Zendikar Yields Real Treasure: Vintage Cards Randomly Inserted September 25, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering.Tags: Magic the Gathering, zendikar
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As if we needed another reason to get excited about Magic’s newest set, word came in late last night via the twitterverse and sites like mtgsalvation that Zendikar packs contained random inserts of Vintage cards like the original Dual Lands. Not reprints…the acutal 15+ year old cards likely hand added to the print run. This is an incredible move really and quite unexpected, I’m not sure what is more surprising…that WotC is doing this in the first place, or that they managed to keep it a secret until basically the pre-release.
Apparently there are approximately 90 different cards in the mix, and supposedly the “power nine” could be in the mix (or maybe are in the mix…rumor has it an original Unlimited Mox has already been pulled)…but true distribution numbers are still up in the air. The current theory/conventional wisdom points to 1 pack in 20 boxes, but that seems too low considering the number that have already surfaced PRIOR to the actual pre-release, but I’m sure the Magic community group think will come up with better numbers by Monday when I’m sure there will be some sort of public article about the whole deal.
So…here is to pulling Moxes this weekend at the pre-release. I’ll be live Tweeting my event tomorrow night, you can follow me on webofwebhead on twitter. If I pull big, you’ll be sure to hear about it. – B
Magic’s Planechase Releases this weekend with Tazeem Promo September 1, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Previews.Tags: Magic, Magic the Gathering, Planechase, Tazeem, zendikar
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It was just a couple of weeks ago that we were scavenging for scraps of info about the forthcoming Planechase set at GenCon. And this week it will be here already, with release events scheduled through the weekend. (I will be skipping these this week, but for good reason, it’s my 10th wedding anniversary and our travel plans don’t include much time for tournament play.) This handy LINK provides all of the official information about the set, if you need a refresher on the rules or what cards are in the sealed decks, this is the place to go. WotC released one more official bit of information just today, witness Tazeem, Plane of Zendikar:
This Plane card will be given away at the release events, though I see it’s already for sale on ebay, so your mileage may vary. It’s a nice lede into the next block, which I understand may have another Plane card available at the pre-release.
As a largely casual player, the whole Planechaseconcept really appeals to me…it has a very top-down design feel to it in general, really tying into the "you are an all powerful planeswalker" backstory. I expect that we will get a lot of use out of the Plane cards in the coming years. If for no other reason, this seems like a great way to balance casual play amongst decks that might not have similar “power”; levels, because some of the random effects are VERY powerful…to the tune of destroying all non-lands and/or resetting life totals to 20, or even getting a personal "Wheel of Fortune" each turn.
I’ve been playing long enough to remember the old Vanguard cards, which was really WotC’s first attempt at targeting the casual crowd. The Vanguard cards were give-aways if I recall correctly, over-sized cards with good art (I still have the Mirri with art by Richard Kane Ferguson). Vanguard cards were often crafted into competitive decks, the descendants of which can still be seen on Magic Online, reaching their ultimate form in having their own format in Momir Basic.
So whilst the old Vanguard cards seemed to lend themselves just as easily to cutthroat play as they did casual, the Planechase format goes another direction…forcing a more casual game experience by virtue of more wild and random swings amongst the effects of the cards. I hope to have a more formal review in the next week or so, after I get back from vacation and have a chance to really play some games with the new cards.
As a final note, I really the Tazeem card…there is a joke in there somewhere about Pro-Players not understanding the static ability “Creatures can’t block.” because they always play that way already.
Zendikar looking a lot like AVATAR August 25, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Movies.Tags: Avatar, Magic the Gathering, zendikar
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Here’s a freeze frame from the AVATAR teaser trailer:
And here’s some art from the next Magic set, Zendikar:
Pretty cool, hunh?
There’s been a rumor that someday we will see a Magic movie, after all, we already have Transformers and G.I. Joe and Clue and what not…I think AVATAR might show us what certain aspects of a Magic movie might look like…
Magic Players to face Day of Judgment in Zendikar August 21, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Previews.Tags: Day of Judgment, Magic, Magic the Gathering, zendikar
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Some of the biggest hype around Magic 2010 centered on the loss of core set staple “Wrath of God”. Originally appearing in Alpha, it had been in every core set since, destroying all creatures in play with no hope of regeneration for only four mana.
And as we found out today, that sort of mass destruction is on the horizon again with the forthcoming Zendikar set. A new card was previewed today as part of the “buy it by the booster box” promotion that brick and mortar stores can take advantage of. For M10 it was White power card “Honor of the Pure” (itself a new version of a classic Alpha card “Crusade”), for Zendikar it will be new White power card “Day of Judgment”.
For the same cost as the original Wrath, you get the same level of creature destruction with “Day of Judgment”, without the clause preventing Regeneration. Interestingly, this card taken into account with new “Terror” variant “Doom Blade” makes Regeneration a potential top shelf power again. Time will tell what the new environment will yield.
Worldwake Announced…Designers and Developers Recognized August 3, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering.Tags: Magic, worldwake, zendikar
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Wizards announced their winter 2010 set today, Worldwake, which will follow Zendikar as the second set in the block.
We know very little about this setting so far, there has been a lot of speculation, but little concrete info. Promo art seems to indicate a return of the red planeswalker (staying mon-red I’m guessing) and a continuation of the Vampire “tribe” that gained a resurgence in M10. I’d be happy to see both of those things pan out.
I will point out that Wizards does two things really well with announcements like this; the first is that they assure all of their fans that the trains are still running on time so to speak…that their very regular release schedule is still on track. But more importantly, they recognize the hard work done by their design and development staff by naming them all in the information release. Much like film studios recognizing the producers and directors of upcoming films, Magic does the same with their designers and developers. Kudos to them for doing so. It’s also nice to see names like Mons Johnson still kicking around the teams.
