Magic Origins SPOILERS!
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on June 8, 2015, 1:03 a.m. by JWiley129
MaRo's article got spoiled early, so we have some SPICY Previews with "new" mechanics!
TL;DR: Menace is replacing Intimidate & Landwalk, Prowess is now evergreen primary in Blue secondary in Red and maybe tertiary in White, and Protection is now deciduous used only as necessary.
Magic Origins Card Image Gallery
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #3
Is it just me or is the sword pretty good? Its costs seem low enough that it can effect the field early enough for ramp to be relevant, but I could be wrong.
July 3, 2015 12:18 p.m.
SimicPower says... #4
It's good in commander for the colors that don't get a lot of ramp. All four of them.
July 3, 2015 12:20 p.m.
OtakulordAndrew says... #5
@Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor the sword is on the slow side being 4 mana (2cmc + equip cost of 2) for +1/1 on a creature and the ability that if the creature attacks you may put a basic land into play. I could possibly see it in some edh decks and tiny leader deck. I think it's unlikely to make it into standard play and I can safely say that the chances of it seeing modern, legacy, or vintage play is non existent at this point in time.
July 3, 2015 12:39 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #6
Makes sense, though since ramp itself is slowing down in Standard with the elimination of 1cmc mana dorks is it really that slow? T3 is now where most ramp will start happening and that is when this card begins to contribute (though the land won't help till T4). A T3 equip of this onto Honored Hierarch is a good example.
July 3, 2015 12:50 p.m.
And the spoilers have officially finished! Read the Bones reprint is pretty nice too.
July 3, 2015 1:17 p.m.
I can't actually see any distinguished theme for most of the colors (except Kaladesh and Innistrad). I always took the marks on cards for granted...
July 3, 2015 1:25 p.m.
Theros - 
- Iroas's Champion (Iroas is in Theros)
Bant - 
- Citadel Castellan (Mentioned in Kytheon's Story)
Dominaria - 
- Possessed Skaab (Skaabs were originally made bt 'Stitchers' on Dominaria)
Innistrad - - Blood-Cursed Knight (Vampire)
Zendikar - - Zendikar Incarnate (ummm.... name?)
Lorwyn - - Shaman of the Pack ( Elves mainly from Lorwyn)
Vryn - - Thunderclap Wyvern (flying over Mage-Rings in image)
Ravnica - - Bounding Krasis (Krasis, I believe are only on Ravnica)
Kaladesh - - Reclusive Artificer (Plane of Artificers)
Regatha - - Blazing Hellhound (Only one left...)
July 3, 2015 1:44 p.m. Edited.
Also, they said that those are the color pairs for each plane in an article.
July 3, 2015 1:56 p.m.
OtakulordAndrew says... #11
@Rayenous your list is a tad off as possesed skaab is the inistrad representative while the blood cursed knight is dominaria's representative there was an article explaining wizards methods for designing the set which explained which dual color creatures would represented which planes. I believe the article was titled the species of origins part 2.
July 3, 2015 2:01 p.m.
What I meant was: Is a card supposed to be general blue or Vryn? I know the cycle of uncommons and the actual colors of the planes.
July 3, 2015 2:04 p.m.
OtakulordAndrew says... #13
@DarkLaw you can pick out flavor representations throughout the various origins cards to the 10 planes visited (home world plane and first planeswalk for the walkers featured in origins) however there won't be any guild watermarks, clan watermarks, or anything of that nature. Note most sets don't use watermark cards as it is only a flavorful way of denoting cards to certain story elements within the plane that certain blocks are centered around and has no relevance to using the card in the actual game. Also the 2 colored cards do not specifically represent the color of the planes they just fit within well established colors of the planes such as the green white Citadel Castellan fitting into bants shard coloration, or Bounding Krasis being a simic creation and representing a flavor element of 1 of the 10 dual colored guilds of ravnica.
July 3, 2015 2:22 p.m.
Pest demon says each. The orb would not stop you from taking damage. It just stops red damage spells and discard.
July 3, 2015 3:36 p.m.
I'm not sure which Orb you're looking at... the one he's talking about says "If a creature would deal damage to you, prevent 1 of that damage." ... Pestilence Demon, being a creature, will have one damage to you prevented... activate it again... prevent one damage to you... etc.
July 3, 2015 3:51 p.m.
@OtakulordAndrew Now you are confusing me. I know there won't be watermarks (which I miss because I find it hard to distinguish between certain cards and where they belong). That was what I was originally upset about. I have actually noticed that a lot of people misunderstand me when I speak or write. Is there something about my words that makes my meaning unclear? Am I using odd word choices? Am I just mentally falling apart?
Also, Elves are looking solid in Modern, yet alone standard.
July 3, 2015 4:01 p.m.
Loving that sword. Instant preorder from me. It's a nice upgrade from Armillary Sphere for those who are trying to improve their budget decks with a bit of money.
July 3, 2015 4:04 p.m.
NotaNetDeck says... #20
Thanks for the backup Rayenous.
Also, SimicPower, do you think the sword could even be good in green (in EDH)? Ramping a land per turn while spending only one card to do it seems strong to me, no matter the color.
July 3, 2015 4:33 p.m.
I'm not even an EDH player, but from what I've seen of the format I think it fits pretty well. The games are slow enough to let you take your time. Some advantage seems nice.
July 3, 2015 4:38 p.m.
@DarkLaw EDH games are only slow if you have people playing with under-tuned decks. The most competitive EDH decks win consistently between turns 3-6 because they're built to win and not just packed with card synergy like the cheaper/more casual EDH decks are.
July 3, 2015 5:46 p.m.
I tend to win 1 vs 1 around turn 7 to 10, but my decks are more geared towards multi-player than 1 vs 1.
July 3, 2015 5:58 p.m.
SimicPower says... #24
NotaNetDeck: Green already has a lot of ramp, so it would be hard to find a slot for this card. However, in a lower curve deck which will constantly have many creatures on the battlefield, this may be better. I am not going to play it in my U/G control deck, because I don't consistently have a creature I am willing to attack with. Since this is four mana to cast and equip, you will have to get two lands from it to be as good as Explosive Vegetation, three lands to be better. Not impossible, but I would rather take the guaranteed two lands.
July 3, 2015 6:37 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #25
abenz419, it's not that non-fiercely-competitive decks are untuned; far from it. Most of them have been tuned significantly and are constantly being improved.
It's just that they've been tuned differently. They're not being tuned to play a quick game of commander - they've been tuned to play a social game of commander.
July 3, 2015 6:42 p.m.
By under-tuned I mean that they haven't been made as efficient as they can be, it doesn't mean they haven't spent time working on their deck. Whether it happens because of budget or because of some other reason is irrelevant, for some reason or another the deck isn't the best it could be.
The point I was getting at is that decks that have been built to run as efficiently as possible don't create long EDH games. However, decks that are not tuned to run as efficiently as they can and are just crammed with card synergy tend to play longer games because while the cards in their deck work well together and can be powerful, their effects aren't game ending when they hit the board. Since their effects aren't game ending when they're played, it means they're more likely to be disrupted before they can win the game, especially in multiplayer games, and thus longer games happen as a natural by product.
So again I say, EDH games are only long games when they're being played with under-tuned decks. If you don't believe me, go and find someone who's spent the time and the money to make their deck run as efficiently as possible and play against them. I guarantee that you see a significant different between a deck that has been tuned and one that is under-tuned. Before, I wasn't making fun of anyone or anything, simply pointing out that the observation he was making had less to do with the format and more to do with the decks and players that he was watching.
July 3, 2015 8:56 p.m.
There's about 40 singles I want out of this set, less depending on how they mesh with the decks. That number is pretty high compared to past few sets. Granted most of them are experimental in commander decks. Think I'm going to make my constellation deck "extended."
July 3, 2015 9:11 p.m.
By definition, you most certainly can tune an edh deck to be sociable. It's just tuned differently. It's doing what it was built to do efficiently, which is, to win while allowing for a multi hour game.
July 3, 2015 9:11 p.m.
Should I make my $11 preorder now or wait and get some foils?
July 3, 2015 9:14 p.m.
An EDH deck can win against 3-4 people on T3-6? Deck consistency is just one issue, yet alone having to deal 50-130 damage by turn 6, at the latest. Even in 1v1 games, dealing that much damage with a 99 card deck in such a small amount of time seems uncommon because there are so few cards that are great value 1-3 drops (in an aggro deck) and you can only have one of each.
Back on topic- this set seems like the diet coke of legacy (trademark) and the alcohol of modern.
July 4, 2015 4:34 a.m.
NotaNetDeck says... #32
SimicPower, I can't argue with that logic. The Sword should also work well in colors that have evasive creatures -- green, of course, not being one.
July 4, 2015 5 a.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #33
abenz419, again, they're differently tuned, not under-tuned.
That's like saying that a violin is under-tuned because it can't reach the same low notes as a double-bass. It isn't - it's just tuned differently.
July 4, 2015 9:27 a.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #34
So, I'm seeing some people say that EDH decks can't win games in the first five turns. I've won a game of EDH on turn three with my entire deck on the field turn three. In mono green. It's much more consistent turns 5-7, but it does happen. The issue I think I'm seeing in understanding is that most EDH decks aren't trying to win by damage. They're trying to win by comboing out and all their opponents lose as a result.
On topic, though, this set looks so good and I can't wait to draft it.
July 4, 2015 10:52 a.m.
What I meant was: games of competitive EDH don't consistently end T3-6. Sure, you get those odd and impossibly unlikely FTKs, such as keep playing accel cards into Scion of the Ur-Dragon and combo out with other cards. Chances are, though, that those won't work in a competitive game.
July 4, 2015 11:16 a.m.
Also, back on topic: DRAKE LORD WITH FLASH
Vryn makes me happy.
July 4, 2015 11:17 a.m.
DarkLaw, it's a lot more common then you think. Many Hermit Druid EDH decks can easily combo out turn 1, and usually combo out turn 2 with redundancy. Decks that can abuse Academy Rector can win early too, by finding an Omniscience and dropping their combo pieces to win. It's hard to find a single competitive multiplayer EDH deck that tries to win by dealing damage to each opponent; more often it's using Laboratory Maniac to just outright win the game.
July 4, 2015 12:12 p.m.
Figures that decks with cards legal from almost any set would be able to pull off a win with a 99 card deck and 1 of each card.
I'm struggling to see the synergy in Regatha's colors.
July 4, 2015 12:55 p.m.
Schuesseled says... #39
I can definitely put myself in a position to win in the first 3 turns, but only decks that use infinite combos and other jank are capable of winning outright in a multiplayer situation. (which i don't use normally, not because my decks are casual but because no one likes that style of play)
The sword is great for my mono-white equipment deck, i'll happily take out one of my 'not quite a Land Tax cards'.
July 4, 2015 5:42 p.m.
Named_Tawyny says... #40
Oh man, Land Tax.
I think this makes me a horrible person, but now I kinda want to build a janky deck around Land Tax and Molten Vortex
July 4, 2015 6:06 p.m.
DinosaurSheriff says... #41
I feel like Wizards is trying to bring a new modern archetype, Swans of Bryn Argoll and Seismic Assault
July 4, 2015 8:55 p.m.
DinosaurSheriff says... #43
With this, if there isn't a valid target for each type, does it still resolve. ie. there are no planeswalkers on field.
July 4, 2015 9:49 p.m.
SimicPower says... #44
Yes, because it doesn't target. You make the choices as it resolves.
July 4, 2015 9:54 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #46
Okay ... I have two hours. Can I finish the UBRGMCL sections of the spoilers in enough time? I finished W last night ...
July 4, 2015 10:03 p.m.
DinosaurSheriff: eh... Swans of Bryn Argoll decks have never been competitive, and nothing in this set will make them.
Now, Assault Loam / Borborygmos Reanimator is a different story. Molten Vortex is pretty much a strictly better Flame Jab (a card I never liked in the first place), and I don't think I need to explain why Magmatic Insight is nuts.
July 4, 2015 10:03 p.m.
For a second I reread Tragic Arrogance and missed the nonland part and hought "Holy crap!"
Phew after rereading it it's not so bad at all. I'd almost rather use End Hostilities but we'll have to see how good Aura and Equipment is once Theros rotates and we get the new Eldrazi set.
July 4, 2015 11:32 p.m.
DinosaurSheriff says... #49
I like it. "I'll keep my blightsteel colossus, you can keep your 1/1 token"
square711 says... #1
Not only is that 1-drop Elf solid, it looks like B/G Elves just got a one-sided boardwipe:
July 3, 2015 11:50 a.m.