Maro's Core Set 2021 Teaser
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on June 2, 2020, 11:57 a.m. by Kiran_M
So we were recently given Maro's Core Set 2021 teaser in which he discusses different clues as to what will be in the set. What do people think they will be?
I am personally leaning toward a curse for the "Non-evergreen enchantment keyword" and Fblthp for the "popular character first introduced in flavor text"
Here's the link:
In the context of the signpost suites, essentially each planeswalker being printed in M21 has a rare, uncommon and common each related to their specific strategy and with their name on it.
June 8, 2020 10:44 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #3
The new incarnation of Jolrael is nice, since she has not been seen in many years, so I am glad that WotC is remembering characters from the early years of this game
Why are the temples being reprinted, again? WotC reprinted them in the previous core set, so I would much rather have had a different cycle of dual lands for this set. The very least that WotC could have done was to give them flavor text.
Pirdemalkin is a nice creature, but the artwork depicts a domestic cat; why does WotC keep putting artwork of domestic cats on creatures that should be much more powerful than domestic cats?
June 9, 2020 11:43 a.m.
_DemonDragonJ theyre reprinting the temples to keep them in standard, because otherwise they rotate out next set. I think its because theyre scared to introduce faster lands atm.
June 9, 2020 2:38 p.m.
DemonDragonJ: These aren't just any old creatures from Magic's history. These are characters from Visions and Mirage being given new forms to better represent how they were in Teferi's backstory.
June 9, 2020 3:58 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
berryjon, that makes sense.
dbpunk, why would WotC be scared of "faster lands?" If players dislike games ending too quickly, I believe that WotC should print more expensive spells, not slower lands. I really hope that WotC prints enemy-colored "tango lands/battles lands" in Zendikar rising, but the fact that WotC reprinted the enemy temples, rather than the allied temples, has me worried about that.
June 9, 2020 5 p.m.
They probably dont like them because they enable tricolor decks too well. Like some of the best decks right now are tricolor.
June 9, 2020 5:26 p.m.
Also, judging by how strong some of these cards being printed and some of the reprints, this next sets gonna be great!
June 9, 2020 5:32 p.m.
Reprinting the Core 2020 Temples in 2021 keeps them in rotation as solid middle-ground duals that aren't the Pain lands. It makes sense, even I may not like the decision. I want my Filter Lands!
But reprinting the Temples that came in Theros? Go back and realize what you just suggested. You put out the idea that Wizards would print the same five dual lands twice in a year, rather than keeping the whole cycle in play? How would that work? Why?
June 9, 2020 8:37 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
berryjon, you do have a good point, there, but I still am hoping for a reprint of dual lands that actually need to be reprinted, such as the filter lands, or enemy-colored counterparts to the battle lands (i.e., Canopy Vista, Prairie Stream, and so forth).
June 9, 2020 10 p.m.
We are heading to Zendikar next, so I wouldnt be surprised if they used that to close out the tango lands megacycle. Just like they finished the manlands megacycle the last time we went there.
June 10, 2020 3:14 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #12
dbpunk, that does have me feeling very optimistic, in that case.
As for today's previews, did WotC not learn anything from Nyxbloom Ancient? Fiery emancipation is far too powerful at only six mana, and the fact that it is not symmetrical makes it even more so. I would rather spend 1 additional mana for Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, because she is more versatile.
I like Garruk’s uprising, but 3 mana is too low of a cost for such a powerufl effect; also, green has ridiculously good card drawing in this set, so I worry that it is intruding on blue’s territory, in that regard.
Light of promise is nice, but I wish that is provided a way for the enchanted creature to gain life.
Hellkite punisher is simply a more powerful and more expensive version of Shivan Dragon, but dragon tribal decks will appreciate it, and the fact that it is not specific to any plane will increase its potential for reprints. In my mind, Moonveil Dragon is still superior to it, because it affects all creatures, not merely itself.
The fact that heartfire immolator cannot target players with its activated ability will severely limit its usefulness; being able to destroy a threatening creature or planeswalker is great, but it really would have been awesome if it could have dealt a significant amount of damage to an opponent.
Another thing about this core set that really bothers me is that, before “dog” became a creature type, dogs were always portrayed very seriously, but, now that they have their own type, there have been depictions of dogs that clearly are not bred or trained for combat. This is a game with wizards, dragons, and magic; I want to see fierce and ferocious dogs, not disgustingly cute and playful dogs. I prefer this game to be dark and serious, not light and humorous. Does anyone else here agree with me about that?
June 10, 2020 4:59 p.m.
DemonDragonJ the game always added in humor and playfullness though. Like theres plenty of ferocious dogs out there already, why not have some silly stuff too?
June 10, 2020 8:16 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #14
dbpunk, because I like things that are dark and grim. Also, domestic dogs do not exist in nature; humans selectively bred them, and I do not see why a fictional universe needs to emulate such an aspect of actuality.
June 10, 2020 10:16 p.m.
I mean... wouldnt itmake sense for domestication of animals. Also, theres a lot of evolutionary evidence that animals participated in domestication for their own gain.
Also like, if youre going by that logic, they shouldnt have any horseriders or anything similar in magic either.
And just cause you like grim and dark doesnt mean everyone wants it all the time. Theres plenty of grim dark stuff in each set, some levity isnt bad mixed in.
June 10, 2020 10:48 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #16
Feline sovereign is great, but I think that it should have been white, and not green, although the flavor text is great.
dbpunk, that is how to portray a domesticated animal in a game about conflict: by being deliberately malicious, not oblivious, as in the nausea-inducing Rambunctious Mutt.
June 11, 2020 12:39 p.m.
As I said, not everything has to be grimdark to be fun and not everyone wants grim dark cards 24/7. Also all Feline Sovereign did was remind us of funny cat videos.
June 11, 2020 3:16 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #18
The new Kaervek is very nice, but I do believe that he could have been a 3/3 for 4 mana.
Falconer adept is another excellent card that will be great for decks with a great focus on tokens.
This is now the second consecutive core set to have a flying sub-theme, which is not too bad, but I wonder why WotC is focusing on such a narrow theme.
June 12, 2020 11:57 a.m.
Flying is the UW 'thing'. It's an easy thing to do, and is pretty reliable at the Common/Uncommon level. And I for one have chosen to embrace it, though seeing as how we're losing the Eagle but gaining Glorious Anthem in the process, it's a wash on how the post rotation deck is going to look.
June 12, 2020 12:14 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #20
This game now has its first vampire zombie! I definitely predict that every deck with either a vampire or zombie tribal theme will wish to contain at least one copy of it. I wish that it was a 2/2, rather than a 3/1, but being able to sacrifice itself and then reanimate itself is very awesome for an uncommon that costs only 3 mana.
Griffin aerie is a lesser version of Angelic Accord, but the redundancy is nice for decks with a gaining life theme.
Speaker of the heavens is nice, but the fact that its ability can be used only when its controller could cast a sorcery severely limits its usefulness; I would have had the ability usable "only during your turn," so that it could be used as a combat trick.
Yes! Terror of the peaks is a creature version of Warstorm Surge! WotC finally did it! The fact that its ability does not trigger from itself entering the battlefield is a severe disappointment, but I will be very happy to put this card in my red/blue/green EDH deck that has Riku of Two Reflections as its general. Now, hopefully, WotC shall print a creature version of Exquisite Blood in the near future. Why does TotP force opponents to pay life? That is a black ability, rather than a red ability.
Finishing blow is too expensive to ever be useful, as there are many cards that are vastly superior to it; at least it has awesome artwork.
It also is very nice to see another reprint of Glorious Anthem, after so many years, and the new artwork is phenomenal!
June 12, 2020 2:14 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #21
One other problem that terror of the peaks has that I did not notice, before, is that the dragon, not the other creature, is the one that deals the damage, which is unfortunate, but should not be a major issue in the majority of situations.
I like the idea of animal sanctuary, but why did WotC choose those specific creature types? Is it because those are animals that people usually keep as pets or as livestock?
June 12, 2020 5:13 p.m.
Tbh the other creature dealing the damage is better imo. A creature with deathtouch becomes a instant kill spells. A creature with a "whenever deals damage to a creature/player" ability? Trigger that ability. Like imagine, six cards with different cmc and this on the field in a UR flyers deck and you drop Atemsis, All-Seeing and instantly win.
June 12, 2020 8:06 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #23
dbpunk, yes, that is exactly what I am saying; if Warstorm Surge causes the creature itself to deal damage, rather than the enchantment, there was no reason for which the dragon could not cause the other creature to deal damage, as well.
June 12, 2020 9:19 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #27
I like that keyword tribal is continuing to be a thing, but I kinda think it would have been more elegant if Hooded Blightfang frenzy to deathtouchers or something so that people are actually incentivized to block your attackers in the short-term
I'm not sure who asked for a card with Niambi, Esteemed Speaker's rule text but sure, whatever.
Kaervek, the Spiteful is kinda boring from an EDH perspective
Conspicuous Snoop got a thing going
Idol of Endurance is a cool way of giving white some steady card advantage later on, doesn't risk permanently exiling the creatures either
June 14, 2020 8:50 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #28
Sublime epiphany is nice, but I feel that being able to choose all those options makes it too powerful; six mana is not a low cost, but I still feel that it should have allowed no more than three of those options. I hope that each other color has an equivalent card, or else it shall only reinforce the notion that blue is possibly the most powerful color in the game.
June 14, 2020 9:24 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #29
Coward_Token, if Idol of Endurance leaves the battlefield, where do the exiled creatures go? Do they return to their owner's graveyard?
Why is it that Terror of the Peaks's ability does not trigger from itself entering the battlefield? Would that have made it too powerful?
June 14, 2020 9:26 a.m.
Coward_Token says... #30
Yes, the idol uses "exile until" wording, like a lot of post-Oblivion Ring removal
the Terror is already a warstorm surge that costs 1 less, on-curve power, bolt-proof toughness, evasion, targeting punishing, and a semi-relevant tribe. It doesn't need to be an on-curve burn sorcery on top of that as well (although I'll concede that it's easier to remove than warstorm surge)
June 14, 2020 9:53 a.m.
golgarigirl says... #31
I just feel the need to comment...this is a core set? Everything feels so pushed to me! Maybe it's the fact that they reduced the cost of my favorite enchantment and stapled it to a goddamn dragon, but I swear I have to seriously consider at least 3-5 cards for most of my decks, and I've had some of these for a long time.
June 14, 2020 8:09 p.m.
TonyStark9001 says... #32
DemonDragonJ: i can promise you the opponent would rather have a 4/4 flyer than a land. there is absolutely no way angelic ascension replaces Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares.
June 14, 2020 8:49 p.m.
TonyStark9001 says... #33
DemonDragonJ: if the dragon triggered itself, it would be strictly better than haste.
June 14, 2020 9:07 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #34
TonyStark9001, in that case, I should definitely keep Path to Exile and/or Swords to Plowshares.
Also, if Terror of the Peaks had lower power, it could trigger from itself entering the battlefield; the main reason that I wish that it did was that, if it did, its ability would trigger 30 times if it were copied with a kicked Rite of Replication, for a total of 150 damage, but, as it currently, it would trigger only 25 times, for a total of 125 damage, which is still very impressive, but not as impressive as it could be.
June 14, 2020 10:39 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #35
golgarigirl, if you think that this set is impressive, just imagine how awesome Double Masters will be! Or, should the players not raise their hopes too high for that set?
June 14, 2020 10:43 p.m.
golgarigirl says... #36
Well, Double Masters is (at least to my knowledge) a pure reprint set, so it's all down to exactly what reprints they put in there. And that new Kaalia art is my jam. I'm kinda hoping it's not that interesting to me so I can save some money TBH...
Commander Masters, on the other hand...I'm expecting the flood gates to open! I'm hoping for some really cool new designs!
June 14, 2020 11:34 p.m.
TonyStark9001 says... #37
DemonDragonJ: the only format you're gonna kick a Rite of Replication is commander anyway, and 125 damage is already enough to kill 3 opponents simultaneously from full LP
June 15, 2020 2:19 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #38
TonyStark9001, yes, I suppose that that is true, although I am still disappointed that it is the dragon, and not the other creature, that is dealing the damage, since that means that abilities such as deathtouch and lifelink will not apply.
June 15, 2020 8:04 a.m.
plakjekaas says... #39
Wel you can give the dragon deathtouch and lifelink to make that happen, Basilisk Collar in EDH, or the ability counter cyclers in standard can do that for you.
June 15, 2020 8:28 a.m.
TonyStark9001 says... #40
DemonDragonJ: we just had a set that lets you put keyword counters on creatures. i'm sure you'll figure something out lol
June 15, 2020 11:26 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #41
Today’s previews are amazing! What a great way to start the work week!
The new shrines are some excellent designs, and I especially like how they are all new compared to the shrines from Kamigawa, akin to how there have been several cycles of leylines. I am disappointed that sanctum of shattered heights cannot target players, but sanctum of stone fangs makes up for that, and, on that subject, I really wish that the amount of life gained from that shrine would increase based upon how many players lost life, but, apparently, WotC does not wish to do that, any more. Sanctum of tranquil light is definitely the worst of the cycle; could it at least have had a secondary effect, such as scrying? Also, I do like the fact that the sanctums are not specific to any plane, but that also means that WotC is appealing to fans of Kamigawa without actually returning to that plane, which is very unfortunate.
Also, the ability on sanctum of all makes me realize that WotC has recently expanded searching a library to searching both libraries and graveyards, which is far more powerful. I personally worry that that may be bending the color pie too heavily, but, thankfully, each instance of that ability involves searching for either a specific single card or a card with specific traits, so it is only a bend, not a break.
Also, I do wish that the shrines from New Phyrexia had had the shrine subtype, but, since they are not enchantmens, they likely could not have had it.
Nine lives is an interesting card in that it provides an alternate loss condition, but not an alternate win condition, meaning that it requires its controller to win quickly, before they lose the game.
Experimental overload will be great in decks that have an emphasis on instants and sorceries, and I imagine that it exiles itself to prevent a player from creating a recurring loop with two of them, which is also why Vengeful Rebirth has that clause, as well.
The new version of Barrin is a significant improvement over his previous incarnation, but still a major disappointment, considering how powerful and important he was in the story; why does WotC continue to improperly represent him?
June 15, 2020 12:59 p.m.
seshiro_of_the_orochi says... #42
So with eleven actual shrines now in existence, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain shrine tribal could be pretty great indeed.
June 15, 2020 1:44 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #43
I noticed that, on sublime epiphany, the mode that returns a permanent to its owner's hand is before the mode that copies a creature, meaning that the player who casts the spell cannot copy a creature and then return it; does anyone think that that was deliberate, or merely a coincidence?
June 15, 2020 4:53 p.m.
HHNNNNNGGGG....this is so much style and flavor holy crap I building this deck in Modern IDGAF what anyone says YOU WILL DIE BY CUTE KITTENS!
June 15, 2020 5:47 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #45
Loving Radha, Heart of Keld as a fixed Courser of Kruphix, esp. for Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire
June 15, 2020 6:01 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #46
Now that the entire set has been revealed, I must say that this is definitely one of the best core sets that WotC has printed in some time; it definitely has raised the bar for core sets, and I expect that WotC shall need to make an effort for core sets in the future to be as awesome as was this one, to avoid disappointing the players.
I am displeased that WotC reprinted Cancel, again, because there are numerous cards that are superior to it; why does WotC not simply retire that card?
June 16, 2020 1:04 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #47
Why is it that sacrificing a creature to Witch's Cauldron is part of the effect, and not the cost? Is it not usually the case that sacrificing a creature is part of the cost for such effects?
June 20, 2020 2:18 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #49
AFAIK activated abilities are always templated such that the are before sacrifice cost clauses
June 20, 2020 4:14 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #50
ToolmasterOfBrainerd, yes, now I see that; I did not thoroughly read the card, before; has sacrificing a creature always been after the tap symbol in costs?
dbpunk says... #1
Signpost generally means its a really strong example of a strategy or its a push towards a specific strategy in limited. Most of the time, its cycles of multicolored uncommons that act as signpost uncommons.
For example: Risen Reef was the simic signpost uncommon that pushed towards an elemental strategy.
June 8, 2020 10:43 p.m.