News - Magic: The Gathering 2018 Spring Announcement Day

By Dozer

edit: thanks to Wolf - we also added some other new about Magic the Gathering but not from Wizards - Dozer

Wow a huge dump of news just dropped and it's all very interesting.

I've put down some bullet points or you can watch the video at the end of the post.

We're back to Ravnica.

There will be a 3 set block: Guilds of Ravnica dropping 5 Oct 2018, Ravnica Allegiance due in Jan 2019, and an unknown titled set. Each set will also focus on five guilds and those will be featured by the follow on Guild Kits products to be released 2 Nov 2018 and Feb 2019 respectivly. Note that the guild kits will include cards from each of the previous Ravnica blocks. The first was Ravnica released in 2005-2006, which included Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpack, and Dissension. The last was Return to Ravnica released in 2012-2013, which was made up of  Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, and the small expansion Dragon's Maze.

Guilds of Ravnica will focus on "the harmonious Selesnya (green-white), the militant Boros (red-white), the life-and-death-focused Golgari (black-green), the frazzled geniuses of the Izzet (blue-red), and the mystery of the Dimir (blue-black)". While Ravnica Allegiance will showcase "the orderly Azorius (white-blue), the chaotic Rakdos (black-red), the wild Gruul (red-green), the experimental Simic (green-blue), and the devious Orzhov (white-black)". The last unnamed set will focus on the end of the story arc that the gatewatch is currently caught up in rather than focus on the guilds.

For me this is big news. It's not surprising news as Ravnica is one of best known and more popular planes in Magic the Gathering. It was at the end of Dragon's Maze and the Magic 2014 when I returned to magic after last playing in Tenth Edition. It's also been expected that we'd be coming back to the plane of Guilds. As a loyal Dimir player this is great news for me.

One of the large changes to the set the updates to the guild styles and look. Dimir is getting an awesome looking update. Plenty of solid blacks and blue trimed colours reminding me of the video game series Dishonored - one of my all time favorite video game IPs.

New Dimir Guild style update
Images used without permission

Simic also gets a new fresh style. With lab coat with organic material look that makes them feel like magical scientists who's favorite movie would be Jurassic Park.

New SimicGuild style update
Images used without permission

Two-Headed Giant is Thing

Two-Headed Giant is one of my favorite formats. I prefer to play my pre-release events in the two-headed giant format. Well Wizards has announced a new set - Battlebond. A set where get get to first look at when the preview season kicks off on 22 May. It also looks to be released this time next month so suddenly there is a lot of new cards coming down range. This looks like it would fit well next to the Commander products and other alternate format styles.

Buy a Box Promos are here to stay

With the success of the last couple of buy a box promotions, Wizards has decided to keep it going. So if you see something you like, you may want to pre-order your box. Also you can now pick up your pre-ordered box at the pre-release instead of waiting that extra week. Sounds awesome!

Spellslinger is Back!

Day 9 and the folks from Geek and Sundry have brought back my favorite series about Magic the Gathering. If you're looking for a great youtube series to show off the game or get someone interested check out Spellslingers. It's back and I can't be more happy about it. Shows start up again for this 30 May.

So take a look at the video below and start hitting the net.

This is a good year for Magic the Gathering

- Cheers

Magic Pre-Release: Dominaria

By: Dozer

So along with five other friends, I ended up at Wizards Tower to play at the late night two-headed giant pre-release. I was partnered with Luke while Wolf and Forgotten were paired up, and Linna and Molotov were partners. I was leaving the next morning for Toronto for work but I was alone and I needed to get my nerd on after a intense two weeks in St Jean, QC.

I was only in town for less then an hour before I sped down the highway and traveled from the east of Ottawa to pick up Luke. This was also his first pre-release event.

Man did I ever need this.

Nerding it up with my mates after two weeks of intense training... all I needed was my wife with me but she was already in Toronto and I'd be seeing her the next day to play some Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 with our friends from the area. I had just driven for three stressed filled hours, gotten home long enough to snag a snack and refuel my car before, ignore my four hours of sleep to go play Magic the Gathering.

All images are owned by Wizards of the Coast and used without permission

Magic Set Preview: Dominaria

By: Dozer

Dominaria is 25 years of Magic the Gathering history returning, or in some cases haunting, to the long time players of the game. I've been playing since September 1994 when I was 14 years old and just entering into high school and the 9th grade. After a few years I lost touch with Magic the Gathering and fell behind in my lore as the crew of the Weatherlight had their most epic of adventures.

I've not been so excited to see a set since the last Innistrad sets.
So on the day of the pre-release I will go over some of the cards I am most looking forward to play and add to my current decks.

To start off I want to talk about this card first. The amount of flavour found in the sub text is awesome. "A new gathering for a new age." After 25 years the great ship the Weatherlight is back just in time to introduce another generation of players.

See you after the break.

Note that all images are owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used without permission. 

Magic Format: Brawl

By: Dozer

Brawl is a new Magic the Gathering format that was just released recently from the folks at Wizards of the Coast and I am very interested in the format.

First off this format is similar to Commander sharing a few similar rules. Except basic lands, you may only play with a single copy of any card in your deck. You will need 60 cards in your deck.

You need a commander who must be a Legendary Creature or a Planeswalker who will start in your Command Zone. Your commander is important as mana symbols that don't appear on your commander can't be in the deck, this includes the card's text box as well as its mana cost. When the commander is removed from the battlefield, you may place it in the command zone instead of anywhere else. For each additional time you cast your commander from the command zone, it will cost an additional two mana.

What is different with Brawl from Commander is very simple. You have 30 life and you can only use Standard legal cards. If the card has been banned from Standard is it banned form Brawl. This make you cycle cards in and out of your deck as Standard shifts, which is not as bad as it sounds.

You only need one copy of a card. Meaning those one off cards you picked up from a draft or sealed event (like a pre-release which is a favorite for the players in my crew) may be getting a home finally without having to complete a playset of four cards.

Secondly, Standard will be shifting in the fall of 2018 when Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Welcome Deck 2017, Amonkhet, and Hour of Devastation will be cycled out. We'll be left with Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan, and the yet to be released Dominaria and Core 2019.

Keeping a deck for a year doesn't sound so bad. My last Standard format deck was back in Theros block with a Minotaur Deck. When it cycled out I updated it with a few choice cards like Lord of Shatterskull Pass, Neheb, the Worthy, and Neheb, the Eternal. I added a few tribal bumps like Vanquisher's Banner. Mogis, God of Slaughter is my only non-Minotaur character in the deck. It's a favorite of mine that I still regularly play and my opponents know what's coming. What I'm trying to say is building a Standard legal deck is not bad because it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. When it cycles out the deck is a foundation for more casual Modern or Legacy decks that we play around the kitchen table.

I can see Brawl starting to include Modern format restrictions and getting another name but Commander has the hold on the larger card selection that comes with eternal formats and the Modern restrictions may not fit it well. I'd like to see what folks would do.

What is really slick is you can take a starter deck like my starter with Angrath, Minotaur Pirate, and turn that into a Brawl deck. I think this could give these new Planeswalker led started decks to get some more life when they come out. I know that the Teferi, Timebender deck is calling my name. I was originally a Blue/White player and Teferi is one of my favorite Planeswalkers. So right away I'm looking at what I can do with each of those starters to make a Brawl deck.

With the released of Dominaria a set I've really been excited for, I've been getting that MTG itch that's been gone since the last Innistrad sets. Commander always gets my attention but new formats like Wizards Tower and Pauper are what keep me coming back. Shonty, Doc, Wolf, and I played with two other ladies at Emperor last friday and it was a great set of games.

- Will you be playing Brawl?

Dozer