Preview season is upon us! As I write this article about one-third of the cards in Return to Ravnica have been revealed, and the hype surrounding #MTGRTR is higher than that of any set I’ve ever seen. Several big names in the community have had preview cards to share, including Mike Flores (@fivewithflores), Jacob Van Lunen (@JVLTMS), Jenna Helland, and even a little podcast called In Contention (@InContention). And they all discussed one particularly slimy gross guild: the Golgari. Much of the chatter surrounds the Golgari’s powerful new spells, as some of the spells (namely Abrupt Decay and Vraska the Unseen) have sent the Magic community into a tizzy.
What did they say exactly? Well, I’m glad you asked:
Definitely have too much Ravnica on the brain. Just Freudian slipped “guild-tripping” into a conversation abt emotions
— Bill Boulden (@ThaGatherin) September 5, 2012
Geeeez, every night is exciting. These cards are awesome!
— Gerry Thompson (@G3RRYT) September 6, 2012
Abrupt Decay, I think I love you. #ButIWanaKnowForSure #MTGRTR
— MTG Color Pie (@mtgcolorpie) September 6, 2012
Abrupt Decay… And now I’m happy I bought all those Isochron Scepters. #MTG
— Arthur Halavais (@ahalavais) September 6, 2012
I Feel like my Counterbalance is going to be Decayed….rather often in Legacy.
— David McDarby (@J_Beleren) September 6, 2012
Golgari gets uncounterable Smother. Awesome. Azorious gets uncounterable DoJ. Awesome. Rakdos gets uncounterable Memoricide? Not awesome.
— Zaiem Beg (@zbeg) September 6, 2012
Abrupt Decay? Settle down, @wizardsmtg. We’d still buy a record amount of this set no matter what. The cards don’t all need to be this good.
— Jason Alt (@JasonEAlt) September 6, 2012
I guess Cavern of Souls wasn’t enough uncounterable stuff.
— Ali Aintrazi (@AliEldrazi) September 6, 2012
I hope all the counterspells in RtR are Mindbreak Trap variants.Otherwise they won’t really do anything.
— Sam Black (@SamuelHBlack) September 6, 2012
Can Do Attitude – 1UU – Target spell that can’t be countered can be countered. Counter target spell.
— Eric Klug (@klug_alters) September 6, 2012
The fact that we now have three ‘cant be countered’ spells spoiled so far shows how out of hand blue has gotten.
— Greg (@uselessend) September 6, 2012
I get it already, I’m not playing counterspells.Are you happy Zac Hill, you bastard?
— Jack Grannan (@JackGrannan) September 6, 2012
New G/B Planeswalker seems sweet, right? I mean it’s not blue so it won’t hit $50 at auction but she is way better than new Jace!
— Sigmund Ausfresser (@sigfig8) September 5, 2012
Is Vraska really that good or is it just another case of wanting it to be good? #MTGRTR #mtg
— Burritoman Mike (@burritoman88) September 5, 2012
What’s a realistic price on Vraska after planeswalker preorder inflation goes away? $10? $20?
— The Booze Cube (@TheBoozeCube) September 5, 2012
Everyone’s all excited about the new Planeswalker Gorgon. Talk to me when they have a Planeswalker Weasel. We need more playable ferrets!
— Ferrett Steinmetz (@ferretthimself) September 5, 2012
Vraska is excellent but did we also need yet another Cranial Extraction variant? Do casual players just go nuts over these?
— Doug Linn (@legacysallure) September 5, 2012
I guess Geist just sends his angel at Vraska. #MTGRTR
— Michael Hetrick (@theshipitholla) September 5, 2012
I have this indescribable need to cast worldspine wurm.
— Pat Buckley (@Capinahab) September 5, 2012
The worst park of today: Realizing Worldspine Wurm reads ‘graveyard from anywhere.’ #NOFUN
— Andrew Magrini (@A_Magrini) September 5, 2012
Deadbridge Goliath is looking good. 4 mana dodges Abrupt Decay, 5 toughness dodges Mortars.
— travishall456 (@travishall456) September 6, 2012
Slitherhead is a very interesting 1-drop. Naturally goes with LOL Troll (at the cost of a card, add two counters to the LOL troll)
— Neale (@wrongwaygoback) September 6, 2012
Love Slitherhead. It’s a disembodied skull! Also, plant zombie.
— Matthew Watkins (@oraymw) September 6, 2012
.@oraymw Alas, poor Slitherhead, I knew him, Horatio!
— Usman (@UsmanTheRad) September 6, 2012
Whoa I just realized you can scavenge onto your opponent’s creature with Unleash to make it unable to block. That’s a cool interaction.
— Brian Sondag (@BrianSondag) September 6, 2012
very excited for plant zombies to be a thing #mtgrtr
— Austin Yost (@Y0stwiththeM0st) September 6, 2012
Preview week? Really? I thought it was Golgari week.
— GrumpyOldGamer (@GrumpOGamer) September 6, 2012
The incredible power of Golgari’s new arsenal of spells and creatures combined with some of the red spells in both Izzet and Rakdos, like Mizzium Mortars and Dreadbore, might see a return to Jund this fall for Standard. And that’s not even discussing the implications of Frites adding Grisly Salvage! Golgari certainly looks like it’s going to be the top dog come release day.
For those of you that missed it, Magic: The Gathering made a special appearance on an episode of Storage Wars recently. The A&E reality show showcases modern-day treasure hunters who buy up delinquent storage lockers and try to flip them for profit. In an episode a few weeks back, one of the main characters found some old cards in one of his lockers. Lucky for him, it was some power! Twitter was fascinated by the culture crossover and decided to let the world know their opinions:
OH MY GOD. I was watching Storage Wars and Darrell found A BLACK LOTUS MAGIC CARD in a storage locker! I FREAKED OUT.
— Lindsey Stevens (@Deldria) August 29, 2012
@maro254 magic the gathering featured on Storage Wars…Brandon and Darrell find Black Lotus, Mox pearl, and time twister in locker
— Matt Diischer (@MattDiischer) August 29, 2012
“I think these magic cards are worth something” – Storage Wars @wizards_magic
— Greg (@uselessend) August 29, 2012
Chumps on Storage Wars found an Unlimited Black Lotus and a Collectors edition Timetwister & Mox Pearl. Dealer paid them $650. #inVintage
— Theo (@TheoLimber) August 29, 2012
Was wonderingwhen the #StorageWars folks’d find #mtg cards. Darrel got SCREWED selling a beta Mox, Twister, ulmtd Lotus, for $700
— Eli Meyer (@Reyemile) August 29, 2012
Wow they just found magic card in a storage wars locker. Priceless when Darrel asked if a sword in the locker went with the cards.
— Ken Bearl (@kbearl) August 29, 2012
These Storage Wars ‘experts’ have heard of the internet and know they can just look up Black Lotus, Mox Pearl, and Timetwister, right?
— Randolph Brzoska (@RSBrzoska) August 29, 2012
Oh popular culture. You crazy.
Tonight we are young, so we set Tweetdeck on fire. We can tweet brighter than the sun.
Coverage Coordinator and Twitter Admiral for StarCityGames.com
Listen to the @InContention podcast! It’s the official podcast of the StarCityGames.com Open Series with @kstube, @affinityforblue, and me. Listen in at InContentionMagic.com. Our most recent episode, Slitherhead, can be found here.