Zendikar Mini-Site UP!

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w0w (!) . . . we have quite a post for you today. The following wondrous things are promised to be paraded before your hungry eyes before post's end. The Zendikar Mini-Site is now up and live on Wizards. This site provides information on flavour, the orb of insight, activities such as puzzles, a visual spoiler and product information.

There is a lot to cover, so buckle up and let's go . . .

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First off - Some Arts -

Armament Master,
From the Kor Army Zendikar Intro Pack

Turntimber Ranger, 3
From the Adventurers Zendikar Intro Pack

Now some other arts which we do not have any details on yet . . .










A big saucer of glowing milk ?

Very kewl terrain

The Map is the key.

Beetle girl loves insects.

New Zendikar wallpaper this week

Zendikar Orb of Insight (link HERE)

For those that have never had the chance to use it, you type in a word (or number) and the Orb tells you how many times that word appears on Zendikar cards. It doesn't count flavor text but you can enter numbers and mana abbreviations to try and figure out mana and activation costs.

In theory, if you entered every single word in the English language, plus the words and mana costs in Magic, you could put together every single word in the set. Except we know that there are some Magic-specific words that appear in Zendikar for the first time, so you'll probably want to enter in every possible string of letters, just to be safe.

Some Results to date . . .

Card Types: Instant - 39, Sorcery - 25, Enchantment - 29, Creature - 241, Artifact - 24, Land - 106, Planeswalker - 3, Basic - 43, Legendary - 4, Equipment - 11, Aura - 9, Plains - 21, Island - 20, Swamp - 19, Mountain - 19, Forest - 19

Creature Types / Sub-types: Angel - 6, Ally - 41, Archer - 4, Avatar - 1, Basilisk - 3, Beast - 11, Berserker - 4, Bird - 4, Cat - 4, Cleric - 6, Construct - 1, Demon - 2, Dragon - 1, Drake - 2, Druid - 2, Elemental - 13, Elf - 9, Fungus - 1, Human - 8, Giant - 5, Goblin - 17, Hound - 1, Illusion - 2, Insect - 3, Kor - 28, Kraken - 2, Merfolk - 12, Minotaur - 4, Octopus - 1, Rogue - 3, Scout - 8, Soldier - 9, Snake - 3, Soldier - 9, Sphinx - 5, Spirit - 2, Vampire - 20, Wizard - 6, Wolf - 1, Wurm - 1, Zombie - 4

Evergreen Mechanics: Deathtouch - 2, Defender - 2, Double - 5, Enchant - 8, Equip - 3, First - 7, Flying - 21, Forestwalk - 1, Haste - 6, Intimidate - 4, Landwalk - 1, Lifelink - 2, Mountainwalk - 1, Protection - 4, Reach - 1, Regenerate - 2, Shroud - 1, Strike - 6, Swampwalk - 1, Trample - 3, Unblockable - 1

Some speculations / other notes :
Keywords and Mechanics
- 'Expedition' (12 hits) ?
- 'Kicker' has 24 hits; 25 references to kicked ("Whenever a spell is kicked?")
- Trap 34, but 14 for "rather", so likely several traps that are NOT instants?
- Possible new mechanics for equipment and about the library? (11 equipment with 3 equip; 51 library)

Set Contents
- Chandra Ablaze's other two abilities do NOT deal damage. Only her +1 does.
- Land - 106 hits for the word is a considerable number, even counting Landfall and likely 40 uses for basic lands (full art and normal versions)
- Some 9 to 11 "quest" enchantment cards

Possible Reprints : Harrow, Ravenous Baloth, Mind Sludge

Zendikar Slow Cooker 2

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Hey y'all, like the name on the post suggests (slow cooker), we have a bunch of Zendikar slow spoilers in various stages of undress . . . let's get to 'em . . .

First off, we now have the full Sorin Markov Planeswalker card, and it was not quite what we expected here at MTG Realm.

Sorin Markov, 3
Planeswalker - Sorin, Mythic Rare
+2 Sorin Markov deals 2 damage to target creature or player and you gain 2 life.
-3 Target Opponent's life total becomes 10.
-7 You control target player's next turn.

We really thought that the second ability would have held something quite different but we are still quite OK with it.


Next up, his excellency Evan Erwin over at the Magic Show released part two of Warren Instigator and so far, this card seems incredible.

Warren Instigator,
Creature - Goblin Beserker, Mythic Rare
Doubble Strike, ??
?/?

There is still a LOT of space left on the text portion to fill with kick-butt abilities. We personally are hoping for this dude to have haste. We're also hoping for some serious Landfall mechanic love here - hasty tokens please !


Next up is part two of Vampire Nighthawk from the very mobile Trick over at ManaNation. (Memo to Trick - vlogging and driving is an inherently dangerous activity - please be careful) :-)

Vampire Nighthawk, 1
Creature - Vampire Shaman, Uncommon
Flying
Deathtouch
?/?

A flying dude with flying AND deathtouch (for 3)?! - Yes please - I don't really care if this guy is a 1/1 - this card not only equates to potential hits to your opponent's face but also provides removal.


Enfin, un ange légendaire mythique à partir de Magic Ville . . . check it out !

Iona, Shield of Emeria 6
Legendary Creature - Angel, Mythic Rare
Flying
?
?/

Voici ce que je n'espère . . .6/6 vol, vigilance, à chaque fois qu'un terrain arrive en jeu sous votre contrôle les créatures blanches que vous contrôlez gagnent +1/+1 et la protection contre le noir jusqu'à la fin du tour - perhaps too much to ask for maybe (?)

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Also - some interesting pieces of information from Star City goon Jeff Phillips who had kidnapped and interogated WoTC staffer Mark Purvis recently at GenCon Indy 2009.

* “In Zendikar, the land is dangerous and unpredictable.”
* “The people of Zendikar are all well-equipped."
* “Zendikar is the home world of the Kor. All previous appearances by them, they were abducted against their will.”
* The large, floating polyhedron-shaped objects are “hedrons, which are the remnants of an ancient civilization. Their purpose is unknown to the current inhabitants of Zendikar.”
* “Vampires are also native to Zendikar. They have a feel very reminiscent of Native Americans, with war paints and a very tribal feel.”
Sorin is not native to Zendikar.
* “Elves and Goblins are native to Zendikar, but they have an altered behavior. It’s a fresh twist.”
* “Rocktraps: they appear to be rocks, but are actually creatures.”
* “Lands are definitely atypical.”
* “Gravity is a bit off”
* "flying is a major sub theme"

Stay tuned for more MTG spoiler goodness . . .

Zendikar Advice

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Good Day my peeps, wherever you may be. Today here on MTG Realm, we hope to provide you with some timely advice in advance of the Magic the Gathering release of the next expansion, Zendikar.

You may recall our recent post regarding the anticipated Zendikar mechanic, 'Lanfall'. This is the new hotness that provides a bonus 'whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control'. The only Zendikar spoiler to date that has this is Rampaging Baloths which generates 4/4 green beast tokens whenever you drop a land.

Right - now that was prefaced for you, our timely advice . . . Do Not Trade away your Knight of the Reliquarys just yet - in fact, you may even want to pick up a deckset now while the price is right. While you are at it, you may want to consider holding onto that Terramorphic Expanse and those Alara panoramas which will accelerate the tech in your new Zendikar Landfall deck.


Speaking of Knight of the Reliquary prices, do you remember when this card was going for around $9.00 (U.S.) back in February ? Dang ! Man did that price fall like a prom skirt. Knight is now going for just over $1.60 and we anticipate that it will only go up from here.

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In other news, just a few notes about the recent GenCon Indy 2009. Wizards of the Coast had a strong showing at the convention with lots of very decent Magic the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons events / side events going on . . . including several 'learn to play Magic' games with oversized cards.

One suggestion to Wizards from MTG Realm . . . if you have a great space like this and oversized cards, arrange a special 'full contact' MTG . . . I'm thinking something along the line of a Jerry Springer show gone south of cheese.

The highlight - using n00bs from the crowd as Zombie creature tokens . . . just WIN !

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Also of note, while we are on WoTC events . . .

If you are anywhere near Seattle on September 4th to 6th, MTG Realm directs you to attend the PAX (Pennyn Arcade Expo) 2009 event. Wizards promises to be there showcasing the XBLA title Duels of the Planeswalkers and a Magic Online tournament.

The best part of the weekend will occur afterhours at Trinity Nightclub . . .

This year Magic will be hosting a party that is sure to be the highlight of the weekend. On Saturday, September 5 from 7-9 p.m., hundreds of lucky players will behold "The Sights of Zendikar" at Trinity Nightclub in downtown Seattle. We'll be showing a ton of exclusive spoiler cards and new art from the upcoming set, as well as previewing the new Duels of the Planeswalkers downloadable content. We'll also have an interactive puzzle to test your wits, with the savvy winner taking home a big prize (along with smaller door prizes for everyone). Free food and drinks will be served while guests mingle with artists Jeremy Jarvis, Richard Whitters, Mark Tedin and Todd Lockwood, along with R&D designers and developers who make the game what it is.

Unless I get a 'press pass' from the host Starfish Events or the Wizards PR folks at Porter Novelli, I will be unable to attend so please Email ME ! all the pics you get of this and we will post.

Zendikar Intro Packs

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Earlier today on Magic Arcana, we were treated to yet another Zendikar spoiler . . . Zendikar Intro Packs !

Each Magic the Gathering intro pack contains a (pre-constructed) 41-card deck (including a rare foil) and a Zendikar booster. Since these are 'intro packs', they thoughtfully included a handy strategy guide.

Let's see 'em already . . .

Kor Armory :
Foil Rare : Armament Master,
(Creature, Kor Soldier)


Unstable Terrain : /
Foil Rare : Sphinx of Jwar Isle, 4
(Creature, Sphinx)


Rise of the Vampires :
Foil Rare : Malakir Bloodwitch, 3
(Creature, Vampire)


Pumped Up : /
Foil Rare : Hellkite Charger 4
(Creature, Dragon)


The Adventurers : /
Turntimber Ranger, 3
(Creature, Elf Warrior)

Given the recent speculation on the Zendikar mechanic 'Landfall', it may be a safe bet that one or more of the foil rares included in these Intro Packs will have said mechanic . . .

exampli gratia - Extrapolating the art on Thorntimber Ranger, one can imagine a Landfall mechanic such as 'whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, put a green 2/2 wolf token creature into play'.

So very kewl . . . stay tuned for more spoiler goodness.