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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 5:44AM
#11
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Date Joined:
Jan 22, 2006
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It felt weird to read a story about the design of Rapid Hybridization  without any mention of Pongify  .
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 6:11AM
#12
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- Warm, wet and squishy inside
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You seem to want to believe so hard that Odric and Battalion are "original" or "genius", but they're just derivitive of the Lorwyn card Windbrisk Heights  , which you seem to have forgotten in spite of how much serious play it saw. GDS2 happened in 2011, Odric in 2012 (in spite of naming conventions), and the Boros Battalion in 2013. Windbrisk Heights happened in 2007, and you really shouldn't have forgotten in. I'm not saying it's not a good design, only that it's not new the way you seemed to think it is.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 6:55AM
#13
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It actually was the mechanic of the Lorwyn Kithkin for a while in design. Windbrisk Heights is the remnant of that just like there are still remnants of Grind and Gruul Ragebeast  in Gatecrash.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 8:08AM
#14
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Does a card still subtly hose tokens when you bluntly state that it does? These articles are nice, but they can also kill the discovery you claim we all want.
As far as how the primordials get used, this is how it went for me on Saturday.
Player A: 'Look at this cool primordial I opened at the prerelease.' (puts primordial into deck)
Player B: 'Bribery your primordial.'
Me: 'Clone for a primordial.'
Player B and Me: 'That was fun.'
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 9:25AM
#15
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About Rapid Hybridization : I do admit that in retrospect I wish this card either exiled the creature or put it on the bottom of its owner's library. It is odd that it sets off death triggers and can be reanimated while the creature it turned into is still on the battlefield.
I think it is strange that the developers of that card forgot lessons that had already been learned. The most recent polymorphing cards, like Mass Polymorph  and Chaos Warp  , correctly avoid the destroy wording.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 9:36AM
#16
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Date Joined:
Jan 22, 2005
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Thank you guys sooooooo much, for pushing Ooze Flux  to print! Ever since I caught sight of it, I've been fooling around deck ideas, from Populating Oozes with sundering growth  s for those inevitable oblivion ring  s.... strangleroot geist  , for the creature that undies forever... mikaeus, the unhallowed  , to create huge splashy triggers for evolving wrath effects. I just can't decide which path I want to take with it! Maybe Primal Surge  , feeding a gyre sage  with evolving oozes. Seriously, Ooze Flux instantly became, pretty much my favorite rare out of the set. certain not the tournament-breaking high dollar rare, but still... An excellent piece that's just, plain FUN.
How would you feel about Mikaeus, the Unhallowed  + Burning-Tree Emissary  + some  sac  outlet?  I think it sounds like lots of fun! 
And that's only in   !
Rules Adviser, casual tournament organizer, lover of EDH and MtG evangelist.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 1:25PM
#17
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Date Joined:
Oct 16, 2007
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Does a card still subtly hose tokens when you bluntly state that it does?
Good question... rendered largely irrelevant by the fact they printed Illness in the Ranks  in the same set.
So in fact, Homing Lightning  's real purpose is as a foil to one particular card. I'll leave you to work out which one for yourself, though. 
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 2:01PM
#18
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Date Joined:
Jul 12, 2004
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It felt weird to read a story about the design of Rapid Hybridization without any mention of Pongify .
Ditto!!!
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 3:06PM
#19
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Date Joined:
Oct 28, 2006
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So if RtR was the Spike set, and Gatecrash is the Johnny set, does that mean Dragon's Maze will be geared towards Timmies?
Oh, my inner Timmy is starting to swell with anticipation already!
I think you msread the anecdote. ONE CYCLE in RTR was for spikes (the uncounterables). And ONE CYCLE in Gatecrash started for johnnies before going timmy (the primordials). While some sets may have a particular affinity given the flavor (e.g. Tribal for timmy and phyrexian for spikE), they don't randomly dedicate sets to one psychographic.
Tin Street Market  is cool because it represents the typical, overcrowded, overpriced bazaar that pops up in fantasy cities. Compare it to Underworld Connections  , and you'll see where the real bargins are. The green one is a farmer's market. The white one is a pulpit. The blue one is a flying racetrack.
My point is, the cycle serves a creative purpose, to better represent the way 'city' themes impose themselves on the landscape. The cards aren't good because they don't have to be, and R&D decided to make the powerful cards somewhere else. Except for Underworld Connections , that one is pretty good.
Your explanation is accurate, but I reject the implication that a card shouldn't be good AND flavorful.
Rapid Hybridization : Should be an aura. To better capture the flavor of polymorphing, you should be able to turn it back to it's original state by destroying the enchantment (both in the Magic meaning and magic meaning).
Well said. I suppose the appropriate card might have been an aura with flash, unless they now think that's too advanced for the rarity? Also, I too expected some Pongify-related backstory.
Free MTGO Tournaments you should be playing: Pauper (all commons) - Tuesday Nights, prizes by MTGOTraders Peasant (Pauper + 5 uncommons, with paper rarity) - Sunday Nights, prizes by MTGOTraders Silverblack (Modern-era Commons and Uncommons - Most Wednesday nights, prizes by MTGO Bazaar Heirloom ("Cheap" cards only, e.g. rares under 20 cents) - Sunday afternoons, sponsored by MTGOTraders Check the superbly-made Gatherling site for more. Other games you should try: Spectromancer - Online card game by Richard Garfield, available cheap on Steam. DC Universe Online - action-based MMO. Free to play. Surprised me how well designed it is. Simunomics - Free-to-play economy simulation game.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 28, 2013 - 3:49PM
#20
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