Theros: Beyond Death Spoilers
Spoilers, Rumors, and Speculation forum
Posted on Dec. 14, 2019, 2:09 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
I cannot believe that there has not yet been a thread made for spoilers for Theros: Beyond Death, so here is such a thread.
Here is the official image gallery, and here is an article about the mechanics.
I shall now comment on specific cards.
I am not particularly happy that “demigod” is now a creature type; was not “god” sufficient? Also, why is only Daxos’s toughness equal to his controller’s devotion to white? Would he be too powerful if his power increased, as well? I also dislike how his life-gaining ability cares about only creatures that are controlled by his controller; would he have been too powerful if his ability triggered from all creatures, regardless of their controllers?
Why is it that there are creatures that have abilities that trigger when they are targeted by spells, but the heroic mechanic has not actually returned? What was the point of not bringing back the mechanic?
The ability of eidolon of philosophy is very nice, but also very expensive; I understand that it can be used as an instant, but seven mana is still a very high cost for drawing three cards.
Memory drain is too expensive for its effect; I personally feel that it could have cost 1 mana less, since Dissolve is very underpowered, in my mind.
I am displeased that Setessan champion is not an enchantment, herself, since she shall not trigger her own constellation ability. Also, mono-green is not supposed to have card draw that is not related to creatures, so I believe that she should have been green/white.
Why are the escape costs of some of these cards so expensive? Is it because retuning from the dead is supposed to be difficult and rare?
I like The Akroan War, but I noticed that there is no artwork in the text box, which all the sagas from Domianria had; why did WotC change that? Did the artwork make the text difficult to read?
Who is Klothys? Is she the new red/green deity? If so, I will be pleased to see a red/green creature who cares about more than simply brute force and destruction.
The first group of previews were overall very nice, so I shall be awaiting further previews.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #2
I do find it interesting that "Elspeth Conquers Death" is a rare when it's a slightly worse The Eldest Reborn (in my opinion).
January 8, 2020 9:45 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #3
The reprint of Unknown Shores annoys me greatly; could WotC really not have reprinted either Mana Confluence or Reflecting Pool , to help keep the prices of those lands lower?
January 9, 2020 9:22 p.m.
All the cards are now officially spoiled.
Overall, I like the set more than Throne of Eldraine and WOTC was able to get in a lot of tropes of greek myth they could not in the previous 3 sets, somehow.
The best card in the set is by far Nyxbloom Ancient . My personal favorite card in the set is probably Shadowspear as it is a good return to powerful equipments. Wierdly enough, Dalakos, Crafter of Wonders is my least favorite card in the set for that same reason.
What about you?
January 10, 2020 11:52 a.m.
LittleBlueHero says... #5
I think Destiny Spinner is probably the strongest card in the set. It will see play in multiple formats, card is pushed hard at uncommon.
My card is probably Siona, Captain of the Pyleas . As a commander player she has finally made me want to build an aura deck which is something I could never fall in love with before. A close second would be Nightmare Shepherd since I think that card is going to end up being not only strong but also enable some really fun plays.
Least favorite... Athreos, Shroud-Veiled . I know they don't want to make the BAB Promos overly strong but man is this card a let down after his original card.
January 10, 2020 12:29 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
Now that the entire set has been revealed, I am mostly very impressed by it; I have already expressed my displeasure with several cards, but I believe that this set overall is very nice.
Two other cards that I dislike are nexus wardens and Setessan Petitioner , since both of their abilities are perfectly within green’s section of the color pie, but I feel that they should have been white, since white is the best color for gaining life, with green being tied with black for second-best, in that regard. However, Skola grovedancer is perfectly fine, since her ability is related to lands, and green is the color that is most concerned with lands.
Bronze sword is terrible; how could WotC print a card such as that, when there are already numerous pieces of equipment that are vastly superior to it? I like that WotC has finally printed a card named Mirror Shield, but that is not at all what I had envisioned for a card with that name.
Also on the subject of artifacts, I am very glad to see that all of the artifacts in this set are colorless; I have no problem with colored artifacts, but I do not wish for them to supersede colorless artifacts in this game, since colorless artifacts have been around since the very beginning of this game.
January 11, 2020 12:43 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #7
For me the strongest card in the set is easily Heliod, Sun-Crowned . He is cheap, easily tutor-able, hard to remove, and enables relevant combos in multiple formats. After that I think it's a toss up between Drag to the Underworld , Klothys, God of Destiny , and Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath . I think each of those cards are strong enough to see play in multiple formats. I also suspect Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis will see heavy play in standard
The cards that I am most excited about are Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger and Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded . Purphoros mainly because the idea of Sneak Attack in the command zone seems fun and Kroxa just because I love Rakdos and he seems really unique.
As an aside, Escape is looking to be a very strong mechanic from the limited play I've seen so far.
January 13, 2020 9:30 p.m.
Coward_Token says... #8
Nothing about this set that excites me too much from an EDH standpoint. The Minotaur cards (and Deathbellow War Cry ) were a disappointment, since IMO none of them helps Neheb, the Worthy with his tribal aspirations. (The two decent creatures need sac fooder to be effective, which Minotaur tribal doesn't really lead itself to, while the War Cry wants a Zombie!Neheb to cast it in good time even though the best payoff about it is to get a Zombie!Neheb...)
January 14, 2020 12:47 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #9
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor, why is is that Heliod and Purphoros do not grant lifelink and haste to themselves? Would they be too powerful if they did?
January 14, 2020 10:29 p.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #10
DemonDragonJ - your guess is as good as mine, but the original gods were only able grant abilities to other creatures as well. It probably has something to do with the whole "they get their power from the belief of the people" lore.
January 15, 2020 12:02 a.m.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #11
Two more cards that I am really interested in trying out that I forgot to mention are Thassa, Deep-Dwelling and Nightmare Shepherd . I think both will find a home in my clone/steal commander deck. Thassa simply because her Conjurer's Closet wording allows me to perma-steal a creature and Nightmare Shepherd because I can exile the stolen creature to create another copy of it for more mileage (and graveyard hate).
January 15, 2020 10:24 p.m.
This is a fun prerelease set.
Lots of possible ways to build.
I went 1-1-1 with . Pulled Ashiok, so got lucky. They are a game changer.
Escape is a terrific mechanic. You really have to play around it.
My colours had lots of draw and Scry. Very Enchantment matters.
Hope everyone else has fun with it.
My prerelease also did BYO, which was fun.
January 18, 2020 5:24 a.m.
Coward_Token says... #13
Combos/synergies for Treacherous Blessing ? EDHREC pointed out Korvold, Fae-Cursed King , Shattergang Brothers , Daxos the Returned & Cloudstone Curio , and I noticed Ertai, the Corrupted myself. Vraska, Golgari Queen & Doom Foretold works too. (Its native set obviously got several cards that can sacrifice it for profit as well.)
January 18, 2020 5:35 a.m.
"The ability of eidolon of philosophy is very nice, but also very expensive; I understand that it can be used as an instant, but seven mana is still a very high cost for drawing three cards."
It's an absolute winner in Limited.
We get extra packs during the prerelease.
When I got home I opened this.
Since I already pulled an Ashiok at prerelease, and so did StuBi, it was clearly an Ashiok kind of night for us.
I also got this from the Ashiok Planeswalker deck:
Not sure if they automatically come with the deck or not.
Interestingly, the Planeswalker deck plays the same as my prerelease deck.
Happy days.
January 18, 2020 9:05 a.m.
DemonDragonJ did all your questions get answered at prerelease or don't you play?
January 18, 2020 9:06 a.m.
For anyone who didn't pre-release and may want an arena code:
RkN-ZiWU-Mqu
First come, first served
January 18, 2020 9:54 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #17
Argy, to what questions are you referring? And I have participated in prereleases, but I did not participate in this one, because I simply was not sufficiently interested.
January 18, 2020 11:25 p.m.
All the questions you asked in the topic header.
What was the last prelease you played?
January 19, 2020 4:11 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #19
Argy, the last pre-release in which I participated was that for Dominaria, for nostalgic reasons; perhaps I may participate in the pre-release for Ikoria.
As for my questions, Mark Rosewater said that there was not a sufficient quantity of cards with heroic for them to actually have the keyword, and I shall simply presume that every card with escape requires other cards to be exiled from their owners' graveyard to prevent the ability from being used indefinitely.
January 19, 2020 6:49 p.m.
All these questions.
"I am not particularly happy that “demigod” is now a creature type; was not “god” sufficient? Also, why is only Daxos’s toughness equal to his controller’s devotion to white? Would he be too powerful if his power increased, as well? I also dislike how his life-gaining ability cares about only creatures that are controlled by his controller; would he have been too powerful if his ability triggered from all creatures, regardless of their controllers?
Why is it that there are creatures that have abilities that trigger when they are targeted by spells, but the heroic mechanic has not actually returned? What was the point of not bringing back the mechanic?
The ability of eidolon of philosophy is very nice, but also very expensive; I understand that it can be used as an instant, but seven mana is still a very high cost for drawing three cards.
Memory drain is too expensive for its effect; I personally feel that it could have cost 1 mana less, since Dissolve is very underpowered, in my mind.
I am displeased that Setessan champion is not an enchantment, herself, since she shall not trigger her own constellation ability. Also, mono-green is not supposed to have card draw that is not related to creatures, so I believe that she should have been green/white.
Why are the escape costs of some of these cards so expensive? Is it because retuning from the dead is supposed to be difficult and rare?
I like The Akroan War, but I noticed that there is no artwork in the text box, which all the sagas from Domianria had; why did WotC change that? Did the artwork make the text difficult to read?
Who is Klothys? Is she the new red/green deity? If so, I will be pleased to see a red/green creature who cares about more than simply brute force and destruction."
January 19, 2020 11:11 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #21
Argy, yes, I now remember those questions, but why are you repeating them, here?
January 20, 2020 5:23 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #23
Argy, some of them have been answered: Klothys is, indeed, the new red/green deity, but no answers have been given for why the new sagas do not have artwork in their text boxes, nor for why only power or toughness (but not both) of the demigods are equal to their controllers' devotion to their colors.
January 20, 2020 9:44 p.m.
You can work it out by playing with the new cards to see how they work.
What format(s) do you play?
January 20, 2020 10:08 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #25
Argy, I do not at all play rotating formats, because I dislike needing to constantly purchase new cards. I am very fond of EDH, but I usually play casually, with whatever cards I have available. Apart from prereleases, I do not usually enter sanctioned events.
January 21, 2020 8:56 p.m.
Ah, that explains a lot of things.
You don't actually play with the cards, so you don't understand how good they are.
January 21, 2020 10:49 p.m.
I would say the Demigods Power or Toughness equals devotion vs. it being both is because they are half human (or other race?) and half god so they need devotion to be powerful but not to be solid like the gods. The gods need devotion to for them to be a creature where normal creatures this is not an issue at all thus the demigods are a halfway point. Really nice design I would say.
Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor says... #1
DemonDragonJ - I am not sure if there it is a hard rule set by WotC on this, but large sets traditionally only have 15 mythic rares.
January 8, 2020 9:36 p.m.