Title: RtR Prerelease Promos

Date Posted: Mon Sep/24/12 at 11:33pm

Boyachi

Posts: 1553
Joined: 02-Nov-11

http://mtg-realm.blogspot.com/2012/09/return-to-ravnica-promos.html

Depending on the guild you pick, you'll get the corresponding promo card to use as well.

Let me warn all Izzet followers: Hypersonic Dragon's ability will be next to useless for you unless you garner specific rares or you need to wipe out artifacts (so two expansions ago). A hasty 4/4 flyer for five isn't horrible.

Azorious reminds me of my favorite clip from family guy:
Peter: Quick, to the HindenGriffin!
*A blimp with Peter's face on the front can be seen flying into some powerlines and bursting into flames*
Joe: Peter, how do you afford these things?!
4/5 flyer for seven, that snares two permanents FOR A TURN.

Rakdos:6 for a haste 5/4 first striker that you can convert into a 6/5 juggernaut. Expensive for my taste, but I'm jaded from playing creatures for discount prices via reanimation. I can see this getting into play, eventually.

Golgari: Finally a card that works with guild mechanic! It costs 4 for a 4/4 that doubles +1/+1 counters. Rakdos may have more power, but Golgari has thus far seized the medal for fun factor.

Selesnya: I'm on the fence with this card. Tap it, five lands, two creatures, and then sacrifice it, and you get a vigilant 8/8. Let me rephrase that assuming you'd be using two Llanowar elves: you seven mana and sac a land for an 8/8 with vigilance. Even this way, it isn't bad. The good news, is that this card isn't that slow either. Again, it works great with the guild mechanic.

I'm currently leaning towards Golgari. I can see the power in red, but I don't want to run Izzet, and I already know a friend of mine will be running Rakdos. In the olden days I would have clung to Azorius, but, I'm just not feeling their grove. Selesnya is running graveyard hate so I'm pis-
I might have to run Selesnya...crap.

[Edited by Boyachi on 24/Sep/12 at 11:34PM]

Date Posted: Tue Sep/25/12 at 1:00am

TheCaptain

Posts: 909
Joined: 13-Apr-11

While I think that Golgari is the better guild (Your creatures come back, so you get a 2 for 1 from each of them - very good in limited), the Selesnya promo is the best of them. Now I know that a lot people hear that and disagree so I'll elaborate.
First, its a land when you need it, and when you're ready for a bomb in the late game its already there. If you draw an opening hand with 2 lands an an Archon or Hellsteed in it, you've only got 2 lands and what'll probably be a dead card for 8 turns or so.
Second, since it fills a land slot, you can still keep the 23 nonland to 17 land ratio so many people like, but its almost like having 24 spells. Utility lands are super strong in limited for that reason.
Third, it's instant speed. You can use it as a combat trick for unsuspecting players first encountering the land, do it at the end of your opponents turn so it can be swinging the next.
Now it obviously has its downsides, like all of Selesnya the cards can't really operate independently. You have to have tokens to get the full effect of cards like Rootborn Defenses, and you have to have populate effects on hand to take advantage of the Grove, but a well built Selesnya deck can be tough to bring down.

Date Posted: Tue Sep/25/12 at 11:46pm

krowbar28

Posts: 434
Joined: 18-Oct-10

Azorius is the best guild "detain" is crazy OP...is going to dominate in prerelease events. I think will most likely play a huge role in standard format.

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 1:30am

Academic

Posts: 1305
Joined: 29-Mar-12

Aaaaand let me correct you, Boyachi: Hypersonic Dragon's ability is next to awesome. Don't be as so short-sighted as to dismiss his ability in just the draft.

I'm just going to start here.

Flashback. Sorcery flashback at instant speed. The Izzet this set are fun - but Hypersonic Dragon is going to light things up in Standard.

Dig each of those miracle cards I've listed - if you've got Hypersonic Dragon in play, and you draw those cards first on your opponent's turn, you still get to cast them at Miracle cost. And these cards I've picked are only Izzet complimentary - that's not taking into account the possibility of a tri-colored deck.

Boyachi, you've had some great ideas, and some good points regarding the game, but this time you're way off. :D

And frankly, you're assuming that you're going to draw a big dirty pile of Golgari cards in booster packs. Even if you do, common Golgari cards are bloody expensive to scavenge. The exception to that is the Sluiceway Scorpion, and even at common, you're only going to get so many of those. The Rakdos, the Selesnya and the Izzet will all go off before you get a chance. It's still a 4/4 for four, and it'll be fun in Standard, but Corpsejack is just another 'good' card in a draft tournament.

All around, I have to agree with Captain - the Selesnya card is the best all around card for this weekend. Selesnya decks are going to be cheap, and have a lot of little blockers - that sort of thing lends to longer games. It'll also take care of the burdensome creature aspect of the ability cost, leaving you with an 8/8 creature with vigilance for five. For a land slot card. That's invaluable.

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 7:38am

hypnoschaos

Posts: 22
Joined: 15-Feb-11

To be fair, all miracles can be cast on an opponent's turn for their miracle cost provided it's the first card you drew that turn. Miracle overwrites normal timing for a spell (normally you can't cast during your draw step).

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 8:24am

Boyachi

Posts: 1553
Joined: 02-Nov-11

@Academic:

I'm not way off. I'm only talking about during the prerelease. I don't expect to have access to any M13 or Innistrad block cards during that time. That is why I said what I did.
Perhaps it was the jab "so two expansions ago". That was aimed at one of the red sorceries(Vandalblast) that is a shatter/shatterstorm depending on whether you pay the overload cost. We are well beyond that being devastating, since this cycle is looking nothing like the Scars of Mirrodin cycle.
Yes, there are good sorceries in RtR. However they are either off color of U/R, rare/mythic, or off color AND rare/mythic. Dreadboring (hahahahahaha, that card's name is amazing as a verb) as an instant would be powerful, but not only is it rare, but it is off color. Walking into the prerelease and expecting to have that power just because you have the dragon would be unwise.

Otherwise yes, I do argee highly with you that HSD will be a powerhouse in standard. If I may be so bold, imagine what will happen when you combine it with Tamiyo.
Even without, Blasphemous Act would be a cheap and wrecking card to play on a token player's attack step. Even better would be bonfire of the damned. You could even Shattered Perception to get a counterspell!

[Edited by Boyachi on 26/Sep/12 at 8:44AM]

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 1:03pm

TheCaptain

Posts: 909
Joined: 13-Apr-11

I really like Azorius too, Krowbar, but Detain fails against tokens. If you get to detain one creature, which of the 3 2/2 knights are you going to pick. Selesnya fills up the board, and even if they're not directly threathening an opponent - just seeing a field full of creatures can make an opponent refrain from attacking.

Also, Selesnya has the best removal. Now I don't mean removal in the traditional sense, otherwise Rakdos has the most, but instead Selesnya has these instant speed combat tricks. Your opponent has a 6/2 Minotaur Aggresor and you have but a single 1/1 Bird token: your opponent's going to attack. Rootborn Defenses then becomes a Rebuke. Its like having a whole hand full of flash creatures who are reasonably priced. The only issue being that it's dependent on actually have the tokens out.

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 2:33pm

Academic

Posts: 1305
Joined: 29-Mar-12

I can only judge you according to your on words, Boyachi - aside from the initial sentence (which only implied that you were talking about the prerelease, without saying it directly), there isn't any other mention of your comments being weekend specific. Implying that I should have parsed that out on my own is silly, considering the absence of any such language in your post.

But at least you agree with me about how good Hypersonic is. :D And the Corpsejack is going to be hella sweet in Standard, too. Undying, much?

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 7:40pm

spawnmaster

Posts: 35
Joined: 22-Sep-12

GOLGARI IS THE WAY TO GO. DUH. LOVE THE NEW STUFF THEY BROUGHT BACK. CANT WAIT FOR GATECRASH TO.

Date Posted: Wed Sep/26/12 at 7:44pm

TheCaptain

Posts: 909
Joined: 13-Apr-11

A compelling argument Spawnmaster, you have successfully swayed my opinions.