[Community Discussion]: The official Fate Reforged spoiler discussion
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Dec. 27, 2014, 11 p.m. by Epochalyptik
This will be the official one-thread-covers-all discussion for Fate Reforged spoilers.
Fate Reforged overview:
Number of Cards: 185
Prerelease Events: January 17-18, 2015
Release Date: January 23, 2015
Game Day: February 13, 2015
Official Three-Letter Code: FRF
MTGSalvation spoiler list
MythicSpoiler spoiler list
MagicSpoiler spoiler list
Hjaltrohir says... #2
Would manifest + Roaring Primadox work as a sort of card draw engine in standard green deck? I could see a resurgence of Mono-Green Devotion with Whisperthingy Elemental and Roaring Primadox generating card advantage.
December 30, 2014 3:31 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #3
Yeah it would.
Whisperwood Elemental is essentially Courser of Kruphix for creatures. Any creature manifested is the same as a card in hand in most cases in addition to a 2/2 creatures.
Manifest is kind of like man-hand. If you hated Mutavault last season , this mechanic seems to fill a similar role.
December 30, 2014 4:10 a.m.
WHO'S THE CHICK ON THE TEMPORAL TRESPASS CARD? I THINK I'M IN LOOOVE!!!
December 30, 2014 5:17 a.m.
I think it's over-simplification to refer to manifest as straight up card advantage and leave it at that.
What manifest does is draw you a card and forces you to play it as a bear or zombie or whatever. This is really fantastic if you need board presence but really awful if you need removal, or a buff, or a planeswalker, or something else. The problem is that it's SPECIFIC card advantage that FORCES all cards drawn to fill that role. i.e. if you do draw a Hero's Downfall it becomes a 2/2 as well. I think those capitalised words are very, very important. It's specific because it only manifests the advantage as 2/2s. It's forced because anything else (sorceries / instants etc.) also become 2/2s.
I would therefore say that whilst this is good in certain situations, it's probably really bad in others. I would also argue that Courser of Kruphix is a lot better. The thing I like about Courser is that whilst it fulfils the specificity clause (only lands) it doesn't fulfil the forced clause by somehow forcing all your extra drawn cards to become lands, for example. Therefore courser doesn't change the way your deck fundamentally works - it only speeds it up. Manifest DOES change the way your deck fundamentally works, and I find this problematic. The issue, in essence, is that if you play a BG deck and you have a steady manifest source it's going to mean that a lot of your removal ends up as creatures, and thus your deck starts to resemble mono-green. Really, manifest is a very green mechanic. I think that manifest is incompatible in a deck that doesn't play a hefty amount of creatures.
Straight up card draw is obviously superior in the majority of situations because it doesn't fundamentally alter what your deck does, but it may perhaps be slower in getting creatures down. If you really want a certain instant or planeswalker or whatever card draw is going to give it to you. Manifest never will. If you want a certain creature then both are going to give it to you, it's just that manifest is going to leave it on the battlefield. Is this a problem? Potentially, yes. If you want some large 7 drop that you can't quite cast yet, but need next turn then card draw's going to leave it safe in hand. Manifest is going to put it out there for all kinds of interference. I believe that disrupting creatures on board is more commonplace than disrupting creatures in hand. I wouldn't feel wholly comfortable therefore with using manifest on things I needed to cast in upcoming turns.
I like the idea of opponents wasting removal on manifested cards in case they're creatures. I'm not certain it'll happen but it might be the case. I really think that if this sort of thing happens then Drown in Sorrow will become big news. It's basically made to end these sorts of weenie shenanigans.
December 30, 2014 5:27 a.m.
I think the ability to cast it for UUU or 1UUU is pretty close to being busted, and not at all unrealistic in any deck that cantrips to victory like modern delver.
December 30, 2014 5:44 a.m.
Blind_Guardian says... #9
For me it feels just too expensive, I'd rather play dig or cruise.
December 30, 2014 5:48 a.m.
I think I may agree with you. It's all a matter of how much you can cantrip and how quickly. The answer is likely 'not enough and too slowly'.
December 30, 2014 5:54 a.m.
Wow, that's... Very interesting. I think that competition with Dig/Cruise will depend on the deck. In burn you'd want draw power, control wants Dig, but a more combat-focused deck abusing Delve would love it. So in Standard that could be some kind of Jeskai tokens build, and in Modern probably a deck with a playset of Young Pyromancer. Either way, it seems pretty powerful.
But why is Sultai, the BLACK-focused clan, getting all the best BLUE cards?! It doesn't make much sense. I guess probably because Delve just works better in blue than Prowess, which seems like a pretty red ability at this point.
December 30, 2014 6:04 a.m.
lemmingllama says... #12
Temporal Trespass looks cool, but I doubt that it will see a lot of play. It will be seen in EDH a lot more than anywhere else.
December 30, 2014 8:16 a.m.
@ChiefBell
I don't think your reasoning about manifest is right. You're afraid of losing important card, but actually it's just random, unknown card. You can lose your win-con, but with the exactly same probability this card may be at the very bottom of your library. In card game you just need to accept, that sometimes your draws are better, and sometimes worse. People play Satyr Wayfinder or Commune with the Gods and accept the risk of milling important cards. Sometimes your lucky and you get closer to the card you dream about, and sometimes you're not. Chances even out in my opinion.
December 30, 2014 8:35 a.m.
Totally deck dependent. Like, really deck dependent. As an obvious example manifest would be horrible in a control deck, because you don't want the board presence you want the counterspells. There's a point at which you really do not want to be milling your cards away, or manifesting them.
December 30, 2014 8:37 a.m.
Sure, but mostly because manifest costs something. If I could manifest a card for free, I would do it without hesitation any time, unless I was afraid of being milled.
December 30, 2014 8:56 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #16
I think temporal trespass is pretty good, the effect is pretty good at 
, so the cost to delve it to a reasonable effect is the same as dig
December 30, 2014 9:53 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #17
Instants and sorcery spells have lifelink. Bad ass.
December 30, 2014 11:01 a.m.
Death_The_Kid says... #18
Wizards what are you doing, Wizards Stooooop.
I forgot how to post images but just look
Soulfire Grand master 1W
creature- human monk
lifelink
Instant and sorcery spells you control have lifelink
2 u/r u/r: the next time you cast an instant or sorcery from your hand this turn put that card into your hand instead of the graveyard as the spell resolves.
2/2
December 30, 2014 11:03 a.m.
nighthawk101 says... #19
Soulfire Grand Master looks sweet!
Archfiend of Depravity is going to be great as well.
I had to read Jeskai Infiltrator three times, but I eventually got it. It looks pretty cool.
Temur War Shaman looks cool... but probably won't be viable.
Dragonscale General is going to be fantastic in draft.
December 30, 2014 11:04 a.m.
nighthawk101 says... #21
News from the articles:
Intro pack rares are Dragonscale General, Sage-Eye Avengers, Archfiend of Depravity, Flamerush Rider, and Temur War Shaman.
December 30, 2014 11:11 a.m.
Quadsimotto says... #22
That is insanity for burn decks and control decks alike. Burn can utilize it better but in a burn/control mis deck its just nutz. Reckon that card will be expensive?
December 30, 2014 11:15 a.m.
slovakattack says... #23
Ooooh Dat Soulfire Grand Master!
Quadsimotto: It seems to me like it'll be a good SB card for burn. I doubt control decks will use it too much, as aside from Lightning Bolt and maybe Anger of the Gods, they don't do actual damage, so much as Path to Exile, etc.
I'm still getting a foiled set tho. You can be sure of that.
December 30, 2014 11:18 a.m.
I feel like soulfire master whatever it's called just broke RW burn... But I'm not sure yet. Just the fact that it turned Lava Spike and Lightning Bolt into Lightning Helix scares me why wizards. 8 rack never did a thing to you.
December 30, 2014 11:20 a.m.
What does it mean by instant and sorceries spells have lifelink? Does it mean that if you manifest an instant or sorcery then it has lifelink, or does it mean that your Lightning Bolt becomes a Lightning Helix
December 30, 2014 11:20 a.m.
nighthawk101 says... #26
@ChiefBell: The second one. Whenever they deal damage, you gain that much life.
December 30, 2014 11:21 a.m.
Burn won't play soulfire general. 2 mana is massive tempo loss and it doesn't help them actually win the game faster. Can see small sideboard use to perhaps bolster up tech against attrition decks like GB that want the game to go long buuuuut those same decks run tons of removal, making it totally useless. I don't see it in modern in an existing archetype, but could see it in something else. Jeskai delver?
December 30, 2014 11:23 a.m.
Ohthenoises says... #28
First reaction to soulfire. "What is this fuckery?"
December 30, 2014 11:25 a.m.
Actually this is going to rejuvenate Jeskai control decks in modern, which is pretty decent because that deck has been dying a slow death. This is EXACTLY what modern jeskai control needs AND it's not totally broken in a format where 2/2s can be killed super easily and 4 mana is a fair amount for something that powerful.
December 30, 2014 11:26 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #30
That demon is so brutal. Definitely a sweet pickup for black based control decks I think.
December 30, 2014 11:27 a.m.
slovakattack says... #31
ChiefBell: Soulfire Grand Master is crazy sweet for Burn in a mirror match.
December 30, 2014 11:32 a.m.
Yes. I can see it in the mirror. Totally missed that because burn isn't my go-to deck. I still don't see it as a staple of the archetype. As far as I'm aware in MOST matches burn just wants that T3 / T4 win and it's that simple. 2 mana to them is 6 damage done, which is 25% of the game. The only time I can see it mattering is if they're against a similarly fast deck.
December 30, 2014 11:38 a.m.
slovakattack says... #33
ChiefBell: I feel like this card is waiting to be broken, but that we don't really have quite the tech to do so in modern, yet. It doesn't really help Jeskai control all that much imo, as it doesn't affect Lightning Helix, nor does it affect most of it's other removal like Path to Exile.
I guess you could drop this card in and go for shittier bolts instead of Helix (thereby reducing the mana cost by 1), but is that really the power spike that Jeskai control needs? I don't think so.
That being said, all it takes is for someone to come up with a new, fresh shell for it... I think it'd do really well against the likes of Scapeshift and Beatdown-Pod, which are two extremely powerful and extremely popular decks atm.
December 30, 2014 11:47 a.m.
Ohthenoises says... #34
I like Soulfire for the fringe playable Boros Reckoner deck. Blasphemous Act for 
, gain at least 104 life if 8 creatures die.
Seems like fun to me.
December 30, 2014 11:53 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #36
I'm pretty positive it makes Lightning Helix deal 3 gain 6.
December 30, 2014 11:55 a.m.
Phew! I thought temporal trespass was 8uu, and I was like hello time walk. 8uuu is a lot safer, or that would have been so broken
December 30, 2014 12:01 p.m.
RedSarrior says... #38
Lightning Helix deals 3 to target creature/player, and the player gains 3 these are two differents things from the card itself. With the guy on the field, the card gains lifelink, thus the 3 damage gives 3 life in addition to the 3 life gained normally.
December 30, 2014 12:09 p.m.
I still think Temporal Trespass is pushing it waaaaaaay too far. I know delve has become wildly popular and all, but come the fuck on, Wizards. Do you really have to make a delve version of Time fucking Walk? UUU for an extra turn STILL seems too cheap for me. It's Stitch in Time with a 100% chance of working (counters aside), and Stitch in Time already scares the shit out of me. >_>
Next on the list: 8BBB, delve, target player discards his or her hand. I'm already facepalming in anticipation.
/rant
December 30, 2014 12:34 p.m.
BlastercoolWeird says... #41
I'm so unhappy about Archfiend of Depravity and GRANDMASTA SOOOOULFIRE.
Both wreck the shit out of aggro lists, because YEAH, as an aggro player I don't /already/ have ENOUGH of an infuriating uphill battle against Siege Rhino, Courser of Kruphix and Whip of Erebos
Maybe I can grab two or three Grandmasters and play Jeskai Burn, that card's gonna be the thing that gives that deck a new life on the tournament scene.
December 30, 2014 12:54 p.m.
December 30, 2014 1:46 p.m.
Soulfire Grand Master! has the capability to make Searing Blood a very great card between Morph and Manifest and some of the lower toughness creatures like Goblin Rabblemaster. Sorry if this has been mentioned.
Im thinking this fits right into a Jeskai Burn shell.
December 30, 2014 2:15 p.m.
Blasphemous Act, Furnace of Rath, and Dictate of the Twin Gods in a Gisela, Blade of Goldnight EDH deck
December 30, 2014 3:16 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #48
Just realized that is probably the Sultai dragon in the artwork. Looks nasty.
December 30, 2014 3:17 p.m.
Utilizing Repercussion, even though it isn't affected by the Grandmaster
December 30, 2014 3:17 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #50
Soulfire looks aight. i think my favorite of today is Archfiend though.
shinobigarth says... #1
will there be any reprints since this is a small set?
December 30, 2014 1:31 a.m.