I just received some pre order solicitation in an email from one of my distributors including a new art from Conflux plus a little set info, most of which we probably have already except maybe for the little description of the set storyline.
KEY SELLING POINTS:
* Conflux is the second set in the Shards of Alara block.
* In Conflux, it is revealed that a sinister force is conspiring to reunite Alara. As this process begins, planes of reality begin to overlap, creating chaos on all five Shards of Alara.
* Conflux expands on the mechanics introduced in Shards of Alara, and injects even more powerful gold cards into the block.
SET SIZE AND PRODUCT OFFERINGS:
* 145 black-bordered cards (10 Mythic Rare, 35 rare, 40 uncommon, 60 common)
* Conflux will be sold in Booster Packs, Intro Packs, & Fat Packs (Fat Packs contain 8 booster packs).
* Intro packs are a new SKU introduced with Shards of Alara. Each Intro Pack contains a ready-to-play 41-card deck, 1 Booster pack, a strategy insert, and a Magic the Gathering rules insert for new players. Each deck comes with two rare cards, one of which is a premium foil rare card that is visible through the front of the box. There are 5 different Intro Packs in Conflux, packed 5 per box.
Feature Products:
Magic the Gathering
The next release from Magic the Gathering is 2/6/09
You will receive 1 Exclusive Ultra Pro Deck Box with a preorder for each box of Conflux Boosters
Sigh looks like this is gonna be the beat up on bant block...the bant city is in flames in the back ground.
Why must all white characters be the stereotypical Don Quixote.
And if they are smart they are "rebels".
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Don't you see that the whole aim of Moderators is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make infractions literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed, will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten.
Wow... black in Bant... at least it looks like that to me (a pretty evil Rhino), and it also looks like it's only one rhino but with evil super-speed. Mwahaha... looks interesting.:D
Sigh looks like this is gonna be the beat up on bant block...the bant city is in flames in the back ground.
Why must all white characters be the stereotypical Don Quixote.
And if they are smart they are "rebels".
Now now, the description said that all 5 shards where disrupted. That of course is what should be expected when they are introduced to magics they have no experience with. I doubt Esper is going to be looking that great in this expansion either. Grixis could sure use the Vis that green/white give it, but I doubt they want anything else that comes with those two and no doubt the Vithicans who are still alive will be emboldened and rebel even more. Jund may be a hellish place to live, but white and blue messing up their predatory chains and helping those humans hunt dragons isn't going to be pretty and death magic + artifact magic + Naya isn't going to be pretty either.
I personally find it interesting how the center Rhino is solid looking but the other two are spirits. Perhaps they are supporting him in some way (a rather white theme).
If I had to guess I'd say this was some sort of enchantment, sorcery or instant. It looks like the rhino in the center has some sort of funky spell going on to him to cause the two "ghostly" versions of him, sort of like how ajani's ghostly version of himself is seen in soul's grace being cast on a pride mate.
* In Conflux, it is revealed that a sinister force is conspiring to reunite Alara.
Read this as: In Conflux, it is revealed that Nicol Bolas is conspiring to reunite Alara?
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That art combined with the physical description of the shards at the end of Ajani: Faces of a Planeswalker, this week's Savor the Flavor article, makes me think they are approaching the Alara Shards similar to the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics:
In Shards of Alara, Alara is one plane diverged down five alternate possible realities. In Conflux, those five parallel planes are now resolving back down to one plane. In Alara Reborn, this cataclysmic process will be finished and Alara will be reaching a new planar equilibrium.
Truly awesome artwork, though if it were some super fast Rhox, then given the picture reprsents a single time, that means some amount of tachyons are needed to resolve the images as we see them, creating a causality paradox... Regardless i love the art, and the idea of the worlds recolliding. Why a sinister force though? Why wouldn't some outside observer want to reconnect these planes anyways? Nicol-bolas seems like a likely candidate for this position. I like the idea of spirits aiding it as well. Neat find!
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Market Sealed Pool III,
"You painted a racing stripe on our baby?!?!"
My favorite A-Team member? VAN.
I'd imagine that it's probably Mirror-Sigil Sergeant.
I'd have to say you're probably right. Hopefully the mechanics will reflect this in some way. A few possibilities:
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone it gains Shroud until end of turn.
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone it becomes unblcokable until end of turn.
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone put a token into play tapped and attacking that is a copy of that creature. At end of turn, remove it from the game
The Rhino doesn't look black, rather pissed at what happened to the sexy angels and half of the bant army from the other promo art.
Well I'd be pretty pissed if that happened too you know....
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone put a token into play tapped and attacking that is a copy of that creature. At end of turn, remove it from the game
If Kresh had more than 3 toughness, I'd say he'd see play too. But 5 mana for a 3/3 makes him so vulnerable to basic removal that its really not a great investment. I know everything dies, but not everything dies equally
The art reminds me of Time Spiral in a way, in that the Rhox's look like they are passing through a veil to pass from one reality into the next. In Time Spiral, this Veil was blue, but in this one it looks white, or light grey. The Rhox in front is half through already, and you can tell by looking at his neck-hunch.
Lol, so true.
If anything, this WOULD actually just spur the wedge speculation further.
Worlds coming together? To me, that smells more like wedges than Shards again.
Not really... for each shard it's as if the other colors don't exist - so there's no protection from white or black in bant, for example. With the shards coming together and hostile 'alien' colors being encountered, the inhabitants will need to adapt, possibly including adding cards specifically targetted at the intruders.
The rhino could also block an additional creature or two, though I get the feeling that it's an offensive-based card because the transparent rhinos aren't carrying any weapons, while the opaque one is dual-wielding.
*shrug*
ALSO DID I READ THAT RIGHT? FEBRUARY 6TH?
God, it feels like Shards has been out for months already. Having all the names of Conflux spoiled didn't help either. Wake me up in two months for rumor season.
The Artist is Confirmed as Christopher Rahn. I've been to his website and the signature looks EXACTLY the same. so i'm confirming the artist as him. www.rahnart.com for refrence if anyone wants to check my work....
Ravarshi Kashaku, Ancient Dragon of the Darkened Realms;
The Merciless Lord of Torture, Permanently Bound To: ">[THE PACK] 11/5/63 - 11/25/09 Goodbye mom, i'll always love you...
Does it look like he kicked in the doors, or stepped in after someone else did?
Mirror-Sigil Sergeant seems to fit.
I was gonna say it couldn't be Knight of the Reliquary because Knights are typically mounted, iirc, but the flavor text and art on Sigil Blessing suggest this could be him.
I'm sure Kranioceros will be a mythic, it just seems too "potent" and brutal. kinda like those bone-head dino's whatever the hell those were called. they were brutal and they used thier skull as thier main weapon. which makes sense, Kranio - sounds like it's using it's skull or horns to be it's main weapon instead of carrying them around like other Rhoxes.
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Ravarshi Kashaku, Ancient Dragon of the Darkened Realms;
The Merciless Lord of Torture, Permanently Bound To: ">[THE PACK] 11/5/63 - 11/25/09 Goodbye mom, i'll always love you...
Clan MTGSalivation :: Trade Thread
"In another life, in another dream,
By a different name,
Gave it all away for a memory and a quiet lie.
But I felt the face of a cold tonight,
Still don't know the score,
But I know the pain of leaving everything very far behind.
And if I could cry,
And if I could live,
What truth I did then take me there,
Heaven Goodbye."
-Heaven's Not Enough, by Steve Conte
Hmm. Wonder if this puts the idea of enemy wedge multicolor in Conflux to rest?
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Why must all white characters be the stereotypical Don Quixote.
And if they are smart they are "rebels".
I like 4/4s for 7.
Now now, the description said that all 5 shards where disrupted. That of course is what should be expected when they are introduced to magics they have no experience with. I doubt Esper is going to be looking that great in this expansion either. Grixis could sure use the Vis that green/white give it, but I doubt they want anything else that comes with those two and no doubt the Vithicans who are still alive will be emboldened and rebel even more. Jund may be a hellish place to live, but white and blue messing up their predatory chains and helping those humans hunt dragons isn't going to be pretty and death magic + artifact magic + Naya isn't going to be pretty either.
I personally find it interesting how the center Rhino is solid looking but the other two are spirits. Perhaps they are supporting him in some way (a rather white theme).
So, which name fits that artwork?
Clan MTGSalivation :: Trade Thread
"In another life, in another dream,
By a different name,
Gave it all away for a memory and a quiet lie.
But I felt the face of a cold tonight,
Still don't know the score,
But I know the pain of leaving everything very far behind.
And if I could cry,
And if I could live,
What truth I did then take me there,
Heaven Goodbye."
-Heaven's Not Enough, by Steve Conte
Read this as: In Conflux, it is revealed that Nicol Bolas is conspiring to reunite Alara?
- Jon Finkel believes in maintaining a healthy, balanced diet. He gets all his fiber from eating Magic cards for breakfast, and all his protein from eating Magic players for lunch.
In Shards of Alara, Alara is one plane diverged down five alternate possible realities. In Conflux, those five parallel planes are now resolving back down to one plane. In Alara Reborn, this cataclysmic process will be finished and Alara will be reaching a new planar equilibrium.
Rhox Bodyguard [CON]
Rhox Meditant [CON]
Knight of the Reliquary [CON]
Any other idea?
"You painted a racing stripe on our baby?!?!"
My favorite A-Team member? VAN.
I'd have to say you're probably right. Hopefully the mechanics will reflect this in some way. A few possibilities:
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone it gains Shroud until end of turn.
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone it becomes unblcokable until end of turn.
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone put a token into play tapped and attacking that is a copy of that creature. At end of turn, remove it from the game
Well I'd be pretty pissed if that happened too you know....
Flavorful and likely.
[/quote]
Or it could be about Mirrors, that also works.
Lol, so true.
If anything, this WOULD actually just spur the wedge speculation further.
Worlds coming together? To me, that smells more like wedges than Shards again.
I like 4/4s for 7.
That's what we have right now.
*shrug*
ALSO DID I READ THAT RIGHT? FEBRUARY 6TH?
God, it feels like Shards has been out for months already. Having all the names of Conflux spoiled didn't help either. Wake me up in two months for rumor season.
Zzzzzz.
If this creature doesn't have vigilance, I'll be very surprised!
.
Also, Here's what i think it'll look like/be
The Merciless Lord of Torture, Permanently Bound To: ">[THE PACK] 11/5/63 - 11/25/09 Goodbye mom, i'll always love you...
Tibalt & His Devils vs. Avacyn's Inquisitors
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Mirror-Sigil Sergeant seems to fit.
I was gonna say it couldn't be Knight of the Reliquary because Knights are typically mounted, iirc, but the flavor text and art on Sigil Blessing suggest this could be him.
ADD: What's a Kranioceros? A legendeary Rhox?
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The Merciless Lord of Torture, Permanently Bound To: ">[THE PACK] 11/5/63 - 11/25/09 Goodbye mom, i'll always love you...
Tibalt & His Devils vs. Avacyn's Inquisitors
My EDH decklists
Yeah it's pretty obvious, the sets are going to be:
Enemy colors and some of the old shard stuff to in Conflux
Five/four color in Shards Reborn