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Awesomest Mechanic: Cycling



There was a problem that Magic always had by this point -- there were lots of cards good in specific situations, but what if that situation never came up? What if you have a card that deals damage to fliers, but your opponent never draws one of the flying threats in his deck? Then you just have a dead card in your hand. You effectively mulliganed without meaning to. How can we make situational cards work?

What about if you got to cash them in for another card once they outlived their usefulness?

Cycling is one of if not the most used non-evergreen keywords in Magic history, and it's easy to see why. It's very intuitive in how it works. It's clean and simple. And it lets cards that were borderline in appeal become much stronger by making them relevant in situations where they usually wouldn't be. Like the above card, Miscalculation -- this kind of counterspell is pretty strong turns 1-4 and falls off drastically after that. But if you topdeck this on turn 10, no worries! Just a couple of mana trades this into (hopefully) something better. Now, the cost is real -- tournaments are won and lost over "a couple of mana" -- but the versatility is wonderful.

Obnoxiousest mechanic: "Free" spells



"Blue is too powerful. There are too many ways to gain advantage for cheap costs. We need to make spells more expensive, but for that higher initial investment, we shouldn't let players fall too far behind."

--Wizards, actual justification behind this bullshit mechanic

If these spells had actually been free for their upfront mana cost, that would have been busted as hell and awful. You mean you get to do your bullshit thing and leave up counterspell mana? Pls.

Instead, what we got was worse. Turns out "untapping X lands" (X being the casting cost) is not free at all in a format rife with lands that made more than one mana. Suddenly, these "free" spells were instead becoming rituals-with-upside. The card pictured here, Palinchron, was the poster child for "here's how you make infinite mana in Blue" and fuels braindead combos even today in Cube and Commander. This was how the Combo Winter begun, my friends. What a cold and dark December it was.

Honorable Mention to Echo, mainly because who the fuck wanted to play spells that you needed to cast twice? (Avalanche Riders notwithstanding)

Disappointest mechanic: "Hidden" creatures



I love hoser cards, and the Hidden creatures were among the coolest of them. Remember, the original intention for Urza's block was to be the Enchantment block. What cooler way to have enchantments matter than to have your enchantments turn into super undercosted dudes after your opponent slips up? However, this is Magic, not Yugimonz, so having your "trap card" lying in plain sight on the table is far less impressive. Whenever an "opponent chooses" mechanic comes up, it always disappoints because your opponent always gets to choose the worst option for you at the worst timing. The Hidden creatures were no different.

Honorable mention goes to the "Rumbling Crescendo" cycle of enchantments that got better the longer you let them tick up. They don't win here because the artifact versions in New Phyrexia ended up being good, so the mechanic was proven as "good" eventually; the execution in this block was just off.
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Dear God, man.

I remember you looking forward to this trip. I hope everything goes through ok.
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E come vivo? Vivo!

Bump

This weekend was way busier than I expected x.x
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UltimaterializerX posted...

My favorite example was either Sphinx's Revelation or Siege Rhino. I knew both would be great, especially the latter with it being in the same format as Sylvan Caryatid. "It'll never come out on curve, you're looking at it being a turn 7". Meanwhile me and the people I know who actually know what we're talking about completely dominated with it and made sure to rub it in. There is nothing better than embarrassing a pseudo-pro.

Maybe it's just my area being a strong competitive place, but I can't even imagine people saying those two would be bad.
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Even though I've used the argument myself, in a FMV scenario, it's kind of hard for me to understand the difference between magical and non-magical damage. What is it about being a magical fire/lightning attack that means it can fry through enemies that wouldn't be fazed by non-magical fire/lightning? Unless it being magical just means "more potent," but in that case tech and magic are the same thing.
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Idol stuff is so creepy
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Couldn't happen to a better guy either. PV is a gem to the community.
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LeonhartFour posted...

trdl23 posted...

LambdaPublic posted...

LeonhartFour posted...

I imagine so

but I'm in the minority who was never super enamored by it

It's a game-long escort quest with, as Leon said, an ending that invalidates a lot of what had made it compelling.

wait did we just agree on something?

It's actually happened a few times, but never quite this directly!
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LambdaPublic posted...

LeonhartFour posted...

I imagine so

but I'm in the minority who was never super enamored by it

It's a game-long escort quest with, as Leon said, an ending that invalidates a lot of what had made it compelling.
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StealThisSheen posted...

Dizzy is probably the worst thing in Mercs

Honestly, she's up there. As much as I clearly like an respect her, we should axe her for future games.
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Paul Cheon on commentary yessss
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StealThisSheen posted...

trdl23 posted...

StealThisSheen posted...

Alany posted...

StealThisSheen posted...

Diablo basically gets two free shots on Dizzy, though.

Not really, no. It says refuses to fight until she's attacked. This doesn't mean "until damage is dealt", this means until she thinks she's under attack. Which will be pretty clear and considering her agility it wouldn't be surprising if Diablo didn't hit at all.

I could buy her trying to dodge until damage was dealt, but she certainly isn't attacking back until damage is dealt.

Does it say "damaged" or "attacked"? The wording is as it says, man.

If it's just "Attacked in a way that can miss," then that makes the ability useless, since anybody attacking the team at all would put Dizzy under the impression that she's "under attack."

I think it's been very clear that it's intended as "successfully attacked," and to argue otherwise is very dishonest.

EDIT: Actually, I think that even spells out the difference. The ability says "Attacked," not "under attack." That suggests that the attack has to succeed. In almost any RPG, somebody will be awaken from Sleep if they're "attacked," but the attack has to hit. A miss doesn't work. I definitely think it's like that.

Hmm. That's a fair point, actually. I'm still iffy on it (and do think that still Dizzy who gets tagged once > Diablo, but my Diablo respect isn't super high) but I see where you're coming from.
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StealThisSheen posted...

Alany posted...

StealThisSheen posted...

Diablo basically gets two free shots on Dizzy, though.

Not really, no. It says refuses to fight until she's attacked. This doesn't mean "until damage is dealt", this means until she thinks she's under attack. Which will be pretty clear and considering her agility it wouldn't be surprising if Diablo didn't hit at all.

I could buy her trying to dodge until damage was dealt, but she certainly isn't attacking back until damage is dealt.

Does it say "damaged" or "attacked"? The wording is as it says, man.
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Corrik posted...

trdl23 posted...

Corrik, he still has to deal with a non-stunned Dizzy.

You know, the person who blows up mountains as warning shots. And flies. And can get ordered to attack by Poison before Poison kicks it.

Dizzy comes 30 seconds late. The others are dead by then.

That doesn't mean it's a TKO. She still comes in. Only Sephiroth has the text of "if his team dies before he arrives, he still loses."
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Patrick Stewart
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I fully agree.
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E come vivo? Vivo!

DoomTheGyarados posted...

trdl23 posted...

Corrik, he still has to deal with a non-stunned Dizzy.

You know, the person who blows up mountains as warning shots. And flies. And can get ordered to attack by Poison before Poison kicks it.

Where was this 'Dizzy flies' respect vs Raiden, damnit.

I snap-voted Dizzy there, yo!
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Corrik, he still has to deal with a non-stunned Dizzy.

You know, the person who blows up mountains as warning shots. And flies. And can get ordered to attack by Poison before Poison kicks it.
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I have no idea how Diablo beats Dizzy, even if RLH manages to somehow down all three of the main fighters beforehand.
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The Mana Sword posted...

yeah they randomly decided to change the threshold this year to 60% for no discernible reason

"Cutting costs"
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All about dat Bass. No treble.
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Frostmourne still hungers
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Suh-key gim-ick
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Where's the freak breach
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The Mana Sword posted...

trdl23 posted...

Man, were there any awesome mechanics in this block?

Cycling is one of the top 3 best mechanics in the game!

Oh, yeah, that did debut in this block, didn't it?

FYI to everyone here, I don't ever count returning mechanics/cards in A-O-D unless it's the block where they originated.
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Undertale
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Man, were there any awesome mechanics in this block?
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ExThaNemesis posted...

Why would they seize his computer but not like, arrest him on the spot

Could be organized crime, too. I know the Feds are cracking down on that South American mob. Ends with "13."
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I pre-ordered but haven't gotten to touch it yet.

Glad to hear that Supergiant is 3 for 3.
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Dark Young Link posted...

I don't know if you have the greatest boss ever, or the worst boss ever.

He's pretty great.

SeabassDebeste posted...

why did you have to hold in your laughter? sounds like he was intentionally making a joke

I'm quite certain he wasn't. I highly doubt he even knows what Death Note is, let alone the meme.

My boss is from Osaka and often talks in Japanese with other people in the office, so occasionally a word or two of Japanese weaves into our conversations.

shadosneko posted...

you failed his litmus test

I did see him write my name into a notebook earli
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xp1337 posted...

lol

You don't have to make one or anything. I just found that comment funny since AFAIK you only played it through... what, the Prologue? I don't remember. >_>

I played a few chapters in after that before work piled up, then a house happened.
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"Oh, sorry. I meant 'plan.' 'Keikaku' means 'plan.'"

I don't know how I held my laughter in for 30 minutes until I left, but it took me about that long to calm down.
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xp1337 posted...

trdl23 posted...

th3l3fty posted...

Anagram posted...

Trails in the Sky, a series I’ve never played.

found the problem

still waiting on the return of that playthrough topic

Oh shit I forgot about that.
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Eddv posted...

Just that it came pre-game FFD

There is nothing arbitrary about keeping the properties of an upkeep change in place.

for instance if there were a hypothetical merc out there who caused upkeep to go up by 4 or 5 but that that raise did not effect rostering, Serra swapping probably shouldn't cause that merc to suddenly take up more slots.

In theory, I 100% agree.

In practice, though? Them's the breaks.
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th3l3fty posted...

Anagram posted...

Trails in the Sky, a series I’ve never played.

found the problem

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Kanz and I debated that one for hours, but yeah, it works.
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Nominate revenge
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neonreaper posted...

How old is sister now / current pics

y/o
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Lie down on the couch!
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A-O-D is where I list the Awesome-est, Obnoxious-est, and Disappoint-est mechanic and card in the block. I typo'd with "T" in the previous post.
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Tag for 500 topic

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Kor-ect-lee
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A-O-T tomorrow. I need to figure out how not to make it O-O-O.
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Red: Shiv

Shiv is a hostile, volcanic island nation that's inhospitable to anyone but the hardiest. It's also where that badass Jhoira is from as a member of the Ghitu tribe. Urza found a Thran mana rig, stopped the ongoing skirmishes between the viashino (lizard people who still remembered what that fucker Yawgmoth did to their Bey way back when), goblins, Ghitu, and dragons, organizing them into his first alliance. Plus, turns out this big ol' Mana Rig can churn out powerstones like in the good old days, but the viashino and goblins aren't subject to phthisis like the old Thran were. These powerstones would make the Legacy, the Metathran, and the rest of Urza's creations possible.

Later, the dragons Gherridarigaaz and Rhammidarigaaz (have fun remembering those names) carried Urza and Barrin in their fight against the corrupted angels of Serra's Realm as it collapsed, and we've already told that story. Gherri dies though. That's relevant later.

That's it. That's Red's part in this whole thing.

As usual, Red gets shafted with everything, even lore.
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Anyway, let's finish up the Academy.

-As a result of the temporal mishap, the Academy had pockets where time went much faster and much slower. This was immensely dangerous, slicing any normal person the hell up if they got near (this was before it got rebuilt), but Jhoira had lived in the ruins for a decade and, thanks to slowtime water, become functionally immortal. The problem is that Kerrick survived too and skulked before accidentally trapping himself in a fast-time bubble -- allowing him to create a mini-Phyrexia waiting for a second strike. Urza's first attack with mechanical falcons did fuck-all but give Kerrick more metal to work with. Urza realizes he has perhaps the worst cockroach infestation in history on his hands. On the other hand, once he learns how to use them, the fast-time bubbles let decades of research happen in a matter of years!

-After beating back Kerrick 5 times, Urza lets Barrin hold the door as he travels to Shiv so he can investigate this huge-ass "Mana Rig." (Where have we heard that before?) We'll hear more about Shiv later, but suffice it to say he gets a bunch of allies out of the trip and figures out how he's going to build that planeswalking skyship: The Weatherlight. Urza then goes to Yavimaya so he can rally the forest against Phyrexia and get a special kind of magic wood for the Weatherlight, but Multani traps him as we covered earlier until Barrin gets his ass overrun by Kerrick because he had ONE. GODDAMN. JOB. BARRIN. Multani, being an avatar, is able to travel mentally with Urza through the pollen as Urza planeswalks, sees Phyrexians are awful, animates trees when Urza's about to get whooped, and instead does the whooping. Urza's alliance has begun, and Kerrick's gone.

--Then the whole thing with Radiant happened, and Urza got his Weatherlight to planeswalk. But it wasn't enough.

-As he was designing the Legacy, he realized he needed a biological component. The Legacy was one hell of a weapon, but somebody would have to wield it, and he couldn't trust it to himself since he knew he was a high-value target. Karn was great and all, but he couldn't channel mana except to interact with artifacts, and the Legacy was much more than that. Thus begins Urza's foray into that fun family pastime (literally!): Eugenics! AKA the Bloodlines Project.

-Urza needed a crew for his ship, and even though he wanted to be out of reach of Dominaria's petty politics, that didn't mean those politics were out of his reach. Urza and his retainers subtly started shifting the political landscape to suit what his Weatherlight would need. He needed two people genetically amplified to channel white mana, both of whom were capable warriors and leaders, and he found two such clans in Jamuraa and Benalia. The final products of the project would be Captain Sisay and Gerrard Capashen, and you'll hear a LOT more about those two in other blocks.

-Of course, some jackass named Gatha got in over his head and started splicing Phyrexian genes in his test subjects, and when he got kicked out he went over to Keld, a proud and merciless warrior nation, and started using his new techniques to create the ultimate warrior: Krieg. Turned out not to be so ultimate once Phyrexia found out and started a war with Keld that would end in a standstill, but it tipped off Phyrexia about the Bloodlines project and prompted them to kill off Gerrard's and Sisay's ancestors in order to ruin everything. Thankfully, Karn got forewarning and scooped up Gerrard in the nick of time.

-Finally, Urza needed an actual army besides his Legacy wielders, so he created them artificially. Dubbed the "Metathran," they were an artifical-yet-biological race created from sorcery and nurtured by machines, programmed to fight yet with free will through Urza's methodology. They would provide the blue-mana component to the coming war.
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Waluigi1 posted...

Do you think any local stores have FFTCG cards or you can only get them online?

One of my locals has them, but they evaporate from the shelves quickly.
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The Mana Sword posted...

Ral was always kind of a dick

Well yeah, but he's always been a fiercely independent dick who hates relying on others and loves the hell out of his guild. He must not know he's helping Bolas.
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Apparently Ral Zarek is working for Bolas, which seems a bit out of left field.

Bolas effortlessly pwning the Gatewatch was as amusing as I hoped, especially because I forgot how snarky Bolas is when he's winning.
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Maybe I'll do it as a straight ranking once the writeups are done, but that is a LOT of sets.
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