Magic the Gathering Great Designer Search 2...DL collaboration?

[Grefter]

Nihil stone is pretty underwhelming indeed.  Would have worked alright as an Uncommon 4 years ago or whenever it was Kamigawa was running.

Still pretty far from the worst rare they have had, if that is one of the contenders for bad bad bad then we are looking at some decent sets.  It is no Abyssal Specter (Lets make a rare that is straight up worse than a classic black uncommon!) of aggravating fail or just straight up bad cards.

I understand the need for vanilla creatures for sure, the definitely have their place.  I just don't consider 4 for a 3/3 good, it never has been even in fresh starting up making decks from a starter pack and 2 boosters back in 4th Edition.  In a time when we are looking to be looking at Mirrordin 2.0 in Standard this kind of thing is horrible.

Looking through Magic 2011 even by itself for Limited, I am still seeing 4 for a 2/4 flyer, 3 for a 2/2 with a sac activated ability (green mind you), 3 for a 2/2 landwalk, 4 for a 2/3 First Strike.  GG for a 3/2 Trample (!!!! This is a common). R1 1/1 Tap: Target creature with power <2 is unblockable his turn. 5 for a 3/5 Deathtouch.  3 for a 2/1 Flyer that makes opponents discard when it comes into play.  6 for a 6/4 Trample.

There is still enough there that completely shits all over 4 for a 3/3 in the same set Commons.  These were bad before power creep.  We are 15 years of power creep down the track and we are still putting out Hill Giant.  We have given Craw Wurm Trample for free, but we haven't done shit to give Hill Giant a chance to keep up.

Edit - I know where I have used them, 2 starter Sealed Deck games (Not real games, computer ones).  This was of course with 4th Ed sets as well, so yeah I know there is situations they have use.  They are just not keeping up with even those uses any more.

[metroid composite]

Most of those are green cards, many of them require heavier colour committment.

Even ignoring that, here's it getting run (two copies maindeck) by the first place red-green draft deck at a recent international grand prix (with another top 8 player running three copies maindeck).

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/gpgot10/welcome

It's a common red creature that survives pyroclasm.  Know how many of those there are in M11 limited?  Two.  The other is Berserkers of Blood Ridge.

[metroid composite]

Hmm...found some Limited statistics if we want to pursue commons.

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/strategy/draft-100910.asp

Looks like the common to pick on in M11 would be... incite.

I'm not sure which of Timmy/Johnny are supposed to like that: just seems less exciting than Act of Treason.  Obviously an utter failure with Spike.  It feels a little like it's in the wrong colour (green likes to incite creature combat, blue has some siren singers, red likes to...not block things).  It's wordier than it needs to be (why turn the creature red, exactly?)

[Grefter]

Mmm fair point I guess, they do get use (And it isn't just 2, but 2 of them in a 40 card deck where your room for dross is not as big); but there is still the power creep. So green commons get to keep up with it but others get to be progressiely more and more mana inefficient?

They would still cover the exact same use as a 3/4 or a 4/3 that they had there and be much much less of a rip off.

Incite... yeah Incite is pretty bad.  The only thing I can think of the colour change being there for is so that on the off chance that you have things that bolster Red you can cast it on your own colour splashed creature?  That is errrrr a big if.  It does give the card versatility though...

[metroid composite]

And maybe when they take Lightning Bolt out of M12, they'll do a 3/4.  (In fact, didn't they do 3/3 Mountainwalk in Kamigawa?)  If we're talking about improving an already used creature in Limited, then we're talking about improving the colour as a whole in Limited.  And...that's definitely a Development question.  But sure, I agree, in a vacuum you could totally make the card more powerful.

On the other hand, Mindless Null: I believe they flat out admitted this was a misprint (not supposed to be 2/2).

[metroid composite]

Heh, speaking of improved common Hill Giants, they actually did one in Scars:

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=194165

[Grefter]

Yeah they normally do improve the quality of 4 for a 3/3 style cards in later sets.  Which is one more reason them continuing to print them in begginner sets really bugs me >_>

[metroid composite]

Yeah they normally do improve the quality of 4 for a 3/3 style cards in later sets.  Which is one more reason them continuing to print them in begginner sets really bugs me >_>

They also print improved common 2/2s for 1G in expert sets (and have been doing so since 2001).  Aaanyhow...

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/112

Essay submissions closed.  Rosewater talks about building a set from flavour (or building flavour from a set).

[Grefter]

Well clearly I suck at this essay part.  Haven't even finished the required research yet (up to G...).  Oh well good thing I am just playing along from home.

Something to read on my bus ride at least.

Edit - Man they even do it in expert sets already, I guess you need to be pro to handle a 3/2.

[metroid composite]

next quiz up

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/112a

anyone here enter and get past round 1 screening?  This quiz is pretty dependent on the chozen world.

[metroid composite]

Hm, well, I haven't been following the contest much (and this topic being dead suggests I'm not the only one) but Rosewater's written on the essay questions we were debating, for the interested:

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/116

[Grefter]

Mmm good to see Ravnica got some love generally speaking, was a really good set overflowing with flavour and fun things to do.  Really just needed more focus on the guilds and it would have been the perfect set for me (and probably horrible for tournament play).