RTR Early Spoiler

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

A very interesting / odd development with regards to Return to Ravnica spoilers over the last 24 hours.  Return to Ravnica is Magic the Gathering's large fall set due out 5th October, 2012 and we should not see any spoilers this far out with the exception of official previews from Wizards of the Coast.  Let's have a look at this one with a critical eye and a slight bias as to it's originality.  Remember kids, only trust officially released content from the mothersite.
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MTG game fan 'Bruce' had a bit of a surprise when he had opened up a sealed booster box of Magic 2013 core set over the weekend.  Bruce's wife ('Barb') had purchased said box at a local gaming store near Davenport, Iowa.  When Bruce was opening the 3rd booster pack from the top left, in what appeared to be a typical sealed M13 booster pack, he got a surprise.  Instead of having a land in this pack, in it's place was a card not from the set but a common-rarity card from the yet to be released Return to Ravnica set.

Let's have a looky-loo . . .

Rootborn Defenses, 2W
Instant, Common
Populate. Creatures you control are indestructible this turn. (To populate, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of a creature token you control. Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy indestructible creatures.)

Artist: Mark Zug
Number: 19/274
Watermark: Selesnya

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Upon closer inspection, the text templating seemed a bit off but this could be dismissed as there are similar oddly worded cards.  The other point which caused many players to call FAKE was the missing / non-conforming copyright date on the card bottom.  Contemporary templating of this information is typically formatted as:

™ & © 1993-2012 Wizards of the Coast LLC #/X
where # was the collectors number and X is the number of cards in that given set.

Rootborn Defenses had this instead:
™ & © Wizards of the Coast 19/274

Those who believe in the authenticity of this card explain this as a misprint.  Wizards contractor should be printing this now and this could be simply a mistake which should have found its way into a shredder / recycling bin instead of into a pack of M13.

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If real, we rather like this card.  This new 'populate' mechanic works rather well with the old Ravnica mechanic 'Convoke' (Each creature you tap while casting this spell reduces its cost by 1 or by one mana of that creature's color.).

Your call . . . Fact or Fiction ?

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Finally,
Here is a run-down of the Top Ten Selling Magic 2013 M13 Singles In July 2012, as provided by our friends over at MTG Mint Card.

1. Yeva, Nature’s Herald
She’s commands, she’s got flash and she gives all your creatures flash too! She’s even a 4/4! There are plenty of ways to get creative and build around this legendary elf.

2. Master of the Pearl Trident
Being a merfolk lord makes him amazing, and blue has plenty of ways to change land types.

3. Disciple of Bolas
While 4 mana for a 2/1 is a horrible deal, the ability is certainly interesting. This is a great one-of in Commander and can be very dangerous as it refills your hand and life total.

4. Vampire Nocturnus
Play with the top card of your library revealed. As long as the top card of your library is black, Vampire Nocturnus and other Vampire creatures you control get +2/+1 and have flying.

5. Mutilate
All creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn for each Swamp you control.

6. Staff of Nin
At the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card. {T}: Staff of Nin deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

7. Drowned Catacomb
Drowned Catacomb enters the battlefield tapped unless you control an Island or Swamp. {T}: Add {U} or {B} to your mana pool.

8. Odric, Master Tactician
Odric is a great opportunity as a commander. His absurdly worded ability that blows banding out of the water allows him to essentially be unblockable, ensuring you will be dealing commander damage.

9. Thragtusk
The fact that Thragtusk triggers whenever leaving the battlefield – not just dying, makes me love him. The life gain is just gravy! This is just an amazing creature card all around.

10. Captain of the Watch
Vigilance. Other Soldier creatures you control get +1/+1 and have vigilance. When Captain of the Watch enters the battlefield, put three 1/1 white soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.
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Magic 2013 GameDay

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

This weekend, Magic the Gathering players will be descending on local gaming stores all around the globe to participate in M13 GameDay.  This standard constructed event takes place just a few short weeks after each set's release which affords time for players to collect cards and build a viable strategy to take on opponents.  If you still have an outstanding card or two you haven't be able to get a hold of, it might not yet be too late - check out MTG Mint Card.  To find a store hosting this event local to you check out the Wizards Locator.

We are planning to head out to our local store, OMG! Games here in Barrie, in Central Ontario for a chance to win some very decent prizes.  Here's the 4.1.1. you need to know . . .

M13 Gameday - Saturday August 4th

Start Time : 12:30pm, registration opens at 11:00am
Cost : $5
Format : Standard Constructed
Location : 130 Bell Farm Rd  Barrie, ON L4M 6J4

All participants receive an exclusive Mwonvuli Beast Tracker.

The Top 8 players each receive an exclusive Magmaquake full-art promo card.

The first place winner of Magic 2013 Game Day will receive an exclusive Champion Playmat.

Additional prizes of M13 Boosters given out to top players.

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Tumblr Thursday

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

We know, we know - we indicated in yesterday's post that we were going to have a looky-loo at a standard constructed green - white infect deck featuring the new green aura hotness Rancor.  Well we lied.  We forgot that its Thursday, which means we republish a bunch of recent posts from our sister site MTG Realm on Tumblr.  Magic the Gathering players, n3rds, and gamers should all be happy with today's content so sit down, strap in, and let's go . . .

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Photo

July 25, 2012

Magic the Gathering Olympics
by IrrelephantInTheRoom

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Photo

July 25, 2012

Ravnica Travel Poster
by ~adrius15 on deviantART
I wanna see more Ravnica tourism poster !

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July 25, 2012

MURDER ! ! from yummyaombie
Oh Reddit, you’re like the 4chan /b board for MTG hilarity.

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Text

July 25, 2012

SCG Invitational Qualifier

Results from my local games store -  OMG! Games in Barrie, Ontario - Top 8 for last weekend’s StarCityGames.com Invitational Qualifier

1. Naya Pod    1st place    Matt Sutherland   
2. G/R Pod        2nd place    Derek Colby-Robbins   
3. Wolf Run Ramp    3rd place    Samson McGuire   
4. Mono-Green Aggro    4th place    Vito Montesano   
5. R/G Aggro    5th place    Darren Minler   
6. G/W Aggro    6th place    Nick Pirone   
7. U/B Zombies    7th place    Mike Dryden   
8. Mono-Green Infect    8th place

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Photo

July 25, 2012

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - to be featured in Return to Ravnica and Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari
R U M O R  -  O N L Y   (based on that Japanese packaging spoiler)
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, bbgg

Legendary Creature - Elf Zombie

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord gets +1/+1 for each creature card in your graveyard.

bg, Sacrifice another creature you control: Each opponent loses life equal to the power of the sacrificed creature.

P/T ?

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Photo

July 24, 2012

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Sensei’s Divining Top kinda look just a little like a cinnamon crescent roll … maybe I’m just hungry.

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Photo

July 23, 2012

Picnic date -
Magic the Gathering

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Finally,
Here is a run-down of the Top Ten Selling Magic 2013 M13 Singles In July 2012, as provided by our friends over at MTG Mint Card.

1. Yeva, Nature’s Herald
She’s commands, she’s got flash and she gives all your creatures flash too! She’s even a 4/4! There are plenty of ways to get creative and build around this legendary elf.

2. Master of the Pearl Trident
Being a merfolk lord makes him amazing, and blue has plenty of ways to change land types.

3. Disciple of Bolas
While 4 mana for a 2/1 is a horrible deal, the ability is certainly interesting. This is a great one-of in Commander and can be very dangerous as it refills your hand and life total.

4. Vampire Nocturnus
Play with the top card of your library revealed. As long as the top card of your library is black, Vampire Nocturnus and other Vampire creatures you control get +2/+1 and have flying.

5. Mutilate
All creatures get -1/-1 until end of turn for each Swamp you control.

6. Staff of Nin
At the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card. {T}: Staff of Nin deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

7. Drowned Catacomb
Drowned Catacomb enters the battlefield tapped unless you control an Island or Swamp. {T}: Add {U} or {B} to your mana pool.

8. Odric, Master Tactician
Odric is a great opportunity as a commander. His absurdly worded ability that blows banding out of the water allows him to essentially be unblockable, ensuring you will be dealing commander damage.

9. Thragtusk
The fact that Thragtusk triggers whenever leaving the battlefield – not just dying, makes me love him. The life gain is just gravy! This is just an amazing creature card all around.

10. Captain of the Watch
Vigilance. Other Soldier creatures you control get +1/+1 and have vigilance. When Captain of the Watch enters the battlefield, put three 1/1 white soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.
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Rocking Rancor

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Rancor : A feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will

Happy Wednesday MTG Peeps,

Today we wanted to have a look at one of several experimental builds with Rancor in standard constructed.  As we are all about casual Magic the Gathering gaming, no rogue strategy would be dismissed.  A lot of players are a bit hesitant to use auras when gaming but this particular aura has enjoyed popularity since Urza’s Legacy, when the card had the flavour text 'Hatred outlives the hateful'. 

We rather like Rancor as it provides some sweet advantages over most other decks with creature enchantments by not having the same inherent card disadvantage as it can pop back in your hand to be played yet again after your creature takes that inevitable dirt nap.  The most natural place for this may be in a green stompy build which is where we first fit it in.  If you haven't yet acquired a deck set of Rancor yet, we suggest you make tracks over to MTG Mint Card.

Rancor, Young Wolf, Strangleroot Geist, Beast Within, Predator Ooze, Skinshifter, Triumph of the Horde, Triumph of Ferocity, Champion of Lambholt, Vorapede, Garruk Primal Hunter, and a splash of white for Gavony Township.  We were rather single-focused here in trying to get Champion of Lambholt online with Rancor and additional +1/+1 counter collections from undying and Gavony.  After playing this, we realise that this may be a titch narrow focus and should include Dungorve Elder and other considerations.

 

Next post -
We want to try a green / white infect strategy with Rancor that some players are now talking about.

Speaking of green stompy - make sure you have the latest M13 singles to build your green menace with - check out Magic on a Budget for card singles.
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M13 Event decklists

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Today, WoTC Monty provided the Magic 2013 core set Event Deck lists.   These products are typically released on 'Game Day' which is approximately three weeks after a set's release date.  Newer players who have 'cut their teeth' on Intro Packs may now be ready to advance and get themselves into a more competitive preconstructed build such as Event decks.  These decks may be further upgraded to taste - we suggest you click on over to MTG Mint Card.

The 2013 Core Set Event Decks are Repeat Performance (/ ) and Sweet Revenge (/ / ).  These will have an MSRP of $24.99 and go on sale August 3, 2012.  Each Event Deck contains one 60-card deck, one 15-card sideboard, one Spindown life counter, one strategy insert, and a handy card box to house your new card goodness in.
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Repeat Performance - Magic 2013 Event Deck

22 lands : 12  Forest, 8  Plains, 2  Razorverge Thicket (R)

33 creatures : 1  Acidic Slime, 2  Arbor Elf, 3  Attended Knight, 4  Avacyn's Pilgrim, 1  Blade Splicer (R), 3  Borderland Ranger, 1  Brutalizer Exarch, 2  Elvish Visionary, 1  Fiend Hunter, 1  Geist-Honored Monk (R), 1  Glimmerpoint Stag, 4  Llanowar Elves, 1  Mwonvuli Beast Tracker, 4  Roaring Primadox, 1  Stingerfling Spider, 1  Stonehorn Dignitary, 1  Sunblast Angel (R), 1  Thragtusk (R)

5 other spells : 1  Green Sun's Zenith (R), 4  Lead the Stampede

15 sideboard cards : 3  Cloudshift, 2  Dismember, 3  Kemba's Skyguard, 4  Oblivion Ring, 3  War Priest of Thune

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Sweet Revenge - Magic 2013 Event Deck

24 lands : 1  Darkslick Shores (R), 1  Desolate Lighthouse (R), 4  Evolving Wilds, 7  Island, 9  Mountain, 1  Sulfur Falls (R), 1  Swamp

7 creatures : 2  Armored Skaab, 4  Fettergeist, 1  Firewing Phoenix (R)

29 other spells : 4  Burning Vengeance, 4  Desperate Ravings, 4  Faithless Looting, 3  Forbidden Alchemy, 2  Geistflame, 3  Pillar of Flame, 1  Red Sun's Zenith (R), 1  Rolling Temblor, 1  Silent Departure, 2  Slagstorm (R), 4  Think Twice

15 sideboard cards : 2  Arc Trail, 4  Bloodcrazed Neonate, 2  Dismember, 4  Screeching Skaab, 3  Secrets of the Dead
 

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Spell Thief

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We recently picked up the first issue of Spell Thief, the next series in IDW's Magic the Gathering comic book series.  Most MTG players we know have a bit of collector in them.  Since these comic books have variant graphic covers, as well as an exclusive, alternate art playable Magic The Gathering card, we think that these may also make a nice inexpensive gift for that MTG nerd in your life, or perhaps as a nice apology for that fellow gamer who may have forgot to ask for that deckset of whatever you've been gaming with.  

Anywhoos, here's a quick rundown of the issues to expect.  We would like to provide expected release dates but it may not be helpful as even we are hardpressed to get these comics up in our neck 'o' the woods within a reasonable time frame from the official release date.
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Magic: The Gathering—The Spell Thief #1

Matt Forbeck (w) • Martín Cóccolo, Christian Duce (a) • Christopher Moeller (c)Fayden has followed Sifa Grent into a mysterious plane, where a Titan’s castle looms invitingly in the distance. Entering the castle in search of Sifa, Dack is soon imprisoned by the Titan and added to his vast collection. Dack must find a way out before the trail to Sifa runs cold and he remains the Titan’s prisoner forever! Special playable Magic: The Gathering card polybagged in each issue!FC • 32 pages • $4.99

Dack Fayden, Planeswalker thief, has stolen a valuable artifact from Ravnica, the Ancient Fang. Using his abilities to learn the artifact's secrets, instead he witnesses the destruction of his hometown through the eyes of the villain that committed the act: Sifa Grent. Dack sets out to track her down at her next destination: Innistrad. Once in Innistrad, he meets a cathar by the name of Ingrid Reichert. Ingrid aids him in tracking down Sifa, who has allied herself with a local vampire Baron. In tracking down the Baron, they learn that Sifa has travelled to Ingrid's hometown and plans to steal the souls of the inhabitants, just like she did to Dack's hometown. Dack and Ingrid manage to stop her, but she escapes and planeswalks away. Dack follows and finds himself in front of an enormous castle…

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Magic: The Gathering—The Spell Thief #2

Matt Forbeck (w) • Martín Cóccolo (a) • Dan Scott (c)
Dack Fayden barely escapes the Collector's prison... and now finds himself back on his home plane of Fiora. Forced to confront the destruction of his hometown, Dack relives the painful memories as he seeks clues that will lead him back on the trail of the malevolent Sifa Grent. Dack must find the strength within himself to carry on or his burden of guilt may prove too overwhelming for the Planeswalker thief. Special playable MAGIC: THE GATHERING card polybagged in this issue!
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

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Magic: The Gathering—The Spell Thief #3

Matt Forbeck (w) • Martín Cóccolo (a) • Matt Stewart (c)
Leaving his home plane behind, Dack Fayden returns to Innistrad, still in pursuit of the villainous Sifa Grent. He convenes with the Reichert family again, who provide Dack with crucial information on the evil Planewalker's location. But when Sorin Markov arrives, looking for Dack, things quickly escalate and our hero finds himself in a situation where he may not come out alive...
FC • 32 pages • $4.99

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Magic: The Gathering—The Spell Thief #4

Matt Forbeck (w) • Martín Cóccolo (a) • Alex Horley (c)
Dack Fayden’s quest to track down the villainous Sifa Grent has brought him to Grixis, a vast wasteland dominated by the undead and vicious demons—including the demon-dragon Malfegor. Imprisoned by the demon’s cult, Dack soon discovers the morbid origins of Sifa and her sinister ties to Malfegor... but will he be able to escape this undead plane in order to stop her plans?
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
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If you were looking to include any of these sweet alternate art cards in a standard constructed build, make sure you drop by MTG Mint Card who have an amazing stock and even better prices.
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MTGO Upgrades

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Online gamers should be rather happy - Wizards of the Coast has been hard at work developing a new User Interface update for Magic: The Gathering Online.  They have opened this to a nine-day public beta test which is expected to last until 25th July.  Most players will agree the old interface was terribad and from what we see in the new 'n' shiny version, it looks good.  More information about the new Interface is available here.  

Magic Online has been redesigned to make it easier than ever to play when you want and how you want. The latest features include:

•  Streamlined download: 5 minutes vs. 2 hours
•  Improved drafting and limited deck building scenes
•  Updated navigation and visuals improve usability
•  Combined collection and deck editor simplifies card management
•  Floating windows take advantage of high resolutions and multiple monitors
•  Full access to deck building, casual play, trading, and store

Also of note - 
M13 is set to release on Magic the Gathering online (mtgo) at the end of the month (30 July).  Start planning your purchases with Cardhoarder.  With four bots (Hotbot, Fastbot, YesBot, cardhoarder.bot, CardHoarderBuyBot), a graphics-based price list, traditional web store and slick shopping cart interface, you'll be gaming in no time.

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Tumblr Thursday

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

We wanted to get to some Magic the Gathering Online (MTGO) updates as well as speculate about the soon to be released Magic 2013 core set (M13) Event Decks, but as it is Thursday, it is time again to turn to our sister site, MTG Realm on Tumblr where the gaming community has blossomed.  Here are some select re-posts from the last few days over there . . .

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Photo 

July 18, 2012

Magic the Gathering promos
Another pile needing sorting.

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July 18, 2012

Foil Lilianna of the Dark Realms …
Pulled from one of the booster packs inside my green / black ‘Wild Rush’ M13 Intro Packs.
<3  n3rd-p0rn like this.

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Photo

July 17, 2012

Kaijudo : Tatsurion vs. Razorkinder
I don’t know what this is …
but I want to know if I would get cancer if I open it up.
o_0

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July 16, 2012

Do you know what makes my inner Magic geek happy ? ?
Having Rancor back in standard after a much too long hiatus.  (Urza’s Legacy released in Feb. 1999)
Now - back to brewing up a list for that green / black Infect deck …

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Photo

July 16, 2012

Magic 2013 - Intrepid Hero
tap: pawn opponent’s fatty.
Contemplating evil and unfair synergies and tech for a standard deck.

>Now thinking of using Kessig Wolf Run to pump and then dump their critters. Any ideas anyone ?
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Photo

July 16, 2012

Sorting through my new Magic 2013 cards …
I am the Lord of the Rings !
(apparently)

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Photo

July 16, 2012

13 notes

Kinda like Christmas just now …
My Magic 2013 pre-orders had come in from MTG Mint Card - 4x of each common and uncommon.  I think I need a bigger table to sort this shizzle.

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M13 Wild Rush

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Each ready-to-play 2013 Core Set intro pack comes with a 60-card deck and TWO 2013 Core Set booster Packs.  As is tradition here at MTG Realm, we pick up one or more Intro Packs and then do a dissection / unboxing of it on video for you.  We scored the green / black 'Wild Rush' this time.  Good solid product to start into the game with or just battle another player armed with another Intro Pack.  We were VERY happy with the epic foil we pulled out of one of the two booster packs in this . . .


 
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Yep - that was a foil Lili in that second booster - we died and went to N3rd heaven.

 

Each Magic 2013 Intro Pack contains
•  1 Premium Card
•  1 60-Card Deck
•  2 Boosters
•  1 Learn-To-Play Insert
•  1 Strategy Insert

Intro Packs hit local gaming stores on 13th July and has a suggested retail price of about $15.00, which we think provides decent value as they now have two booster packs.  The Intro Pack is a great way for novice players to get into the game and are easily customized.  We suggest that you may want to pick up additional Magic 2013 singles from MTG Mint Card to upgrade the decklist as your skill improves.  Anywhoos - onto the lists . . .

Wild Rush - /
Rares - Yeva, Nature's Herald, Predatory Rampage

Massive creatures hit the ground running with this explosive deck. Legendary elf Yeva, Nature’s Herald adds an element of surprise to your game, letting you cast creatures just about whenever you want to. Crush your enemies when they least expect it.

25 lands : 1  Evolving Wilds, 16  Forest, 8  Swamp

21 creatures : 1  Acidic Slime, 3  Arbor Elf, 2  Centaur Courser, 2  Deadly Recluse, 2  Duskdale Wurm, 2  Garruk's Packleader, 1  Mwonvuli Beast Tracker, 1  Primal Huntbeast, 1  Sentinel Spider, 2  Spiked Baloth, 2  Vastwood Gorger, 1  Yeva, Nature's Herald, 1  Yeva's Forcemage

14 other spells : 1  Crippling Blight, 2  Essence Drain, 1  Fungal Sprouting, 1  Naturalize, 1  Predatory Rampage, 1  Prey Upon, 2  Public Execution, 1  Rancor, 2  Ranger's Path, 1  Ring of Kalonia, 1  Rise from the Grave
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M13 Top Fives

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

As is tradition here at MTG Realm, we pre-order a 4x common and uncommon set of the latest Magic the  Gathering set.  MTG Mint Card ships from Asia on Friday and we get them on Monday.  Having some time between the prerelease and the launch, the MTG Realm crew has a chance to evaluate the cards.


Here is our run-down of the Top Five Commons and Uncommons for Magic 2013 Core Set ('M13') based on our own gut feelings of how the cards will perform in standard as well as limited . . .

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Top Five M13 Commons :
• Murder
• Mind Sculpt
• Searing Spear
• Krenko's Command
• Farseek

Top Five M13 Uncommons :
• Rancor
• Jace's Phantasm
• Vampire Nighthawk
• Augur of Bolas
• Knight of Glory
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