Copmmander Videos 2

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Happy Sunday MTG peeps,

On the weekend, our BroChcho Jon, of CommandTower.tk, dropped by and we went through all five Commander 2015 decks.  These were a very lovely gift from our awesome Bro Eric at Christmas.  

These posts (to be updated) will link off to all the videos we had worked on - 
(1) Commander 2015 Intro
(2) Call the Spirits (Black / White)
(3) Seize Control (Red / Blue)
(4) Plunder the Graves (Black / Green)
(5) Wade into Battle (Red / White)
(6) Swell the Host (Blue / Green)

In this post, we have a video where we will discuss the black and white 'Orzhov' Commander product named 'Call the Spirits'.

Call the Spirits
Daxos the Returned travels across Theros in a never-ending search, surrounded by spirits that are drawn to his power. As mighty enchantments enter the battlefield, the spirits he summons grow larger and larger, leaving his enemies overwhelmed.

The primary theme of the deck is enchantments, and the secondary theme is lifegain. The primary new commander is Daxos the Returned, the secondary new commander is Karlov of the Ghost Council, and the reprint commander is Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts.

New cards for Commander 2015
• Banshee of the Dread Choir
• Bastion Protector
• Corpse Augur
• Daxos the Returned
• Daxos's Torment
• Deadly Tempest
• Grasp of Fate
• Herald of the Host
• Karlov of the Ghost Council
• Oreskos Explorer
• Righteous Confluence
• Sandstone Oracle
• Shielded by Faith
• Thief of Blood
• Thought Vessel
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Commander 2015 Videos 1

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Happy Sunday MTG peeps,

On the weekend, our BroChcho Jon, of CommandTower.tk, dropped by and we went through all five Commander 2015 decks.  These were a very lovely gift from our awesome Bro Eric at Christmas.  

These posts (to be updated) will link off to all the videos we had worked on - 
(1) Commander 2015 Intro
(2) Call the Spirits (Black / White)
(3) Seize Control (Red / Blue)
(4) Plunder the Graves (Black / Green)
(5) Wade into Battle (Red / White)
(6) Swell the Host (Blue / Green)

In this post, we have a video for the introduction to this years' Magic: the Gathering offering for Commander 2015.

Commander 2015, is the newest product in the Commander series that was released by Wizards of the Coast on November 13, 2015 and features five enemy colored 100-card decks (342 different cards). There are 56 new cards legal in Vintage and Legacy. Each of the five preconstructed decks comes with one oversized foil Commander card, 10 double-faced tokens, a deck storage box, a strategy insert, a rules reference card and 15 new cards.

Each preconstructed deck was designed with a primary theme and a secondary theme. The main new commander in the deck matches the primary theme, while the alternate new commander matches the secondary theme

Commander 2015 introduced Experience counters, player counters that will make your Commander grow in power during the course of each game. Each game pack includes a card labeled "Experience" with the suggestion "Place your experience counters here." This card isn't required for play. It's simply a convenient spot to put your experience counters, which can be represented with dice, glass beads, or other small items.

Myriad is a new creature mechanic focused on multiplayer. When a creature with myriad attacks an opponent, that creature's controller gets a temporary copy of it attacking each other opponent

Cycles - Commander 2015 has seven cycles:

• Experience counter commanders: five mythic rare bicolored legendary creatures that can be used as a commander. — Daxos the Returned, Mizzix of the Izmagnus, Meren of Clan Nel Toth, Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas and Ezuri, Claw of Progress.

• Alternate commanders: five mythic rare legendary creatures fitting the secondary theme of the decks. — Karlov of the Ghost Council, Arjun, the Shifting Flame, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, Anya, Merciless Angel and Kaseto, Orochi Archmage.
   
• Reprint commanders: five rare legendary creature reprints that fit the deck's theme. — Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, Melek, Izzet Paragon, Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and Prime Speaker Zegana
   
• Mechanical tie-ins: five rare cards mechanically related to the same plane as the main commanders. — Daxos's Torment, Mizzix's Mastery, Bloodspore Thrinax, Kalemne's Captain, and Scytheclaw.
   
• Confluences: five rare modal spells. — Righteous Confluence, Mystic Confluence, Wretched Confluence, Fiery Confluence, and Verdant Confluence.
   
• Myriad creatures: five uncommon creatures with the myriad mechanic. — Herald of the Host, Broodbirth Viper, Banshee of the Dread Choir, Warchief Giant, and Caller of the Pack.
   
• Enemy color signets: five common mana stones. Each artifact costs to cast and can be tapped to filter into two mana of different colors. Reprinted from Ravnica, Guildpact and Dissension — Orzhov Signet, Izzet Signet, Golgari Signet, Boros Signet and Simic Signet.
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MTG Tumblr Thursday

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Here and MTG Realm, we are still brewing new decklists with all the new awesomeness that Oath of the Gatewatch delivered for Standard Constructed.  If you are looking for some ideas / inspiration, pop on over to Seth Manfield's article yesterday on TCG Player -

For today's post, we are doing some catch-up with our other site, MTG Realm on Tumblr - 
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Photo

January 28, 2016

Magic: the Gathering - Fan Art
This very witty ‘n’  awesome fan art send to Wedge over at The Mana Source.
Those Eldrazi don’t dare Hassle the ‘Hoff !

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Photo

January 27, 2016

Magic: the Gathering - PPTQ Sydney

Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifier for PT Sydney
Place: OMG! Games, 130 Bellfarm Road Barrie, Ontario
Date:  Saturday January 30th
Time:  Registration opens at 11:00am, play starts at 12:00pm
Cost: $25.00 Entry
Prizes:
1st - $300 cash ($400 credit) and an invite to the Regional Pro Tour Qualifier for PT Madrid
2nd - $200 store credit
3rd-4th- $100 store credit
5th-8th- $25 store credit
Additional prizes will be added to the prize pool after 30 players.
Format:  DCI sanctioned Standard format.  Modified Swiss pairings with 50 minute timed rounds.  Cut to un-timed top 8.  DECKLIST REQUIRED

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Photoset

January 27, 2016

 

 

Magic: the Gathering - Eldrazi Selfie
Invading the Plane of Zendikar, the Eldrazi are never one to pass up taking a selfie at some of the lovely tourist attractions.  Hallowed Fountain’s alternate art Zendikar Expedition Land (illustrated by Min Yum) now has a nasty self-declared World Breaker (illustrated by Jaime Jones) staying at a local Bed-and-Breakfast.~

Photo

January 27, 2016

Magic: the Gathering - International Magic Survey

Why no love from Wizards of the Coast for Canadian Magic players ?
Considering there are 35.2 Million Canadians and there is a local gaming store in just about every large community (best estimate is just under 600 gaming stores offering sanctioned and unsanctioned FNM events), would it be that difficult to add Canada to this list ?
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OGW Standard Combo

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Since Friday evening, after our FNM event at OMG! Games, we've been crazy-mad brewing standard lists.   We did not see very much which inspired us from StarCity Games Atlanta, with the exception of Barry Woerner's Mono-Black Eldrazi, which came in a very respectful 12th place. We've looked at Jake Stiles excellent article 'This and That: Oath of the Gatewatch' article over on MTG Goldfish to get an orientation to determine what strategies may have worked well for us in the past and if we could pull it out of the hat again with the new card offerings.  A lot of enjoyable work went into brewing a few lists and we hope to present the weapons the MTG Realm playgroup will settle on going forward.  A hint - it's very much likely in the form of a Black / (Red or Blue) Eldrazi list which has yet to form a profile of aggro, midrange or control.

Anywhoos, for today's post, we had received some mail from readers about potential new standard format combos or synergies available with Oath of the Gatewatch.  Today, we will look at just one - the one a lot of players have been talking about - the Infinite Displace combo.

♢ Play Zulaport Cutthroat and follow-up with Eldrazi Displacer.

♢ Cast Brood Monitor, which will produce 3 Sction tokens when it enters the battlefield

♢ Sacrifice the 3 Scion tokens, which produce 3 colorless mana.  Doing this, drains your opponent for 3 life while you gain 3 life.


♢ Use the 3 colorless mana from the Scion tokens to pay for the activated ability of Eldrazi Displacer.  Target your Brood Monitor.  This will blink the Brood Monitor which re-enters the battlefield with another 3 Scion tokens.   Rinse + Repeat.

Looks sweet, but just like any combo deck, chances are, you may unable to get the pieces out assemble the Power Rangers, or simply have the wheels fall off by having a critical piece, like Zulaport, get nerf'd with Sparkmage's Gambit or similar burn spell. 

Who cares !  Live that dream !
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Post OGW Standard

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Now that the newest Magic: the Gathering set, Oath of the Gatewatch, is joining standard constructed format, what are players gaming with?  During Friday Night Magic at OMG! Games on the weekend, it was pretty much what participants had built before the release.  

Certainly, there were some new cards on the tables like Reckless Bushwacker with lists featuring Monastery Mentor, but on the whole, the local community is still finalising their lists or taking a 'wait and see' approach for the new metagame.

For those waiting to see what develops, the first major event after the release was the StarCity Games Open Atlanta event this last weekend.  If interested, we suggest to pop on over to see Nick Vigabool's post to Gathering Magic over here to get the Standard Snapshot : First look at oath of the Gatewatch.  In it, we can see a rather healthy and developing standard format with 17 different archetypes across 32 decklists.  Pop on over for a summary of the SCG Atlanta Day 2 metagame breakdown on StarCity Games

For now, here are the Top 8 finishers -

1st Korey McDuffie Atarka Red
2nd Chris Brickey Mono-Green Eldrazi
3rd Gerry Thompson Jeskai Black
4th Andy Ferguson Abzan Company
5th Marcel Strautz R/B Dragons
6th Dalton Ozmun U/R Prowess
7th Joe Lossett Five-Color Bring to Light
8th Willie Porges Abzan Blue

Here at MTG Realm, we are most definitely fond of rogue decks going against the grain of the metagame and trying out a number of the more exciting new cards to explore their potential. To this end, we want to express our admiration to Christopher Brickey who ran a Mono Green Eldrazi build which had this absolutely wonderful gameplay with 3 copies of Bane of Bala Ged on the field against Korey McDuffie's Atarka Red list.

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OGW Fat Pack

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Today is Oath of the Gatewatch Release ! !  This is the date that Magic: the Gathering players around the world have been waiting for - to finally get their paws on new singles and sealed product.  Make certain you pop on over to your local game story tonight for the official release party during the regular Friday Night Magic event.  We'll be planning to attend OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario to attend and get a lovely Endbringe release promo while there.

 

As is our custom here at MTG Realm, we brave the cold, bitter night to trek to our local gaming store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land to pick up the new set's Fat Pack at the midnight release.  Here's the vid ! -

Here is what you may scoop out of your Oath of the Gatewatch Fat Pack :
♢ Player's Guide with complete visual encyclopedia for Oath of the Gatewatch
♢ 9 Oath of the Gatewatch 15-card booster packs
♢ 80 full-art basic land cards (including 14 full-art Wastes)
♢ Special edition Spindown Life Counter
♢ 2 deck boxes

In the States, you may expect to pay about $50 for the Fat Pack - this is above the MSRP due to a large pack of highly sought-after full art lands, including Wastes.  Here in Canada, where we always pay a bit more comparative to the States, has been modified up due to the abysmal performance of the Canadian dollar.

Anywhoos, here is our OGW Fat Pack pulls -
• Matter Reshaper
• Oath of Gideon
• Deepfathom Skulker
• Overwhelming Denial
• Bearer of Silence
• Fall of the Titans
• Gladehart Cavalry
• Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
• Captain's Claws 

 

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Tumblr Tuesday

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

It's cold, nasty and there is a waist-high pile of snow in front of our door at the MTG Realm Lair here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land.  The Coldsnap image below is an apt representation of the meteorological conditions outside now.

Although it may be damn cold outside, the Magic: the Gathering forums are heating up with all sorts of things - recent updates to the B&R List (casual and formal formats), new standard lists, OGW Release note errors, the state of WotC corporate communications and what-not.   To this end, we will just shoot your attention on over to our sister site, MTG Realm on Tumblr -
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Photoset

January 19, 2016

237 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Classy Tokens

The Classic Art Token Project, headed up by Josh Krause (you’ll likely know him as @OriginalMtGArt on Twitter) is delivering tokens and playmats for card games like Magic: the Gathering.  The Classic Art Token Project is going live on Kickstarter on Feb 2, 2016.  You can check out the project page at www.classicarttokens.com

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Photoset

January 19, 2016

99 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Recent Bannings

The ban-hammer hit some formats recently - here is some sad illustrations.

• Summer Bloom - banned in Modern - blame Pyro.
• Cloud of Faeries - banned in Pauper - blame Hoggle.
• Prophet of Kruphix - banned in Commander - blame Obama.
• Splinter Twin - banned in Modern - blame an overzealous surgeon attempting to separate the twins.
… . sooo much devastation.

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Photoset

January 18, 2016

154 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Hedron Heads

Austin and Geoff playing at OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario.

 

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Photoset

January 14, 2016

690 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Stencil Art

Suggest that you drop whatever you may be doing (if it is safe) and have a look at these wonderful / beautiful stencil art creations posted by redditor Snikrot914.

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Our OGW PreRelease

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We hope all of you had an opportunity over the weekend to attend an Oath of the Gatewatch PreRelease Event.  Our local gaming store, OMG! Games in Barrie, Ontario hosted a number of events beginning at midnight, stretching all the way through Saturday and into Sunday afternoon.  

We were able to get to the Saturday morning event to play and heard of all the glorious pack pulls, namely those Zendikar Expedition lands, from the midnight event.  As for our sitting, a number of other Magic: the Gathering players scored well, including one at our table who found a sweet foil / dated Nissa, Voice of Zendikar promo in his PreReelase pack.

Before we go any further, here is a quick video we took from our event -

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We were not as lucky as some with our pulls, but here is what we cracked -

• Corrupted Crossroads (PreRelease Promo)
• Oath of Nissa
• Oath of Chandra
• Sea Gate Wreckage
• Stone Haven outfitter
• Defiant Bloodlord
• Nissa's Renewal

The card pool we opened provided the best support in green and blue and very little in the way of removal or evasion.  We tried our hand at green and black during the first match but decided to change horses for the second match with green and blue.  Sea Gate Wreckage did land a few games and helped with card draw and Oath of Nissa did much of the same.  


Some additional practice at sealed perhaps would have made some difference but believe that our list just did not quite deliver threats just quite early enough.  One card that delivered the most punch to our face was Kor Scythemster, a 2W 3/1 first strike which showed up a in two of the three games we had on our opponent's side of the game table.  Our final score was two matches lost and one match draw.  After this, we retired to enjoy the new cards and plan for standard format this coming Friday with the Oath of the Gatewatch release.

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OGW PreRelease Tips

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Oath of the Gatewatch PreRelease is finally here !  Tonight at midnight, local gaming stores will be hosting prerelease events.  Here in Barrie, Ontario, most of the Friday Night Magic crowd at OMG! Games will be staying to take in the first of several events over the weekend, and then be returning again in another few hours to do it all again.  

Before you head off to your local gamery shoppe, we have for you here on MTG Realm a few tips from Wizards of the Coast which may help you in creating your sealed decklist from the Oath of the Gatewatch PreRelease pack.

Oath of the Gatewatch PreReelase

As the battle for Zendikar rages, new dangers have come to the fore. Two mighty Eldrazi titans have carved a path of destruction through the once-proud city of Sea Gate. Four Planeswalkers survey the devastation, and a new resolve takes root in their minds. Never again they vow.

Some Strategy and Tips from Wizards of the Coast for the Oath of the Gatewatch PreRelease Event. 

Building a Sealed Deck

Most successful sealed decks are two colors and have exactly 40 cards, including 17 lands. You should try to include 15-17 creatures and 5-7 non-creature spells.

Tips for choosing your creatures and other spells

• Include some creatures at every cost from 2 to 6. This will make it more likely that you'll have a creature to cast every turn.

• Try not to play more than three of four creatures of a given cost.

• Don't play more than one or two creatures that cost 1 mana.

• Don't play more than one or two creatures that cost 7 or more mana.

• Try to include as many creatures as possible with evasion abilities like flying, trample, and menace.

• Look for non-creatures spells that destroy your opponents' creatures, make your own creatures larger, deal damage to creatures or players, or some combination of these.

• If you choose to play cards with colorless mana (c) in their costs, try to include about two or three lands that can produce colorless mana and two or three non-land cards that can produce colorless mana. Remember that Eldrazi Scions can produce colorless mana too.

• If you choose to play creatures with cohort or rally abilities, be sure to check your card pool for other Ally creatures in order to maximize their effectiveness.

Ask for Advice

Above all, remember to ask questions and to get advice from others when building your deck.  At a Prerelease, you can ask other players for help, and you can adjust your deck throughout the day if you're not satisfied with it.

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Oath of the Gatewatch Intro Packs

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Yesterday on the mothersite, Blake Rasmussen provided the decklists for the Oath of the Gatewatch Intro Packs in the (new) Daily Magic Update column - linky over here.  We LOVE the new format / shake-up in the Daily MTG / Magic Arcana content and really appreciate that Wizards of the Coast is shining a spot light on the Magic: the Gathering fan community in this.

Anywhoos, we should yatter about the new Oath of the Gatewatch Intro Packs.  Overall, nothing very much to get excited about, but we will say that WotC has done another good job at showcasing the abilities of the new mechanics.  As usual, in all, there are five new Intro Packs which acquaint players with the powerful new mechanics and themes of the new set. They're the perfect product for introducing new Magic players to Oath of the Gatewatch. We suggest that if you pick up one of more of these Intro Packs, consider getting some sweet Ultra PRO sleeves and deckboxes as well. For a suggested MSRP of just $15 (U.S. only ), here's what you get - 

Contents: 
• Ready-to-play 60-card deck featuring a foil premium card and non-full-art Wastes
• 2 Oath of the Gatewatch 15-card booster packs
• Strategy Insert
• Magic learn-to-play guide
(Foil rare has alternate card art)


Desperate Stand - White / Black
Cohort / Ally Theme

Creatures (26) : 1 Cliffside Lookout, 2 Expedition Envoy, 2 Kor Castigator, 2 Ondu War Cleric, 2 Serene Steward, 2 Kalastria Healer, 2 Kor Scythemaster, 2 Vampire Envoy, 1 Drana's Emissary, 2 Spawnbinder Mage, 1 Drana's Chosen (RARE), 2 Zulaport Chainmage, 1 Cliffhaven Vampire, 2 Kor Entanglers, 1 Munda's Vanguard (FOIL RARE), 1 Malakir Soothsayer
Spells (9) : 2 Allied Reinforcements, 1 Dutiful Return, 1 Dazzling Reflection, 2 Gideon's Reproach, 2 Tar Snare, 1 Smite the Monstrous
Lands (25) : 1 Blighted Fen, 1 Evolving Wilds, 14 Plains, 9 Swamp
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Twisted Reality - Colourless / Blue
Eldrazi / Devoid Theme

Creatures (29) : 1 Prophet of Distortion, 2 Salvage Drone, 3 Blinding Drone, 3 Mist Intruder, 1 Tide Drifter, 3 Cultivator Drone, 2 Eldrazi Skyspawner, 1 Ruination Guide, 2 Gravity Negator, 2 Murk Strider, 1 Thought Harvester, 2 Kozilek's Channeler, 2 Walker of the Wastes, 1 Kozilek's Pathfinder, 1 Deepfathom Skulker (FOIL RARE), 1 Bane of Bala Ged, 1 Endless One (RARE)
Spells (5) : 2 Spatial Contortion, 1 Titan's Presence, 1 Adverse Conditions, 1 Scour from Existence
Lands (26) : 1 Blighted Cataract, 1 Evolving Wilds, 10 Wastes, 14 Island
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Vicious Cycle - Black / Green
Sacrifice / Graveyard Recursion Theme

Creatures (23) : 2 Blisterpod, 2 Carrier Thrall, 2 Loam Larva, 2 Rot Shambler, 2 Stalking Drone, 1 Essence Depleter, 1 Voracious Null, 2 Netcaster Spider, 1 Null Caller, 1 Broodhunter Wurm, 1 Smothering Abomination (RARE), 2 Seed Guardian, 1 Kozilek's Pathfinder, 1 Brood Monitor, 1 Baloth Null, 1 Dread Defiler (FOIL RARE)
Spells (12) : 2 Bone Splinters, 2 Oblivion Strike, 1 Vines of the Recluse, 1 Altar's Reap, 2 Corpse Churn, 1 Grasp of Darkness, 2 Natural Connection, 1 Pulse of Murasa
Lands (25) : 1 Blighted Woodland, 1 Evolving Wilds, 2 Fertile Thicket, 4 Wastes, 8 Swamp, 9 Forest
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Surge of Resistance - Red / Blue
Surge / Prowess Theme

Creatures (20) : 3 Lavastep Raider, 3 Umara Entangler, 2 Stormchaser Mage, 2 Reckless Bushwhacker, 3 Goblin Freerunner, 2 Cloud Manta, 1 Cyclone Sire, 2 Jwar Isle Avenger, 1 Windrider Patrol, 1 Tyrant of Valakut (FOIL RARE)
Spells (15) : 1 Boulder Salvo, 1 Ugin's Insight (RARE), 1 Roiling Waters, 1 Rolling Thunder, 2 Expedite, 2 Anticipate, 1 Grip of the Roil, 2 Comparative Analysis, 2 Containment Membrane, 2 Pyromancer's Assault
Lands (25) : 1 Blighted Gorge, 1 Evolving Wilds, 12 Mountain, 11 Island
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Concerted Effort G/W
Support / Flying Theme

Creatures (26) : 2 Cliffside Lookout, 2 Expedition Envoy, 2 Kitesail Scout, 1 Oran-Rief Invoker, 2 Kor Castigator, 2 Makindi Aeronaut, 2 Kor Sky Climber, 2 Shadow Glider, 2 Joraga Auxiliary, 1 Veteran Warleader (RARE), 1 Saddleback Lagac, 2 Relief Captain, 1 Steppe Glider, 2 Expedition Raptor, 1 Angel of Renewal, 1 Gladehart Cavalry (FOIL RARE)
Spells (10) : 2 Shoulder to Shoulder, 1 Allied Reinforcements, 2 Lead by Example, 1 Immolating Glare, 1 Mighty Leap, 1 Iona's Blessing, 2 Isolation Zone
Lands (24) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 1 Tranquil Expanse, 7 Forest, 15 Plains

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Oath of the Gatewatch Release Notes

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Oath of the Gatewatch PreRelease events are the happening thingy this weekend.  We'll battle with the best at our local gaming store OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario in our quest for glory.  Before we do head on off to the game store, we will want to do a little (fun) homework however and run through the Oath of the Gatewatch Release Notes, posted to the mothersite today (linky over here).  This will most certainly make things easier for you as well as the oganiser / judge at the PreRelease event.

Look for card specific notes over at Wizards and for the TL/DR preface here is a quick'n'dirty summary -
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The Oath of the Gatewatch set contains 184 cards (70 common, 60 uncommon, 42 rare, and 12 mythic rare). Some Oath of the Gatewatch booster packs also contain Zendikar Expeditions cards (see below).

Prerelease events: January 16–17, 2016
Launch Weekend: January 22–24, 2016
Game Day: February 13–14, 2016

The Oath of the Gatewatch set becomes legal for sanctioned Constructed play on its official release date: Friday, January 22, 2016. At that time, the following card sets will be permitted in the Standard format: Khans of Tarkir™, Fate Reforged™, Dragons of Tarkir™, Magic Origins, Battle for Zendikar™, and Oath of the Gatewatch.
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Zendikar Expeditions

◊ There are twenty Zendikar Expeditions cards that appear in Oath of the Gatewatch booster packs. They have collector numbers 26 through 45. (The first twenty-five cards appeared in Battle for Zendikar booster packs.) Zendikar Expeditions cards have their own expansion symbol.

◊ Zendikar Expeditions cards are very rare. You can expect to open one only a little more frequently than a premium foil Battle for Zendikar mythic rare.

◊ Zendikar Expeditions cards are playable in any Limited event using the booster packs that contained them. In a Sealed Deck tournament, those cards are part of your card pool. In a Booster Draft tournament, you must draft those cards into your card pool.

◊ However, Zendikar Expeditions cards are not legal in any Constructed format they weren’t legal in before. Appearing in Oath of the Gatewatch booster packs does not make them legal in Standard.
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New Symbol for Colorless Mana

Denoted in rules documents as {C}, it represents one colorless mana that can be added to your mana pool. It also represents a cost that can be paid only with one colorless mana. 
Previous cards that said “Add {1} to your mana pool” or similar will receive errata to say “Add {C} to your mana pool” or similar. Going forward, numerical or variable mana symbols ({1}, {2}, and so on, including {X}) will be used only to denote costs.
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New Basic Land: Wastes
◊ Because Wastes is a basic land, you can include as many of them as you like in your Constructed decks.
◊ In Limited events (including Sealed Deck and Booster Draft), Wastes must be in your card pool to be included in your deck. You can’t add Wastes to your card pool in the same way that you can add other basic lands.
◊ Wastes is legal only in formats that include Oath of the Gatewatch. Specifically, unless it’s reprinted in a future set, it will rotate out of Standard at the same time as the rest of the set.
◊ Wastes is not a land type. If something asks you to name a land type, you can’t choose Wastes.
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New Ability Word: Cohort

Cohort is an ability word and is associated with allies.  The activated ability requires tapping the ally creature and another ally.  The cost of each cohort ability (tapping, and tapping another ally) is always the same but the effects differ wildly. Because the cost includes To Tap.png, the Ally that has the cohort ability has to have been under your control since your most recent turn began. It can't have "summoning sickness." But the other Ally, the "an untapped Ally you control," could be one you just cast.
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New Keyword: Surge

Surge is a keyword ability that provides an alternative cost that if the spell is set up with another spell.  You may cast a spell for its surge cost if you or a teammate have cast another spell in the same turn. However, the triggered ability only gives a bonus to your own creatures, not to your teammate's. The cards are both cheaper and more powerful if cast for their surge cost
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New Keyword Action: Support

Support is a keyword action that boosts your (or your teammates') creatures with +1/+1 counters. "Support N" means "Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to N target creatures." You may choose fewer targets at will.  If a creature (or any other permanent) has an ability that supports, the ability can't target the creature / permanent itself.

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Returning Battle for Zendikar Mechanics in Oath of the Gatewatch -

Devoid
Devoid is a characteristic-defining keyword ability which states that a card is colorless, regardless of the colors in that card's mana cost.

Landfall

Landfall is an ability word which signals triggered abilities that respond to a Land entering the Battlefield under the control of the player with the Landfall card.

Cycle: Oaths of the Planeswalkers
Oaths: four legendary enchantments that interact with planeswalkers: Oath of Gideon, Oath of Jace , Oath of Chandra, and Oath of Nissa.  There is no black Oath.  Each of the Oaths is legendary: if you control more than one of any particular Oath, you choose one to remain on the battlefield and the others are put into your graveyard.
The “legend rule” checks the full names of legendary permanents. You can control Oath of Gideon and Oath of Chandra at the same time, for example.

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