Magic the Gathering News: Vol 5, NPH Spoiler Leak, M12 News, GP informational Change and more

Hello folks and welcome back to volume 5 of magic news and let me tell you this month's edition is a doozy, we have the news on the new phyrexia spoiler leak, M12 cards to show off and even some GP news you folks at home might be glad to hear about so let's go.

So in lieu of the New Phyrexia massive information dump a while back wizards of the coast officially made a statement on this one, it turns out it was the fault of a few pro players, as listed in the article here NPH Leak News and the culprit is, dun dun dun it's Guilaume Matignon wait what that's right the 2010 world champion and contender for player of the year, this is a rare thing indeed since he was provided with what is known as a Godbook which contains all the cards from a upcoming set, such as New Phyrexia and he was to do a article on them for Lotus Noir magazine which is a french publication look it up, not only did he not keep it a secret but it was also spoken of to a few of his close buddies including one Guillaume Wafo Tapa yes the very constructed and master deckbuilder from france was in on this one too along with two other pro players i won't mention, what does this mean though. Well it means the following Matignon is suspended for 3 years from the DCI meaning he won't be in PT's GP's or any sanctioned wizards events for the next 3 years probably effective monday. 2 it means Wafo Tapa who was only suspended for 18 months is ineligible to return to the pro tour or GP's for the duration till October 2012, when new phyrexia rotates out of standard along with the other two accomplices of this incident, even though Matignon formally apologized he still broke wizards trust by distributing images of this godbook to friends and countrymen whom were his friends circle, so i will leave this story at that, now to continue on with this article.

Early friday morning a image popped up on MTG salvation and it pertains to Magic 2012 which in all likelyhood is fake but i wanted to bring this to your attention anyways, could we be seeing a new mechanic rise out of the ashes of current standard, since scry was reintroduced last year, could it be that another new mechanic is making it's way back into standard check out Gideon's Avenger and Furyborn Hellkite

Oh man check out that white weenie beatstick if it's legit then i am in heaven, a 2/2 that basically says when a a opponent attacks it gets a +1/+1 counter on it, that's not all folks the hellkite is a boss 6/6 for a 7 drop that doubles it's power when damage is dealt before playing this at the mythic slot, there was only one real bomb mythic for red which somehow always gets the shaft in the form of Inferno Titan could this mechanic mean the replacement of those nasty titans probably not but if this is legitmate i will be sure to note it in a future update which will probably be next month.

Onto some tournament news now, the number of GP's for next year is gonna double from the usual 20 to 40, meaning there will be more stops on the wizards tour in lieu of the Star City Games open series which happens almost every single weekend, players as of next year will have more of a chance to play on a standard level with some of the best players in the world in their hometowns, but in exchange the pro tour level of play it appears is being closed off for this and the regional prereleases are being killed off as of Magic 2012 so NPH will be the last official regional prerelease and only small stores will have prereleases from now on making things more crowded since most stores already fill both days to their max capacity which is a downer but hey it's life and stuff like this happens. That is all for this week on the magic news frontier and i hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy article on the last month and a half of magic news, see you all next time this is vergil signing off

New Phyrexia Spoilers Part 4: Red

Red got some interesting stuff in the last set, some decent burn, good creatures and even we saw some phyrexian influence in the last set of this block, shall we see something like this again or perhaps more, let's see what this color phase has to offer shall we?

#78) Act of Aggression - So this is a Mark of Mutiny and Act of Treason for 3 colorless and 2 phyrexian mana except it gets no bonuses and dies at the end of your turn, interesting also it gets haste for whatever you take over so this seems like a ok card at the uncommon level i hope there are more spells like this.

#79) Artillerize - A lava axe for 4 mana that requires you to sacrifice something, in the flavour of New Phyrexia this is cool, since it deals 5 damage to target player or creature, much better then flavourless lava axe that is for sure, also it's a instant speed spell sweet.

#80) Bludgeon Brawl - Ok then this enchantment really is interesting it's a rare at 3 CMC and it makes all non equipment and non creatures into equips that have equip X where x is the converted mana cost of the artifact and gets +X/+0 where X is the converted mana cost again, you follow me on this one no, good i don't know either next please.

#81) Chancellor of the Forge - Wow the red chancellor is sweet, basically if you reveal it you get a 1/1 goblin with haste from your opening hand, it has the same stipulation as the black chancellor and that, as i expected the entire chancellor cycle to have a opening hand clause and a "May" clause meaning you can choose to reveal it, but when it enters play it is 5/5 and it puts X goblins in play where X is the number of creatures you control with Haste so if you have 5 creatures, you get this plus 5 1/1 hasty goblins, as a 7 drop it's sounding like it's a fun card to boot.

#82) Fallen Ferromancer - So a 1/1 for 4 and it has infect and you tap it and pay 1 and a red mana to basically deal 1 damage yeah right first off who would pay for it's ability, secondly who would even draft this only desperate people draft psuedo infecters though i guess this is this set's Prodgial Pyromancer

#83) Flameborn Viron - A 6 mana for a 6/4 it has titan power but not titan toughness definetly a filler card in this day and age, also if you expect to use this card for anything probably just a strong blocker will do, next please.

#84) Furnace Scamp -  1 Red mana for a 1/1 that when it deals damage you can basically bolt a player, will it see play as a body and a bolt maybe, just maybe, then again we've had some jank cards in past two sets what is to stop this one from being different.

#85) Geosurge - You thought rite of flame was stupidly broken imagine riting into this, for 4 red mana you get at sorcery speed 7 mana to use but it can only be used for artifact and creature spells, dumb but i guess there has to be a drawback to all these good cards in this set, this is yet another drawback card.

#86) Gut Shot - Appropriate name for a card like this it's a decent mad finisher or a pinger as you pay 1 red phyrexian mana to basically say ping you for 1 for free or 1 regular red mana, but still a mechanic on a instant speed spell is always nice.

#87) Invader Parasite - A phyrexian card with Imprint i never thought i would see the day a Mirran mechanic was used on a phyrexian style card, but when it enters the battlefield you can exile a land, such as Valakut or Tectonic Edge and if it comes into play on your opponent's side of the field boom that's 2 damage right there to them, as a 5 drop though it's a late game drop as a 3/2 it's still decent enough to do the job in the long run with that last few points of damage.

#88) Moltensteel Dragon - With every set there has to be at least one dragon, it's a wizards of the coast rule, but this one has a twist for 4 and 2 phyrexian red mana you get a 4/4 that basically firebreathes every 1 red mana you pay for it but it's ability costs 1 phyrexian red mana so you can not have to worry about it, it's a decent rare and is one of the 5 intro pack foils.

#89) Ogre Menial -  Red is getting some strange infecters and this is taking the cake for 4 mana you get a 0/4 that also has a firebreathing effect and infect, how many times is wizards gonna print crap like this even if it is infect crap is still crap

#90) Priest of Urabrask - Wow talk about busted, for 3 mana you get a 2/1 that basically replaces the mana you just used to cast it, talk about free spells, so it drops out 3 red mana to use again for another spell mainly another one of these and having all four in the same turn talk about comboing out dudes so quick, broken wizards.

#91) Rage Extractor - You know the days when phyrexian mana can be abused, this is the case, for 4 and 1 phyrexian red mana you get a artifact that basically says whenever you cast something with a phyrexian mana symbol in it's cost you deal damage to it's converted mana cost to target player or creature, talk about a field clearing effect, as a uncommon too talk about abuse of a new mechanic much.

#92) Razor Swine - Generic first striker with infect, at a 2/1 for 3 mana next.

#93) Ruthless Invasion - 3 and a phyrexian red mana net a sorcery speed spell that prevents non artifacts from blocking for a entire turn, wow, so basically this is another way to alpha strike for 4 poison or something like that.

#94) Scrapyard Salvo - If this was instant speed i would say it is a ok card, but as it stands at sorcery speed there is a lot of limitations in this one, though it deals damage equal to the number of artifacts in your graveyard to target player, it's lack luster to say the least for a spell of this magnitude.

#95) Slag Fiend - Finally the 1 drop rare i've been dying for as a late game finisher, black got a 1 drop rare in the form of Death's Shadow and now this guy when he enters this field of 1 drop late game finishers, it's ability is it's power and toughness is the number of artifacts in the graveyards of all players so a Creeping Corrosion later and boom you have like a 9/9 scrapmetal fiend in play, seriously good as a late game rare and a end game finisher espically with cards like Shatter in the format, artifact decks have a serious problem with removal in this one.

#96) Slash Panther - Colored artifacts are making a return in this set it seems with this card, for 5 mana, a whopping 5 mana that is 4 and a phyrexian red mana you get this beast which is a 4/2 hasty cat with some serious firepower, underpowered yes, too high a cost yes, as a common yes you are best avoiding this unless in draft, as it seems with this being a Nagle set, there is a lot of fodder.

#97) Tormentor Exarch - The exarch cycle continues with this one, it basically does a +2/+0 or a -0/-2 effect to a target creature when it hits the board, as a 2/2 though for 4 mana it's balanced psuedo removal or a pump spell as a body, really red is looking really good thus far.

#98) Urabrask the Hidden - The red praetor has arrived and wow is he is a bad boy in the form of awesome, gives all your dudes haste like Cyclops Gladiator, makes your opponents dudes tap when they enter the battlefield, is a 4/4 for 5 mana as a mythic rare, red has it's boss card now, as a few other cards from red combined with this can make a deadly red/white deck for control now, i suspect this to go for a decent price.

#99) Victorious Destruction - So shatter and stone rain combined  for 5 mana at sorcery speed you basically blow up a artifact or land and it's controller loses 1 life, hmm i'm not seeing it here but then again when do i ever see it well enough to understand.

#100) Volt Charge - Oh my goodness for 3 mana at instant speed you can deal 2 damage and proliferate at the same time, is this a good spell hell yes it is, is it playable maybe do you wanna play it, maybe come on wisards stop printing awesome stuff like burn spells with proliferate.

#101) Vulshok Refugee - Wow a 3/2 body on a 3 cmc dude with pro red, so it protects itself from all the infect at all levels red wise and damage wise, finally something bolt can not target also did i mention it's at the uncommon level making this probably the best common and uncommon block yet so far.

#102) Whipflare - Last red card of this set and yikes it's a doozy basically it's the new pyroclasm to non artifact dudes, at sorcery speed wait pyroclasm was also sorcery speed oh my god it's the new pyroclasm for this set, man did red get a serious boost or what.

That's all she wrote for this one, stay tuned for part 5 and the green cards of the set, enjoy

New Phyrexia Spoilers Part 3: Black

Black's turn and last set in Mirrodin Beseiged we got a rare wurm that wrecked face on the phyrexia side of things and all that, we will see a new type of removal in the form of a certain praetor or will we see another singluar removal spell like Go for the Throat who knows, let's find out.

#52) Blind Zealot - Wait this is the first card for this color and already we are seeing intimdate being utlilized for this one, so as a 2/2 it's decent, you get a 3 cmc drop that when it deals combat damage you can sacrifice it to blow something up, well if this isn't spot removal i don't know what is, really decent common to start with for this color.

#53) Caress of Phyrexia - Ok so basically this is a kill card in 3 forms, forces a opponent to draw 3 cards, lose 3 life and get 3 poison counters, poison is now viable thanks New Phyrexia. Though as a 5 CMC cost, this is a great finisher for NPH draft when most players at this point end up being at like 7 poison by about turn 6 with all the off the handle infecters in this block.

#54) Chancellor of the Dross - Um are we gonna have a entire cycle of these dudes like the Leyline cycle in M11 if so sign me up, i love these kind of reveal cycles personally for 7 mana you get a Flying, Lifelink 6/6 when it drops and it's pre game effect basically does a blood tithe to all opponents, if it is in your opening hand, for those unfamilar it basically deals 3 damage to all opponents and you gain that much life that was lost on your first upkeep and cannot be responded to, so most times with this in hand the magic number of damage is 17 without it it's 20 as usual. Great fricking cycle to start the reveals with, much like the Praetor cycle that is all mythics this should be interesting.

#55) Dementia Bat - A 2/2 flying 5 drop, but it has a secondary ability you pay 4 and a black to sacrifice it and make a opponent discard 2 cards, so when this dies you can pop it's secondary ability and make a opponent suffer, really really weird for limited but that's all it's good for i feel.

#56) Despise - So basically this is walker removal at it's finest, stops tezzert, stops jace, stops any walker period, awesome and most welcome for black, for 1 mana too.

#57) Dismember - 1 regular mana and 2 phyrexian mana bring this removal spell into play, it basically says kill anything by making something have a -5/-5 until end of turn, as a instant speed spell that is great spot removal for mid game material and basically shows the power of black this time around.

#58) Enslave - So our first reprint of the set, enslave takes us back to the days of Planar Chaos when this card was out and well, it's about time, for 6 mana you get a aura that basically says i own this creature and you are gonna lose 1 life every upkeep, not bad for a functional limited reprint personally.

#59) Entomber Exarch - Clerics seem to be the main focus on this set, as we've seen about 3 already and this makes no 4 on the list of clerics, for 4 mana you get a 2/2 uncommon that either returns stuff or makes a opponent discard a non creature card when it enters the battlefield, this is starting to become a good set, just due to the fun commons and uncommons so far.

#60) Evil Presence - To make something a swamp you need to be able to have a swamp on your side of the field to cast this aura, for 1 black mana you get a aura that basically screws over your opponent's mana base early on, basically giving you control of the game from that point forward, it's a decent aura at a common level so your bound to pick up 2 of these in a prerelease, somewhat interesting to see more black control elements again in this set.

#61) Geth's Verdict - 2 black mana basically say you lose a creature and lose 1 life at instant speed, talk about more spot removal in this format, first a creature now this, black is gonna be fun to play once again in any format because of stuff like this i feel.

#62) Glistening Oil - This seems like a decent aura, double black, gives a creature infect like Phyresis did from MBS, but there is a drawback it puts a -1/-1 counter on the creature it is attached to, as a rare this isn't that good, as a aura though it's decent enough though it takes a rare slot personally but there is one more effect. When this aura is put into the graveyard it goes straight back to your hand instead, so this as a aura is pretty decent and since we get the good stuff first to talk about this is no exception, though it's applications are unknown as of yet.

#63) Grim Affliction - Another common of this set and well for 3 mana you get to put a -1/-1 counter on target creature, then proliferate, as a common for 3 mana but at least it's at instant speed and not that goddamn sorcery speed i hate so much unless it is in a control build, are we gonna see this in tournament play outside drafts, maybe not, drafting this card though could be pretty sweet, since you are bound to see it at least twice during a draft pod.

#64) Ichor Explosion - One of 2 mass removal spells in this set the other coming up soon in this article but wow, you sacrifice a creature after paying 7 mana, all creatures get -x/-x where X is the creature's power that you sacrificed, really and it's a uncommon EDH staple much, great board sweeper for EDH and Limited and makes damnation look like utter crap

#65) Life's Finale - Speaking of massive removal spells this is the second of two for this set and wow for 6 mana you get a rare that basically says all your creatures are dead, i'll take your 3 best and remove em from the game by putting them in your graveyard, so it's kind of like a 3 for 1 in a format that has a lot of creature decks these days, Boros's days are numbered.

#66) Mortis Dogs - A 4 mana 2/2 that basically gives itself +2/+0 when it attacks is a decent dude personally, if it had first strike though it would be overpowered, but it's secondary ability is funny as hell, when it dies, target player loses life equal to it's power so if it was removed from the game via spot removal and was attacking that player would lose 4 life, really sweet common here.

#67) Parasitic Implant - Basically this is another way of saying screw a creature i'll make one of my own to chump with as during your upkeep this triggers forcing the creature who has this attached to be sacrificed and you get a 1/1 myr token in it's place for 4 mana if it had a way to bring itself back it would be good to basically make a army of 1/1's slowly but surely.

#68) Phyrexian Obliterator - Say hello to the new phyrexian negator folks, with Trample for 4 black mana seriously it has the same effect as negator, so hey you bolt it it takes 3 damage you lose 3 permanents for that, or hey comet storm it for 5 sure it takes 5 damage and dies but you lose 5 permanents, god Negator was so much fun back in the day and this is gonna be even better to have this effect back in standard again, mono black has it's bomb now, thank goodness did i mention this was a mythic rare?

#69) Pith Driller - So 4 and a phyrexian black mana nets you a 4/2 that puts a -1/-1 counter on target creature when it enters the battlefield, well i gotta admit as a whole this is pretty good at the common level and shows the flavour and power of New Phyrexia at it's finest.

#70) Postmortem Lunge - Wait a minute for X and a phyrexian black mana you get to recur something from the graveyard where X is the CMC of the creature you want back, but it dies during your end step but has haste, at sorcery speed and as a uncommon it's decent but not that good, there are a lot of recursion spells in this set it looks like and this one to avoid unless you are in the late game.

#71) Praetor's Grasp - So let me get this straight for 3 mana you get a sorcery that exiles something and as long as it's exiled you can cast it and look at it, well damn i didn't know wizards was gonna print this bad boy since this kind of card wow much and all that, it's a rare and a sorcery so it can be responded to but that's ok have plenty of counter magic to back this up.

#72) Reaper of Sheoldred - 2/5 infecter and when it's dealt damage that controller gets a poison counter as if poison needed more of a power boost well i can see this being a 2 of in poison decks due to the fact this is hot, it's basically a sure fire way to be poisoned, good one wizards.

#73) Sheoldred, Whispering One - Well another praetor it would seem and this one is hot of the furnace for some reason, let's see she costs 5 and 2 black, she has swampwalk, she returns stuff during your turn, during your opponent's turn she makes creatures die on their side of the field, did i mention she is a 6/6 for 7 wow much but let's get down to this, she is also the prerelease promotion card which i spoiled a while back as of this article's writing, trust me it's been a long time coming almost 8 months since we first got introduced to this set, so it is finally nice to see the praetor cycle come round at long last.

#74) Surgical Extraction - This my friends is the scars block's final buy a box promotion card and wow it is a real shocker with the fact it's effects are basically a carbon copy of Extirpate from Planar chaos without the whole split second shenigans and all that, it's cost is 1 black phyrexian mana which is confirmed to be one of the new mechanics for this set, so it can either be paid for via 2 life or 1 black mana when it hits the field i have a feeling most players will choose the 2 life even if they run black, cause you know what they say, once you go black, you never go back.

#75) Toxic Nim - Nim's nim's everywhere and not a drop to drink as a 4/1 infecter for 6 mana this i feel is only good for limited even with it's regeneration ability of 1 black mana like Drudge Skeletons, next please.

#76) Vault Skirge - Now this is some serious black vanilla, 1/1 2 drop flying, lifelink just no next!

#77) Whispering Specter - 3 mana nets you a 1/1 infecter with flying and whenever it deals combat damage you may sacrifice it and the player discards cards equal to the number of poison counters he/she has, that is a unique ability mixing a Plague stinger with a Hypnotic Specter and adding that secondary sacrifice ability really unique as a uncommon too.

Well that covers it for black next time it's red's turn on the spoiler train, see you all next time

New Phyrexia Spoilers Part 2: Blue

Well it's blue's turn to get the treatment for this set, we saw some decent cards last set will this time be any different we will have to wait and see how it turns out of course, let's get started

#27) Argent Mutation - So a 3 drop instant spell that makes things into artifacts and replaces itself with a card draw effect, as a uncommon really weird to see such a interesting card first thing for a new color.

#28) Arm with Aether - So a sorcery speed 3 drop that basically makes stuff bounce back to your opponent's hand when damage is dealt, at sorcery speed you'd have to play it almost at the beginning of your turn to even have a hope of using this, really, this is lackluster for a card, i'd rather just use Into the Roil as a combat trick.

#29) Blighted Agent - Here we go finally a creature for blue, a 1/1 infecter that is unblockable for 2 mana very Plague Stinger boys but good limited material as a common goes in this set we were bound to see blue getting some form of Infect for this one here's the first sign of it really.

#30) Chained Throatseeker - We are finally getting into the expensive stuff for this set and at a whopping 6 mana for a blue card that has Infect and cannot attack unless defending player is poisoned, can you say limited fodder much even as a 5/5 it's not good due to it's secondary ability and that limits it a lot in my humble opinion, so draft fodder indeed, will we will see this 6 mana drop anytime soon not likely.

#31) Chancellor of the Spires - As typical as blue is for Mill, this is ridiculous this is basically saying, i reveal it you mill 7 first turn without playing a spell, it's a 7 drop rare that is a 5/7 and it allows you to cast instants or sorceries from a opponent's graveyard when it hits the battlefield, really and it has flying as well, give this infect and it's broken.

#32) Corrupted Resolve - Well we knew a poison counterspell was going to be coming eventually, this only works when someone is poisoned, not bad, not good for 2 mana though it is nice, limited maybe, anywhere else nah.

#33) Deceiver Exarch - So the exarch cycle continues with this one, it taps or untaps things when it hits the battlefield, it's a 1/4 for 3 mana, bright side it has flash so it can be a interrupt in a combat trick, that is a good sign for this card at least if it did not have flash it wouldn't be good to me.

#34) Defensive Stance - Lame mirran card is lame, it gives the creature a -1/+1 and it's a aura to boot so it has to target, one answer shroud, next!

#35) Gitaxian Probe - So this is the free spell for revealing a opponent's hand, for 1 phyrexian mana you basically get to see your opponent's hand, is this good, maybe i have to figure out the applications for this, but i know it may be a 1 or 2 of in control builds.

#36) Impaler Shrike - 4 drop 3/1 that when it deals combat damage you get a free 3 cards if you sacrifice it, hmm semi good but semi bad in a sense it's a body, that has only 1 toughness so it dies to bolt, it dies to anything in one shot, i don't know this seems like fodder to me.

#37) Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur - Finally the praetor for blue, wait a minute a mythic rare that costs 10, what, but wait hear me out, at your end step when this is on the field you get a refill hand and all opponent's handsizes are reduced by seven, as a 5/4 it's power toughness ratio is decent for blue, you could cheat this into play via Polymorph, this is a great mythic but it does have drawbacks, wow though.

#38) Mental Misstep - So apparently this is the new daze, that counters like Spell pierce, Any 1 drop spell basically gets countered by this as a uncommon, it has a phyrexian mana cost of 1, it basically says, turn 1 you don't get a thing, turn 2 you don't get a thing, it's a big go to hell for tezz decks ramp spells.

#39) Mindculling - Oh my goodness this card sounds fun, you get to draw 2 cards when this is played and force your opponent to discard 2 cards but drawback is it's mana cost of 6 converted yikes um good in a sense it's a divination mixed with a mind rot so it's CMC equals those two cards, not bad, not good really starting to get me down for this set.

#40) Numbing Dose - So a 5 drop enchantment aura that basically does a paralyzing grasp, but makes the opponent lose life every turn this is on the field, well as decent as that is it's family friendly limited material in my eyes and it basically says a 6 or 7 turn clock for them.

#41) Phyrexian Ingester - So a 7 drop imprint that basically gets pumped up when something is imprinted, but it has to be a creature that isn't a token, so you could imprint a avenger of zendikar and make it huge and it's a rare 3/3, hmm really weird but ok wizards i will go with it.

#42) Phyrexian Metamorph - So this is the release card eh, not bad for 3 and a blue mana or phyrexian blue mana you get a Clone variant for this set, pretty sweet and it combos well with anything basically making it a needed 3 or 4 of i feel, it basically enters the battlefield as a copy of any artifact or creature it's not limited to just a creature, so essentially if you had Blightsteel on the field, you'd be able to make this into another Blightsteel, very good clone variant wizards of the coast, very good indeed

#43) Psychic Barrier - Wait a minute what, it only counters creature spells but makes the opponent lose 1 life when it does, for 2 blue mana counterspell for creatures, really i did not think it was good but wow as a common as far as counters go, this is nice, since i am a blue mage and fond of this type of thing.

#44) Psychic Surgery - This name and most translated names are a rough rendition so bare with me here, names will changed for the better when more or better info is provided, though this card's effect is pretty decent. As a enchantment whenever a opponent shuffles his or her library you may look at the top 2 cards, you may exile 1 and continue the game by placing the remainder in any order i don't know why you wouldn't do this it's a great removal strategy and this block has provided some weird mill cards, which i like for some reason i do not know why but still a great card is great 2 mana to summon and it's a lasting effect, since most players shuffle their libraries what 7 or 8 times a game really good way to punish those kinds of players.

#45) Spined Thopter - Really a 2/1 flying that can basically be brought out on turn 2 by paying 2 and 2 life, really good but it's a jank common not really gonna see much play at all in anything besides limited.

#46) Spire Monitor - 5 mana nets you a flash, flying 3/3 what is this vanilla BS, next!

#47) Tezzeret's Gambit - Oh my god, for 3 and a phyrexian mana you get card draw, proliferate all in the same package as a uncommon wow much i love proliferate and card draw now, seriously this is sounding more fun by the second, good on you wizards i gotta commend you guys.

#48) Vapor Snag - So apparently bounce spells are the new hotness of this set, for 1 blue mana you basically bounce something that card's controller loses 1 life, really great interrupt personally

#49) Viral Drake - Wait a minute what, flying, infect and you can pay it's CMC to proliferate every turn and it's a 1/4 really that is so cool i'm glad proliferate is getting a huge spotlight now seriously this mechanic is fun to play now.

#50) Wing Splicer - Splicer no 4 i believe and wow much so for 4 mana you dump a 3/3 and get a 1/1 body as well, this guy gives all golems flying so you could build a 3 color splicer deck with these guys, i smell awesome things here.

#51) Xenograft - So let me get this straight for 5 mana you get to choose a creature type as a rare enchantment and all other creatures you control become that creature type plus retain their original, um yeah sounds like fun i can make em shapeshifters and give them all creature types, oh talk about a broken mechanic for the late game, espically for certain other cards, though it could be a bit cheaper it's a great rare but limited may only find it for use for this upcoming format.

Well that covers it for blue, next time it's Black's turn in the spotlight for New Phyrexia see you all next article, this is vergil signing off.

New Phyrexia Spoilers Part 1: White

Well it's about that time and with this set's name finally known and all that i can begin my official spoilers for the blog as per every 3 months, let's begin with standard procedure with White then Blue then Black, Then Red then Green, Multicolor, Artifacts and of course Lands and Basic Lands let's start with white as usual.

#2) Apostle's Blessing - Well first official colored card of the set and already it features a new mechanic, Phyrexian mana for one colorless and 1 phyrexian mana you get a pseudo protection spell for one creature, at instant speed and a uncommon, pretty damn nuts if you ask me to start this mechanic.

#3) Auriok Survivors - So first official creature of the set and already we have something that returns a equip from the graveyard, as a 4/6 6 drop it's very nice late game material, this and Bonehoard from MBS overpowered much, this makes shatter look like a total joke of a card now.

#4) Blade Splicer - You know for a rare it's pretty damn decent when you see cards like this in a set this size, as a 1/1 it brings out dudes and gives golems first strike, wait there is a entire set of these type of cards devoted to this, not bad, but the downside is this card costs 4 mana to summon so it won't be out early if you get my drift.

#5) Cathedral Membrane - As they said before it couldn't be done well wizards has proved us all wrong again, a wall that is a 0/3 when it hits the battlefield for 2 mana, for 2 mana wall of omens type mana, when it dies it deals 6 damage to everything on the field, so literally this makes a board sweeper outta us all, imagine two of these uncommons on the field at the same time, totally nuts, also this a phyrexian mana card so you only have to pay 1 really mana even better.

#6) Chancellor of the Annex - Oh god did NPH just get broken already, we have a 6 drop that basically is a titan machine, it counters the first spell played by opponents, when it hits the field it's second effect kicks in, causing all opponents to pay 1 or the spell gets countered, did i mention it is a 5/6 flyer, heh this my friends is only one of the 5 chancellors of this set, imagine what the others might be like.

#7) Dispatch - As a uncommon well this is pretty decent and it has metalcraft ok, let's explain this metalcraft, if you control 3 or more artifacts exile that creature, it's regular ability is to tap creatures for 1 mana, wait a minute, this is this block's Path to Exile without giving lands to anyone, oh my god this is so broken if you got 3 or more artifacts out, for 1 white mana and it's a uncommon too well i see Mirrodin is not giving up anytime soon.

#8) Due Respect - Well for a instant speed spell it's certainly good, anything that enters the battlefield during the turn this is played enters tapped, for 2 mana you can cast this, really solid white uncommon for this set, did i mention it replaces itself no well it does.

#9) Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - She's the 9th card in this set, oh dear god, she costss 5 of any mana, 2 white to summon as a 4/7 Mythic rare card, she has vigilance ok but that is not all, she has a ability which grants all your other creatures a +2/+2 bonus for the time she is on the field, did i mention she's a legendary creature no i am sure i did, also she provides a -2/-2 bonus for all opponent's creatures so weenies like White Knight are dead on contact while she is on the field, wow first legend of the set and already this is proving to be a awesome set.

#10) Exclusion Ritual - First real imprint card of the set and wow it is a doozy of a card, it basically stops all cards of the same name, multiples of these mean devestation for sure, for 6 mana it's balanced itself out and it is a uncommon, well goes to show this set has already impressed me with it's uncommons and rares thus far.

#11) Forced Worship - So for 2 mana you get another pseudo pacifism that makes the creature able to use it's activated abilites, mana abilites and is still able to block, ok, well it also has a return cost so it's able to be used again, really solid to lock down something huge in limited but that's it.

#12) Inquisitor Exarch - Well did white get a boost this set or what, for 2 white mana you get basically a 2/2 that gains you life or makes opponents lose life, it's a uncommon as well so it makes all the difference in the last few turns of a game, i am shocked wizards would print this oh well.

#13) Lost Leonin - Vanilla card is vanilla, a 2/1 infecter for 2, next!

#14) Loxdon Convert - Now this is a true vanilla 4/2 for 4, sorry next!

#15) Marrow Shards - A single phyrexian mana means this can be cast for free pretty much, it deals 1 damage to all attackers at instant speed so sweet combat trick to ruin most weenie's days, also did they really make this a uncommon dear god.

#16) Master Splicer - Ok so we've seen the first strike dude now onto the pump dude it gives all golems +1/+1 and produces golems when it hits the field, for 4 mana again and it's uncommon hmm i smell a cycle of cards for this set personally.

#17) Norn's Annex - Ok well it is time to explain the newest mana mechanic it seems now this mechanic either lets you pay for it via white mana or 2 life out of your total i am sure most will opt for the mana, this is a serious control spell too, it prevents most from attacking and such, unless you pay 1 phyrexian mana per attacker so in essence it's this set's ghostly prison i remember that card it was awesome back in Kamigawa and i loved using it in casual standpoints, i'm glad they printed something like this personally, it's a rare by the way.

#18) Phyrexian Unlife - Rough translation title means it's not official as of yet but we do know what the card does, for 3 mana it basically prevents you from losing the game, what you don't lose the game if you have 0 or less life which is impossible, but as long as the life total is 0 or less all attackers your opponents control have infect, way to put this mechanic to use on a enchantment wizards seriously this is a decent card, it also sounds like a blast to play as well, perhaps we will see a new white control variant appear outta the block.

#19) Porcelain Legionnaire - So for 2 and a phyrexian mana you get a 3/1 first striker as a common, so literally if you were to put this guy in perspective he is 2 mana for a 3/1 first striker really hmm i think it's time for me to figure out how this guy would go with a deck.

#20) Puresteel Paladin - This guy is just bonkers nuts, he may be a mirran but wow when metalcraft goes off on this dude, he's just bonkers when you have 3 or more artifacts with this guy around all equip costs are 0 mana, free equips what i gotta make sure my eyes do not deceive me here, oh yeah he's a 2/2 for double white and is a human knight hey this guy fits perfectly to white weenie control, let's see how the block turns out though first before speculation on this dude can begin.

#21) Remember the Fallen - So this is white's answer to rise from the grave except it returns artifacts and creatures to your hand for 3 mana, at sorcery speed so counterspells can happen and you wouldn't be able to do much against this at all. I am sure this is a decent card but i do not know if it is good for constructed.

#22) Sensor Splicer - So splicer no 3 costs 5 mana and it drops a single 3/3 onto the battlefield, giving all golems vigilance um yeah for 5 mana i'd rather cast Norn's Annex personally but at least this is a body to block with, good enough.

#23) Shattered Angel - Are you serious a uncommon that when land drops onto the field on your opponent's side you may gain 3 life. as a 3/3 for 5 mana though it's a little costly but it's worth it in the long run i feel as it's ability outweighs it's cost

#24) Shriek Raptor - Generic flying, infecter is generic for 5 mana next!

#25) Suture Priest - If someone were to come up to me and say smash together a soul warden and a Blood seeker what would you get this guy, as a 1/1 when it enters the battlefield whenever another creature enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life and it also checks it's second ability which makes a opponent lose 1 life, so literally it's a 2 for 1 card i love it, i love it alot i'm building a deck that needs this card for sure, i would like to see this played in Soul Sisters when it comes time for it's release did i mention it's a common no i am sure i did.

#26) War Report - Ok so the last white card of this set is a instant speed life gain spell for 4 mana, that also counts artifacts and creatures, this is a better Blunt the Assault in my opinion, whew nice way to end a color wizards.

So that's all she wrote for the White cards of the set, next is blue, see you next article.

New Phyrexia Release Promotion Card - Phyrexian Metamorph

So from this arcana here --->; Promo Card Arcana we get another piece of New Phyrexia in the form of it's release promotion card called Phyrexian Metamorph let's take a look at it shall we

#42) Phyrexian Metamorph 3mana, Phyrexian mana Blue
Artifact Creature - Shapeshifter (R)
(Phyrexian mana blue can be paid with blue mana or 2 life)
You may have Phyrexian Metamorph enter the battlfield as a copy of any artifact or creature on the battlefield, except it's still an artifact in addition to it's other types.
0/0

So this is basically a Clone variant for New Phyrexia except it targets artifacts and creatures as a whole, instead of just creatures so i think this is the next generation of Clone personally but who am i to tell let's take a look at the art for the promotion card

Not bad eh, the release is scheduled for May 13th, 2011 and this is the promo card you are gonna get for even entering a release event for New Phyrexia, i expect like it's prerelease cousin legendary Sheoldred to hit about 5 dollars to start with for preorders, though the variant is different then most copy creatures this is still one hell of a good card for new phyrexia, that's all for this article see you all next time.

New Phyrexia Mechanics

Well it would appear wizards has let the cat outta the bag once again and spoiler season is hotter then ever, but that is not why we are here, today's article will discuss the New Phyrexia Mechanics in New Phyrexia let's begin

Phyrexian Mana - You've all see this mechanic on quite a few of the spoiled cards thus far and well it's a broken mechanic, you can either pay it's colored equivalent or 2 life for each phyrexian mana symbol on the card, but most cards have only up to 2 so 4 life might be required to power it out if at all, some of the more notable cards spoiled thus far are Surgical Extraction and of course that's about it for phyrexian mana that is really worth it, overall i feel this mechanic will dominate the next few months and pretty much determine how the standard enviroment is gonna be played i think

Colored Artifacts - From the days of Shards block this mechanic returns with a passion, this block will have plenty of colored artifacts ranging from Blue to Red costing hell even black ones i hope. Basically this is the equivalent of a old school shards block with phyrexian tastes and stuff alongside it, that said this mechanic is a welcome return from the shards block days of 2 years ago, when shards block dominated the standard scene and has now moved onto the extended scene.

Golems - So this mechanic is focused around a cycle of cards that generate these guys but the effects do not trigger and generate the golems till those said creatures die in a blaze of glory, though they may end up being like super costly, this mechanic was similar to the titan forge card that was printed in MBS and is nice to see and all but if the cycle proves to be unworthwhile, then forget about it, moving on.

Living Weapon - This triumphant mechanic makes it's return to NPH or New Phyrexia and we've already seen one or two cards with this mechanic again, not really much to say about it except it's welcome back since this is a phyrexian based set.

Proliferate - Well it's back as well, not really much to say again except why make something utterly broken if it isn't, so this isn't and well look where it is now.

Infect and "Poisoned" - Well Infect is obviously back for a reason and the Poisoned mechanic from MBS is a welcome return as well, though this second mechanic was featured only on a few cards in MBS it's a welcome readdition to the overall flavour of the scars block. Infect as well is a really nice return to the final set of the scars block, as the original starting phyrexian mechanic it is a welcome change of pace from the typical metalcraft users from SOM and MBS

Metalcraft - Well this mechanic is back and it's not very apparent in this set at all, with only about 12 metalcraft cards total ever seeing some form of constructed play i think this was one of wizards's worst ideas yet, this mechanic may have been Mirran but i think we will see it used for Phyrexian purposes soon.

Well that covers all 8 mechanics of the New Phyrexia set, which is the 3rd and final set in the scars block which is scheduled to go on sale in the Middle of May, enjoy the mechanics and this is vergil signing off.

May 2011 Friday Night Magic Promo: Squadron Hawk

Yes may's FNM promo has leaked out today and it's a doozy of a promotion card, it's Squadron Hawk from the M11 core set which is also the feature card of Caw-Blade and Caw-Go this card is just stupidly fun to play and if you attend FNM on a weekly basis starting in may you'll get a shot to win this one, though the fact of the matter is, there are limited numbers of this made, so then again there won't be many issues for demand there, unless someone decides to sell these online somewhere but enough about that it's time to reveal the promo.

Yes brand new artwork for this one and believe me it's fun to play and all of that stuff, remember to win one of these you gotta place in the top 2 at your FNM or get it as a door prize or something of that nature, depending on your local game store. But this article is as short as it can be since all this is about is the FNM promo for next month as of this writing, so till next time magic fans, attach your swords to a hawk and swing for mass damage, this is vergil signing off.

New Phyrexia Prerelease Promo Card: Sheoldred, Whispering One

Yes you read the title correctly this is the article where i talk about the prerelease card known as Sheoldred, Whispering one which just got spoiled not even a hour ago, so it's fresh from the printing press as they say in the journalism industry. Time to reveal the big promotion card which has a date and everything so let's see what it is.

Yep some weird Alternate Art Promo card, it's kinda nice and all but let's see what she does.

Sheoldred, Whispering One 5 mana, Black, Black
Legendary Creature - Praetor (Mythic Rare)
Swampwalk
At the beginning of your upkeep, return target creature card from the graveyard to the battlefield
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player sacrifices a creature
6/6

So wait a minute here, she has swampwalk, is a legend and brings stuff back from the graveyard, wow this set has produced some legend bombs already for EDH and other singleton formats such as Cube, but i don't see this one being used at all, personally i was waiting to see if there was a better promo in store but i guess not however the prerelease is scheduled to take place on the 7th and 8th of may at select locations and it being about the middle of the month makes this promo card legitmate in my eyes at least, though i can say this is not one of the better promo cards, but hell it's a promo card so as a collector i am going to grab this when i go to a prerelease on the 7th.

Well that covers it for today, so without further ado enjoy the remaining spoilers and expect to see my spoilers at the end of April if they are revealed before then, but i doubt it. till next time this is vergil signing off.

New Phyrexia Tokens

So as per with any set, up to this point i'm sure you know wizards of the coast loves to make a arcana about tokens but vergil there was no arcana with tokens today, it was about mythic rares, wrong, you obviously didn't look in the full archive as the arcana can be found here ---> Tokens Arcana but in essence it's time to reveal this set's tokens shall we?

Here's something we already know about the beast token from that one green card already spoiled, it's a 3/3 token much like garruk's beasts and has the phyrexian look and feel to it since it's corrupted beyond madness, not bad, let's see some more for the set.

Goblins Eh, much like Scars of mirrodin with Kuldotha Rebirth, this set is gonna have a goblin generator as you can tell it's gonna be red, 1/1 goblins aren't all that bad but when it comes to it, goblins can be nasty little buggers to deal with, onto the next card.

So this is what a phyrexian golem looks like, 3/3 is it's stats and it's a artifact creature so Creeping Corrosion and Shatter can kill it basically, not bad, i assume it's a card that hasn't been spoiled yet, since we are only 24/175 in our spoiler season and most names are unconfirmed, onto the final token, yes there are only 4 tokens for this set.

Yep Myr tokens, phyrexian myr tokens at that, creepy much but i gotta say, this is turning out to be a cool art set, best in a while even better then Besieged was, it's stats are a 1/1 artifact creature so we've not seen the generator for this one yet, but how cool is this particular token really, anyhoo that's all for this article cause there isn't much else to talk about, so until next time stay frosty this is vergil signing off.

New Phyrexia Buy a Box Promotion Card

So with the 3rd set pretty much being a 90/10 ratio for phyrexians everywhere it's about time we got ourselves a phyrexian buy a box promotion card, now some might question this and all that but i sure as heck don't personally, this block we've seen a Knight for a buy a box promo that kicks some serious butt in standard, A black spell that does basically a Cranial Extraction and now we are seeing the return of another very good black spell in the form of Extirpate so with that being said, ladies and gentlemen presenting Surgical Extraction 

Surgical Extraction) It contains the new phyrexian mechanic of Paying 2 life or paying that color's mana cost so let's see, Choose target card in a graveyard other then a basic land. Search it's owner's graveyard, library and hand for any number of cards with the same name as that card and exile them. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

So personally i expect this to be 5 or 6 bucks off the bat, since Extirpate this days is going for a decent 12 dollars per copy of the card and well this is basically the new standard variant of the card with a new set mechanic which is pretty decent and all that. Also the artwork is kinda shoddy personally as a card art person well it could have been better but this is what their giving us, this card is also #74 of 175 of this set for collector's purposes and as such i'm sure there will be a few out there who wish to collect this puppy.

Now however since we've seen the buy a box promotion card which last set was spoiled late december/Early January of this year, so technically it's about the time they do this again, but that rounds the total for 2 black cards and 1 white cards for the entire block of promotion, yes i am keeping a running tally, that's all for now this time folks, this is vergil signing off

Commander Decks and New Information

So today's arcana wielded a very unique surprise the new commander decks which go on sale June 17th for 29,99 US have been officially unveiled and wow, they are five different tri color pie slots, let's see them for instance in this article

Do my eyes deceive me this first one has a Planar Chaos Dragon on the front of it, Oros, the Avenger he does fit this particular color pie of Red/Black/White which is the deck Heavenly Inferno, we also see 2 more creatures on the front which have parts of their names covered but i did recognize Oros though which stands for something at least, the next deck has a flavour i like personally

This deck is known as Mirror Mastery and has Intet, the Dreamer as it's dragon for the color pie, we also see a legendary Human wizard and some form of plant or ooze i cannot tell, though a good thing is each deck comes with 15 new commander cards made just for this format, which is nice you get a full 100 card deck for just about 35 bucks, not bad next on the list is the 3rd commander deck which is known as Counterpunch

Here we see the Black/white/green color pie filled with Teneb, the Harvester, Karador, Ghost Chieftain and Ghave, Guru of Spores which are the 3 legendary creatures on the front of these, this is the counterpunch deck and will feature cards that fill this particular color piece which i have no idea what wizards might have put in these, onto something more appealing deck number 4 known as Political Puppets

Political Puppets is the Red/White/Blue piece of the color pie and features Numot, the Devastator as it's legendary dragon, we also see a Minotaur Monk which it's name is covered and a mysterious third legendary which i am unable to identify but i am sure it's good personally, onto the final deck now which is known as Devour for Power

Devour for Power fills the Blue/Green/Black piece of the color pie and features Vorosh, the Hunter as it's legendary dragon from time spiral which is nice since wizards seems to love using them over and over and over again but that's ok i love seeing them reprinted personally since i am a big fan of dragon creatures in this game, we see a Ooze that is called The Mimeoplasm and another legendary creature we cannot make out weird but ok i'll go with it for this article and not be aware i probably missed it but it's got Deathtouch so it must be good.

Anyhoo that's this article since i don't have anything more to write about and all that, plus this was the biggest piece of magic news for a while, till spoiler season kicks in so till next time, remember EDH games can take a few hours make sure to have the time to play em, see ya later folks.

New Phyrexia Card Scans

So sometime last night someone round the world on MtgSalvation managed to get their hands on scans of 23 of the 175 cards in New Phyrexia, which we have found out is 90% Phyrexian and 10% Mirran thanks to this article found here ---> Article on Precentage i warn you though the cards are in either Chinese or Japanese and this is all official as well since this cards cannot be made up so without further ado let us begin.

Yes in the first batch is a new walker, Karn is back and well notice what his color is, colorless we've never had a colorless walker in anything before, also here is what i expect to see more Living Weapon, Lots more infect with bad boy creatures and spells to sling as well as a few other key things, a few of the cards though are Red infecters as it appears but i am not good at japanese or chinese or any other language worldwide i wish i was able to read these cards then i would tell you all exactly what they do but the first card besides Karn on the left is most defintely Sheoldred, Whispering One i can tell since all their rarites are visible for this, most are rares as well so we may end up having a lot of fun with this particular set.

I really do not have much else to say about this, however if anyone knows what these cards do and that i would be glad to hear it, so until next time this is vergil saying New Phyrexia may be born but the Mirrans do not die easily, just squash em like the bugs they are, see you all next article.

New Phyrexia Arts and Analysis

So it's that time again analysis and art showings for a new set and well it's time to begin with some interesting arts shown off in one of DailyMTG's articles now let's first show off art no 1.

The name of the creature depicted here is Phyrexian Metamorph, which is one of the upcoming cards in the new set, New Phyrexia, as you can clearly see he's surrounded by dark and dreary settings and has a lot of sharp points on his tentacles meaning he's really nasty, my guess is he is a infecter and has something along the lines of deathtouch based off the art, since he looks like a black creature but again i could be wrong.

Time for another art and this is one i think a lot of people will be surprised at take a look at this bad boy

This is Sheoldred, Whispering One she is apparently supposed to be in this set, surprisingly this means we are gonna have a legend heavy set, since the 5 praetors are confirmed pretty much and well we could see Karn in some form later on, she looks like a green creature to me and well if i am wrong so sue me, but there are 175 cards in this set so we could see her in some form later on, but if wizards wants us to know there are arts for this set, well it could very well happen. Next on the list is a weird art but it has some meaning to Mirran's in the form of a certain artifact creature

Does this remind anyone of anything yet, if not this is depicting Karn himself or a bust of him on some form of Altar, as Mirran's uphold him as their saviour and Phyrexians revere him as their god since the essence of Yawgmoth is in him since the time spiral block incident, this looks like it could be a artifact card probably a rare like Venser's Journal from the Scars of Mirrodin set or something along those lines, next is a strange piece that i'd like to see made into a card personally.

Now depicted in the picture above is a Phyrexian Female stabbing a lowly Mirran with what appears to be s symbol of their rule, probably a spell of some sort, will we see this kind of thing in New Phyrexia who knows but all i can say is this is one of those days were speculation is key since the release of this set is just over a month away at this point, but if it is a spell of some sort, perhaps it might have deathtouch or Infect or even possess some pump ability we will have to wait and see. There is one last piece of art i'd like to talk about here and it's a Mirran flavour card.

Now if this isn't a giant Myr i don't know what is, will we see this art used in the set i think so since usually when wizards gives us arts like this they are used in some form for their newer sets regardless of what they are, but i expect this to be some form of Myr artifact creature personally probably one of their mothers much like Dragon Broodmother is for dragon creatures alike, will we see this spawn tokens like the Broodmother who knows but all i can say is watch out the Mirran's aren't done yet with Phyrexia.

Well that's all for now and such, stay tuned in the next couple of days i am sure there will be more articles to write about and all that stuff, but for now Mirrans and Phyrexians alike stay tuned and keep a eye on the spoilers in the next week or so, this is vergil signing off.

"Action" is New Phyrexia

That's right kiddies it was anticpated that this third and final set of the scars of mirrodin block was going to be New Phyrexia and well it's turned out to be true thanks to the mothership announcement located here Arcana Announcement which was no surprise also revealed a new mythic rare wanna see it, do you wanna see it, hell yes you do.

Wow your probably thinking this is the card that was spoiled alongside this announcement let's take a look at this bad boy it costs 7 mana to summon, it's legendary status allows only one of this type of card to be present at all times, it has vigilance and gives other creatures you control +2/+2 for the rest of the game it is on the field but that is not all, it gives other creatures your opponents control -2/-2 so any weaklings die instantly to it's wrath, now that's all good but it's a 4/7 for 7 mana you get 3 abilites plus a 4/7 beatstick can anyone say wow this thing is broken immediately but look at it this way we got 4 more praetors to look at when they are revealed.

As per usual in about 2 days time i will begin my usual spoilers for here and that, so stay tuned for those i just wanted to give you guys something to look forward to, as usual with every set from now on, also does anyone remember the game day promos i spoiled well both are in this so Suture Priest and of course Pristine Talisman will have numbers and of course the same abilites as they were featured in the game day promos, 3 down 172 to go till next time this is vergil saying remember if you wake up and find a horse's head in your bed run, it's probably phyrexians wanting to kill you see ya next time.

Magic 2012 Speculation and Discussion

As per usual about 3 or 4 months before a new set is released it's time to discuss the potential of Magic 2012 and the recent rumours surrounding it, first off we have the fact that one of the two remaining Alpha cards, Giant Growth and Giant Spider will not be reprinted for this year's core set, in fact if i had to guess i'd say Giant Growth was going to get reprinted since it's a combat trick and everyone loves a combat trick in almost any format but i digress. Second is the rumour that a certain 1 drop red spell will not get reprinted according to MTGsalvation this card is of course Lightning Bolt the infamous 1 drop red spell that does 3 points of damage and now officially has become a 2 dollar card because it is so good in a format like this, due to the nature and severity of the rumour i cannot show it to you since there are quite a few arguements going on in that topic, they do that all the time over there but just check out the rumour mill for more information.

Let's take a look at last year's major red cards that managed to sneak their way out of the format known as Standard shall we, beginning with a top 5 list of what i believe was good in M11 for the color red.

5. Fling - I feel this card was a lot of fun to play, attack with a 6 power dude get 6 damage in, sac the dude to this and with fire servant was on the field it deals 12 damage instead, great combo card that literally makes good things happen.

4. Goblin Chieftain - What is there to say about a goblin lord, that provides both a pump and gives other goblins haste, this was the focus of a deck i feel is under played and under valued, though it's a small precentage it's still a decent card for most respects.

3. Inferno Titan - When the titan cycle arrived i thought to myself oh great here we go again, this one was no different along side it's Black/Blue and Green Cousins it proved to be a standard force as well as the white one, but this made a difference because it deals damage even when it enters the battlefield for 6 mana, as well as when it attacks, monstrous anyone?

2. Pyroclasm - This two drop made white weenie and Fae cry so badly turn 2 bitterblossom no problem, sit on a pyroclasm boom instant fae killer, turn 2 geopede no problem boom instant geopede killer it killed a lot of creatures and gave advantages to all whom used it, i wouldn't be surprised to see this for the next core set.

1. Lightning Bolt - As expected this card saw serious play for the 2 years it was in standard, i expect it to be in a lot of Boros builds along with some Red Deck Wins builds but overall it is a great turn 1 burn spell that literally is a finishing blow to most opponents, most end up scooping when they get hit with 3 or 4 copies of this bad boy spell.

Further speculation may end up revealing that we may see some new cycle of cards who's to say, but we do know 2 things 1) There will probably be 2 new walkers on the block taking Ajani and Lillana's Spot in the color block, 2) This set should be a doozy and provide some sort of fun for us all, till next time this is is vergil signing off.

DCI Announcement and Rules Changes: Effective as of April 1st, 2011

So everyone and their mother has heard the news up to this point there is a new rule change in the books and it is effectively only hitting 2 headed giant players, in regards to poison counters and how many a team can receive since each team effectively starts with 30 life in a game, this means they've upped the poison counters to 15 1 for every 2 points of life making this pretty balanced, the rule changes down below are going to be in quotation marks

Announcement Date: March 18, 2011
Effective Date: April 1, 2011
Magic Online Effective Date: TBD
Scars of Mirrodin Block Constructed, Standard, Extended, Legacy, Vintage
No changes
Two-Headed Giant Rules Change: Poison Counters
Effective April 1, the rules for poison counters in Two-Headed Giant games are changing. Players will no longer get poison counters individually. Rather, teams will get poison counters. In addition, a team loses the game when it has 15, not 10, poison counters. The Comprehensive Rules will be updated to reflect these changes.
Two-Headed Giant Poison Mini-FAQ
Q: Do these changes affect the way in which attackers are declared or combat damage is dealt in Two-Headed Giant?
A: No. Each team's creatures, including those with infect, attack the other team as a group. Combat damage is still dealt to each player individually, although the result of that damage (from a source with infect) is the player's team receiving an appropriate number of poison counters.
Q: If the opposing team has one or more poison counters and I proliferate, how may poison counters can I give them?
A: One. You choose the team as a whole to receive one more poison counter. This is a new exception to the normal proliferate procedure.
Q: If my team has one or more poison counters, will an opposing Septic Rats get its bonus?
A: Yes. Both players on a team are poisoned if that team has one or more poison counters.
Q: Do these changes affect any other formats or variants?
A: No. Two-Headed Giant is the only variant affected by this change.

Now this means if your playing a infect deck during this type of game you have to essentially deal 15 points of infect damage to successful win a game, should be easy right wrong, though if you attack both opponents with poison capable creatures then perhaps it is possible who can say, all i do know is the changes have reflected the way 2HG is played in both competitve and of course casual stand points.

Slivers and Infect being the only two archtypes being affected by this since silvers have Virulent Sliver and Infect has almost everything at it's disposal i am willing to say this news doesn't bode well, however the surprising thing is there was no unbanned or banned cards for this update, which shocked even me, since this was the only noteworthy change, i've decided to make this article as short as possible for a update, this is vergil signing off.

Duel Deck: Knights vs Dragons Decklists and Review

So i figured instead of doing a review on this i would go over the lists themselves and believe me they are somewhat dissapointing to be quite honest, only like 12 decent cards per deck and the rest is utter crap in my humble opinion so without further ado let's look at the lists for these decks.

Knights

Creatures (24)

1 Caravan Escort

2 Lionheart Maverick

2 Knight of Cliffhaven

1 Knight of Meadowgrain

1 Knight of the White Orchid

1 Leonin Skyhunter

1 Silver Knight (new art)

1 White Knight

1 Knotvine Paladin

1 Steward of Valeron

1 Benalish Lancer

1 Zhalfirin Commander

1 Knight Exemplar

1 Knight of the Reliquary (new art)

1 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers

1 Kabira Vindicator

1 Kinsbaile Cavalier

1 Alaborn Cavalier

1 Skyhunter Patrol

1 Plover Knights

1 Juniper Order Ranger

1 Paladin of Prahv

Other Spells (12)

1 Harm's Way

1 Reciprocate

1 Edge of Autumn

1 Mighty Leap

1 Reprisal

1 Test of Faith

1 Heroes' Reunion

1 Sigil Blessing

1 Loxodon Warhammer (new art)

1 Spidersilk Armor

1 Griffin Guide

1 Oblivion Ring

Lands (24)

2 Grasslands

1 Sejiri Steppe

2 Selesnya Sanctuary

1 Treetop Village

12 Plains

6 Forest

Dragons

Creatures (17)

1 Cinder Wall

1 Skirk Prospector

1 Bloodmark Mentor

1 Fire-Belly Changeling

2 Mudbutton Torchrunner

1 Dragonspeaker Shaman

2 Dragon Whelp

1 Henge Guardian

1 Voracious Dragon

1 Bogardan Rager

1 Mordant Dragon

1 Kilnmouth Dragon

1 Shivan Hellkite

1 Thunder Dragon

1 Bogardan Hellkite (new art)

Other Spells (19)

2 Armillary Sphere

1 Dragon's Claw

1 Breath of Darigaaz

2 Dragon Fodder

1 Punishing Fire (new art)

1 Spitting Earth

1 Captive Flame

1 Ghostfire

1 Seething Song (new art)

1 Seismic Strike

1 Claws of Valakut

1 Temporary Insanity

1 Shiv's Embrace

1 Cone of Flame

2 Fiery Fall

1 Jaws of Stone

Lands (24)

24 Mountain

Let's start with knights since it's the most dissapointing i've ever seen, i mean who cares for the new silver knight art. White Knight is good however it doesn't usually mean a deck such as this needs it, though as a uncommon it's pretty basic in my humble opinion. We have Levelers in this duel deck as well 2 Knight of Cliffhaven and a Kabira Vindicator not good i can see getting this for the Exemplar, Reliquary, Lancer and of course Paladin of Prahv since these four cards alone make knights worth it but only those four are the real good stuff oh and Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers as well since he has a seriously good cost and does things that are awesome.

Now let's talk a little bit about the spells of the Knights deck, Warhammer, O-Ring and Harm's way are quite the little package here as these three alone can save your ass when your in a fire, Blessing, Reunion and even Reprisal of all things are worthwhile even as a sweet combat trick but the dissapointment lies in the 0 mana costing Spidersilk Armor, i know it has reach and all but Spidersilk Armor is like the worst choice we all know just give me Nimbus wings instead and those nasty dragons won't stand a ghost of a chance, other then that the standard knights package of spells is present and accounted for, including Reciprocate, Test of Faith and even Griffin Guide, pretty decent spell package even if it is small.

Lands for the knights deck are pretty self explanatory, you've got the standard Grasslands, Sejiri steppe for protection, Selesnya Sanctuary for your dual mana needs, a Treetop village to make a 3/3 ape when you got the mana and basics to boot, overall rounding out the knights deck with some kick butt intution.

Dragons is a lot more dissapointing as i thought wizards precons and duel decks were getting better with Elspeth vs Tezzert and even the next walker filled one Ajani vs Nicol Bolas but i was wrong, creatures for the Dragons deck may include Cinder wall, hold up cinder wall yeah unless you got a soul's fire for that it's a worthless card and besides it blows up when it blocks, Skirk Prospector ok now you're pulling my strings wizards seriously there are few goblins in this deck, but i understand why dragons need a serious power boost and this is one of the reasons why dragons are so powerful, ok continuing on Bloodmark mentor and Fire-Belly Changeling, sure a firebreathing effect and first strike is nice when these two are in play but the firebreathing eats mana like crazy and besides what is better. Mudbutton Torchrunner that's for sure, this little dude is crazy stupidly good you all know what he should do right bout now and all that, your standard dragonian package is present here with Whelps, Voracious, Mordant, Kilnmouth and a Shivan Hellkite and Thunder Dragon along with the affore mentioned Bogardan Hellkite, pretty decent i must admit but i was also expecting a little more oomph for your buck but i will take what i can get these days.

The rest is a pretty standard Dragons pack, mountains for lands, a seething song with new art, Claws of Valakut, etc pretty overall impressive as it's time for the final score of this precon duel deck as i am forced to give this a rather dissapointing 6 out of 10, wizards could have done so much better with this, implenmenting a package of dragons which would have rocked and the fact Knights got the better of the two packages, makes me wonder if this is actually worth picking up, but at 19.99 i am sure it's gonna fly off the shelves as with all other wizards products, so that's it for me, this is vergil signing off

"Action" Update

So earlier this week we've got a look at the packaging for the 3rd and final set for the scars of mirrodin block, it will either be New Phyrexia or Mirrodin Pure, now what this means is the following wizards isn't telling us who wins the war till spoilers leak which should be roughly in april since the set is scheduled for a may release, 2) it means that wizards won't even tell us if those two game day promos will have that art or set symbol which means we could be seeing something a new set that's different for a change in the mirrodin block i cannot say because i do not directly work at wizards of the coast and probably never will but i do play the game and all that.

Onto the information, the packaging of the set is going to look a little something like the picture below.

On one of the boxes is Platinum Angel and the other is Phyrexian Plaguelord featured on the arts of the precon deck boxes as well as the booster box and fat pack, what does this mean we could be looking at a new Platinum Angel, or perhaps we could be seeing a certain plaguelord in the house with a new walker along side him maybe Karn anyone, hell if i know but this seems like it's a decent set thus far and is sure to excite and make all magic fans happy or so i would hope, now for those not paying attention, look closely on the Mirrodin Pure Precons you'll see 4 different precons a Black/Red, a Green/Blue, a White/Red and of course a Black/Blue precon so all five pieces of the color pie are represented with Red, Blue and Black being most dominant, does this prove Mirrodin loses the war, for those with photoshop could you perhaps figure out a way to make the photo from above because i am curious as to what the packaging looks like for booster packs for this set and am eager to see the whole set in detailed packaging, but again we don't know a thing yet as to who wins the war, so for this short article i give you all one little piece of advice, Don't count your chickens before they hatch, this is vergil signing off.

Innistrad Announcement, Information and Analysis

So monday we got the big reveal on "Shake" the newest starter block to be coming out this fall and let's go over some of the many details of the set first.

Cards in the Set: 264 [Yes you heard me a starter set that is more then 249 cards, a rare occurence.]
Design Team: Mark Rosewater (Lead), Richard Garfield, Jenna Helland, Graeme Hopkins, Tom LaPille
Development Team: Erik Lauer (lead),Mark L. Gottlieb, David Humpherys,Tom LaPille, Adam Lee, Kenneth Nagle
Release Date: September 30th, 2011
Prerelease Events: September 24th and 25th, 2011
Launch Parties: September 30th to October 3rd, 2011
Magic Online Release Date: October 17th, 2011
Magic Game Day: October 29th and 30th, 2011
Set 1 of 3 In the Innistrad Block


So now that the big reveal is outta the way, it's time to get down to business, innistrad was codenamed shake for a while and was part of the code name set "Shake" "Rattle" and "Roll" with roll being the 3rd and final set of the block, as expected, when this comes out, M11 will rotate out of standard along with Zendikar, Worldwake and Rise of the Eldrazi and will more then likely go on sale for about 120 dollars a box. This however is the first time a new set like this was revealed before the 3rd set of the current block which in this case is Scars of Mirrodin with either a New Phyrexia or a Pure Mirrodin being the outcome of the war, but that's for another day today it's innistrad's turn to get the treatment.

Below there are a few pictures of some stuff already revealed from the set, let's take a look see shall we?

The first one is the symbol of the set which looks sort of like a 3 headed hydra of some sorts, meaning one of two things this set will have dark and gothic undertones while featuring a overall feel of magic the gathering, since mythical creatures like hydras have been more apparent in recent sets with the 6 cards, Apocalypse Hydra a mythic rare from Conflux, Feral Hydra from Shards of Alara, Khalni Hydra from Rise of the Eldrazi, Phyrexian Hydra from the latest set Mirrodin Besieged, Progenitus from Conflux again and finally Protean Hydra from the latest core set M11, what's the one thing these bad boys have in common they all carry green mana symbols in their costs so could we be looking at a new green hydra soon, time will tell. Or could we see a brand new element to the game we've not seen before, as always we will have to wait and see.

The second picture is of a woman sitting on a throne with a dead corpse behind her and a few other things i am unable to make out behind in the background however i do believe it to be some sort of zombie as far as my eyes can tell, but moving onto the foreground of the second picture, this woman looks a lot like a certain black planeswalker Lillana Vess from the core set of course but since her recent Axing from the set she's left without a place to go or is she, could this very well be the story of how she became a walker and could we see a new Vess walker card at the end of it all like we saw the return of a certain dragon from past sets, here's looking at you Nicol Bolas you crafty dragon walker you.

Anyhoo that's bout all she wrote this time round since of course i have a lot more to examine, future sets to find and all that neat stuff as a magic player, till next time i'll be seeing you round the multiverse see ya.