Unreleased and New Card Discussion

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

Cascaaaaade, my favorite mechanic, is returning in Caverns of Ixalan? The mustache hides nothing, "discover" - I know who you really are!

Wow, wild. A cascade that gives you the option of just putting the card into your hand, at the cost of being restricted by the number. Suddenly control decks can now "cascade" without the risk of misfiring their critical spells.

Seems almost like "seek" from the Arena cards.

[materpillar]

… trying to keep on top of my Changeling deck is exhausting with the amount of random super pushed tribal cards they keep releasing. The deck has gone from meme hilarious to my strongest deck by a decent margin.

[Mookie]

Cascaaaaade, my favorite mechanic, is returning in Caverns of Ixalan? The mustache hides nothing, "discover" - I know who you really are!

Wow, wild. A cascade that gives you the option of just putting the card into your hand, at the cost of being restricted by the number. Suddenly control decks can now "cascade" without the risk of misfiring their critical spells.

Seems almost like "seek" from the Arena cards.

Differences from cascade:

• It's not a cast trigger, so it's easier to stop with countermagic. Also, no Tibalt's Trickery shenanigans.
• It's easier to track the contents of the stack (no more resolving things in reverse order)
• Alternate casting costs like adventures are explicitly patched
• Stuff you don't want to cast (like countermagic or an X spell) can just be put into hand

Overall, seems like better/less buggy design... but I'm a bit sad Averna, the Chaos Bloom won't be getting more support.

[Hermes_]

2025's outlook



They already showed concept art and said that MTG in space is mtg's take on space opera.

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

Stuff you don't want to cast (like countermagic or an X spell) can just be put into hand

This is the big thing here. Discover will fit into a lot more decks than cascade.

I wonder how this will effect those Hypergenesis/Living End cascade combo decks.

Overall, seems like better/less buggy design...

It certainly seems that way! Also doesn't chain into itself like cascade can.

[PrimevalCommander]

Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation - makes 3x *creature*tokens. Crazy!

Bartolomé Del Presidio a free sac outlet for 2MV is good!

Ojer Taq is stupid pushed card. Now doubling things is too mundane, how do we get attention? TRIPLE THINGS!

Sac dude is neat. Though when I read "free sac outlet for 2MV" I was hoping for an artifact or enchantment.

[Sporegorger_Dragon]

Jurassic Park got a few tidbits too, what caught my eye is Ellie and Alan, Paleontologists

Repeatable discover!

[TheGildedGoose]

Fish
FISH
FISH
FISH
FISH

As much as I generally hate tribal decks I do love merfolk. I've been wanting to build Simic Fish for a while now but the preexisting commanders leave a lot to be desired. Hakbal of the Surging Soul seems pretty good, but let's see what else they have.

[materpillar]

Fish
FISH
FISH
FISH
FISH

As much as I generally hate tribal decks I do love merfolk. I've been wanting to build Simic Fish for a while now but the preexisting commanders leave a lot to be desired. Hakbal of the Surging Soul seems pretty good, but let's see what else they have.

hakbal of the Surging Soul looks insanely busted to me.

[TheGildedGoose]

hakbal of the Surging Soul looks insanely busted to me.

Yeah it's pretty silly. I do hope there's something else, though, since it seems kind of boringly generic and strong.

[duducrash]

Ojer Taq is stupid pushed card. Now doubling things is too mundane, how do we get attention? TRIPLE THINGS!

at least is restricted to creatures only, so no triple dipping in treasures

[Mookie]

It certainly seems that way! Also doesn't chain into itself like cascade can.

No, it can still chain. Some cards may arguably be even stronger - you can hit Hit the Mother Lode with another copy of itself, for example. That said, as an action (instead of trigger), it can be attached to a larger variety of triggers. You could chain 'ETB: discover' abilities into each other, but you can't easily chain activated abilities or death triggers, for example.

Anyway, other thoughts...

• Craft is weird, but plays well into graveyard-as-a-resource decks. It feels a little like delve / escape, but the payoff is obviously very different.
• Descended is potentially very strong - self-mill and fetchlands are trivial ways to trigger it. I will note that it specifically looks for cards, so sacrificing tokens unfortunately doesn't work.
• Descend X feels a little weird name-wise, since at first read I confused it with descended. Other than that... I have similar concerns re: tracking it that came up for threshold and delirium. It's otherwise pretty easy to add into a deck though.
• Map tokens are roughly as predicted - I think 'explore' and 'tutor for a basic' were the only two options I was considering. Higher-variance than a clue, but nice support for craft and descend.
• Finality counters aren't really a full mechanic, but a nice tool to have. I'm sad for them to limit recursion looping, but it does generally make for better/less repetitive gameplay (and also enables some effects to be more aggressively costed). Plus there's the option to throw finality counters on your opponents' stuff.

Cards:

• Miner's Guidewing is not Thraben Inspector, but it feels like a distant cousin - a 1-mana creature that can generate some card advantage.
• Throne of the Grim Captain is a fun callback to Grim Captain's Call.
• Hidden Nursery and the other hidden caves look solid. I don't think they beat other utility lands, but they're a nice lategame mana sink. (and you can also play a deck with almost all lands and just a few discover targets)
• Bartolome del Presidio is a very nice cheap sac outlet. When was the last time we got a free, instant-speed one? I can't remember.
• Intrepid Paleontologist does a decent Scavenging Ooze / Armored Scrapgorger impression. Not sure if better or worse, but certainly reasonable.
• The Everflowing Well is a very strong Divination variant. It takes some work to turn on, but nice upside.
• The Enigma Jewel reminds me of Thran Turbine. Looks strong but narrow.
• Hit the Mother Lode looks like an awesome ritual. Reminds me of Apex of Power, but easier to use. Less consistent though.
• The Mycotyrant + Hermit Druid? Seems fair.
• Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel is going straight in my cube as a sweet Merfolk Looter variant.
• Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun is a nice reprint.
• Restless Prairie is a Llama! Also a nice manland.
• Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation sees Mondrak, Glory Dominus and does one better. Only creature tokens though, so no copying treasure / map tokens.
• Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz is a slightly janky but solid Blood Artist variant that also generates more tokens to sacrifice.
• Abuelo, Ancestral Echo isn't Brago, King Eternal, but still a nice blink engine. Ward is a nice upside.
• Saheeli, the Sun's Brilliance doesn't go infinite with Felidar Guardian (unlike Saheeli Rai), but two mana Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker / Orthion, Hero of Lavabrink is very nice.

...anyway, the hit rate for this set looks crazy high. Lots of stuff my my decks and/or cube. Admittedly, they're frontloading a bunch of rares and mythics (as usual), but the set still looks quite nice so far even with that context.

[5colorsrainbow]

Alright, time to finally reveal my perfect argument to make Dirk agree with m-

Look, a distraction!

Cascaaaaade, my favorite mechanic, is returning in Caverns of Ixalan? The mustache hides nothing, "discover" - I know who you really are!

(more thoughts to follow)

Def looking forward to getting more dinosaurs out with Pantlaza, Sun-Favored.

I love DFC cards so I'm def loving the new cards and the mechanics are very flavorful.

[duducrash]

Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz is a slightly janky but solid Blood Artist variant that also generates more tokens to sacrifice.

I'm wondering if he is good, is he? a recently great great card has been Morbid Opportunist that wants us to sac once per turn which is what I've been doing I think. Vitto dosn't suck, but also doesn't seem great

wishing we get a Cruel Celebrant reprint I want a foil one and war ones have crept up big time

[Mookie]

Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz is a slightly janky but solid Blood Artist variant that also generates more tokens to sacrifice.

I'm wondering if he is good, is he? a recently great great card has been Morbid Opportunist that wants us to sac once per turn which is what I've been doing I think. Vitto dosn't suck, but also doesn't seem great

wishing we get a Cruel Celebrant reprint I want a foil one and war ones have crept up big time

If you're only sacrificing one thing, I think Vito is meh. If you sacrifice two, he's on-par with Falkenrath Noble. If you sacrifice three, you get a free 4/3 flyer as a replacement... and since I would be throwing him in Teysa, the vampire demon token also comes with a 1/1 spirit friend. I'll also note that Vito doesn't require you to sacrifice creatures - you can also trigger him with fetchlands / treasure / map tokens / etc. So while I don't think he's necessarily a staple, I do think he's very interesting.

[duducrash]

you can also trigger him with fetchlands / treasure / map tokens / etc. So while I don't think he's necessarily a staple, I do think he's very interesting.

I missed this. triggering out of fetches is a big deal for me.

He does nothing after the 3rd trigger, right?

[DirkGently]

Magic is a big part of my identity, I'll admit it. Magic is. Not Marvel. Not 40K. Not Doctor Who. Not Street Fighter. Not Jurassic World. Not Walking Dead. But my game is not magic anymore, it's not ME anymore. Now it's Marvel the gathering and 40K the gathering and Jurassic World the gathering. My identity is being taken away from me, in a small way, and you're damn straight I'm not okay with that.

This explanation @DirkGently finally gets it into my thick skull why you feel the way you do about the UB stuff, before I just thought it was old man yelling at cloud, I guess I just never understood because outside of church, I've never really wrapped myself up into an IP. Sure, I'd say that I'm a Gryffindor demigod jedi time lord cluing for looks but any changes that happened I'd just roll with them and move on and not let them bug me. The only times I'd say something was "ruined forever" I've been sarcastic.

Yeah, I think that post cuts deeper than my previous attempts to explain why I hate UB. Marvel in particular feels like another step down into the abyss since it has a much more broad appeal than Dr Who or 40K. My niche interest is getting merged further and further into the broader cultural hive mind, and my identity with it.

hakbal of the Surging Soul looks insanely busted to me.

You think? Idk, he looks pretty mid to me tbh. Sure, you can guarantee land drops, but once there's something you want on top of your deck he's in the same space as The Fifth Doctor, Nalia de'Arnise, Drana, Liberator of Malakir, Mikaeus, the Lunarch, Tyvar the Bellicose, etc. Not saying he's bad but I don't see "insanely busted".

Idk, lot of splashy looking stuff but once the impact wears off I don't think any of it is properly scary to me. Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation sounds disgusting but honestly is tripling that much better than doubling? Usually doubling is already a must-answer, so idk that paying 2 more for tripling really adds up. You probably run both, ofc.

[Mookie]

He does nothing after the 3rd trigger, right?

That is correct, yes - max 3 triggers per turn.

• Bringer of the Last Gift is our Living Death creature. You only get it if you actually cast it though, so no cheating it out.
• Bonehoard Dracosaur is our obligatory dragon.... except this is Ixalan, so it's also a dinosaur. I'm actually annoyed that it's not just a dinosaur - the first Ixalan block had zero dragons in it, which I sort of appreciated. Otherwise, seems like a reasonable value engine.

[NZB2323]

Format alternative that ignores UB stuff (including D&D) when?

Would Universes Within cards be legal in that format?

https://scryfall.com/sets/slx

EDIT: Looks like we're getting a Mana Crypt reprint, which is nice. Hopefully the price will come down.

[Serenade]

I would allow the SLX cards,

The gods should have had one more colored mana symbol (three total). Make us jump through some hoops, guys.

[Hermes_]

[yeti1069]

Fish
FISH
FISH
FISH
FISH

As much as I generally hate tribal decks I do love merfolk. I've been wanting to build Simic Fish for a while now but the preexisting commanders leave a lot to be desired. Hakbal of the Surging Soul seems pretty good, but let's see what else they have.

hakbal of the Surging Soul looks insanely busted to me.

Does it? If you have a glut of lands on top, it's draw, which is nice, but otherwise you're getting a surveil per creature with a +1/+1 counter tacked on. It's good, but I don't think I'd call it busted. Not in . If it were in a deck that could make better use of the graveyard, sure.

• Bringer of the Last Gift is our Living Death creature. You only get it if you actually cast it though, so no cheating it out.
• Bonehoard Dracosaur is our obligatory dragon.... except this is Ixalan, so it's also a dinosaur. I'm actually annoyed that it's not just a dinosaur - the first Ixalan block had zero dragons in it, which I sort of appreciated. Otherwise, seems like a reasonable value engine.

I feel like the dragon type is there just to say, "Look! Ixalan has been affected by the Phyrexian war, too. Now they have dragons!" I also think it's dumb to combine the types. This could 100% just be a dinosaur. Maybe if it had firebreathing, to distinguish it from other dinos?

[materpillar]

Fish
FISH
FISH
FISH
FISH

As much as I generally hate tribal decks I do love merfolk. I've been wanting to build Simic Fish for a while now but the preexisting commanders leave a lot to be desired. Hakbal of the Surging Soul seems pretty good, but let's see what else they have.

hakbal of the Surging Soul looks insanely busted to me.

Does it? If you have a glut of lands on top, it's draw, which is nice, but otherwise you're getting a surveil per creature with a +1/+1 counter tacked on. It's good, but I don't think I'd call it busted. Not in . If it were in a deck that could make better use of the graveyard, sure.

Maybe I'm seeing him through the lenses of a Changeling deck too much that has tons of graveyard abuse.

He's just so much value on a 4-drop though. Even without graveyard abuse I have a hard time not reading him as ETB draw a card, every following turn draw 2 cards which seems really good for a 4 drop.

[TheGildedGoose]

He's just so much value on a 4-drop though. Even without graveyard abuse I have a hard time not reading him as ETB draw a card, every following turn draw 2 cards which seems really good for a 4 drop.

That's the floor, too, more or less. When you curve into him with 2 or 3 fish already in play, the math changes dramatically. It's easily the most pushed of the face commanders, and you know what? I ain't even mad. Because fish.

[Serenade]

There's this green Spelunking card on Scryfall. I wonder the value of another card helping CIPT lands enter untapped.