Magic 2012 Update Part 11: Intro Pack Rares, Reprints Ahoy Volume 3

Hello all and welcome back to another edition of the emporium with me as your host, today is a decent day for Magic 2012 since we got a few big cards, not going to bother talking about the stuff i missed till this friday, which here is canada day, so let's get started with the big news courtesy of Star City Games's Patrick Chapin

Seriously Sad robot, this is what he was leading us up to, goddamn man aka Solemn Simulacrum a 2/2 with the ability when it enters the battlefield, search for a basic land, put it onto the battlefield tapped and shuffle, when it dies, draw a card seriously this is the best reprint yet of M12 i'm happy to see this back in standard for a year and would love to see a deck round this somehow someone will do it, i guarantee, anyways, intro pack rares ahoy starting with a sphinx named Sphinx of Uthuun

Yep a 5/6 with a fact or fiction esque ability that costs 7 mana, has flying and is a beatstick on steroids, this rivals such things as Sphinx of Jwar Isle, Sphinx of Magosi and of course Sharding Sphinx in terms of sphinx power levels and such, it's a decent rare i'll give it that and gives off a ability no one would have seen for a while, but this is going to probably be a 2 dollar rare like all intro pack rares, sorry to say, anyways from one bomb to another, let's check out Rune-Scarred Demon

Now if this isn't a good intro pack i don't know what is, 6/6 with flying, has a Diabolic Tutor effect when it hits the battlefield costs 7 mana but it's well worth it, you a get a tutor with a body, well it kinda makes sense we got a windfall effect on a body in the form of Jace's Archivist, this kinda makes sense to do this, this basically means Diabolic Tutor looks like it's outta the core set, we may see it in Innistrad under a new name, anyways, last newbie of the day is a Golem let's take a look see at Crumbling Colossus

So a 7/4 with trample that when it attacks you gotta sacrifice it at the end of combat, costs 5 mana and is a uncommon, well i'll be damned personally, this is decent for a uncommon card in this set, we're sure to see a few more of these since there is still room for the obvious new stuff, we may end up seeing this in the Golem deck which started back in New Phyrexia but other then that i got nothing else to figure out with this card, anyways anyone wanna take a guess at what's next

If you guess the 5 core set duals from last year you're right folks, these bad boys are back in town and badder then ever, dual lands that basically make the meat of the land base besides the basics of course from this set, you've got the basic 5 dual slots covered and such, i was kinda expecting this anyways that is all the time i have today to talk about M12, till next time which is gonna be Friday where i will cover both tommorow's updates and Friday's updates in a double article, till next time magic fans, remember to keep those lands untapped during your opponent's turn and such, this is vergil signing off

Magic 2012 Spoilers Part X-2: No this isn't a video game title

Hello all and welcome back to part 2 of today's spoilers since today was kind of a large update let's start right away with the usual stuff in terms of spoilers, first off is a new Illusion dude that resembles a Clone but this is a hell of a lot better personally as it helps speed Illusions to the necessary level of a tribe, in the form of Phantasmal Image

So a dude that is a clone but better it's still a illusion and has the ability when it becomes a target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it, not bad, since Lord of the Unreal is the glue this card needs to hold itself together, even if it targets a lord of the unreal it gives all your other dudes a +1/+1 boost and itself gets a boost from the original lord of the unreal, which is all that awesome personally, this makes Illusions a tribe personally and i'd love to see a list derived from Illusions themselves one day after the release of this core set, anyways enough about this one, let's move onto a new instant speed spell called Visions of Beyond

Wow, mill has it's card draw finally, a 1 blue drop instant that nets a card, but if a graveyard has 20 or more cards, you get 3 cards instead, seriously this is a nasty blue rare, it's a rare wait what, it's power level designates itself as a rare, personally i think wizards is pushing mill now as a variant since Caw-Blade is dead, first Jace and now this this is maddening personally anyways if mill becomes a variant i may pick it up again, well anyways onto the final card of the new update, let's take a look at a new land called Buried Ruin which seems to replace Terramorphic Expanse as the land of choice for the core set this year.

As expected from this set, a card that deals with artifacts since the last block was artifact based, this is a perfect addition to it and can be returned with abilites, it allows returns of artifacts to come back from the graveyard and adds 1 to your mana pool, the only downside is you gotta sacrifice it to use it's second ability but that is all not bad personally, i would think someone had some interest in following up scars block with a card like this, this is useful for a tempered steel build or something i don't know since Tectonic Edge rotates out in 3 months, so this could be a replacement for it, who knows, anyways that's all for today's 2 parter update since well i didn't wish to make a long article but two decently sized ones, till next time magic fans this is vergil signing off.

Magic 2012 Update Part X: How to Properly Introduce New Cards

Hello all and welcome back to the 10th edition of a magic 2012 update on the emporium try saying that three times fast why don't you, anyways today's edition of the update sees a lot of brand new cards, some decent reprints and well a lot to say in one article so let's begin with a catch up on yesterday first off, with the return of a Slayer, no not a baneslayer angel a Worldslayer yes the very same worldslayer printed back in the day is returning in M12 with a brand new place in a core set, since it's olden days in Mirrodin, not scars of mirrodin but the original mirrodin which equipments first began in.

Yep it's the same 5 drop equipment that costs 5 to equip and blows up all other permanents except this, give this to a Puresteel Paladin equipped with a Darksteel Plate and watch your opponent's cry all over the place, expect to see this rare at the release and prerelease which is only a couple of weeks away, anyways, today's offerings have a new flavor to them, what is it you may ask well it's a deal with the devil in the form of new enchantments starting with the newest white enchantment to hit the block Personal Sanctuary

Well i'll be damned a 3 CC enchantment that negates all damage done to you during your turn, as a rare in this set no less, i'd never expect this kind of thing to be printed, note it only says you not creatures you control, there is the downside since there is no perfect enchantment, let's see this is perfect for a white weenie soldier build, probably gonna be played in a U/W list with some stuff from NPH, MBS and of course SOM, but other then that i don't see it doing much other then that, let's move onto a bit of new busted hotness as Will Smith would say in the form of Mind Unbound

Wow that is sick, you basically can draw a ton of cards with this card, EDH lovers are going nuts now in blue since this is a perfect way to replenish your hand, the only way to get rid of it is to blow it up or exile it, other then that wow, it's CMC is perfect for EDH too the 6 range is what most bombs in EDH are these days, doubt it will see play beyond Limited and maybe a proliferate/ramp build in standard/constructed but that's it, i know something for a fact M12 is looking up after yesterday's utter crapfest well almost all crap except for the green dude, with that in mind let's look at a new dude in the form of Aegis Angel

Well, a flying 5/5 that does what no other angel beyond it has done so far, make another permanent indestrucible, for 6 mana though it's a bit costly as a Sun Titan is a better choice for this to enchant since it's ETB effect can target the titan making a infinte number of 3 CMC dudes return from the grave when it attacks or enters the battlefield, it's also a intro pack rare and can be found in one of the 5 intro packs of this set, expect to see this around a dollar to 2 dollars roughly since it's a intro pack rare, with that in mind we'll continue on in the form of an artifact in the form of Druidic Satchel

Yep, something that has a lot of effects, well for a 3 cmc artifact as a rare it seems decent but it's effect is kinda costly, creatures reward as 1/1 saprolings, lands can be put onto the battlefield for 2 mana extra and noncreature/nonland cards gain 2 life when it's reveal, no drawbacks really so this means i can reveal a Grave Titan, put a 1/1 onto the board, next turn drop titan and 2 2/2's do this all over again next turn and that till i will, well this shows me that EDH loves this card, standard maybe wanna throw a deck together around this effect or something, i don't know but the basics of the idea are simple, make dudes/play extra lands/gain life like crazy, with no drawbacks pretty sweet, i'll continue this in part 2 later today since my wrists are getting sore, so till next time this is vergil signing off

M12 Update Part 9: New Cards = Good times to be had

Hello all and welcome back to the next edition of the emporium update, with me as per usual, today we saw 4 new cards in total, with the titan cycle being confirmed to return, let's get started on the new cards first with Primordial Hydra a new green mythic rare creature

Seriously it's that bonkers, combined with a Doubling Season effect as soon as this thing reaches 10 +1/+1 counters on it boom it has trample, costs X mana and 2 green mana, is a mythic rare so i guess we know what fills the slot this year in terms of mythics for green, the new garruk, this and primeval titan, the effect triggers at the beginning of your upkeep and is a nasty effect to boot, expect this to see maybe limited or some ramp play in standard due to it's casting cost, next a star city games preview in the form of a red sorcery known as Scrambleverse

Yikes a unplayable 8 mana sorcery in any stand point besides of course EDH, so it has for each nonland permanent, choose a player at random, then each player gains control of each permanent for which he/she was chosen. Untap those permanents, this is a rare for a 8 mana sorcery, seriously are they trying to make the core set suck on purpose these days, i don't much like this card personally and expect to see this as a jank rare soon enough, enough bout that let's take a look at a new black creature in the form of Vengeful Pharaoh

5 drop for a deathtouch/reanimator dude that blows up things in the graveyard as a 5/4, sweet so let's see whenever combat damage is dealt to you or a walker, if it is in the graveyard, destroy target attacking creature, put this card back on top of your library, yeah with Innistrad coming up this is going to be a nasty, nasty card for sure in a reanimation deck, but enough about this let's take a look at the final new preview of the day in the form of a shapeshifter known as Skinshifter

Are you freaking kidding me 2 mana for a shapeshifter that can become anything it wants, and starts as a 1/1, can become a 4/4 rhino with trample, a 2/2 bird with flying or a 0/8 plant are you freaking kidding me, aggresive/defensive dudes are nasty stupidly fun in any format, this is no exception to the rule, goddamn if i was to pick up four of these on release day i'd know exactly what to do with em, put em in a mono green build that rocks face that's for sure, i've never been more excited for a green card in my life then this guy personally i'd love to see him in a decent price range on release day so i can easily get my hands on this dude, well that's it for now, check it out next time as i'm sure M12 is going to get a lot more interesting, since mythic slots are filling up fast in this set, so this is vergil signing off.

Magic 2012 Update Part 8: Big Reprints and New Walkers Vol 2

Hello all and welcome back to another Magic 2012 Core set update at the emporium, since it's friday this is a perfect way to end the week since my last attempt at this update was cut short due to technical problems with photo uploads, onto the stuff for this particular update. New walkers and old reprints are the name of the game here, let's start with today's addition to a core set in the form of a new walker called Jace, Memory Adept 

Let's take a look at his abilites first off +1, draw a card, target player mills a card from his or her library, a draw and mill effect at the same time, you're kidding me right well this is now all Jace has now let's take a look at the second 0 - Target player puts the top ten cards of his or her library into his/her graveyard are you freaking kidding me, Glimpse the Unthinkable on a walker tell me this isn't so, is that not the best thing ever, though i don't play Mill anymore i'd certainly like to get my hands on this beast of a walker, his final ability is -7 Any number of target players draw 20 cards, it's like saying here draw a 3rd of your deck bro, it's all good, did i mention it's a 5 cmc walker that has 4 loyalty, i'm sure someone out there will find a way to break this one, more then likely, but enough about walkers, have you seen the reprints of M12 yet, let's start with my least favorite titan Primeval Titan

Yes that same monster of a beatstick is back in standard for another year, a 6/6 monster that helps valakut win so much faster is back and bad as per usual, this will fill green's 1st mythic slot, hopefully along with a new garruk as i anticipated for sure, but i digress a 6/6 trampler with the ability to fetch lands when it enters the battlefield or attacks is just plain sick, this pretty much confirms the titan cycle is back and bold in the format once again, since we've already seen Inferno Titan the monster whom powers the bolt side of the Valakut builds, let's take a look see at one of my favorite new additions in a reprint ever in the form of a burn spell Incinerate

Oh yes this is back in standard yes, a 3 damage spell for 2, negates regeneration and the whole nine yards, the last time we saw this burn spell was back when with Tenth Edition and this is a great reprint in my eyes, since red did kinda get the shaft last year it's showing red's dominance once again in a standard enviroment, expect the price of Incinerate to go to at least 2 dollars, well that's it for this update ladies and gentlemen, be sure to stay tuned next time for the usual M12 update now that commander has been out for a full week i'll be taking a look at the deck i got called Heavenly Inferno in a article on the weekend, till next time though magic fans we're tapping out for now, but we will have a untap step soon, this is vergil signing off

Arcana Announcement: Premium Deck Series: Graveborn

Yes hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to another day at the emporium with me as your commander in chief, today's big thing after the waves of expectancy from yesterday's huge banning announcement is the fact wizards is putting out a new Premium Deck Series to go alongside such things as their successful Fire and Lightning and the Slivers released a while back this time they are adding a graveyard themed deck with the deck series of Graveborn which is a 5 color based graveyard theme deck made entirely in foil, let's see the few things that go alongside this deck shall we?

Now if that's not some creepy artwork based around a recursion theme in the form of a graveyard based deck then i don't know what is, but what i do know is this, this seems to fit with the next block which we know the name of the first set to be Innistrad which is a take on a gothic theme or so we are told, but the thing is this is the first deck to be based around a block theme as none of the previous runs had a block theme behind it, making me wonder if anything is going on here, for the full announcement for this look here -----> Premium Deck Announcement

Here's the basics of the deck we know for sure so far, the MSRP is set at 34.99 US and will arrive in stores on November 18th, 2011 which is about a month and a half after Innistrad hits store shelves, not bad it will also have it's own spindown life counter, a foil deck box and have the usual strategy and learn to play inserts in it as well, meaning this series may end up continuing with wizards Premium deck series wise, well that's it for today, stay tuned for tommorow we may end up seeing a big piece of news in the form of M12 i got this good feeling.

Ban List Update: June 20th, 2011

And the menace of Caw-Blade is dead ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of the Emporium with me as your host, today we got perhaps the biggest news of the month, Jace the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic got banned in standard, yes Banned so this means as of July 1st, 2011 these cards are no longer legal in any standard event, which means hooray the king is dead and buried at last, for those looking for the Ban announcement i will post it at the end of the article but here's a little excerpt from said announcement.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor is banned.

Stoneforge Mystic is banned.

Exception: The deck list for the "War of Attrition" Event Deck will be legal in Standard if kept completely intact. That deck, which went on sale on June 10, contains two copies of Stoneforge Mystic.

Bannings effective as of July 1st on Paper, June 29th on MTGO

That means the War of Attrition Deck with the two copies of Stoneforge mystic is allowed however it must remain the entire list, it cannot be altered in any way, if it is the two copies of Mystic must be removed from the deck itself, due to this announcement though JTMS has started to drop in price he tanked from a clear 80 to a now present 60 as reported here by starcitygames Jace the Mind Sculptor price which means the following in the next month he'll tank again to 40 due to his retardness in this format, let's face it folks i don't like Caw-Blade ever since Brian Kibler introduced it last year at worlds, it just didn't please me at all, let's face it we had 1 sword at the time this deck was created, a bunch of crap equipment and with Mirrodin Besieged we got us the efficent Sword of Feast and Famine which pretty much rocks the decklist as it's prime target before New Phyrexia came out.

After New Phyrexia though we got 2 more targets for the Mystic in the form of Sword of War and Peace and Batterskull in which Batterskull became prime target no 1 in the deck for Mystic to cheat into play, maybe alongside Argentum Armor from SOM but that's a different story, now that the Caw-Blade menace is dead we can perhaps move into a more intense and more fun deck building standard again, because let's face it no one wanted to drop 400 dollars for a set of Jace, the Mind Sculptor ever who played a FNM or some stuff like that, for the completion explanation as to why these cards were banned check here which is the Banned List Explanation ---> Explanation 


Perhaps though this means the format can be once again a fun standard format, with perhaps stuff like Valakut decks, Vampires, Mono Black control, all that neat stuff may rise when the banned list takes effect as of the end of this month basically, i for 1 am happy this was to take place today, we knew something had to get banned just i was expecting it to be these 2 stupid ass worldwake cards which have no right to exist, dammit you let the cards slip through development wizards nice and let standard break for the 2nd time this decade with the first being Affinity which had to get broken up due to it's power level.

Anyhoo that's about it for this one, the tank is half empty now due to the banning and means standard will no longer have to fear the menace of Caw-Blade or Dark-Blade ever again in it's last 3 months before the rotation, sleep well magic players, sleep well knowing it is gone forever, here's the announcement as i promised too ---> B&R List Announcement which details the entire thing, till next time magic fans, stay frosty and remember metagames can be fun again without a stagnant deck to ruin it, this is vergil signing off.

Magic 2012 Update Part 7: Walkers, Name changes and More

So in the past 2 or 3 days since i've posted a article there has been massive speculation abroad on the fact there may be new walkers coming to a core set near you, however if you've been following this thread found here -> Planeswalker Thread then you would know already what i am talking about, however let me fill you in on the stuff if you've missed it as of this point. Speculation is new walkers are coming with a 3rd Jace, 3rd Chandra and a 2nd Garruk according to some text on a japanese version of the Magic 2012 commercial which was broadcast not too long ago as of this writing maybe a good 48 hours or so, who knows anymore, aside from this speculation according to this picture means we are gonna have a brand new set of walkers for the core set, thus includes a reprint of Gideon Jura and Sorin Markov whom have been confirmed as of this point in time, the picture and speculation can be found in the thread i posted earlier.

Onto more exciting news do you remember that Black Japanese card i spoiled a little while ago it got a name change in the form of Monomania maybe someone who knows japanese screwed up who is to say, i cannot certainly tell, all i know is the person who did the translation for the card is a little off and it's ok since this is spoiler season after all. Another piece of news dropped in the form of a good few reprints as of late, if you remember Cultivate and Teetering Peaks from past sets, well this may be the year both are printed in the core set together, according to this source right here --> Reprint Source

If you picked up the commander decks yesterday and got a full set good for you since they sold out at my LGS as of 12 pm eastern standard time, meaning the next shipment you're gonna have to wait for which is about 3 months, or you could go to your local Wal-Mart and major shopping retailer named Target in the United States or a local game store of your choice for canadians, expect a full on review of the deck i got in the coming days, perhaps even sooner provided i can find the time to write it up, till next time folks, this is vergil signing off.

Friday Night Magic Promotion Card: July 2011

Yes it's that time again we got our newest promo card of the year and it follows a certain announcement with a rare wizard that is appearing in M12, let's take a look the original of this card though before we begin.

Yes it is Jace's Ingenuity which was a planeswalker spell from Magic 2011, it was perhaps the most underused of the 3 walker cards in the last core set and such has seen little play aside from drafts, now for those curious let's take a look at it's promo card for the next month's Friday Night Magic events.

Alternate art or not it is cool, because for 1) thing they got rid of the nasty FNM watermark in the text box making it that much of a better promotion card, 2) it's artwork is just beautiful and i think it represents the spell perfectly, 3) This is the 2011 promotion card for Magic's Friday Night magics around the world starting in July of this year, so what that means is the following. These promotion cards are given out as prizes for winning a friday night magic, either to the 1st or 2nd place person depending if the 1st place person didn't sweep the night with a 4-0 victory over his/her opponents, the other 2 at my local game store are given out as random door prizes to particpants at the end of the night, along with whatever cards they got from the event, i do not know how it works at other game stores so please do tell me in the comments below, note this is the first promotion card that cannot be sold if a game store has extra copies of this card so don't go looking for it in a local game store because of the new wizards policies on promotion cards for Friday Night Magic. Instead any other copies leftover are given out as door prizes during the event, that's what should happen i hope all the game stores observe this policy i sincerely hope so, well that's all for now, till next time magic fans, this is vergil signing off.

Magic 2012 Update Part 6: Rarities are so much fun, As are reserved effects

Hello all and welcome back to perhaps the most exciting Magic 2012 update in a long while, i've got a special treat for most of you legacy players, ever wonder what Windfall was like on a body, now we get to experience this with a new blue rare sorta translated at the moment as Jace's Archivist the name may be changed in the future but let's take a look at the card itself.

Oh and if you wondering what it does let me tell you, you pay 1 blue mana, tap it and it does the following "Each player discards his/her hand, then draws cards equal to the greatest number of cards a player discarded this way." did i mention it's a 2/2 rare that does this almost at will, just untapping and retapping his effect means a nasty Blue/Black control build is on it's way out the door soon enough with this guy for me at least, this card was even featured at the last pro tour stop which was Pro Tour Nagoya, it ended up giving out this and the other card called Obstinacy which is a pretty rough translation, for the other one at least but this as i said is also a rough translation, but it's a Vedalken Wizard as far as i can tell as well, so wizards printed a limited effect on a body, are you asking for your set to be broken huh wizards, i guess so.

Let's take a look back at another 2 cards cause i've not previewed them yet, the photo is courtesy of Jay Boosh on twitter, take a look at Swiftfoot Boots and Manalith.

Now that's some sick beats right there, Hexproof and haste on the boots with a casting cost of 2 and a equip cost of 1, as a uncommon busted right there, the other artifact is a mana generator that taps to add one mana of any color to your mana pool, it slots perfectly into any build unlike Birds of Paradise, which is green generating the same amount of mana, but with a higher casting cost to do so which is 3 mana to summon this, decent but the rarity is left to be questioned as of this point since the boots cover up the rarity for this particular card, well that's all she wrote for this update in question, stay tuned next time as i take a look at more M12 stuff coming down the general pipeline, see you all next time.

Commander Ban List Update: Effective June 17th, 2011

So yeah earlier today on the Commander forums it was announced a specific dragon was getting unbanned, let's take a look at the announcement made by the admins there at the forum.

EFFECTIVE 17 Jun 2011 (Early, to coincide with Launch Parties)
BANNED
No Changes
UNBANNED
Worldgorger Dragon
We don't unban cards lightly, but it's time for Worldgorger Dragon to get out of the penalty box. It is no longer a particularly strong example of unwelcome, format-warping, combo-play style, but simply another infinite-combo piece. Those applications are narrow enough that it should not cause problems for social players, and the type of player who wants to play this kind of infinite combo isn't going to play a more fun deck because Worldgorger Dragon is available. Thus, since it's a goal to keep the list as short as possible and focused on more fun-oriented games, we believe it can come off the list.
We'd also like to take the chance to thank the folks on the various forums for their continued input and commentary to and support for the Rules Committee. The broader community has many voices, and we do our best to hear them all.

Seriously are they kidding in this one, Worldgorger Dragon is unbanned in Commander what the hell man seriously, this is getting insane, wait this change occurs as the commander decks come out, for those who don't know what Worldgorger does check this out.

Yeah so it's a 7/7 beast of a dragon that combos well with Animate Dead to produce a seriously nasty combo which can produce a near infinte amount of mana a turn to cast a Comet Storm for 40 per player, kicked 5 times as long as you got stuff like Mox Diamond, Mox Emerald and hell even Mox Ruby which happen to be pieces of power 9 what is power 9 i'll explain later, check out this article to see how the combo works and interactions required for said combination of cards Worldgorger Combo well that pretty much sums up this update, dear god help us all when this combos off now, thanks boys at EDH forums, you just screwed us all again, this is vergil signing off.

Magic 2012 Update Part 5: Lords and lots of fun to be had

Hello everyone and welcome back to another M12 update, this update has a few things to speak off, a new lord, some returning friends and hell even some basis for a core set, finally we get the good stuff, so let's take a look first at the newest lord on the block Lord of the Unseen

Are you kidding me, this guy makes illusions untargetable, is a 2/2 and gives them +1/+1 at the rare level, note the D12 symbol but since Magic 2012 and duels 2012 are tied together this was confirmed to be so, not bad for a Human wizard personally that costs a mere 2 blue mana to summon, this and the recently spoiled stuff of Phantasmal Dragon and that bear seems like Illusions may be a new tribe, we will have to wait and see, anyhoo onto some reprints, remember the core set is always gonna be about 50% reprints roughly here are a few of the said reprints of this set the first one being Day of Judgment. I do not need to show a picture of this since we've seen this twice before once in Zendikar and once in M11 which turned out to be the new sweeper spell for white, replacing a old favorite Wrath of God which saw it's last print in M10. The other old favorite returning happens to be another lord in the form of Elvish Archdruid yes elves have their lord again for this set and it's not really a surprise to be quite honest it's more expected since i think core sets give wizards a chance to reprint old favorites, who knows with elves and that we are seeing a tribal theme with this particular set, Vampires for black, Red has Goblins, Blue with illusions, White has griffins and green of course has elves, not bad for a core set.

Lastly there was a card that surfaced recently from Pro Tour Nagoya which is a black rare called Obstinacy which may or may not be it's true name but still here's the photo of the card in question

Yes it's in japanese and i have the translation for you all, it's a sorcery that costs 5 mana to use and states choose target player, that player chooses one card in his/her hand and discards the rest, you're kidding me right this kind of spell hasn't been printed since Shadowmoor with Tyrannize and now wizards are gonna start printing these type of spells again, dear god help us all, well that's it for today's M12 update, stay tuned tommorow for more M12 news and such, remember in 4 days commander drops onto store shelves are you ready for it, this is vergil signing off.

Commander Final Update: Final Overview and Thoughts

With all 51 new commander cards officially out and about as of this point it's time to give the final thoughts of this new variant with the top 5 list and the worst list, let's start with the worst first, hey i rhymed.

Worst of the Set


#5) The Vow Cycle - With this set being a brand new format endorsed by wizards, even though it's a fan created format, there are bound to be some sucky cards, the cycle of cards or the Vow cards in this set are perhaps the 5th worst of the entire set, not the worst but could be better, it's basically a pacfisim and a pump spell that allows the creature to block, nothing more.

#4) Soul Snare - You know this was a pretty wasted opportunity for a good version of either Swords to Plowshares or even a new variant of Oblivion Ring but wizards wasted yet another opportunity to print a decent card for white in this set in the form of a enchantment that doesn't provide a pump effect, really poor choice in this one wizards

#3) Spell Crumple - A lame version of Cancel that doesn't actually counter a thing just sends it to the library instead even though you get this on the bottom of your library there's not really much chance of using this again unless it was used outside of Commander, bad counterspell is bad.

#2) Scavenging Ooze - I've seen a better ooze in the form of Miltoic Slime or even Acidic Slime for mono green and this one is just lame, it's ability requires to work off the graveyard and exiles things, it may be good in a single deck but not all green decks want this dude in it.

#1) Acorn Catapult - Really a catapult in commander, when there are much better ones out there Catapult Master and even Dwarven Catapult is a much better choice then this thing, it's a lame token generator, not on my commander decks next.

The Best of the Best


It was really hard coming up with the top 5 best cards of commander from the 51 new ones, they are all equally as good of a card in my eyes and should all be on this list but again the top 5 gotta picked, here's the top 5 of the list.

#5) Command Tower - A mini Reflecting Pool is awesome and it's a staple of every commander deck regardless, just too much fun to be honest and with the inclusion of a few other commander staples this is sure to be in every EDH deck from this point forward due to it's awesomeness.

#4) Sewer Nemesis - I was kind of keen to see this one and it's a decent powerhouse in it's color slot, 4 mana for a house of pain that gets bigger and bigger with every card a chosen opponent plays and sends to the graveyard, a real pain in the butt to deal with and could easily spike to 20/20 when it's summoned, due to the amount of cards in a EDH deck best black card of the format.

#3) Avatar of Slaughter - Seriously a 8/8 that gives double strike busted with conjuction from a general, seriously worth every minute this dude is on the field, he may cost 8 mana but it's a decent price for him, think Kaalia of the Vast, this dude plus a mass pump spell, that's game right there seriously fun for a Avatar.

#2) Kaalia of the Vast - A general that costs only 4 mana, please, a general that brings out Demons, Dragons and Angels when it attacks oh hell yes, a general that has flying, evasion is a must have, did i mention she brings the dudes in tapped and attacking oh hell yes, 2nd best card of the new format i expect a deck around this lady in the near future make it so, oh wait there is already one it's called Heavenly Inferno

#1) Animar, Soul of Elements - This guy makes Horde of Notions look like utter crap now, a 3 drop tri color general that gets bigger and bigger and bigger, reduces casting cost and starts as a 1/1, plus it has pro black and white dude best general ever, i'm building a deck around him soon yes!

Well that concludes the commander updates for good, since EDH is not my forte and such i won't talk about it unless it comes out again in the near future, doubt it though, 15 new generals to play with and a whole slew of cards made just for this format, did i mention the decks drop in 4 days as of this posting, so if you haven't preordered one do it now, they are selling like hotcakes, this is vergil signing off.

Magic 2012 Update Part 4: How the hell did i miss this

So a lot happened over the past few days, a massive info dump of cards, which i won't bother talking bout here, they will be in usual spoilers, but i will show off as many of the pictures as i can behold the awesomeness of M12 commons and uncommons.

Yes that's a lot of cards, but i won't bother talking much about them instead i'll point out one card this update and discuss it Shock which is going to be replacing Lightning Bolt, Shock costs 1 red mana, deals 2 damage to target creature or player at instant speed, is a common, the rest of these we have seen or some crap like that, short update is short because i need to get more of the M12 spoilers written up for here, till next time this is vergil signing off.

Commander Update Part 7: If only dreams weren't made a reality

Who comes up with this stuff oh yeah me hello all and welcome back to another edition of the commander update, i'm vergil and let's get down to business as per usual with today's update consisting of 4 cards shall we?

Kaalia of the Vast is the first one i get to speak of today a 2/2 that's a mythic, has flying and whenever she attacks you get to put a Angel, Demon or Dragon creature card onto the battlefield tapped and attacking that opponent, do i smell shenigans with this card or what, Akroma, Angel of Wrath or even perhaps a Malefgor since Malefgor is considered both a demon and a dragon, so either can apply with this one, she's a  4 cmc general too and can be found in the Heavenly Inferno deck me thinks this is gonna be a general of choice, onto a creature only known as Dread Cacodemon

Wow this thing is a beast, a 8/8 that wraths all creatures on your opponent's side if cast from your hand, taps your dudes, costs 10 mana and is a demon wait this combos well with Kaalia geez wizards way to give me new ideas here i thought this type of stuff wasn't happening anymore, well i guess it's time to break Heavenly Inferno quite nicely, but enough bout this one crazy enchantments are the name of the game in the form of Martyr's Bond

Ok now this thing is nuts, 6 mana for a rare enchantment that basically states when a nonland permanent dies, your opponent has to sacrifice a permanent that shares a card type with it, what this sounds fun and complicated at the same time, so if i was to lose a Malefgor and this was on the field i would force my opponent to sacrifice both a demon and a dragon cool i like it a lot, this sounds like a perfectly enchantment for Commander and is perhaps one of my top 10 new cards of this wizards endorsed format, onto the final card of the day in the form of Syphon Flesh and yes i know i missed one or 2 cards so far, but nothing to worry bout i will tend to them next update.

So the more players with this cast the better, so for 4 mana each other player sacrifices a creature, you get a 2/2 black zombie creature token onto the battlefield for each creature sacrificed this way, say what dude this card is a perfect multiplayer card period, i mean 6 players and basically says gimme 5 free 2/2's and i swing at you next turn for 10, seriously this is turning out to be so much fun, well that's all she wrote for this update my wrist is getting tired and that because i've been doing spoilers all day, this is vergil signing off.

Commander Update Part 6: Now the good stuff cometh

Yes it's time for another commander update, bringing 6 cards to the table this time wait what 6 more, yes a new general, some new creatures, spells the works, let's get down to business with Damia, Sage of Stone

I don't bloody believe it this is a boss of a general, Deathtouch, skipping your draw step but it reloads your hand to 7 if you have less then 7, never worrying bout card draw again when she is on the field, did i mention she has deathtouch, oh yeah i did also a 4/4 is balanced but the mana cost is iffy that's the only thing i don't like, Gin-Jitxias, Core Augur costs 10 mana to summon but is mono blue, this is a green/blue/black variant with a mixture of the three basic color abilites, since we've seen deathtouch in Green and Black before and drawing cards is mostly a blue ability IE: Mind Spring, Divination, Ponder, the works but this case it's a decent ability and all and is sure to be a focus deck for EDH since most of the time this gives access to ramp, in both black and green, card draw and all that stuff, anyhoo onto some creatures, let's take a look see at Avatar of Slaughter.

Heavenly Inferno gets this beast of a card and wow, a 8/8 for 8 mana and it gives double strike and forces you to attack each turn, dude this thing is nuts EDH sure loves bombs and this is no exception to that rule i mean we have here a perfect balance of CMC, Power and Toughness with a ability that is mostly red, sometimes in white IE: Mirran Crusader, which is pretty recent for sets anyways but this is good i mean really good for a creature, sure sweeper spells are a dime a dozen in this format but you never know anymore with this kind of stuff, enough about this guy though let's take a look at a Hydra in the form of  Hydra Omnivore.

Oh crap looks like a Progenitus EDH deck is mostly possible now, this thing is a beast 8/8 for 6 mana, whenever it deals combat damage, it deals that much damage to all other opponents are you kidding me, grafting this and a Progenitus onto Mimeoplasm is good game right there, this guy is a beast of a card, your looking at 2 turns with this, it basically means game over, wow just wow wizards printed something like this for Commander really really this is good green has a reason to be feared again it seems, spells time onto a Vow known as Vow of Flight yay, note the sarcasm.

They seriously weren't kidding when they made this cycle of cards were they, 2 and a blue nets a aura that locks down a creature, gives it flying and a +2/+2 pump really, i'm not super excited about this particular card or the cycle of cards in any way shape or form, but i guess we are gonna end up seeing some crap in the commander decks one per color in each yay, moving onto another creature in the form of a elemental named Magmatic Force.

Well you can tell which deck this is going in, Mirror Mastery or perhaps Heavenly Inferno or both who knows with wizards these days but onto the card a 7/7 for 8 mana ok, i'm convinced it's a decent card but wait there is more, At the beginning of your upkeep Magmatic Force deals 3 damage to target creature or player, say what!. Free lightning bolts for everyone this is my new favorite red card it combines a personal favorite onto a body of a creature that is not Inferno Titan, which is sweet personally, i am a fan of cards that do a 2 for 1 effect and this is no joke seriously good for a card of this caliber, nice thinking wizards, last card of the day is a Enchantment, not a aura a physical field affecting enchantment named Stranglehold.

I knew it, wizards of the coast printed something like this to stop Lighthouse Chronologist and stuff like Emraukl, the Aeons Torn as well as Time Warp you sly dogs you, you sly dogs. This is a 4 CMC enchantment which prevents searching effects like Demonic Tutor, Mystical Tutor, hell even Diabolic Tutor which are like dominant in this format, for perhaps the only reason to prevent them from running amuck in a singleton format like this but still it's a lot of fun to see a card like this, it even prevents extra turns too, wow much this is a powerhouse of a enchantment and is perhaps the best enchantment of the set, excluding the auras. Well that's all for today's EDH update stay tuned for tommorow's will may have something nice in store perhaps the 3rd general of Mirror Mastery who knows, this is vergil signing off