Nooo I totally thought he'd just give buffs to anyone with pants. It's a cool card, but giving different benefits to tokens and non-tokens feels pretty inelegant
Sets [KHM] Kaldheim Official Previews
- Thread starter TrainmasterGT
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Nooo I totally thought he'd just give buffs to anyone with pants. It's a cool card, but giving different benefits to tokens and non-tokens feels pretty inelegant
Nooo I totally thought he'd just give buffs to anyone with pants. It's a cool card, but giving different benefits to tokens and non-tokens feels pretty inelegant
Agreed. Adds more text to achieve fairly little.
UGx Snow looking like a real low-mid power deck if you wanted to use 2-4 new duals plus 1-2 fetch and/or some 1G sorceries that can find land types. The lands actually have me really excited to see what else we get from snow, especially as I've been moving lower and lower powered lately.
Nooo I totally thought he'd just give buffs to anyone with pants. It's a cool card, but giving different benefits to tokens and non-tokens feels pretty inelegant
Agreed, and I also missed that. Well, I hope we will get a mono white pants legend that does better
That's true! Since it's a gold uncommon we're probably in for a lot of equipment/enchantments dwarves in red white hopefully.Agreed, and I also missed that. Well, I hope we will get a mono white pants legend that does better
The art looks fantastic, thanks for sharing the hi-res photos, Vel! However, I can't help but feel that one of the names sticks out like a sore thumb and that the following must have happened.
WOTC Employee #1: Okay, we've got a plane about Vikings. What do we call the plane where the gods live?
WOTC Employee #2: Well, the real one is called Asgard.
#1: No no, Marvel has that one trademarked. Hmm, let's see...
#2: Well, what else are Vikings famous for? Let's mash a couple of words together and see if it sounds good.
#1: Aslongship? Asshield? No, that's dumb.
#2: I've got it! They use axes! We can call it Axgard.
#1: . . . no, Greg. That's really dumb. We'll come up with a better name later.
A few months later
#1: Dangit, Greg, what do you mean you sent it off to the printer already?
And scene.
Goldspan Dragon is probably breakable, at least in EDH? It's crazy that you can get two mana back on the turn you cast it, making it very easy to protect. Seems like a fun way to encourage artifacts and maybe also sneak it into a Heroic deck? It might be too strong for my taste, though.
Old-Growth Troll is, as people say, pretty wordy, and does a lot of things pretty well. Sweet in some cubes, not for me (too much free value). Seems like Green is continuing to get pushed, which is fine.
So far the Gods seem entirely reasonable and the new planeswalkers look like a ton of fun. The mythics are mostly balanced so far, which is a pleasant surprise after Uro and Omnath. Vorinclex looks like a great balance and is exactly what I'm looking for out of a Green 6-drop.
The showcase frame continues to look incredible, and I love how they're branching out with it this time around as opposed to ZNR's blocky frame. I liked the ZNR frame, personally, but I wish they had done more with the showcase opportunity there.
WOTC Employee #1: Okay, we've got a plane about Vikings. What do we call the plane where the gods live?
WOTC Employee #2: Well, the real one is called Asgard.
#1: No no, Marvel has that one trademarked. Hmm, let's see...
#2: Well, what else are Vikings famous for? Let's mash a couple of words together and see if it sounds good.
#1: Aslongship? Asshield? No, that's dumb.
#2: I've got it! They use axes! We can call it Axgard.
#1: . . . no, Greg. That's really dumb. We'll come up with a better name later.
A few months later
#1: Dangit, Greg, what do you mean you sent it off to the printer already?
And scene.
Goldspan Dragon is probably breakable, at least in EDH? It's crazy that you can get two mana back on the turn you cast it, making it very easy to protect. Seems like a fun way to encourage artifacts and maybe also sneak it into a Heroic deck? It might be too strong for my taste, though.
Old-Growth Troll is, as people say, pretty wordy, and does a lot of things pretty well. Sweet in some cubes, not for me (too much free value). Seems like Green is continuing to get pushed, which is fine.
So far the Gods seem entirely reasonable and the new planeswalkers look like a ton of fun. The mythics are mostly balanced so far, which is a pleasant surprise after Uro and Omnath. Vorinclex looks like a great balance and is exactly what I'm looking for out of a Green 6-drop.
The showcase frame continues to look incredible, and I love how they're branching out with it this time around as opposed to ZNR's blocky frame. I liked the ZNR frame, personally, but I wish they had done more with the showcase opportunity there.
Oh, sure! My apologies for the huge images, but the art is so beautiful in high-res.
Here, we have the showcase frames for Zendikar Rising, Kaldheim, Eldraine, and Theros Round 2: Elspeth's Revenge. The ZNR frame has a couple neat things going for it, namely changing up the shape of the frame into a diamond and the details on the bottom leaves of the hedron (I like to imagine that these are all pictures taken by hedron-cameras or some sort of listening post set up by Nahiri, Ugin, and Sorin way back when). However, the inscriptions behind the text box are obscured by, well, the text box, and it doesn't do all that much for me, artistically. If you didn't know that Hedrons Are A Big Deal On Zendikar, you'd just think it looks weird. Plus, having one corner of the image visible but not the other three bugs me. Also, this frame is kind of chunky and Art Deco, which really works for some cards and really doesn't for others depending on how angular/wispy the actual art is. Plus, the art style between showcase frames is INCREDIBLY inconsistent.
Contrast this to the Kaldheim frame. We have some lovely scrollwork and wooden textures as well as some tasteful but not intrusive scrollwork on the text box. The frame's shape is changed, but it's done so in a way that enhances the viewer's focus on the art rather than drawing attention away from it. Plus, the art and the frame match each other! The same can be said of the Eldraine frames. Look at how the art is very pastel-colored, and how the natural motifs are picked up in the frame. Almost universally, Eldraine's showcase cards feature swirls and turns, tying the art into the frame (see here the ranger's hair, the spear, the brambles, the pose of the fox, and the vines entwining the slender frame, as well as the curvature of the book that makes up the text box). The line work is very thin and delicate or otherwise completely omitted, allowing colors to blend into each other, and the art spills out of the border, making me feel as if I'm inside the story. For me, Eldraine has the best frame by far, but Kadheim is a close second (note how Kaldheim's showcase cards so far tend towards the monochrome, bringing to mind inlaid woodwork).
Theros: Beyond Death took a more abstract approach to showcase frames but used them a lot more sparingly. While they're a lot less inventive in terms of frame--they literally just created a new background--it's such a good match for the art that you don't even notice that it's not an extended art card (see how Heliod's spear stops abruptly at the frame?). The gods of Theros are quite literally part of the sky, and this is a dramatic departure from Magic's usual style while still feeling appropriate. It's not as adventurous in its treatment of borders, but they're such a cohesive idea I can't help but like them, at least more than Zendikar's. While ZNR's showcase frames are a cool idea and I want to see them continue to push borders in a similar way, I just don't think there was enough play within the realm of "MTG ART STYLE" to get the actual card art to align with the frame. Personally, with this sort of frame, I'd expect to see chunkier, blockier art, much like Mayan carvings or even Egyptian hieroglyphics.
My power rankings for showcase frames so far:
Eldraine >= Kaldheim = Ikoria >> Theros Beyond Death > Zendikar Rising
(>>>>>>>> Core Set Showcase Cards (I don't consider those to be true showcase cards, as they're more like borderless cards))
edit: oh heck, I forgot Ikoria. Gimme a moment. It's here now.
Ikoria doesn't do anything with the actual frames, but the art is INCREDIBLE. Bold, dynamic, and frankly top-tier art. Their contrast is incredible. They only lose points for not doing anything with the frame and for most of the art being the same--that of a beastie roaring at the three-quarters angle. Sure, that's a comic book trope, but I do like variety. Godzilla cards look great too but I'd never play with them because they don't work for my preferred Magic aesthetic. I'd collect them for sure, though.
Just look at them. They're great, but it's preeeeetty much the same.
Here, we have the showcase frames for Zendikar Rising, Kaldheim, Eldraine, and Theros Round 2: Elspeth's Revenge. The ZNR frame has a couple neat things going for it, namely changing up the shape of the frame into a diamond and the details on the bottom leaves of the hedron (I like to imagine that these are all pictures taken by hedron-cameras or some sort of listening post set up by Nahiri, Ugin, and Sorin way back when). However, the inscriptions behind the text box are obscured by, well, the text box, and it doesn't do all that much for me, artistically. If you didn't know that Hedrons Are A Big Deal On Zendikar, you'd just think it looks weird. Plus, having one corner of the image visible but not the other three bugs me. Also, this frame is kind of chunky and Art Deco, which really works for some cards and really doesn't for others depending on how angular/wispy the actual art is. Plus, the art style between showcase frames is INCREDIBLY inconsistent.
Contrast this to the Kaldheim frame. We have some lovely scrollwork and wooden textures as well as some tasteful but not intrusive scrollwork on the text box. The frame's shape is changed, but it's done so in a way that enhances the viewer's focus on the art rather than drawing attention away from it. Plus, the art and the frame match each other! The same can be said of the Eldraine frames. Look at how the art is very pastel-colored, and how the natural motifs are picked up in the frame. Almost universally, Eldraine's showcase cards feature swirls and turns, tying the art into the frame (see here the ranger's hair, the spear, the brambles, the pose of the fox, and the vines entwining the slender frame, as well as the curvature of the book that makes up the text box). The line work is very thin and delicate or otherwise completely omitted, allowing colors to blend into each other, and the art spills out of the border, making me feel as if I'm inside the story. For me, Eldraine has the best frame by far, but Kadheim is a close second (note how Kaldheim's showcase cards so far tend towards the monochrome, bringing to mind inlaid woodwork).
Theros: Beyond Death took a more abstract approach to showcase frames but used them a lot more sparingly. While they're a lot less inventive in terms of frame--they literally just created a new background--it's such a good match for the art that you don't even notice that it's not an extended art card (see how Heliod's spear stops abruptly at the frame?). The gods of Theros are quite literally part of the sky, and this is a dramatic departure from Magic's usual style while still feeling appropriate. It's not as adventurous in its treatment of borders, but they're such a cohesive idea I can't help but like them, at least more than Zendikar's. While ZNR's showcase frames are a cool idea and I want to see them continue to push borders in a similar way, I just don't think there was enough play within the realm of "MTG ART STYLE" to get the actual card art to align with the frame. Personally, with this sort of frame, I'd expect to see chunkier, blockier art, much like Mayan carvings or even Egyptian hieroglyphics.
My power rankings for showcase frames so far:
Eldraine >= Kaldheim = Ikoria >> Theros Beyond Death > Zendikar Rising
(>>>>>>>> Core Set Showcase Cards (I don't consider those to be true showcase cards, as they're more like borderless cards))
edit: oh heck, I forgot Ikoria. Gimme a moment. It's here now.
Ikoria doesn't do anything with the actual frames, but the art is INCREDIBLE. Bold, dynamic, and frankly top-tier art. Their contrast is incredible. They only lose points for not doing anything with the frame and for most of the art being the same--that of a beastie roaring at the three-quarters angle. Sure, that's a comic book trope, but I do like variety. Godzilla cards look great too but I'd never play with them because they don't work for my preferred Magic aesthetic. I'd collect them for sure, though.
Just look at them. They're great, but it's preeeeetty much the same.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
There are multiple reasons why this horse makes me sad. The biggest one is that I was actually looking forward to the instant-speed-foretell effect, but I didn't want all of that on top of it.
I'm honestly in the reverse camp. Flash Phantom Monster is a nice rare, but that's a lot of fortell text that isn't gonna come up a ton
We were talking about this fella earlier, and one of my buddies brought up a good question:
Is star of extinction a giant source of damage?
That's one of my other issues - a 3/3 flyer with flash for 3U is already slightly above the curve. Why'd they have to muddy that up?
I totally agree with your ranking. Eldraine and Kaldheim are just beyond beautiful. I even prefer them to the old frames. I wish they would just create a new standard fram that takes some lessons from Eldraine and Kaldheim. The current one is just bland and has too many different round shapes. You can really see that it evolved to fit upcoming, practical needs instead of being created with them in mind.
Chris Taylor
Contributor
Onderzeeboot
Ecstatic Orb
I think you already asked this question when the lands in the Castle Vantress cycle were spoiled?
/me searches
Oh. Oh this is too funny not too quote, sorry Velrun
Anyway, this Tumblr post by MaRo still applies: https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/187783989713/mark-can-we-please-please-please-have-more
And again, I want to stress that I absolutely agree with you from a Vorthos point of view, but I definitely also agree with MaRo that legendary lands play really poorly. This causes a real conflict between wanting to show off the cool and unique places in the world with the desire to foster fun gameplay. In the end, gameplay concerns usually outweigh flavor concerns, which is why you are seeing so many nonlegendary legendary lands.
This is a pretty dope 5c enabler and payoff in one package.
As far as the World Tree goes, I figure it's big enough that you can establish more than one mana bond with it.
If I remember correctly (which I do because I checkedI think you already asked this question when the lands in the Castle Vantress cycle were spoiled?
/me searches
Oh. Oh this is too funny not too quote, sorry Velrun
Anyway, this Tumblr post by MaRo still applies: https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/187783989713/mark-can-we-please-please-please-have-more
And again, I want to stress that I absolutely agree with you from a Vorthos point of view, but I definitely also agree with MaRo that legendary lands play really poorly. This causes a real conflict between wanting to show off the cool and unique places in the world with the desire to foster fun gameplay. In the end, gameplay concerns usually outweigh flavor concerns, which is why you are so many nonlegendary legendary lands.
) we had like a 9 day back and forth about this. Side note: I love the World Tree. It's a hilarious card.
This art is sick as hell!
Good art :eek:
5C enabler :eek:
PROGENITUS MANA COST?! :eek:
Needs a bunch of Gods
This was almost so cool to draft. Maybe it still is, but it's a total low powered card that grab a bunch of high powered Gods. I may look into it, as I always love 5c green as a deck with a couple smaller payoffs.
This is a serviceable card in a low power environment, and serves the 5c vibe I like, but it doesn't feel like it's anywhere close to being on par with Gods. I'll have to see how mild I could make a God package. If this had been for legendary creatures, I'd already be brewing.
Hopeful to see somewhat of a cycle for Brelagard Stronghold. I'd like to see a black one, obviously.
The ol' GW Legends deck is getting a boost, which is cool. I really do like that idea.
UGx snow picked up a couple more tools, as well.
You rang? I also agree, btw