MTG Theros Comics

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

According to our calendar and a host of other online media websites, today is the first day of Spring ('March' equinox).  Images called into mind are newborn lambs frolicking in a meadow festooned with a fresh vernal growth of flowers.  This is of course not the case here in Central Ontario (just North of Toronto) where there is yet another snow blizzard raging outside our window.  If you happen to be near Barrie, Ontario, drop by OMG! Games this evening to get out of the weather and take in some Commander.

As for us, we'll likely baton down the hatches, build a fire and curl up with the latest Magic: the Gathering comic book from IDW Publishing we picked up this week.  A good part of our fondness of the game stems from the storyline ('vorthos') behind the set themes and flavor text on the cards.  Another reason we love getting the MTG comic books is the alternate-art cards of course.  Since we now have all of the promo-cards, we also want to pop over to MTG Mint Card and pick up original printings as well.

Anywhoos, now that we now have all five comic books in the latest Theros series, here's a handy summary -  
 

IDW Comics Magic: the Gathering Volume 4 - "Theros"
• Theros #1 — Alternate-Art High Tide
• Theros #2 — Alternate-Art Gaze of Granite
• Theros #3 — Alternate-Art Wash Out
• Theros #4 — Alternate-Art Acquire
• Theros #4 — Alternate-Art Duress

Magic: The Gathering – Theros #1 (of 5)
Jason Ciaramella (w) • Martin Coccolo (a) • Eric Deschamps (c)
DACK FAYDEN RETURNS! After eliminating Sifa Grent, the Planeswalker that destroyed his hometown, Dack has settled down in Ravnica to do what he does best: break in and steal the secrets from Ravnica's rarest artifacts. But upon uncovering the half of a strange gauntlet, Dack is led to a strange new plane: the realm of THEROS, a sun-dappled ruled by gods and inhabited by mythological beasts!
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
Variant Covers: variant Martin Coccolo

Magic: The Gathering – Theros #2 (of 5)
Jason Ciaramella (w) • Martin Coccolo (a) • Dan Scott (c)
Dack Fayden follows the trail of his most recent stolen artifact to THEROS, where he makes his way to a sinister island that holds the secrets of his newest acquisition. But such powerful artifacts are rarely left unguarded...
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
This issue includes an exclusive, alternate art playable Magic: The Gathering card
Variant Covers: variant Martin Coccolo

Magic: The Gathering – Theros #3 (of 5)
Jason Ciaramella (w) • Martin Coccolo (a) • Volkan Baga (c)
Dack Fayden has managed to assemble the powerful artifact that first brought him to THEROS. But as a monster of the deep attacks the vessel he sails on, Dack must put his new acquisition to good use… and fast!
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
This issue includes an exclusive, alternate art playable Magic: The Gathering card
Variant cover by Martin Coccolo

Magic: The Gathering – Theros #4 (of 5)
Jason Ciaramella (w) • Chris Evenhuis (a) • Anthony Francisco (c)
Dack Fayden remains in THEROS with his new artifact—a powerful gauntlet that holds many secrets. But those secrets may bring trouble to Dack’s doorstep… and the Planeswalker thief will have to face a foe unlike any other.
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
This issue includes an exclusive, alternate art playable Magic: The Gathering card
Variant Cover by Martin Coccolo

Magic: The Gathering - Theros #5
Release Date - Wed, March 19th, 2014
Jason Ciaramella (w) • Martin Coccolo (a) • Michael Komarck (c)
A new threat stalks the nightmares of the people of THEROS and it’s up to Dack Fayden to figure out a way to stop this new enemy. But will Dack’s own dreams be overtaken before he can confront this threat? Perhaps he will have to seek help from the gods of Theros before he can stop Ashiok, the Nightmare Weaver!
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
This issue includes an exclusive, alternate art playable Magic: The Gathering card.
 Variant Cover by Martin Coccolo
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Theros No. 2 Out Today

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

All across North America and many other places worldwide, new releases are hitting comic book store shelves.  Here at MTG Realm, we've been looking forward to each and every release in the Magic: the Gathering series from IDW Publishing.  For those Magic: the Gathering players who want to get in on the Theros flavour / storyline, we definitely will suggest picking up each MTG IDW publication.  Anywhoos, The latest in the Theros series is now out so let's have a look.

Magic: The Gathering – Theros #2 (of 5)
Jason Ciaramella (w) • Martin Coccolo (a) • Dan Scott (c)
Dack Fayden follows the trail of his most recent stolen artifact to THEROS, where he makes his way to a sinister island that holds the secrets of his newest acquisition. But such powerful artifacts are rarely left unguarded…
FC • 32 pages • $4.99
In Shops: 11/13/2013
Regular cover art by Dan Scott
Alternate art cover by Martin Coccolo

The promo card with this comic is an alternate art Dragon's Maze Rare, Gaze of Granite.  With original art from Nils Hamm, the alternate art from Dan Scott features comic's main character in a sticky situation with a Gorgon on Theros.  This Golgari sorcery, costing two black, a green and 'X' allows the player to destroy each nonland permanent with converted mana cost X or less - a solid board wipe option in standard constructed right now.  You may even want to pick this (regular) single up from MTG Mint Card now for your local Friday Night Magic event.  For some gamers, it might not be as good as Pernicious Deed (from Apacalypse) but in today's standard, this is a great way to toast all those Master of Waves and Elspeth generated token creatures on the battlefield.

The Multiverse—a boundless expanse of worlds, each different from the last. These worlds, called planes, differ as widely as the imagination. All planes are connected by the substance of the Multiverse itself: the Æther, called the Blind Eternities by Planeswalkers—the only beings who ever see it. With their ability to cross the Blind Eternities from one plane onto another, laneswalkers are some of the only beings with the ability to explore the vastness of the Multiverse and the wonders that it holds.

Upon stealing one half of a mysterious artifact in the plane of Ravnica, Dack is led to Theros, where the other half resides. While attempting to find a boat so he can travel to the other half's location, Dack bumps into a mean looking captain and finds himself surrounded by his crew . . . 

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Sifa Grent

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

From reading the title of today's MTG Realm post, you are likely wondering who or what is 'Sifa Grent'. Apparently Sifa is another Planeswalker to be featured in the upcoming Magic the Gathering comics from IDW publishing. The other Planeswalker, Dack Fayden, which we yattered about in a previous post is central in the story line and will be featured on an MTG card.

Dack is the protagonist in this story and is reportedly the greatest thief in the multiverse. PW Fayden is currently on the hunt for the responsible party who destroyed his village. This search brings him to the Plane of Innistrad which has some gamers speculating that these two Planeswalkers may be future cards in the next set, Dark Ascension or perhaps the third set, codenamed 'Roll'.
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Enough for now.
We suggest you catch up with the latest news on the mothership (linky here), or over at IDW publishing who had posted this interview with Matt Forbeck on the new Magic: The Gathering Comics.

What’s the Magic: The Gathering comic about?

It follows the adventures of a new Planeswalker by the name Dack Fayden. Dack’s not just a powerful mage but also one of the greatest thieves of his age. Unlike other thieves, though, he steals — he’d prefer to say “borrows” — not for money but knowledge.

Dack has a special power called psychometry. This allows him to pry into an artifact, figure out how it works, and teach himself the spells it uses. It also gives him visions of the most intense times the object has been used, which can be both horrifying and enlightening.

Where is it set?

Well, Planeswalkers move between worlds at will, and the comic reflects that. Dack often needs to stay a step or three ahead of the law or whoever else he’s annoyed, so he moves around a lot. He stays until he’s worn out his welcome — sometimes past that.

Dack’s current home base is an urban plane called Ravnica. However, the action in the story leaps over to Innistrad fairly fast.

Innistrad? That sounds familiar.

Innistrad is the new plane that was introduced with the current block of cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, on which the comic is based. It’s a place of gothic horror filled with vampires, werewolves, and loads of other monsters.

It’s also the place where someone Dack’s been hunting for a long time has been holed up for a while. She’s another new Planeswalker by the name of Sifa Grent, and as we find out in issue #1, she’s responsible for the destruction of Dack’s entire hometown.

When does the first issue come out?

It should be on shelves and e-readers this December. There are four issues in the first story arc, and these come out monthly. The first issue comes bagged with a previously published Magic: The Gathering card that features the stunning artwork you can see on the covers of the comic.

Of course, the interior art is just as amazing. Martín Cóccolo has a fantastic sense of fun and adventure that’s only matched by his skills as an artist. It just shines through on every page.

How does the comic book fit with the card game?

I'm working closely with the team at Wizards of the Coast who come up with the ongoing storyline for Magic: The Gathering, particularly Brady Dommermuth. No one knows the Magic multiverse better than he, and it's been a blast bouncing ideas off him and seeing what works and what doesn't. I've followed Magic for a long time, but there's just so much great lore to know.

Besides that, the team there has drawn back the curtain for me and shown me what's coming down the pike for the game, and I'm working that into the comic storyline too. You can see that by the way it'll weave elements of the new Innistrad block straight into the plot in which Dack becomes embroiled. This means that the material you read in the comic has been vetted, approved, and sanctioned to be part of the Magic: The Gathering canon.

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Lastly,
If you are excited about the upcoming Premium Deck Series, Graveborn, check out MTG Mint card who will have singles available for this product so keep an eye (or three) on their site when it goes up for pre-order.
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Dack Fayden

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

We are taking another break from the newest Magic the Gathering set, Innistrad again today to cover off some MTG related news but promise great things in the next several posts including video reviews of Innistrad Intro Packs and Fat Packs . . . honestly - how much fun is it crack'n open new product ? Quite a bit for us and hopefully entertaining for you as well.

For today's post however, you are likely wondering what or who Faded Duck is. It's actually Dack Fayden and this is the new Planeswalker to be addressed by IDW Publishing in their Magic: The Gathering comics to be hitting stores in just a few more months. You can bring yourself up to speed with our article several weeks ago covering the original news.















Here's the solicitation from IDW :

Magic: The Gathering #1

Matt Forbeck (w) • Martin Coccolo (a) • Aleksi Briclot (c)

Get ready, Magic: The Gathering fans, there’s a new Planeswalker in town! 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. When he gets his hands on his latest prize, though, he has no idea where it will lead him - or to who!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

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What we finding interesting / exciting is the availability of two variant covers for this publication - one from Eric Deschamps and the other from Christopher Moeller - both amazing artists. We are also chomping at the bit to get a hold of the alternate-art Magic: The Gathering card to be included with each comic book. With author Matt Forbeck writing, we anticipate this will be a big hit with MTG fans.

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Lastly, we had a few questions about the new Innistrad card, Gutter Grime. We are definitely not judges (or even very good players) but wanted to pass along what we ourselves learned.

The question is - Do the Ooze tokens go away after the enchantment gets blown up ? The answer is 'Yes', unless you have something else which maintains their toughness above zero, such as Intangible Virtue.

Here's a snippet from the Innistrad FAQ Document . . .

* The power and toughness of the Ooze tokens will constantly update as Gutter Grime accumulates slime counters.

* If you control more than one Gutter Grime, each Ooze token remembers which one created it. The power and toughness of that Ooze will be equal to the number of slime counters on that Gutter Grime only.

* If Gutter Grime leaves the battlefield, the power and toughness of each Ooze token it created will become 0. Unless another effect is raising its toughness above 0, each of these Ooze tokens will be put into its owner's graveyard the next time state-based actions are checked.
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MTG Comics

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

This is an unusual second post for today. If you were looking for Innistrad spoilers and previews, check out our earlier post today featuring the new Garruk Relentless / Garruk, the Viel-Cursed.

Onto the news . . .

We're unsure if we posted or tweeted about the planned Magic the Gathering comic book series earlier. If not, here is an image from the San Diego Comic-Con Programme / Souvenir book . . .

Wizards of the Coast and IDW Publishing had initially announced the fall launch of the first new Magic the Gathering comic in this advertisement.


Most recently, we have further news from several different comic book trade companies which included an image for the cover as well as additional details of the deal between IDW and Hasbro / Wizards of the Coast . . .

The initial 4-issue Magic the Gathering miniseries, which will be written by author and game designer / player / novelist Matt Forbeck (The Lord of the Rings RPG, The Marvel Encyclopedia) while Martin Coccolo and Aleski Briclot will be providing art for this installment of the comic book miniseries.

The initial publications will focus on a "unique new Planeswalker, a powerful mage with the ability to move between the worlds of the Magic Multiverse". (- wow - not giving away too much here are we ?)


The comic will come with exclusive, playable, alternate-art cards for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game, which will only be available in select issues of the IDW Magic: The Gathering comic book.

Anywhoos - let's soak up this beautiful art adorning the cover . . .


Yep - we haven't even flipped through past the cover and we want to get all of these. We want to know - Would you pick these up / collect them ? Are you a fan of the recent Path of the Planeswalker graphic novel ? Or perhaps you just want to sling the cards ? Pipe in below with your comments.
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