Unstable Variants

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

The newest (kookiest?) 'un' set, 'Unstable' is ready to be unleashed this very weekend.  The full set has already been previewed, and gamers are looking forward to draft this whacky and  farcical set.

Most collectors wanting specific cards from Unstable have already pre-ordered those cards and the well-heeled player may have already likely ordered deck protectors / card boxes and playmats from Ultra PRO (like the table matt above).

This is all very well - BUT - in a jocular jab, Wizards of the Coast did not reveal one rather important thing.  They did 'hint' at it though - blah, bleh, expect 216-ish cards.  We should have paid more attention.  As retailers started breaking down boxes and cracking packs for single sales, it began to emerge that there was something fishy, which may be explained in one word . . . 'VARIANTS'.  A number of cards in Unstable are printed with multiple variants.  These variants can differ on rules text, flavour text, art and watermark.

MTG Realm has had a quick look around the interwebs and have found the following known variants so far.  Images from Kush Singhal (@brute_steamer) -

• Amateur Auteur - 4 Versions (art and flavor text) Innistrad, Ravnica, Theros, and Zenkikar

• Beast in Show (art and flavor text)

• Everythingamajig - 5 Versions (rules text)

• Extremely Slow Zombie - 4 Versions (art and flavor text) Same zombo, 4 different seasons

• Garbage Elemental - 6 Versions (rules, Power/toughness)

• Ineffable Blessing - 6 Versions (rules text and flavor text)

• Killbot (name and flavour text) Curious, Delighted, Despondent, and Enraged Killbot.

• Knight of the Kitchen Sink - 6 Versions (rules text and flavor text)

• Novellamental - 4 Versions (flavor text)

• Secret Base - 5 Versions (art and watermark) one for each of the five factions

• Sly Spy (rules text, art and flavor text)

• Target Minotaur - 4 Versions (art)

• Very Cryptic Command - 6 Versions (art and rules text)

In some sad news, iconic artist Wayne England had been commissioned to create a version of Very Cryptic Command but had unfortunately passed away before completing it.  Ultra PRO is offering this uncompleted work on a line of deck protectors, deck boxes and playmats and donating the net proceeds from the sage to the family's chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation.

In summary, a very happy and welcome surprise for gamers cracking packs in this weekend's draft events around the world.  There may be additions / corrections to the above list over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Collectors and online retailers however may not be as happy however given that preorders have already been preordered and whatnot.  Here is what StarCityGames had pushed out earlier today to communicate with their customers.
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Urza, Academy Headmaster

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

With the much anticipated whacky fun 'Unstable' 'Un'-set being released December 9th, 2017, there is a whole lot of information to relish (no, it is a turn of phrase, not prepared pickle condiment).  There are five feuding factions, contraptions to assemble, mangling of DNA with Host and Augment, a chittering gang of squirrels to contend with, and of course, the Bid Daddy of old-skool Planeswalkers, Urza himself.

The card - Urza, Academy Headmaster, has been (almost) fully revealed, BUT there is a very cool catch.  The three planeswalker abilities of +1  /  -1  /  -6 is to be just as random, fun and unpredictable as we expect the Unstable set to be.  To determine just what the ability is when you cast this and in later turns activate Urza's abilities, one would drop on over to "AskUrza.com" and click away at the ability.

For the moment, Urza is getting powered up when Unstable is released on December 8th, his head will be fully loaded to deliver a plethora of whimsical nonsense.  For now, here is Magic: the Gathering nutter Mark Rosewater with some notes on this card.  Other card specific notes may be found over at this linky.

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What's going on with this card?

Urza, Academy Headmaster is just like any other planeswalker, except you're never quite sure what his abilities are going to do. Urza is very unpredictable. To find out what happens, head to AskUrza.com. There you will find three buttons: +1, -1, and -6. Click the button for the loyalty ability that's resolving, and follow whatever instructions appear.

Can players respond after they see what's going to happen?

Nope. It's all part of the effect. Urza is very unpredictable.

What if I don't like the effect? Can I change my mind and un-activate the ability?

Nope. The effects are all good for you or bad for your opponents, although in some cases you may not be able to take advantage. For example, if it ends up that creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn, but you don't control any, you're out of luck. Urza is very unpredictable.

How many possibilities are there for each ability?

We're not saying. Oh, and the possibilities can change at any time. Urza is very unpredictable. But generally speaking, the +1 will produce minor results, the -1 will yield more impressive ones, and the -6 should nicely shake up your game.

Can I play this card if I don't have access to AskUrza.com?

Technically yes, but you'll probably be unhappy with how it plays. Urza's not that unpredictable.
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We are leaving off with the very awesome card illustration for Urza, Academy Headmaster from artist Terese Nielsen.

Looking closer at the book titles, there is more fun to be had -
• Managing Clutter 
• Live in the Now 
• Sibling Rivalry 

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The Longest Cycle

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Funny / witty / waggish Magic: the Gathering previews continue today for Unstable, but we want to catch our breath and talk about a very long cycle -

No - not that kind of cycle.

A cycle in Magic: the Gathering is a collection of cards that have one or more relationships with one another, or share a common theme.  There are a number of types of cycles - vertical, horizontal, tight, loose, and more.  Often the cycles are within the same set or block, but sometimes may stetch over and not necessarily through some blocks.  A three-card cycle first started in 1998, leaping to 2004, and finally completing this year may be the longest stretch of time for Wizards of the Coast to complete a card cycle.

Click on over to Gathering Magic for today's Unstable preview of the third and final Magic: the Gathering player psychograph.

Psycho-Wut?

In an article by Mark Rosewater in 2013, he had indicated that there are three basic types of Magic players. The fancy term for these categories is "psychographic profiles." A psychographic profile separates players into categories based on their psychological make-up.  The player types of Timmy, Johnny, and Spike.


Timmy, Power Gamer (Unglued), illustrated by Edward Beard, Jr., August, 1998

Johnny, Combo Player (Unhinged), illustrated by Kensuke Okabayashi, November, 2004.

Spike, Tournament Grinder (Unstable), illustrated by Zoltan Boros, December, 2017

Here is what Mark Rosewater had provided in a brief summary of what characteristics of a player suggests inclusion into the three taxon -

Timmy wants to experience something. Timmy plays Magic because he enjoys the feeling he gets when he plays. What that feeling is will vary from Timmy to Timmy, but what all Timmies have in common is that they enjoy the visceral experience of playing.

Johnny is the creative gamer to whom Magic is a form of self-expression. Johnny likes to win, but he wants to win with style. It’s very important to Johnny that he win on his own terms. As such, it's important to Johnny that he's using his own deck. Playing Magic is an opportunity for Johnny to show off his creativity.


Spike is the competitive player. Spike plays to win. Spike enjoys winning. To accomplish this, Spike will play whatever the best deck is. Spike will copy decks off the Internet. Spike will borrow other players' decks. To Spike, the thrill of Magic is the adrenaline rush of competition. Spike enjoys the stimulation of outplaying the opponent and the glory of victory.
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MTG Unstable Previews

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

Very long awaited but the day has finally arrived.  The first day of previews of of the upcoming silver-bordered 'Un-Set' has finally arrived.  Click on over to the Wizards of the Coast Magic: the Gathering site today to drink in all the nutty goodness.  This set is preceded by 'Unglued' (August, 1998), and 'Unhinged' (November, 2004).  These were fan favourites and a sense of nostalgia had only grown over the years since.  

Unstable is a booster-based card set for Magic: The Gathering that can not be used in legal Magic tournaments. It will be released on December 8, 2017 as a wacky standalone fun-set.  This is the third of the silver bordered Un-sets and is designed to be drafted.  Unstable is set on a steampunk 'mad scientist world' with 5 factions:

• Order of the Widget
• Agents of S.N.E.A.K.
• League of Dastardly Doom
• Goblin Explosioneers

• Crossbreed Labs

Returning to this set is a much discussed and highly popular mechanic ‘Contraption’.  Specifically, this is an artifact subtype and associated with the assemble keyword action.   Steamflogger Boss from Future Sight (May, 2007) was the only card for years to have this until Unstable.  Unstable looks to take this to quite another level and we suggest you read MTG Rules Miser Matt Takak’s article linked here about just how one may assemble a contraption.  

We will leave off for now, but here is a poster for the Crossbreed Labs showing a number of contraptions associated with that faction.  It appears that we have three of the possible nine contraptions accounted for within the awesome poster art now.

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Wednesday MTG Miscellany

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We have a mish-mash of Magic: the Gathering related items of interest to pass along for today.  You may find one or more of these even interesting, so let us get to it.  Since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, let us wear briefs -

First up - Unstable Packaging Preview -
We were not playing Magic: the Gathering when the 'Un' sets (Unhinged / Unglued) and really did not develop a semblance of humour until just last week, so we are certainly looking very much forward to the release of the upcoming silver-bordered 'Unstable' set and all of its nutty goodness.  The news here is that Ed Nguyen (store owner?) snapped a pic of an Unstable booster display box at the recent Southern Hobby toy expo in Nashville.  

Revel in these pixels !

Next - Explorers of Ixalan
This MTG card and tile-based game promises to provide a out-of-the-box multiplayer Magic experience and is (quite obviously) closely related to the current Ixalan / Rivals of Ixalan card sets.  In fact, the decklists, linked in this section looks delicious and fun to play for our play-group.  Of interest is a handful of cards printed in this set which received new card art.  Highlighting that is one of our old favourites, 'Zealous Persecution', with cool new art from Sara Winters. 

Speaking of Ixalan, be certain to drop by the mothersite today for Planeswalker's Guide to Ixalan, Part 2, linked right over here.  In today's offering from the R&D Narrative Team, we are treated to more back story to how the Vampires of the Legion of Dusk came to be, and the flight of the ancestors of the Bazen Coalition fled seeking freedom.

Lastly, some rather great humour developed over at Good Gamery lampooning the massive card leak a while back for Ixalan.  One should start much the same way as we did - hearing about a Rivals of Ixalan leak with this post on Imgur, followed by the accompanying story at the Good Gamery site at this link.

A whole lot of really great creative work went into this and we will be enjoying these witty creations for days to come.  Here is the full visual spoiler in their Rivals of Ixalan gallery - linked right here. Our personal favourite - the rather naughty Mating Matriarch along with the great flavour text from our boy in green Garruk.

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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 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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