Ixalan Previews 9-09

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

We’ve been under the weather since Wednesday but are now back in the saddle and have a lot of catching up to do with a large volume of Magic: the Gathering news and previews.  

Official Italian previews have finished off week one of two.  The first Magic Story instalment, titled Jace, Alone is pretty much reminiscent of the true story of Chuck Noland, as played by Tom Hanks in Cast Away.  Great opening story of how Jace, his mind broken by Nicole Bolas finds himself without his critical memory intact on the Plane of Ixalan and discovered by Vraska who has summarised the situation quite perfectly with the question "Jace, what the hell happened to you?”.

Magic Arena is the next step being taken in Magic: the Gathering digital gaming.  The previews out for this are also including a number of upcoming Ixalan previews as well.

A number of very cool news and previews were revealed at HASCON.  The mix includes cards as well as absolutely gorgeous full art borderless lands for Unstable.  Other previews include Arena as mentioned above and some Ixalan previews.  We cannot go through them all, so here is just the Planeswalker for now.  We will fully catch up on Monday.

High resolution images posted here

Previewed by Wizards of the Coast at HASCON.

Vraska, Relic Seeker, 4BG

Legendary Planeswalker - Vraska

+2: Create a 2/2 Black Pirate with Menace

-3: Destroy target artifact, creature or enchantment, create a treasure

-10: Target players life total becomes 1

[6]


illus. Chris Rahn # 232/279

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MTG Miscellany

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

MTG Realm will be going off line for about two weeks for a vacation (the first time we've ever had a vacation this long).  We will pop back up on the Magic: the Gathering radar again briefly next weekend for a post on the Ten-Millionth DIC / WPN events at OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario Charity event with special guests from Wizards of the Coast, before going dark again for another week.

 

For now, here is a brief round-up of all MTG things which caught our attention -

Hasbro - Investor Presentation
Some interesting Magic: the Gathering images from the slide presentation to Hasbro Investors, as presented by Christian Cocks, SVP & GM, Wizards of the Coast.  Of interest, they had pulled some media bites from hyped MTG fans.  A more detailed post is here on MTG Realm on Tumblr.  Lets have a looky-loo at some highlights - 

Of interest is that the image used for Dominaria looks suspiciously like that of Serra's Realm, another Plane of Existence altogether . . .

Another item of interest are those really cool HASCON Magic: the Gathering Promo Cards (linkage here).  It appears that Ultra PRO is producing 4 exclusive and limited playmats featuring those arts.  Pick them up at the Ultra PRO booth at HASCON 2017.

That's a wrap for now, be happy and see you soon.
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MTG News 7-28

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

As it is Friday, do drop by your local store and get some Magic: the Gathering gaming in for Friday Night Magic.  We will be at OMG Games here in Barrie, Ontario this evening to do battle for glory and prizes.  If you are unable to get out (work, vacation, whatever), you could still fill your boots with Pro Tour Hour of Devastation coverage provided you have a connection to the internets.

For today's post to MTG Realm, we need to cover off a number of Magic: the Gathering spoilers / previews and news items, so strap yourself in for the ride -

First up - HASCON MTG spoilers -

Magic: The Gathering cards, inspired by other Hasbro series - featuring the following cards -

• Sword of Dungeons and Dragons

• Grimlock Dinobot Leader


• Nerf War

Grimlock had us locked in with Dinosaurs and Vehicles

Next - Commander 2017
We can expect official Wizards of the Coast previews sometime during the week of August 14th, 2017 as to which of the 4 Tribes will be featured.  For now however, we have previews from Ultra PRO.

Great looking graphics and smart design promises to rock your favourite game format with these playmats, deck boxes, and card protector sleeves.

Lastly - UNSTABLE 
Unstable is the third Magic: The Gathering booster-based set to be used outside of legal Magic tournaments. It will be released on December 8, 2017 as a standalone fun-set. This is the third of the silver bordered Un-sets and is designed to be drafted.  Updated with MaRo’s to post to Blogatog.

The Factions we can expect from this highly anticipated casual set - 

• Order of the Widget (White/Blue)
• Agents of S.N.E.A.K. (Blue/Black)
• Legion of Dastardly Doom (Black/Red)
• Goblin Explosioneers (Red/Green)

• Crossbreed Labs (Green/White)

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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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