Good morning...
/me rubs his face and yawns *
This is information from the same source as the "giant growth variant". They gave me this info a few days ago and asked that I wait until we had at least 10 more cards on the spoiler before posting it. With all of yesterday's leaks, I think it's time to let this stuff fly.
(A note to anyone who is thinking of criticizing me for "withholding" information, just remember that if you screw your sources, they likely won't be back. I respect people's wishes because I'm selfish and want them to keep giving me information! Not to mention I know that some peoples' jobs depend on them not being discovered leaking rumor info.)
The info:
The giant growth variant's "alternate casting cost" is actually misinterpreted because the card only costs one mana. The ability is actually a keyword for the green/white guild (I deduced that part myself using the information we got yesterday). Tapping a creature when playing a spell with that keyword drops the casting cost by one mana of that creature's colour. In the giant growth variant's case, it only costs one mana which is why it appears to be a "free" mechanic. A better example of the keyword is:
Something Phalanx -
Creature - Human Soldier (U)
Keyword
When Something Phalanx comes into play, you gain 1 life for each creature you control.
2/4
So if you cast a second turn Raise the Alarm, third turn you can tap both Soldier tokens to reduce the cost by :symw:, and pay for the "Something Phalanx". This keyword will appear on green spells, white spells, and green/white spells.
Some white common filler:
Gate Hound -
Creature - Hound (C)
Creatures you control have vigilance as long as Gate Hound is enchanted.
1/1
There's a rare enchantment that costs 2(g/w)(g/w)(g/w).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's all the info he sent. I'm not sure why it's green and white focussed but whatever, it's info! The Hound is complete junk, IMO, but the Phalanx seems to be a house in limited, where he will often be free or very cheap, and will gain you some life and hold off 3/3s all day long.
Also, 2(g/w)(g/w)(g/w) seems like a very sweet mana cost for a card. My guess is it's a big meaty version of Glorious Anthem - maybe all your creatures get +3/+3 or something. Whoa, okay maybe that's broken.
But this doesn't make sense, given the supposed "weakening" of green after its strong showing for two- maybe three-consecutive blocks in a row. Now they're making G/W potent again too? Gah.
Looks interesting. I like that concept of reducing mana costs with mana symbols rather than strictly generic mana a la Sapphire Medallion.
Wonder if there'll be any giant, pissed off DRAGONS to deal with in this set Maybe each guild will have a pet lizard to call its own
'buster :dance2:
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'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset. Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
phalanx - solid but unspectacular limited card. even in limited you don't often want to tap 2-3 of your creatures to cast this guy (they'll usually be tapped to attack, or untapped to block). probably most often a 2/4 for 4.
woot for G/W guild being sweet so far!!! i wonder what the enchantment will be....too bad we didnt get one small little piece of info about it, so we could start speculating!!!
But this doesn't make sense, given the supposed "weakening" of green after its strong showing for two- maybe three-consecutive blocks in a row. Now they're making G/W potent again too? Gah.
Looks interesting. I like that concept of reducing mana costs with mana symbols rather than strictly generic mana a la Sapphire Medallion.
Wonder if there'll be any giant, pissed off DRAGONS to deal with in this set Maybe each guild will have a pet lizard to call its own
'buster :dance2:
Personally I don't think we have enough info yet to state whether or not green is going to remain potent.
If we see a few decent local enchantments, I don't see why the Hound isn't decent, at least.
Giving all your creatures vigilance can make the difference to whether you win or lose.
the ability is strong but the card is weak. in limited you don't usually have room for 3-4 creature enchantments AT MOST. given that you usually play 23 cards, 16 creatures, 3-4 removal spells, 3-4 tricks/enchantments.
so you'd have to play a 1/1 3-drop, then draw an enchantment for it, then risk having him easily removed... it's just not worth it. the hound is definitely a filler.
This just seems like a weird mechanic....Or just a clever way for R&D to print "overcosted" creatures with mediocre stats with a "fixed" version of affinity :slant:
...Tapping a creature when playing a spell with that keyword drops the casting cost by one mana of that creature's colour. In the giant growth variant's case, it only costs one mana which is why it appears to be a "free" mechanic. A better example of the keyword is:
Something Phalanx - :4mana::symw:
Creature - Human Soldier (U)
Keyword
When Something Phalanx comes into play, you gain 1 life for each creature you control.
2/4
So if you cast a second turn Raise the Alarm, third turn you can tap both Soldier tokens to reduce the cost by :symw::symw:, and pay for the "Something Phalanx".
Sorry, not quite. Reducing by W gets rid of the one colored mana symbol; reducing by further colored mana does nothing. Tapping the creatures doesn't ADD MANA, it REDUCES the cost by a specific amount, which often act the same but are not interchangable.
@VestDan - I'm pretty sure reducing a creature's colored mana reduces its colored mana OR colorless mana. Colorless mana can be paid with W, so reducing the cost by W DOES reduce colored mana.
Anyway, nice info. So this is the "provoke" they were talking about.
lets hope the enchantment is a Wake type reprint, if it is I am sold and will immediately get a G/W deck going again
I have never been so excited by a new set
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Charlie Pride was the man in black
Rock and roll use to be about Johnny Cash
Yeah whatcha think about that
Well I'm a crazy son-of -a-(bad word)
But I know I'm gonna make it big and rich
Yeah im gonna let it rip
~Big & Rich
You don't have to eat the whole turd to know its not a crabcake [O. Card]
the more RAV info the better.. thanx R_E and your source
man.. the green/white guild is looking quite good.. can you say acceleration? looks like the white/green guild will involve lots of tapping/untapping and gaining life.. sounds good to me..
@VestDan - I'm pretty sure reducing a creature's colored mana reduces its colored mana OR colorless mana. Colorless mana can be paid with W, so reducing the cost by W DOES reduce colored mana.
I don't know how the ability is worded, but I know how it apparently works - and yes, you can reduce the amount you pay by if you choose. VestDan is technically right but the ability will be worded in such a way that tapping coloured creatures lets you reduce the colourless portion of spells with this keyword.
Come on people, Gate Hound sucks dog toes. It may have a bit of cool flavour, some sneaky puppy at the city wall trying to keep the citizens safe from invaders, but as a card it blows! Let's all say it together:
@VestDan - I'm pretty sure reducing a creature's colored mana reduces its colored mana OR colorless mana. Colorless mana can be paid with W, so reducing the cost by W DOES reduce colored mana.
Anyway, nice info. So this is the "provoke" they were talking about.
It's not an or, and reducing colored does not reduce colorless. See Edgewalker
MaRo wouldn't be happy if there wasn't SOME crap in the set. Even Urza block had some tripe in it, just nobody remembers it next to stuff like Tolarian Academy and Masticore.
the enchant may be +1/+1 and trample, it just seems to work to me. this keyword would seemed to be put on highcc cards only, or dinky creatures. theirs nothing that going to be like.
poopy monster
1GW
Keyword
cant be the target of spell or abilitys
3/3
it would more along the line be like the thing in rancors post or something like this
Evil-Father-In-Law
6GGGWWW
keyword
trample, first strike, haste, forestwalk, plainswalk, flying, vigilance, pro black, pro blue, pro emotions.
beinging of you unkeep, pay GGGWWW or tap Evil-Father-In-Law and it deals 10 damage to you. Keyword may be use to pay the GGGWWW.
"one day your best friends then the next your sitting in his bathroom naked crying and he's holding a knife and screaming in german."
10/10
I have looked at other cost reducers. From what I have seen it looks like unless the ability specifically says that it does not reduce the colorless cost then it does. I base this on the FAQ for Edgewalker (note that edgewalker specifically says that it does not reduce colorless costs).
From the Official Scourge FAQ:
Edgewalker
Edgewalker's ability reduces what you pay only if the total cost of the Cleric spell includes B and/or W. Unlike previous cost reducers, it doesn't affect the generic mana portion of costs, even if you choose to pay that portion with white and/or black mana.
If the cost to play a Cleric spell includes either B or W, you don't pay that part. If a cost includes B and W, you don't pay either of them.
Multiple Edgewalkers are cumulative. If you control two of them, they reduce the amount you pay for Cleric spells by BB and WW.
This definately implies that colored cost reducers can reduce the colorless cost of spells.
I cannot find anything in the comprehensive rules that specifically denotes this, nor cannot I find anything that says the opposite. However, the FAQ is reasonably clear on this. Thus assuming that there is not a clause in the spell that prevents it, you should be able to reduce the cost by however many creatures you control of that color.
athelred
Level 1 Judge
VestDan : The difference is that Edgewalker *specifically* says that you cannot use it to reduce colorless costs. Unless this says otherwise you can.
This stuff certainly explains why that one that untaps all your creatures is 6 mana. Good stuff and good find R_E! Also, thanks to the source for giving up the info!
Interesting. So far, it's looking like the G/B keyword is the only one that isn't color-dependent in some way. Interesting. So far, these mechanics fit wonderfully into their respective colors:
W/G -- makes use of creatures (which both colors excel in) to reduce costs and drop cards faster
G/B -- ties into the graveyard-restoration aspect that both colors share, along with the slight draw manipulation of each
B/U -- fetching cards from the library has always been a B/U mechanic.
The W/R mechanic seems like the odd man out here so far, though maybe it'll make more sense when we see exactly what it does.
In other news, I'm excited for confirmation that there are guild mana spells other than just the guildmages (I thought it was pretty likely, but it's good to know for sure.) I don't suppose this source wants to finally end the confusion on how guild mana is represented, does he? :wink3:
I refuse to not play something for fear of removal.
You don't have room for 3-4 at most? And so what if you just ran 3? It's not like they are blank pieces of paper.
The hound isnt a great creature, but he isn't without use.
by that logic, every card "has a use". but the cut-off in saying something is useful or not is if you'd play it in limited... sealed or draft. take for example wandering ones. a 1/1 for U. sure it "has a use". it's a creature that costs 1 that can probably deal 2 dmg before it dies or chump blocks. that doesn't mean it's a playable card.
the hound is the same way... as a 1/1 for 3 he's basically worthless. slap on a mediocre ability that NEEDS another card to activate and he's still only marginally useful. point is... it's not worth the investment. you can play the hound on your turn 3 while i play my 3/3, then you can play an enchantment on him on turn 4 while i play another 3/3. even with vigilance i'd like to see who wins that race...
the enchant may be +1/+1 and trample, it just seems to work to me. this keyword would seemed to be put on highcc cards only, or dinky creatures. theirs nothing that going to be like.
poopy monster
1GW
Keyword
cant be the target of spell or abilitys
3/3
it would more along the line be like the thing in rancors post or something like this
Evil-Father-In-Law
6GGGWWW
keyword
trample, first strike, haste, forestwalk, plainswalk, flying, vigilance, pro black, pro blue, pro emotions.
beinging of you unkeep, pay GGGWWW or tap Evil-Father-In-Law and it deals 10 damage to you. Keyword may be use to pay the GGGWWW.
"one day your best friends then the next your sitting in his bathroom naked crying and he's holding a knife and screaming in german."
10/10
while you're right about the casting cost getting jacked up how expensive were cards like Frogmite, Myr Enforcer, or any of the affinity stuff? have we really forgotten the days of first and second turn 2/2's and 4/4's for free so soon? so what if Myr Enforcer's printed cost is 7; who ever payed 7 to cast it? I know I didn't. depending how this goes it could easily be the next affinity. it all will depend on how strongly it is supported, how it actually reads, and how aggresively they cost it, but the potential is definitely there.
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/me rubs his face and yawns *
This is information from the same source as the "giant growth variant". They gave me this info a few days ago and asked that I wait until we had at least 10 more cards on the spoiler before posting it. With all of yesterday's leaks, I think it's time to let this stuff fly.
(A note to anyone who is thinking of criticizing me for "withholding" information, just remember that if you screw your sources, they likely won't be back. I respect people's wishes because I'm selfish and want them to keep giving me information! Not to mention I know that some peoples' jobs depend on them not being discovered leaking rumor info.)
The info:
The giant growth variant's "alternate casting cost" is actually misinterpreted because the card only costs one mana. The ability is actually a keyword for the green/white guild (I deduced that part myself using the information we got yesterday). Tapping a creature when playing a spell with that keyword drops the casting cost by one mana of that creature's colour. In the giant growth variant's case, it only costs one mana which is why it appears to be a "free" mechanic. A better example of the keyword is:
Something Phalanx -
Creature - Human Soldier (U)
Keyword
When Something Phalanx comes into play, you gain 1 life for each creature you control.
2/4
So if you cast a second turn Raise the Alarm, third turn you can tap both Soldier tokens to reduce the cost by :symw:, and pay for the "Something Phalanx". This keyword will appear on green spells, white spells, and green/white spells.
Some white common filler:
Gate Hound -
Creature - Hound (C)
Creatures you control have vigilance as long as Gate Hound is enchanted.
1/1
There's a rare enchantment that costs 2(g/w)(g/w)(g/w).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's all the info he sent. I'm not sure why it's green and white focussed but whatever, it's info! The Hound is complete junk, IMO, but the Phalanx seems to be a house in limited, where he will often be free or very cheap, and will gain you some life and hold off 3/3s all day long.
Also, 2(g/w)(g/w)(g/w) seems like a very sweet mana cost for a card. My guess is it's a big meaty version of Glorious Anthem - maybe all your creatures get +3/+3 or something. Whoa, okay maybe that's broken.
.
Looks interesting. I like that concept of reducing mana costs with mana symbols rather than strictly generic mana a la Sapphire Medallion.
Wonder if there'll be any giant, pissed off DRAGONS to deal with in this set Maybe each guild will have a pet lizard to call its own
'buster :dance2:
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset.
Elspeth and Jhoira rock my world.
hound - horrible
EDIT:just read the other thread.
2-mana enchantment vs. 2-card combo that costs at least 4 and involves wasting an Aura on a vanilla 1/1
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Personally I don't think we have enough info yet to state whether or not green is going to remain potent.
(Also known as Xenphire)
the ability is strong but the card is weak. in limited you don't usually have room for 3-4 creature enchantments AT MOST. given that you usually play 23 cards, 16 creatures, 3-4 removal spells, 3-4 tricks/enchantments.
so you'd have to play a 1/1 3-drop, then draw an enchantment for it, then risk having him easily removed... it's just not worth it. the hound is definitely a filler.
Boston Magic: The Gathering Examiner - Please read my articles!
Sorry, not quite. Reducing by W gets rid of the one colored mana symbol; reducing by further colored mana does nothing. Tapping the creatures doesn't ADD MANA, it REDUCES the cost by a specific amount, which often act the same but are not interchangable.
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http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=519290
Anyway, nice info. So this is the "provoke" they were talking about.
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ah my old Wake-Nishoba-Cloak decks
lets hope the enchantment is a Wake type reprint, if it is I am sold and will immediately get a G/W deck going again
I have never been so excited by a new set
Rock and roll use to be about Johnny Cash
Yeah whatcha think about that
Well I'm a crazy son-of -a-(bad word)
But I know I'm gonna make it big and rich
Yeah im gonna let it rip
~Big & Rich
You don't have to eat the whole turd to know its not a crabcake [O. Card]
man.. the green/white guild is looking quite good.. can you say acceleration? looks like the white/green guild will involve lots of tapping/untapping and gaining life.. sounds good to me..
I don't know how the ability is worded, but I know how it apparently works - and yes, you can reduce the amount you pay by if you choose. VestDan is technically right but the ability will be worded in such a way that tapping coloured creatures lets you reduce the colourless portion of spells with this keyword.
Come on people, Gate Hound sucks dog toes. It may have a bit of cool flavour, some sneaky puppy at the city wall trying to keep the citizens safe from invaders, but as a card it blows! Let's all say it together:
Ravnica has crap commons!
Yes, :eek:, I know... scary thought.
.
It's not an or, and reducing colored does not reduce colorless. See Edgewalker
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Articles
Winner of SSC 1 & ">3 & 6
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Articles
Winner of SSC 1 & ">3 & 6
poopy monster
1GW
Keyword
cant be the target of spell or abilitys
3/3
it would more along the line be like the thing in rancors post or something like this
Evil-Father-In-Law
6GGGWWW
keyword
trample, first strike, haste, forestwalk, plainswalk, flying, vigilance, pro black, pro blue, pro emotions.
beinging of you unkeep, pay GGGWWW or tap Evil-Father-In-Law and it deals 10 damage to you. Keyword may be use to pay the GGGWWW.
"one day your best friends then the next your sitting in his bathroom naked crying and he's holding a knife and screaming in german."
10/10
This definately implies that colored cost reducers can reduce the colorless cost of spells.
I cannot find anything in the comprehensive rules that specifically denotes this, nor cannot I find anything that says the opposite. However, the FAQ is reasonably clear on this. Thus assuming that there is not a clause in the spell that prevents it, you should be able to reduce the cost by however many creatures you control of that color.
athelred
Level 1 Judge
VestDan : The difference is that Edgewalker *specifically* says that you cannot use it to reduce colorless costs. Unless this says otherwise you can.
W/G -- makes use of creatures (which both colors excel in) to reduce costs and drop cards faster
G/B -- ties into the graveyard-restoration aspect that both colors share, along with the slight draw manipulation of each
B/U -- fetching cards from the library has always been a B/U mechanic.
The W/R mechanic seems like the odd man out here so far, though maybe it'll make more sense when we see exactly what it does.
In other news, I'm excited for confirmation that there are guild mana spells other than just the guildmages (I thought it was pretty likely, but it's good to know for sure.) I don't suppose this source wants to finally end the confusion on how guild mana is represented, does he? :wink3:
by that logic, every card "has a use". but the cut-off in saying something is useful or not is if you'd play it in limited... sealed or draft. take for example wandering ones. a 1/1 for U. sure it "has a use". it's a creature that costs 1 that can probably deal 2 dmg before it dies or chump blocks. that doesn't mean it's a playable card.
the hound is the same way... as a 1/1 for 3 he's basically worthless. slap on a mediocre ability that NEEDS another card to activate and he's still only marginally useful. point is... it's not worth the investment. you can play the hound on your turn 3 while i play my 3/3, then you can play an enchantment on him on turn 4 while i play another 3/3. even with vigilance i'd like to see who wins that race...
while you're right about the casting cost getting jacked up how expensive were cards like Frogmite, Myr Enforcer, or any of the affinity stuff? have we really forgotten the days of first and second turn 2/2's and 4/4's for free so soon? so what if Myr Enforcer's printed cost is 7; who ever payed 7 to cast it? I know I didn't. depending how this goes it could easily be the next affinity. it all will depend on how strongly it is supported, how it actually reads, and how aggresively they cost it, but the potential is definitely there.
W Mangara's Lion
WBRG Kills Bugs Dead
UR Stitching Machine
WR Toolbox of the Sun
BUG Bad Choices Gifts
WUR When Cogs Attack!
URW Big Brother bounce
WU Phasing Doesn't Suck! (that much)
BU Funeral March Control (RIP-rules update fatality)
WB Seraph and Sengir Love Ferral's Mantle