Gatecrash Promotion Cards

Hello everyone and welcome to a special sunday edition of the emporium, today let's discuss something that will be happening in a few weeks, which is the arrival of the upcoming MTG set Gatecrash, so let's get straight down to business.

The buy-a-box promotion card this time around is known as Nightveil Specter which is that 2/3 that does some serious shenigans, has the hybrid mana cost and all that neat stuff.

For the launch of Gatecrash, on release weekend people will receive this alternate art Skarrg Goliath for attending either a Friday Night Magic event on the day of the release of the set or as a door prize for something else, it's totally up to the store you go to for this one.

Game Day players will receive this sweet full art Zameck Guildmage for just attending this set's game day event, remember game day is all about standard, the first non GP or PT event that lets you play with the new set.

For the top 8 of the game day event, players will receive this cool alternate art Firemane Avenger for making it to the top 8 of the game day, you know the angel with Lightning Helix slapped onto her.

Finally, for the gate crash league players this time around, for doing well in your local league, you'll receive a copy of this alternate art Red/White soldier token.

I forgot to mention, the winner of the game day event will receive this sweet champion's playmat which hints at perhaps a reprint of Culling Sun, the orzhov wrath effect from the original ravnica block. Anyways that's it for this edition, till next time this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 11th, 2013

Hello folks and welcome back to another edition of the emporium, today of course it's all about more gatecrash spoilers, so let's get straight into another edition

Aurelia's Fury is similiar to Rakdos's Return from the previous set, but it deals damage divided among any number of target creatures and/or players, Tap each creature dealt damage this way, Players dealt damage this way can't cast noncreature spells this turn, Holy X spells batman, this is a white/red mad house to be quite honest and it's mythic too boot.

Speaking of Boros, the Boros Charm was revealed, red and white for a instant speed spell that either Flame Rift's your opponents, Makes your permanents indestrucible for the duration of the turn or makes a target creature have double strike until end of turn, this is one of the charms that seem like it's very legit.

 

Luminate Primordial is another one of a new cycle of cards, it's a 4/7 with vigilance that costs 7, gee, 

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite anyone?, when it enters the battlefield, it basically exiles up to one target creature each player controls, Oh wow, Swords to Plowshares on legs

Skarrg Guildmage is the gruul guildmage for this set, it's a 2/2 for 2, that gives creatures you control trample until end of turn for red and green, plus it animates a target land you control to a 4/4 elemental, for 1, red, green and it's still a land, not bad personally for limited.

Serene Rememberance is a 1 mana sorcery that allows you to shuffle this plus three target cards from a single graveyard into their owner's libraries, this is interesting since it's another green type spell.

And finally, the Simic Keyrune has been revealed, it's 3 mana obviously, it makes blue or green mana, plus it animates itself for green and blue to turn itself into a 2/3 blue and green crab with hexproof until end of turn,  
this is interesting to be quite honest, now we have to see the orzhov one.

Well that's it for this week, till next week this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 10th, 2013

Hello fine folks out there and welcome to another edition of the emporium, it's about more Gatecrash spoilers this time so without further ado let's see what we got today to look at.

Ghor-Clan Rampager is a neat 4/4 with trample for 4 and it's a uncommon, plus it has the gruul keyword of Channel ahem Bloodrush, where it's blood rush cost is Red and Green and discard this puppy and target attacking creature gets +4/+4 and trample until end of turn, this is a sweet little limited bomb if you ask me.

Gyre Sage is another of the simic's creations with Evolve and boy is it a beast of a card, 2 drop 1/2 that has evolve, plus it gets the ability, tap to add green mana equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on Gyre Sage, wow, this thing is one of those 2 drops that might just see some constructed play here.

Thrull Parasite is another thrull believe it or not, it's a 1/1 for 1 black and has the orzhov keyword Extort, sense a pattern here, it has the alternate ability, tap to and pay 2 life, remove a counter from target nonland permanent, interesting this is a black flavored card, not a white or a hybrid card.

Leyline Phantom is a 5/5 5 drop that's a illusion, it's a common that when it deals combat damage, return it to it's owner's hand, but it is only returned if it survives combat, unique for limited if i may say so and well it seems like it's a decent body for it's cost, who knows.

Hello bomb mythic, a 7/7 for 7 that is known as Giant Adephage which has trample and whenever it deals combat damage to a player, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of Giant Adephage, I like this little timmy card since green players love combat, it's a very good body and it's a nasty effect, this is a serious limited bomb if it ever hits.

And with that that's all for today, stay tuned for tommorow when we will talk about more of the unique flavor Gatecrash is bringing us with the end of week 2 previews here, till then this is Vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 9th, 2013

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of the emporium, where as always during a spoiler season i'll be taking a look at all the spoiled previews for a upcoming set, today's spoilers including the final guild leader, so let's get straight down to it.

Yeah, 6 for Prime Speaker Zegana which is the simic leader this time around, she enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters where X is the greatest power among other creatures you control, also when she enters the battlefield, you draw cards equal to it's power.

Oh wow, a actual playable constructed card, introducing Frontline Medic which costs 3 and is a 3/3 with battalion but the ability which makes him shine is the 2nd one, sacrifice him and counter target spell with X in it's mana cost unless it's controller pays 3, so a Mana Leak with legs for all X spells in the format, wow, this thing is pretty good.

Biomass Mutation is another one of those hybrid cards, but it costs X, Blue/Green, Blue/Green and is instant speed plus it's a rare, where creatures you control become X/X until end of turn, where X is the cost paid of course, this gets stopped of course by the previously spoiled card, the medic with the mana leak if they tap out to cast this.

Pit Fight is sort of interesting as it's perfect for the Gruul this time around since target creature you control basically fights another target creature, plus it's instant speed, a common and costs a mere 2 mana to boot, this thing is decent for limited and should see a little play there.

Syndic of Tithes is the last card of the day, it's a 2 drop that's a 2/2 with Extort, the orzhov keyword this time around, it's a common as well so expect to see this quite often in draft in terms of the Orzhov, with that though it's time to call it a wrap, so until tommorow this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 8th, 2013

Hello everyone and welcome back to another edition of the emporium and it's time for yet more Gatecrash spoilers with today's edition, so without further ado let's get down to business.

Undercity Plague is that spell that acts a lot like Smallpox in a way, but costs way more then it, it is a serious bomb drop at a whopping 6, but it also has Cipher which makes it somewhat playable in limited, I'm not too sure about this one at all, but i do know one thing, Cipher is pretty damn strong.

Vizkopa Confessor is another weird card i'd like to believe works, a 1/3 for 5 and it has Extort of course, so it's a given Orzhov card, but when it enters the battlefield, pay any amount of life, Target opponent reveals that many cards from his/her hand, you choose one of them and exile it, decent discard on a body, for limited anyways.

Rubblebelt Raiders is perhaps the most impressive card of the day, since it is a 3/3 that gets bigger for each attacking creature you control when it attacks, it costs 1, Red/Green. Red/Green, Red/Green and is a rare believe it or not, this makes pretty much anything super awesome.

Well that's it for today, since there are few unknowns at this point, Also Aurelia and Hellkite Tyrant are confirmed really, so 4/5 down it seems, well that's all so this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 7th, 2013

Hello everyone and welcome once again to another edition of the emporium, let's just dive straight into it with the latest previews.

Spoiled by none other then Luis Scott Vargas, Dimir Charm will certainly be the Blue/Black player's choice card these days, it's a counter target sorcery spell, blow up target creature with power 2 or less, here's looking at you Champion of the Parish or look at the top three cards of target player's library, then put one back and the rest into the graveyard, did i mention this thing is uncommon at that.

Speaking of spoilers, it appears wizards is handing out to pro starcraft 2 casters, including one Sean "Day9" Plott who received this one, the boros guild mage, Sunhome Guildmage which either pumps your creatures or you can make 1/1's with haste for 4 mana, it's a 2/2 too, not a bad piece of limited material if you ask me.

So uh, Mind Funeral 2.0 for this set anyone, introducing Mind Grind which costs X, Blue, Black and is a rare at sorcery speed, Each opponent reveals cards from the top of his or her library until he/she reveals X land cards, then puts all cards revealed this way into his/her graveyard, X cannot be 0, it seems like next rotation wizards is most defintely pushing Mill to be a viable archetype.

Stolen Identity is another one of those Clone type spells, but this one has Cipher and costs 6 mana this time around, it's a rare and it's at sorcery speed no less, this is interesting, but for 6 mana, it's not very playable outside limited if you get it.

Finally, the Boros Keyrune was spoiled as well earlier, it's 3 mana obviously to cast, adds red/white to your mana pool and you tap Red and White to make it a 1/1 red and white soldier artifact creature with double strike until end of turn.

With that as per usual, that's the end of another edition of the emporium, also it should be noted, Enter the Infinite was officially spoiled by wizards of the coast today, so it's 2/5 so far, in terms of those super early spoilers, until next time this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Pre-Release Cards

Hello everyone and it's about that time to talk about the upcoming 5 prerelease cards which are going to be handed out for the upcoming Gatecrash pre-release, so without further ado let's take a look see.

For signing up with the Orzhov, you'll get your hands on this nice shiny version of Treasury Thrull the 4/4 that returns stuff when it attacks and has the keyword Extort showing it's a part of that particular guild.

Dimir players will receive this shiny Consuming Aberration as a return for signing up with this guild, it shows the power of Blue/Black at it's finest with a mill theme going on.

For players who just want to beat faces in, Gruul's champions will receive this nice and very alternate art Rubblehulk for their troubles, it also happily demonstrates the mechanic of channel i mean Bloodrush.

Soldiers of the boros legion receive this nice alternate art Foundry Champion for becoming a part of the army, I've not really talked about him, so let's take a minute to examine him now, he's a 4/4 for 6, when he enters the battlefield, he deals damage to target creature or player equal to the number of creatures you control, plus he self pumps himself with either white or red mana to boost toughness or power.

And finally, for the simic players, they will receive this alternate art Fathom Mage for their troubles, show casing the wonderful mechanic of Evolve and the fact it can get big really, really quickly, plus it gives you cards as a reward for more counters.

With that, we are forced to conclude this edition, it should also be noted from now on, my thoughts on each set will be covered in the Limited Review, instead of full official spoilers, so you'll see more of those then official spoilers, for full spoilers i'd suggest to check out mtgrealm.blogspot.com in the mean time, as spoilers there are consistently updated, until next time this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 4th, 2013

Hello folks and welcome back to another edition of the emporium, this is the first friday edition for the spoiler season of Gatecrash which has already spoiled 59/249 cards, so without further ado let's see what we got today.

Oh hey, reprinting Skynight Legionnaire, not bad there wizards, not bad at all to be brutally honest, so for those unfamiliar with the set, the original ravnica had this puppy and it was a 3 drop, flying, hasty 2/2 which did see play back then, expecting this to see play as well again.

Oh wonderful, a Nirkana Revenant that's a spirit this time around which is known as Crypt Ghast which costs 4 and is a 2/2 with the orzhov ability of Extort, it has also whenever you tap a swamp for mana, add black to your mana pool, it's a rare as well, for it's costs and all that, it seems very powerful in limited.

Blue/Green has another counter spell, it's known as Mystic Genesis, where it costs 2, Green, Blue, Blue and it says counter target spell, put a X/X green Ooze creature token onto the battlefield, where X is the spell's converted mana cost, this is a definite must for any Blue/Green deck in commander, it's a rare so don't expect to see it too often in limited, this is pretty good honestly for a balanced counter spell.

SMF Corp is at it again with another french spoiler, this one is known as Rapid Hybridization according to the semi french translation, it costs 1 blue mana and is a instant, can anyone confirm this which states, destroy target creature, it can't be regenerated and it's controller puts a 3/3 green frog lizard onto the battlefield, holy Pongify batman, this is a new staple to both blue in standard and EDH, I've fallen in love with this card.

With that of course, that's it for today, stay tuned for next week's starting spoilers and all that, till then this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 3rd, 2013

Welcome back everyone and all that neat stuff, to another day worth of spoilers, only a few to talk about today, as well as a confirmation it seems, Domri Rade is legit, wizards just confirmed him for this set, so it means all 5 of the craigslist spoilers are real.

First on the list is a 6/6 beast known as Alms Beast, which costs 2, White, Black and has the ability, creatures blocking or blocked by Alms Beast have lifelink. This isn't half bad, but it makes games last a little longer then they should essentially.

Skullcrack is essentially the 2 drop burn spell of choice, I expect this to replace a specific card from Avacyn Restored in Red Deck Wins, we are looking at you Searing Spear here.

Last but not least, from the boys over at Magic Madrid, we have the unconfirmed translation of High Priest of Penance which is a 1/1 for white and black and has the ability, Whenever High Priest is dealt damage, you may destroy target nonland permanent. So Vindicate with legs it seems, not bad, not bad.

Anyways that's it for today, till tommorow like usual, this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 2nd, 2013

Hello and welcome back to another edition here at the emporium, where it's still quite spoiler season, we got lots to talk about today, so let's get down to it.

Well, well, well, we finally have Gideon revealed, he's Gideon, Champion of Justice, costs 2, White, White and is a mythic rare of course, he has 3 different abilities this time around, his +1 grants him a loyalty counter for each creature target opponent controls, his 0 ability turns him into a Indestrucible human soldier which P/T equal to the number of loyalty counters on him, he's still a planeswalker of course and prevent all damage that would be dealt to him this turn, until end of turn, his ultimate is for -15, exile all other permanents, wow just straight up exile, really neat wizards.

We also got a preview of the launch card for the set, Skarrg Goliath, which is a 8 drop 9/9 with trample, as well as bloodrush for 5, green, green it's scheduled to be the launch card for release day this time around, which is kinda interesting i guess.

Introducing the game day sign up promo, Zameck Guildmage, the simic guild mage, of course he costs, Blue,  Green and is a 2/2 elf wizard that has 2 abilities, pay green, blue for this turn each creature enters the battlefield with a additional +1/+1 counter on it, pay green, blue and remove a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control, draw a card, glad green and blue is playing around the whole drawing cards and +1/+1  counter vibe.

Our buy a box promo this time is known as Nightveil Specter, the one we've been looking for for a month and a half now, now we know what it does, it costs, Blue/Black, Blue/Black, Blue/Black and is 2/3 with flying that whenever it deals combat damage to a player, that player exiles the top card of his/her library, you also get to play the cards exiled with him, not bad.

We also get a taste of the promo cards for the prerelease today as well, with Consuming Aberration which is  a 5 drop that it's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards if your opponent's graveyard, then whenever you cast a spell, each opponent reveals cards from the top of their library, until he/she reveals a land, then puts those cards into the graveyard after, holy mill streak here batman, there will be a seperate article for these prerelease cards as well.

Clan Defiance is a dual colored burn spell which you can deal X damage to either a target creature with flying, a target creature without flying or target player, did i mention you get to choose 1 or more modes for this, so you can literally take out a flyer, a non flyer and burn your opponent's face off, it costs X, Red and Green and is sorcery speed and rare.

Keyrune #2 has been revealed and it's the gruul's this time around, it's 3 mana like always to cast, adds either Red or Green to the mana pool and for Red and Green it becomes a 3/2 beast artifact creature with trample until end of turn at the uncommon rarity.

Finally for today it's Hands of Binding, it costs 1 and a blue to cast and states that you can tap target creature a opponent controls, that creature doesn't untap during it's controller's next untap step, it also has Cipher which is the Dimir mechanic for this set, is a common and is a sorcery as well, very interesting wizards to be most frank.

And well that's all the previews for today, tommorow we will continue to take a look at what wizards is giving us in terms of everything, so until then this is vergil signing off.

Gatecrash Spoilers: January 1st, 2013

Hello and welcome to this first day of the new year and magic's continuing existence, we have 3 spoilers today to talk about, so let's get this underway, straight away.

Holy ghost council batman, Obzedat, Ghost Council is instantly one of my new favorite legends, 1, White, White, Black, Black and it is of course Legendary Creature, Spirit Advisor, it is a 5/5 that when it enters the battlefield, target opponent loses 2 life, and you gain 2 life, I can think of one thing right now in standard that can abuse this ability, Deadeye Navigator and his soul bond ability, but wait there's more. At the beginning of your end step, you may exile Obzedat, if you do return it to the battlefield under it's owner's control at the beginning of your next upkeep, it gains haste. I believe this will most defintely see standard play in the future, due to the fact it's a 5/5 for 5 and it hits for 2 when it enters the battlefield, pretty nice wizards.

Introducing guild leader #2 of the day, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, he costs, Blue, Blue, Black, Black and is a 3/3 with Hexproof, he's a legendary creature of course and is a shapeshifter. He has the ability, whenever a creature card is put into a opponent's graveyard from anywhere, yes from anywhere, you may have Lazav, Dimir Mastermind become a copy of that card except it's name is still Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, it's legendary in addition to it's other types and it gains hexproof and this ability. You wanna know who this reminds me of, Sakashima the Impostor, except he does not have a return to hand cost printed on him, but the benefit is he has Hexproof honestly, which is pretty broken in itself, onto the final card of the day.

Introducing the first of the 5 key runes for the set, Dimir Keyrune, which of course costs 3 mana, adds either Blue or Black to the pool, it has the ability, pay Blue, Black, Dimir Keyrune turns into a 2/2 blue and black Horror artifact creature until end of turn and is unblockable this turn. Bashing for 2 every turn with this is going to be very nasty to be honest since it is so cheap to cast and all that neat stuff, anyways that's it for previews for today, tommorow we should get more, till then this is vergil signing off.