Goblin Sky Raider
I'm not going to talk about how awful this card is.
Because it's awful.
What I do want to talk about are these:
Suntail Hawk / Lantern Kami
Flying Men
Scryb Sprites
The first ever C for a 1/1 flyer was printed in Alpha, and it was green! Green was the original color of small flying creatures! It had two! The other one being Birds of Paradise. Red had a sometimes flying one drop in the form of Goblin Balloon Brigade, and black had Will-o'-the-Wisp! Blue and white didn't have one drop creatures that could fly!
But Goblin Sky Raider reminded me that I'm still waiting for there to be a B 1/1 flyer and a R 1/1 flyer.
I don't know if that will ever happen, but I think it's something that would be very interesting and telling of how the game has evolved throughout all these years.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Random Card of the Day 9
Afiya Grove
This obviously the precursor to the graft mechanic.
I really enjoy the concept and idea behind this card. Creatures eat the fruit and become stronger but the grove will eventually run out of fruit. Very rarely do the mechanics and the concept of a card integrate so well together, this is one of those times.
The card is obviously incredibly underpowered and underwhelming, and I think it would be pushed greatly if there was a similar card printed today.
Also, I feel that there is a discrepancy between Oracle text and actual text; I always thought bury meant to destroy without being regenerated and not sacrifice. Just something that I thought might be a little inconsistent.
This obviously the precursor to the graft mechanic.
I really enjoy the concept and idea behind this card. Creatures eat the fruit and become stronger but the grove will eventually run out of fruit. Very rarely do the mechanics and the concept of a card integrate so well together, this is one of those times.
The card is obviously incredibly underpowered and underwhelming, and I think it would be pushed greatly if there was a similar card printed today.
Also, I feel that there is a discrepancy between Oracle text and actual text; I always thought bury meant to destroy without being regenerated and not sacrifice. Just something that I thought might be a little inconsistent.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Random Card of the Day 8
Murmurs from Beyond
At first looking at this card, the first connection I make is to Fact or Fiction. You're revealing some cards from the top of your library, your opponent makes a choice, and then you get another card in your hand.
What makes Murmurs so awful is that you're always going to get what your opponent wants you to get. I think that is what makes the card so bad. Yes, unlike Fact, you will always get card advantage, but that doesn't make up for this. If there is one car dyou need, you will never get it with Murmurs.
I wonder what the power level of the card would be if they separated it into two piles, and then you were able to chose one of those piles!
Now that would have been interesting.
At first looking at this card, the first connection I make is to Fact or Fiction. You're revealing some cards from the top of your library, your opponent makes a choice, and then you get another card in your hand.
What makes Murmurs so awful is that you're always going to get what your opponent wants you to get. I think that is what makes the card so bad. Yes, unlike Fact, you will always get card advantage, but that doesn't make up for this. If there is one car dyou need, you will never get it with Murmurs.
I wonder what the power level of the card would be if they separated it into two piles, and then you were able to chose one of those piles!
Now that would have been interesting.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Random Card of the Day 8
Entangler
This is such an underused ability. There are five creatures with that ability and two spells that give that ability to a creature you control, and they all are white.
This is obviously something that has a lot of potential. I really like how it works and what it does to combat. Palace Guard is the last thing that was printed with this ability since Lorwyn's Thoughtweft Trio. Three years between using that ability!
And it's weird because it appears at common, so it's not like it's a complicated ability. I just think there is a lot that can be done with this ability, and I really want something like the Trio that has this ability and be relevant.
As creature combat becomes more relevant, I think this ability is something that should become more common.
This is such an underused ability. There are five creatures with that ability and two spells that give that ability to a creature you control, and they all are white.
This is obviously something that has a lot of potential. I really like how it works and what it does to combat. Palace Guard is the last thing that was printed with this ability since Lorwyn's Thoughtweft Trio. Three years between using that ability!
And it's weird because it appears at common, so it's not like it's a complicated ability. I just think there is a lot that can be done with this ability, and I really want something like the Trio that has this ability and be relevant.
As creature combat becomes more relevant, I think this ability is something that should become more common.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Random Card of the Day 7
Goblin Festival
There are three things this card makes me want to talk about:
1) I absolutely hate it when there are cards that encourage people to use the effect numerous times in response to each other. You can activate this card four times in a row, and even if you lose control of it on the first flip, the other three activations still go off. It just seems silly, and it rubs me the wrong way. Specifically because the only way to play it correctly is to know that you can respond to activating it, and that is somewhat advanced rulings.
2) I think coin flip effects are in general really bad. I think there are better ways to have coin flip like effect but not have the coin; that's why I really really liked the clash ability from Lorwyn. It has an unsure outcome like the coin flips, but can be impacted and altered through playing correctly and knowing the cards in your deck. I think the game would be better if all coin flips were turned into clashes.
3) Tribal. This reads like it should be a Tribal Enchantment - Goblin. Remember when they did the creature update a long time ago and added each creature types to cards without them and reworked everything to make it fit all nice and neatly? I feel like that is what they should have done with Tribal. It was a way to make all older cards fit in a modern setting. However, cards like Goblin Assault completely destroyed what they should have done.
I feel like there needs to be a decision around Tribal very soon, because it's something that if they decide to come back to it... Well, there will be many years of cards without it and that will just look really confusing.
There are three things this card makes me want to talk about:
1) I absolutely hate it when there are cards that encourage people to use the effect numerous times in response to each other. You can activate this card four times in a row, and even if you lose control of it on the first flip, the other three activations still go off. It just seems silly, and it rubs me the wrong way. Specifically because the only way to play it correctly is to know that you can respond to activating it, and that is somewhat advanced rulings.
2) I think coin flip effects are in general really bad. I think there are better ways to have coin flip like effect but not have the coin; that's why I really really liked the clash ability from Lorwyn. It has an unsure outcome like the coin flips, but can be impacted and altered through playing correctly and knowing the cards in your deck. I think the game would be better if all coin flips were turned into clashes.
3) Tribal. This reads like it should be a Tribal Enchantment - Goblin. Remember when they did the creature update a long time ago and added each creature types to cards without them and reworked everything to make it fit all nice and neatly? I feel like that is what they should have done with Tribal. It was a way to make all older cards fit in a modern setting. However, cards like Goblin Assault completely destroyed what they should have done.
I feel like there needs to be a decision around Tribal very soon, because it's something that if they decide to come back to it... Well, there will be many years of cards without it and that will just look really confusing.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Random Card of the Day 6
Seismic Assault
This card reminds me of the comboness of enchantments. For the most part, it seems that enchantments are very uninteractive and rarely if ever get played.
There are 55 nonaura enchantments in Standard.
Dark Tutelage, Journey to Nowhere, Pyromancer Ascension, and Tempered Steel are the only ones that seem to see any amount of consistent constructed play.
I don't if that changes how I feel about enchantments, but they usually seem more comboey than any other card type. It's funny, I think, that the two really combo enchantments here are both red. But I guess because they are so hard to remove and intrinsically uninteractive, I guess that is why there aren't as many and why they aren't really ever that great.
I don't know. I just really feel like there is so much more to do with enchantments.
This card reminds me of the comboness of enchantments. For the most part, it seems that enchantments are very uninteractive and rarely if ever get played.
There are 55 nonaura enchantments in Standard.
Dark Tutelage, Journey to Nowhere, Pyromancer Ascension, and Tempered Steel are the only ones that seem to see any amount of consistent constructed play.
I don't if that changes how I feel about enchantments, but they usually seem more comboey than any other card type. It's funny, I think, that the two really combo enchantments here are both red. But I guess because they are so hard to remove and intrinsically uninteractive, I guess that is why there aren't as many and why they aren't really ever that great.
I don't know. I just really feel like there is so much more to do with enchantments.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Random Card of the Day 5
Blue Elemental Blast
This card would obviously never be printed today because destroying permanents is completely out of blue's color pie, but I really do like the ideals behind this card. At the beginning of the game, the enemy colors were really enemies and absolutely hated each other. You could do dangerous and powerful things to players who had your enemy colors because your spells were just that much more powerful.
Now, color hosers are definitely nowhere near as powerful, but maybe that is for the better. Powerful "strategy" hosers are much more interactive than color hosers.
This card would obviously never be printed today because destroying permanents is completely out of blue's color pie, but I really do like the ideals behind this card. At the beginning of the game, the enemy colors were really enemies and absolutely hated each other. You could do dangerous and powerful things to players who had your enemy colors because your spells were just that much more powerful.
Now, color hosers are definitely nowhere near as powerful, but maybe that is for the better. Powerful "strategy" hosers are much more interactive than color hosers.
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