Always coming home
July 8th 2010 07:46
What is the most significant card in Magic 2011? There are almost as many ways to answer this question as there are Magic websites. Remember that new sets have generally been assessed in terms of their power and their impact on constructed decks. This is why Ravnica has such a central place in modern Magic players’ hearts and minds: its overpowered dual lands dominated Standard for two years and Extended for just over four years. It represents a modern golden age of powergaming.
But there is only one card originally from Ravnica in M11 – and it’s a card that doesn’t have anything to do with that block’s main themes.
There are more cards from the Zendikar, Shadowmoor, and Mirage blocks in M11 than the Ravnica block. And there two cards that refer to Homelands – widely considered the weakest set of all time.
It was not realistic to expect the mechanics of the core set to change, and not other elements of it. The inclusion of brand new cards in each one and the new artists and style guidelines are a clear indication that it is intended for collectors, perhaps more than for tournament players. As such, Barony Vampire and Elixir of Immortality are the most significant cards in M11. The reason Homelands turned out relatively weak in gameplay is because it was designed to be one of the most flavorful expansions ever. And Barony Vampire and Elixir of Immortality are a clear statement that Homelands is to be embraced, that flavor is a defining quality of the new core sets.
But there is only one card originally from Ravnica in M11 – and it’s a card that doesn’t have anything to do with that block’s main themes.
There are more cards from the Zendikar, Shadowmoor, and Mirage blocks in M11 than the Ravnica block. And there two cards that refer to Homelands – widely considered the weakest set of all time.
It was not realistic to expect the mechanics of the core set to change, and not other elements of it. The inclusion of brand new cards in each one and the new artists and style guidelines are a clear indication that it is intended for collectors, perhaps more than for tournament players. As such, Barony Vampire and Elixir of Immortality are the most significant cards in M11. The reason Homelands turned out relatively weak in gameplay is because it was designed to be one of the most flavorful expansions ever. And Barony Vampire and Elixir of Immortality are a clear statement that Homelands is to be embraced, that flavor is a defining quality of the new core sets.
And perhaps, just perhaps, it looks forward as well as back: the last time Baron Sengir was quoted on a card's flavor text was in the year 2000.
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