magicjunkie:

In all honesty, even power pump is red. Green usually pumps power and toughness together. This card should be mono-red, with the abilities exactly as they are. Keep in mind that I have no clue who this character is or what the flavor behind it is.

You’re right about just power pump being Red. Silly me.

I also have no clue who this guy is. He’s from the League of Legends game that the same friend who got me into Magic tried to get me into recently, but I haven’t played yet and can’t speak to his abilities translating to that game. But I know when something seems off for Magic, and Green direct damage and Blue power pump are certainly red flags.

mtgdeckcheck:

“RRG,T: Deal 2 damage to target creature.  If that creature is still in play it fights target creature you control.  Done”

Does the creator of this card understand the color pie? Green doesn’t deal damage to creatures that don’t fly except in some cards that never should have seen print, and Blue doesn’t usually give power boost, but definitely not at instant speed. The first ability is Red, the second is Green.

As for the “if that creature is still in play” fix, that’s not very elegant, or even needed. If the creature died then it can’t fight it, and the rest of the ability fizzles. The game solves that issue without needing extra words on the card.

I recently reblogged the same user twice in order to dispute his or her claims that Wizards of the Coast’s Deckbuilder’s Toolkit product was an example of the company trying to put one over on newer players. While that user’s statements were so incorrect as to have me dumbfounded (and acting like this) I won’t restate my objections here; if you’re wondering what that user’s claims were and my counterarguments, just look in my archive, as it was only a few days ago.

The point of this post is that I steadfastly defended WotC in that instance, but I don’t want to come across as someone that will always argue on the side of the company, even if I often will.

I will, however, constantly argue for the company in certain matters, such as whenever someone’s words make it seem (or specifically state) that they feel the company is “evil.” When I think of evil companies, I think of banks, or oil companies that pollute the environment, or technology companies that are pushing for more control over the internet as we speak. I don’t think of companies that pay for events and free product for their consumers, have widely advertised internship and even job opportunities for their consumers, and encourage their employees to engage with consumers on a daily basis. That’s not an evil company in my eyes.

I will also argue for the company whenever a player says a card sucks because it wasn’t playable in [insert format here], as that player is unjustly acting as if WotC is supposed to print cards solely for themselves and the formats they play. In fact, WotC has to focus on: 3 different psychographics; different deck archetypes (certainly Combo, Control, Aggro, and combinations of those, as well as Chaos decks, tribal, Mill decks…); different formats such as Limited, Block Constructed, Standard Constructed, casual and Commander; and who knows what else. Not just you and yours, Mr. Angry Person on the Internet. Oh, and I will argue against any player that asks for something that shouldn’t be in Magic, usually involving completely breaking the color pie because they want their color to be better than the other four (again, going with players unjustly expecting WotC to design Magic only for them, and they’ll complain about anything that proves WotC works otherwise).

However, I don’t support everything they’ve done either. While I didn’t speak out as vocally as others (mostly because I didn’t attend the event in question), I think WotC should have announced that they were doing special Helvaults for some shops so that the existence of the special ones was known to players. I think having a new Duels of the Planeswalkers every year is disappointing, as the previous ones are effectively abandoned so soon instead of building upon them with more than one expansion. I think WotC announcing Coldsnap as the “lost set” (although supposedly tongue-in-cheekily, if not picked up on by consumers) was a silly joke for no reason to begin with. I think the Reserved List is stupid (although I’ve accepted that it’s fact and will stay in place). I think making it seem like the numbers of players who chose Phyrexian or Mirran at the Mirrodin Besieged events actually affected which set would be printed (even if fans who thought about the printing process would know that wouldn’t be possible) was a misleading idea. I think cutting back on a lot of things, such as promo cards, You Make the Card, and the Magic Invitational where winners got to design cards are bad ideas (although not everything they’ve cut back on do I care is missing). I started the game when Intro Packs weren’t 60 cards, and thought not having a playable deck right away was a stupid idea - I can just as easily change a 60 card deck to be more my own as I can a 45 card deck, but at least without having to purchase more cards players can play the 60 card intro packs while they learn the game. I find a lot of their preconstructed decks (not all, but a lot, and perhaps the majority right now) are somewhat fun but not really interesting after a few plays and not good to play against any nonpreconstructed deck; for Intro Packs this isn’t a problem, because they’re meant for newer players to get into the game; but Duel Decks, preconstructed Planechase/Archenemy/Commander decks in particular should be better. And I still think From the Vault: Legends was a terrible product, partially from some subpar alternate art given to cards with great original art, but mostly because it relied way too heavily on Alara and later, as there were plenty of great legends from before Alara that weren’t on the Reserved List, and FtV sets are marketed toward veteran players, who’d prefer older cards to ones they could open in booster packs.

I think I’ve mentioned enough things that Wizards has done or continues to do that I didn’t and don’t agree with. This isn’t meant to be a rant or to restart debates on any of these topics; I just want to make it clear that while I think Wizards of the Coast does a fine job and is a much better company than most, I don’t think they do everything right. I feel this is important for my followers to understand, as if they get the wrong impression my thoughts and points on these issues become clouded and ignored for the wrong reasons (it’s right to ignore someone who really is clouded by their fanboyness, but I try my best to stay open and intellectual when it comes to these debates). So when I speak up against something Wizards has done, know that it isn’t just reactionary anger, but thought-out disappointment; and know that when I speak for something Wizards has done, in their defense, it is because I feel fans are being unjustly negative, as Magic players tend to be.

showtimeshultz:

If you get your jollies by making awful decks that are in no way competitive and don’t mind paying money for commons and uncommons that players like myself either give away for nothing, leave lying on a table at the store when opening packs or are sold to stores in bulk of 1000 cards for 20 bucks…

FNM isn’t really casual, dude. It’s a tournament, even if it’s not as competitive as Pro Tours. Once again, the toolkits are for kitchen tables, which Wizards specifically said so in their announcement of the product.

You’re right: Not everyone needs competitive decks. I don’t see how you can’t understand that. If you’re not in a tournament your deck doesn’t need to be the best that it can be. It only needs to be good enough to beat your opponents, so if their decks aren’t optimized, yours doesn’t need to be either.

Your kind of thinking has no place at the kitchen table. I see it all the time; the “I must optimize my deck, so must everyone else!” mentality is plentiful in casual Commander environments, and often comes from the trihards that make the game less fun for everyone else. That attitude is great for the tournaments, but not for the games most Magic players play.

Your new post has shown that not only do you not understand what the toolkits were made for, but you don’t even understand that there are different types of Magic players than you. Unfortunately you are certainly not the only Magic player who has that issue.

showtimeshultz:

If you’re looking to make a decent deck you can actually do well in a tournament buy an event deck and add onto it with other good cards. It bugs me…

This post is so ignorant, and I’m disappointed that people have read it at face value and don’t understand this. The toolkits were make for newer players with no cards to get a decent collection. That’s exactly what they do. My fiance and I bought one of these and pulled a whole bunch of legit commons and uncommons that are staples of many casual decks. Mind you, we didn’t need any of the cards because we had a decent collection, so it was a waste of money for us. But had I gotten it when I had first started it would have been perfect for what it’s sold for.

I haven’t seen a single thing from Wizards that suggests that the deckbuilder’s toolkits are for making tournament decks. The first announcement of it says “at the kitchen table” in it. Sure, the product information page says “most effective decks possible,” but it doesn’t say “most effect decks for tournaments possible.” The box says “an instant collection!” not “an instant tournament-calibur deck.”

You say Wizards is taking advantage of newer players… but then you say to go and buy Wizard’s Event Deck products to make tournament decks. So is Wizards taking advantage of players or giving them the resources to make the decks they want? You’re acting like Wizards is an evil company when really you are seeing the toolkits being used for purposes they weren’t intended for. They’re not an evil company, and I am absolutely tired of people acting like they are. I honestly don’t get how players could think that Wizards is out to piss off their own consumer base while at the same time pay for tournaments, free promos, etc. and have people like Mark Rosewater actively communicate with players about their thoughts on the product. They’re one of the most engaged companies and try and do a lot of good, and yet people still act like they’re Enron.

You are correct that players should buy Event Decks instead of Deckbuilder’s Toolkits if they want tournament calibur decks. This is obvious. If the players spent any time reading the advertising for the products, Wizards themselves makes this very clear. That’s the whole point of them putting out Event Decks in addition to the Intro Packs, to provide a product to a demographic (new tournament players) they weren’t selling to previously. But just because Event Decks are better for people trying to get into tournament play does not mean Intro Packs and the toolkits are not perfect for their target audience - new players just looking to get more cards. To say otherwise is to show your ignorance.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

I never used to really like Memorial Day, but it means a lot more to me since one of my best friends joined the Army. I can tell you, that was a fantastic choice for him as he’s made a decent amount of money while learning a lot and doing a lot of good as a Chaplain’s Assistant. So I hope every follower of mine who lives in the United States and/or is a United States citizen takes a minute to think about what this holiday really means rather than just about Indy 500, grilling, and the official welcome of summer.

I don’t do this often, but here I’d like to take a break and give a personal update. It’s somewhat Magic-related, but much more of a stretch than I’ve ever done before. But since things in my life are changing a lot and this will impact the frequency of posts on this blog, I felt I would change my usual Magic-only decree to give some insight into why this is. If you don’t care, I’ve provided this nice little break so you don’t have to click it. The short of it is that the Friday Flashbacks are coming to an end after this week as I will have new content at least twice a month until September. If you’re interested in the personal lives of those running the blogs you follow, feel free to read on.

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themagicformula:

After my horrific 1-4-0 record today at the game day, i’ve decided to focus on EDH. I’m working on one for:

Experiment Kraj

Ruhan of the Fomori

Progenitus

Rafiq of the Many

Kaervek the Merciless

I figured that since deckbuilding is always my favorite thing to do when…

Yeah for more EDH decks! I would love to see decklists and an insight into your deckbuilding style, especially for Rafiq, since I have one myself, Experiment Kraj, because I love the creature but haven’t seen a decent decklist yet, and Ruhan, because I love that creature too but don’t see him played enough.

Last fall I had to give up writing for this blog regularly. When the summer came to a close and my duties as a graduate student became greater with the new school year, I simply didn’t have the time to write as often as I had gotten myself into. I continue to post to the blog occasionally, and these posts have gained me even more followers than previously. As much as followers have the ability to look back on the archives of those they follow, there’s a lot there, and I know they don’t really have time. I still don’t have a whole lot of time to write weekly articles with any regularity as I used to, but for now I’d like to provide something regular on here, even if it is a “Best of Disciple of the Cards.” There are some posts as well as card designs that I’m really proud of, and reposting them should make it easier for newer followers to check out my past work.  I started by reposting the details of Booster Cap Magic, a constructed format I created, to make it easier for my brother and his friends to find. From now until the summer, when I may have time to get back into writing more regularly, I would like to continue to repost some of my favorite work (with edits) during these Friday Flashbacks.

Friday Flashback this week and every other week until the summer are cards I designed using Magic Set Editor. They were previously posted along with the descriptions of 15-30 other cards I’ve designed, so it was easy to lose the gems amidst the chaff. Instead, I’d like to showcase the cards each week one at a time, where, standing alone, they can shine all the brighter. May I present to you…

My 4-color legends. I know these were posted this year, but without a doubt these cards were the ones that I had the most fun designing, that I’m most proud of, and were probably the ones that were most well-received. As my #1 Magic-related endeavor, I felt I had to revisit this for Friday Flashback.

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mtgathering:

Here’s a bad cell phone picture taken of some sort of vendor brochure at Target. It’s a bit too blurry to read, but here’s what it says:

Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis 4BB
Legendary Creature - Demon
Rare
Flying
Exalted
Whenever ~ attacks alone, defending player sacrifices a creature.
5/5

Let’s start from the top. It’s a black card, from Grixis. That’s just weird. First off, Grixis doesn’t really have exalted, and planes are generally not refered to in Core Sets.

No, planes aren’t generally referred to in Core Sets, but I don’t see why they can’t be. As for Grixis not having exalted, it didn’t before The Mending, but why can’t it afterward?

Exalted to Black makes perfect sense given the loner mechanic of Avacyn Restored. Black creatures/mages are stronger alone than others. Not that Exalted didn’t make perfect sense for the rigid honor society of Bant, either though. And not that I won’t hope some exalted gets into Green, White, or Blue so I can add some cards to my Rafiq Commander deck, but I won’t whine if I don’t get any new cards, because, as I said, it makes sense in Black anyway.

Moving on, we have a legendary creature. Only one Core Set ever had a legendary creature, but it looks like they’re back. That could open up some interesting card for Commander or some reprints that haven’t been around for a while. Fingers crossed for Akroma!

I don’t know why legendary creatures only saw core set printing in 10th Edition (perhaps because it doesn’t want to be tied to a certain world?) but I like it, especially for reprints, for the same reason I like referencing Grixis. Magic has a wonderfully fleshed out world, and Core Sets can tap into nostalgia through legendary reprints or references. This is a great idea.

And on the cover of one of those boosters is Liliana, in her new art. We’ve seen it before and it’s almost a sure thing to be Liliana 3.0. 

I like that old planeswalkers get new planeswalkers, and I don’t mind new planeswalker cards instead of reprints in core sets, but 1) It seems weird that we’re leaving the M12 lineup so quickly and 2) it seems even weirder to give Liliana a new card so soon after the last one. I hope it’s just a reprint of her 2.0 to be honest.

At heart I’m a Timmy. But I have a lot of Johnny tendencies as well. I just tend to like janky combos rather than the more powerful ones Spike leans towards. Here I would like to share some combos you may or may not be aware of. Feel free to suggest more fun and powerful combinations these cards work well in. Johnnies unite!

This time around, let’s combine…

and…

and…

with…

I’ve always wanted to run Sedris and build a Grixis zombie deck, but I didn’t like that I couldn’t get around his ability by bouncing my guys. Along came Sundial of the Infinite, which would at least allow you to keep the guys for more than one turn, but as soon as they die they’re exiled, which is all sad for someone like me who likes to get the most value out of graveyards as possible.

However, you can use any blink effect: These effects exile the creature, so unearth’s exile ability would send it to the same zone, and then when they return to the battlefield they’re a completely new game object and the unearth ability is unable to track that it once brought that creature into play. So when they creature changes zones, it goes to where it would normally go; and if it dies, it’s back to the graveyard to be unearthed all over again.

There aren’t that many effects that do this and fit in Sedris’ color identity (see this list here). These three are probably the best because they can be used more than once and give you your creature back immediately, rather than when they are put into the graveyard.