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This week in Magic: Battle for Zendikar
Friday, August 28th, 2015
Welcome back for another edition of This “This week in Magic.” For this week’s topic, we’re going to cover some of the cards that have already been spoiled for the upcoming Battle for Zendikar expansion which is set for release this September. In fact, this is a big weekend for Magic because PAX Prime is currently underway. At the convention, there will be a Magic panel where we’ll learn more about the set and many cards are poised to be spoiled. For now, let’s talk about what we already know about.
Guardian of Tazeem
This is a really solid card at first glance. Five mana is a little hefty, but it’s made up in the card’s other abilities. As a flying 4/5 I can almost completely forgive the card for costing so much. Ideally, the only place for this card is in a control deck. Playing it in a UB Control list would make the most sense. However, with the dragons still being in play, this probably won’t happen until post rotation.
“Old school” players wlill be happy to see the return of Landfall to Standard. This is particularly exciting because we’ll still have the fetchlands in the format making Landfall that much more powerful. In a control deck, the ability to tap down creatures is a great advantage. The added ability to keep the tapped if you played an island (in an already heavy island deck) seems like icing on the cake.
At this point, it seems like Battle for Zendikar is already shaping up. Remember, though, we’re only on our first card!
Oblivion Sower
Our first look into what the Eldrazi have been up to and it’s a doozy. In typical Eldrazi form, it’s an awkward 5/8 for six mana. Still, standing tall at 5/8 means it hits hard and is hard to kill. Even better, it’s it takes six colorless mana to cast. Due to this, Modern players perked up and asked, “can this go into Tron decks?” However, the real question is, “can this replace Wurmcoil Engine?” In my opinion, I don’t think so. I would definitely consider it as a sideboard option, but it would depend on whether or not Battle for Zendikar will change the shape of Modern.
In Standard, Oblivion Sower may see play. Thanks to it being colorless means it could fit in almost any deck. In the past, the Eldrazi were found in, typically, Mono Green and Mono White. I know I keep going back to it, but I could even see Eldrazi making an appearance in UB Control. The reason I keep going back to that deck is because the deck usually aims for the late game, is mana hungry, and tends to play larger spells because of it’s heavy control aspect.
One way or another, when Oblivion Sower ever hits the board, whoever is facing is going to have a rough time if it ever makes contact with them. Why? Have you seen what it does. First of all, it exiles the top four cards of your opponent’s deck. To add insult to injury, if any of those cards are lands, you get to put them into play under your control. Combined with the Landfall mechanic, this is positioned to be a major player in the game.
Casual player or not, you may want to consider pre-ordering a playset of these guys just in case.
Dominator Drone
Keeping in line with the colorless theme, Dominator Drone introduces a new mechanic to the game. One that is not entirely surprising. Devoid is the new mechanic that causes a card to have no color even if there is a colored mana symbol in its casting cost. So, why does this matter? For instance, this will make card like Surge of Righteousness less effective since it requires, specifically, a red or black creature.
Dominator Drone also introduces the Ingest mechanic. Ingest says that “whenever [the] creature deals combat damage to a player, that player exiles the top card of his or her library.” This looks like a really annoying mechanic to face. By annoying, I mean if you’re the one facing it. Otherwise, this looks like a lot of fun. Given enough creatures with Ingest, I wonder if it will be possible to create an Ingest themed deck.
My prediction is that there will be a spell that gives all your creatures Ingest until the end of the turn. Can you imagine a fleet of tokens attacking you and each one has Ingest. Ugh…
Sheer Drop
The last card we’re going to look at today is Sheer Drop. Off the bat, this card looks like a glorified draft card. So there is little chance it will ever seen constructed play. It doesn’t do anything special, but it does introduce another new mechanic known as Awaken. The mechanic allows you, for an alternate casting cost, to cast a spell and place a certain number of counter on a land turning it into a creature that is still a land with a power and toughness equal to the number of counters placed on it.
Essentially, if you case the a spell for it’s Awaken cost, you’re getting a two-for-one. Depending on the cost, Awaken could be a very interesting mechanic in Standard. In Limited, though, it may prove to be a serious mechanic since spells do not come at a premium.
Well that’s it for this week. What are you looking forward to in Battle for Zendikar? Is there anything you hope makes an appearance in the set? Let me know in the comments below! Until next week…
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: Battle for Zendikar, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, zendikar
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This week in Magic: Jace vs. Jace
Friday, August 21st, 2015
Welcome to another “This week in Magic.” Let’s take a break from discussing decks. Today we’re going to rank all of the Jaces in order from worst Jace to the best Jace.
I recently had a discussion regarding which Jace, over the years, was the best one. While we knew which Jace was not the top choice, we knew which ones to argue about. First, let me remind you of the different Jaces (in no particular order):
Jace Beleren
Jace, The Mind Sculptor
Jace, Memory Adept
Jace, Architect of Thought
Jace, The Living Guildpact
Jace, Telepath Unbound
6. Jace, The Living Guildpact
At the bottom of the list has to be The Living Guildpact. The key to a solid version of Jace is the ability to take care of himself. At +1 loyalty, this version of Jace manipulates the top of your deck and your graveyard. At -3 loyalty, Jace bounced another nonland permanent back to it’s owner’s hand. While the possibility of bouncing a threat may prolong Jace’s life for a little bit, the fact that he leaves himself with only two loyalty means that even 1/1 tokens pose a threat. Finally, his ultimate ability just didn’t have the power that the other Jace’s have. In the end, for his lack of ability, The Living Guildpact earns the bottom slot on our list of Jace’s.
5. Jace, Memory Adept
While he’s only one place higher than the bottom, this version of Jace is leaps and bounds above The Living Guildpact. At five mana, this was the most expensive Jace to play. However, his abilities did a lot of the talking. The Memory Adept was key in a lot of control mirror matches. Whoever was able to play their Jace first usually won, and may the Magic gods have mercy on your soul if you didn’t have a copy in your sideboard. The funny thing about this Jace is that most players only cared about one ability. That ability was the zero loyalty ability. If this version of Jace hit the board, those facing him were on a three or four turn clock after that. Due to his ability to end the game quickly is why we can forget that this Jace cannot defend himself from harm and why he ranks better than last.
4. Jace, Architect of Thought
I guess when you have a small cast of characters, one should not be surprised by how low some of them may look on the totem pole. Don’t be fooled by the Architect of Thought’s placement at number 4. One of the biggest mistakes made with this Jace was being compared to The Mind Sculptor when he was first spoiled. Many thought he was trying too hard to be like his big brother. He took a while, but the Architect of Thought eventually made a name for himself. In fact, he’s even seeing play in Modern. This Jace had the whole package. He could defend himself, he gave you card advantage, and his ultimate actually mattered in some matches. Out of all the Jaces, this is the most balanced.
3. Jace Beleren
Also known as “baby Jace,” Jace Beleren is the original. If this were a popularity contest, Jace Beleren would win the crown. Unfortunately, this isn’t. This is about power. Imagine being there the first time baby Jace was introduced to the world. Blue mages all over the world rejoiced. However, once they had their taste of power, they wanted more and so didn’t R&D. Even if you got just one card out of Jace, the fact that it only cost three mana to play was very important. Not only was this Jace cheap, but it gave you card advantage. To top things off, giving him a mill ability was his ultimate was icing on the cake. Baby Jace made Turbo Fog decks what they were in the past. Without him, who knows where the state of Planeswalkers would be today.
2. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
I’m pretty sure that 95% of you are screaming at me right now. How can I rank something that is broken as number two? Easy, I think the remaining Jace is better. The Mind Sculptor will go down in history as one of the most powerful version of Jace to exist; so powerful that it was indirectly declared a mistake to have made this card.
I don’t think there was one bad thing about this card. At +2 loyalty, you had the ability to soft lock your opponent by knowing every card they were going to draw, even manipulating what they were going to draw. At 0, you had a Brainstorm-on-a-stick. At -1 loyalty, you could bounce any problems back to their owner’s hand or a solution back to your own. Finally, at -12 loyalty, The Mind Sculptor’s ultimate ability meant the end of most games. The card was too good to be true, and I doubt there will ever be anything like him again.
1. Jace, Telepath Unbound
This is the Architect of Thought all over again. Like its predecessor, many people didn’t think much of this Jace when it was first spoiled. However, over time almost everyone who has played him has been surprised and versatile by how he responds to most situations. I guess the real question is why is the Telepath Unbound number one in my book?
First of all, he is the cheapest Jace to play. Although he does not first make an appearance as a Planeswalker, it doesn’t take much to ignite his “spark” and flip him into one. So, before we get the benefits of his Planeswalker abilities, we get treated by his creature abilities as a looter. One of the best uses for this Jace is to use him as a blocker and then turn him sideways to flip him into a Planeswalker (barring you have enough cards in the graveyard to do so). Once flipped, use him as you see fit.
At +1 loyalty he can protect himself or you. At -3 loyalty, he becomes reminiscent of one of the most powerful mages in the multiverse. Lastly, at -9 loyalty, you get an emblem that could ruin almost any player’s day.
The fact of the matter is that the Telepath Unbound is number in my book because of how versatile it can be. I understand that some of you will disagree. How can the Mind Sculptor (with his four abilities) be less versatile than the Telepath Unbound (with only his three abilities)? The new version of Jace edges out the Mind Sculptor by just an inch and that inch is it’s ability to go from creature to Planeswalker.
That’s it for this week. What did you think? Agree? Disagree? I would love to hear your opinion. Feel free to leave a comment below letting us know what you think. Until next time…
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: jace, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: UR Mill
Friday, August 14th, 2015
Welcome to another week of “This week in Magic.” Today we’re going to talk about a really surprising deck, UR Mill. Believe it or not, this deck actually won GP San Diego last week and there is a good chance a lot of people will be playing it at their FNMs. We’re going to break down the deck and see what made it so successful and what the possible downsides are.
First, let’s take a look at the decklist.
UR Mill by Michael Majors
1st place – GP San Diego
Maindeck
4 Treasure Cruise
4 Anger of the Gods
4 Tormenting Voice
4 Magmatic Insight
2 Whelming Wave
2 Send to Sleep
2 Roast
1 Dig Through Time
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Sphinx’s Tutelage
1 Monastery Siege
1 Alhammerret’s Archive
5 Mountain
4 Shivan Reef
4 Swiftwater Cliffs
4 Radiant Fountain
4 Island
4 Temple of Epiphany
1 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
Sideboard
1 Whelming Wave
4 Negate
3 Annul
4 Firey Impulse
1 Disperse
1 Encase in Ice
1 Seismic Rupture
At first glance, one could ask themselves, “How does this thing win?” After watching it several times, this deck seem to just win out of no where. One of the key spells in this deck has to be the four copies of Anger of the Gods. Without this spell, the deck would never survive the early onslaught of decks like Mono Red, Elves, Abzan Aggro, and UR Thopters.
For those who are too big to be killed by Anger of the Gods, we have spells like Send to Sleep and Roast. Players just need to buy themselves enough time to set themselves up. Once the engine is up and running, it’s very hard to overcome it. Now what makes it so hard to overcome?
The reason why the deck is hard to beat when the engine is running is due to it’s cheap and very efficient draw spells. We’re talking cheap and efficient enough to be able to skip the fog portion of the deck. Although, some would argue that the Anger of the Gods are all the fog that the deck needs. Imagine this very realistic scenario: Turn one play a mountain and cast Magmatic Insight. You draw two cards for two cards. On Turn two, you play Tormenting Voice. That’s another two for two. On turn three, with one more draw spell, you can start delving with a Treasure Cruise. Its situations like this that makes getting to your one and only Alhammerret’s Archive all too easily. However, it’s not even necessary. During the finals of the GP, Michael Majors was able to mill his opponent out on turn five.
The question is, now, how do we beat this deck? I’m sure the last thing you want is to be beat by a mill deck. You’re friends would never let you hear the end of it. It’s almost like getting beat by one Royal Assassin. The weird thing about these kind of decks is that it’s worst problem is itself. If you saw Majors’ face at the end of the GP, he was as stunned as anyone else in that room. Even when Marshall Sutcliffe asked him if he would recommend the deck for others to play, Majors hesitated when answering. Of course he said yes. He did just win a GP with it.
Other than hoping the deck implodes upon itself, other ways to beat is it just pure aggression. Remember, the only real creature removal in the deck are the Anger of the Gods. Your opponent can still lose to good ol’ burn spells. Hand disruption is also killer. If you nit pick at his hand and take away those draw spells, he just ends up playing a really bad Blue and Red deck (although some would say it’s already bad because they fear losing to it).
In the post game interview, Majors said it himself that his only real win condition are the Sphinx’s Tutelage. Otherwise it becomes a terrible and slow grind.
Finally, and I’m sure you’ve been waiting for this. There is a little card in the deck known as Jace. When he was first spoiled, the first thing people did was compare him to his predecessor. That was the absolute wrong thing to do and always will be for future version of Jace. The Mindsculptor was a mistake, and one that Wizards has admitted. Thus far, this version of Jace has proven to be the real deal. Don’t be surprised if he starts showing up in modern soon enough.
Having spoken to several other players, Jace does not look powerful at all. However, he always seems to do exactly what you need at exactly the right time. In this UR Mill deck, his ability to flashback those very cheap and efficient draw spells in the later game is ridiculous. If you ever see Jace come out on turn two, my suggestion (no matter what deck your opponent is playing) is to remove it as fast as you can. It will only lead to future problems for yourself.
Until next time.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Standard, ur mill
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This week in Magic: a look back at Pro Tour Origins
Friday, August 7th, 2015
Welcome back to another “This week in Magic.” For this week’s topic, we’re going to cover what was played at Pro Tour Origins. Surprisingly, a many of the matches that were played out on camera were not the same deck over and over again. It was quite refreshing. In fact, if you were one of those lucky viewers you got to see Andrew Cuneo pilot a crazy UR Sphinx deck that definitely caught people by surprise. Sadly, though, he could only manage a 6-4 Standard record. Give him big props for maintaining a winning record at least. The deck of the weekend had to have been UR Thopters. Who saw this one coming? I’m not going to lie. Most of this deck comprises of glorified Limited cards. However, Standard seems to have slowed down just enough that it’s survivable to play these cards. Some would argue that the deck is, shockingly, just as fast as thanks to cards like Shrapnel Blast and Ensoul Artifact.
These cards have been around in Standard for quite some time, but, for some reason, only now has made a dent in the Standard format. Let’s break the deck down and find out why this deck was such a powerhouse at Pro Tour Origins.
UR Thopters by Mike Sigrist
Pro Tour Origins, 2nd place
Main Deck
4x Hangerback Walker
4x Ornithopter
4x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Chief of the Foundry
4x Whirler Rouge
3x Stubborn Denial
1x Collateral Damage
4x Ghostfire Blade
3x Springleaf Drum
4x Shrapnel Blast
4x Ensoul Artifact
4x Darksteel Citadel
4x Shivan Reef
4x Temple of Epiphany
1x Mana Confluence
1x Mountain
6x Island
1x Foundry of the Consuls
Sideboard
3x Disdainful Stroke
1x Rending Volley
4x Roast
3x Seismic Rupture
1x Negate
3x Thopter Spy Network
I think the biggest reason this deck was so successful was because of Hangerback Walker. This card is so powerful, I saw it in a lot of other decklists besides UR Thopters at the SCG Regional event (which took place the same weekend as Pro Tour Origins). Against early aggro decks, the big play was to play this guy on turn two making it a 1/1. For Mono Red players, they really had to think if they wanted to throw their creature into it, or use a burn spell on it. Either way, when it died, it left a 1/1 thopter in play to block the next guy.
You really have to deal with the walker right away or else it’s controller will start storing counters on it. If this begins to happen, then you’re really in trouble. Let’s talk about these other abilities. So, yes, the Walker costs XX to cast. Meaning that if you pay two mana, it will come into play with one +1/+1 counter on it. If you pay four mana, it will come into play with two counters on it, and so on. I initially thought this card would be a great late game play in slow control decks like UB Control. However, I failed to recognize it’s other abilities.
Even if you drop the Hangerback Walker onto the battlefield as early as turn two, it can still grow into a very large threat. Some of the best plays I watched being made with the artifact was blocking a creature, then activating it’s ability to add another counter. Now, the person facing the Walker had several options, either bite the dust and have their creature die, use a removal spell earlier than expected, or watch as the Walker died leaving a trail of Thopters behind.
In some cases it was necessary to destroy your own Walker. That’s where Shrapnel Blast came into play. Collateral Damage was more of a fifth copy of Shrapnel Blast, but since you can have only four, you can see the dilemma. One of the best plays of the entire Pro Tour utilized Shrapnel Blast and Hangerback Walker. At the end of another player’s turn, the controller of a Walker had blown it up thanks to a Shrapnel Blast dealing five damage to their opponent. This had also left them with three 1/1 flying Thopters. On their turn, they took their creatures and flew over their opponent’s dealing three more damage. To finish them off, they cast a game winning Wild Slash. That totaled 10 damage in a blink of an eye.
Chief of the Foundry is another welcomed addition that makes this deck more viable than ever. Previously, Ensoul Artifact decks weren’t doing enough to keep themselves afloat. Due to creatures like Whirler Rogue and, in some lists, Thopter Engineer, combined with Chief of the Foundry, the deck now has the reach it didn’t have before. There is nothing worse than staring down a fleet of thopters, especially thopters that have grown and are now 2/2’s or even 3/3’s.
UR Thopters is a very synergistic deck that can kill fast. It’s only downfall, it seems, is that it has terrible mulligans. If you watched the Pro Tour then you’ll know that Sigrist had one of the worst cases of a deck failing on him during the finals. It’s something that, as Magic players, we’ve all been through and know all too well. Don’t let this deter you from playing the deck. It’s one that will give grief to many other while it still exists in Standard.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Magic the Gathering, MTG, pro tour origins, Simeon Cortezano, Standard, ur thopters
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This week in Magic: A Pro Tour Origins Top 5 List
Friday, July 31st, 2015
Welcome back to another edition of “This week in Magic.” Did you miss me? It’s okay, I won’t tell everyone what you said. I missed you too! As I write this, Pro Tour Origins is currently underway. While the first part of the tournament is a Draft format, the real interesting part will be the Standard portions. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to put together another Top 5 list. This time we’ll talk about the Top 5 cards from Origins that I think will make an impact on the Pro Tour. So, get your hands, and, maybe, your wallets ready for a fun ride.
5. Languish
This is a card that has gotten a lot of hype since it was spoiled. Much of that hype, though, has been that it wasn’t Damnation that was reprinted, but people will make do. The effects of the spell have not been ignored even though the people didn’t get what they wanted. Languish is one of the best spells right now for the early aggressive games that Abzan Aggro, Elves, and Mono Red can whip out.
The best spell we’ve had thus far had been Drown in Sorrow. However, for one more mana, we get double the power. As for the ability to scry, I’m sure many players will be happy to make that exchange. Languish also allows for many things to just make the cut such as Siege Rhino. This means that the control or midrange versions of Abzan will be able to benefit from a spell like this.
Now I’m sure you’re saying something like, “Why is this any good? I thought we had Crux?” Well we do, and, in some cases, some deck lists have included some kind of combination of both spells. Still, let me stress that in some instances, that one mana difference can mean a lot.
So keep an eye on this spells, as Abzan is a very popular choice.
4. Thopter Spy Network
It made it’s debut a couple of weeks back and has made a few appearances in several control lists. It may not be a four-of yet, but I’m sure it will soon enough. This card is destined for the long game.
So what makes this card so good? First of all, it provides steady supply of blockers if needed. It also does provide a steady supply of attackers, but I think it’s safe to say, in a control deck, it’ll most likely be providing the previous. As for the second ability on the card, with other spells creating possible thopters early on, this can provide for some much needed card drawing the turn you and it. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a thopter that the Sky Network makes to draw you a card, it could be one you’ve already had in play.
I think if Thopter Spy Network cost less or made an addition thopter this would be a spell you would definitely need four copies of. However, it only makes one and still costs four mana. I think, right not, two is a good number.
3. Hangarback Walker
I’ve been seeing this card fly off the shelves since it was seen on camera in action. I initially didn’t think much of this card. However, I failed to realize that you can continue to put +1/+1 counters on it for only one mana. Therefore, the shenanigans can begin on turn two.
One of the best qualities about this card is that it is another cheap and efficient artifact creatures. So far, this set has opened the door for some powerful artifact focused decklists in the future.
Don’t forget that Magic 2015 is still a legal set in Standard until the fall. Therefore, spells like Ensoul Artifact and Shrapnel Blast can be used in conjunction with the Walker. One of the best combinations I’ve seen thus far from the Pro Tour has been an end of turn Shrapnel Blast, sacrificing the Walker, dealing five damage and leaving three tokens. On the following turn, swing with your three tokens. That’s essentially eight damage with barely lifting a finger.
2. Liliana, Heretical Healer
With Rally decks becoming popular and Mono Black tying to make a combat, I think it would be no surprise that Liliana would be on this list. While she may not look like an incredible creature on paper, she is just too good at the three-spot to ignore. I know some of you may have said getting a creature to die while she’s in play is hard, try telling that to a Rally player. Thanks to creatures like Nantuko Husk, even if you’re opponent won’t help you with a block, you can always sac a creature to the husk with Lilly in play.
What else can we say about her? She has two black mana symbols in her casting cost. For those of you striving for that Mono Black deck, this makes her just that much more important in your lists.
As for her planeswalker abilities, I think she has some of the most powerful right now in Standard. It’s one thing if I have no card, but I like it even more if my opponent has no cards. Just one activation of her first ability really opens the door for her second ability. With five loyalty, you have many choices of creatures to take. Which one will it be?
1. Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
He is just a Merfolk Looter. Merfolk. Looter. However, he’s a Merolk Looter that can turn into a Planeswalker. I guess that’s biggest difference between him and a Merfolk Looter. The first thought, I’m sure, many people had was, “How the heck am I going to get five cards into my graveyard before he dies?” It was at that moment that people forgot that a card like Satyr Wayfinder existed even though it had been played in the top tier decks for many months at this point.
Up to now, Jace has made a serious impact on the format. He’s turned, what people though was a defunct deck, Jeskai Control into a deck again. His loot ability makes it that much easier to achieve delving with Treasure Cruise or Dig Though Time a little bit easier. One of the best plays I saw with Jace was blacking with him, activating his ability, and then flipping him into a Planeswalker. I can’t believe something that small was overlooked.
What about the other side of Jace; the Planeswalker side? On paper, his abilities are very lackluster. In fact, I know many people who thought he was not very good. Having now played him, players are coming saying that while he is not Jace, The Mindsculptor, he is a toolbox of tricks.
Well that’s it for now. Is there something you disagree with? Is there something I missed? Let me know! Sound off in the comment section below. See you all next week!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Magic the Gathering, MTG, origins, pro tour origins, Simeon Cortezano, Standard
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Battle for Zenikdar to revert back to normal prerelease format
Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
For all of you Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts out there, it was announced yesterday by Mark Rosewater and later confirmed by Aaron Forsythe that the Battle for Zendikar prerelease will do away with the previous prerelease color choice and seeded booster pack. Instead, they have reverted back to having six booster packs plus a “literal random promo” for the participants.
Confirmed by @maro254 today: Battle for Zendikar prerelease has no color choice/seed booster. Just 6 normal packs + a literal random promo.
— Aaron Forsythe (@mtgaaron) July 28, 2015
This should make things a little more interesting. It also says a lot about what to expect about the upcoming set. What do you all think? Send us your thoughts and comments and post them below! Are you excited?
Tags: Battle for Zendikar, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Prerelease
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