Gruul Mechanic - Riot

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

With Borbrorbygmobos nowhere to be seen, it is becoming apparent that Domri may now be large and in charge of the loosely affiliated Gruul Clans.  Enough of that for the moment, we are here to talk about the next Magic: the Gathering set,  Ravnica Allegiance, and the new Gruul Clans Mechanic.  Here are all of them to date :

Guildpact : Bloodthirst

Gatecrash : Bloodrush

Ravnica Allegiance : Riot

Our OCD is suggesting that perhaps we should be calling this Bloodriot, but as Wizards of the Coast may want to develop a new nomenclature, who are we to argue.  Riot is a keyword ability, which allows you to choose between +1/+1 counter or haste when a creature enters the battlefield.  The two new Ravnica Allegiance cards previewed as part of the unveiling of this new tech are -

• Gruul Spellbreaker, 1GR, Creature - Ogre Warrior, illustrated by Zoltan Boros

• Frenzied Arynx, 2RG, Creature - Cat Beast, Illustrated by Filip Burburan

Looks like someone has snuck an Arynx off Tarkir through Ravnica customs, and now the killer kitteh is full grown.  As for Grull Spellbreaker - WOW.  The Riot tech is already pretty damn good with the hasty critters, and then you add trample in the mix, you've got a winner.  The conditional hexproof puts this over the top and into our hearts - we want a deck-set.  Here are all the Ravnica Allegiance mechanics so far, and to say we're excited to see what Wizards has for Azorius, would be an understatement.

• Cult of Rakdos - Spectacle

• Orzhov Syndicate - Afterlife

• Simic Combine - Adapt

• Gruul Clans - Riot

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Simic Mechanic - Adapt

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We now have our third Magic: the Gathering mechanic for the new set, Ravnica Allegiance.  Here they are so far with the very handy Wizards of the Coast video links :

• Cult of Rakdos - Spectacle

• Orzhov Syndicate - Afterlife

• Simic Combine - Adapt

Adapt is a keyword action introduced in Ravnica Allegiance for the Simic Combine.  Adapt is 'adapted' version of Monstrous (Monstrosity), from Theros. It always appears as Adapt N. If a creature has no +1/+1 counters on it, you may pay the adapt cost to put N +1/+1 counters on that creature. In contrast to Monstrous, if a creature somehow loses its +1/+1 counters, it can adapt again and pick up more.

• Zegana, Utopian Speaker, 2GU. Legendary Creature - Merfolk Wizard, illustrated by Slawomir Maniak

• Aeromunculus, 1GU. Crreature - Homunculus Mutant, illustrated by Simon Dominic
"The absense of binocular vision imposes certain challenges for a flying creature, which are overcome via echolocation." - Simic research notes

Personally, we did very much enjoy the previous Simic mechanic 'Evolve' which was introducted in Gatecrash.  In this particular mechanic, a creature 'evolved' by gaining an additional +1/+1 counter whenever a larger creature (with greater power or toughness) entered the battlefield under your control.  Not only did this provide some Simic-accurate flavour to the card, we thought it played quite well in standard as you cast your creatures 'on-curve' thus beefing out your previously cast critters.  Adapt looks interesting but we are not completely sold until we start gaming with this.

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Orzhov and Rakdos Mechanics

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Ravnica Allegiance Mechanics - Part I is now up on the Wizards of the Coast mothersite.  It appears that the remaining three mechanics for Simic, Gruul, and Azorius are to be previewed on seperate days (Wednesday / Thursday / Friday)

Afterlife (Orzhov Syndicate - White / Black)

A keyword ability found on creatures. When the creature dies it creates a number of 1/1 black and white Spirit creature token with flying.  New cards with this mechanic include a human soldier creature Tithe Take, and the human cleric Imperious Oligarch. 

Spectacle (Cult of Rakdos - Black / Red)

A keyword ability that gives spells an alternative cost. You can cast a spell for its spectacle cost if an opponent lost life during the turn.  New cards with this mechanic include human shaman Rix Maadi Reveler and Rafter Demon.

In other news, MTG fans were treated to all the Ravnica Allegiance Promos as well as the packaging.  From these revelations, we now know the following characters are likely to see print in this set :

• Lavinia
• Kaya
• Domri
• Dovin

The Rakdos and Simic booster pack arts are yet unconfirmed at this time.  Do pop on over to the WotC Ravnica Allegiance card image gallery linked here as new  cards are now being posted / previewed.

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Guilds of Ravnica Spoiler 12-16

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Yesterday there was a post with several Magic: the Gathering spoilers.  These Ravnica Allegiance leaks appears to be from the same WPN store which had previously posted Guilds of Ravnica spoilers, from their promo card mail out.

It has now been out for a day, so we may as well talk about it.  Looks like the XXYY cycle is continuing, some fun alternate wind condition, a favourite reprint and possibly a rather nice inclusion in competitive standard.  Have a look -

Open House Promo
Rakdos Firewheeler, BBRR
Creature - Human Rogue, Uncommon
When Rakdos Firewheeler enters the battlefield, it deals 2 damage to target opponent and 2 damage to up to one target creature or planeswalker.
4/3

Draft Weekend Promo
Simic Ascendancy, GU
Enchantment, Rare
1GU: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control. Whenever one ore more +1/+1 counters are put on a creature you control, put that many growth counters on Simic Ascendancy. At the beginning of your upkeep, if Simic Ascendancy has twenty or more growth counters on it, you win the game.

Buy-a-Box Promo
The Haunt of Hightower, 4BB
Legendary Creature - Vampire, Rare
Flying, lifelink Whenever The Haunt of Hightower attacks, defending player discards a card. Whenever a card is put into an opponent's graveyard from anywhere, put a +1/+1 counter on The Haunt of Hightower.
3/3

FNM Promo
Growth Spiral, GU
Instant, Common
Draw a card. You may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.

FNM Promo
Mortify, 1WB
Instant, Uncommon
Destroy target creature or enchantment.

Light the Stage, 2R
Sorcery, Uncommon
Spectacle - R Exile the top two cards of your library. Until the end of your next turn, you may play those cards.

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New MTG Novel / New Planeswalker

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

As a complete surprise and very unanticipated, we are to be treated to a new Magic: the Gathering novella.  This news from io9 (linked right here) who had broke the news with an official Wizards of the Coast preview of the new work title "Children of the Nameless", penned by the popular author Brandon Sanderson.

Here is the blurb from io9 -

Written in collaboration with the Magic’s story team at Wizards of the Coast, Children of the Nameless invites readers to meet a young girl named Tacenda who is capable of great magic, until tragedy strikes at the worst possible time. But during that tragedy, Tacenda crosses paths with a mysterious new Planeswalker named Davriel, designed by Sanderson himself. Here’s a quick synopsis to whet your appetite:

Since the day she was born, Tacenda has been both blessed and cursed. Blessed by a powerful protection spell of unknown origin, she has warded her family and friends against any number of horrors over her 15 years. Cursed because the horrors which visit her small Kessig village are both numerous and frequent. Then, one night, for no reason she can fathom, her sacred song of protection fails. Seeking revenge on the man she believes responsible for the failure and the consequent destruction of everything she loves, she breaks into the manor of the local lord, a known consorter with demons. There she discovers the beginnings of an even greater mystery… starting with the fact the Lord of the Manor is anything but local . . .

Children of the Nameless will be available for free download starting tomorrow (December12, 2018) from the Magic: the Gathering website.  Until then, we can enjoy this very lovely (and intriguing) cover, illustrated by Chris Rahn.

First chapter was a good read and left us in anticipation of reading all of the subsequent chapters.

Looking past our new Planeswalker Davriel, who we assume is sitting, the gravity-defying towers, halls, and massive buttresses suggest Markov Manor, at a time before a certain Lithomancer (Nahiri) 'redecorated'.  

The seated party does indeed appear human, and this is suggest again with what appears to be a nice hot tea to his right.

The whole Phantom of the Opera thingy with his mask is very mysterious at the moment - and is he hiding the right side of his face ?  Perhaps not - but the mask does have a particular purple 'Liliana' necromancer magic haze around it.  This purple could very well be the type of magic that allows Kaya (the Ghost Assassin) to flow into the incorporeal world.  

All that is known for certain is that 'Whisperers' had de-peopled the village save Tacenda in the first chapter and that it is suggested in the blurb that a visit to the nearby Monor House is in order.  

Insert Kessig Province Problems hashtag.
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Ravnica Allegiance - Kaya

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We should like to yatter a bit about the very real possibility of the Planeswalker character Kaya appearing as a card in the next Magic: the Gathering set 'Ravnica Allegiance'.  This set features five of the bi-colored Ravnican guilds: Azorius (white / blue), Rakdos (black / red), Gruul (red / green), Simic (green / blue), and Orzhov (white / black) and is to release on January 25, 2019.

One of the first hints we saw was the cover of the 2019 Ravnica novel (to be published in April 2019), the first major paper novel in about eight years from author Greg Weisman.  The blurb describes the story of Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren, and Gideon Jura pitted against Bolas and his relentless army of Eternals.  The cover does show Gids and Chandra alongside an unkown (new) Planeswalker and what appears to be Kaya.

Our next hint was rather obvious.  This was from the recent Pro Tour in the form of a very lovely looking 'Top 16' playmat from Ultra PRO.  This shows quite undeniably Kaya, framed with the powerful upper echelon of the Orzhov Syndicate.  What is noticeably absent here are any of the members of the 'Ghost Council'.  From the Fiora storyline, we know her to be an Assassin of Ghosts - so not much stretch of the imagination as to what may have happened.

But how did we get here ?  This is pure speculation.

We know that a big showdown between the malevolent Bolas and the Gatewatch is to take place on Ravnica.  Bolas wants the Guilds to fall in line behind him, and those which do not, he needs to destroy or at least destabilize.  Ghosts, such as Brago (the King Eternal) are difficult to deal with or destroy, and the Orzhov do have a good number of these spirits. 

To this end, it does sound reasonable that Bolas employs Kaya to remove these bothersome spirits.  We assume that Kaya does this effectively and then perhaps realizes the evil despot that Bolas is and joins the Gatewatch crew as suggested by the novel cover.

As for the card itself, it is anyone's guess, but Kaya's
incorporeal powers suggest that one ability is to be able to exile the card (phased out from the game) and then return.  As for the other abilities, please do suggest with a comment below.
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Magic: the Gathering - Norse Mythology

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Two ravens had perched upon our shoulder and whispered in our ear that Wizards of the Coast may be giving thought of creating a set, in the not too distant future, on a new Plane of Existence with a Norse mythology theme.  There is little argument that Norse Mythology has been witnessing something of a surge in interest with production of movies, television shows and books illuminating characters from the Viking pantheon.  We will admit that the History Channel series 'The Vikings' and the movies 'The 13th Warrior' (Antonio Banderas) and Marvel's 'Thor' (Chris Hemsworth) had stoked our interest enough to learn more about the myths.  

Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology with the Theros gods

Although our distant Icelandic and Germanic relatives may have had great distaste for sitting through dull school lessons on this subject, we are most decidedly looking forward to a Norse mythology themed Magic: the Gathering set from Wizards.  We are cognizant that there will be detractors in the MTG fan community that story characters may not hold true to the old Norse stories - we have two responses :

• 'based upon' themes must be offered a wide license to develop, and create their environment, without being bound by the details of the originator.  Exampli gratis - Wōtan's eye sacrificed at the Mímisbrunnr well may be lost another way or not lost at all.

• Snorri Sturluson (1179 - 1241), when not drunk and soaking in his hot-tub at Reykholt, recorded the bulk of what we know about the myths in the Gylfaginning and we would not consider his sagas and poems to be a realistic / accurate witness.  In a similar vein, the story of Beowulf was passed down through oral tradition prior to being finally recorded in manuscript, so an argument for a preciseness to detail is a non-starter.

Now - to the creation of a Norse Mythology themed Magic: the Gathering set -

It may be a very well traveled road as Wizards has already created some 23 'God' cards for Theros (Greek Mythology) and Amonkhet (Ancient Egyptian Mythology).  The challenge is to select which figures, whether gods, heroes or beasts to employ and then which of Magic's five colours to have these painted.

Wotan-Denkmal, Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover

Odin with pals Huginn, Muninn, Freki, and Geri

We will have a go using Odin, who may be associated with battle, death, knowledge / wisdom , and sorcery (among numerous other attributes) may be considered as having demonstrating almost all of the five colours of Magic: the Gathering.  For this we would need to limit to perhaps one or two (White or Blue perhaps?).  The two ravens which serve Odin  Huginn (Mind) and Muninn (Memory) fly over Jörmungrund every day gathering information for Odin which they relay each evening, so having an 'Enter the Battlefield' effect of this 'god' creature two bird creature tokens seems natural.  The two Wolves Freki (Greedy) and Geri (Ravenous) which are also associated with Odin may be presented in an associated sorcery which generates two 2/2 Wolf tokens, again, not too unreasonable.  To apply static abilities and other details such as mana cost is quite beyond our skill, so we will just simply wait for Magic game developers to bring it all together.

The Norse mythology is deep, rich and able to supply numerous stories to adapt to a Magic: the Gathering set.

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Guilds of Ravnica Story

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

The Guilds of Ravnica Story arc, penned by author Nicky Drayden concluded with the fifth and final installment, covering all five Guilds featured in this latest Magic: the Gathering set.  Here are the handy links to each of these great episodes along with the subjective first-person character in brackets and the excellent sketches of that character from artist Wesley Burt.  Wizards of the Coast indicates that Magic Story will continue in early December.

Episode 1 : Under the Cover of Fog (Merret)
Merret, a covert agent of House Dimir, works a lowly position on the docks until he stumbles upon life-changing magic.

Episode 2 : Testing the Dark Waters (Leighbet)
An Izzet chemister makes an incredible discovery about the world . . . and herself.

Episode 3 : Clans and Legions (Weslyn)
A newly promoted Wojek stumbles upon a massive conspiracy.

Episode 4 : Death's Precious Moments (Bozak)
A hopeful kraul competes for training as a necromancer and brushes closer with death than expected.

Episode 5 : Bound and Bonded (Terrik)

A Selesnyan wurmcaller confronts the mistakes of his past with a little help from his friends.

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Friday MTG Miscellany

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Today we have a mish-mash variety of Magic: the Gathering related items for your scrolling here at MTG Realm.  Kicking off today is the Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica in Atlanta, Georgia with a prize pool of $250,000 and the winner walking away with $50,000.  The format starts with booster draft and standard constructed following.  You may check out the coverage at this link.  

If you are heading out to your friendly local gaming store here in Central Ontario (and obviously other parts of Canada), do mind the weather / traffic - as it is heavily snowing right now.  If you find yourself in Barrie, Ontario, do drop over to OMG! Games tonight for Friday Night Magic for a chance to score an FNM promo card.

Now for some of the MTG Misc. via MTG Realm on Tumblr -

Dungeons & Dragons: Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica Dice (Fifth Edition) are releasing soon on November 20, 2018.  The container / tin  looks rather attractive and contains the following dice:

• 1 x D20
• 1 x D12
• 2 x D10s
• 1 x D8
• 4 x D6s
• 1 x D4
• 1 x Special Ravnica Guild die


Here is a closer look at the attractive, semi-translucent dice :

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MTG GORE ! :: Be Warned - A time long ago when card sleeves were not in use.

Magic: The Gathering commentator Marshall Sutcliffe had Pro Tour Historian Brian David-Marshall on his MTG Breakdown show back in the summer to show off an amazing piece of game history: video of a Magic tournament from Saturday, November 12, 1994 in the Ball Room at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.  Video linked right here.  One can see mullets, acid-wash jeans, and of course a large number of what is now rather rare and expensive cards.  The video was not only very entertaining but informative as well.

The ‘Gore’ starts around 16:45 with some riffle / bridge shuffles - THE GOLD - Marshall Sutcliffe‘s reaction … . considering that a Black Lotus may have fetched around $20 or $30 bucks back then (if that), now command a price of up to $8,000 (prices obviously very rough).

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Finally, for us, the amazing Magic: the Gathering card art that Wizards of the Coast commissions is almost as enjoyable as playing the game itself.  We were very happy to hear that Gallery 1988 in L.A. had a MTG group art exhibit, which feature numerous works.

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MTG Ultimate Masters

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Also, a Happy Guy Fawkes Day to those who celebrate that event - please ensure appropriate fire safety cautions are taken.  In the follow-up to yesterday's post on the 'Ultimate Box Topper', this is a related post.

Announced on Twitch and the Mothersite today, here are the details.

Releasing on December 7, 2018, Ultimate Masters (UMA) brings a host of powerful, sought-after cards - including some of the greatest cards from throughout Magic’s history.

Special Box Toppers
There’s forty different box topper cards, and we did our best to make them count. Box toppers include every mythic rare in the set, many of the rares, and two uncommons (Kitchen Finks and Eternal Witness).

• Set size: 254 cards

• 24 packs per box

• 15-card booster packs, one foil per pack

• Languages: English and Japanese, with global distribution

• One Ultimate Box Topper per box

• MSRP*: $335.76 per box per box (*MSRP applies to United States only)


• Supplies are limited

We understand that this is a 'Masters' set, and apparently from the Twitch video posted by WotC (Blake and Steve), this may be the last.  We anticipate some push back from the Magic: the Gathering fan community, mostly regarding the price, and do share the concern.  Anecdotal discussion indicates that in some areas where similar product has been distributed to the so-called Big Box stores, that these similar items are now priced on clearance to move.  Thankfully, Wizards indicates that Ultimate Masters are to be released to proper WPN stores which face a highly competitive environment against the large retailers.  As we have stated before, without the bricks-and-mortar stores, the roots of the MTG gaming community is at risk.  As for the price, we think the market will hopefully self-regulate - (1) much-needed reprints versus (2) the appetite to absorb the cost to acquire those.

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MTG : Ultimate Box Topper

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

Something very to report to Magic: the Gathering fans who had purchased the Guilds of Ravnica Mythic Edition product through the Hasbro Toy Shop, a short while ago.  This one-off product was a booster box of 24 packs, ideal for drafting and contained a guarantee of eight sough-after special mythic foil masterpiece cards.  There was considerable issues with the online point of sale website which was widely reported which generated a deal of criticism.  

The first reports of letters with an mysterious booster pack started being posted on Friday by individuals who had purchased the above-detailed Mythic Edition product.

Here is the text of the letter enclosed within :

To a Magic Superfan, 

Not too long ago, you went on Hasbro ToyShop to purchase Guilds of Ravnica Mythic Edition. However that ended up for you, we recognize it wasn’t a positive experience and we’re sorry about that. Now, we know you like special Magic products, so to try to make it up to you, we’ve enclosed a special something. It’s a bit of a preview from something we’ve got coming that we think you might like. Feel free to take pictures of it, share it online, or just immediately stick it in your favorite deck or binder. 

Hopefully, that puts a smile on your face. 

Sincerely, Everyone at Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast 

PS Wondering what the weird cool (hopefully fun) card is enclosed with this letter? Check out DailyMTG.com.

Reference link : https://twitter.com/wizards_magic/status/1058419844410994694

Here is one of the amazing / beautiful cards posted :

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There appears to a total of 40 different promos -
* New alternate art for this release.

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
???
???
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre   
Snapcaster Mage   
Temporal Manipulation
Bitterblossom*
Demonic Tutor*
Goryo's Vengeance*
Liliana of the Veil
???
Reanimate
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Balefire Dragon
Through the Breach
Eternal Witness*
Life from the Loam*
Noble Hierarch
Tarmogoyf*
Vengevine
???
Leovold, Emissary of Trest
Lord of Extinction
Maelstrom Pulse
Sigarda, Host of Herons
Fulminator Mage*
Kitchen Finks
Engineered Explosives
???
Platinum Emperion*
Ancient Tomb*
Cavern of Souls
Celestial Colonnade
Creeping Tar Pit
Dark Depths*
Karakas
Lavaclaw Reaches
Raging Ravine
Stirring Wildwood
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth*
 

Dungeons and Dragons - Ravnica

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Although it has been years since we have played Dungeons & Dragons, we do credit our love of Magic: the Gathering as coming from such seeds in our youth.  Wizards of the Coast teams for both Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons literally work in the same hallowed building so it comes as a welcomed result that there has been a good degree of brand cross-over.  The latest such project is this very next DnD Guide to be released next month - details and blurb here -

Dungeons & Dragons Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica / D&D/Magic: The Gathering Adventure Book and Campaign Setting Hardcover – November 20, 2018
by Wizards RPG Team 

In Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica, the world's most popular roleplaying game meets the world's most popular trading card game. Released to coincide with the Magic set Guilds of Ravnica, it's the perfect blend of story from the creators of Magic: The Gathering, wrapped around the rules, monsters, and magic of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Details from the Amazon listing linked here.

In Chapter one, races detailed in the Guide include Centaur, Elf, Goblin, Human, Loxodon, Minotaur, Simic Hybrid and Vedalken with sub-classes of Cleric and Druid.  Chapter two provides backgrounds on the Guilds of Ravnica along with what it takes to be a member of a Guild.  Dungeon Masters are provided assistance in creating adventures in Chapter 4.

Some common complaints we have read from fans of the game is that there is a preference for more details, whether it may be a character stats (Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength and Wisdom), stats on a Monster (everyone loves thumbing through a Fiend Folio), or more information to move a party through a campaign.


Obviously this is a simple supplementary product to be used as a guide, but our limited and unexperienced opinion is that Wizards of the Coast would be well served in developing a Magic: the Gathering themed publication more heavily invested in the world of Dungeons and Dragons while addressing the fan community's wish list.

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MTG - Chandra Comics

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Some news we had previously posted about in August earlier this year - another reboot to the Magic: the Gathering comics by IDW Publishing.  This new short series is to deliver all-new stories focused on the red-aligned pyrmancer, the Planeswalker Chandra Nalaar.  The first issue is to be released next month (November 28, 2018).  For more details on the series, read this article at IDW Publishing.

Magic: The Gathering: Chandra #1
(W) Vita Ayala (A) Harvey Tolibao (CA) Ken Lashley
In the wake of tragedy, Planeswalker and pyromancer Chandra Nalaar strikes out on her own. On her journey, she'll have to fight against threats both old and new, as well as her own sense of guilt. Can she overcome all of that alone? And who is that familiar face lurking in the shadows?

Magic: The Gathering: Chandra #2
(W) Vita Ayala (A/CA) Harvey Tolibao
After her latest defeat, Chandra feels broken as events of the past continue to haunt her, and a familiar foe seizes the opportunity to strike! Will Ajani's heroic intervention be enough to help her overcome the threat and stop her from traveling farther down a self-destructive path?

Magic: The Gathering: Chandra #3
Vita Ayala (w) • Harvey Tolibao (a) • Siya Oum (c)

Tibalt’s attacks on Chandra get more personal—and closer to home—as he thrives on her anguish. Meanwhile, Ajani tries to help her make peace with the events of her past, but will Chandra’s outrage be enough to overcome the devilish Planeswalker’s empathic onslaught?

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Tuesday's Totally Tocatli

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

We want to yatter briefly about Tocatli Honor Guard today, but should go over some Magic: the Gathering slang for those players who are just now getting into this awesome game.  Let's go -

Hate card 
This is a card that attempts to neutralise the power of another card or strategy.  Wizards of the Coast prints these sorts of cards as a sort of a safety valve in order to bring balance (to the force) to a metagame which may gravitate toward card or strategy and goes on to become too powerful or dominant.  By way of example, a commond hate card may be printed for use against powerful decklists which makes use of the graveyard as s resource - in this scenario, there may a a 'graveyard hate' card like Grafdigger's Cage.

Bear 
This can be used to describe any 2 mana 2/2 creature with no other abilities and in all likelihood obtains its name from the beloved and very bland vanilla Grizzly Bear, and is not restricted to just green, but every colour.

We now put those two together to get 'Hate Bear'.
This is a hate card, but more specifically also a creature, almost always referring to a two-powered creature for two mana.  Such examples such as Containment Priest, Leonin Arbiter, Kor Firewalker, Gaddock Teeg, Ash Zealot, etc., but will have that lovely rules text which is where all the value is.

Ixalan card Tocatli Honor Guard, illustrated by Sara Winters

Here is a prime example of a 'hate bear' currently in standard - 'Tocatli Honor Guard'.  This human soldier casts for one colourless and one white (2 CMC) and has a body of one power and three toughness which is kinda, sorta close to bear stats.  The rules text here is "Creatures entering the battlefield don't cause abilities to trigger".  We did not count, but reckon that there may be approximately 150 cards or so which may be affected by such a particular card as Tocatli Honor Guard.  Cards such as the enchantment Ajani's Welcome, which would allow its controller to gain one life whenever a creature enters the battlefield under their control is now nerf'd.  Similarily, popular cards such as Kraul Harpooner and Ravenous Chupacabra loose all value.

A number of cards with Mechanics such as Undergrowth, Mentor and Explore may also be adversely impacted by Tocatli Honor Guard.  More importantly, lets look at some of the most popular decklists now in standard (and their key cards) - such as -

Mono-Red Aggro - Goblin Chainwhirler, Viashino Pyromancer

Golgari Midrange - Jadelight Ranger, Merfolk Branchwalker, Ravenous Chupacabra


The TLDR here is that if you are running a decklist with white in it, consider at the very least leaving space for perhaps three Honor Guards.  Currently priced at a very reasonable 50 cents, we are somewhat surprised that we have not seen more of these cards hose the competition at the game tables.

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Guilds of Ravnica Standard

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Tomorrow evening, Magic: the Gathering players will experience a brand new standard format as the newest set, Guilds of Ravnica is released.  Four sets - Amonkhet / Hour of Devastation and Kaladesh / Aether Revolt will be rotating out.  Typically, we would now tell you something along the lines of 'Thank goodness, X is finally rotating' given that 'X' was such pain to deal with at Friday Night Magic.  Not so much this time - really no complaints, although some players will be sad to see Walking Ballista walk off the stage.  There will be of course some nostalgia for the Kaladesh / Aether Revolt Energy Decks, but Wizards of the Coast did kill those off fairly early in January, 2018 with the Anning of Attune with Aether and Rogue Refiner.

Anywhoos, let us not dwell on the past but rather this Friday.  Should you still have some hesitation as to what new / improved Guilds of Ravnica standard decklist should be, do not look any further.  It is that time again with the very popular HareruyaWayfinder, Guilds of Ravnica edition where Kenji Tsumura and other Magic: the Gathering Pros provide a number of suggestions as to what to build, or rather build upon, seasoned with your own personal preferences and the particular local metagame.  There are 18 standard format decklists and something for everyone, whether your game is Aggro, Midrange, Tokens or Control.  There are also 5 Modern Decks to look over as well.

The complete list is posted over at the Hareruya MTG website linked right here.

Aggro Decks
Deck 1 Golgari Ghalta
Deck 2 Boros Aggro
Deck 3 Izzet Aggro
Deck 4 Abzan Knight

Midrange Decks
Deck 5 Dimir Midrange
Deck 6 Golgari Midrange
Deck 7 Golgari with Izoni
Deck 8 Golgari Explore

Control Decks
Deck 9 Izzet Control
Deck 10 Azorius Control
Deck 11 Jeskai Control
Deck 12 Esper Control

Token Decks
Deck 13 Boros Tokens
Deck 14 Selesnya Tokens

Other Strategies (Ramp / Mono Colored)Deck 15 Simic Ramp
Deck 16 Mono White Weenie
Deck 17 Mono Red Goblins
Deck 18 Keld Red

Happy Brewing folks !

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