C17 saw the expansion of four tribes. Today we’re going to look at vampires.
“Vampires only got three new cards!?”
You have to remember, this was around the time of Ixalan. Vampires gained traction in OG Zendikar under monoblack. Then in Innistrad as rakdos. Ixalan opened them up to orzhov colors, and C17 brought them together under a mardu banner. They did get offcolor legendaries, they’re just accounted for in other places.
Eddie. Eddie my boy. Getting two vampires for one is INCREDIBLE. Making them all bigger on swing is FANTASTIC. The precon and shadows over innistrad come with a lot to make the deck incredible. Cordial Vampire from MH1 with Indulgent Aristocrat from SoI give 2 +1/+1 counters per sacrifice. Small drops gain value fast here, lifelinkers like Vampire Nighthawk, Vampire of the Dire Moon, and Gifted Aetherborn all make combat an issue. Remember, you get vampires on cast so returning to hand is more preferable than returning to the field.
Licia is a departure from vampire tribal into a kind of pain tribal. She can come down a 3 drop 7/7 first strike lifelinker and that’s crazy value. While red doesn’t have a lot of life manipulation the boros and rakdos synergy pulls rank. Here we want ways to dump our life into abilities for Licia to rally it back. This is a life as a resource deck so Greed, Unspeakable Symbol, and Promise of Power. Heartless Summoning can help you with Licia and big drops like Vilis. Stunning Reversal lets you empty your life out to draw 7 cards. Lastly, Treasonous Ogre into Repay in Kind can result in lethal combat. Dangerous, but lethal. Children of Korlis and Tainted Sigil can cause huge lifegains.
Mathas is a multiplayer centric commander. As is such, toss in all the multiplayer cards like vows, curses, all that good stuff. Tainted Remedy can reverse the lifegain here. Your plan is to have things die so be ready with mass recursion like Exhume, Twilight’s Call, and Living Death. Keep draws lime Howling Mine and Reforge the Soul to keep the game from grinding to a halt. Your gameplan can be to win through graveyard theft so Thrilling Encore, Grim Return, Sepurchal Primordial, and Minion’s Return all get the job done and help bounty counters make your opponents play into your hands.
And that’s all for vampires of C17! There’s a lot of good ones to pick from. Which are your favorites? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Safe planeswalking.
My friend got my one of the new commander decks and I chose dragons because I already have a deck for dragons and the idea of having a new commands for my deck was exciting.
The premade deck itself wasn't too bad. I don't like the fact that there was no kill spells and not a lot of tap for any color lands. So going against his Vampire deck was pretty much a wreck. Won twice out of the seven time we played?? But much better when I moved the few new cards into my deck. All and all, I'm glad I got the deck. (:
Hour of Devastation Key art | Wizards of the Coast
Welcome to this week’s worthy edition! Prereleases were in full swing this weekend and this week saw Trials, Zombies, and our first glimpse of Razaketh in the Magic Story. Wizards might have moved the capital ‘A’ Announcement Day to June, but apparently no one told the announcements. Join us by the fertile banks of the Luxa that is this issue of the Magic: the Gathering Weekly Tumblr Recap.
1. Isn’t It Iconic…
Found on Twitter
Our recent announcement from Wizards’ home base this past week was quite substantial, with the upcoming Commander 2017 products which feature an exciting new tribal theme! We also have the name of the fall set, Ixalan, which will rotate into Standard with and is currently rumored to have a Meso-American theme. Likely the largest and most anticipated of all was Iconic Masters, which will feature iconic cards from all over Magic history!
Commander 2017 is set to be released on August 25 and will be available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese. The products will all be available in the United States for MSRP at $34.99. They will feature a tribal theme, supposedly with Magic’s most popular and interesting tribes. A total of 56 new cards will be legal as well in Legacy and Vintage at that, and the most notable detail, there will only be FOUR of these decks as opposed to the usual five. More information is available here.
Ixalan, the 2017 fall set to come, has quite a few rumors floating about for its theme. One very popular speculation is that it has a Meso-American theme as aforementioned. One interesting speculation came from Zurgo Helmsmasher @khanofthemardu, with another one here from @vampire-hoe via @chelsea-beleren-vess‘s inbox. Check out some other ones here:
However, let it be noted that the Inkmoth Nexus promo is not indicative of Ixalan being a return to New Phyrexia.
Iconic Masters is the next “Masters” set, which will be released on November 17 of this year. There is something very special about this set in particular: there will not be previews of this set! We are told that the set will feature new artwork on many cards, bringing in an array of Angels, Sphinxes, Demons, Dragons, and Hydras (each color’s iconic creatures!) along with some of the most memorable spells in the game’s history. Still in line with previous “Masters” sets, it will have 24 booster packs of 15 cards each, including one premium card. Undoubtedly the set will have a very engaging draft format as Modern Masters 2017 and Eternal Masters before it. This set will be released at HASCON along with additional announcements on Ixalan, so be sure to grab your ticket! Some speculative links below:
With these announcements in mind, several questions come to bare, many more than I can think of currently I’d bet, but tell us your theories and thoughts on Commander 2017, Ixalan, and Iconic Masters! Whatever the outcome of these will be I’m sure Wizards has quite a few surprises for us yet to come.
— Jesse F, @sorin-memekov
2. This Week’s Magic Story Review
Servants by Kelly Digges
Lliliana, Death’s Majesty | Original MTG art by Chris Rallis
As the cards for Amonkhet were revealed to us, piece by piece during the glorious scramble that was spoiler season, two very significant names were conspicuously absent. Nicol Bolas, the man everyone wanted to see, as well what some, if not most, thought of as the warm-up act, one Razaketh. In Servants, the latter of these mysteries deepens.
With Gideon carting his touche with Oketra, and Nissa and Chandra exploring the forbidden sarcophoguses down Hapatra’s part of town, Liliana has been making inquiries of her own. With zombies literally everywhere, she is reticent to use her necromanty injudiciously, so she has been sending shades to search for any news on Razaketh. Razaketh is the third of four Demons that Liliana made pacts with for the eternal youth and seeming immortality she craved so deeply. Two of her demons, Kothophed and Griselbrand we have met in story and in card, and more importantly, they have met their fate, at a Chain Veil augmented Liliana’s hand. Razaketh’s presence on Amonkhet was no small part of Liliana’s reasons in agreeing and advocating to come here. She harbors strong hopes of enlisting the Gatewatch’s considerable talents in helping her defeat a being even more formidable than Griselbrand.
The ever present yet enigmatic Raven Man is with her, he chiding her for her seemingly tardy and lackadaisical attitude toward ridding herself of the demons, in his mind the tarrying on Ravnica and Kaladesh was time that could have been better spent, and that he feels she is weakening in resolve and allowing the Gatewatch’s upright and selfless ideals to soften her and dull her otherwise keen sense of self-interest. It is especially hinted on three or four visits from Jace back when they were still on Ravnica that went deep into the night might be more than simple machination and manipulation, something she protests vociferously.
With ears clearly burning Jace arrives just as a shade brings Liliana word of a place to investigate. Liliana invites Jace along, knowing if she didn’t he’d just come along anyway, just invisibly. They are led by Liliana’s agent down to a subterranean facility where scores of Anointed prepare and process the less successful initiates of the Trials
Anointer Priest | Original MTG art by Lake Horwitz
A relief in the bowels of this place reveals to Jace that Liliana is not, in fact in pursuit of Bolas, but Razaketh. Having been betrayed in the past by Liliana, Jace is less than happy about the omission of this significant detail about the plane, while from Liliana’s point of view, the eyes of the Razaketh carving snap open, and the Anointed start chanting her name. What cannot be deinied is that the mummies begin to crowd threateningly around Jace and Liliana. Liliana’s powers over the undead are blunted by the cartouches worn by the Anointed, and Temmet arrives to find the newcomers where no newcomers should be. Jace is forced to take over Temmet’s mind in order to carve a path for he and LIliana through the throng, and leaves Temmet unconscious and defenseless in a room where the occupants have strict instructions as to what happens to inert, lifeless bodies under their care…
…perhaps?
— Liam, @coincidencetheories
3. A Brief History of Jace and Liliana
Liliana Vess Speedpaint | Art by @oddsbod
A long, winding road brought Jace Beleren and Liliana Vess together. Their journey started with Nicol Bolas, which seems to be where they are winding up now.
In Agents of Artifice, Liliana travels to Ravnica where she meets Jace and his best friend Kallist Rhoka. Jace Beleren joins an interplanar organization known as The Infinite Consortium. Tezzeret becomes Jace’s strong-handed mentor, in hopes of training him to become a more talented mage. Tezzeret undoubtedly hopes that Jace will join Nicol Bolas in his quest for power. However, Tezzeret’s tactics are abusive; they are not at all characteristics of a healthy mentor/mentee relationship.
Enter Liliana Vess, who has made four deals with demons, and then subsequently with Nicol Bolas. She has to turn the Consortium over to Bolas in exchange for his help in finding and destroying her demon masters. She then begins a relationship with Jace to do this, so that they can take the Consortium for themselves. Jace falls in love with Liliana, and Liliana returns the feelings. It is known that they care very deeply for each other. However, her feelings of love toward Jace are not enough to stave off her betrayal, and she reveals to Jace (disguised as the planeswalker Baltrice) her motives. Jace then subsequently leaves Liliana, but forgives her and makes a pact to help her rid herself of demons. At the end of the AoA, Jace states: Like a thousand suns will rise across a thousand world, he knew that he and Liliana would meet again. He would get to know her, beneath the disguise, the desperation and the lies. If he could love who he found, perhaps they could begin again.
Fast forward to Catching Up, where Liliana visits Jace on Ravnica to ask for help with her demons. However, they are interrupted by Gideon, who pulls Jace off to Zendikar for the events of Battle for Zendikar. When the Gatewatch disposes of Kozilek and Ulamog, Jace follows Emrakul’s trail to Innistrad, where he meets up with Liliana and asks for her help. Liliana ultimately joins the Gatewatch and helps them trap Emrakul.
The Gatewatch then travels to Kaladesh at the urging of Dovin Baan, where they find that Tezzeret is a public figure. Tezzeret is still very much alive and causing harm, so the Gatewatch takes a stance against the Consulate.
After the events of Kaladesh, the Gatewatch travels to Amonkhet, though Liliana doesn’t tell them her true motives for going to the plane, which is her third demon, Razaketh.
— Haley D, @sunshine-spice
4. Fan-arts…
Free Dogs | Original art by @shutupismelldrawings
This week in the fan art corner, we have some absolutely wonderful pieces. It feels like I say that every week, but, hey, I’ll stop when y’all stop making absolutely wonderful pieces…
Watching our Gates this week are the cutest pair, with @darkselia ‘s Liliana, and @jakaltimes ‘s depiction of Gideon’s complex yet simple develpoing relationship with a literal God
@oddsbod chimes in with the early moments from last week’s story, The Writing on the Wall with Nissa’s Dream, and @zeico treats us with a sketch of Ravnica’s most electric experiment Ral Zarek
@Isharton contintues to absolutely kill it with this drawing of Hipster Hazoret and Coffeshop Oketra
— Liam W, @coincidencetheories
…and Fan-Crafts!
Master Tinkerer | Original Magic Art by Matt Stewart
The week that leads up to pre-release, just after the full preview of the cards is a magic time where people get creative with all the new inspiration and the motivation of showing off at the LGS! Here are a few of the great cosplay and other creative endeavors that graced our feeds this week:
(Nissa’s Pilgramage by @eternal0aranel, more Nissa cosplay)
Liliana Vess, @mossybunni
Cardboard Carapace and Plague Doctor’s mask, Redditor Mayorse via @mtg-realm
Amonkhet God Buttons, @sticksandsharks
(Amonkhet and more Cookies, from @mtg-realm)
Yarn Gideon (Gideyarn?) of the Trials, @oketragodofyarn
Cartouche of Solidarity, @hirfael
—Compiled by Liam W, @coincidencetheories
5. Tumblr Magnet
Tumble Magnet | Original MTG art, Drew Baker
Here are a few longer form articles written this week or simply recently that you might have skipped over that are worth the time to go back and read…
@akhonography writes on Egyptian influences relating to Amonkhet, and here she has a few small notes on Cleopatra, the inspiration behind Hapatra
@sarpadianempiresvol-viii argues that Amonkhet’s top down design is a boon for new players to get a handle on
Speaking of new players, @imakethecard explains why the power-level of intro and Planeswalker decks are kept so low.
@askkrenko gives their opinion on why colorless cards are the most damaging type of card to be overpowered
@krymsinviking and others discuss the merits of having full art lands if and when we return to Theros.
@cameronlamcomposer brings us Abzan’s First Lady, The Foremost, in song form!
— Compiled by Liam W, @coincidencetheories
…and finally: Tap for Initiative
It’s always a wonderful moment when a labor of love comes to fruition, or at the very least makes it into beta. @yaldobaoth has been working on their Magic the Gathering RPG system for over nine months, and is proud to release it into the wild, looking for people to take it for a test run, really put it through it’s paces and help find out where the next improvements are to be found!
Thank you again for reading this week’s issue of the MTG Weekly Tumblr Recap. Hope to see you next week!
Interested in contributing to the Recap? Want to keep track of notable posts and trends throughout the MTG community on a given week? Or write a short blurb on a specific topic? Do you just want to make us aware of one specific topic or post? Please PM our main editor @the-burnished-hart or any of our staff writers
Commander 17 got into a lot of interesting things. While dragons and vampires feel like obvious tribal picks, cats and wizards fill out niches both new and old. Personally I liked the angle of grixis wizards, it really united the tribe and made them fun.
Inalla is exacty where a commander for wizard tribal should be. Many wizards have activated abilities having haste helps use. Making a token lets sacrificing with Apprentice Necromancer more worthwhile, especially when using ETB wizards to fill out the roster to use in tap effects. Tapping 5 wizards for 7 loss of life lets you stay active in the game without risking flimsy wizards in combat. Dualcaster Mage is solid as heck paying (2)RR for two copies of any spell. Dramatic Reversal helps untap your creatures for all the wizard tap effects too.
Grixis loves instants and sorceries and Kess is incredible. She avoids bolt, flies, and comes in as a nice four drop. Cards with bonuses for casting from the graveyard don’t need to have a bloated flashback cost paid for, and loot effects like Forgotten Creation and any number of wheels do work here since you can tap into your graveyard as necessary. Kess makes an excellent control or politics commander letting you take steps as you need to.
Mairsil works off the many activated abilities wizards have. Grixis artificer is entirely viable. Lux Cannon taps to add one charge counter, if you have that and say Titan Forge you can rack up charge counters faster. You can only use each ability once. An old strat was to use Quicksilver Elemental to replicate all the abilities with none of the one downside.
Dimir control is... prevalent. So here’s another! The filtered upkeep is really the key draw to playing this Taigam. Making sure cards can be played from your hand OR the gy is important: Dread Return, Sever the Bloodline, and Commit//Memory all help. Each “draw” you look at three times the options and stow two of those in your graveyard. Paradox Haze will give you a second upkeep to look through six cards a turn too.
That covers wizards! Interesting choices and additions all around. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these and what your builds are. Safe planeswalking friends.
C17 made the bold choice to make a 5c precon and they handled it perfectly. Five new dragon related commanders are coming down the pipe, lets take a look.
BIG MOMMA DRAGON. The Ur-Dragon fits the bill for the ultimate dragon. The (1) discout really makes a difference for larger drops, Territorial Hellkite becomes (1)RR for a 6/5 flying haste. Further discounts like Herald’s Horn and Urza’s Incubator can reduce your dragons to just their color costs. Dropping permanents for free on attack means you can drop Ur-Dragon AND something else on your turn.
If we were ever to get a 5c combat tribal commander this is it! A flying 6/6 for 6 is potent and the defensive ability is great. Grappling Hook lets you toss out two of those damage triggers while mauling a flier. Forced combat effects are strong here too, and O-Kagachi makes use of one of my favorite quirkier cards Trove of Temptation.
I love 5c cards with costs that aren’t WUBRG. Ramos doesn’t ramp out on ETB but the surplus of casting you’ll be doing will keep you hitting that activation every turn. It can be used for a free removal spell when necessary too. Turning that kind of mana flips into Progenitus or Door to Nothingness activations, and the sheer amount of counter power keeps Ramos a terrifying force on the battlefield. Ramos fits into many kinds of 5c decks.
Oh hey you’re familiar. Having a human commander for an azorius dragon deck that focuses on rebounding tricks is.. really cool. I’m hoping azorius gets more support (and we get one (1) boros dragon someday). Uncounterable means you can focus less on counterspells for defense and more on how your instants and sorceries provide evasion through combat. Cast triggers will help too. Its an interesting direction and I’m glad they tried it out.
Cat dragon time!! We want to make sure Wasitora gets through combat safe right? Double strike is good, Berserkers’ Onslaught and Temur Battlerage. Plague Wind effects will lead the way for you to get cat dragons. Chewing through your opponents’ creatures is likely the direction to go.
And that’s the dragon deck, and C17! Its a potent cycle, powerful reprints and intense synergy. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Safe planeswalking.
C17 came off the heels of four color decks and was the first four deck set and the first to not care about colorsets. Tribal is immensely popular/fun in magic and C17 really embraced it. Lets take a look.
Cat time. Eminence used to be just something Oloro did. For better or worse C17 embraced unpaid abilities from the command zone. Arahbo reall embraced the growing cat tribe we’ve seen get fleshed out over three years. The +3/+3 is stupid strong on early game cats like the 1/1 doublestriker Adorned Pouncer. Arahbo gets even crazier on the field doubling power and trampling with your cats after they’ve gotten the +3/+3 buff. That buff makes a lot of cats survive swinging in EDH. If you want something big and stompy start here.
Mirri is where the deck begins to lean into combat control. She’s a deadly effective three drop, while you can swing with your entire field your opponent can only block with one creature. Selesnya colors are great for enchantress to buff your field and a good number of cats work whth equipment to make Mirri bigger, and Mirri’s second ability keeps you defended. Not really too much of a duelist per say, but in the right combat she does a lot of work.
Nazahn is my favorite of the bunch. A big drop but an interesting card, Nazahn is a mixture of equips and combat control. Making all your creatures tap defenders on swing can be very very good. The key is to make effective combat with one equip per creature then use combat damage effects. Grappling Hook and Nemesis Mask can help you better control combat and effects like Renown and Quietus Spike reward you for getting that combat damage in. You’re less cats the musical more seal team 6. Remember, any equip works so the (0) bone saw does the job. As does Sai of the Shinobi.
Balan represents an interesting junction in mtg. White was turning away from soldier tribal to knight tribal and cats was just gaining momentum. Balan is a crazy strong voltron commander, all your equipment can be magnetized to him with (1)W. You can play cost reduction like Foundry Inspector, Danitha Capashen, and Jhoira’s Familiar to reduce equip costs so your Argentum Armor costs (3) and ends up equipping for free with synergy like Brass Squire or Sigarda’s Aid. You’re going to get two equips on very fast. Add stuff like Infiltration Lens to rack up draws and make all combat productive.
And that starts us off with cats. While they weren’t the most popular at the time they did get a secret lair. As always I’d love to hear your thoughts on these. Safe planeswalking.
