Return to Ravnica spoiler discussion

[Philip Dickinson]

for reference: http://mtgsalvation.com/return-to-ravnica-spoiler.html

LETS TALK ABOUT NEW CARDS

• overload is really cool
• unleash is good but hella boring
• lol @ abrupt decay and dreadbore being rare. what a fucking joke
• all the charms seem p sw8
• the izzet cards are all probably a bit bad but look REALLY FUN
• obligatory power creep observation: they printed a 1-mana spiketail hatchling

hopefully someone will come in and tell me what sleeper rares to buy in bulk for mad profit

for reference: http://mtgsalvation.com/return-to-ravnica-spoiler.html

[Thomas David Baker]

Overload is really cool.

Re: Unleash - if a mechanic looks boring that probably means it plays great otherwise they would have cut it.

Rares don't worry me.  On modo they are never expensive and in paper only when they are Snapcaster level.  Playable Mythics, however, severely impact my desire to play Constructed.

I see some hints that this will be a great Limited format (example: you can Scavenge on to your opponents Unleash creatures to make them unable to block) but we'll have to see.  Will be fun to find out.

Maro mentioned on his tumblr the other day that R&D are worried about "splash creep" (where each set has to be splashier than the last).  Me too.

Looking forward to the prerelease.

[Kieran Symington]

I really hope they make a creature with Populate as an ETB effect. Then I'll buy every copy of Seance before it spikes massively in value. Doubt they will actually do it, though!

[Philip Dickinson]

the phyrexian arena local enchantment for lands seems pretty nice

[Glenn Goldsworthy]

I really like this one ma, the fact that you can chose if not makes it really good

Philip Dickinson said:

the phyrexian arena local enchantment for lands seems pretty nice

[Paul Hodgson]

How often has arena's mandatory nature ever been that relevant though? Death by bob happens fairly regularly as the amount of life loss is variable, whereas 1 a turn is manageable.

I think tying up a land is going to be more of a drawback than people think, as it prevents you from getting the most out of your extra card if you want to draw it on your own turn.

Glenn Goldsworthy said:

I really like this one ma, the fact that you can chose if not makes it really good

Philip Dickinson said:

the phyrexian arena local enchantment for lands seems pretty nice

[Paul Hodgson]

Have you seen the pre-release cards btw? They're the same as the intro pack rares. Unless signets are reprinted (as I don't think bouncelands are) the Izzet and Golgari ones will likely be the best, as they're 4 and 5 mana. Grove of the Guardian will play nicely with populate obviously.

[Glenn Goldsworthy]

I have died to my own one more than once not always through the damage been decked a few times as well

[Kieran Symington]

Underworld Connections 'costing' a mana every turn is definitely a drawback, but if you can untap the land with something like Arbor Elf, you can be drawing 3 cards a turn. Just have to make sure not to die to the life loss!

[Simon O'Keeffe]

I think in most cases it is considerably worse than Arena. Costing 1 extra mana every time you want to draw, as well as being more vulnerable (any lD spell destroys it too). The minor cases where you can untap a land with it won't be enough to balance it out.

[Glenn Goldsworthy]

not saying it's better just like it

[Ben Titmarsh]

There are 5 different prerelease cards and you get to play it your prerelease deck!  I wonder if you get to choose which one you get...

Paul Hodgson said:

Have you seen the pre-release cards btw? They're the same as the intro pack rares. Unless signets are reprinted (as I don't think bouncelands are) the Izzet and Golgari ones will likely be the best, as they're 4 and 5 mana. Grove of the Guardian will play nicely with populate obviously.

[Peter Dun]

strongly disagree that costing one mana a turn is a drawback, you can use it at eot if you want, and you don't HAVE to use it to draw a card if you need the mana or are low on life (this makes multiples better, and using your life as a resource better)

I think that the new vindicate/smother hybrid, and the lack of hierarch/fetters, is why the card may be worse in t2, but the potential for abuse with cards like arbor elf definitely make this card very very solid