General Modern Masters 2015

[Onderzeeboot]

Definitely. So far spirits has been the biggest miss for me. The tribe is not deep enough, and most of the commons are of questionable playability. Nameless Inversion is very sweet, but it's also premium removal, so every black player will snap it up, regardless of archetype. There's also a lot of dis-synergy with other archetypes. The mechanic simply cares for card subtypes too much, and there isn't enough support in other colors to be able to stray off color. Wings of Velis Vel and Blades of Velis Vel, that's it (plus Nobilis of War and Swans of Bryn Argoll, kinda).

elementals can at least fall back on multiple elementals in other colors (Mirror Entity, Ghostly Changeling (at common), Nameless Inversion (at common), Necroskitter, Cytoplast Root-Kin (at uncommon), Root-Kin Ally, WolfBriar Elemental, Ashenmoor Gouger, Fulminator Mage, Horde of Notions), though it's also pretty narrow.

The lesson we can learn here? Tribal is a narrow mechanic that often makes for poor interaction with other archetypes.

 

[Goldenpineapple]

Lol here's why visions didn't make the cut:

August FNM promo. That art is uh... interesting.

 

[GenericZero]

Lol here's why visions didn't make the cut:

August FNM promo. That art is uh... interesting.

That's a bukkake scene screencap and no amount of anything will change my mind.

 

[Chris Taylor]

That's a bukkake scene screencap and no amount of anything will change my mind.

Just make sure to unconvincingly moan each time you cast it

also thats a shit reason for it not being reprinted and we all know it

 

[Lucre]

BW spirits seems like it could be fun but a little underpowered. I look forward to seeing lots of common Thieves.



Honestly @Chris I kinda feel like it is, Homunculus and Manta aren't really cards I see even decks that are one foot in and one foot out of a strategy will really want. Drafting this on drafts.in with some buddies I've also felt kinda frustrated by how weird taking bouncelands feels with the tribal flames deck.

lol I wonder how many elementals there are for smokebinder.

 

[spicewitch]

also thats a shit reason for it not being reprinted and we all know it

I thought snapcaster and serumvis got banned in Modern - that's not part of it?

Edit: Hm, guess not. Wonder where I read that, and whether it was a hoax or market manipulation scheme.

 

[Lucre]

ew guys infusing sex into magic cards is like lowest of the low

 

[Goldenpineapple]

I'm just sad because it would look infinitely better without that reminder text. So gross. Where's my tenth edition foil rules?

 

[Lucre]

I'm just sad because it would look infinitely better without that reminder text. So gross. Where's my tenth edition foil rules?

How do people feel about timestop as a card anyway? I guess six casting cost makes it kinda a hard bargain.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Extra turns are hard. I have a feeling 2UU time walk or UU3 time stop would be fine in cube, but my EDH gut tells me these cards are unlikely.
time walk being good is just less fun for the opponent

 

[shamizy]

ew guys infusing sex into magic cards is like lowest of the low

 

[Chris Taylor]

ew guys infusing sex into magic cards is like lowest of the low

Well it does lose flying

 

[GenericZero]

I see nothing wrong with more freedom of artistic expression on magic cards.

 

[Goldenpineapple]

If magic is being ultra-'inclusive' and pandering to non-binary genders (like mayonnaise) and neurodevelopmental disorders, why not perverts? We They are people too!

Walked into my LGS and a couple guys had stereotypical banker/stockbroker outfits with multiple laptops and the LGS's screens all examining price charts for MM2 cards. Was amusing.

 

[Chris Taylor]

If magic is being ultra-'inclusive' and pandering to non-binary genders (like mayonnaise)

Do I even wanna know?
Also it's kinda the little things. I'm sure there's a kajillion people with an Alesha, who Smiles at Death commander/tiny leaders deck, but if some small percentage of people feel more included because their general identifies the same way they do, that sounds good to me.

 

[Lucre]

people trying to shoe horn sex jokes into magic cards are usually doing something wrong, thats all I'm sayin. (with regards to the inevitable serum visions jokes lol)

 

[Lucre]

If magic is being ultra-'inclusive' and pandering to non-binary genders (like mayonnaise) and neurodevelopmental disorders, why not perverts? We They are people too!

I think this is being pretty glib, comparing transgendered identities to silly people like otherkin is pretty disrespectful and undermining. I don't really know why you felt the need to go there. You're gonna be hard pressed to find major feminist or social justice voices struggling to include people like "therians" under the transgender umbrella, but most of them do think those poor goofballs should be left alone, these people are pretty much the easiest joke in the book and it's gotten kinda tired.

 

[Rasmus Källqvist]

Yeah, I agree. That was a pretty pointless shot to fire.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I think this is being pretty glib, comparing transgendered identities to silly people like otherkin is pretty disrespectful and undermining. I don't really know why you felt the need to go there. You're gonna be hard pressed to find major feminist or social justice voices struggling to include people like "therians" under the transgender umbrella, but most of them do think those poor goofballs should be left alone, these people are pretty much the easiest joke in the book and it's gotten kinda tired.

BRB googling some words

 

[GenericZero]

people trying to shoe horn sex jokes into magic cards are usually doing something wrong, thats all I'm sayin. (with regards to the inevitable serum visions jokes lol)

Implying that making obvious sex jokes about cards containing obvious sex jokes is somehow devious?


Well so what?

edit: Is this all just cuz I said new serum visions looks like a bukkake film paused at just the right moment? Cuz I don't think I'm trying all that hard to see that. After all, who are we to judge what serum this Neurok wants to see?

 

[shamizy]

Implying that making obvious sex jokes about cards containing obvious sex jokes is somehow devious?


Well so what?

edit: Is this all just cuz I said new serum visions looks like a bukkake film paused at just the right moment? Cuz I don't think I'm trying all that hard to see that. After all, who are we to judge what serum this Neurok wants to see?

Yeah, I'm with you on new Serum Visions. From the angle on the art to flying grayish liquid to the look of surprise, it's too easy to make that leap. I have no idea why they decided on this art.

Definitely going to be popular in Japan though.

 

[safra]

I'm queer, so are most of my Magic-playing friends, and we're all pretty stoked that Wizards are being less chickenshit about this. They're still super reluctant to include things clearly on the actual cards but baby steps. (Daretti is an example of them doing this right, IMO)

Do you not get that twenty years of rich fantasy worlds without a single gay or disabled character in them sends a message that certain people are less welcome, less heroic? Are you so uninformed that you think the only problem with our gender binary is that sometimes people are born on the wrong side of an arbitrary line? That's on you, dude.

Nonbinary identities have been part of diverse cultures (who never had contact after developing complex social structures) for a very long time, and their having been delegitimized is irrevocably tied to imperialism. Queer kids trying to work out how to express themselves authentically hit stumbling blocks along the way, just like non-queer ones do. In all cases the answer should be compassion and patience.

Last example - anecdotally, mor Deaf people than you might expect play Magic. It's a rich, complex game you can play with hearing or d/Deaf people, even if there's a total language barrier. The 80% of players Wizards considers "invisible" because they don't go to events, don't play at stores, etc aren't all just straight white able kitchen table players, there are diverse playgroups everywhere Magic is played and they tend to focus on casual formats because the 20% visible players don't realize how deep the social aspect of this game we all genuinely love runs.

 

[safra]

also who wants to join my 45-proxy leGAYcy tournament (this is real albeit casual and we play a few games a month, usually between cube matches)

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I couldn't agree more safra. Still, you've got te be able to laugh at gems like this.



The art! That flavor text!

 

[Lucre]

I think I was talking to Chris Taylor's wife about this the first time we cubed and FRF had only recently released. I had just found out about Alesha's back story and it came up in conversation and I said to myself, jesus whats the big deal, we are talking about a world where people are routinely turning into shit like dragons or like doppelgangers of other animals and shit.

Moreover, I can't help but believe that some lil 14 year old otherkin dork was influenced to see themselves as Dragonkin or whatever because of reading all the sarkhan books lol. Magic has probably been otherkin inclusive since before there was otherkin lol.

Anyway yeah I don't mean to browbeat or whatever but I just felt like I should say something. Of course there are fine lines when talking about inclusivity politics and identities where things can get a little silly but I don't think we are really gonna have to deal with these questions in this setting. Like I think Ashiok is a great fantasy trope and the ambiguity really adds to the dream angle and I think Alesha really humanized the mardu (sorry for the orcist goblinist language) where before that they just seemed like jerks to me.

I'm also a queer person, but I don't want this to end up like "Watch out! Queer ambush, accommodate me shitbag." I guess I just felt like I had to say something since safra did. I just wish everyone could find this new infusion of diversity as cute as I do instead of as something anomalous or annoying.


@genericzero / @shamizy I dunno I think my objection is more for an optics reason, it just strikes me as incredibly lame lol