy’s defenses.

25 land : 1 Boros Guildgate, 12 Mountain, 12 Plains

25 creatures : 1 Boros Elite, 2 Warclamp Mastiff, 1 Bomber Corps, 1 Firefist Striker, 2 Daring Skyjek, 1 Sunhome Guildmage, 3 Wojek Halberdiers, 1 Armored Transport, 1 Ember Beast, 2 Warmind Infantry, 1 Court Street Denizen, 2 Skyknight Legionnaire, 2 Canyon Minotaur, 1 Firemane Avenger, 1 Ordruun Veteran, 2 Fortress Cyclops, 1 Foundry Champion

10 other spells : 1 Mugging, 1 Shielded Passage, 1 Aerial Maneuver, 2 Boros Keyrune, 1 Act of Treason, 2 Arrows of Justice, 1 Righteous Charge, 1 Mark for Death
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Simic Synthesis G/U Gatecrash Intro Pack
The Simic Combine uses bio magic to hybridize strange creatures. Advance the state of the art with the Simic Synthesis deck, evolving larger and weirder life forms and using their adaptations to evolve yourself a victory.

26 land : 1 Simic Guildgate, 12 Forest, 13 Island

22 creatures : 1 Chronomaton, 1 Cloudfin Raptor, 2 Kraken Hatchling, 1 Frilled Oculus, 2 Shambleshark, 1 Zameck Guildmage, 2 Crocanura, 2 Drakewing Krasis, 1 Elusive Krasis, 1 Crowned Ceratok, 1 Ivy Lane Denizen, 1 Fathom Mage, 2 Adaptive Snapjaw, 1 Leyline Phantom, 1 Urban Evolution, 1 Sapphire Drake, 1 Merfolk of the Depths

12 other spells : 2 Forced Adaptation, 2 Bioshift, 1 Tower Defense, 2 Simic Keyrune, 1 Hindervines, 2 Encrust, 1 Sleep, 1 Unexpected Results
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Orzhov Oppression - W/B Gatecrash Intro Pack
The Orzhov Syndicate hides its racketeering enterprises under a veneer of piety. Lead the corrupt hierarchy to victory with the "Orzhov Oppression" deck. Clamp down on your opponents and bleed them dry, drop by inevitable drop.

26 land : 1 Orzhov Guildgate, 12 Plains, 13 Swamp

20 creatures : 1 Shadow Alley Denizen, 1 Tormented Soul, 2 Silvercoat Lion, 3 Basilica Screecher, 1 High Priest of Penance, 1 Vizkopa Guildmage, 2 Basilica Guards, 2 Kingpin's Pet, 1 Knight of Obligation, 2 Syndicate Enforcer, 1 Guardian Lions, 1 Zombie Goliath, 1 Smog Elemental, 1 Treasury Thrull

14 other spells : 1 Rain of Blades, 2 Dying Wish, 1 Executioner's Swing, 2 Orzhov Keyrune, 1 Murder, 1 Gift of Orzhova, 1 Jayemdae Tome, 1 Blood Reckoning, 1 One Thousand Lashes, 1 Purge the Profane, 2 Angelic Edict
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Dimir Dementia U/B Gatecrash Intro Pack
The secretive mind-mages of House Dimir spill the secrets of their enemies—and exploit them for their own advantage. Use the "Dimir Dementia" deck to gain access to the guarded depths of your opponent’s library and reap the rewards.

26 land : 1 Dimir Guildgate, 12 Island, 13 Swamp

20 creatures : 1 Jace's Phantasm, 1 Incursion Specialist, 1 Welkin Tern, 3 Gutter Skulk, 2 Wight of Precinct Six, 1 Duskmantle Guildmage, 1 Sage's Row Denizen, 1 Mortus Strider, 2 Deathcult Rogue, 1 Vedalken Entrancer, 2 Balustrade Spy, 1 Mindeye Drake, 1 Consuming Aberration, 2 Dinrova Horror

14 other spells : 2 Death's Approach, 1 Paranoid Delusions, 2 Dimir Keyrune, 1 Last Thoughts, 1 Midnight Recovery, 2 Grisly Spectacle, 1 Whispering Madness, 1 Totally Lost, 1 Rise from the Grave, 1 Shadow Slice, 1 Coerced Confession
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Gruul Goliaths R/G Gatecrash Intro Pack
The brutish outsiders of the Gruul Clans are sick of being kicked around. It’s time to taste sweet revenge. You’ll build up a base of speedy mana, then knock the smirk off your opponent’s face with the "Gruul Goliaths" deck’s stream of hulking monsters.

26 land : 1 Gruul Guildgate, 12 Mountain, 13 Forest

24 creatures : 1 Foundry Street Denizen, 1 Arbor Elf, 1 Skinbrand Goblin, 2 Disciple of the Old Ways, 1 Skarrg Guildmage, 2 Centaur Courser, 1 Slaughterhorn, 2 Viashino Shanktail, 1 Primal Huntbeast, 1 Scab-Clan Charger, 1 Ghor-Clan Rampager, 2 Fire Elemental, 2 Zhur-Taa Swine, 1 Ripscale Predator, 1 Rubblehulk, 2 Ruination Wurm, 1 Duskdale Wurm, 1 Gruul Ragebeast

10 other spells : 1 Alpha Authority, 1 Pit Fight, 2 Ground Assault, 2 Gruul Keyrune, 1 Predator's Rapport, 1 Verdant Haven, 1 Ranger's Path, 1 Volcanic Geyser
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Gatecrash Prep

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

This is our second post today - check out our earlier one here.
 As anticipated, at midnight last night, the full list of all the new Magic: the Gathering cards in Gatecrash was posted to the mothersite.  Untold thousands of gamers who did not stay up for this woke up this morning and promptly devoured all the new cardboard awesomeness and began evaluating each fresh card for the PreRelease events this weekend or the official launch the next.  To prepare for this weekend, check out the Gatecrash Prerelease Primer posted to the mothersite by WotC staffer Mike Mcartor, and contact your local gaming store (Wizards store locator here) to confirm details and whether you may need to pre-register.  Our local card shop, OMG! Games here in Barrie Ontario are taking reservations for Guild Packs and we still have not decided just which Guild to play yet.

There are a lot of cards to read over and evaluate.  If you are sitting in the same undecided boat not knowing which guild to play, read on as we provide a run-down of some select Gatecrash cycles which may provide some motivation to choose one guild over the other in your sealed pool this weekend.
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Denizens : Each of these common creatures has a triggered ability, which triggers whenever a creature of color enters the battlefield under your control.
• Court Street Denizen    
• Sage's Row Denizen    
• Shadow Alley Denizen    
• Foundry Street Denizen    
• Ivy Lane Denizen

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Land auras : Each of these common auras enchants a land and grant that land an activated ability with a Tap.gif in its cost or an triggered ability, which triggers when that land is tapped.
• Debtor's Pulpit    
• Skygames    
• Contaminated Ground    
• Tin Street Market    
• Verdant Haven

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Off-color-activation cards : Each of these permanent cards have an activated ability costing mana of other color of the guild to which they are aligned.    
• Dutiful Thrull
• Frilled Oculus
• Horror of the Dim
• Towering Thunderfist
• Disciple of the Old Ways    
   
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Stay tuned all this week as we tear through our thoughts on all the new Gatecrash cards.  Keep an eye on MTG Mint Card who will upload the price the remaining Gatecrash cards for preorder shortly.
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