Sets (MH3) Modern Horizons 3 Previews

[Chris Taylor]

I will say I think there's a GULF of difference between like, the MFCS in Kaldheim/Strixhaven, and the Zendikar ones (also these) that just have a normal land on the back. The lands ones I find particularly frictionless, and often lower friction than the equivalent landcycling.

There's differences in the backside land now, some of them are pay 3 life untapped and some are just always tapped. I'd argue they're all still clean, and while the option for untapped is clearly better, it won't make the difference in picking them. I don't think a reasonable person is going "Eh, I'm interested in this utility land, but ONLY if it's untapped, let me de-sleeve it and check", that feels like a strawman.

Sidebar: Here's a neat little goober

 

[Brad]

Ugggghhh, hybrid fliplands are perfect for EDomain.

I got us, buddy.

@ravnic @Onderzeeboot

https://imgur.com/a/8sb5sP8

Mandibular Kite is sweet, but fails to enable Ninjas, which is often the job of a 1/1 flyer.

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

Another nice little goober! I honestly love that Wizards can take good mechanics that they originally printed on crap ass cards, and instead put them on pretty normal sized creatures. A 1/1 with prowess that can also bestow to grant +1/+1 and prowess is awesome, love it. This is magic, to me.

 

[ravnic]

God, I wish that card was white.

 

[Rusje]

Yep. Love how DFCs play, hate the logistics.

One could proxy them. 2/3 or more is the regular card. Remainder the land part. Only works with simple backs though, e.g., land.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I will say I think there's a GULF of difference between like, the MFCS in Kaldheim/Strixhaven, and the Zendikar ones (also these) that just have a normal land on the back. The lands ones I find particularly frictionless, and often lower friction than the equivalent landcycling.

There's differences in the backside land now, some of them are pay 3 life untapped and some are just always tapped. I'd argue they're all still clean, and while the option for untapped is clearly better, it won't make the difference in picking them. I don't think a reasonable person is going "Eh, I'm interested in this utility land, but ONLY if it's untapped, let me de-sleeve it and check", that feels like a strawman.

To be clear, I'm not complaining about these DFC's not being clean, I'm complaining about the logistics of cubing them. It is easy to understand what's going on when there's a simple land on the back. Heck, I named JVP as one of my two favorite DFC's to play with, and that card has a gazillion lines of text! The problem is that you still have to take the card out of the sleeve if you want to play it as a land. That's the part I hate, especially with a cube that's double sleeved. Again, alternatively you can put your DFC's in clear sleeves in your token box, and use proxies that show both parts in the draft and in the decks themselves, but that causes some confusion and/or logistical issues as well, because you have to keep that proxy somewhere when you replace it with the actual DFC.

In short, I love DFC's in digital environments, where they don't cause any hassle on my part, but I dislike how they logistically play in paper.

 

[Zoss]

You can also draft the DFCs and leave the single-sided cards in the token box provided that everyone agrees to not be a jerk about aggressively ogling one another's picks. Even slapping another card on top of your double-faced picks can often be enough to hide them.

 

[Chris Taylor]

To be clear, I'm not complaining about these DFC's not being clean, I'm complaining about the logistics of cubing them. It is easy to understand what's going on when there's a simple land on the back. Heck, I named JVP as one of my two favorite DFC's to play with, and that card has a gazillion lines of text! The problem is that you still have to take the card out of the sleeve if you want to play it as a land. That's the part I hate, especially with a cube that's double sleeved. Again, alternatively you can put your DFC's in clear sleeves in your token box, and use proxies that show both parts in the draft and in the decks themselves, but that causes some confusion and/or logistical issues as well, because you have to keep that proxy somewhere when you replace it with the actual DFC.

In short, I love DFC's in digital environments, where they don't cause any hassle on my part, but I dislike how they logistically play in paper.

I hear ya. If just taking cards out of sleeves is annoying, there's no selling this, but I find it's not too bad, especially since I got side-loading inner sleeves.

Most of the "it transforms later" ones like battles, werewolves (this is separate from night/day, fuck that nonsense), flipwalkers or like ixalan quests (Search for Azcanta) I find not that bad because while you've gotta spend a bit getting them out of the sleeve and turned around, that's usually something I can delay doing until it's not my turn anymore.

I can usually just play out my turn with a fable of the mirror breaker unflipped, then flip it around in the sleeve once I've passed, kinda the same way I can go fetchland into kird ape, pass, THEN find the appropriate dual land while my opponent takes their T1.
I've tapped my fair share of shatterskull smashings for mana with the same out of order sequencing.

 

[LadyMapi]

One nice thing about only playing the land MDFCs is that don't technically need to ever unsleeve them — just tell everyone that they're spells that you can play as taplands that make the corresponding color, and then trust to layout to carry the day.

My favorites of the day:



I like the Pyrosurfer because it's basically a cheaper, more aggro focused Canyon Jerboa/Retreat to Emeria/Gul-Draz Overseer, which is pretty neat (those stats tho).

I like Temperamental Oozewag because look at that ugly-ass face. I love him.

 

[Velrun]

The problem is that you still have to take the card out of the sleeve if you want to play it as a land. That's the part I hate, especially with a cube that's double sleeved. Again, alternatively you can put your DFC's in clear sleeves in your token box, and use proxies that show both parts in the draft and in the decks themselves, but that causes some confusion and/or logistical issues as well, because you have to keep that proxy somewhere when you replace it with the actual DFC.

I don’t understand this one. I think it is very easy to flip the card around if it is double sleeved. I also think using the token box is a terrible option. What’s the problem with the physically flipping the card when it’s double sleeved?

 

[Velrun]

I see three somewhat elegant solutions:

1. Like Chris said, the card can often be flipped at a later time in the game when it is more convinient.

2. Like Chris has, inner sleeves that you load from the side.

3. Taking out the card but don’t put it back in. Play with the backside of the card in its inner sleeve outside the larger normal sleeve.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I don't like any solution where you have to take the card out of the sleeve. I want my cards to stay in the sleeve. I sleeved them for a reason.

 

[Velrun]

I don't like any solution where you have to take the card out of the sleeve. I want my cards to stay in the sleeve. I sleeved them for a reason.

You mean out of one of the two sleeves?

 

[Onderzeeboot]

You mean out of one of the two sleeves?

Yes. I want my cards to stay in both sleeves. Not only because I personally find it annoying to take a card out of the outer sleeve, but also because there are always snacks and drinks at the table. I don’t want my inner sleeves to get as dirty as the outer sleeves, and I don’t want an accidentally toppled beer to ruin my cards because they momentarily weren’t double sleeved. DFC’s for me are just not worth it. This is a personal preference and I respect that other people do get excited for them. I’m pretty done with DFC’s though.

 

[ravnic]

... there are always snacks and drinks at the table.

Not advocating for DFCs of course, but I wouldn't do that. I politely ask players to leave their drinks on other tables, chairs or else around, and to make sure they'd wash their hands before greasing my sleeves. Magic players can have really dirty hands and I don't want to get new sleeves every year lol

 

[Velrun]

Yes. I want my cards to stay in both sleeves. Not only because I personally find it annoying to take a card out of the outer sleeve, but also because there are always snacks and drinks at the table. I don’t want my inner sleeves to get as dirty as the outer sleeves, and I don’t want an accidentally toppled beer to ruin my cards because they momentarily weren’t double sleeved. DFC’s for me are just not worth it. This is a personal preference and I respect that other people do get excited for them. I’m pretty done with DFC’s though.

That’s fair.

My solution has been to always clean the table before game day. Make sure there are playmats. Have people wash their hands. No snacks during gaming because we are playing with cards. Drinking is fine of course. And many breaks where people can snack and talk. Maybe even a half-time show like a movie. In this way people can stay focused on gaming when gaming.

The main objective, of course, is to get everyone to agree to this. It’s usually no problem because the group as a whole agrees. Newcomers follow. It all works super fine.

Cards are double sleeves to help prevent dirt crawl into the sleeves. This will not happen if you have the card in the air when you switch the card around. No damage will ever be done to the card during this resleeving this way.

This is my solution.

 

[Velrun]

Another option is to proxy all DFCs instead of owning the valuable item. You can even keep the same art, set logo and everything. Then absolutely no harm will be done in those few seconds.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Twice each turn? Come on, this is the most hamfisted way I've seen to say "mostly uncapped under normal circumstances but NOT infinite". Super annoying memory issues here.


3 cards at once is a lot but this does front you a 3/3


1/4 feels ginormous but also none of the targetable 3 toughness dorks ever really succeed so maybe this is what it takes.
Eternalize is sick here btw, love that.


Simply crabominable. I kinda like it though, 6 is eminently castable, and you can turbo this out with a mana rock. I think if there aren't emrakuls to hit in your opponents hand, this is still probably solid.

 

[TrainmasterGT]

1/4 feels ginormous but also none of the targetable 3 toughness dorks ever really succeed so maybe this is what it takes.
Eternalize is sick here btw, love that.

I imagine interactions with this card go something like:

"Hey, Fanatic of Rhonas, how much mana can you make?"

"How much mana do you want?"

"Yes."

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I imagine interactions with this card go something like:

"Hey, Fanatic of Rhonas, how much mana can you make?"

"How much mana do you want?"

"Yes."

"Oh no! Fanatis of Rhonas died!"

"Nah. I just went to the gym" (casually bench presses four trees)

 

[ravnic]

View attachment 9673
Twice each turn? Come on, this is the most hamfisted way I've seen to say "mostly uncapped under normal circumstances but NOT infinite". Super annoying memory issues here.

Are they serious? A simple Shuko gives you two Coiling Oracle triggers per turn for EACH CREATURE you control. Ridiculous.

Oh, but of course such a powerful effect comes with a risk, right? What's the ... wait, wtf, your absolute failcase is a 3-mana 3/4 FLIER that draws you a card when they try to kill it?

Sometimes I hate modern design.

 

[inscho]

Are they serious? A simple Shuko gives you two Coiling Oracle triggers per turn for EACH CREATURE you control. Ridiculous.

Oh, but of course such a powerful effect comes with a risk, right? What's the ... wait, wtf, your absolute failcase is a 3-mana 3/4 FLIER that draws you a card when they try to kill it?

Sometimes I hate modern design.

Oh, twice per turn per creature? Dang.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

for EACH CREATURE you control

No no, only those with flying!

...

Yeah, it's pretty busted! I might need to build an "fair" Commander deck around that interaction...

 

[Seeker]

Mandibular Kite is sweet, but fails to enable Ninjas, which is often the job of a 1/1 flyer.

You can still turn the Germ into your first Ninja just fine!

Later, you can equip that one and give it flying.

So it's worse with the second Ninja in your hand (since you have to pay to get the evasion on anything at all a second time)
but it's better with the first one in play (since you already have the equipment lying around to give it evasion for a second hit, just have to pay)

It's not strictly better than Suntail Hawk in this context but it's worse in interesting ways that also give it some upside IMO.

 

[inscho]

Simply crabominable. I kinda like it though, 6 is eminently castable, and you can turbo this out with a mana rock. I think if there aren't emrakuls to hit in your opponents hand, this is still probably solid

This seems pretty good. Solid in Reanimator and ramp. Silly with blink. Rakdos and Dimir have artifact themes in my cube so this has play in pretty much all the guilds. May have to make room for this