Sets [J22] Jumpstarting Once More

[MilesOfficial]

On the flip side, I only run Spiteful Prankster, but was happy with the Isamary, Hound of Konda and Mikaeus, the Lunarch reprints For both it was the first time they got printed in the new border with the legend crown (and for Isamaru still the only time). I'm slowly but surely replacing all the older borders in my cube, in an effort to make ravnic throw up Nah, but seriously, I happen to really like the modern aesthetic, including the flavor bar and legend crown.

Those are both very good additions.

The readability of the bottom is also excellent.

The rest? A matter of taste, and the flavor of these new frames -- they're not for me.

 

[frostymoose]

Fingers crossed for some reprints with "Surveil" errata text.

 

[Humpty_Dumpty]

The concept itself of Jumpstart was why it was so beloved -- it's fun to play regardless of skill level, and great for getting new folks into the game. It's a big part of how newer players build decks to begin with, so having a level of guidance mixed with randomness is exciting.

Designing jumpstart packs is also quite fun. I think a few of the forum members did this. My list is here.

 

[spicewitch]

do all of them contain "jumpstart" set cards, or only the top-right one?

it's fun to play regardless of skill level, and great for getting new folks into the game

thanks! cashier at a store was saying that certain, larger packs are better because they contain more rares. was that the jumpstart packs? but i was confused whether they were legit products or just Commander dreck, so i got a safe, normal booster for nostalgia value. (aether channeler - not bad!)

singles are way less stressful tbh, but it'd be fun to open a pack that was all squirrels if that's how it works.

 

[Humpty_Dumpty]

do all of them contain "jumpstart" set cards, or only the top-right one?

The top right set contains cards that were unique to Jumpstart from 2020 (some of those cards may since have been reprinted. I don’t know, it’s hard to keep up).

The bottom right will also contain unique cards, though only a handful have been spoiled so far.

As for buying packs vs buying singles, I would say it is much like buying draft boosters: are you going to use them for drafting? If you want to shuffle two packs together and play someone who is doing the same it is quite a fun way to play Magic. I was able to get a box of 2020 Jumpstart fairly cheaply for my son’s birthday party, and he and his friends enjoyed splitting the packs and playing the resulting decks. Distribution of themes was a bit disappointing: we had a disproportionate number of black packs and duplicates of some themes (though sometimes with variants).

The “value” of the cards opened was greater than what I paid for the box, based on listed price, but if you just want the cards then singles are the way to go. There’s no way to know what theme you’re getting either.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

 

[MilesOfficial]

If only white 3s weren't the most competitive slot in cube!! It's far too slow for my environment but it's a sweet, swingy effect that my players would adore if the knobs could just be adjusted so.

 

[LadyMapi]

Oi, WotC, stop making cards that feel like they were explicitly designed for one of my weird cubes.



In all seriousness, Dutiful Replicator is interesting, since it's a flickerable Populate effect that won't break anything if you make a token copy of it.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Good Battle Box Card.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Looks like we've got a couple of Heroic cards, @Onderzeeboot !

 

[ravnic]

Agrus will always have a place in my hearty but his new card is weird. And I totally missed that it only works with abilities.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

Agrus will always have a place in my hearty but his new card is weird. And I totally missed that it only works with abilities.

Good catch! Luckily the Cub works with both, so it's still a hero!

 

[Chris Taylor]

Personal favorite:

Didn't even notice but this is Julie, love that

Here is the link to a scryfall search for all reprints with new art

 

[Modin]

No! What did the do to the fucking apes!

 

[alvoi]

No! What did the do to the fucking apes!

It seems that Kibo prefers another kind of entertainment

 

[Onderzeeboot]

No! What did the do to the fucking apes!

They got a kid now! That's definitely them in the background!

 

[Brad]

There's always some card trying to lure me back to an Eldrazi cube. This is begging to give haste to some annihilator 4.

 

[LadyMapi]

Both of these are honestly kinda intriguing.

 

[Seeker]

Personally, my red 3 slot is too crowded to add this friend, but I definitely see the appeal. Sure, casting isn't free, but it lets you cast anything rather than a Dreadhorde Arcanist style restriction.

 

[N0oh]

mana value is converted mana cost or just mana cost ? because if its effect doesn't grant it at least +2 power in addition to the spell cost i'll be rather disappointed at the wording.
Otherwise, 5+/3 first strike is rather decent for attacking, unlike Dreadhorde Arcanist

 

[Seeker]

"mana value" is just the new way to say CMC, so no, you don't get the bonus two sadly.

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

Personally, my red 3 slot is too crowded to add this friend, but I definitely see the appeal. Sure, casting isn't free, but it lets you cast anything rather than a Dreadhorde Arcanist style restriction.

Whoah cool. I'm still living with the dream of making burning vengeance work in a low power cube, so I always appreciate cards that let you cast stuff out of the graveyard (e.g. instead of exiling it and then letting you cast it).

 

[TrainmasterGT]

The full spoiler is up, and all of the packs have been revealed. This set is pretty disappointing to me over all. Most of the new cards are pretty bad compared to last time, and the reprints seem worse on average.

I am a fan of this card for my Cube and possibly my Battle Box:

Nice little looter that enables reanimation.

 

[Dom Harvey]

A scalable Scales effect and payoff in one is everything I want in a card

 

[LadyMapi]

I agree that the set feels kinda meh overall... but I'm not sure why, given that I like individual designs:



These are all reasonably sweet designs (mostly for lower-power cubes)... but I can't help but notice how wordy they are. The simplest ones are four lines long!

EDIT: It also feels like the themes are looser this time around. Like, looking at the Faerie packs, it looks like they're actually flash/off-turn packs with a light sprinkling of Faeries. I don't remember any of the packs last time saying that they were, say, a Dog pack and then including some random non-Dog-themed Giant in there.