Conspiracy Plot Twist

~
Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Wow - Just another big news day for Magic: the Gathering fans.  Sit tight as we stroll through a selection of items.  

First item - Some interesting news from Mike Linnemann over at Gathering Magic, who indicates in this article, that there may be a discussion and agreements in the works with Magic: the Gathering artists, Wizards of the Coast and Ultra PRO to produce playmats, and perhaps other items  - read all about it over at G.M.

Some very bold things were being said by an anonymous poster over on the 4Chan traditional gaming boards (linked here).  Essentially, after we are finished with the second set in the Shadows Over Innistrad block (Eldritch Moon), we are to have a block with an Egyptian mythology theme with the sets named 'Secrets of Sivagat' and 'Fury of the Sand'.  After this, another (third) return to Ravnica with a set called 'War of the Guilds'.  All very unofficial and we won't put any stock into these murmurings until something a little more substantial is provided.

Righto - as today's post title says - a Conspiracy Plot Twist.

We feel that since the initial announcement on Monday, there have been more Conspiracy plot twists than a M. Night Shyamalan movie.  We direct your attention to the mothersite link here.

The King Is Dead, Long Live the King

Oops. Apparently no one is safe when even a seemingly immortal ghost-king cannot hold the throne.

The Conspiracy: The Empty Throne set builds on the revolutionary abilities introduced in the original Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy set, with new cards that affect the draft itself and new conspiracies that twist the rules against your foes. Trade votes and spread your attacks to manipulate the game in your favor. The throne is empty and chaos reigns. How will you survive?

This set is designed for eight-player drafts followed by free-for-all games of three to five players each.

Set Name - Conspiracy: The Empty Throne
Number of Cards: 221 220
Release Date: August 26, 2016
Official Three-Letter Code: CN2

Twitter Hashtag: #MTGCN2

WE LOVE IT - and l0l'd most heartedly when we say this little gem in the 'updated' twist announcement -

Looking very much forward !

~

Magic 2013 Rumour

~
Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Today we want to yatter to you about a rumour regarding the Magic 2013. This Magic the Gathering Core Set is scheduled to be release on July 13, 2012. More specifically, the rumour (purported by Boston Magic the Gathering Examiner care of David Leavitt, as well as several others) note that the popular Conflux Uncommon white instant, Path to Exile, may be due for a reprint in the upcoming core set.

Here's the thinking . . .

The uncommon artifact 'Voltaic Key', originally printed in the Urza's Saga set (released October 1998), found itself as a reprint in Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. the Coalition (released March 2010) with new art. Subsequently, with the release of the Magic 2010 core set in July 2009 it was reprinted.

A new alternate art Path to Exile by card illustrator Erica Yang in Duel Decks: Venser vs. Koth (due to be released this weekend) was recently revealed in a Gathering Magic article last week which are making some Magic the Gathering fans / gamers left thinking that PTE will be back again with this fall's core set. Perhaps a titch tenuous but still worth reporting to you.


The original Conflux art by Todd Lockwood depicts a Leonin getting his ash kicked while the Rebecca Guay art on the WPN / Gateway promo shows a creepy water witch photo-bombing a Knight burial at sea. The new art by Erica Yang looks kick-butt and has a mage blowing up a monstrous serpent.

Anywhoos - You may or may not like the Duel Decks: Venser vs. Koth decklists, but we're certain you will agree that the new alternate arts for Anger, Chartooth Cougar, Plated Geopede, Preordain, Path to Exile and the Koth / Venser Planeswalkers / emblems may be enough motivation for players to purchase.
~

Finally,
The next set in the Duel Deck series, Venser vs. Koth is due out next month (March 30th). There is already a bit of hype about this set and we should very soon within the next few weeks have the full decklist. We suggest you stay tuned to MTG Mint Card which will have all the coolest singles from this set for pre-order.
~

Avacyn Restored Hints

~
Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Although we are certain that most of you will have heard most of these Avacyn Restored rumours / spoilers already, we've been asked to compile them in one post. Here are several important hints we've gathered from Magic the Gathering Designer Mark Rosewater via his Tumblr account, 'Tales from the Pit' :
~

February 23, 2012
pchancete asked: The info I want: Will Helvault go up in price once Avacyn Restored is released? The question I ask you, as I know you wouldn't answer the first one: Is Helvault, like Eye of Ugin, a hint of the next set's mechanics and flavor?

All I can say is the Helvault is very important to the story.
~
February 01, 2012
xucoalex asked: I'm a bit concerned about the monster tribes in Avacyn Restored. There won't be DFCs and no focus on the graveyard. I mean, I don't expect them to win. I just want them to still be there! As a fellow zombie lover, I hope you can assuage my fears.

All I can say at this point is that there will be some continuity. We did make an effort to make sure that some of the decks that sprung up from Innistrad and Dark Ascension got some more cards. From zombie fan to zombie fan, don’t worry, we got your back.
~
December 15, 2011
gds3candidate asked: Are there any Double Faced Cards in Avacyn Restored?

No. We’ve done things to connect Innistrad and Dark Ascension to Avacyn Restored (lessons learned from Zendikar block) but double-faced cards didn’t make sense with what happens. Obviously, I can’t talk about why yet.

The set is designed by Brian Tinsman who is famous for pushing the boundaries of design so don’t worry, the set will have its fun quirks just not double-faced cards.
~
February 28, 2012
paperparachute asked: So there's clearly going to be an increased focus on demons in Avacyn Restored. But some of the other monster types will still get some love too, right?

Avacyn Restored still takes place on the plane of Innistrad. We are conscious of what decks people made with Innistrad and Dark Ascension and we tried to make sure that some of those decks got more goodies in Avacyn Restored.
~
February 02, 2012
stidjen asked: How much mechanical connection is there between Avacyn Restored and the first two sets of the block? Without flashback and DFC's, there isn't a lot left. And how do you compare the mechanical connection of AVR-INN/DKA to that of ROE-ZEN/WWK? I felt that connection was all too vague.

There’s a lot more to Innistrad than double-faced cards and flashback. The key is we wanted to make sure that many of the decks that got built during Innistrad and Dark Ascesnion would have more cards to add to their decks in Avacyn Restored. We didn’t hit every deck but we made sure to hit a number of them.
~
March 11, 2012
mistercakesblog asked: Why is AVR going to be so disconnected from the rest of the block?

Something big happens which allows us to reboot the set mechanically (and thus why the large set is drafted by itself). It still takes place on Innistrad and there will be some mechanical connections to allow players to add some cards to decks they’ve already built from earlier in the block, but the vibe of the set is very different.
~
Lastly,

Avacyn Restored the final set in Innistrad block is now available for preorder at MTG Mint Card, they are now offering an early bird discount for the Avacyn Restored uncommon & common card sets as low as $34.99. Apparently this is a limited time offer only so you may want to order today and have your AVR cards shipped on 4th May.
~

Alara Wallpapers

~

As promised, here is a roundup of realm information and the wallpapers which were presented on Magic Arcana this week . . .

Alara consists of five shards (“Five Worlds Share One Fate”), each shards (realms) named are named Bant, Esper, Naya, Grixis and Jund with their own tri-coloured theme.
Refer to the very kewl 'colour wheel' which Leviathan (from the forums) had developed for the set.
Bant: Green / White / Blue
Esper: White / Blue / Black
Grixis: Blue / Black / Red
Jund: Black / Red / Green
Naya: Red / Green / White

Bant

Primary: White / Secondary: Blue, Green
Theme: Enchantments. Expect many charms, auras. I should think Akrasan Squire and Battlegrace Angel share space here.

Esper

Primary: Blue / Secondary: White, Black
Theme: Artifacts. There may be coloured artifacts such Sarcomite Myr from Future Sight. Expect the likes of Mindwright Mage here.

Grixis

Primary: Black / Secondary: Blue, Red
Theme: Graveyard. Expect to see the likes of Sarkhan Vol and Vein Drinker here.

Jund

Primary: Red / Secondary: Black, Green
Theme: Controlled Chaos. It is rumoured that we may expect abilities which changes to power and toughness such as Inside Out and perhaps a return of wither.

Naya

Primary: Green / Secondary: Red, White
Theme: Lands. There is certainly an Aztec feel to this Realm. From the wallpaper, there may be a return of Elves. Ajani Vengeant and Godsire are expected to be members here.

~

Here are some of the rumours which apply to the basic set -
There are only three colours of mana home to each Alara realm. Each colour within a realm has an affinity to eachother. This means that the traditional 'enemy colours' such as red and white will play well together during recess.
Shards of Alara will feature humans, dragons, angels, demons and vampires. We can expect creature classes suchs as warriors, soldiers, assassins and wizards.
Shards of Alara features a class structure with 'Mages' at the upper end and 'Commoners' at the lower end.
The wizards of this set have an unusual physical characteristic called Filligree. This causes their bodies/limbs to take the form of twisted curving threads. The more magic an individual possesses, the more their body is composed of filligree.

Until next time, Happy & Safe Gaming !