Magic 20XX: Recent Activity
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Recent updates to Magic 20XX: (Generated at 2025-05-01 07:47:51)
| Magic 20XX: Cardlist | Visual spoiler | Export | Booster | Comments | Search | Recent activity |
Recent updates to Magic 20XX: (Generated at 2025-05-01 07:47:51)
Eep! Mon's becomes Mons'.
That's a really nice grizzly boost. I do like this theme.
What happens if the opponent points out that card you revealed isn't called Mon's Goblin Raiders, but Mons' Goblin Raiders?
Just kidding. I do like the way that you've got so many tweaks on those bad cards and things that refer to them that they're a significant part of the Limited environment.
Yay, I always liked Heart Warden and its cycling-from-play fellows.
@jmg: I see your point. This is very bad in Limited and very good in Constructed (assuming the Constructed environment has any playable nonbasics that tap for
). Tricky.
Rogue Elephant was quite format-defining in its day, but Scythe Tiger sank without a trace despite being arguably better.
@Vitenka: Goblin Guide was stupidly good, and ain't getting reprinted any time soon. Each set needs some aggressive cards, including some aggressive one-drops. Next question?
Well - I must be the exception then; I look at this and instantly think "No."
It's like the anti llanowar. Poison your mana supply for a creature that isn't, by green's standard, very good? I guess it's a last-pick creature, if you really don't have any other creature to run.
Oh, there's ONE circumstance I might run this - a red aggro deck that doesn't actually have any forests in; but uses other sources of green mana. But even THERE it isn't that good a turn-1 drop, and why would you not just use a plain old grizzly bears on any other turn? Maybe if he had haste? That'd be less wrecking that 2/3.
Oh, WOW. Goblin Guide. Right, so why would I ever run this guy in preference?
Edit: Actually, they're kinda similar. But I think most players would prefer un-mana-screwing their opponent (and getting an oddly blue peek into their upcoming cards) to setting back their own mana by a turn. They're kinda comparable though. This is certainly a fair card; and I would like to see what happened if I drafted 5 of them and went for a green aggro deck. But "Ok, I draft all the cheap creatures and hit you a lot" isn't a very fun draft strategy, though it is often effective.
We end on a card that's been buggling me. Whenever I mention the Spiritualist to players, they think the card is fine... good even. But, noone plays it. I've tried running the card myself, and, let me tell ya... it ain't no Rogue Elephant.
I'm planning to increase this creature to a 2/3, but there's this little snag. While the card is very bland in limited, it could be a wrecking house in standard. Notice how the card asks you to return a forest to your hand? Notice how it doesn't ask you to sacrifice the Spiritualist if you don't? Yeah. Non-basic lands for the win. It wouldn't take much to make this card the best aggressive 1-drop ever printed.
I say that my sets are only to be drafted, but whenever I look at someone else's designs, comment on something, then hear them say "My sets aren't for drafting", I get a bit annoyed. Grr. I figure, I owe it to the people out there who aren't that big on drafting to not kill their fun, just because I thought something was fair in a draft.
Which brings me back to this guy. If no one hates him, should I just leave him alone?
Oh, also, the occasional card with a casting cost like this is the reason why Draco Maleficus looks a little awkward in 20XD6. I'm pretty sure that he's got enough support in this block to do some damage.
Originally, this card cost
. I thought it was pretty good, but no one would touch it. Too hard. Didn't want to think about it. So I dropped it by 1cc. Now, the thing is deadly... sometimes hitting the table on round 3 on the draw. It turns out that this is more exciting than broken. I mean, dumping your hand with Affinity, following up with 2 Myr Enforcers on round 2 is too much... but that's because you're taking advantage of everything you played. Dropping Killer Constrictor by drawing a card and bouncing a land is much more manageable. Deadly, but manageable.
Not everything from Homelands was terrible. If there was a draft environment back then, Hungry Mist would have made a fine common. I've pulled it forward to my set because 1). It never got the respect it deserved, and 2). It has a manageable upkeep cost on a playable creature. Wisdom wants you to keep cards in hand, and mana upkeep costs play into that. I didn't repeat that trick many times (I may not have repeated it at all, actually), because a lot of players don't like to keep paying to keep their creatures. The mist trades well enough, though.
Wisdom forces me to use as many creative ways to increase a person's hand size in the game. Early creatures that can be sacrificed later in the game when they become outclassed chip in. There's a cycle of 5 of these. Heart Warden comes from Urza's Destiny, as well as one other, then I filled out the rest of the cycle with practical cards as opposed to the outclassed cards of 1999.
Hey! It's one of the Pactmakers! Rock on.
A lot of the questions I've been getting in 20XD6 would be better answered if I could have linked to this card. This creature is dangerously tight, providing you a 2/2 on round 2, with a back up 2/2 on round 3, if you didn't have anything else to play.
There are 5 Pactmakers, each one 'wishing' for two 'bad' creatures from their allied color. There are also 5 'bad' creatures, one for each color, taking up the token slot. Each pack is guaranteed to have at least one. Many players want me to up that frequency... but I can't really do that without leaning on the integrity of the packs. They enjoy the mechanic, though... that comes through, so I just take their argument as a complement.
I suppose without the picture of a Dryad shifting through a tree, this seems like an odd card. It's top down design... and it's using technology from a very early green card, Elvish Scout. That gain four life seems a bit tacked on for a reason. It was tacked on. Enough with the "Draw a card" cantrip already, Wizards. Let's get the occasional other bonus, eh?
It's a pretty weak effect, I'm aware. I should pay extra attention and see who's playing it. The life gain may need to go up a touch to compensate.
Yay! Monday again, so that means we wheel around to Green and I enter 7 new Magic 20XX cards.
I've mentioned Double Bear a few times in other posts. I've used it two sets... it's sort of a personal reprint. It's good. Solid good. People who scoff it at first, end up having to deal with it, then change their mind. It does add to the "We're playing limited. Nobody attack." effect, though, so you got to be careful with a card like this.
Also, it kind of bugs me that Magic 20XX and XD6 have a mild creature type theme, but yet they contain the cards Double Bear and Triple Bear. I know I should change that creature type, but... Bears.
Also, the suggestion that 20XD6 include a card named Triple Bear, and Double Bear's flavor text, was originally purported by a friend, and fellow game reveiwer, Hoju. An alternate suggested flavor text is "Ach! Hans, Run! It's the Double Bear!"
That makes it a much nicer mirror as well.
You know, after having designed this guy, the Llanowar Sentinal connection occured to me too. I've been wanting to make this guy a touch better, and, now that I compare him directly, it becomes a bit obvious how inferior Hazard Thrull is. I'm doing some nipping and tucking to make him more relevant. 3/1 -> 3/2 and dropping the activation to
. It always bugged me that discarding a Hazard Thrull to a Hazard Thrull didn't do much of anything. Now, the second Hazard Thrull will come at a discount.
Quick good grammar victory lap! :)
Ha ha! Look at me, making pop culture references by sheer accident. I'm so cool, I should be wearing a fez.