WHAT DOES "TOPDECKING" MEAN IN MTG/HEARTHSTONE?

The video posted above shows Day[9] battling it out with none other than Rob Simpson. Specifically, what we'll be seeing is how important the concept of "topdecking" is. So, what does it mean? Basically, it means drawing the the right card at the right time. Perhaps your opponent is down to three life points, and you draw a Lightning Strike on your turn. That's a topdeck.

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Topdecking also doesn't mean drawing the card that will immediately kill your opponent, as it can mean drawing the card that will give you the utmost advantage. For example, drawing a Damnation when your opponent has played a ton of creatures.

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As for Hearthstone it would be getting an Ysera when you're down to one life point, or drawing a Pyroblast when your opponent is down to ten life points.

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Finally, here's Day[9] hoping to pull off a topdeck for the win:

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MTG COMPLETE PLAINSWALKER COLLECTION

Hello guys! Check out this very eccentric collection by redditor CorpT. That's right, he's finally accomplished the impossibe: a plainswalker collection. Would you just look at those beauties, framed properly and all. Anyway, I fell for the joke, thinking that he simply misspelled his post and that I would see Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Chandra Nalaar, among others.

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So, why are there so few creatures with the Plainswalk ability? For one, it doesn't really make sense for a creature to suddenly go undetected in a place that's, well, plain. Also, there's actually a dinosaur that has snow-covered plainswalking! Meet this dude from Unhinged:

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Finally, we've got you covered if ever you're surrounded by these plainswalking nasties:

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DUEL DECKS: ELSPETH VS. KIORA

Brief description:

"The knight Planeswalker Elspeth Tirel sees herself as the protector of the Multiverse. She has pledged her sword and shield to all who suffer, and she summons forth impressive armies to assist her. The merfolk Planeswalker Kiora calls upon the creatures of the deepest oceans to fight at her side. She is the master of the world beneath the waves, her true power only now beginning to surface. How will these Planeswalkers measure up when they meet in battle?"

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Chris Millar and Sam Stoddard were responsible for deck design and development. Duel Decks: Elspeth VS. Kiora will be available in English and Japanese, set to be released on February 27, 2015 with a MSRP of $19.99. <source>

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WHY ARE THERE "BAD/UNPLAYABLE CARDS" IN MAGIC: THE GATHERING?

The reference of this article came from Mark Rosewater, and he made the post more than twelve years ago. And yet it's still very much relevant for our rants and raves about the game, generally, and our booster pulls, specifically. So, why is it that Squire is part of the time-shifted cards in Time Spiral, along with goodies such as Akroma, Angel of Wrath? Why didn't I pull a Flooded Strand instead of Avalanche Tusker? Here what MaRo had to say about the issue:

1. ALL THE CARDS CANNOT  BE GOOD

Power, even in Magic: The Gathering, is relative. Lightning Bolt is only considered as the best burn spell out there because there is no zero mana 3-damange instant burn spell, nor is there a one mana burn spell that lashes out four damage immediately. Additionally, if every card in a set was great, it would make the next set either really weak (which will lessen demand) or either really strong (which would shake up the power creep), and so the best thing to do is allocate these "good" cards among the sets in Standard.

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2. DIFFERENT CARDS APPEAL TO DIFFERENT PLAYERS

However, what happens to the remaining "bad" cards appearing in the set that will not be used as much in competitive play? Well, this is why Magic has different formats. Some cards will find their way in Modern, Vintage, or Legacy. Moreover, sealed and draft games kinda force players to use all the cards. Even now, legendary cards that are not seeing play in Standard will be much sought after by EDH players.

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3. DIVERSITY OF CARD POWERS IS KEY TO DISCOVERY

What makes Magic: The Gathering and other trading card games great is that players get to look at the card and, overtime, get better at determining its short-term and long-term potential. People might say that cards should all be good because people can immediately understand the game, but the research and development division of MTG takes the fact that the average player is about 13 years old (at the time of writing) seriously. Without easy cards to understand, there would be no advanced field for other players to enjoy. Moreover, these beginners will eventually get better and move with the good cards.

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4. POWER LEVELS ARE RELATIVE

MTG intentionally contains cards that are rather difficult to analyze in terms of potential. MaRo noted that this was the case with Lion's Eye Diamond back in the days of Urza's Sage being part of Standard. A card might lose value one day, and become a key card the next.

5. DIVERSITY OF POWER REWARDS THE MORE SKILLED PLAYER

The diversity of cards in terms of power helps make strategic plays an advantage. Being skilled in the game helps you decide which card is bad and which is good. If all cards in a set were good, the beginner or the unskilled player will still play fine because all he/she will get are good cards, and the skilled player's strategic plays will not be as helpful. Bad cards help reward the good players by allowing them to decide properly.

6. PEOPLE LIKE FINDING HIDDEN GEMS

This is probably one of the reasons I highly agree with. This is why we have the term "sleepers", cards that are seemingly bad or average but are actually great, and Tarmogoyf is definitely the biggest sleeper there is. I am still bitter about this card, as I was interested in having this when FS was released, but was with my grandparents for a month, far far away from the MTG store. Oh well.

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7. R&D IS ONLY HUMAN

The Magic R&D department is really cool, I think. But that doesn't mean they are perfect, nor are they all omniscient to determine how the cards they design will affect competitive tournaments. No amount of playtesting by them can really determine which cards will actually be good or bad.

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In summary, as MaRo stated:

1. By definition, some cards have to exist. (The most important reason.)
2. Some cards are "bad" because they aren't meant for you.
3. Some cards are "bad" because they're designed for a less advanced player.
4. Some cards are "bad" because the right deck for them doesn't exist yet.
5. "Bad" cards reward the more skilled player.
6. Some players enjoy discovering good "bad" cards.
7. Some "bad" cards are simply R&D goofing up.

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COMMON GAINLANDS OF KTK & FRF: A COMPARISON

Yesterday, we found out that both the common gain dual lands and the Onslaught fetch lands are going to appear in the basic land slot of Fate Reforged booster packs. This however, doesn't mean that basic lands will not be there, as those KTK nonbasics will only have a slight chance of replacing them. And with that, let us take a good, close look at what differs from the KTK gainlands' illustrations. Here are the common duals of Khans of  Tarkir, side by side with their FRF illustrations:

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MARO CONFIRMS UGIN, THE PLANESWALKER SURVIVES

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Because of all the time-travelling shenanigans in Fate Reforged, Ugin has been revived and is set to battle it out once again. So, will Ugin survive? Mark Rosewater posted this comic today to "confirm" that the spirit dragon will indeed make it out alive. Hurray for the daily comics of MaRo! Additionally, the picture posted for the Dragons of Tarkir preview is probably a giveaway that Ugin shall live.

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SUICIDE PRIEST IN HEARTHSTONE

Redditor and Hearthstone player ClyferVII was playing in Ranked mode when he realized that losing is not option. Well, it is, but it's better to take your opponent down with you. And that's what he did, using Thoughsteal to acquire the Druid's Tree of Life. But wait, for he has Auchenai Soulpriest in play! This is probably one of the biggest and most surprising ways to end a game of Hearthstone. Let us bid farewell to everything now.

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FETCH LANDS IN FATE REFORGED CONFIRMED

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Were you hoping to see the Zendikar fetch lands reprinted in Fate Reforged? Do you miss opening a Scalding Tarn or a Misty Rainforest? Well, you probably have to wait a bit longer as the fetch lands in Fate Reforged are going to be the Onslaught/KTK fetch lands. Not that there's a problem with that. Blake Rasmussen has stated that FRF will not be focusing on wedge colors, but it will still have multicolor cards. Moreover, it's not only the KTK fetches that are going to be in the set as ten common life-gain dual lands from Khans of Tarkir will also be there!

Note: The Onslaught fetch lands and the ten KTK common lands will replace the basic land slot in some booster packs. So in one booster you can get a Mountain, and then a Flooded Strand on another. Moreover, certain languages such as Korean, Russian, and Portugese will still have basic lands at the same frequency as the nonbasics as they will not appear in those languages otherwise.

Moreover, here's a comparison of the changes from KTK to FRF. Welcome back, dragons!

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FATE REFORGED: UGIN, THE SPIRIT DRAGON

It's that wonderful time of the year! And I don't just meant the holidays, I also mean to include the bonuses we get from games, the discounts for our collectibles, and certainly not least, the MTG spoilers for the upcoming set Fate Reforged! And would you just look at that, we've got our preview for the Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. It's really nice to see that the first ability is similar to Ghostfire from Future Sight. That set surely has been doing its job since 2007. Additionally, the ultimate ability of Ugin is opposite of what Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker does.

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CHUGGA CHUGGA, TOTALBISCUIT

Chugga chugga, motherchugga. The internet forums have been filled with Snowchugger memes recently, thanks to the card's remarkable impact to the game, especially for the Mage class. I actually just got back to playing Hearthstone after a couple of months, and I was slightly irritated by this little Water Elemental keeping my offenses at bay. It seems that I'm not alone, as even the Cynical Brit has been, well, cynical over a rather chugga-esque game. How many Snowchuggers is too much? One, two, three?

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DAY9 AND DR. BOOM

Trolden's 80th episode of Funny and Lucky Moments in Hearthstone is now available. The first portion shows Day[9] hoping to acquire a Dr. Boom, so he bought seven expert packs. Let's just say that he was very, very lucky on the first try. Moreover, we once again witness the staggeringly random awesomeness of RNGesus, from arena battles to top deck madness.

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5 BEST MAGIC: THE GATHERING GIFTS OF 2014

Happy holidays, everyone!

With all this merriment sprawling all over the world, some redditors are getting quite fantastic MTG-related gifts from their secret santas. One user even got 32 pieces of Treasure Cruise, with one of them being foil (oh, the value!), with another getting not one, but two holiday gift boxes. Anyway, here are the top five gifts that have piqued my interest the most:

5. Fate Reforged Booster Box Pre-Order

That's right, we have an Amazon pre-ordered booster box of the upcoming Fate Reforged set. It's basically a gift about an alternate past that redditor Snowden42 is going to receive in the future, about a month from now. This is definitely one of the priciest MTG gifts out there, relatively speaking. Let's just hope that the second set of the Khans block has more fetch lands, or any set of awesome lands. (link)

4. MTG Cake

What better way to spend the holidays than playing your favorite card game while eating a cake designed to look like the card back? Om nom nom! (link)

3. Infect Dice

As someone who prefers neutral colors, especially when choosing clothes, bags, and shoes, this looks really awesome. All hail the infectious creed of the Phyrexians, so infectious that it's still very much alive and kicking in Modern. It would probably be weird to receive this, and you don't have a single creature or spell that gives infect counters. Oh, Inkmoth Nexus! (link)

2. MTG Mana Symbol Shot Glasses

After gorging on all that cake and playing MTG with your buddies, why not settle down and get some alcohol and pour them in these fantastic mana symbol shot glasses? Or better yet, continue playing and the loser has to drink one shot. Or just make rules like each one has to drink if someone forgets how much life points he/she has. (link)

1. Dan Frazier Limited Edition Playmat

Last but definitely not the least, we've got a signed limited edition Dan Frazier playmat. Look at that ancient fire-breathing dragon, with all the bling it could ever ask for. I mean, really, all it needs now is a Black Lotus (or a Blacker Lotus) and it would be like the super mana Exodia. Speaking of that member of the Power Nine, the highest-graded Black Lotus, is still available on eBay for $100,000. Yup, there is currently only one BGS-10 Beta Black Lotus in the world. Cheers! (link)

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