Magic 2012 Core Set First Impressions July 7, 2011
Posted by James in : all, reviews, previews , trackback
The spoiler for Magic 2012 is complete, and I will now discuss some of my observations. First, bloodthirst is back. Second, hexproof is a new “evergreen” keyword. Third, Lightning Bolt has been replaced with Incinerate. Fourth, there’s three new Planeswalkers.
1. Bloodthirst is back.
Bloodthirst is back because someone realized that Vampires are thirsty for blood. There’s not a lot of great cards with bloodthirst in the set, but the new Vampire lord features it. Unfortunately I don’t see this vampire as being a competitive card. I don’t even think I would put it in a vampire deck.
2. Hexproof is evergreen.
Evergreen keywords are used in every set for mainstream abilities. What many called “trollshroud” (shroud only against opponents) is now a much more common ability called “hexproof.” In fact, this seems to have pretty much replaced shroud entirely. Dungrove Elder is the most competitive creatures with hexproof, and I like it quite a bit.
3. Lightning bolt is gone.
I would have preferred a new iconic burn spell rather than getting Incinerate again. It’s kind of annoying that Lightning Bolt is gone and Incinerate is back (again) because it is keeping us from moving forward. We’ve already had this happen before and it’s happening again. It looks like I might have been right that Lightning Bolt will be reprinted in 2015.
4. New Planeswalkers.
The most powerful planeswalker in Magic 2012 is Giddeon, and it’s a very annoying card. Other than that the planeswalkers seem very balanced and fun. The new Jace gives you an extra card every turn. I think that’s about as good as it should be, but little Jace might have been better.
Comments»
The set kinda lacks personality in my opinion. Hexproof on green makes Stompy possibe in type2, and the new ‘walkers look like pretty decent pulls. I do want them. Especially Chandra and Garruk. I just hate being unable to buy up a box early.
Problem with Garruk is you kind of have to play him in mono green cause of that GGG in his cost. You could possibly splash 1 color, but he will not fit in RUG decks.