Thursday, September 27, 2012

Magic the Gathering News: Vol 21: RTR, Judge's Promos and Much, Much More

Hello everyone and it's that time again, time for another monthly wrap up here at the emporium, september in the books of course, in which i celebrated my birthday as of last sunday the 23rd, so it's a bit of a joyous occasion here, but with september always brings us a new fall set, another Pro Tour and of course so much more, so without further ado let's dive right into september's news.


Return to Ravnica's pro tour is coming up, so judges are going to be happy to hear this news, Karakas and Noble Hierach are the promotional cards this time around for judges who attend this event, so apparently back in may there was a rumor floating around that judges in the future were going to be getting the foil Karakas which is pretty good, but to have a old bordered Noble Hierach is kind of nice and wizards is thinking about the old school players this time around, which is always nice, speaking of promos.


Next month's Friday Night Magic promo is floating around the inter webs, in which October is going to be giving us a foil Evolving Wilds, not the best of choice of the FNM promos this year, but with the recent reprint in Avacyn Restored, it's nice to finally have a foil one, i guess EDH players will really appreciate this in some form.

So earlier this month we got the Banned and Restricted List announcements for both Commander and the regular formats, but there was something i never talked about in the previous article, which is the new changes made to the rules in favor of some old ones. For you competitve players out there who read this on a monthly basis, there are a few changes being made in terms of "Triggers" and the like for Competitve events.

1. You now need to announce ALL your triggers, regardless of whether they are minor or not, since the past there was a subclass of triggers that had what was known as "No Visual Effect" or minor triggers like on cards such as Goldnight Commander or Kruin Striker

2. You CANNOT forget your triggers, your opponent isn't required to remind you either, if someone misses a trigger and you want it to happen, call a judge provided it's still within the turn, if not the trigger won't occur and it will be a "Missed Trigger"

3. You MUST be present at a event to receive Planeswalker Poiuts, so no more friends signing up for you and you not showing up, from October 1st on you will no longer be able to do that.

4. Video Replays are maybe going to be used for Investigations NOT rulings so no more of these incidents like in the past, aka the Berton Cheaty incident and the like.

5. All updates are going to take place as of the MONDAY after a prerelease, no more erratic dates, all rule changes will be in effect as of the release of a new set.

Whoa, that's a lot of rule changes, considering the amount of stuff needed to be covered for REL type events, this is going to change a lot of player's and how they play the game i bet, but i doubt it, but onto more important stuff, like the awesome events going on in the month of september. In terms of competitive events in the month of september we had quite a few, starting of course with the last of the Magic 2013 events, grant prix Moscow which Luca Casadei dominated the field to take home the crown of GP Moscow champ and Japanese player extreme Shuuei Nakamura took home his 4th GP title in Costa Rica in perhaps the final M13 draft event of the season in terms of physical play. Congrats go to both of them for taking home the crowns of both these events.

Also the players championship happened at the last weekend of the month and Yuuya Watanabe took home the player of the year trophy and 40 grand for his troubles in this star studded event, beating out guys like Jon Finkel and Luis Scott Vargas to take home the player of the year title this year, good job man.

And for those looking forward to the intro packs for RTR well look no further as of this past tuesday wizards went and spoiled the lists for them, so the link will be down below.

Return to Ravnica Intro Packs

With that though it's time to sign off for this month, until next month this is vergil saying enjoy your release of Return to Ravnica and join me next month for more awesome magic news.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Return to Ravnica Prerelease Primer

Hello everyone and welcome to yet another prerelease primer for another set, this particular primer will cover of course the up and coming set of Return to Ravnica, the 274 card beast set featuring the Golgari, Izzet, Selesyna, Azorius and of course Rakdos guilds, all with returning new cards and new flavor for the set, so without further ado let's go over the basics.

This set this time around you can preregister for your guild, since guild slots are limited and there are 5 to choose from, those who have done it already have assured their guild slots, but for those who haven't can only take those slots which remain of course. Each guild has a special prerelease promotion card available for signing up, in which i've talked about here ---> Prerelease Promotion Cards which each guild member will receive the following prerelease card.

Azorius - Archon of the Triumvirate
Rakdos - Carnival Hellsteed
Selesyna - Grove of the Guardian 
Izzet - Hypersonic Dragon
Golgari -  Corpsejack Menace

But that isn't all players will receive for signing up for this particular prerelease, the contents of signing up for the prerelease are the following

1 Guild Letter
1 Spindown Life Counter
1 Achievement Card
1 Guild Sticker

Well that's not bad honestly for signing up for these events, but here's how the prerelease normally works for those who aren't too familar with them.

The format for the prerelease is usually Sealed Deck Booster draft, you are given 5 packs this time around along with the special Guild Pack for signing up, which of course contains your prerelease promotion card for whatever guild you signed up for, see the list above for the names of each and such. Out of these 6 packs you have to make a 40 card deck, which is bare minimum for the event, you can make a second deck and set it aside of course as a alternate deck of choice, provided of course you get the appropriate stuff for it, but every round is best 2 out of 3 matches, so to win a round you must win 2 matches. This time around however is special, since you get to play with your prerelease promotion card, again see the list and article for what they do, but for the first time since you do get to play with your promo card, you may include it in the deck you build.

As a side note make sure there is a judge present at the event, provided rulings need to be determined, as this is a official wizards event, so if there are no judges available for prerelease, DON'T ask for rulings from the store owner and make sure the store owner has a judge's certificate, otherwise don't ask for rulings from them, make sure they do so don't be afraid to ask them, remember also to have fun at these events, since they are meant to also introduce newer players to the game, also make sure to have fun yourself at the events, so enjoy your prerelease and as of next friday, the 5th of october RTR officially goes on sale, so until next set this is vergil signing off.


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 9: Lands

Welcome to the final part of the spoilers for the set, it's all about the lands in this set, so without further ado let's see what return to ravnica has in store for us this time.

#237) Azorius Guildgate - One of the 5 gates for the set, it taps for white and blue, plus it allows specific cards in the set to use their abilites, being one of the more useful lands in a while.

#238) Blood Crypt - Oh yeah, i'm glad this is back when it enters the battlefield, you can take 2 damage and have it untapped or have it enter tapped, it taps for either red or black and counts as both a mountain and a swamp, one of the premier lands of the set.

#239) Golgari Guildgate - Second guild gate for the set, it taps for green and black, like it's previous one i talked about, a nice color combo if you ask me.

#240) Grove of the Guardian - Green White prerelease card of choice for the set, it is one of the 5 promos being handed out along with the guild choice, so if you chose selesyna this is the card your getting, it taps for green or white, you pay 3, Green and White and sacrifice it while tapping it you get a 8/8 elemental with vigilance instead, but you also gotta tap 2 creatures to make it a token.

#241) Hallowed Fountain - Shock #2 of the set, taps for white, blue, nice to have this back.

#242) Izzet Guildgate - Gate #3 of the set, taps for red, blue, a very good color combo.

#243) Overgrown Tomb - Shock #3 of the set, taps for green, black, counts as a swamp and a forest, so land seeker cards like Farseek love this card.

#244) Rakdos Guildgate - Gate #4 of the set, taps for red and black a decent color combo.\

#245) Rogue's Passage - Taps for 1 colorless in this set, plus you pay 4 and tap it to make a target creature you control unblockable for the duration of the turn, not a bad uncommon land in the colorless slot.

#246) Selesnya Guildgate - Final guild gate of the set, taps for green/white which should have no problems with mana as of now.

#247) Steam Vents - Mountain and Island shock and shock #4 of the set, taps for red and blue like it did back in the old days, not a bad way to restart ravnica.

#248) Temple Garden - Final shock land of the set, taps for green and white, overall a great cycle of lands to see come back into standard again.

#249) Transguild Promenade - New Rupture Spire of the game, it enters tapped, plus you gotta pay 1 or else it goes to the bin when it hits the battlefield, a nice color fixer in the common slot.

And that is it for RTR, 249 cards of excellent this set and it's been quite a unique run, since the rest is basic lands this set, hope you enjoyed my spoilers this time around.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 8: Artifacts

Welcome to part 8 of the spoilers this time around, it's all about the artifacts of the set of return to ravnica so without further ado let's see what we got for this set.

#225) Azorius Keyrune - So this is a new mana rock for sure, produces either white or blue for 3 mana, you also can pay white and blue to transform it into a 2/2 blue/white flying creature that's still a artifact though, a nice way to start this particular portion of the spoilers.

#226) Chromatic Lantern - Honestly one of the better mana fixers so far in this set, a 3 mana drop artifact that makes all lands you control tap for any color of your choice, plus it has it's own tap ability to add 1 of any color to your mana pool.

#227) Civic Saber - 1 mana equip that grants the equipped creature +1/+0 for each of it's colors, so 5 colors gets the benefit the most of this, it costs 1 to equip as well and it's a pretty decent card, in limited

#228) Codex Shredder - 1 mana for a artifact that mills the top card of a target player's library when it taps, plus you can pay 5 mana and return a thing from the graveyard to your hand, only big thing is you gotta sacrifice it for this to be used.

#229) Golgari Keyrune - Keyrune #2 for the set, it taps for Black or Green and it animates itself into a 2/2 insect with deathtouch in the process for green and black

#230) Izzet Keyrune - #3 of the cycle, tapping for blue/red and it animates itself into a 2/1 elemental that whenever it deals damage, do a Merfolk Looter which isn't half bad for it's colors.

#231) Pithing Needle - Well this is back simply due to the fact i guess Trinket Mage is rotating, this is one of the Mage's favorite targets and it's got brand new fricking art at that, showing that wizards does card about reprinting specific things for Modern and Standard.

#232) Rakdos Keyrune - #4 of the set, it taps for red or black and it animates itself into a 3/1 black and red devil artifact, no special abilites unlike it's Izzet counterpart, but it's a decent body still and it's a mana rock.

#233) Selesnya Keyrune - Final keyrune of the cycle, taps for white or green and it animates itself into either a 3/3 green/white wolf till end of turn all for green and white as well, not bad for the final keyrune.

#234) Street Sweeper - 6 mana for a artifact creature that is a construct, it has a 4/6 ratio in the power toughness department and whenever it attacks, destroy all auras attached to target land of your choice, which isn't half bad for a 4/6 body.

#235) Tablet of the Guilds - Remember the 5 artifacts, the eye, horn etc, well this is those slapped into this, but you name 2 colors as this resolves and enters the battlefield, any time you cast a spell of either of those colors, you gain 1 life for each of the chosen colors, a very interesting uncommon.

#236) Volatile Rig - 4 mana for a 4/4 that has trample and has to attack each turn, but when it is dealt damage you get to flip a coin, if you lose the flip you have to sacrifice it, but you flip another coin when it dies, if you lose that flip it deals 4 damage to each creature and player, not a bad sweeper if you ask me.

Well that's it for artifacts this time around, stay tuned for the non basic lands this time around in the next edition.

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 7: Hybrid

Welcome to part 7, where it's the return of a favorite, Hybrid mana cost cards, magic's favorite type of cards, so without further ado let's see what this set has.

#210) Azor's Elocutors - 5 mana for a hybrid, blue/white spell that is a enchantment, it allows you to put a fillibuster counter on it during your upkeep and if you control this with 5 or more counters on your next upkeep you win, whenever though a source deals damage to you though you have to remove a counter.

#211) Blistercoil Weird - So a 1/1 for red/blue that gets +1/+1 until end of turn each time you cast a instant or sorcery spell, plus you get to untap it as well.

#212) Cryptborn Horror - 1, Black/Red, Black/Red for a trample that is a 0/0 when it enters the battlefield, but it gets +1/+1 counters equal to the life lost by opponents when it enters the battlefield, so lost life gives it a boost in terms of it's P/T rating.

#213) Deathrite Shaman - For a black/green mana you get a 1/2 with three abilites, tap it to exile a target land from a graveyard, you get 1 mana of any color in your mana pool, pay black and tap it, exile a instant or sorcery, each opponent loses 2 life in that process, pay green and tap it to exile a creature and you gain 2 life, not bad for a rare.

#214) Dryad Militant - 2/1 for a mere white/green mana cost at the uncommon level, now we are talking here, this is perhaps one of the best hybrid cards printed in recent memory, well it's a return to hybrid so it's pretty good since it hoses flashback with it's ability.

#215) Frostburn Weird - A combination of red/blue, red/blue nets you a 1/4 that you can pay either red or blue to give it +1/-1 until end of turn.

#216) Golgari Longlegs - 5 mana for a 3/4 that has no static ability, not a decent card unless it had trample or something, not a good card, but a good beatstick in limited.

#217) Growing Ranks - 4 mana enchantment that costs 2, Green/White, Green/White and allows you to populate on your upkeep, which is pretty damn sweet in green/white honestly this is one of those interesting cards if i do say so.

#218) Judge's Familiar - Did someone ask for a flying Cursecatcher that has the same ability, but is limited to instants or sorceries, well it seems we got it here, i'm ecstatic for this set so far, since it only is a uncommon that costs White/Blue

#219) Nivmagus Elemental - 1 mana combination of red/blue for a 1/2 that you can exile spells off the stack to grant it 2 +1/+1 counters as well as it being a rare, this is one of those great rares in this set.

#220) Rakdos Cackler - A combination of Red/Black mana for a 1/1 with unleash which is the rakdos mechanic for the set, so it enters as a 2/2 for 1 of either color, not a bad uncommon if you ask me.

#221) Rakdos Shred-Freak - 2 drop 2/1's with haste, now we are talking, a red/black, red/black casting cost with a 2/1 body with haste, this is perhaps one of the faster ones out of the gate and both Mono Black and Mono Red can run this thing without difficulty.

#222) Slitherhead - Did someone call for another 1 drop hybrid card, well Slitherhead is here to impress for Black/Green you get a 1/1 with a scavenge cost of 0 mana, yes you heard me correct 0 mana and he is only a uncommon, expect him to be one of the better cards to get for this set.

#223) Sundering Growth - For a combination of Green/White, Green/White you get to blow up an artifact or enchantment and populate which is the Green/White selesyna's mechanic for the set, not bad for a 2 mana spell in the set to be quite honest.

#224) Vassal Soul - 1, White/Blue, White/Blue for a 2/2 with flying to close out this color is kind of nice personally, even if it is a common for the set, it's pretty damn nice for limited since it only costs a combination of either white/blue two times over, plus a colorless.

Well that's it for the hybrid color for this set, join me tommorow for Artifacts of course, till then this is vergil signing off.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 6: Multicolor

Hello and welcome to part 6 of the return to ravnica spoilers, in this edition it's all about the Multicolor cards and lands we will be seeing this set, as usual let's get straight down to business

#141) Abrupt Decay - Holy uncounterable spells, for Black and Green you get a uncounterable spell that hits permanents with 3 CMC or less, plus it's a rare, so expect to see this as one of the premier kill spells of the set.

#142) Archon of the Triumvirate - For 5, Blue, White this has to be good right, well sort of, since it has the mechanic Detain which is the Azorius guild mechanic for the set, but it affects 2 permanents of your choice when it attacks, but that 4/5 flier body it has is pretty damn durable.

#143) Armada Wurm - Ok, so we know this bad boy is a 5/5 that churns out a 5/5 when it enters the battlefield, plus did i mention it has trample, making it a nice mythic rare for the set.

#144) Auger Spree - If i was to say there was a new way to kill things, would you believe me this spell for 1, Black and a red grants +4/-4 until end of turn, so anything with 4 or less toughness will die to this spell of choice or it can be used as a pump spell, not bad wizards.

#145) Azorius Charm - Seriously, charms are back in magic, who'd have thunk it, for White and Blue you get a charm that grants either all creatures you control lifelink until end of turn, or you get to draw a card, or you get to put target attacking or blocking creature on top of it's owner's library very nice.

#146) Call of the Conclave - For green and white you get a sorcery that makes a 3/3 centaur, not bad if i do say so myself, this is also a very nice uncommon.

#147) Carnival Hellsteed - 6 drop with the mechanic Unleash which is the Rakdos mechanic this time around, it enters as a big 6/5 with unleash, but has First strike and Haste which make this a much better and bigger rare bomb.

#148) Centaur Healer - Sure for 1, green and white you get a 3/3 that when it enters the battlefield you gain 3 life in the process, a nice way to balance the green/white flavor here, tough body with a decent ETB effect.

#149) Chemister's Trick - Red and blue instant speed that has a alternate overload cost of 3, Blue and a red, it grants a target creature you don't control -2/-0 until end of turn and forces it to attack or grants all that effect if you pay the overload cost, interesting.

#150) Collective Blessing - 6 mana for a enchantment that grants creatures you control +3/+3 and is a rare, very nice EDH playable bomb.

#151) Common Bond - Sure for 1, green and a white you get to put 2 +1/+1 counters on a target creature at instant speed, a very nice end of turn effect.

#152) Corpsejack Menace - Seriously half a doubling season on this for 4 mana is nuts, it grants double the +1/+1 counters on anything, even enter the battlefield effects, seriously for 4 mana, that's insane.

#153) Counterflux - A counter spell that cannot be countered, interesting, costs blue, blue, red to cast, it counters a target spell you don't control, plus it has overload for 1, blue, blue, red.

#154) Coursers's Accord - 6 mana to make a 3/3 centaur and populate at sorcery speed, one of the worse cards with this mechanic if you ask me.

#155) Detention Sphere - Multi Oblivion Ring anyone for a select set of permanents, very nice, very nice

#156) Dramatic Rescue - Blue and a white for a instant speed bounce spell that gains you 2 life, not bad for combat tricks.

#157) Dreadbore - Terminate is back for both walkers and creatures at sorcery speed, same mana cost as the classic instant speed spell, plus it has some shenigans abound.

#158) Dreg Mangler - So for 3 mana, you get a 3/3 with haste, as well as the Scavenge ability which is the golgari mechanic, but the scavenge mechanic is a whopping 5 mana cost for a uncommon such as this which i think would balance this out.

#159) Epic Experiment - X, Blue, Red for a spell that allows you play instants and sorceries where X is the cost paid for them, holy cow batman, whoa Genesis Wave's brother spell at mythic rarity

#160) Essence Backlash - 2, Blue, Red for a counter target creature spell and it deals damage equal to that creature's power to a player

#161) Fall of the Gavel - 5 mana instant that gains 5 life and counters a spell, nice bomb counter here.

#162) Firemind's Foresight - 5, blue, red for a spell that lets you search for a spell for 3 then 2, then 1 cmc, very nice way to tutor in this set.

#163) Goblin Electromancer - Red and a Blue for a 2/2 that makes instants and sorceries you cast 1 less to play, meaning those good spells just got better unless they were already 1 mana to play, plus this is a common talk about power level.

#164) Golgari Charm - For black, green you get a instant that either does -/1-1 to all creatures, destroy target enchantment or regenerate each creature you control all at uncommon rarity.

#165) Grisly Salvage - Talk about a nice spell, for Black and Green you get to basically use a mini Mayael the Anima type effect in standard but without paying the mana cost for the ability and put the creature into your hand and the rest in the graveyard, interesting.

#166) Havoc Festival - 6 mana enchantments are honestly not what i hoped for these days, even with stuff like Omniscience present in the current meta, but this is nice since it hoses life gain as well as dealing damage equal to the player's life total rounded up, only problem is it hits you as well.

#167) Hellhole Flailer - 1, Black and red for a 3/2 with the rakdos mechanic of unleash, plus it can be sacrificed for 2, black and red to deal damage equal to it's power to target player, a very nice limited card.

#168) Heroes Reunion - Did someone call for a reprint here, Green/White to gain 7 life in this format is nice, considering the type of thing it does at instant speed, seriously a nice reprint.

#169) Hussar Patrol - 2/4 with flash and vigilance, for 2, white, blue, nice but not as high on the list for limited.

#170) Hypersonic Dragon - 4/4 flying, hasty dragons are nice, considering this makes sorceries playable at instant speed, plus did i mention it's a dragon to boot, rare though it may be and it may cost 5 mana to play, but a serious threat when you think about it.

#171) Isperia, Supreme Judge - Holy crap this thing is a bomb waiting to happen for 2, White, White, Blue, Blue you get a 6/4 flier that whenever a creature attacks you or a planeswalker you control you get to draw a card, son and this is mythic expect this to be played somehow.

#172) Izzet Charm - Talk about your excellent spells batman, for a mere Blue and Red at instant speed you get the option of 1 of the following, counter target non creature spell unless the controller pays 2 mana, it deals 2 damage to target creature or draw 2 cards then discard 2 cards, talk about a 3 for 1 here, excellent.

#173) Izzet Staticaster - 1, blue, red for a 0/3 with flash and haste and it deals 1 damage each time you tap it to target creature and it hits all creatures with the same name, wow very nice for limited.

#174) Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - Whoa, is this guy impressive or what for Black, Black, Green, Green you get a 2/2 that has the following 3 abilites, he gets +1/+1 for each creature in your graveyard, you pay 1, Black, Green to sacrifice another creature, each opponent loses life equal to the sacrificed creature's power, plus he has you sacrifice a forest and a swamp, you can return Jarad from the grave to your hand, holy batman nuts or what, seriously and this guy is mythic, expect him to dominate EDH and standard for the next while.

#175) Jarad's Orders - 2, black and a green for a tutor spell that tutors for two creatures, one goes into the graveyard and the other goes into your hand, did i mention it's a rare.

#176) Korozda Guildmage - Did someone call for guild mages to return, for Black, Green you get a 2/2 body that has 2 sweet abilites, Pay 1, Black and green to give a target creature +1/+1 and intimidate till end of turn. Pay 2, Black, Green and you sacrifice a non token creature put X 1/1 green saprolings onto the battlefield where X is the sacrificed creature's toughness, this and Tree of Redemption will mean instant army folks.

#177) Lotleth Troll - Holy crap, this thing is a beast, for Black and Green you get a 2/1 trampler that has discard a creature card, put a +1/+1 counter on this bad boy,  plus you can pay Black to regenerate him, as well as him being a rare, this thing is beast.

#178) Loxodon Smiter - Another one of those uncounterable spells in this set, for 1, Green, White you get a 4/4 body that is uncounterable, but if it is discarded by a spell or ability your opponent's control, it goes straight onto the battlefield instead, talk about a nice trick there honestly, it's a rare too meaning it's one of those perhaps dollar rares.

#179) Lyev Skynight - 3/1 flier that when it enters the battlefield, target nonland permanent is detained, which of course is the Azorius mechanic for the set, so it's not able to untap and such, it has evasion which makes it highly playable in limited, plus it's mana cost is a mere 1, White, Blue for a uncommon which is pretty balanced.

#180) Mercurial Chemister - 3, red, blue for a 2/3 that's a rare that has 2 abilites, pay blue and tap it to draw 2 cards, or pay red and tap it, discard a card and it deals damage equal to the discarded card's converted mana cost to target creature, a decent removal body.

#181) New Prahv Guildmage - 2/2 for a white and blue mana, pay white, blue to grant a creature flying or pay white, blue and 3 mana to detain a nonland permanent a opponent controls, a nice creature and a decent body, but it's abilites are meh.

#182) Nivix Guildmage - When i first saw this particular guildmage i was freaking out, for Blue and Red you get a 2/2 uncommon that you can pay 1, Blue, Red to draw a card, then discard a card, which is another Merfolk Looter type effect plus it also has pay 2, Blue, Red, Copy instant or sorcery spell you control, you may choose new targets for the copy, imagine paying 6 mana to cast Bonfire of the Damned, then 4 with this as a finisher, instant win much.

#183) Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius - New niv is awesome, considering he retains all the original P/T of his old self plus is now a 5/5 instead of a 4/4, he costs a whopping 2, Blue, Blue, Red, Red to cast as a mythic so watch out there, it's a 6 mana investment for him, but whenever he deals combat damage, you get to draw a card, plus for Blue and Red you can activate his ability to damage a player or creature for 1 point, throwing a deathtouch type effect on him will make him deadly.

#184) Rakdos Charm - Black and red charm, it exiles a target player's graveyard, blows up a target artifact or each creature deals 1 damage to it's controller, whoa, that sounds pretty nice for what it does.

#185) Rakdos Ragemutt - 5 mana 3/3 with lifelink and haste, nice tough wizards really.

#186) Rakdos Ringleader - 6 mana for a 3/1 with first strike, pay black to regenerate it and whenever it deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card, too much mana seriously a 6 cmc investment how not to play limited here folks.

#187) Rakdos, Lord of Riots - Best legend of the set, bar none, for Black, Black, Red, Red you get a 6/6 with flying and trample, but he can only be cast if damage was dealt this turn, but he also has a neat secondary ability, whenever you deal damage to a player, creatures you cast cost 1 less for each life lost that turn, very nice indeed here for a mythic rare.

#188) Rakdos's Return - I swear wizards wants to make Black/Red overpowered these days, first Olivia Voldaren and now this bad boy spell, for X, Black and Red you get to deal X damage where X is the paid cost for the spell, then that player also discards X cards, plus this is a mythic rare spell at that, seriously a ridiculous card.

#189) Righteous Authority - 5 mana for a aura that grants a target creature +1/+1 for each card in your hand, plus you get to draw a extra card for enchanting something, talk about resource management here.

#190) Risen Sanctuary - 7 mana for a 8/8 with vigilance, a nice investment here, considering it's mana cost, nice touch wizards.

#191) Rites of Reaping - 6 mana sorcery that grants 1 creature +3/+3 and another creature -3/-3 nice way to kill something in limited and get through with a massive blocker for the golgari players.

#192) Rix Maadi Guildmage - Black red's mage, costs red and black, 2/2 that you can pay Black and red to give a target blocking creature -`1/-1 until end of turn, or pay black and red to deal a extra point of life loss to a player who already lost life this turn, nice touch for this one.

#193) Search Warrant - White, blue for a sorcery that lets you peek at a opponent's hand, plus you gain life equal to the number of cards in their hand at that, wow.

#194) Selesyna Charm - When i first heard of this i was laughing since Green/White is getting some serious power bonus here, for Green and White you get a instant speed spell at the uncommon rarity, with 3 different effects as you may come to expect here, 1st is the awesome +2/+2 and trample pump for a single creature, or perhaps it's 2nd effect to exile a target creature with 5 or greater power may help, finally how about getting a 2/2 white knight token with vigilance instead as it's last effect, overall me thinks this is pretty powerful here.

#195) Skull Rend - 5 mana for a sorcery that deals 2 damage to each target opponent, plus forces them to discard 2 cards, whoa, might be a decent new red/black discard spell.

#196) Skymark Roc - 3/3 with flying that costs 4 to play, but when it attacks you get to return a 2 or lesser power creature the defending player controls back to their hand, a really great effective 4 drop here.

#197) Slaughter Games - I thought we were over this wizards, stop making red/black so damn unstoppable seriously, 4 mana for a sorcery that cannot be countered, you get to name a nonland card and exile every single copy of that card from a opponent's library from the game, so how bout taking all 4 Unburial Rites from the game, shuts frites down badly, or perhaps taking the massive 7/7 flying Griselbrand from the game is better, the skies are the limit with this one.

#198) Sluiceway Scorpion - Finally something a little more balanced, a 4 drop 2/2 with deathtouch, excuse me deathtouch, oh god, wizards i thought we were over this with Slaughter Games, seriously, but a 2/2 with deathtouch is a limited powerhouse, give this first strike and it's unstoppable, also it has the mechanic Scavenge for a measly 1, Black, Green a really limited powerhouse here.

#199) Spawn of Rix Maadi - 5 mana for a 5/3 with unleash, interesting here and kinda useful in limited.

#200) Sphinx's Revelation - For X, Blue, Blue, White you get a sorcery mythic rare that lets you draw X cards and gain X life, very nice.

#201) Supreme Verdict - It's about time you print a proper wrath spell wizards, wait what, this is uncounterable, oh man, wizards, do you care for the power level of these cards, for 1, White, White, Blue you get a rare sorcery speed spell that's uncounterable at that, it kills all creatures, as per usual, Indestrucibility overall avoids this type of stuff, but seriously, giving Blue/White a way to keep the board clear is liking suicide here.

#202) Teleportal - Red and blue for it's mana cost and a overload cost of 3, blue, red for a sorcery that grants target creature you control +1/+0 and makes it unblockable, or if you pay the overload cost all creatures you control, a nice touch for a finisher spell in limited.

#203) Thoughtflare - 5 mana for a instant that lets you draw 4 cards, but you have to discard 2, not bad, could see some play in EDH.

#204) Treasured Find - Green and Black for a Regrowth you have to exile after playing it, not bad for limited if i must say so.

#205) Trestle Troll - 1, green, black for a 1/4 common with defender and reach, plus you can pay 1, green, black to regenerate it, meh limited common.

#206) Trostani, Selesyna's Voice - Green, Green, White, White for a mythic rare that is a 2/5 with the ability whenever another creature enters the battlefield, plus she's a legendary and she has 1, green, white, tap her to populate, decent for their legend for this set, don't outmatch Rakdos though.

#207) Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage - Last of the mages cycle, Green, White for a 2/2 uncommon that you can pay 4, green, white to put a 3/3 centaur on the board or 2, green, white to populate, last uncommon of the color, a good one though..

#208) Vraska the Unseen - Uh what the hell wizards, did you print this for, a 5 mana planeswalker that has 5 loyalty to start out with, for 3, Black, Green you get a walker with 3 abilites, her first ability is +1) Until your next turn, whenever a creature deals damage to Vraska the Unseen, destroy that creature. -3) Destroy target nonland permanent, holy crap Vindicate on a walker, say it ain't so wizards -7) Put 3 1/1 Black Assassain creature tokens onto the battlefield with "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game" holy crap she says win more much here.

#209) Wayfaring Temple - Yes i'm aware this is 1, White, Green for a variable P/T creature, but seriously it's secondary ability is the reason to run it, populate on a body is super sick honestly and is the reason to run it, even if it is rare, it's still a bomb card to run, period, so it's power and toughness are equal to the number of creatures you control, big deal this makes token decks so much happier since Hero of Bladehold rotates when this arrives, only downside is it has to deal combat damage for the ability to trigger, oh well they had to balance it somehow.

And that's it for multicolor, join me tommorow for Hybrid's till then this is vergil signing off.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 5: Green

Welcome to part 5 of the spoilers in which it's green's turn on the color wheel, so without further ado let's see what Green has in store for this set.

#113) Aerial Predation - 3 mana for a instant speed spell that blows up something that flies, anything and i mean anything, legendaries, etc, plus you gain 2 life in the process talk about a solid piece of green removal this time around.

#114) Archweaver - 7 mana for a 5/5 with reach and trample, just think about this 7 mana for crying out loud is a big investment for only a 5/5 with reach and trample, it's a decent uncommon for limited but it won't be drafted first pick that's for sure, perhaps 14th or 15th pick in limited.

#115) Axebane Guardian - Kinda reminds me of Overgrown Battlement from Rise of the Eldrazi honestly, a 0/3 that has defender, costs 3 mana and it taps to add X of any color of your choice, but it adds it in any combination of your choice, just the mana fixer we need here.

#116) Axebane Stag - 7 mana for a 6/7 vanilla creature, it's a decent beatstick for it's mana cost but it's far too high perhaps even to warrant being drafted.

#117) Brushstrider - Here we go, the decent stuff for this set in limited, 3/1 with vigilance for 2 mana, yes 2 mana, give this a little unblockable and it's a decent overall uncommon

#118) Centaur's Herald - 1 green for a 0/1 that you can sacrifice and pay 2 and a green to put a 3/3 centaur in it's place is just honestly too good, this might even be constructed playable in block.

#119) Chorus of Might - 4 mana for a instant speed spell that grants +1/+1 for each creature you control to a target creature of your choice, honestly this alone is probably the reason to be maybe 8th picking this, but it grants trample as well, which is even better.

#120) Deadbridge Goliath - Holy broken mechanics batman, Scavenge got good for some reason, a 5/5 for 4 mana with the ability to scavenge, which is the golgari mechanic, it basically adds 5 +1/+1 counters to a creature for a mere 6 mana at sorcery speed, neat.

#121) Death's Presence - Enchantment for 6, wow i'm surprised wizards printed a mini Kresh the Bloodbraided here, seriously but in enchantment form, this is really bold for a rare enchantment wizards.

#122) Drudge Beetle - 2 mana for a 2/2 with scavenge, which on this one costs a whopping 5 and a green mana, one of the worse cards with this particular mechanic if you ask me.

#123) Druid's Deliverance - So a Fog with the mechanic of Populate for 2 mana, not bad if you ask me

#124) Gatecreeper Vine - 1 and a green for a defender that's a 0/2 but it searchs for either a "Gate" card whatever those are and or a basic land, a really great way to fix your mana pool early on honestly.

#125) Giant Growth - Here's the reason we didn't see this in 2013 this year, it was being printed for this set, for those who used it, you know what it does.

#126) Gobbling Ooze - 5 mana for a 3/3 that you can pay green to sacrifice another creature and put a +1/+1 counter on this one, great in a token strategy in limited me thinks.

#127) Golgari Decoy - Holy diversion batman, for a 4 drop that's a 2/2 with scavenge this ends games pretty damn quickly allowing your other creatures a alpha strike, this also has scavenge on it for 3, green, green, a decent mana amount for this mechanic, one of the more balanced ones.

#128) Horncaller's Chant - 8 mana for a 4/4 and populate, at sorcery speed, sigh come on wizards.

#129) Korozda Monitor - 4 for a 3/3 with trample and the scavenge cost of 5, green, green, at least it's a 3/3 for 4, that's all it has going for it.

#130) Mana Bloom - A X enchantment that enters the battlefield with the X cost where X is the amount of mana poured into this, you get to remove 1 counter per upkeep and when it has no more counters, it goes back to your hand, making this a nice enchantment honestly.

#131) Oak-Street Innkeeper - 3 mana for a 1/2 that when it isn't your turn, your creatures you control have hexproof, i'd run this as a decent value creature and it feels like the missing piece most green players would need in limited.

#132) Rubbleback Rhino - Speaking of big bodies, how bout a 4/4 rhino with hexproof for 4 and a green, not a bad choice for limited if i do say so myself.

#133) Savage Surge - Instant speed 2 drop that grants a target creature +2/+2 until end of turn, plus you get to untap that creature as a bonus, so it's still attacking just untapped for a change.

#134) Seek the Horizon - Another reprint this time around, 4 for a search for 3 basic lands and put them into your hand, then shuffle, of course you have to reveal em, but this is a mana fixer.

#135) Slime Molding - For X and a green you get to put a X/X where X is the value paid, so making a 7/7 isn't half bad in limited for the late game.

#136) Stonefare Crocodile - 3 mana for a 3/2 that you can pay 2 and a black to give it lifelink until end of turn, a decent effect on a decent bad body, but black giving lifelink is unexpected here.

#137) Towering Indrik - 4 mana for a 2/4 with reach, decent, but not desired.

#138) Urban Burgeoning - 1 green for a aura that enchants a land, it allows you to also untap this land during each untap step, a decent limited card for this set, i must admit.

#139) Wild Beastmaster - 3 mana for a 1/1 that when it attacks each other creature gets +X/+X where X is the power of this creature, so making it a 5/5 means each creature gets +5/+5 as a response, one of the better rares of the set in green.

#140) Worldspine Wurm - 11 mana, a 11 mana bomb that's a 15/15 with trample, it makes 3 5/5 wurms with trample when it dies and has the infamous reshuffle effect that so many powerful cards have in the format, wow much has wizards gone insane in printing this kind of stuff honestly.

And with that that is all the main colors of the set, join me tommorow for Multicolor

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 4: Red

And here is part 4, this time it's red turn for previews for the set of Return to Ravnica, so without further ado let's begin part 4 of RTR spoilers.

#85) Annhilating Fire - 3 drop instant speed spell that deals 3 damage to something, how nice is this, this is pretty nice honestly for the common rarity, i like this particular burn spell a lot.

#86) Ash Zealot - Did zombies and flashback just get the shaft via this card, a red, red 2/2 with first strike and haste, plus it deals 3 damage whenever a player tries to play a spell from the graveyard, either flashback or Gravecrawlers seriously this is one of those interesting rares.

#87) Batterhorn - This set's Manic Vandal for 4 and a red, 4/3 with no other unique abilites, sigh limited cannon fodder.

#88) Bellows Lizard - 1 red mana for a 1/1 that you can pay 1 and a red to give it Firebreathing until end of turn, not a bad quick 1 drop for the color red.

#89) Bloodfray Giant - 4 drop with trample and the rakdos mechanic of Unleash, not a bad thing if i do say so myself, since of course this turns itself into a 5/4 for 4 mana, which is pretty sweet in limited, with the uncommon rarity i'd say this is one of those decent 4 drops in the color in limited.

#90) Chaos Imps - 6 mana for a 6/5 with flying, Unleash and it gets trample as long as it has a +1/+1 counter on it, holy crap much, did i say this was a bomb flying rare for this color or what.

#91) Cobblebrute - 4 mana for a vanilla 5/2 only in limited folks.

#92) Dynacharge - Izzet mechanics are pretty sweet on a card that grants +2/+0 to a target creature for 1 red mana, or it's overload cost of 2 and a red grants all creatures you control this sweet finisher bonus for limited.

#93) Electrickery - 1 red for a instant speed spell that pings a target creature you don't control or for it's overload cost of 1 and a red you can ping everything you don't control not bad for getting rid of weenies honestly.

#94) Explosive Impact - 6 mana for a 5 damage spell that hits either a target player or creature, not a bad thing, but a 6 mana Lava Axe is essentially a limited material only card, even if it is a common

#95) Goblin Rally - 5 mana to get 4 power and 4 toughness worth of goblin creature tokens at sorcery speed, great EDH card but not all that playable outside of limited or EDH, maybe if goblins was a thing again it may take off.

#96) Gore-House Chainwalker - 2 mana for a 2/1 with the rakdos mechanic of unleash, plus it has nothing else going for it so it's another limited material card in the color, considering it's a common

#97) Guild Feud - 6 Drop enchantments usually don't have some good things going for them, in red at least that's the case, but with this it's more or less a way to get creatures onto the field, with a single condition, they fight each other if both you and a opponent put creatures into play this way.

#98) Guttersnipe - So a 2/2 that costs 3 mana to play and has the ability whenever you play a instant or sorcery, it deals 2 damage to each opponent, very impressive honestly for a uncommon.

#99) Lobber Crew - Seriously they printed this card, sigh, so for 2 and a red you get a 0/4 defender that when you tap it you can ping something, give this deathtouch though and this thing is lethal plus whenever you play a multicolored spell, which is encouraged this can untap, really i'd never thought i'd see the day wizards.

#100) Minotaur Aggressor - 7 mana for a 6/2 with first strike and haste, another limited material card, come on wizards.

#101) Mizzium Mortars - So for 2 mana you get a 4 damage spell that has a overload cost of 6 which is the new Izzet mechanic, but it basically sweeps the board for 6, i'll take it since sweepers are very non existent in the latest few blocks for red.

#102) Pursuit of Flight - 2 mana to net a +2/+2 enchantment aura that you can attach to a creature and pay blue to give it flying, which is kind of nice to be honest, it's a limited powerhouse for Izzet players.

#103) Pyroconvergence - 5 mana to Shock a creature or player every time you play a multicolored spell, if the multicolors are the focus of your deck, then this is a way to win in limited

#104) Racecourse Fury - 1 red for a aura that you can enchant a land to give a creature haste when you tap it, not bad, not good, but limited may like this.

#105) Splatter Thug - 3 drop 2/2 with first strike and unleash, holy crap and this thing is a common to boot, wow, a potential 3/3 3 drop in limited pretty damn sweet.

#106) Street Spasm - Another X spell eh, but with Overload, hmm replacement for Red Sun's Zenith perhaps since that rotates when this is legal, can't wait to see if there are any other good sweepers.

#107) Survey the Wreckage - 5 mana Stone Rain that when you blow up a land you get a 1/1 goblin as a reward, great 2 for 1 spell in limited.

#108) Tenement Crasher - 6 mana for a 5/4 hasty beast, which is the only thing it has going for it, not bad, not good, but a nice beatstick for red in limited.

#109) Traitorous Instinct - Nice reprint choice for limited here wizards, since we don't have enough stealing spells in magic today, 3 mana to yoink a creature and give it haste and a +2/+0 bonus as well, pretty nice to finish off a game with.

#110) Utvara Hellkite - 8 mana for this 6/6 beast mythic rare in this color that flies as well, but when a dragon attacks, you get a free 6/6 in it's place, so it self generates 6/6's just as a attacking bonus, very nice for EDH here.

#111) Vandalblast - 1 mana to blow up a artifact you don't control or you can pay 4 and red for it's overload cost to blow up all artifacts that you don't control instead, great way to deal with pesky artifact things.

#112) Viashino Racketeer - 3 mana for a 2/1 that when it enters the battlefield, you discard a card and you get to draw a better card, not bad for a 2/1 with this enter the battlefield effect honestly, i like it quite a lot for limited.

Well that's it for this color this time around, stay tuned tommorow for Green and it's shenigans.

September 20th: DCI Banned and Restricted List Announcement

So for those paying attention today is the quarterly period where wizards of the coast decides to change how they do specific things and if specific cards should be banned and unbanned as usual, so without further ado let's find out what wizards of the coast decided to unban or ban perhaps.

Standard, Legacy and Extended: No Changes

Well this isn't too expected, standard didn't need to be changed and legacy's way too diverse a format to have anything changed, considering legacy has Land Tax back from the last B&R list announcement and extended's a dead format pretty much.

Modern: Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle is Unbanned

This is nice, meaning we just say saw this card rise from a 2 dollar card, to a 5 dollar card literally over night due to this announcement, it's going to be interesting to see if Valakut stays controllable when the next B&R announcement hits.

Vintage: Burning Wish is Unrestricted

Whoa, this is perhaps the bigger of the two, wizards just went and unrestricted this beast for this format, so meaning we will probably start seeing it a lot more but there are very few vintage tournaments these days to speak of.

So apparently the banned and restricted list announcement is moving to a specific day after the prerelease of a new set, starting of course with Gatecrash, the set prerelease's will have a announcement the Monday after each one as of now, meaning we no longer have to worry about specific dates of course, as well there was a few changes to the rules and that stuff, read them at the following link below.

Wizards Ban List Announcement

It also has a explanation behind each unbanned card this time around, but that's all she wrote, until next time this is vergil signing off.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 3: Black

Welcome to part 3, where it's black turn to get spoiled for the upcoming set, return to ravnica, without further ado let's begin.

#57) Assassain's Strike - 6 mana kill spell that destroys a target creature, plus it makes it controller discard a card, so Duress and Murder wrapped into one for a 6 mana spell, come on wizards.

#58) Catacomb Slug - 5 mana for a 2/7 vanilla, nope, next

#59) Cremate - Oh, this is a returning card as well, for 1 black you get to exile a target card from a graveyard and you get to draw a card in the process, i like this returning for limited.

#60) Daggerdrome Imp - Now this is a nice thing for limited, 2 drop 1/1 flyer with lifelink, i don't like it's fragile as hell, but it is sure nice to have lifelink on this bad boy.

#61) Dark Revenant - 4 mana for a 2/2 that flies and when it dies it goes back to it's owner's library, wow versatile much here for a 4 drop, i like it.

#62) Dead Reveler - 3 drop 2/3's are pretty decent in limited, considering when they have a set mechanic they tend to be pretty good honestly for the limited format, so for a unleashed version of this is pretty beastly at what it's rarity is, pretty decent.

#63) Desecration Demon - A 6/6 with flying for 4 mana is no joke, this thing is big for a 6/6 plus it forces opponents to sacrifice things in order to stop it from attacking, seriously how in the hell did this make it past R&D for sure.

#64) Destroy the Evidence - 5 mana land destruction that when successful it also mills until the opponent hits a land too, taking away potential valuable resources in the process, great limited spell honestly.

#65) Deviant Glee - 1 mana aura that you give a target creature enchanted with this +2/+1 and if you pay a red then you get trample on it too, a nice finisher honestly.

#66) Drain Vermin - Rats, rats, rats i hate rats, for 1 mana you get 1/1 that when it dies you can pay a black and make a target player discard a card, this as a common is ridiculous.

#67) Grave Betrayal - 7 mana for a enchantment that grants +1/+1 at the next end step and reanimates things when they die, plus it also turns the creature into a zombie as well, making it quite useful honestly in EDH.

#68) Launch Party - 4 mana for a kill spell of choice and that creature's controller loses 2 life in the process, but there's a downside to this you gotta sacrifice a creature to use it.

#69) Grim Roustabout - You know a 2 mana 1/1 isn't that good, but having the ability known as unleash which is the rakdos mechanic for the set which gives it a +1/+1 counter is kinda nice, but the down side of it blocking isn't as bad as you may think, overall a good common.

#70) Mind Rot - This is being reprinted again, sigh for limited of course, we all know what it does i don't need to explain this one.

#71) Necropolis Regent - Given that's it a 6 drop for this card, it's gotta be good right, yep that's a good card, but putting +1/+1 counters on things and it has a body that flies as a 6/5 is fricking sweet it's a self enabler, awesome mythic for the set.

#72) Ogre Jailbreaker - 4 mana 4/4's are like whoa, but when you control a "Gate" which is one of the new lands of the set, it can attack and block instead of just being a defender which is pretty sweet, another one of those new limited bombs.

#73) Pack Rat - Relentless Rats.deck anyone, well this makes it possible, since it's P/T varies on the amount of rats you control, plus it's 2 mana for a rare at that, it also has the ability to discard a card and put a token that is a copy of Pack Rat onto the battlefield, pretty sweet if you ask me.

#74) Perilous Shadow - For a 4 drop it's certainly nice, since it's a 0/4 blocker, so you get your toughness worth, but it's mana ability to pay 1 and a black to give it +2/+2 until end of turn is kinda nuts, since it doesn't have a limit, so this can get big real fast.

#75) Sewer Shambler - 2 and a black for a 2/1 swamp walk that has a scavenge cost of 2 and a black, a very nice limited bomb if you ask me here.

#76) Shrieking Affliction - 1 black for a enchantment that checks at the beginning of each player's upkeep if they have 1 card or less in their hand, if they do then that player loses 3 life in the process, a great discard strategy finisher.

#77) Slum Reaper - 4 mana for a 4/2 that when it enters the battlefield, each player sacrifices a creature, hmm Fleshbag Marauder much here

#78) Stab Wound - So a 3 mana aura that you hit other creatures you don't control and they get -2/-2 and at the beginning of their upkeep they lose 2 life in the process, seriously black is overpowered in limited this set.

#79) Tavern Swindler - 2 mana 2/2 that you can tap to flip a coin and if you win the flip you gain 6 life, but to activate this you gotta pay 3 life in the process, decent limited life gain if you are lucky.

#80) Terrus Wurm - 7 drop 5/5 bomb that has a scavenge for 7 mana as well, seriously balanced much for a common at that, expect to see this finisher at limited tables at least.

#81) Thrill-Kill Assassin - 2 mana 1/2 with unleash and deathtouch, so it can become a 2/3 of doom with deathtouch in the process, sweet card is sweet.

#82) Ultimate Price - 2 mana mono colored Doom Blade, sign me up, this thing is a beast removal card and it deals with pretty much anything it wants to plus with rotation means no more Thrun, sweet removal is sweet.

#83) Underworld Connections - Did they just stick a EDH staple onto a enchantment that you can use at any given time, wizards come on, seriously this is stupid 3 mana for a aura that attaches itself to a land you control, plus you can tap it any time for it's ability to draw a card and lose a life, plus it's a rare.

#84) Zanikev Locust - 6 drop 3/3 that has a scavenge cost of 2, Black, Black and nothing else going for it, a decent limited material scavenge cost if you ask me.

With that that is the end of black, stay tuned for Red tommorow.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

EDH Banned and Restricted List Announcement: September 18th, 2012

Hello folks and welcome to another edition of the emporium, where it's a special evening edition since the recent Banned and Restricted list for the format of Elder Dragon Highlander was announced so without further ado let's take a look see at the announcement

Unbanned: Kokusho, the Evening Star

OH MY FUCKING GOD, finally thank you commitee they made my day glorious again, Kokusho is one of those cards i've wanted to play with for so long, thank goodness, oh happy day.

Banned: Primeval Titan and Worldfire

Finally my prayers are answered, both the busted goddamn spells from 2 core sets are gone, Prime Time is just mean and Worldfire is stupid in Jhoira and any deck that runs red, seriously this is ridiculous.

Banned as a Commander: Kokusho, the Evening Star

So they had to balance it somehow, this is the best way to do so, bringing back koko and banning it as a commander is a nice touch to give us more reason to play commander, overall i like this announcement, for the full reasoning as to the announcement, please see the link below.

http://forum.mtgcommander.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12253

Till next time this is vergil signing off for now.

Return to Ravnica Spoilers Part 2: Blue

Hello and welcome to part 2 of Return to Ravnica spoilers, in this edition it's all about the Blue cards for the set of Return to Ravnica, so without further ado let's see what it has got.

#29) Aqqus Steed - 4 mana for a 1/3 that you can pay 2 and a blue and tap it to give a target creature -2/-0 until end of turn, not bad in limited.

#30) Blustersquall - 1 mana for a tap target creature you don't control or you can pay it's alternate overload cost which is the Izzet mechanic to for 3 and a blue to tap all creatures you don't control, a more effective instant speed Sleep

#31) Cancel - How many times must this be printed in magic, this is the 3rd printing in 2 years for this particular card, new art gives it a new RTR spell feel.

#32) Chronic Flooding - 2 mana for a aura that enchants a land of your choice and whenever it becomes tapped, that played puts the top 3 cards of his or her library into the graveyard, a mill aura that does that is nice.

#33) Conjured Currency - 6 mana for a enchantment that switches two permanents, one you control and one you don't control, not even playable sorry wizards.

#34) Crosstown Courier - 2 drop for a 2/1 that when it deals combat damage, that player that was dealt damage mills the top 2 cards of his/her library, a decent effect if given a unblockable aide.

#35) Cyclonic Rift - For a 2 mana instant speed spell at the rare level this thing is beast, with Overload, the new Izzet mechanic for the set at 7 mana it's basically a Unsummon and Evacuation rolled into one, but it hits any nonland permanent, which is even better, did i mention it's instant speed?

#36) Dispel - Oh goodness this is back, for a minute there i thought it was Remand, but nope dispel is back for 1 blue you get to counter target instant spell, a nice reprint if you ask me.

#37) Doorkeeper - 1 and a blue for a 0/4 that you can pay  2, blue and tap it to mill the top X cards of target player's library where X is the number of creatures with defender you control, did i mention it has defender as well.

#38) Downsize - Giving a target creature -4/-0 until end of turn for a mere 1 blue is nice but give it overload and it's alternate cost of 2 and a blue makes it so that all creatures you don't control get this nice limited effect, great combat trick.

#39) Faerie Impostor - For 1 mana, you do get a awesome creature i'll give you that much, for a 2/1 flyer that's uncommon and bounces a creature back to your hand, give it flash and it's a combat damage preventing machine gun, seriously sweet.

#40) Hover Barrier - 2 and a blue for a 0/6 with defender and flying, good for a card i talked about earlier as a wall deck.

#41) Inaction Injunction - 2 mana for a sorcery spell that detains a target creature a opponent controls, plus it draws you a card when it resolves, not bad as a replacement spell.

#42) Inspiration - More blue card draw this set, for 3 and a blue target player gets to draw 2 cards, at instant speed too, so it's pretty nice to do so at the end of your opponent's turn.

#43) Isperia's Skywatch - 6 drop for a 3/3 with flying that upon entering the battlefield, you detain target creature a opponent controls, seriously this might not even be good for limited honestly.

#44) Jace, Architect of Thought - First of 2 walkers, has 3 abilites, +1 gives all attacking creatures opponent controls -1/-0 until your next turn, which means no weenies, -2 is a miniature fact or fiction that selects 2 piles of the three cards, then you get one, but the other goes on the bottom in any order, then it's -8 which is it's ultimate, you can take a card from each opponent's library, exile them and play them without paying their mana cost, did i mention he starts at 4 loyalty and has a cmc cost of 4.

#45) Mizzium Skin - So a 1 mana instant spell with a alternate overload cost of 2 mana to grant creatures you control or if you don't pay the overload cost grant a single creature +0/+1 and hexproof till end of turn, not good, not bad.

#46) Paralyzing Grasp - Oh yes another reprint, why is this back due to limited pretty much, but this has alternate art to back it up this time, plus for those who don't know what it does, it permanently locks down a creature your opponent's control.

#47) Psychic Spiral - Oh mill, you silly variant deck you you just got a beast of a card, for 4 and a blue you get a sorcery that shuffles your graveyard back into your library, plus it mills a target opponent for whatever amount of cards that was in your graveyard, which honestly is very nice for a 5 mana spell.

#48) Runewing - 4 mana 2/2 that flies and when it dies you get to draw a card, the only 4 mana 2/2 i'd pay for is Solemn Simulacrum, but this thing in limited is pretty solid

#49) Search the City - 5 drop enchantment that when it enters the battlefield, you exile the top 5 cards of your library and whenever you play one of the exiled cards you get to put it into it's owner's hand, but if there are no cards exiled this way then you get to sacrifice this and take a extra turn instead, not bad, not bad at all.

#50) Skyline Predator - 6 fricking mana for a 3/4 no way, not even if it has flash or flying for crying out loud, plus to boot it's a uncommon in this set, meaning it's perhaps not even playable in limited, though i'm sure someone will find a way to break it.

#51) Soulsworn Spirit - 4 mana 2/1 that is unblockable and detains stuff when it enters the battlefield, it's power/toughness are great for limited along with it's abilites but it's mana cost is a little too underwhelming.

#52) Sphinx of the Chimes - For 6 mana it's not all that bad, i mean a 5/6 with flying is a nice body and all and it's ability, discard 2 non land cards with the same name and draw 4 is pretty decent in the limited format, since it allows you to get more gas in the tank, a decent bomb for the format.

#53) Stealer of Secrets - You know honestly i was expecting a little something less but here we go again with another card drawing machine gun for the limited format, a 2/2 for 3 mana at the common rarity is not bad at all, given that it draws for combat damage.

#54) Syncopate - Reprint for the set, dating back all the way to Odyssey block, it's a instant speed X counter spell where if the opponent doesn't pay X that permanent that gets countered with this is exiled instead, not bad honestly for a reprint, plus it's a mere uncommon.

#55) Tower Drake - This bad boy is also getting a reprint from the Invasion set it's a 3 drop that's a 2/1 flyer and it has pay 1 white mana to give it +0/+1 until end of turn, but it doesn't say how many times you can do this, so you can do this however much white mana you have per turn.

#56) Voidwelder - 5 drop 1/4 that when it enters the battlefield, you may return target creature to it's owner's hand, it can be your creatures, your opponent's etc, a fairly decent limited card with potential unseen.

Well that's it for this particular color this time around, stay tuned for black tommorow.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoiler Part 1: White

Welcome to yet another spoiler season where this time it's all about the latest set which is a throwback to a old favorite of mine way back in the day, we indeed are returning to Ravnica this year and this spoiler season is dedicated to that, so without further ado let's see what is in Return to Ravnica, in the color white.

#1) Angel of Serenity - #1 slot in the set and we have yet another mythic rare starting us off this time around, for 7 mana, it's 3 Oblivion Rings slipped under a 5/6 body that flies, but it not only hits stuff in the battlefield, but in the graveyard as well, interesting

#2) Armory Guard - 4 mana, 2/5's aren't all that good outside of limited, but sure it has the ability as long as you control a gate, it has vigilance, meaning it's gotta have some influence

#3) Arrest - Ok, first reprint of the set and well since we had it in Scars block, why not have it here, those who played it know what it does.

#4) Avenging Arrow - 3 mana instant speed spell that kills whatever dealt you damage this turn, great way to deal with those nasty attackers if you ask me.

#5) Azorius Arrester - 2 drop 2/1 that when it enters the battlefield, detain target creature opponent controls, it seems to me that this new mechanic called Detain is going to have some importance in this set.

#6) Azorius Justiciar - With any set usually, it's mostly limited fodder and this is exactly what this is a 4 drop that's a 2/2 and when it enters the battlefield, you get to "Detain" two creatures meaning they don't attack or block, plus their activated abilites cannot be triggered, a nice way to finish them off if i do say so myself, as Detain happens to be the Azorius mechanic for this set.

#7) Bazaar Krovod - 5 mana 2/5 which seems pretty good limited wise, i mean it grants another creature +0/+2 until end of turn and you get to untap the creature you targeted as well, not bad

#8) Concordia Pegasus - 2 drop 1/3 that flies, it has only that going for it, limited source material if you ask me.

#9) Ethereal Armor - Well, well well, a decent enchantment, it grants +1/+1 for each enchantment you control and it gives first strike, a decent common for sure.

#10) Eyes in the Skies - A 4 mana spell that is sorcery speed, common and has the selesyna mechanic of "Populate" which is really neat, but it not only gives you 1 creature token, but 2, for the price of 4 mana yes please.

#11) Fencing Ace - A 1/1 double striker for 2 mana is sick, considering it's a uncommon as well, which makes me think they are pushing white weenie.

#12) Keening Apparition - 2 mana 2/2 that you can sacrifice to destroy target enchantment, decent enchantment removal if you ask me.

#13) Knightly Valor - 5 mana aura that not only pumps a creature you enchant it with with a +2/+2 and vigilance bonus but it also churns out a 2/2 knight as well.

#14) Martial Law - In all honesty i was expecting this to be a bit better, but for 4 mana at the rare slot a enchantment of this caliber is certainly not useful in the slightest, maybe in limited it may see some play but that's about it, i mean detaining a creature every upkeep is nice in that particular format

#15) Palisade Giant - 6 mana for a 2/7 of interesting proportions that prevents all damage to a permanent or you and redirects it to itself instead, a rare at that for this set, a interesting rare for limited.

#16) Phantom General - 4 mana 2/3 that grants creature tokens +1/+1 while it is on the field, plus it is a uncommon making it viable for limited, not bad.

#17) Precinct Captain - Making a 1/1 every time you deal damage with this 2 white drop first striker that's a 2/2 is pretty sweet, signaling Soldiers are making a return to the format, which is awesome.

#18) Rest in Peace - 2 mana enchantment that targets all graveyards and exiles them when it enters the battlefield, plus it's second effect is to exile things that hit the graveyard instead, essentially shutting down graveyard decks, did i mention this is a rare at that.

#19) Rootborn Defenses - For a card like this to be printed with a brand new mechanic called "Populate" it's gotta have some unique flavor to it, well for this it makes all your creature indestrucible for a mere 3 mana plus it has Populate which puts a copy of a existing creature token onto the battlefield for you, so extra tokens anyone?

#20) Security Blockade - 3 mana uncommon that when it enters the battlefield you get to put a 2/2 white knight onto the battlefield with vigilance plus it it enchants a land at that to tap it to prevent the next 1 damage dealt to you.

#21) Selesyna Sentry - 3 mana drop 3/2 that costs 5 and green to regenerate as a common no less, it's name also implies what guild it is in.

#22) Seller of Songbirds - Another 3 mana drop for this set, when it enters the battlefield you get to drop a 1/1 white bird with flying as well as having a 1/2 for 3, not bad giving 2  power in limited early on.

#23) Soul Tithe - 2 mana for a enchantment aura that forces the owner of the card with this attached to pay X where X is the converted mana cost during the upkeep of it's controller, not bad for a 2 mana drop uncommon

#24) Sphere of Safety - 5 mana for a enchantment that protects you from being attacked, plus the opponents have to pay X where X is the number of enchantments you control at that, so lots of enchantments means lots of protection.

#25) Sunspire Griffin - 3 drop 2/3 with flying, anyone see the  resemblance here, Vampire Nighthawk without the abilites folks in white

#26) Swift Justice - 1 mana instant for this bad boy that grants +1/+0 and lifelink to a creature of your choice, not bad in limited.

#27) Trained Caracal - 1 white for this 1/1 with lifelink, seriously a 1 white drop with lifelink, who'd have thunk it.

#28) Trostani's Judgment - 6 drop instant that exiles a target creature, then allows you to populate, which is the Selesyna mechanic for this set, interesting for the final card of this color.

And that's it for white this time around, stay tuned tommorow for blue, big thanks to MTGSalvation for having the set fully spoiled as of today.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers: September 14th, 2012

Hello everyone and welcome to the final day of week 2 previews for return to ravnica, of course let's see what we are getting today in terms of previews for the set.


1 of yesterday's missed previews was the artifact of choice, Tablet of the Guilds which gains you life for casting a specific color spell and at 2 mana it's uncommon rarity feels perfect for the set as a whole.


Did someone ask for mono colored removal in this set, well it seems we are getting it with the card called effectively enough, Ultimate Price which was spoiled by team Channel Fireball this time around and believe me for 1, Black you get what you pay for, the best way to deal with mono colored creatures in the format


Cranial Insertion got their own preview this time around with this particular blue instant spell, Psychic Spiral which is a shuffle and mill effect all rolled into one, got a large graveyard and need to deck someone, well this is the finisher card of choice, at 5 mana it's a potentially game ending card for a single player, not a bad effect in this set.


Well looks like today's starting preview is this flashback hate bear named Ash Zealot which costs Red, Red and has first strike and haste, is a 2/2 body which is a rare and whenever a player casts a spell from a graveyard, Ash Zealot deals 3 damage to that player, now that's punishing those flashback players in standard for sure.


Well, well, well here's a reprint i've been waiting for, Pithing Needle is back in magic and believe me it's been a long time coming with this particular set, RTR is the perfect set for this to return in, that 1 mana drop artifact that stops a specific card from being played and prevents all their abilites unless they are mana abilites at that, plus it has brand new art to boot.

Well that's all the previews for this week, stay tuned next week when we go over the latest spoilers from return to ravnica in week 3 of it's spoilers, until then this is vergil signing off.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers: September 13th, 2012

Hello and welcome to yet another edition of the emporium, we've got quite a few cards to talk about today so let's not waste any time and see what's cooking in the wizards brewery today.


First up is a missed promo from yesterday, Detention Sphere which to my surprise is a White/Blue based Oblivion Ring with a Malestrom Pulse effect slapped onto it, seems like Blue/White is getting all the good toys post rotation it seems, since it exiles effectively all copies of 1 card while this is on the battlefield, Delver of Secrets bugging you, no problem, take out all Delvers on the board, or have a enchantment you wanna protect, say Oblivion Ring, well this is the main reason to run, it basically makes opponents use a spell or two just to combat it, leaving you able to play the beast spells in your deck, not bad for TCG Player spoiler this time around.


So this is the final uncounterable spell in this set, Counterflux is the final card in the cycle of those cards, spoiled yesterday by Mark Rosewater on his twitter page, this beauty is the 4 mana counter spell that looks like was hinted at, plus it has the set mechanic of Overload which costs 1, Blue, Blue, Red and costs originally Blue, Blue, Red to cast at instant speed, pretty good if you ask me.


Of course there can't be magic without strange vampires in this set, introducing yet another mythic rare called Necropolis Regent, which costs 3, Black, Black, Black and is a 6/5 with flying of course but also has the ability "Whenever a creature deals combat damage to a player, put that many +1/+1 counters on it." which honestly isn't half bad if i do say so myself, but we will have to wait and see if it ends up in the 2 dollar mythic bin or not.


Moving onto today's previews, here's the first, the Azorius mythic for the set besides their legendary, Sphinx's Revelation, a mass life gain and card draw spell, for X, White, Blue, Blue interesting how it's life gain and card draw with this one honestly, i think this one may be the limited bomb we are waiting for here.


Here i believe is a limited powerhouse, Centaur Healer which costs 1, Green, White to cast and has the enter the battlefield ability of gaining you 3 life when it comes into play, plus it's a solid 3/3 body as well, making it one of the cards of choice for the set.


Here's another decent limited card, Stealer of Secrets, a 2/2 that costs, 2, Blue and whenever it deals combat damage to a player, you get to draw a card, not bad honestly in limited which is one of the better limited pieces blue has to offer this set at least.


Finally it's a really interesting dude, Mercurial Chemister which costs a whopping 3, Blue, Red to cast and is a 2/3 rare in this set, with 2 different abilites to boot, Pay blue and tap it to draw 2 cards and pay Red and tap it, discard a card it deals damage to target creature equal to the discarded card's mana cost, not bad honestly for a Izzet machination this time around.

And that's it for today's previews like always, see you all tommorow for the final day of week 2 previews, till then this is vergil signing off.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Return to Ravnica Spoilers: September 12th, 2012

Hello everyone and welcome to another spoiler filled edition here at the emporium, where as today we will talk about all the latest spoilers, so without further ado let's begin today's edition.


How about this 5/6 flying angel notably called Angel of Serenity, it's 7 mana for a 5/6 at that but it has when this enters the battlefield, you may exile up to three other target creature cards from the battlefield and/or creature creature cards from graveyards, but when she leaves the battlefield, you have to return the exiled cards, notably also this is a mythic rare in this set, surprise, surprise.


Pyroconvergence seems to be one of those enchantments that i just feel strange about playing, imagine Burning Vengeance but with multicolored spells and slap a higher mana cost on it and this is what you get, a strange but certainly interesting card to be sure.


The Izzet league apparently has tinkered with a lot, including their greatest experiment, the Epic Experiment which is a X spell for this set, Blue, Red and X where X is the cost paid of course, but here's the catch, you exile the top X cards where X is the cost paid for the spell and for each instant or sorcery revealed this way, you get to cast it without paying it's mana cost at that, then all cards that weren't cast this way go into your graveyard afterwards, a very impressive mythic rare spell from them.

Anyways that is about it for this edition, see you all tommorow for another edition here at the emporium, where there is more RTR spoilers and the like, till then this is vergil signing off.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Return to Ravnica Promotion Cards

Welcome back to yet another edition here at the emporium, today's 2nd article is all about the neat game day, release promos and of course the awesome Buy-A-Box promo you will get for this set this time around so without further ado let's see what we got.


For even entering the game day event, you get the alternate art Dryad Militant for your troubles this time around, this 2/1 full alternate art piece is unique since it's the first hybrid uncommon to get printed in this manner in recent memory.


When you reach the top 8 of your game day event, you get this alternate art Cryptborn Horror which i talked about here ---> Today's Previews in which i explained what it does and all that, plus it's a rakdos hybrid card, so 2 different hybrid cards for the game day, impossible.


For signing up on the FNM for October 5th, you will receive the release card, Deadbridge Goliath which has the scavenge mechanic signaling it's golgari, plus that alternate art on it looks pretty cool, cannot wait to see the original art.


Your buy a box promo card this time around is the White/Blue sweeper spell, Supreme Verdict, which is not half bad, but remember this is only given out to the first 20 or 30 who buy a box of return to ravnica on the day it releases, so these are pretty limited.


Last but certainly not least is the prize for competing in the RTR league, this Knight token which is handed out at the end of the league season, a 2/2 knight with vigilance, i wonder what generates that in this set, we've yet to see, anyways that's all for this time around, this is vergil signing off.

Return to Ravnica Spoilers: September 11th, 2012

Hello and welcome back to another edition of the emporium, it's more spoilers time with the latest spoilers revealed of course by wizards of the coast, so without further ado let's begin.


Well it seems wizards of the coast loves to spoil our game day promos super early as usual, introducing yet another hybrid card named Cryptborn Horror which is also the top 8 card for game day for this set this time around, amazingly enough it costs 1, Black/Red, Black/Red and has trample plus it enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it where X was the total life lost by opponents this turn, great if you ask me.


At least the fae aren't dead fully, introducing the 1 drop Faerie Impostor, it's a 2/1 that costs a mere blue mana, it flies as expected of a faerie and has the ability whenever it enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you return another creature you control to it's owner hand, seems decent honestly, but i will reserve judgment for upcoming days.


Did someone ask for a mass bounce spell, did someone ask for a mass bounce spell that only hits opponents, introducing the best Overload card so far, besides Mizzium Mortars, Cyclonic Rift which you pay 1 and a blue to bounce a nonland permanent you don't control or you can pay the overload cost of 6 and a blue to bounce every nonland permanent you don't control, did i mention it's a rare at instant speed.


Did someone order another creature tutor, in Black and Green that is, amazingly enough, this one that's called Jarad's Orders, which i might add seems pretty legit to me, for 2, Black, Green you get a sorcery speed rare that allows you to search for 2 different creature, put 1 into your hand and the other into your graveyard, not bad if you ask me.


Introducing the latest Star City Games spoiler, Growing Ranks, for 2, Green/White, Green/White you get a enchantment that lets you at the beginning of your upkeep populate, at the rare level, plus it's not legendary so having 2 or more of these things nets super value and a near unstoppable army, perhaps one of the better enchantments to date.


So, card in another language eh, well let's see it's a 2/2, translation seems to be Precinct Captain, it's a 2/2 rare human soldier, costs White, White to play and has first strike it seems, plus it generates 1/1 soldiers by dealing combat damage i'm guessing, honestly this isn't half bad, plus with stuff like Intangible Virtue in the format this is pretty good.

Well that's it for today, tommorow is another day for previews so until next time this is vergil signing off.