Elspeth vs. Kiora Redux

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

We were not able to get out to Friday Night Magic at our local shop, OMG! Games & Collectibles here in Barrie, Ontario last night and are kinda feeling a titch of Magic: the Gathering withdrawal.  To cure this, we're planning a big four-player Commander latter tonight to get our MTG on.  As we were yattering about earlier, we also were planning on picking up three of the five Commander 2014 decks but actually want to wait for the second printing as we've been reading about some rumoured product irregularities (additional or missing cards) in the first print run.  

Anywhoos - we wanting to revisit the PAX Australia MTG Panel previews 'n' reveals from the previous weekend as WotC has just posted a video of the presentation which means we now have better images from Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora rather than those taken with a potato cam or odd angle.  So here is another repost of our previous one -

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Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora

Deck Design and Deck Development: Chris Millar and Sam Stoddard
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGEVK
Languages: English, Japanese
Release Date: February 27, 2015
MSRP: $19.99

The knight Planeswalker Elspeth Tirel sees herself as the protector of the Multiverse. She has pledged her sword and shield to all who suffer, and she summons forth impressive armies to assist her. The merfolk Planeswalker Kiora calls upon the creatures of the deepest oceans to fight at her side. She is the master of the world beneath the waves, her true power only now beginning to surface. How will these Planeswalkers measure up when they meet in battle?

 

 











 
This is the 15th duel deck in the Duel Deck series which contain two pre-constructed sixty-card themed decks which are designed to be played against each-other.  There are a total of 6 of cards which are to receive new alternate artwork including the 'marquee' Planeswalker cards for each deck - Elspeth, Sun's Champion (originally printed in in 'Theros' set) and Kiora, the Crashing Wave (originally printed in the 'Born of the Gods' set).

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MTG PAX Conspiracy

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

As it is Thursday, it'll be Commander evening at OMG! Games here in Barrie, so if you're in the area, do drop by - they're at the City's north end near Georgian College.  Speaking of OMG! Games, we've yattered with the owners and will be giving away an Ultra PRO Dual Flip Box we did a review on recently during the Friday Night Magic event tomorrow (Friday 17th April, games starting at 7:00 P.M.).  

 

Next up before we get into today's topic - some more Conspiracy fun.  During the PAX East MTG Panel, there was some frivolity which included an interruption by the mysterious 'King Brago' who directed Mark Purvis (WotC MTG Brand Director and PAX East 2014 MTG Panelist) to reveal a new card type - a colorless 'Conspiracy' card.

Following PAX East, Wizards had posted this video coverage of the MTG Panel relating to Conspiracy.  

Of interest was the artwork for what is undeniably that of the Planeswalker Dack Fayden.  If you do not know, Dack Fayden is the protagonist of the Magic: the Gathering comics (specifically, the 'Spell Thief' series) released by IDW Publishing. In search of greater magical knowledge and on the hunt for the people who destroyed his town, Dack Fayden is the greatest thief in the Multiverse.

At the very end of this video was a QR code, which when used directs us a trail of breadcrumbs through the internet to solve and follow eventually providing a partial spoiler of the new Dack Fayden Planeswalker card as shown below.  It appears we are in for an engaging slow roll reveal.

 
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PAX East Nyx Spoilers

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

Today at PAX East in Boston, Mass., Wizards of the Coast hosted the Magic: The Gathering.  Panelists included Dave Humpherys, Mark Purvis, Dave Guskin, and Jenna Helland.  There was a lot of MTG related talk including some very cool Journey into Nyx spoilers !

Here was the blurb for the panel
Gods, heroes and monsters! What challenges will Planeswalker Elspeth Tirel face next? Learn more about this Hero’s Path as we "Journey Into Nyx "in the third set of the Theros block. Do you have what it takes to complete the Hero’s Path? Get a glimpse of the Journey Into Nyx, get the inside track on the Prerelease and talk to some of the key R&D and Program leaders from Wizards of the Coast. 

Here's a few of the Journey into Nyx spoilers and previews -

Hydra Broodmaster, 4GG
Creature - Hydra, Rare
XXG: Monstrosity X.
When Hydra Broodmaster becomes monstrous, put X X/X green Hydra creature toekns onto the battlefield
7/7

Athreos, God of Passage
Legendary Enchantment Creature - God - Mythic Rare
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to white and black is less than seven, Athreos isn't a creature.
Whenever another creature you own dies, return it to your hand unless target opponent pays 3 life.
5/4

King Macar, the Gold-Cursed, 2BB
Legendary Creature - Human, Rare
Inspired - Whenever King Macar, the Gold-Cursed becomes untapped, you may exile target creature.  If you do, put a colorless artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield.  It has "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one man of any color to your mana pool.
2/3

Polymorphous Rush, 2U
Instant, Rare
Strive - Polymorphous Rush costs 1U more to cast for each taget beyond the first.
Choose a creature on the battlefield.  Any number of target creatures you control each become a copy of that creature until end of turn.

Forgeborn Oreads, 2RR
Enchantment Creature - Nymph, Uncommon
Constellation - Whenever Forgeborn Oreads or another enchantment enters the battlefield under your control, Forgeborn Oreads deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
4/2 

There was also a new Magic 2015 card previewed - Genesis Hydra which we'll cover off a titch latter . .
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Journey into Nyx Spoilers 4

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Pax East Boston is already in swing and there is a lot of exciting things to look forward to this weekend.  Check back in to MTG Realm as we will be posting a few articles over the weekend on Magic 2015 - Duels of the Planeswalkers as well as the MTG Panel where we’ll get a closer look at Journey into Nyx.  If you are not going to Boston this weekend, get your Magic: the Gathering fix at a Friday Night Magic event near you.  We'll be planning to go to our fav card shop, OMG! Games here in Barrie.

Anywhoos, let us get on to today's Journey into Nyx spoilers 'n' previews from the mothersite and around the interwebs -
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Launch the Fleet, W
Sorcery, Rare
Strive — Launch the Fleet costs 1 more to cast for each target beyond the first.
Until end of turn, any number of target creatures each gain "Whenever this creature attacks, put a 1/1 white Soldier token onto the battlefield tapped and attacking."

This is something good.  If you like white weenie or other critter-heavy rush strategies, then you gotta try this one out.  Suggested pairings include Boros Charm or Brave the Elements.
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Hypnotic Siren, U
Enchantment Creature - Siren, Rare
Bestow 5UU (If you cast this card for its bestow cost, it's an Aura spell with enchant creature. It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature.)
Flying
You control enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has flying.
1/1

Not the best pup in the Bestow litter but there may be a Commander build out there looking for a similar effect to Spirit Away.
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Worst Fears, 7B
Sorcery, Mythic Rare
You control target player during that player's next turn. Exile Worst Fears. (You see all cards that player could see and make all decisions for that player.)

Evan Erwin from the Magic Show had this preview.  Pretty decent and appropriately costed and along with the self-exile makes this difficult to abuse in standard (thank goodness) but there is still options in other formats to take this straight downtown. 
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Dictate of Karametra, 3GG
Enchantment, Rare
Flash
Whenever a player taps a land for mana, that player adds one mana to his or her mana pool of any type that land produced.

Gotta love the flash ability on this mana engine.  As all players may take advantage of this effect, drop this carefully as you will want to take full advantage of this and drop this at the end of your opponent's turn while you have a fatty or powerful game winning spell in your hand.
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Pheres-Band Warchief, 3G
Creature - Centaur Warrior, Rare
Vigilance, trample
Others Centaur creatures you control gets +1/+1 and have vigilance and trample.
3/3

Centaur tribal lord - wait - wut?  Very nice - perhaps a titch too expensive to cast but given green's traditional ability to mana accelerate, this should not be too much of a sticky issue.
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Mana Confluence
Land, Rare
T, Pay 1 life: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool

One life for any colour of mana -  yesss please - and all day long.  This is a lovely land card and will certainly see play in multiple formats alongside other Opal Palace, Command Tower, and City of Brass.  We'll definitely be wanting to pick up multiple copies of this from MTG Mint Card.

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Magic 2015 DotP

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

This weekend, the ultimate party for gamers is at PAX East in Boston.  Thousands of fans are expected to attend the multiple-day event for gaming.  But that's not all - expect all facets of N3rd / Geek culture with displays on anime, comics, cosplay and other awesomeness to be there too.  We are particularly interested in the Magic: the Gathering panel on Saturday where Wizards of the Coast is expected to provide an advanced glimpse of the upcoming set 'Journey into Nyx'.

WotC is also expected to unveil the very next installment of the 'Duels of the Planeswalkers' digital game.  Magic 2015 - Duels of the Planeswalkers will take the game to a whole new level, deeply engaging fans like never before. With new features including the ability to build customized decks, new booster packs with premium downloadable content, and an even more robust deck builder, players will take on their fiercest opponents culminating in the ultimate battle against Garruk.  Be sure to swing by the Magic: the Gathering Booth (#462) to be one of the first to play the demo game.  

For now, here is a kick-butt trailer (via IGN) and some screen-caps to whet your gaming appetite -

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PAX East Ahoy

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Since we first talked about about the Magic 2015 official announcement and spoilers / previews with the tweaked Magic: the Gathering card design (article here), we've had a renewed interest for that green Planeswalker Garruk (his art was featured on the announcement).  So much so, we've even picked up a few Garruk PW variants we did not yet have from MTG Mint Card.  

Suffice to say, we were excited to see that the Wizards of the Coast MTG pin for PAX East is none other than Garruk himself.  As there was a Chandra theme to last year's convention, we may be able to expect the same sort of thing with Garruk this year.

If you are new to the convention circuit, PAX East is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. Taking place April 11-13 in Boston, PAX East hosts dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas as well as nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers.

The highlight of PAX East for Magic: the Gathering gamers, both digital and analog will most certainly be the MTG Panel.  Here's the official blurb from the PAX East website:

Saturday 12th April, 2014 - 1:30 pm

Magic: The Gathering Panel

Gods, heroes and monsters! What challenges will Planeswalker Elspeth Tirel face next? Learn more about this Hero’s Path as we Journey Into Nyx in the third set of the Theros block. Do you have what it takes to complete the Hero’s Path? Come by the Magic: The Gathering panel to get a glimpse of the Journey Into Nyx, get the inside track on the Prerelease and talk to some of the key R&D and Program leaders from Wizards of the Coast.

Panelists: Mark Purvis [Brand Director, Wizards of the Coast]

Most definitely excited to get the latest from this panel.  Unfortunately, with about two weeks left before the start of PAX East, there is not a good chance to get a hold of any badge / passes as they've been sold out for some time.  There is still a chance you could pick one up from individual sellers but expect to pay good coin for it.

Stay tuned to MTG Realm as we report any and all MTG news coming out of PAX East.
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