Iconic Masters and More

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

There is a number of news-worthy Magic: the Gathering items to cover off today here on MTG Realm, so without further ruction, let's get to it.

PRO TOUR AMONKHET

Wizards of the Coast staffer Mike Rosenberg has some news for you over here on Pro Tour Amonkhet, with the following event dates / venues to note -

May 5–7: Grand Prix Beijing, Bologna, and Richmond
May 19–21: Grand Prix Santiago and Montreal

Lovely event-exclusive playmats are up for grabs featuring the art from Glory-Bound Initiate, Bloodrage Brawler, and Hazoret the Fervent.

ICONIC MASTERS

Just announced today on the mothersite.

Iconic Masters offers players a tour through some of the most powerful cards in over 23 years of Magic history. 

Featuring new artwork on many cards, the set brings an array of massive Angels, Sphinxes, Demons, Dragons, and Hydras alongside some of our favorite and most memorable spells. Every box of Iconic Masters contains 24 booster packs—each with fifteen randomly inserted game cards, including one premium card in every pack. Get your friends together to embark on one of the most iconic and power-packed Draft experiences yet!

Set Name: Iconic Masters
Number of Cards: 249
Release Date: November 17, 2017
Magic Online On Sale Date: November 17, 2017
Official Three-Letter Code: IMA
Twitter Hashtag:#MTGIMA
Languages Available: English, Chinese Simplified, Japanese
MSRP: $9.99 *Applies to U.S. Only
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HASCON

Hasbro's first-ever convention 'HASCON' is scheduled for September 8–10 to Providence, Rhode Island and as Magic: the Gathering is celebrating its 25th Anniversary, there is to be a number of MTG events, panels, play experiences planned. Of note, there is to be a showcasing Magic's next fall set Ixalan, including a Prerelease event for Iconic Masters.

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MAGIC STORY

From yesterday's Magic Story post titled 'SERVANTS', by Kelly Digges.  If you had missed it, please pop over to the link provided here before reading further.

EPISODE 4 - Liliana knew that dragon-slaying was only part of the reason she came to Amonkhet… She has a demon to deal with first.

In yesterday's story, Liliana is the central character.  We learn further of Lily's real motivation to travel to Amonkhet.  Not so much to help fellow members of the Gatewate Planeswalkers in taking down Nicol Bolas (and minion #1 Tezzeret), but to find and eliminate the demon Razaketh, who is one of four of her creditors.

There is yet another interaction with Liliana and the mysterious 'Raven Man', whom we learn may have control over the cursed Chain Veil in this revelation -
"Didn't I take command of the Chain Veil to blast you out of that wurm's belly when you arrived here?"

A review of the MTG fan forums following the MTG story line here demonstrate that it is not just us that is starting to suspect that the enigmatic Raven Man may prove yet to be a manifestation of the evil scheming Elder Dragon himself who is manipulating events through Liliana.

Liliana, accompanied by Jace investigate the mummy factory vault where the 'Annointed' are prepared for their post-mortem eternal servitude.  We discover that Razaketh appears to be the gatekeeper to the afterlife.  Things go sideways real quick with a confrontation with Temmet, and a room-full of the recently embalmed dead initiates who appear to be control by the cartouches. 


Another great story !
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Modern Masters Weekend Coverage

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Although we here at MTG Realm only took part in our local Friday Night Magic event at OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, many Magic: the Gathering players took part in something rather special - the Modern Masters Weekend.  These Grand Prix events over last weekend boasted some of the biggest and well-attended  MTG events of the year.  Here are some key stats from Modern Masters Weekend include:

• More than 20,000 fans of the card game Magic: The Gathering participated in a global celebration of the game that spanned three continents.

• An estimated 5,000 fans played in Grand Prix Chiba, Japan; another 5,000 in Grand Prix Utrecht, Netherlands; and an estimated 11,000 played in Grand Prix Las Vegas.

• The weekend included many cosplayers, four weddings, and tournaments as large as 3,800 players.

• Over the course of the weekend more than 40,000 main event matches and thousands of side events were played, over 90 thousand packs of cards were opened, and countless spells were cast.

• An estimated 1 million fans watched coverage of the events across English, Japanese, and Chinese language video streams, and the events generated more than 21,000 tweets.

We've noted a very interesting (and welcome) change in coverage by Wizards of the Coast over the last weekend that Redditor XoXeLo had summarised very well - 

Also, we think that there has been a wonderful / lovely change in social media coverage headed up by Alison Luhrs (Community Manager for Wizards of the Coast) and others.  Quite specifically, some attention has been moved from off the rock stars at the Top 8 tables to down in the trenches where average players like us (and perhaps you) are forming the foundation of a great, vibrant gaming community.  

Be sure to check out Wizards / WotC pages on Tumblr, FaceBook, and Instagram.  Here's a sampling of a more 'human side' of the lovely recent coverage.

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Modern Masters Spoiler 4-22

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Some delicious Magic: the Gathering spoiler news out today - another Modern Masters 2 spoiler.  Modern Masters 2015 Edition, to be released 22nd May will revisit some of the most notable planes from recent history, including Alara, Kamigawa, Lorwyn, Mirrodin, Ravnica, and Zendikar.   Each pack is to have 15 random cards including one (foil) premium as will retail for about 10 clams.  This is certainly is expected to get Modern constructed format players excited but is certainly designed to be drafted.

To celebrate the second Modern Masters set, WotC is running a triple Grand Prix weekend, so mark your calendars - May 28-31, 2015 is Modern Masters Weekdn and the format here for the tournaments is self-descriptive - Modern Masters 2015 Edition Limited.  Venues include -

Grand Prix Las Vegas - 4,760 players registered
Grand Prix Chiba - 4,000 players registered / sold out
Grand Prix Utrecht - 2,300 players registered

Anywhoos, on to today's Magic: the Gathering - Modern Masters 2 Spoiler !

Over on Channel Fireball, LSV dropped the next Modern Masters 2 preview along with the Grand Prix Vegas (May 28-31, 2015) side-event Playmat, also featuring the new art being provided to the Clique.  Vendilion Clique joins four other cards so far previewed - Etched Champion, Emarakul, Karn Liberated and Tarmogoyf.

Vendilion Clique, 1UU
Legendary Creature — Faerie Wizard
Flash
Flying
When Vendilion Clique enters the battlefield, look at target player's hand. You may choose a nonland card from it. If you do, that player reveals the chosen card, puts it on the bottom of his or her library, then draws a card.
3/1

For reference, here are the printings
Judge Promo - Illus. Jesper Ejsing
Morningtide / Modern Masters - Illus. Michael Sutfin
Modern Masters 2 - illus. Willian Murai

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Organised Play Updates

Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Some rather interesting news for those of you readers who venture beyond your local Friday Night Magic events and go on to play in the big league.  We've  done a very brief summary here for you but suggest you hit up the mothersite to get the full monty over here.  

First up however, let's talk about hard to get judge foils which may actually may become a titch more difficult to obtain (on the secondary market).

Judge Foils

The Magic Judge Exemplar Program is a brand new Judge Reward Program just recently announced this week.  Magic Judges certified by the DCI are often the un-sung heroes of large tournaments where they provide consistent rules enforcement and promote fair play among a myriad of other tasks.  Judges are typically unpaid for their very hard work but are rewarded through a Judge figt card program where foil Magic: the Gathering cards were either handed out or mailed out to judge staff who worked at MTG tournamdents and events.  Started in 1998, the Judge reward program evolved over the course of the years and in recent years provided approximately eight to ten possible promo cards to be 'earned'.  A number of these promo cards are actually worth a bit of money and has in the past helped some Judges offset the cost of their participation (travel and accommodation) in said event / tournament.  These cards would often find their way on to eBay or retailer's websites where collectors would snap them up.

That has all changed now - for the better or worse, it is up to you to decide. Announcements on 'The Magic Judge' blog introduced the Exemplar Program as the new method of distributing foils to judges in the DCI judge program. The most immediate effect of the foil “policy” change is that judges at GP events will no longer receive foils from WotC as gifts for their efforts.  The Exemplar Program will begin in 2014 for L3+judges and will be fully implemented for all judges in 2015. While judge activities will continue as before, in 2015, judges foils will only be available as part of the Exemplar Program which will use a recognition-based process that will award judge foils to a wider audience of judges based on their contributions to the judging community.  This may mean fewer Judge foils making it on to the secondary market and may impact large tournament organisers latter in the 2015 schedule as they may be required to offer additional incentives or compensation for certified judges - it really is too early to tell.

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PTQs/GPs/PTs Changes

Yesterday on the mothersite was a series of important updates from Helene Bergeot, Director of Global Organized Play Wizards of the Coast.  We suggest that if you are a regular at the large tournaments, you read all four articles to get a handle on the number of changes to the Pro Tour Qualifying (PYQ) System which is to take effect starting with the qualifiers in December.  

Essentially your local gaming store will still be running 'Preliminary' PTQs from which the winners will be qualified to attend a Regional PTQ and from here, potentially on to the Pro Tour.  Other changes include an adjustment as to how Pro Points are earned but since we're not ever expecting to go pro nor do we think that Pros will ever stop by our little MTG Realm Blog, we will just direct you to read this on the mother site.  There are also a planned increase in the number of Grand Prix tournaments and more specifically, a total of 54 GPs in the 2015 calendar year in the following regions :
•    24 in the United States and Canada
•    14 in Europe
•    5 in Mexico, Central America, and South America
•    7 in Asia-Pacific
•    4 in Japan

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GP Richmond

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

This weekend will witness one of the largest constructed format Magic: the Gathering events of all time - Grand Prix Richmond.  Players from around the world, and most definitely from the east coast are right now getting ready to game with their Modern Format decklists.  Attendance has been capped at 5,000 players and there is a chance, given that there are over 3,900 already pre-registered, that the 5K mark might get hit.  As we have no cast (and no time off from work), we won't be going but still will be taking in the Friday Night Magic event this evening at OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land.  All the very best of luck to those attending, and whether you will be playing Splinter Twin, Melira Pod, Affinity, or Zoo, we're certain there will be fun 'n' excitement packed in over the course of this weekend.

For details, check out the following linkies -
• Mothersite page
• GP Richmond site 
• SCG Guide 
• SCG Live Coverage 

Here's a few shots of the crowds already gathering and the Richmond Convention Center Hall ready to receive . . .

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GP Shizuoka

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

As we are sliding into the holiday season, we hope all of you are happy, safe and getting some time to get some Magic: the Gathering games in.  Speaking of Christmas giving, drop over to MTG Mint Card where they are wrapping up their Massive Christmas Clearance sale which ends on the 27th December - some good deals to be had there.

Anywhoos, here at MTG Realm, we've been working out a new Orzhov (black / white) build for standard constructed based on a 'haunted humans' build taking advantage of a number of cheap / powerful white weenies along with Xathrid Necromancer.  The Necromancer here promises to churn out a small army of 2/2 black zombie creatures for each game - one for each time the necromancer or a human hits the graveyard.  You can apply a board wipe or chump block with impudence knowing full well that you can easily re-populate the battlefield.  Our thinking was to take full advantage and also incorporate sacrifice outlets along the lines of Cartel Aristocrat.
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Speaking of Xathrid Necromancer, we want to congratulate Ryo Nakada who had won over the weekend the title for Grand Prix Shizouka with an Orzhov build featuring none other than the necromancer.

We really like this list and will likely modify what we already have laying all over our kitchen table to include some of these card choices.  The necromancer also made the 'Top 5' cards of GP Shizuoka according to Wizards.  From fifth spot to first, they were Maser of Waves, Domestication (wow!), Pack Rat, Obzedat, Ghost Council and Xathrid Necromancer.

Happy deck-brewing - we'll see you at the game tables.
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Monday Miscellany

Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We trust all had a great weekend.  For today's post we wanted to cover off a variety of Magic: the Gathering items and we'll kick things off first with news from the weekend's tournament - Grand Prix Vienna.

Just under 1,500 players participated in GP Vienna which was won by Polish player Marcin Staciwa who perhaps not surprisinly won with a mono-blue devotion deck.  In fact, if we recall correctly seven of the top sixteen (and three of the top eight) decks were mono-blue.  Here at MTG Realm, we're developing a few different decks with recent MTG singles ordered from MTG Mint Card (who by the way is running a sweet Cyber-Monday sale) to exploit the current metagame (mono-colour devotion builds).  Anywhos - Here is Marcin's winning list -

25 lands : 20  Island, 4  Mutavault, 1  Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
28 creatures : 4  Cloudfin Raptor, 4  Frostburn Weird, 4  Judge's Familiar, 4  Master of Waves, 4  Nightveil Specter, 4  Thassa, God of the Sea, 4  Tidebinder Mage
5 other spells : 2  Bident of Thassa, 2  Cyclonic Rift, 1  Rapid Hybridization
2 planeswalkers : 2  Jace, Architect of Thought

Something else of interest also out of Vienna - It is reported that local authorities had dropped in and imposed an age limit of 18 and at this time the reasons are not completely clear but it may be an interpretation of a gambling by-law as there was a cash prize (and obviously an entry fee).  This unfortunately had blind-sided not only the tournament organizer but any parents who may have travelled (perhaps even from another country) to participate.  Rather unfortunate as the legal age for alcoholic consumption (non-distilled beverages) is 16.  What gives?

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Next up - some MTG rumours are leaking out for the next set, Born of the Gods.

Post by forum member 'Ceth' who incidates Selesnya (green / whhite), and Azorious (blue / white) 'scrylands' are in for Born of the Gods.  Ceth also indicates he saw about twenty potentially new card arts which may be the multi-colour demi-gods or minor gods, an enchantment-themed mechanic.

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And lastly - Forum moderator 'TK-421' received some fodder for the rumour mill, which he promptly provided a bit of a puzzle for members to chew on.  To this end, here are TK-421's Born of the Gods rumour nuggets -

• "The temple for the Goddess of Harvest has gratitude for their Goddess, as she provides them plenty."
• "People seek for enlightenment in the temple for the Goddess of Polis."
• "Unlike other temples, where they asked for guidance"

From this, we can arrive at the following assumptions -
Harvest - Karametra, green / white
Polis - Ephara, blue / white
Slaughter - Mogis, black / red

Furthermore, the following three scrylands are suggested for inclusion in Born of the Gods, with the remaining two scryland appearing in Journey into Nyx.
Temple of Enlightenment (blue / white)
Temple of Malice (black / red)
Temple of Plenty (green / white) 

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Friday MTG Miscellany

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Some very cool things going on this weekend.  First off, our local card shop, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land is dropping an incredible random prize giveaway of a Dragon's Maze Booster Box for each Friday Night Magic event for the month of June, 2013.  This is certainly worth the 45 minute drive north of Toronto.

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This weekend, if you are in Providence state-side, or in Gothenburg, Sweden, then you are in for some great Magic: the Gatherting Grand Prix action.
• Grand Prix Providence - Return to Ravnica Block Team Sealed/Draft
• Grand Prix Gothenburg - Return to Ravnica Block Sealed/Draft  
 

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Of course, the other big news this weekend is the release of Modern Masters.  Whether you are an avid Modern format player, a collector or just nostalgic for some of the older cards, you'll likely be very very pleased with this product release.  We here at MTG Realm don't have the money to pick up a box right now but will likely make a few strategic singles purchases from MTG Mint Card to upgrade some of our Modern builds.

 

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Finally, we suggest you check out TJ's Magic Arcana post on the mothersite today.  Trick has a great summary of the 24 or so Modern Masters cards which received new kick-butt art.

 

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GP Quebec City 2013

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

It was certainly a very busy weekend for Magic: the Gathering players.  Not only was is Gatecrash Game Day, but there was also TWO Grand Prix events taking place.  GP Charlotte (sealed format) broke records for being the largest-attended event to date with 2,692 players while here in Canada, GP Quebec (standard format) attracted 800 games who braved the cold weather to get down to gaming at the Centre des Congrès de Québec.  We had a blast at Game Day at OMG! Games and were happy with our new cards we picked up at MTG Mint Card to complete our decks.

Photoset 

February 23, 2013 

Magic: the Gathering - Grand Prix Tournament

2,693 gamers at GP Charlotte 2013 - images from Joey Pasco ‏@AffinityForBlue and Magic Pro Tour ‏@magicprotour

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We've been talking to other magic players for the last few weeks and we all agree that typically the standard format would have, within a few weeks after the newest set release, distilled to produce only a handful of decks which 'rules the roost' until the next release.  As home-brew fans, we love that the format is as diverse as it is.  Here is an excellent summary by WotC minion Josh Bennet posted to the mothersite describing the current metagame as it looked on day 2 in  Ville de Québec.  Grand Prix Québec attirant des centaines de joueurs de Magic qui se disputeront des prix et la gloire dans une ambiance de festival.
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Sunday, 11:22 a.m. – Day 2 Metagame Breakdown, by Josh Bennett

If the health of a format is measured by the number of viable decks, it appears that Standard is is a very good place right now. Following the diverse Top 8 at Pro Tour Gatecrash and the breakout success of The Aristocrats, it was an open question how the metagame would shape itself. The Pros who stayed in Canada to battle this weekend agreed that, while they expected a lot of Jund, it was important to have game against a variety of deck types. Looking at the 128 players who crossed into Day 2, that intuition proved correct. Here's how it shakes out.
 
Jund Midrange - 21This deck is stocked with haymakers: Rakdos's Return, Garruk, Primal Hunter, Huntmaster of the Fells, Thragtusk and Liliana of the Veil. Farseek and occasionally Arbor Elf help to speed the deck to its powerful plays, and Aburpt Decay and even Murder (remember Murder?) let it deal with the format's boogeyman, Boros Reckoner.

Blue-White-Red - 17
The aggressive Sphinx's Revelation deck turns on the powerful four-card package of Boros Reckoner, Augur of Bolas, Restoration Angel and Snapcaster Mage. Those cards let it take a defensive posture against aggro decks, while going on the beatdown against the more dedicated control decks. Of all the decks in the field, it may be the only truly "Midrange" deck.

Esper - 12
"The Other Sphinx's Revelation Deck" plays pure control, but still with very little countermagic. Instead it relies on sweepers and spot removal, with Think Twice acting as a bridge to the format's defining card draw spell. Nephalia Drownyard gives the deck an inescapable win condition.

 
Jund Aggro - 12
Playing a much different game than its stockier brother, this deck harnesses the power of Burning-Tree Emissary and Flinthoof Boar for explosive starts, and touches black for Dreg Mangler, Abrupt Decay and Falkenrath Aristocrat.

Human Reanimator - 11
Centered around stocking the graveyard with humans then casting Unburial Rites on Angel of Glory's Rise, the newest version of this deck adds Undercity Informer and Burning-Tree Emissary to the mix for an instant mill kill. Not all of the Reanimator decks this weekend are wise to the tech.

Wolf-Run Bant - 11
Straight from the Top 8 at Montreal, this deck is reminiscent of the first BantSphinx's Revelation decks, but now with better mana and access to the power of Kessig Wolf-Run.
 
Naya Midrange - 7
Thragtusk, Restoration Angel, Huntmaster of the Fells, acceleration, removal and often both Aurelia, the Warleader AND her Fury.
 
The Aristocrats - 7
The deck that Tom Martell played to his Pro Tour victory. Designed by Sam Black, it is a tight package of synergies.
 
Naya Humans - 6
The beatdown sensation from MTGO. Twelve one-drop humans, Lightning Mauler, Burning-Tree Emissary, Mayor of Avabruck, Frontline Medic. Surprise, you're dead.
 
Gruul - 4
Both the land-light version with a "curve" that seems to stop at two, as Ben Stark played at Montreal, and a bigger version that goes up to Wolfir Silverheart and Increasing Savagery.
 
Saito Zoo - 3
The best creatures from Naya backed by Mizzium Mortars and Domri Rade.
 
Jund Zombies - 2
An update of the formerly-popular Red-Black zombies to include Lotleth Troll.
 
Other - 15
A take on Conley Woods's "Black by Popular Demand", Boros Beatdown, Black-Red Aggro, Dark Naya, Green-White, Junk Goodstuff, two takes on Junk Rites with Craterhoof Behemoth, Mono-Red, two takes on Orzhov Zombies, a Red-White-Black Planeswalker Control, Junk with Homicidal Seclusion, Token Reanimator, and Blue-White Humans.
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Gatecrash Spoilers 13

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

It was a busy weekend for Magic: the Gathering fans.  For tournaments, Jon Stern took a standard format Bant Aura build to win Grand Prix Atlantic City, while Ken Yukuhiro went to first place with a Rakdos sealed strategy at Grand Prix: Singapore.  We looked at Bant Aura shortly after the prerelease but had dismissed it.  We're now having a second look - Essentially this strategy uses inexpensive auras such as Ethereal Armor, Spectral Flight, or Rancor on some key creature spells like Invisible Stalker, Geist of Saint Traft or  Silverblade Paladin to land some serious damage.  If you are thinking about getting a deck like this off the ground, swing by MTG Mint Card to pick up those extra cards you don't have yet.

Anywhoos, let's get going on today's Gatecrash spoilers and previews from the Mothersite and around the 'net . . .

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Blind Obedience, 1w
Enchantment, Rare
Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay {WB}. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.)
Artifacts and creatures your opponents control enter the battlefield tapped.

Mothersite preview.  This will certainly deliver a kick to the tenders of those builds favouring hasty critters and should have an immediate impact on some of today's popular standard format builds.  This is also a lovely early drop extort for Orzhov.

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Lord of the Void, 4bbb
Creature - Demon, Mythic Rare
Flying
Whenever Lord of the Void deals combat damage to a player, exile the top seven cards of that player's library, then put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield under your control.
7/7

Gathering Magic preview.  Looks like another card for the EDH / Commander fans - especially if their General is Kaalia of the Vast to sneak this fatty into play without paying it's mana cost.
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Legion Loyalist (spelling?), r
Creature - Goblin Soldier, Rare
Haste
Battalion - Whenever Legion Loyalist and at least two other creatures attack, creatures you control gain first strike and trample until end of turn and can't be blocked by tokens this turn.
1/1

Dengeki Online preview.  Interesting card here.  For standard, we can see that this would be used more as a combat trick or to be saved for an alpha strike with the new Gruul 'bloodrush' tech.  The token hate here may push it into some sideboards but we're unsure whether it could make the cut for standard - perhaps this in a Boros battalion build with Frontline Medic.

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Assemble the Legion, 3rw
Enchantment, Rare
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a muster counter on Assemble the Legion. Then put a 1/1 red and white Soldier creature token with haste onto the battlefield for each muster counter on Assemble the Legion.

SSGLive preview.  This was previewed during the Grand Prix Atlantic City Coverage on Saturday.  At five mana, this Boros enchantment appears to be a bit too late for the party and could be easily nerf'd by card such as Thrull Parasite.  We're thinking we'll see this in the dollar rare bin unless EDH players want to take a second look at this with a bunch of anthem effects.

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Ooze Flux, 3g
Enchantment, Rare
1{G}, Remove one or more +1/+1 counters from among creatures you control: Put an X/X green Ooze creature token onto the battlefield, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters removed this way.

Mothersite preview.  Gavony Township, Increasing Savagery, Mikaeus, the Lunarch and Ajani Goldmane can provide some counters to fuel your token creation here and Parallel Lives may double your production rate.  This card may be decent in EDH / Commander, but we'll likely not give this a nod for standard.

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Simic Charm, gu
Instant, Uncommon
Choose one - Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn; permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn; or return target creature to its owner's hand.

Moxes preview.  This is a nice utility card which will likely find a home in several different standard and modern format builds.  There is nothing wrong with having a choice between Giant Growth, Hexproof or Unsummon, and we consider two mana OK to have a range of choices here.  This can even save one of your own critters from spot removal / board wipes by bouncing it back into the safety of your hand.
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