Tag: paz

  • The Bigger Picture: What the ‘Monday 6’ Tell Us About ROE

    This article is part of the Rise of the Eldrazi Alliance. Wizards of the Coast is working with Good Gamery, among other fan web sites, to help drum up excitement for the upcoming set. Take a look at the humorous and/or strategic content generated so far, and stay tuned for more new ROE-related articles and ‘chops!



    The rest of the staff has done a great job at the difficult task of attempting to evaluate the six preview cards in a vacuum. Of course, the true test of their utility, especially in limited, will be how they perform in the context of the rest of the set. To that end, we’re here to take a look at how Rise of the Eldrazi might play out, based entirely on these 6 cards.




    (click for the large version)

    Above all else, the format will be extremely slow for a myriad of reasons. There are also some color pie and balance issues, and finally some unorthodox choices that may upset the casual and collector markets.

    First and foremost, it seems the average spell will cost 5.3333333333… mana. You’ll often have to keep hands with no action for the first several turns, and it will be very difficult to cast multiple spells in one turn. This will make ROE’s 41.5 spells similar to Prey’s Vengeance that can gain tempo very important. This dynamic will also mean you want to value highly the set’s 41.5 or so cards like Corpsehatch that create tokens which can be sacrificed for additional mana.

    Just as important, though, is how common ground stalls will be. With no evasion except for about 41.5 instances of “can’t be blocked except by three or more creatures,” a lot of people are going to be holding their 1/7s back.

    This will be further compounded by the fact that dozens of instants will be creating pairs of 0/1 chumpblockers, that a full third of the set’s creatures will have Defender, and that each of those Defender creatures will be capable of returning those instants from your graveyard to your hand.

    Forcing colors is clearly going to be a highly effective drafting tactic, enjoying perhaps the highest relevance since OTJ. Black, for instance, will make a powerful support color, with an unprecedented level of removal that can target any creature in the set. It will, however, be difficult to build a balanced deck around Black due to its complete lack of creatures.

    Apparently there’s no mana-fixing in ROE, so splashing for off-color bombs will be difficult. Thankfully, all of the bombs are colorless.

    Finally, both drafters and casual players alike will need to be aware of the change in rarity distribution. There are no rares in ROE, and 5 times as many uncommons as commons.

  • Eldrazi Drone is Lonely

    This article is part of the Rise of the Eldrazi Alliance. Wizards of the Coast is working with Good Gamery, among other fan web sites, to help drum up excitement for the upcoming set. Watch for new ROE-related articles and ‘chops, and check back on midnight this Sunday night (March 14/15 midnight) for 6 ROE card spoilers.






    (click for 1400×1020 version)


    “Why doesn’t anyone ever want to hang out with me??” thought an Eldrazi Drone yesterday as it hovered through a canyon. Its many hideous appendages undulated in frustration while it emitted a loathsome, perpetual moan.

    “Seriously, what’s everyone’s problem…?” it continued.

    As it pondered, its cleaved neural stalk writhed and pulsed sickeningly.

    “Sure, I may not be the best looking guy abiding in the unfathomable depths between planes,” it reasoned, “but I was always taught that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.” The astral being’s innards then audibly bubbled with chaos and madness, channeling foul energies into its twisted cranial folds.

    The other day, the Drone asked its coworker Keith if he had any weekend plans. Keith initially said no.

    “But then when I asked him if he wanted to hang out, he suddenly ‘remembered’ that he was busy,” the Drone contemplated.

    Its love life hasn’t fared well, either.

    “That blind date last weekend? She took one look at me and literally went blind,” it remembered. “She evidently wasn’t one to appreciate my many-jointed protuberances or my vast array of spines, hooks and knobs.”

    A horrifying, extradimensional scream echoed throughout the canyon as the monstrosity’s projections tore at the fabric of reality.

    “I mean, what the hell!? I have a soul, for Pete’s sake!” it strongly conveyed. The Drone, in fact, has countless souls, harvested from the bloodied corpses of a thousand battles via its four ectohesive tentacloid conduits.

    The Drone’s thoughts telepathically liquefied all nearby, save for a bespectacled wanderer with a stocking cap and cane.

  • Habbardis the Fierce Gives Pep Talk

    This article is part of the Rise of the Eldrazi Alliance. Wizards of the Coast is working with Good Gamery, among other fan web sites, to help drum up excitement for the upcoming set. Watch for new ROE-related articles and ‘chops, and check back on midnight this Sunday night (March 14/15 midnight) for 6 ROE card spoilers.



    The sunlight dimmed, and a vast shadow enveloped the plain. Towering above the horizon, the Eldrazi terror had finally arrived at Gom Norro valley. Waiting to meet the colossus was a hearty number of warriors, the last line of defense for the people of Gom Norro, in which each of the races of Zendikar was represented.

    The renowned heroes looked up at the Eldrazi’s facehole in fear. They felt their knees grow weak and their hearts begin to race. They needed someone to help them summon up their courage, to give them the fortitude they needed to face this monstrous creature. They needed a speech, a collection of powerful words to rouse their spirits and elevate their morale.

    Their leader, Habbardis the Fierce, stepped forward and turned to face them.

    He gripped the hilt of his sword, unsheathing it, and held it aloft.

    He then swung his mighty blade around, pointing it directly at the Eldrazi foe, and spoke.

    “Alright, you guys go first,” he said.

    After a few uncomfortable seconds, Habbardis turned back around to face his army, seeming confused that nobody charged past him.

    “I don’t think you need me on this one, guys,” Habbardis explained.

    “You got this!” he added.

    The warriors began grumbling to one another and lowering their weapons.

    “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,” shouted Habbardis. “Wait. Wait. Just wait. Wait. Stop.”

    “Remember when we first started this expedition?” he continued. “Grommo, you couldn’t even properly tie on your pauldrons!”

    Grommo smiled and nodded, blushing.

    “And Klissta,” Habbardis said, gesturing toward a female elf, “Remember all the trouble you used to have with spear combat? You’ve all come so far!

    Murmurs of approval began to swell among the warriors’ ranks.

    “I’m so proud of each and every one of you,” said Habbardis, his voice cracking. “After all this time, I really think you’re ready to handle a battle, all on your own. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it.

    “So whaddya say?” Habbardis shouted. “Are you ready to kick some Eldrazi butt!?

    The warriors cheered. Their morale was elevated. Their spirits were roused. Their hearts began pumping steadily and their knees grew strong. They looked up at the Eldrazi’s facehole with determination. Holding their weapons high, they charged down the plain.

    Except for Habbardis, who fled.




    (click for 1400×1020 version)

  • Claim: Wizards on Cusp of Completing Secret Scheme

    At last, the world knows the alleged truth.

    Last Monday, an employee of Wizards of the Coast informed us at Good Gamery of the purpose of Magic: The Gathering — the hidden underlying plot that has come to fruition before our very eyes.

    The source, to remain anonymous, claims that Magic: The Gathering, from the very beginning, was a scheme to create a lottery that would be legal around the world, and for participants of any age.

    What is a lottery? To help inform our readers, we at Good Gamery wrote an entire Wikipedia article on lotteries. But to make a long story short, lotteries are systems in which participants buy a chance at winning an amount of money less than the expected total contribution from all of the participants.

    In most countries, lotteries are illegal except when sponsored or heavily regulated by the state.

    But not anymore.

    “By disguising our lottery game under a cloak of various subgames, we created a sort of ‘Trojan horse,” the source said. “Troy is the world.”

    “And Paris of Troy represents lawmakers, who stole from us the right to extract money from anyone we wish — this, of course, is analogous to Helen,” he went on to explain. “For we are Menelaus, king of Sparta.”

    “This is Sparta,” he added, making a sweeping gesture across his office.

    Revelation of the plan was first implied by whistleblower Ben Bleiweiss, writer for Star City Games, who noticed in a recent article that the prices for rares in general are falling, but prices for the few essential, chase rares are skyrocketing.

    “If these trends continue,” say Good Gamery’s resident economics experts, “nearly all booster packs will yield cards worth nothing. But one pack in two million will yield an artifact creature that costs 1, has shroud, and is an 8/8 flier with lifelink and no drawbacks.”

    “Think Tarmogoyf for $100 is bad? Try Armageddogoyf for $1,000,000.”

    And it gets worse.

    Because all kids are stupid, state-sanctioned lotteries refuse participation by minors, screwing over only those who had quite enough time to unstupify, but failed to do so.

    But this de facto lottery does no such thing.

    “What’s next?” our experts asked in an alarming tone. “Advertising cereal to children in a way that makes them believe eating it will transport them into a manic, hallucinatory cartoon?”

  • Rube Goldberg, Artificer

    Crafted ages ago by the venerable Paz, this card has the errata of giving the targeted permanent haste this turn. Rube Goldberg, Artificer was originally posted on The Magic Lampoon a great number of ages ago.

  • Lime from the Loaf

    Lime from the Loaf

    Lime from the Loaf was originally posted on The Magic Lampoon.

  • Lighthouse Scientists Prepare Large Hedron Collider

    TAZEEM, ZENDIKAR — The Large Hedron Collider was successfully loaded yesterday with a second White Mana Octahedron, say Lighthouse scientists.

    The Octahedron, a whopping 5 zendi-meters in length, was placed in the hammer of the device located on the foothills of East Ulzhet. Its twin, installed last zendi-January, rests upon the woodlands of Hul’Morag.

    The successful installation of the second hedron comes after the “Doom Quench” earlier this year, where a Black Mana Spheroid was loaded into the Collider with catastrophic results.

    “Rather than smashing open the target hedron, the spheroid just exploded with swamp goo,” said Mituantir the Knowledgeable, project coordinator at Lighthouse. The spheroid was, it turned out, an ancient prison for a dark vampire lord prophesied to unite the vampire tribes in an apocalyptic conquest of the whole of Zendikar.

    The stench of the goo lent weight the hypotheses of other merfolk scientists: that Black Mana Spheroids are the droppings of ancient, colossal zendi-bunnies.

    “We’re past that now,” said Mituantir. “We’ve cleaned up the goo, and we hear there’s a prophecy about a destined Promised One who’ll take care of the dark vampire lord we unleashed.”

    The goal of the Large Hedron Collider project is to smash open the target hedron and expose the contents within. Said Mituantir, “It’ll probably be the massive scalar elementary particle predicted to exist by the Zendard Model of particle physics: a Planeswalker spark.”

    “The idea is to force a severe landfall using what amounts to an oversized zendi-mouse-trap,” said the goblin artificer Dromms, head engineer, who has allied with the merfolk for the duration of the project. “Hopefully we’ll progress enough on this quest to enable some beneficial effects.”

    “Kicker,” he added.


    The Large Hedron Collider is set to activate on zendi-November 1st, the day after thousands of little Korlings dress up in costumes and quest for zendikandy.

  • Announcing: Magic: The Gathering: Dice Game

    WIZARDS OF THE COAST PRESS RELEASE

    October 24, 2009 -– Renton, Wash. — Wizards of the Coast today announced a new game product
    just in time for the holidays — Magic: The Gathering: Dice Game.

    “Wizards of the Coast is committed to supporting all sorts of gamers, not just those who play games with cards, or those who have friends with which to play,” said Scott Knoblich, VP of Sales for Wizards of the Coast. “The result of that commitment is this dice game.”

    “Like the Catan dice game, the Magic: The Gathering: Dice Game will capture every ounce of the flavor, nuance and strategy of the original, but deliver it in a compact, elegant form,” he continued.

    Players will be delighted to play Magic: The Gathering without the need for cards or even opponents! Game progress will be tracked on game sheets like the following, which is oddly included in this press release:



    Magic: The Gathering: Dice Game will be easy to learn but tough to master. Strangely, this press release contains a copy of the rules:

    1) YOUR MAGIC PERSONALITY

    First, roll the MAGIC PERSONALITY DIE to find out what kind of player you are: a “Timmy,” a “Johnny” or a “Spike.”


    2) BEST DECK

    Roll the COLOR DIE repeatedly until you get a MaRo symbol. If you rolled each color, start this section over. Otherwise, note each color you did NOT roll by circling those colors in the “BEST DECK” section.


    3) YOUR DECK

    Roll the COLOR DIE repeatedly until you get a MaRo symbol. Note each color you DID roll by circling those colors in the “YOUR DECK” section.

    • If you are a Timmy, you may stop rolling after any Red roll, because all that matters is having some dragons in there.
    • If you are a Johnny, you may stop rolling after any roll that does NOT match a BEST DECK color, because as long as you’re different, you’re satisfied.
    • If you are a Spike, you may stop rolling after any roll that matches a BEST DECK color, because duh.

    4) METASCORE

    Subtract the number of colors that do NOT match between YOUR DECK and the BEST DECK from the number of colors that DO match. Write this result or zero, whichever is greater, in the METASCORE box.

    5) PLAY!

    Roll the PSYCHE OUT DIE until you get “YOU WIN!” Every time you are affected by a PSYCHE OUT EVENT, cross out a PSYCHE OUT BOX on your current round. If the round becomes filled with PSYCHE OUTS, mark the FROWNY FACE box instead of the HAPPY FACE box and move on to the next round.

    Each round, you may reroll X times, where X is your METASCORE.


    • If you are a Timmy, you are not affected by HOT CHICK, because you have not reached adolescence, and not affected by ROGUE DECK, because your questionable deckmaking defies expectations.
    • If you are a Johnny, you are not affected by ROGUE DECK, because everyone knows that Johnnies share a bond of kinship with one another, and not affected by TOP TIER DECK, because you’re here to stick it to those conformist netdeckers!
    • If you are a Spike, you are not affected by TOP TIER DECK, because you’ve played against it like a billion times on MODO, and not affected by HOSTILE JERK, because everyone knows that jerkwads share a bond of kinship with one another.

    After playing all of the rounds, mark the appropriate EVENT RESULT. Your result is a victory if you have max 1 FROWNY FACE. If you won, move on to the next event!

    Magic: The Gathering: The Dice Game will be available at retailers November 20, 2009 for $19.99 (MSRP). The purchase includes a storage box and small piece of paper, on which will be written the URL of a page on MagictheGathering.com containing sheets and dice images to print out, and instructions for how to cut out, fold, and glue the dice images into usable dice.