Post by sdfkjgh on Feb 1, 2019 1:44:42 GMT
Here’s the link to the complete Reserved List.
• 59 cards stay on The Reserved List.{*see EDITOR'S NOTE below}
• 163 cards reprinted in Standard.
• 55 cards reprinted in supplemental sets.
•121 mistakes that should’ve been caught LONG before they ever made it to print.
• Dark Ritual has been added to The New Revised Reserved List.
•Naked Singularity, Bronze Tablet, Jeweled Bird, Rebirth, Tempest Efreet, and Rishadan Port have been retroactively added to the list of mistakes that should’ve been caught LONG before they ever made it to print.
BSQ: 346/405*, or 85.{bar}432098765%*.
Right, let’s see what nonsense we get into this time.
Subterranean Spirit4 168
Price
Skirk Fire Marshal
Price
Hammerfist Giant
Price
Scourge of Kher Ridges
Price
Harbinger of the Hunt
Price
Your Honor, do I need to go any further?
And we’re done.
Here’s the link to the complete Reserved List.
• 59 card stay on The Reserved List.*
• 169 card get reprinted in Standard (with, in this episode, Sidar Jabari downgraded from ::rare to
).
• 57 cards reprinted in supplemental sets (with, in this episode, Teeka’s Dragon downgraded from
to ).
•125 cards that should’ve been prevented from ever having despoiled the timestream.
• Dark Ritual has been added to The New Revised Reserved List.
•Naked Singularity, Bronze Tablet, Jeweled Bird, Rebirth, Tempest Efreet, and Rishadan Port have been retroactively added to the list of cards that should’ve been prevented from ever having despoiled the timestream.
BSQ: 358/417*, or 85.85131894484413%*. Something tells me that if my calculator had more space, that number would have a long-ass series of repeating decimals.
I was wrong last week when I said that this week would be the last episode of Mirage, but I promise you, next week will be the last episode of Mirage, whether it kills me & everyone within a 12 mile radius or not.
Until then, thanks to Daij_Djan, and Baby Goose has something to say.
*EDITOR'S NOTE: It has recently come to my attention that a mistake was made way back in Antiquities, which has rendered all subsequent ennumerations and Bullshit Quotients inaccurate. Please bear with us as we fix the problem in the next couple of weeks.
• 59 cards stay on The Reserved List.{*see EDITOR'S NOTE below}
• 163 cards reprinted in Standard.
• 55 cards reprinted in supplemental sets.
•
• Dark Ritual has been added to The New Revised Reserved List.
•
BSQ: 346/405*, or 85.{bar}432098765%*.
Right, let’s see what nonsense we get into this time.
{Having just read the MTG Gamepedia page on her, I’m even less sure of what to make of her.}
Shauku, Endbringer I’ma get back to you on that one…
Price
Shauku the Endbringer is a weird one. Losing 3 life on each of your upkeeps I can understand, as it’s very flavorful for an ancient Vampire to be so voracious, she even feeds on the one who ostensibly controls her, but why the drawback of only being able to attack on an empty board? My inner Vorthos is making excuses of *switches real glasses for even nerdier ones* “Oh, well, that perfectly encapsulates her essentially isolationist and xenophobic nature--“ Oh, shut the fuck up, me! That ability is useless, pointless, and unnecessary, and should’ve never been put on the card.
Shauku is yet another huge, high-cost fatty that was made in an era before they realized that a high mana cost was its own large enough drawback. If she was printed today, she prolly would’ve had no changes other than the complete loss of that ability that prevents her from attacking. Still,
: Exile a dude & get a +1/+1 counter is pretty powerful, so 56.
Shauku, Endbringer I’ma get back to you on that one…
Price
{Cf. (this list is by no means complete, it’s just a general overview)}
Like whoa
Price
Visara the Dreadful
Price
If they’re pushing for more flavorful, concise, and grokkable rules text, then why doesn’t this say “by” instead of “with”?
Price
Deepfire Elemental1
Price
Like whoa
Price
Visara the Dreadful
Price
If they’re pushing for more flavorful, concise, and grokkable rules text, then why doesn’t this say “by” instead of “with”?
Price
Deepfire Elemental1
Price
Shauku the Endbringer is a weird one. Losing 3 life on each of your upkeeps I can understand, as it’s very flavorful for an ancient Vampire to be so voracious, she even feeds on the one who ostensibly controls her, but why the drawback of only being able to attack on an empty board? My inner Vorthos is making excuses of *switches real glasses for even nerdier ones* “Oh, well, that perfectly encapsulates her essentially isolationist and xenophobic nature--“ Oh, shut the fuck up, me! That ability is useless, pointless, and unnecessary, and should’ve never been put on the card.
Shauku is yet another huge, high-cost fatty that was made in an era before they realized that a high mana cost was its own large enough drawback. If she was printed today, she prolly would’ve had no changes other than the complete loss of that ability that prevents her from attacking. Still,
: Exile a dude & get a +1/+1 counter is pretty powerful, so 56.{This is gonna be a whole lotta nonsense for very little payoff.}
Shimmer122
Price
Shimmer combines Repeated Land Destruction with Mass Land Destruction, and adds in that extra special kick in the crotch of Iona’s ability to turn off an entire color. What’s that? You say that phasing isn’t really LD, because they get it back every other turn? What kind of game only allows one of its participants to play every other turn? Phasing was a horrible mistake that should’ve never been, on par with banding. And, like banding, they never included any reminder text on any of the cards on which phasing appeared, because reasons!
I’m sort of glad they brought back phasing for Teferi’s Protection, as it signals that they’re willing to bring back anything if the need arises, but other than that, I wish WotC would just pretend that phasing never existed, like they kinda do for banding.
P.s.: OMG! Shimmer’s flavor text predicted the housing bubble crash of 2008!!oneone one.
Shimmer
Price
Shimmer combines Repeated Land Destruction with Mass Land Destruction, and adds in that extra special kick in the crotch of Iona’s ability to turn off an entire color. What’s that? You say that phasing isn’t really LD, because they get it back every other turn? What kind of game only allows one of its participants to play every other turn? Phasing was a horrible mistake that should’ve never been, on par with banding. And, like banding, they never included any reminder text on any of the cards on which phasing appeared, because reasons!
I’m sort of glad they brought back phasing for Teferi’s Protection, as it signals that they’re willing to bring back anything if the need arises, but other than that, I wish WotC would just pretend that phasing never existed, like they kinda do for banding.
P.s.: OMG! Shimmer’s flavor text predicted the housing bubble crash of 2008!!oneone one.
{Hieromancy’s a pretty 
effect nowadays.}
Sidar Jabari 164, downgraded from to , to match Vintage Masters.
Price
Flanking, on the other hand, is an ability that I really wish they’d bring back again. MaRo has said that he doesn’t like that it only works on creatures without flanking, but I think it makes perfect sense: flanking is an advanced military tactic, one that is devastating to those who have no knowledge of its use, but is easily counterable by those who know how to use it.
I loved it when Time Spiral block brought back flanking, and I miss the ability.
As for Sidar Jabari, there’s not much that can be said, beyond that it proves that Master of Diversion + flanking means +
to mana cost2.
effect nowadays.}Sidar Jabari 164, downgraded from
to , to match Vintage Masters.Price
Flanking, on the other hand, is an ability that I really wish they’d bring back again. MaRo has said that he doesn’t like that it only works on creatures without flanking, but I think it makes perfect sense: flanking is an advanced military tactic, one that is devastating to those who have no knowledge of its use, but is easily counterable by those who know how to use it.
I loved it when Time Spiral block brought back flanking, and I miss the ability.
As for Sidar Jabari, there’s not much that can be said, beyond that it proves that Master of Diversion + flanking means +
to mana cost2.{Do we really need to give Ad Nauseam more toys? More to the point, isn’t Ad Nauseam so stuffed to the gills with toys already that it wouldn’t even want any more?}
Soul Echo 165
Price
I’ve already said everything that needs to be said about Soul Echo in the spoiler heading.
Soul Echo 165
Price
I’ve already said everything that needs to be said about Soul Echo in the spoiler heading.
{Every single decision WotC made in service of The Reserved List makes me wonder what they were smoking when they made it.}
Spectral Guardian 166
Price
What more needs to be said?
Spectral Guardian 166
Price
{The Gatherer commenters were quite the astute bunch.}
I just wish WotC’d maintain their servers. The company seems to be stuck on “Can’t somebody else do it?” mode.
Greater Auramancy
Price
I just wish WotC’d maintain their servers. The company seems to be stuck on “Can’t somebody else do it?” mode.
Greater Auramancy
Price
What more needs to be said?
{Akroma thinks she’s such hot shit, when really it was this bad boy who was first.}
CreatureSpirit of the Night 167
Price
Spirit of the Night is a little overcosted, yes (by about
to ), but I really like how the mana costs of Breathstealer, Feral Shadow, and Urborg Panther all add up to Spirit of the Night’s. I also like how Urborg Panther’s first activated ability could be said to be a pseudo-first strike, to match with Spirit’s not-always-on first strike. Wizards would copy this design sensibility in the very next set, Visions, with Kyscu Drake, Spitting Drake, and Viashivan Dragon. It’s a popular and well-liked design trope.
Price
{In fact, it spawned an entire design archetype.}
Urborg Panther
Price
Kyscu Drake
Price
Dark Supplicant
Price
Shards of Alara’s Herald cycle
Shadowborn Apostle
Price
Helm of Kaldra
Price
The “Imperial Vestments” cycle
My Valley College playgroup dubbed Akroma “Bitchface”. When her colorshifted version came out, I attempted to nickname her “Red-Tailed Hawk”, but the rest of the group chose the more crude and uncouth “Bitchface on the Rag”. Sometimes friends can do things that make you not proud of your association with them.
Urborg Panther
Price
Kyscu Drake
Price
Dark Supplicant
Price
Shards of Alara’s Herald cycle
Shadowborn Apostle
Price
Helm of Kaldra
Price
The “Imperial Vestments” cycle
My Valley College playgroup dubbed Akroma “Bitchface”. When her colorshifted version came out, I attempted to nickname her “Red-Tailed Hawk”, but the rest of the group chose the more crude and uncouth “Bitchface on the Rag”. Sometimes friends can do things that make you not proud of your association with them.
Spirit of the Night is a little overcosted, yes (by about
to ), but I really like how the mana costs of Breathstealer, Feral Shadow, and Urborg Panther all add up to Spirit of the Night’s. I also like how Urborg Panther’s first activated ability could be said to be a pseudo-first strike, to match with Spirit’s not-always-on first strike. Wizards would copy this design sensibility in the very next set, Visions, with Kyscu Drake, Spitting Drake, and Viashivan Dragon. It’s a popular and well-liked design trope.Subterranean Spirit4 168
Price
Skirk Fire Marshal
Price
Hammerfist Giant
Price
Scourge of Kher Ridges
Price
Harbinger of the Hunt
Price
Your Honor, do I need to go any further?
{Chippy did some excellently creepy-ass shit in his early days. It’s interesting to compare those early, almost impressionistic pieces to his more photorealistic recent work.}
Tainted Specter 169
Price
Tainted Specter is, as far as I can tell, quite unique. Part Cat Burglar, part Chittering Rats, part Pestilence, all punisher. As a punisher mechanic, your opponent has all the control over the outcome, which is why they’ve never been much good, up until very recently with Amonkhet block, and Risk Factor. Traditionally, the key to making punisher mechanics work for you was to neither care about the outcome, nor rely on your opponent choosing one choice or the other—maintain the laid-back attitude of “No matter how my opponent chooses, it still benefits me.”
Tainted Specter, being from those bad (but improving) early days, is actually one of the better punishers of that era, as either the opponent cuts off their next draw, generating about a 1.5 card advantage, or they lose a card & ping everyone and everything for 1, potentially netting even greater card advantage. The only saving grace is that it’s so slow, clunky, fragile, & costly. But those same limiting factors are what make it safe for Standard.
Tainted Specter 169
Price
Tainted Specter is, as far as I can tell, quite unique. Part Cat Burglar, part Chittering Rats, part Pestilence, all punisher. As a punisher mechanic, your opponent has all the control over the outcome, which is why they’ve never been much good, up until very recently with Amonkhet block, and Risk Factor. Traditionally, the key to making punisher mechanics work for you was to neither care about the outcome, nor rely on your opponent choosing one choice or the other—maintain the laid-back attitude of “No matter how my opponent chooses, it still benefits me.”
Tainted Specter, being from those bad (but improving) early days, is actually one of the better punishers of that era, as either the opponent cuts off their next draw, generating about a 1.5 card advantage, or they lose a card & ping everyone and everything for 1, potentially netting even greater card advantage. The only saving grace is that it’s so slow, clunky, fragile, & costly. But those same limiting factors are what make it safe for Standard.
{As a being from Māori legend, the wh is pronounced f.}
Taniwha123
Price
I’m sorry, but from here on out, if it’s on The Reserved List & it has phasing, it gets Piled.
Taniwha
Price
I’m sorry, but from here on out, if it’s on The Reserved List & it has phasing, it gets Piled.
{I’m so glad The Grand Creature Type Update did away with all that unnecessary “counts as a” text.}
Teeka’s Dragon 57, downgraded from to .
Price
Oh, rampage, the little keyword that never went anywhere or did anything. The only time rampage was interesting was Gorilla Berserkers, but that was only because the defending player was forced to trigger it. A much better wording would be “Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +N/+N until end of turn for each creature blocking it.”, just like a much better outcome would’ve been if that was the original, unchanged wording of rampage, and that wording made it to print.
Teeka’s Dragon seems like a perfect card for Commander, where the mana flows like air.
Teeka’s Dragon 57, downgraded from
to .Price
Oh, rampage, the little keyword that never went anywhere or did anything. The only time rampage was interesting was Gorilla Berserkers, but that was only because the defending player was forced to trigger it. A much better wording would be “Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +N/+N until end of turn for each creature blocking it.”, just like a much better outcome would’ve been if that was the original, unchanged wording of rampage, and that wording made it to print.
Teeka’s Dragon seems like a perfect card for Commander, where the mana flows like air.
And we’re done.
Here’s the link to the complete Reserved List.
• 59 card stay on The Reserved List.*
• 169 card get reprinted in Standard (with, in this episode, Sidar Jabari downgraded from ::rare to
).• 57 cards reprinted in supplemental sets (with, in this episode, Teeka’s Dragon downgraded from
to ).•
• Dark Ritual has been added to The New Revised Reserved List.
•
BSQ: 358/417*, or 85.85131894484413%*. Something tells me that if my calculator had more space, that number would have a long-ass series of repeating decimals.
I was wrong last week when I said that this week would be the last episode of Mirage, but I promise you, next week will be the last episode of Mirage, whether it kills me & everyone within a 12 mile radius or not.
Until then, thanks to Daij_Djan, and Baby Goose has something to say.
{Footnotes}
| 1 | I once had an idea for a spoof of the cover art for one of the Metal Gear games: Monkey Gear Solid: Mox Eater. |
| 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Yes, all right, it also means the addition of the Legendary supertype, but I’m convinced that if this design were handed in today, it wouldn’t be Legendary. I’m also pretty sure that were it not for WotC’s internal guideline of “No Legendary creatures”3, Sidar Jabari would be . |
| 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Joven & Chandler say “Hi!” from Snarg’s House of Sin. |
| 0 | 0 |
| 4 | No, not that John Bolton. No, not that one, either. Nope. No. No, but he is a pretty cool guy. Oh, gods no, not the Lorax’s evil cousin! THAT’S the guy! |
*EDITOR'S NOTE: It has recently come to my attention that a mistake was made way back in Antiquities, which has rendered all subsequent ennumerations and Bullshit Quotients inaccurate. Please bear with us as we fix the problem in the next couple of weeks.
