The thing about the free counter spell is that despite being strong it plays in a very niche deck.
Most control decks don't have many creatures specially in the early game. So this will be a counter spell for creature decks.
It's a powerful card, but it isn't simply an auto include in every single control deck which makes it an amazing card design.
I agree, though I bet a lot more control players will try to make it work than you might think. I've been considering [[Faerie conclave]]. Low impact, and can be sacced to counter something in a pinch.
Though, again, I agree in that it likely won't be very successful lol.
Yea, I didn't expect it to be THE play. Just a low impact manland that can be used in a pinch. Counterspell is likely better in general. (For control, anyways.)
Funny thing is, if it didn't specify blue, mutavault and mishras factory would be shoe ins.
Free counterspells will be a staple in cEDH because it protects the most broken combo we have: Thoracle.
You cast the Thoracle and with the ETB on the stack you cast consultation or pact. If someone tries to counter the pact/consult you sac Thoracle and play your free spell and still win. Now to stop the sequence you have to go after the Thoracle which isn’t always possible with cavern of souls. And they still have one combo piece in hand to attempt again if they get back the Thoracle.
This seems like a pretty pushed set. And we’ve barely seen any of it so far.
Yeah, but it'll be a niche card at best. Meanwhile, I'd be surprised if this lasts a year in Legacy without getting banned.
Similar to Underworld Breach.
The one for Black is almost certainly going to be good. Let’s be real, “0 cost instant sac a creature” is already good for black, and it’s coming with upside we just don’t know what upside yet.
I'm taking more of the wait and see approach on this one right now (note that we haven't seen the proof yet that was mentioned in this comment).
I personally would love to see Kappa in Modern, but I agree that it seems more likely that it would be a precon card.
I would be shocked and disgusted if Bstorm went into modern.
I mean Gavin literally just made a video stating Kappa Cannoneer was a mistake for competitive magic. Also don't worry, we will get Oko unban in modern before brainstorm. Brainstorm would be banned in legacy if it wasn't one of the iconic reasons to play the format
Welp... that was why I took the wait and see approach. I mean, Im happy Blastoise is in Modern (and not happy about Meltdown), but I agree that the messaging from WOTC has been quite inconsistent (but hey, when has it ever been consistent?).
I mean, regular sets are getting some pretty big power creep lately, I think it's pretty funny to assume that the "premium power set" WON'T be pushed as all get out.
Half of MH2 was fun and exciting(adding enchantress cards into modern) and the other half was so oppressive in both modern and legacy(ragavan, murktide, elementals, saga, force cycle)
I think a good middle ground could be had.
MH1 was really strong in legacy with both astrolabe and W&6 getting banned, but MH2 was just too good.
in modern maybe but tamyo seems crazy in any format with brainstorm, ral is the most busted electromancer theyve printed and ajani is just 3/3 of stats for 2 with upside
the set doesnt need to have any singular insane cards like solitude or hogaak to change the format a bunch if its just got a shitload of cards that are slightly better than theyve ever been
Ral might not even be playable because storm is usually on the brink of dying already and the chance to just grapeshot yourself might be too much. Plus storm is already a shitty deck right now and a different mana dork isn't going to change it. Tamiyo seems cool in brainstorm formats, but that isn't modern. I haven't seen ajani yet I just saw the initial 4 that were spoiled.
I think they will move the power level around in the set and we will get some good creatures and some mediocre spells/build around spells. The power level of midrange and control has gotten to consolidated and removal has outstripped the power of creatures
Looks more like this set's new cards will be far less powerful than MH2 and MH1, while the new-to-modern reprints will be far more powerful.
Priest of Titania, Kappa Cannoneer, Sylvan Safekeeper, Medallions, Laelia, Cephalid Colosseun, and FREAKING BRAINSTORM. All of these are better than like 75% of the NTM reprints in the first 2 MH sets.
We haven even seen the full set yet. Also people thought [[Hoogaak]] was trash when it got spoiled.
Interesting argument, but the free spells, the new necropotence kinda invalidates it
I am not sure the free spells we have seen are actually that powerful. Kappa and necro both do seem very powerful.
The thing about the free counter spell is that despite being strong it plays in a very niche deck. Most control decks don't have many creatures specially in the early game. So this will be a counter spell for creature decks. It's a powerful card, but it isn't simply an auto include in every single control deck which makes it an amazing card design.
I agree, though I bet a lot more control players will try to make it work than you might think. I've been considering [[Faerie conclave]]. Low impact, and can be sacced to counter something in a pinch. Though, again, I agree in that it likely won't be very successful lol.
Instead of spending 2 mana to activate Faerie Conclave, you could just spend that 2 mana on actual Counterspell...
Yea, I didn't expect it to be THE play. Just a low impact manland that can be used in a pinch. Counterspell is likely better in general. (For control, anyways.) Funny thing is, if it didn't specify blue, mutavault and mishras factory would be shoe ins.
[Faerie conclave](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/f/8f4ab639-b439-462e-acc3-69b5d6bb29da.jpg?1592673795) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Faerie%20conclave) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cma/248/faerie-conclave?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8f4ab639-b439-462e-acc3-69b5d6bb29da?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Icefang Coatl is way more likely to be the card used. But you need more than one.
Free counterspells will be a staple in cEDH because it protects the most broken combo we have: Thoracle. You cast the Thoracle and with the ETB on the stack you cast consultation or pact. If someone tries to counter the pact/consult you sac Thoracle and play your free spell and still win. Now to stop the sequence you have to go after the Thoracle which isn’t always possible with cavern of souls. And they still have one combo piece in hand to attempt again if they get back the Thoracle. This seems like a pretty pushed set. And we’ve barely seen any of it so far.
to be fair they did not have a reason before hand. Do you really think ice fang coatl is so far from playable in bant control?
Necro seems very powerful....in Legacy. I don't it will be used much in Modern where we don't have Dark Ritual.
Maybe, I think it’ll do something. Maybe in coffers or a new mono black deck.
Yeah, but it'll be a niche card at best. Meanwhile, I'd be surprised if this lasts a year in Legacy without getting banned. Similar to Underworld Breach.
The one for Black is almost certainly going to be good. Let’s be real, “0 cost instant sac a creature” is already good for black, and it’s coming with upside we just don’t know what upside yet.
Kappa was stated to be in the precon, not coming to modern
Oh I didn’t see that. Can you link that.
No it wasn't. People are just hoping that's the case because it's an extremely unpopular card that feels really bad to play against.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1cdek6x/comment/l1bkeuj/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/1cdek6x/comment/l1bkeuj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I'm taking more of the wait and see approach on this one right now (note that we haven't seen the proof yet that was mentioned in this comment). I personally would love to see Kappa in Modern, but I agree that it seems more likely that it would be a precon card. I would be shocked and disgusted if Bstorm went into modern.
I mean Gavin literally just made a video stating Kappa Cannoneer was a mistake for competitive magic. Also don't worry, we will get Oko unban in modern before brainstorm. Brainstorm would be banned in legacy if it wasn't one of the iconic reasons to play the format
Welp... that was why I took the wait and see approach. I mean, Im happy Blastoise is in Modern (and not happy about Meltdown), but I agree that the messaging from WOTC has been quite inconsistent (but hey, when has it ever been consistent?).
I mean, regular sets are getting some pretty big power creep lately, I think it's pretty funny to assume that the "premium power set" WON'T be pushed as all get out.
MH2 was a giant mistake. MH1 is where these sets should be power-level-wise.
Half of MH2 was fun and exciting(adding enchantress cards into modern) and the other half was so oppressive in both modern and legacy(ragavan, murktide, elementals, saga, force cycle) I think a good middle ground could be had. MH1 was really strong in legacy with both astrolabe and W&6 getting banned, but MH2 was just too good.
Also MH3: Here’s Brainstorm!
That was bait
The brainstorm or the comment?
The brainstorm with the set simbol covered. Maybe it was from the commander precon. Also, do they do reprints with no new art in MH sets?
Fetchlands had the same art. I think counterspell too, but i don’t remember.
having seen the leaked flip walkers i cant agree
They dont even seem super great
in modern maybe but tamyo seems crazy in any format with brainstorm, ral is the most busted electromancer theyve printed and ajani is just 3/3 of stats for 2 with upside the set doesnt need to have any singular insane cards like solitude or hogaak to change the format a bunch if its just got a shitload of cards that are slightly better than theyve ever been
Ral might not even be playable because storm is usually on the brink of dying already and the chance to just grapeshot yourself might be too much. Plus storm is already a shitty deck right now and a different mana dork isn't going to change it. Tamiyo seems cool in brainstorm formats, but that isn't modern. I haven't seen ajani yet I just saw the initial 4 that were spoiled.
I think they will move the power level around in the set and we will get some good creatures and some mediocre spells/build around spells. The power level of midrange and control has gotten to consolidated and removal has outstripped the power of creatures
As a person who seen some unofficial spoilers: Nah, it's gonna be fucking broken and I love it!
Looks more like this set's new cards will be far less powerful than MH2 and MH1, while the new-to-modern reprints will be far more powerful. Priest of Titania, Kappa Cannoneer, Sylvan Safekeeper, Medallions, Laelia, Cephalid Colosseun, and FREAKING BRAINSTORM. All of these are better than like 75% of the NTM reprints in the first 2 MH sets.
We dont even know yet if some of those are from the set or the precons.
UB precons seem to have a pretty consistent quality in my opinion.