Posts Tagged ‘magic origins’
This week in Magic: Brewing for a new Standard
Friday, July 17th, 2015
Welcome back for another “This week in Magic.” Origins has finally hit the shelves and people are probably scrambling to get their playsets so they can start playing the new Standard. Wait! What is the new Standard? Do you have any idea what to play yet? No one really knows. Right now, people are packing four copies of a card they thought looked cool during the previews, shrugging their shoulders and heading straight into battle. Do they have any idea if their plan will work? Probably not.
This week, we’re going to play it safe. We’re going to play a deck that will always work week one of a new set. Can you guess what deck that is? Of course! Mono Red! It’s almost as if this color was destined to be the week one color while everyone else tries to figure out what they’re going to do.
What is it about this deck that makes it a great choice for week one? Easy, this deck is simple. When I say “simple,” I’m referring to it’s construction. Mono Red always tends to be a straight-forward build. However, like many decks, it can prove to be a different scene when trying to play it. Over time, your opponents will figure it out the game plan. It’s your job, if you choose to continue playing the deck, to adapt to the changes.
Let’s take a look at a sample deck list:
Mono Red Origins
4x Foundry Street Denizen
4x Goblin Piledriver
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
4x Wild Slash
4x Lightning Strike
4x Exquisite Firecraft
4x Stoke the Flames
4x Hordeling Outburst
4x Dragon Fodder
4x Call of the Full Moon
20x Mountain
Look at this terrible pile. I cannot wait to see the look on my opponent’s face when I beat them with a deck like this. Of course, I know I have to get there first. When I do, I’ll make sure to take a photo when it happens. Let me explain what we’re trying to accomplish here.
Foundry Street Denizen is a really silly creature. Combine it with a spell like Hordeling Outburst, and things get out of hand really fast. It has amazing synergy as well with Goblin Piledriver and Goblin Rabblemaster. Speaking of which, these two go hand-in-hand as well. All three pretty much form the Holy Trinity for you religious folk out there; for everyone else, think of it as the “Flying ‘V’” from “The Mighty Ducks.” As long as this pack lives, you’ve got a real good shot of making your opponent cry.
With our spells, we’re trying to be blunt. We curve out at one, two, three, and four mana burn spells; two of which can deal four damage each. Exquisite Firecraft is the newest addition here, and it’s a welcomed sight. I feel with the current setup, achieving Spell Mastery should not be a problem, thus meaning that Exquisite Firecraft should be an uncounterable spell a majority of the time you’re casting it.
Okay, I’m sure you’ve been wondering about the next card I’m going to talk about. In the past couple of years, there have been a number of Red enchantments that, when enchanting a creature, sends a punch to your opponent’s gut. I feel this is one of those spells. Just like Volcanic Strength, Goblin War Paint, and Hammerhand, Call of the Full Moon is going to end games really fast, especially if you attach it to any of the non-token goblins that we’re playing with in the deck. This card allows the creatures we have to do the one thing they will have trouble with – getting through those darn chump blockers.
Let’s face it, there is no point to having a really big creature if a little 1/1 can block it all day. That’s where Call of the Full Moon comes into play. First of all, it’s a cheap spell. Assuming you’ve played a turn one Denizen, on turn two, you’ll be swinging with a 4/3 trampler who can get as big as a 7/3 with trample if you’re able to cast a Hordeling Outburst the following turn. Call of the Full Moon also really shines during the later parts of the match, but hopefully you’ll have won by then.
Unlike the previous enchantments that I mentioned, there is a downside to Call of the Full Moon. During each upkeep, it checks to see if any player cast more than two spells in one turn. If they did, you’re forced to sacrifice it. There are a few scenarios where I can see this happening, and in all of them you’ve already swung with your creature.
Now I’m sure by now you may have noticed that I’ve left a few creatures off of the list. I felt that this was a good start for now, and that we could collectively build further down the line. Honorable mentions go out to Monastery Swiftspear, Zurgo, and the newest version of Chandra. All three would do well in the deck, but may change the dynamics. You could also go creatureless and leave it up to the tokens to do your dirty work.
Well that’s it for this week. Let me know what you think of the deck, good or bad, in the comments below. Also, if you manage to give the deck a shot, I’d love to know what you thought. What changes would you make? 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: magic origins, Magic the Gathering, mono red, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Standard
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This week in Magic: An Origins Top 5 list!
Thursday, July 9th, 2015
Welcome to another “This week in Magic.” I hope you didn’t miss us too much. Sometimes, you just run out of things to say, and for me, it happened. However, thing are different this week because Magic Origins will be making it’s debut this weekend in pre-release form. How many of you will be in attendance? I hope you all raised your hands.
For this week’s topic we’re going to go cover a Top 5 list of commons and uncommons you want to see in your sealed pool. First let’s go over what exactly you’ll be getting at the pre-release. Each pre-release box will contain six normal Magic Origins booster packs and a seventh pack with the colors of the planeswalker you chose before the event. Also in that box will be a special spindown life counter, and a story booklet. Yes, this is different compared to previous pre-releases. In past events you got five boosters and a seeded booster. Here you are getting one more booster to up the count to six total and a seeded booster. Oh, and don’t forget the promo card in the seeded pack.
Okay, I’m sure by now you’ve grown tired of my blabbering. Without further ado, here are the Top 5 commons and uncommons you want to see in your pool.
Number 5 – Shaman of the Pack
Whether it’s Sealed or you’re Drafting, I think GB Elves will be a thing; granted you have the cards needed to build the deck. This card will should be one of those bombs the deck plays. Of course, barring any kind of set backs, even casting this card may make your opponent cringe in pain.
It’s casting cost is not unreasonable sitting at 1GB, the only thing I wish it had was an extra point in toughness, but I guess we can’t have everything. If your game plan is going well, shouldn’t matter that it only has a two for a butt.
Number 4 – Zendikar’s Roil
Here is a name that should make player’s a little giddy, “Zendikar.” The last time players visited this plane, all kinds of hell broke loose. We had Eldrazi running around and a man named Jace made a name for himself and got himself banned from a couple of establishments including the Modern format.
It may be a bit costly, but if you’re playing a card like this, the idea would be that you’ve already got access of plenty of lands. Toss in a few of those ramp spells plus Nissa and you have a deadly combination at your disposal.
Hmm, I can only help but wonder what matches would be like if you had a couple of these bad boys active. Imagine the look on your opponent’s face?
Number 3 – Ravaging Blaze
From my initial standpoint, this card looks like it could have been a rare. Luckily for us, it’s not. By itself, Ravaging Blaze is a solid removal spell for red. While, I’m not a fan of the double red, I am a fan of the potential this card has if you’re able to satisfy Spell Mastery. Late game, this could be the one card that wins it all for you. Not only could you remove a potential blocker, but you’re also dealing your opponent damage.
This makes me think. I wonder if future builds of Mono Red in Standard would play a couple copies of this spell. Combined with a creature like Monastery Swiftspear, and you could be swinging for the fences within a couple of turns.
Oh, there I go again, talking about red, red, red…
Number 2 – Fleshbag Marauder
“Old school” players will remember this lovely thing back when Shards of Alara first came out. Back then it was a solid draft pick, and most likely it will be the same this time around. Don’t be fooled by the one toughness. Based off of my own experience, this guy will hit the battlefield with both players already having at least one creature. In that instance, you can either sac the Marauder or sac the creature you already have in play. If you’re lucky enough, your opponent won’t have a follow up and your Fleshbag will get in for three.
In my experience, most edict spells tend to come at a timely manner – most of the time when you’re facing down a really big creature you have nothing left to deal with it. Call it luck, or whatever you want, but this card has just proven to be a solid play over and over again.
Number 1 – Bounding Krasis
By far, this is probably the best card in the set Limited wise. Let’s break it down. First of all, it’s a “Fish Lizard.” It’s part Fish. It’s part Lizard. What more needs to be said about that?
You’ll never get many complaints about a 3/3 for three mana. You’re getting what you paid for. However, in this instance, you’re getting more. Not to mention that the color combination of 1UG is not difficult to put together.
So how much more are you getting? For starters, it has flash. Does your opponent want to swing with their 1/1 or 2/2? No problem. Too bad I just flashed my 3/3 into play. So, not only do I get to block and kill your creature, but on the next turn I get to swing for three (if they end their turn afterwards).
What makes this creature really special is it’s ability to tap or untap a targeted creature at instant speed. This could be one of your own creatures or your opponent’s. I feel that this little guy is going to determine a lot of games. So, break out that salt because you’re going to need plenty of it.
Well that’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed my list and hope you don’t think it was too off. However, I would love to hear what your Top 5 commons and uncommons would be in a sealed event. Do you think I’m completely bonkers or do I bring up some good points? Let me know in the comment section below!
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: magic origins, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Pre-release, Simeon Cortezano, Top 5
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This week in Magic: An Origins preview
Friday, June 26th, 2015
Welcome back to another edition of “This week in Magic.” If you haven’t noticed by now, spoilers for Magic Origins have begun popping up in various places all over the internet. I thought we could take some time this week and go over some of the highlights from those spoilers. So far, the set looks good on it’s own, but the real question how will it live up to the current Standard Meta?
The Planeswalkers
The concept of the new planeswalkers is really interesting. In fact, I don’t even know how well these are going to be received by the players. For the most part, we’re so used to just playing them. Now we have to earn them by experiencing their spark. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like the conditions that need to be met are impossible to accomplish.
Now with that said, here is how I’d rank them in order of playability – that is to say how easy I think it would be to turn them over. At number five would be Nissa. Ramping up to seven land is not that bad, but seven land can be a lot. At number four is Jace. Getting five cards into your library is not a hard task. However, in Standard it can take a little bit longer as compared to other formats. For example, I know I can easily drop a turn two Tasigur. That doesn’t exist in Standard – at least the consistency isn’t there.
At number three is Liliana. Baiting your opponent to kill one of your creatures may be a little tougher with her on the board. Though at some point, they’ll have to stop something. Early aggro is never fun to deal with. She’ll flip eventually. Nearing the end, we have Gideon at number two. He’s a solid one drop to begin with. Getting some friend to swing with for a turn three assault seems reasonable. The questions is if he’ll be alive at the end of it all to flip over. That’s the real question. Finally, at number one is Chandra. I am a fan how how aggressive she is. She even smells of “combo” all over her. Unfortunately, unless you kill your opponent, flipping her is not a may ability. Still, her planeswalker form is probably the strongest out of all the other planeswalker.
Don’t take ranking too seriously now. Even more so, now that I’ve done it, there is a high chance that I will be completely wrong and everything I’ve ranked will prove to go the opposite way.
The reprints
Up to now, we’ve learned of several cards that will be making repeat appearances in Origins. Many will be happy to know that the enemy colored painlands will be coming back. They’ve done really well thus far, and have helped define a very aggressive Standard format. The reason some people will be happy to see them back is mainly for financial reasons. Unless you’re new to the game, then you won’t have to invest in much or anything for a set of these lands.
The one fun thing about core sets from the past has always been the speculation as to what set of dual lands we’ll see. To have a repeat, this can make things a little stale for some players. It would have been nice to the allied colors or another set of land, but we’ve got no choice now.
Another solid reprint is Knight of the White Orchid. If my memory serves me correctly, this card was in a really fun mono white deck that essentially ramped up into the Kozilek, Ulamog, and Emrakul respectively. It played board wipes like Day of Judgement and All is Dust to deal with early threats. The deck also played Pilgrim’s Eye and Everflowing Chalice.
So why am I happy to see this card? It’s because the fall set makes a return to Zendikar. If that means anything, it means that we’ll most likely see a return of the Eldrazi. There is hope for the Knight. Other than that, who can complain about a first striking 2/2 for two?
Of course the biggest surprise thus far has to be the announcement that Goblin Piledriver will be back? How big of an impact will he make in his return. First of all, let’s take a moment to sit back and realize that he hasn’t been around since Onslaught. So that means it’s been about 13 years since he was first printed. When he made his debut, he helped define one of the best tribal decks in Standard. Since then he’s been making his presence known Legacy Goblin decks. Now he’s back.
Standard players may want to watch out for the first few months he’s in Standard. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when he and Goblin Rabblemaster are on the battlefield at the same time? Luckily, Standard players won’t have a lot of time to deal with it, but who knows what the fall will bring.
The biggest impact, though, will be in Modern. Here’s a small list of other goblins in Modern: Legion Loyalist, Goblin Chieftain, Goblin King, Goblin Rabblemaster, and Goblin Guide. Combine that with one of the most efficient burn packages and we’ve got a problem. By “we” I mean those who will not be playing goblins in Modern.
The new guys in town
On a final note I’m going to end things with the card “Day’s Undoing.” Let me tell you the story of a card called Time Reversal. I jumped on the hype train faster than you can say, “Dumb” when this card was first spoiled. It’s like I was a man possessed.
While this card is significantly cheaper to cast, it comes with the stipulation that your turn end if you cast it during your turn. You may have noticed people started to buy out every copy of Quicken because of this. I don’t think a one mana casting instant to let you cast this as an instant will help its cause. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pre-order this card. Take this as a cautionary tale. If you believe that it is much better than Time Reversal and worth the money, then by all means go for it. I’m not here to stop you. Just think before you leap.
By the way, Time Reversal is available via the online store ranging from $.85-$.89. They also have 18 copies available from both M11 and M12. Just saying…
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 origins, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano
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Announcing ‘Magic Duels: Origins’
Tuesday, March 10th, 2015
- Improved Deck Builder with step-by-step deck construction guidance
- First-ever playable Planeswalker cards
- Solo Battle mode featuring virtually endless AI opponents
- Expanded multiplayer options, including Two-Headed Giant mode
- Quest system with new individual and community challenges every week
- Limitless Free-to-Play with 100% earnable content
- All-new Skill Quest tutorial system
Magic Duels: Origins arrives this July to console on Xbox One, PC via Steam, and iPad tablets, with PlayStation 4 joining later this year.
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!
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Tags: magic duels origins, magic origins, Magic the Gathering, MTG, origins, Simeon Cortezano
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Announcing ‘Magic Origins’
Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
In an announcement made during Pro Tour Fate Reforged, this summer’s core set will be titled, “Magic Origins.” Some of you may or may not know, but this set is going to be a very special one. Just several months ago, it was also announced that Magic will no longer have a core set. So sets like “Magic 2015,” “Magic 2014,” etc. will no longer be. This will be considered the last core set for “Magic: The Gathering.”
Interestingly enough, Wizards of the Coast had several suggestions to call the final core set, “Omega.” However, they saw this as more of a beginning and therefore went with the name Origins. Uniquely, Origins has taken five Planeswalkers and will tell of, as you may have guessed, their origin stories.
Here is what the official press release had to say,
“In the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse, some mages are born with a rare gift, simply known as “the spark.” When such mages face a great ordeal, their spark’s potential is unleashed, elevating them to become Planeswalkers and travel between the planes of the Multiverse. Magic Origins will reveal for the first time these pivotal moments for five Planeswalkers: Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar, and Nissa Revane.
Magic Origins is a different kind of core set than we’ve ever done before, one with ambitious story goals and deep creative impact,” says Doug Beyer, Magic’s senior creative designer. “All core sets in recent years have had Planeswalker cards, but Magic Origins doesn’t just contain five Planeswalkers-it’s also about those Planeswalker characters. It’s about certain points in time in those Planeswalkers’ lives-the events that led them to become Planeswalkers-and is meant to set up a lot of our plans for Magic’s future story. We’ll see these characters’ home worlds, learn about the joys and crises of their early lives, and discover how they became the Multiverse-traveling Planeswalkers we know today.”
Two amazing samples of artwork were released with the announcement. They depict Liliana as a healer during her younger years. The second piece of artwork shows Liliana sometime after she had chosen the darker path. One can only speculate, but how cool would it be if we got to see Liliana as a White Planeswalker?
Other Planeswalkers included in the storyline will be Geideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Nissa Revane, and Chandra Nalaar. This being considered the last core set, it can also be considered a milestone, and, therefore, Wizards will most likely make something special here. However, it’s way too early to start guessing what may even be in the set. Nonetheless, let’s not forget how Wizards like to put in special surprises every now and then for their players and devoted customers.
Magic Origins is set to release this July 11-12, 2015. For more information, click here.
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!
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, magic origins, Magic the Gathering, MTG, origins, Simeon Cortezano
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