Cards

Frazetta to make me succumb to Secret Lairs?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

I’ve yet to purchase a Secret Lair Drop (although Noah has). As far as I’m concerned, most of the SLD offerings fall into that category of products that WOTC calls “not for everyone.” Most have been reprints of cards that can be purchased often for significantly less. If you purchase a Secret Lair, it is because the art or the theme of the cards appeals to you. And I’m completely fine with giving buyers different options at different price points. Mechanically unique cards are a different matter and not one for today!

It’s rare that I will splurge for a particular version of a card if I know that there is a cheaper version available. There have been exceptions for one reason or another (most often the art and a minimal price difference) but I’ve yet to be swayed by a particular version if the price is substantially higher (yes, the boys have called me cheap!).

The latest Secret Lair may change that though. The upcoming drop features art by Frank Frazetta. Five cards have been revealed so far courtesy of Gizmodo:

Secret Lair - Field Marshal
Secret Lair - Dark Ritual
Secret Lair - Seize the Day
Secret Lair - Temporal Manipulation
Secret Lair - Midnight Reaper

I first discovered Frank Frazetta through my love of Conan the Barbarian, John Carter of Mars and Tarzan books and comics.

My two favourite cards are the Midnight Reaper (Frazetta’s classic Death Dealer) and the Field Marshal. The Dark Ritual is pretty sweet as well. Okay, they are all awesome!

But here is the reality: I don’t have any decks currently using either of those cards. Am I really going to splurge on a Secret Lair and either put the cards into a binder and only look at them once in a while or build a deck around them? I could see myself building a Soldiers deck of some kind, especially in the current Standard format, but that’s a whole lot more cards to buy. Dark Ritual would be the easiest card to slot into a deck.

If cold and emotionless reason prevails and I don’t buy this Secret Lair, I will likely add one or two cards to my singles wish list and get them later (when that same reason does not remind me that I’m just doing it to bling out a deck).

Today’s mystery: Hurkyl, Master Wizard

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

I’m spending a bit of time going through the cards of the upcoming The Brothers’ War set. I was looking at cards using the new Prototype mechanic after my interest was peaked earlier when Phyrexian Fleshgorger was first previewed. As so often happens, that initial search took me down a bit of a rabbit hole. Before I knew it, I was looking at Hurkyl, Master Wizard as a possible include into one of my Commander decks.

There are two versions of the card in the set, the regular one and an extended art version. For whatever reason, the former is a Rare and the latter is Mythic.

While it’s not unusual for cards to change rarity from one set to another, it’s far more unusual for the same card to have different rarities in the same set. But it has happened before. For example, Midnight Hunt Commander (MIC) had two such cards. My understanding is that the Commander decks came with one while the Collector Boosters had the other rarity.

For its part, Wizards confirmed this oddity, adding “As far as we know, this is the only card from The Brothers’ War that has this difference.” That phrasing suggests that this may not have been intentional.

I can’t think of this difference in rarity causing any game play issue so this is more of an interesting little story than anything else (although Wizards may be reviewing its QA processes). One day in the future, players may gather around the table and ask “Remember the time when Wizards printer Hurkyl at different rarities in the same set?”

The Brothers’ War Prototype mechanic: The return of Adventure?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Previews for The Brothers’ War have kicked off and, along with a few new cards, we got the low down on the mechanics coming (back) to the set. There are two new and two returning ones. They are:

  • New: Prototype
  • New: Powerstones
  • Returning: Meld
  • Returning: Unearth

When I saw that first card supporting Prototype, Phyrexian Fleshgorger, my first thought that the Adventure mechanic first introduced in Throne of Eldraine was back. As with those cards, there are two text boxes, offering two casting options for different mana costs. Unlike the Adventures though, you’ll only get to cast one of the two. The spell does not go “on an adventure” where you have the ability to cast the second option.

Giving this a bit more thought, Prototype is in fact more like the Kicker mechanic than Adventure. Pay the lower cost and you get a less powerful option than you would if you pulled the full, or kicked, cost (albeit with the abilities). Where it differs from Kicker is in how it behaves if you find a way to flicker it. When you do, it will re-enter as the fully costed version rather than the lower cost version. Effectively, you could cast Phyrexian Fleshgorger for 3 mana, flicker it, and end up with a 7/5 with Menace and Lifelink and a pretty potent Ward.

This could be something fun to build a deck around. Once we know how many cards will sport this mechanic, we’ll have a better idea of what such a deck could look like and how well it could work.

As for Powerstones, the mechanic allows you to create a tapped Powerstone token when you discard one more artifact cards (but only once each turn). Essentially an artifact-friendly Treasure token that can also be used to trigger abilities. We’ll see how that one plays out.

If you’re curious, I’m lukewarm to the returning mechanics. I don’t play much graveyard shenanigans so not sure how much I will gravitate to Unearth. As for Meld which was introduced in Eldritch Moon, I recall it being a difficult mechanic to trigger – but fun when you did. We’ll see what I pull from packs but not sure I will go out of my way to collect the cards to build around it.

Let’s see what previews bring next week. Maybe I will need to rethink all this once we know more.

Should Isu the Abominable be a Giant?

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It feels like Magic TCG preview season does not stop any more. A set is barely previewed that the hype machine already turns to the next one. The weariness that many have talked and blogged about is real and we’re feeling it here. But that will be a topic for a future post possibly.

Jumpstart 2022 previews kicked off this week courtesy of the latest Weekly MTG announcement stream. While the most exciting reveal may be the new Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker reprint, I perked up when I saw the reveal for Isu the Abominable. Judging from the illustration, I thought that there might have a new giant to consider for my tribal deck. Sadly, a closer look quickly revealed that he’s a Yeti.

Tell me that’s not a giant.

Besides, aren’t Yetis really just giants living in the snows high up in mountains? Is it time to start a petition for WOTC to recognize Yetis as Giants? Who’s with me?

Whether you agree that Isu is a giant or not, you’ll find him in the Snow decklist in Jumpstart 2022.

Dominaria United Prerelease

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Is it just me or does it feel like a long time has passed since the Streets of New Capenna Prerelease? While the Labour Day weekend marked the (somewhat official) end of summer, it was also time for a new Magic set to come out and kick off a hopefully exciting new season.

No Mythics in my pool but I found potential for a fun deck with Aron, Benalia’s Ruin, and Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim, and Sengir Connoisseur. I added a Captain’s Call to provide some of the necessary fodder to power my trio. I added blue to fill out the deck with Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator and a few defensive cards to protect my strategy.

I also pulled a Defiler but not the green Defiler of Vigor and rather the red Defiler of Instinct. No room for it in my deck unfortunately.

For their part, Christian pulled a Jaya, Fiery Negotiator while Noah did not pull any mythics but ended up with a foiled alternate Adarkar Wastes.

First round was against a younger but quite adept (aren’t they all now though – Young, I mean?) player. The first game went nearly 45 minutes. While my opponent was able to get some large threats on the board early, a mana flood allowed me to catch up and finally get enough damage through to take the win. The second game went much faster as my opponent ran into a painful mana flood. Definitely a frustrating situation for them.

The second round was definitely a fun affair with equally matched decks. I mulliganed down to 5 cards in the first game but it was not the blowout I thought it might be. I put on a solid fight, even thinking that I might have a shot at winning before being overwhelmed. Once again, that first game took a long time. Our second game then went to time. Unfortunately for me, my opponent took both wins.

I also got to see Weatherlight Compleated in action in both games. During previews, I had a hard time wrapping up my mind around how it would play but seeing it in action cleared it up. Definitely an interesting card but I’m not sure it will become a staple.

Lastly, the third match started with a win for each of us. Down to the third game, the mana drought gods decided to pay me a visit. On the other side, a few ramp cards meant that I was looking at 6 mana to my two at the end of turn 3. Anyone want to guess as to how it went from there?

Christian and I both ended with 1-2 records while Noah seemed pleased with his 1-1-1 earned with a control deck.

We made the trek back to North of Exile Games for this pre-release. It has become a tradition to visit Jason and the team at least once a year and hadn’t had a chance to do so yet this year. The store has moved from Penetanguishene to Midland since our last visit and the store had just received its new booth seating a few days before.

The drive up was difficult with a number of accidents hampering our progress. But we made it in time to play. Before heading home, we even stopped in at Xanca for some Mexican.

All in all, another fun prerelease!

Question of the day: Where are all the Snow-covered Plains?

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Question of the day: With all of the Magic cards that we have in our house, why is it that I’m two Snow-covered Plains short for my new Ruhan Commander deck?

I asked the boys and neither one could provide even one! Not sure if it’s a lack of said cards so much as a lack of organization on their part. Given how many packs of Kaldheim we opened, I’m sure they have those snow lands somewhere but just can’t find them.

I don’t think that the two additional Snow-covered Plains would have made much of a difference in Ruhan’s first game though. Noah brought out his Breena, the Demagogue deck, upgraded from its precon days while Christian chose his Xanathar deck. Needless to say, Christian earned himself a lot of attention early in the game and found himself out before his beholder could behold!

From there, it was between Noah and I. He brought out an Archfiend of Depravity which limited the number of creatures I could have on the board. Meanwhile, he was able to build up his side of the board and Ruhan found himself beaten in short order.

I’ll post the full deck in a bit.

Birthdays are a time for Magic cards

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Another birthday is now in the books. I was fortunate to get some cool Magic cards from the boys to celebrate.

From Christian, I got an Utvara Hellkite for my Kaalia deck as well as two draft packs of Kamigawa Neon Dynasty. The Hellkite will replace a Leyline Tyrant, a move that will give the deck a bigger finishing threat.

As for the two packs, I pulled a Jugan Defends the Temple in one and a Greasefang, Okiba Boss in the second. The Jugan could end up in an enchantments deck should I finally start to build one as I’ve said in the past that I would.

From Noah, I got a Plummet, a card that is becoming a running joke tradition between us. In recent months, we keep finding opportunities to gift each other at least one Plummet (More on this in a future post perhaps). I also got a number of goblin cards as Noah and I are thinking of entering the next Modern tournament (in late September).

I thought (naively) that a Goblins deck would be cheap but early signs suggest that a somewhat competitive deck will require a bit of an investment especially as I lack many of the goblin and land staples. I probably should have done a bit more research before declaring my intention!

He also gave me a Balor for my Kaalia deck. Given that I emphasized angels and dragons, I think I will keep it as backup should the Utvara Hellkite prove not to be the punch that I’m hoping for.

Finally, Noah also gave me the Unlicensed Hearse he came home with. I told him to keep it given that he’d won it (albeit in a random draw) but he told me that I needed it more than he did given how many graveyard shenanigans the boys use in their decks. I told him that snark like that was enough for me to gladly accept the present and find a deck for it to go into.

Father’s Day & Magic – Salamanders & Commander

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

I’m a bit late on reporting how Father’s Day went down but better late than never, I’ve been told. I’ll gloss over the fabulous brunch (fresh quiche & an assortment of croissants and pains au chocolat) and will focus instead on the gifts from the boys.

Noah reached deep into his Magic collection and put forward a challenge. He gave me a Gor Muldrak, Amphinologist. Not familiar with this field of zoology, I turned to Google to discover that Amphins are a race of salamander-like creatures that live on Shandalar, one of the many plains that exist in Magic. I do wonder though whether Gor Muldrak, let’s call him Gor for short, is a herpetologist. Perhaps he even knows Bennie Bracks the Zoologist or Lonis the Cryptozoologist. Okay, enough with the tangent.

So why did Noah give me Gor? He challenged me to build a new Commander deck with him as my commander. My first thought was that Noah wanted me to build a salamander tribal deck but with only 13 cards that mention these amphibians (aside from Gor), it was quickly clear that this was not even remotely possible.

I’m not sure what direction this deck will take but I suspect it may be a group hug kind of deck. Definitely not something that I normally play. Maybe coupled with lots of removal to ensure that all my new friends don’t have anything but salamanders on their boards.

Noah also gave me a few cards that he thought I would find useful, including a Shatterskull Charger for my Giants deck and a Legion Angel.

For his part, Christian got me a few cards from my wish list. Among those is a Goblin Matron, a Munitions Expert (for a future Goblins deck) as well as Clever Lumimancer and a Luminarch Aspirant. The former will likely end up in a Magecraft kind of deck while Luminarch is likely to make its way into my Atraxa deck. A Legion’s Initiative is headed into a future Commander deck that I will reveal when it’s done (I don’t want to say more in case one of the boys reads this entry).

We also managed to squeeze in a game of Commander in the afternoon. As always, it was good fun but, Father’s Day or not, both played with winning in mind (as it should be).

All in all, a perfect way to spend Father’s Day.

Streets of New Capenna Set Booster box opening

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

With Streets of New Capenna going on sale last Friday, it was time for another round of our traditional ‘Crack a box of the new set’ event. As with recent ones, we once again went with a Set Booster box. While there are fewer packs and cards, it’s all about the higher chance of pulling those Rare and Mythic cards.

We always go in turns, picking up packs one at a time. Then we crack them together one at a time. The rule is that you must show your rares and mythics. After three packs, Christian was sitting with two mythics, including an Ob Nixilis foil, while I had one. Noah had none. Fortunately, he persevered after taking a bit of time and ended up relatively satisfied with his pulls.

Here are some of the highlights:

Christian:

  • Kitt Kanto, Mayhem Diva
  • Ob Nixilis, the Adversary – Art Deco foil
  • Perrie, the Pulverizer

Noah:

  • Outlaws Merriment
  • Vampiric Tutor
  • Halo Fountain

Jerome:

  • All-Seeing Arbiter
  • Falco Spara, Pactweaver
  • Rafiq of the Many
  • Ziatora, the Incinerator

Other nice pulls:

  • Raffine’s Tower
  • Spara’s Headquarters (regular and borderless)
  • Void Rend, regular and alternate by Noah and Christian
  • Giada, Font of Hope, regular and Art Deco by Noah and Christian – I traded for Noah’s for my Kaalia Commander deck
  • Brokers Ascendancy – Traded with Christian and now headed to my Atraxa deck

As per the tradition, whoever pulls the fewest mythics gets the BAB promo. With two with this set, Christian ended up with the Gala Greeters while Noah took Jaxis, the Troublemaker.

In the end, not our best box but not the worst either. As we often see, one person always seems to do better. Fortunately, we’ve opened enough boxes to realize that everyone gets a turn in that position over a long enough period of time.

Noah’s Kamigawa gift

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

It’s Streets of New Capenna prerelease weekend! Saturday morning, before we headed off to our LGS to get our first taste of the new cards, Noah told me that he had left a gift for me in my office.

After breakfast as I was getting ready for our event, I found a small pile of Kamigawa cards on my desk. Noah explained that he did not need them and knew that I was having fun playing with Enchantments on Arena. I have not built a physical deck based on enchantments but will do so now as a way to thank Noah.

So what did Noah’s Kamigawa gift consist of:

  • One rare – Brilliant Restoration, a useful card to return artifacts and enchantments from your graveyard to the battlefield
  • Several uncommons including Michiko’s Reign of Truth, Touch the Spirit Realm, and Generous Visitor
  • Commons like a Spirited Companion and other sagas

No crazy cards but there should be enough between the cards that I already have and these to build an enchantments deck. It won’t be on the level of my Arena deck as I am still missing some key cards but it should still be a fun deck to play with against Noah (and Christian if we can convince him to build a Standard deck). If our LGS brings back Standard events, I might even look to spruce it out a bit more.

This little gift exemplifies Noah. This is not the first time that he performs a small gesture like this one completely out of the blue. He does not need a reason ; it’s just who he is. Makes me a very proud Papa.