Ixalan Spoilers
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on June 16, 2017, 2:50 p.m. by clayperce
Hi everyone!
We've been chatting about Ixalan here for a while, but on 21 Aug Wizards got into the act with four promo cards (and some upcoming tokens):
And then on 28 Aug they posted a BUNCH more:
- Mechanics and some new cards are here: Ixalan Mechanics
AllMost of the previously-leaked cards are here: Behind the Scenes with the Alleged Ixalan Card Theft
So let's talk Ixalan!
As soon as it was mentioned that Pirates would be in this set I thought, "Ooooo it's a shame they already did Vehicles because they would be cool as Pirate ships."
NOW I am excited because I LOVE Vehicles.
All aboard the Hype Train.
Yo ho ho and a bottle o' rum, me hearties!!
August 22, 2017 4:40 p.m.
RazortoothMtg says... #3
You should post the promos that were spoiled. i saw SaffronOlive on twitter talking about them.. the red dino Inferno Titan, the poor-man's Cavern of Souls, another flavorful Victim of Night-type removal spell, and the mini Sun Titan promo. I believe they are on mythicspoiler if you need images.
August 22, 2017 5:35 p.m.
RazortoothMtg,
Great idea; thanks!
Epochalyptik,
Could you sticky this, now that we have official spoilers? Thanks!
August 22, 2017 9:09 p.m.
Besides the four promo cards, we also get a look at the double-sided FNM Tokens:
- 3/3 Green Dinosaur, with Trample → Treasure token, with 'Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool'
- 1/1 White Vampire, with Lifelink → Treasure
- 2/2 Black Pirate, with Menace → Treasure
Dinosaurs, Vampires, and Pirates, oh my!
August 22, 2017 11:30 p.m.
Pirate Token should've had a hook and a peg leg.
MIRITE?
Enough and in this set for ya, realBorborygmos?
August 23, 2017 9:10 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #7
I really hope they continue this "mini titan" cycle.
August 23, 2017 9:50 a.m.
Not gonna lie, I think that Walk the Plank is a huge flavor fail. As someone on another website said, "yeah nice shipwreck moray you got there... it would be unfortunate if someone threw it into the water".
Also, I hate throwbacks to better cards. Admittedly, the Titans shouldn't be in standard for the foreseeable future, but not reprinting Cavern of Souls instead of printing the "new" one (considering that the card isn't really too good for standard) is just because of Greed. Maybe laziness. Not that I expected anything different, of course, WotC knows how to set expectations low.
I mean, I bet the set will be fine, it's just that some things will never change.
August 23, 2017 10:24 a.m.
Argy,
We'll never know of course, but I bet they actually considered the hook ... and then decided Disney Lawyers > Hasbro Lawyers.
And they all TOTALLY have peg-legs! they're just covered by the text box on the Token, and by a boot on Walk the Plank! :-)
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor,
I hadn't even noticed that, but heck yeah! Even nerfed Titans are really good, and it'd be great to see what they could do in Blue, Black, and Green!
August 23, 2017 10:38 a.m.
DarkLaw,
Nyah, it's still good flavor-wise. The part that kills the Shipwreck Moray (or 8/8 Octopus or whatever) is pulling them out of the water to make them Walk the Plank in the first place. They're dead WAY before they make it to the end of the plank.
Only flavor fail IMO is that for them it should be called Slither the Plank ;-)
August 23, 2017 10:43 a.m.
I'm thinking the Vampire token has a real Conquistador vibe going. Coupled with the creepy flavor text from Bishop of Rebirth, and it's kind of looking like the set is RG Dinosaur-riding natives vs. Wx Vampire Conquistadors vs. BG Pirates vs. UG Merfolk.
Makes sense that everybody would get Green, because there's this whole Exploration theme, but the thought of WG Vamps is just REALLY wild ...
Hey, and speaking of Merfolk, check out the store poster from the WPN article. That's a seriously bad-ass looking Mer'!
August 23, 2017 10:58 a.m. Edited.
clayperce A handful of aquatic animals can happily survive on land for some time (obviously not for ages though). The octopus you brought up is one of them. Still a flavor fail unless you further stretch it (e.g. bringing them out of the water exposed them to poisons on deck or something), in which case that's a flavor fail anyway because you need to stretch the flavor.
August 23, 2017 11:18 a.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #13
Its plenty flavorful. You have to look at the card in a vacuum of this set. While you are right that its kinda silly that you can target other sealife with Walk the Plank, if we are talking about flavor why would the pirates ever do that?
They are battling the vamps, merfolk, natives and other pirates... of those main antagonists merfolk are the only race that wouldn't care about walking the plank.
Using Victim of Night as an example there are a lot of other monstrous creatures that shouldn't be able to target but in the vacuum of the set it fits just fine :)
August 23, 2017 11:35 a.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #14
clayperce The merfolk looks like it could be legendary (but we know that it isn't). Its sets the bar high for me now for what I expect the art to be in this set.
Also its going to look freaking sweet foil.
August 23, 2017 11:47 a.m.
LittleBlueHero That's a really compelling argument. Barring the likely existence of many sirens on the plane (which, in some cases, can feasibly swim). As well as the real problem: any creature that flies. Try weighing down a giant flying dinosaur with enough chains that it can't fly.
Then again, big flying scary things always ruin the flavor. Balefire Dragon dies to victim of night, because malevolent dragons aren't malevolent and tough enough. Ah well.
August 23, 2017 1:13 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #16
I wonder what the flavor/story explanation is for white vampires: are they the results of holy magic, rather than unholy magic? How can beings who feed off the blood of other beings fit into white's philosophy?
August 23, 2017 1:33 p.m.
Well DemonDragonJ, from what I've seen, the vampires appear to be in and , which is what Sorin's color identity is, so the vampires probably have a similar characteristic of being self serving when need be, but also being able to maintain a societal hierarchy and order.
August 23, 2017 2:07 p.m. Edited.
DemonDragonJ,
They drain life from others. Lifelink may have started in Black but it totally fits in White's slice of the color pie.
August 23, 2017 2:36 p.m.
That said though: White Zombies in Amonkhet, White Vampires in Ixalan ... what's the world coming to?!?
At least we don't have Blue Goblins!
Oh wait. What's that thing with the spear in Walk the Plank (close-up here)? Nooooooooo!
August 23, 2017 3:05 p.m. Edited.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #20
Oh my clayperce. After your comment, if they don't reprint Exploration with the Urza Saga art I will be disappointed.
It fits the pirate them so well.
August 23, 2017 3:16 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #21
and it fits the conquistador theme as well!
Also, we actually already have blue goblins
August 23, 2017 3:19 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor,
Oh yeah, derp on the Blue Goblins.
I think I probably blocked 'Mancer out of my mind, since it's kicked my butt so many times in UR Storm!
August 23, 2017 3:29 p.m.
realBorborygmos says... #23
HEY Argy. HELL YEAH!
CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR AEGRIAH'S MARAUDERS, CARNAGE TYRANT, AMD MORE. EVEN GISHAK, SUN'S AVATAR (THOUGH WITH WHITE, UGH).
PLENTY OF 'CRUSH THEM!' IN THIS SET!
August 23, 2017 4:44 p.m.
RazortoothMtg,
It's Sep 16-17, and there's some more info at the 'source' link on the OP. But for specifics you'll need to check with your LGS.
August 23, 2017 10:29 p.m.
I love Open House.
It's fun to teach Magic to other people, and it's a relaxing day of playing.
August 24, 2017 12:48 a.m.
AgentGreen says... #29
I like Walk the Plank and I don't.
Not a fan of sorcery speed removal
Why can't we get nice removal like Ultimate Price nowadays?
August 24, 2017 11:01 a.m.
I hope that the card that goes infinite with itself is real.
August 24, 2017 1:29 p.m.
RazortoothMtg says... #31
Well the Burning suns avatar, bishop, etc were on the sheet with that card, so I assume that is confirmation they are all real. Hopefully it was a misreading by us and not an auto-errata like Marath, Will of the Wild.
August 24, 2017 1:37 p.m.
I don't like Walk the Plank at all.
for a Sorcery that MIGHT destroy your Opponent's Creatures?
Please.
At least Grasp of Darkness gave you bang for its cost.
If that is the only 2CMC removal we are gonna get, I will be extremely disappointed.
You'd actually be better off using Murder, in a lot of situations.
August 24, 2017 10:25 p.m.
It is really, REALLY useless to choose "Construct" for Unclaimed Territory.
I'm considering running it, for that very reason.
August 25, 2017 12:11 a.m.
Argy,
I'm 100% with you on Walk the Plank. I might be on-board (yes, pun intended) if it was an Instant. But a Sorcery that misses a Tribe we know is going to be part of the metagame? I mean, it's like if instead of getting Unlicensed Disintegration in Kaladesh we'd gotten a Sorcery with "Destroy target non-Artifact creature." Blurgh.
Llol on Unclaimed Territory! Just when I thought your God-Pharaoh deck couldn't get any better! :-D
August 25, 2017 10:53 a.m.
AgentGreen says... #35
Jace confirmed: Here's the lowdown:
Jace, Cunning Castaway
1
LEGENDARY Planeswalker - Jace
+1 When one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player this turn, draw a card then discard a card
-2 Create a 2/2 blue Illusion creature token with "when this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability; sacrifice this creature"
-5 Create two tokens that are copies of Jace, Cunning Castaway, except they are not legendary
What does this rule change mean? Lots. The Legendary rule will now apply to all past, present and future planeswalkers; but something else. The Planeswalker uniqueness rule is going away. This means for example, a player can control both Gideon, Ally of Zendikar AND Gideon of the Trials, but not control both of the above mentioned.
Odd twist not sure how I feel about that. Read about it and more here:
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ixalan-mechanics
August 28, 2017 11:38 a.m.
AgentGreen says... #36
Rephrase: Not control two copies of the above mentioned
August 28, 2017 11:39 a.m.
AgentGreen says... #38
And to wrap it up; as a result of those leaks (WOTC has confirmed that the sheet is legit and the cards are legit) preview season will be in bunches this time around
We should sticky this post as of today; lots of previews in a few articles released
August 28, 2017 11:50 a.m.
Winterblast says... #39
... Aaaaaaand we can already preorder singles for a probably far too high price: https://www.magickartenmarkt.de/Products/Singles/Ixalan
August 28, 2017 12:07 p.m. Edited.
Awesome news, AgentGreen. Thanks much!
Epochalyptik,
Now that spoilers have begun in earnest, can we get a sticky for this thread? Thanks!
August 28, 2017 12:38 p.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #42
Sun-crowned hunters seems first pickable almost in draft... double red hurts it but thats a decent common bomb i can get behind.
August 28, 2017 1 p.m.
RazortoothMtg says... #43
Lovin the new transform cards. Flavor is perfect for the map.
August 28, 2017 1:02 p.m.
Are they gonna change the rules or are we just gonna have a card that goes infinite with its self?
August 28, 2017 1:11 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #45
Hmmm, not sure I am on board with the changing of the planeswalker rules, but the Explore mechanic looks pretty cool.
Sun-crowned hunters (i.e. Dino-Stuffy Doll) looks super fun and abusable, and it is a common to boot!
I am liking the idea of flip lands as well. I am totally starting to get hyped for this set!
August 28, 2017 1:16 p.m.
@supagrex Maybe they want blue to be a thing again in Modern? You'll see decks try to win with it paired with a Impact Tremors and/or Altar of the Brood. I think Deceiver Exarch and Splinter Twin combo was much more deadlier for blue than the combo I just mentioned, so I suppose they're trying to reinstate a nerfed blue combo deck.
August 28, 2017 1:19 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #47
How does Hostage Taker go infinite?
You still have to spend mana to cast the exiled card as long as Hostage Taker is on the field
August 28, 2017 1:21 p.m.
AgentGreen Nah, it exiles the target artifact or creature until it leaves the battlefield as well. If you choose its self as the target it would exile its self and then return it to the battlefield. The trigger would then need to resolve again. If it is the only creature and there are no artifacts then it must target it self because of the exclusion of the word "may". An infinite loop that doesn't result in a game win results in a draw.
August 28, 2017 1:26 p.m.
AgentGreen,
Like this:
- Hostage Taker enters and its EtB triggers.
- The trigger goes on the stack and you choose HT as the target for it.
- The trigger resolves, exiling HT which causes its delayed trigger effect to return it before the trigger that exiled it finishes resolving, triggering its EtB trigger again.
- Rise and repeat.
This will force a draw in the absence of other cards, and is hard-busted with Impact Tremors, etc.
August 28, 2017 1:31 p.m.
Yeah, I'm still wondering how they allowed this to make it to print, unless they change the rules. But I don't even understand how they could go about doing that.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #1
clayperce, I have already picked up a Fungusaur, Skyshroud War Beast, and Imperiosaur in anticipation :)
August 21, 2017 11:26 a.m.