Guildpact

MatthewVII

Just to whet your appetites for Guildpact, the next set, two of the 3 guild mechanics have been discovered:

Gruul- Bloodthirst

Gruul creatures will have things like "Bloodthirst 2" which means "when this creature comes into play, if an opponent was dealt damage this turn, put 2 +1/+1 counters on it"

Orzhov- Haunt

This ability is still a bit sketchy. The way it seems to be is that you play a spell which has its own effects and whatnot, but as you play it, you choose a creature which is "haunted" by the spell whilst its in the graveyard. then, whenever the haunted creature does a certain action (most probably dying), another effect triggers. apparently, there will be the following card-

<unknown name>
Sorcery
Target player discards a card
Haunt
When the creature <this> haunts is put into a graveyard from play, target player discards a card

Thoughts?

sephirosis

haunt should be interesting

MatthewVII

Looks like they've found out what the Izzet Guildmage does, and it looks like one of the more powerful guildmages printed yet:

Cost : r/u r/u
2/2
2U: Copy target instant spell with converted cost 2 or less that you control. choose new targets for the copy
2R; Copy target sorcery spell with converted cost 2 or less that you control. choose new targets for the copy

Cronus333

why? Orzhov why? you used to be cool......

Ivan

Did anyone else get that free preview card sent to you?

Blind Hunter 2 W B

Creature - Bat
Flying
Haunt (When this card is put into a graveyard from play, remove it from the game haunting target creature.)

When Blind Hunter comes into play or the create it haunts is put into a graveyard, target player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.

Decent, 4 mana for 4 damage to a player and 4 life for you plus a 2/2 flyer to boot.

Nice little guy, but I know they can do better

archdukefranz

Sweet, some of the stuff released seems quite overpowered

Hopeless

I like haunt but I'd say I'll never end up using it, seems like too much hassle.
maybe it's just my little brain though..

archdukefranz

Hopeless wrote:

I like haunt but I'd say I'll never end up using it, seems like too much hassle.
maybe it's just my little brain though..

its fairly simple once you get your head around it

MatthewVII

Haunt could be very cool if you can get enough removal to make triggering the haunt effect stable enough.

Cronus333

If you look at all the leaked cards on Mtg Salvation you could think of haunt as a drawback that makes cards cheaper.
eg. castigate cost:B
Haunt
target player discards a card

You could think of that 2 discards for B,the drawback is the effects are staggered,you have to wait to get full value for the spell.

Just a thought.

HisInfernalEmo

cant wait till the 22nd now for the pre release! . Rare Djinn for me! Eeeeeeeeeeexcellent.Replicate for all my instants and sorceries

MatthewVII

Apparently some crazy type 1 reanimator deck is going to be using him to replicate Ancestral Recall over and over again. crazy.

Cronus333

thank god it's on the 22nd. Now I won't be trying to get cards that apear in theme decks (and hopefully Teysa is one of them! but I'll settle for the Ghost Council)
ps. if anyone gets the one not in the theme deck, ill give thee a painland for it.

MatthewVII

ooooh, melikes the prospect of that

Farcear

and the Izzet combo madness begins!

3 Turn victory:
Turn 2: Izzet Guildmage
Turn 3: Lava Spike splicing Depserate Ritual, copy to infinity.

All you need is 6 mana in a single turn for the game and all in a mono red deck!

Cronus333

MatthewVII wrote:

ooooh, melikes the prospect of that

Stop exploiting me!!!! (then again though, I dont use them so.....)

archdukefranz

Farcear wrote:

and the Izzet combo madness begins!

3 Turn victory:
Turn 2: Izzet Guildmage
Turn 3: Lava Spike splicing Depserate Ritual, copy to infinity.

All you need is 6 mana in a single turn for the game and all in a mono red deck!

scary... not as scary as the 1st turn kill... but this is in standard!

MatthewVII

I'm still finding it pretty hard to beat Boros Swiftblade + Blazing shoal with Myojin of Infinite Rage

archdukefranz

MatthewVII wrote:

I'm still finding it pretty hard to beat Boros Swiftblade + Blazing shoal with Myojin of Infinite Rage

3 problems with that combo
its great but:

turn 3 means that its very counterable, killable
no one lets a swiftblade through
i can't see the myojin being useful in a deck with the swiftblade apart from with blazing shoal

Whiskeyjack

I thought the guildmages were ridiculously powerful before (I mean two mana of either one colour or the other for a 2/2 creature with 2 really good abilities is kinda ridiculous) but this Izzet one really pushes the boat out.

MatthewVII

archdukefranz wrote:

3 problems with that combo
its great but:

turn 3 means that its very counterable, killable
no one lets a swiftblade through
i can't see the myojin being useful in a deck with the swiftblade apart from with blazing shoal

obviously its not perfect, but its still very annoying. most decks in the format will let boros swiftblade with no jitte through, and its pretty stable considering you only need three cards. and yes, the myojin is totally useless without the shoal, but thats the story with pretty much every fast combo. Ive seen a deck with this combo and it is pretty annoying. by no means tier 1, but still annoying.

MatthewVII

Whiskeyjack wrote:

I thought the guildmages were ridiculously powerful before (I mean two mana of either one colour or the other for a 2/2 creature with 2 really good abilities is kinda ridiculous) but this Izzet one really pushes the boat out.

I still think its going to be hard to beat Selesnya Guildmage, who is the only guy to make a real splash in constructed. I guess you can replicate things like lightning helix, last gasp and glimpse the unthinkable, but its a costly effect, and it wont win games on its own like the selesnya can. a fun guy, but im not sure as to whether or not he'll be tier one. im still going to get a playset though

Cronus333

Whiskeyjack wrote:

I thought the guildmages were ridiculously powerful before (I mean two mana of either one colour or the other for a 2/2 creature with 2 really good abilities is kinda ridiculous) but this Izzet one really pushes the boat out.

I just think it's too gimicky. I pushes the 'ooh shiny' factor to extremes.

MatthewVII

Just thought i'd draw up a list of stuff that we would want to replicate with Izzet Guildmage in standard:

Darkblast
Shock
Reclaim
Telling Time
Goryo's Vengeance
Last Gasp
Fiery Conclusion
Naturalize
Twincast
Lightning Helix
Sleight of Hand
Blackmail
Cruel Edict
Pyroclasm
Glimpse the Unthinkable

Some nice spells, but the real question is if U/R can generate enough mana to replicate spells enough times to make them viable? might be playable in U/R Tron