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Power 9 Cards That Didn’t Make It Into Alpha August 18, 2010

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black lotusSome cards were good enough to be in the power 9, but they lacked the rarity to be worth hundreds of dollars, such as Demonic Tutor, Balance, Sol Ring, and Wheel of Fortune. However, Wizards of the Coast ended up favoring Blue in the end. Ancestral Recall and Timewalk were far beyond the power level of any other card, so the four other colors got the short end of the stick. That’s not to say that ultra powerful cards weren’t considered in other colors while playtesting Alpha. Here are some of the cards that could have been playtested and rejected by research and development: (more…)

Predicting the Future Part 6: Moxes from M11 to M19 (Part 3) July 5, 2010

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The grand finale. Here are my final 3 card ideas for Moxes in the not-too-distant-future. (more…)

Predicting the Future Part 5: Moxes from M11 to M19 (Part 2) June 28, 2010

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Today I will introduce 3 more Moxes that could be made anytime now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them within the next 9 years. (more…)

Predicting the Future Part 4: Moxes from M11 to M19 June 26, 2010

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I have already presented you with my version of Mox Crystal, which I expect to be made sooner or later, but I will now present several more moxes that could be made within the next 9 years. I will start off with 3 green moxes that would actually be made in all five colors (if made at all). (more…)

Predicting the Future Part 3: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 24, 2010

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I continue previewing cards that will be released within the next 9 years including a new Lotus, Divination, and basic land. (more…)

Predicting the Future Part 2: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 20, 2010

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I continue to consider what cards we could be seeing any time now. I will consider a new counterspell, burn spell, and dual land that I expect to see within the next 9 years. (more…)

Arabian Nights 2 Previews Part 4 June 18, 2010

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There are three things I loved about Arabian Nights in particular. One, it has by far the best flavor. “Arabian Nights” is stylish, recognizable, and we can relate to it. Two, it has real world references. Three, it has fun wacky abilities. I think that all three of these characteristics can be found in the three Arabian Nights 2 land cards I will show today. (more…)

Predicting the Future Part 1: Magic 2011 to 2019 June 16, 2010

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The power creep continues to make Magic cards more powerful. I will be suggesting what cards I think we could be seeing any time now due to the fact that cards are getting more powerful and will continue to do so. These cards could appear in Magic 2011, and I expect to see them before Magic 2020. (more…)

Magic Core Set Predictions (Magic 2011 and Beyond) June 9, 2010

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9th Edition gave us pain lands. 10th Edition gave us legendary creatures. Magic 2010 (M10) gave us new dual lands, planeswalkers, and half the set was new. We expect all core sets in the future to be like 2010 in that half the set will be “new,” and we also expect to see some gimmick that will help sell the set. We usually won’t see too many gimmicks at once because one gimmick is enough to boost sales. Too many would be overkill. I expect to see the following gimmicks in the following future core sets: (more…)

Arabian Nights 2 Previews Part 2 May 19, 2010

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One card has already been previewed from Arabian Nights 2, and I will continue to give you updates on more preview cards. Arabian Nights 2 will maintain and expand upon the look, flavor, and theme of Arabian Nights. Here are three cards to illustrate what you should expect: (more…)

Gold From Rise of Eldrazi Part 2 April 2, 2010

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I already showed how gold will be used for artifacts and lands, but what about creatures? I will show my predictions for three creatures here. (more…)

Gold from Rise of Eldrazi Part 1 March 31, 2010

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Rise of the Eldrazi has shown that Wizards of the Coast likes Dungeons & Dragons. Levels will make Magic the Gathering a little more like Dungeons & Dragons, but a key component is still missing: Money. Gold counters are the perfect solution to the lack of money in the Magic universe. Gold counters are basically gold pieces or gold coins. You use them to buy things. (more…)

Rise of the Eldrazi: Leveling Up Inspired by a Fan? March 26, 2010

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In November 2007 a member of the Magic Set Editor community, moxydotorg, developed a Magic template for what he called the “hero’s format,” which is loosely based on Elder Dragon Highlander. (Pichoro improved upon the template.) The main idea was to have a main character that could “level up” similar to RPG games. (more…)

“Nix”: A Landless Magic Set February 17, 2010

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nix landless magic symbolWe already know what Magic will look like in 2060 and 2070. Now I know what Magic will look like in 2063. This is the year that Magic will develop the all 0 casting cost set. They tried an all gold set in 2009. They tried an all land set in 2017. The time will come for a 0 casting cost set. No lands will be required to play Magic. (more…)

Wizards of the Coast Tried October 30, 2009

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Zendikar has proven to have inadequate mana fixing. The inevitable advice for us is, “Play 18 or 19 lands in a 40 card deck!” Yes, that helps, but then you often end up drawing all lands the whole game. However, Wizards did try. They designed cards that would help with mana fixing, but those cards were rejected… and apparently they were never replaced with appropriate mana fixing. (more…)

Zendikar Review Part 3: Extended September 30, 2009

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Zendikar’s rares are among the most powerful we have seen in a while. Some of them might even be good enough for extended tournaments. Although I’m not really sure which of these cards will be best in extended, here are my top 5 favorites: (more…)

Why Magic Cards Are Worth So Much September 5, 2009

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There at least seven main reasons that Magic cards are worth so much money: (more…)

Infinity: A Future Magic Set Part 4 July 9, 2009

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Before reading this, you should take a look at Part 1.

Welcome to the final installment of my Infinity articles. In today’s article I will preview three noncreature spells. Some of these are a little more powerful for the cost. (more…)

Infinity: A Future Magic Set Part 3 July 3, 2009

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Before reading this, you should take a look at Part 1.

In today’s installment of my Infinity articles, I will present three more creatures. Each will have a different casting cost to help you get a feel for the power level you can expect for different amounts of mana. (more…)

Infinity: A Future Magic Set June 19, 2009

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In October 2008 I decided to make a satirical article series, The Power Creep, about what Magic will be like 50 years in to the future.

Then around February 2009 I started making an entire Magic set based on the Power Creep articles. I was very curious and perhaps a bit power hungry. What would Magic be like 50 years from now if my predictions were correct? What if moxes and Black Lotus were no longer over-powered? I wanted to know. (more…)