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[divisionbyzorro]

Are we getting more Invocations spoiled today?

The whole list, I believe. Which will end up including cards from the new set.

 

[aidan]

Are we getting more Invocations spoiled today?

The remaining Invocations will be revealed today.

 

[y2dvd]

Well at least since the demand won't be so high,Invocations will start out cheaper than the previous masterpieces.

 

[bigkrev]

The whole list, I believe. Which will end up including cards from the new set.

The remaining Invocations will be revealed today.

We are getting everything MINUS the new cards today

 

[Rafy]

We are getting everything MINUS the new cards today

Quote from Monday's article

that's why this week we're going to start showing you a few things. The first Amonkhet edition of Magic Story is on Wednesday, as is the full reveal of the Amonkhet Masterpiece Series.

 

[Santiako]

Invocations Full List (MINUS the new Amonkhet cards like bigkrev said)

Only 2 red cards, and no green cards. Very odd.

Newly revealed ones:

Austere Command
Containment Priest
Divert
Spell Pierce
Stifle
Attrition
Diabolic Intent
Entomb
Aggravated Assault

 

[ultron87]

I didn't know Divert was a card till just now. Why is that there?

 

[Maledict]

Okay is this set an unbalanced set colour wise? That's the only reason I can think of that there's zero green cards and almost no red cards in the set, and also four / five blue counterspells.

 

[Santiako]

First Amonkhet story

Deciding that a proactive approach is best, most of the Gatewatch has gone after Nicol Bolas on Amonkhet to attack him head-on before he can set more of his schemes in motion. With no plan and no information, five planeswalkers set off to take down an elder dragon on a mysterious and unfamiliar plane.

They're so fucked.

 

[bigkrev]

There will be a green card or 2 from Amonkhet itself, obviously

Also, they don't need to color balance these. This isn't a draft format or anything, it's a special insert set.

 

[GregLombardi]

Kind of unexciting invocations. Whatevs!

 

[jph139]

Looks like there's five missing - one white, one blue, one black, and two between red and gold.

I assume that'll be the Gods, all monocolored. The Cat God's name starts with an "O" and the missing card is between Loyal Retainers and Worship, so that adds up at least.

 

[aidan]

Swords to Plowshares seems like an obvious flavour match that was left out.

It seems like such a random list?

 

[bigkrev]

Comparing the modern and Legacy playable Kaladesh and Amonkhet materpieces, and how many of each one a person would generally want if they were trying to build a "tournament set" of Magic, where they could build any modern or Legacy deck they wanted
,
Kaladesh:
Aether Vial: x4
Cruchible of Worlds: x2
Hangarback Walker x4
Lotus Petal x4
Mox Opal x4
Painters Servant x4
Various Swords: x1

Aether Revolt:
Archbound Ravager: x4
Chalice of the Void: x4
Defense Grid: x4
Engineered Explosives: x4
Ensaring Bridge: x4
Grindstone: x4
Oblivion Stone: x4
Ornithopter x4
Pithing Needle: x4
Wurmcoil Engine x4

Amonkhet:
Aven Mindsensor x2
Containment Priest x4
Worship x2
Wrath of God x1
Counterbalance x4
Counterspell x4
Cryptic Command x4
Daze x4
Divert x1
Force of Will x4
Pact of Negation x4
Spell Pierce x4
Stifle x4
Dark Ritual x4
Entomb x4
Chain Lightning x4
Maelstorm Pulse x4

The Kaladesh and Aether Revolt masterpieces were more targeted at EDH, where as this set is more targeted at tournament players

Swords to Plowshares seems like an obvious flavour match that was left out.

It seems like such a random list?

Gotta leave stuff for the next set. Lightning Bolt, Ponder, Swords and Mana Drain all seem like obvious inclusions

 

[El Topo]

That's an odd list of Invocations, especially regarding color.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

You'd think at least beast within would make it.

stoketheflavor asked: Before Kaladesh released, you said (I believe) that it was your best set since original Innistrad. How do you feel about Kaladesh now?

I'm still very proud of it, but it wasn't received quite as well as I hoped.

Hehehe

 

[Angry Grimace]

Swords to Plowshares seems like an obvious flavour match that was left out.

It seems like such a random list?

They have ones from Hour of Devastation to hold on to

 

[Tunoku]

Yeah, I think the numbers make Swords to Plowshares and Lightning Bolt possible. I think we're also getting a full cycle of commands with HoD.

 

[Maledict]

There will be a green card or 2 from Amonkhet itself, obviously

Also, they don't need to color balance these. This isn't a draft format or anything, it's a special insert set.

I understand it doesn't need to be balanced, but it's an extremely odd list of cards to be honest. Also, the fact there are SO many counterspells really perplexes me - did they really need all of these? If you were asking me to pick a list of big spells / creatures that fit the Egyptian theme it wouldn't include five counterspell like effects.

 

[Simply Sarah]

I understand it doesn't need to be balanced, but it's an extremely odd list of cards to be honest. Also, the fact there are SO many counterspells really perplexes me - did they really need all of these? If you were asking me to pick a list of big spells / creatures that fit the Egyptian theme it wouldn't include five counterspell like effects.

It's not odd at all. It's a very very heavy (Esper) control theme with a very light reanimation theme.

 

[OnPoint]

Just finished reading the story.

They are so going to get whooped on.

I bet they kill Liliana's demon this set, then get bodied by Bolas in set two.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

It's not odd at all. It's a very very heavy (Esper) control theme with a very light reanimation theme.

worship, aven mindcensor, divert, loyal retainers, attrition, pact of negation, dark ritual and diabolic intent are not particular esper control cards.

Pact of Negation in particular is almost exclusively played in combo decks.

Nothing happens in this art. That's no wrath.

 

[bigkrev]

I understand it doesn't need to be balanced, but it's an extremely odd list of cards to be honest. Also, the fact there are SO many counterspells really perplexes me - did they really need all of these? If you were asking me to pick a list of big spells / creatures that fit the Egyptian theme it wouldn't include five counterspell like effects.

The theme is "Constructed playable spells".

 

[divisionbyzorro]

The theme is "Constructed playable spells that could fit in Egypt if you squint hard enough".

Fixed that for ya'.

 

[kirblar]

The funny thing is that I actually kinda like the framing here?

But the unreadable text and non-colored symbols are SO bad that they ruin everything else.

 

["God's Beard!"]

I love the invocations, but I also showed up to a GP with a homebrew deck that was all Korean cards.

 

[Crocodile]

So the Stardust Crusaders Gatewatch are heading to Egypt Amonkhet to defeat Dio Nicol Bolas?

Yeah I'm getting the sense this won't go well but then again the team could use a "come down to Earth" moment. You'd think some of the smarter members of the Gatewatch would see how bad this plan is!

 

[Maledict]

The theme is "Constructed playable spells".

?

Like Dark Ritual?

Not sure I'm understanding properly here. These cards aren't legal in standard, just the formats they are already legal in. As a list, looking across Magics history and the choice of cards they have available, it's just seems an extremely strange list with a huge amount of counterspells. There's no reason that should be the case, and there's no reason for them to split the list up so that there's hardly any green in this set and then more in the next.

All I'm saying is wouldn't be surprised if this set was focussed on one side of the colour wheel, and then next set focussed on the other.

 

[Simply Sarah]

worship, aven mindcensor, divert, loyal retainers, attrition, pact of negation, dark ritual and diabolic intent are not particular esper control cards.

I mean that they're cards in Esper that have control use. Even the ones often used in combo decks are part of the control/protection side of combo.

 

[TheBlackMarvel]

So the Stardust Crusaders Gatewatch are heading to Egypt Amonkhet to defeat Dio Nicol Bolas?

Yeah I'm getting the sense this won't go well but then again the team could use a "come down to Earth" moment. You'd think some of the smarter members of the Gatewatch would see how bad this plan is!

Why do you think Ajani isn't with them?

First Amonkhet story



They're so fucked.

Tbh, we're not that lucky.

 

[OnPoint]

I think the theme of the invocations is "loosely Egyptian, at least somewhat playable".

There's no real THEME to speak on like the others.

 

[Joe Molotov]

Fixed that for ya'.

And you'll have to squint hand to figure out what card it is.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I might seriously consider passing Spell Pierce unless I was in blue. I can't imagine its worth much of anything.

?

Like Dark Ritual?

Not sure I'm understanding properly here. These cards aren't legal in standard, just the formats they are already legal in. As a list, looking across Magics history and the choice of cards they have available, it's just seems an extremely strange list with a huge amount of counterspells. There's no reason that should be the case, and there's no reason for them to split the list up so that there's hardly any green in this set and then more in the next.

All I'm saying is wouldn't be surprised if this set was focussed on one side of the colour wheel, and then next set focussed on the other.

Dark Ritual is a staple, iconic card. I don't think there's such a thing as a black EDH deck that doesn't have Dark Ritual.

 

[Giant Panda]

The funny thing is that I actually kinda like the framing here?

But the unreadable text and non-colored symbols are SO bad that they ruin everything else.

I like the idea of Egyptian style framing, but there has to be a better way to indicate color and have more room for art. I liked some of the mockups posted here earlier actually, they would have been awesome.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

I might seriously consider passing Spell Pierce unless I was in blue. I can't imagine its worth much of anything.

you underestimate whales.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The whole thing where Chandra talks like she's on the internet all the time is not as charming as WOTC probably thinks.

 

[Jhriad]

The Gold invocations are probably the worst. They should have included a better indication of the colors of the card, at the very least color the damn mana symbols.

 

[bigkrev]

?

Like Dark Ritual?

Not sure if you are serious. Dark Ritual has been one of the most powerful cards in the history of Magic. It was absurd in Extended, powerful in Standard at every point it was legal, and is still a Vintage Staple in Dark Petition Storm

 

[charlequin]

The funny thing is that I actually kinda like the framing here?

But the unreadable text and non-colored symbols are SO bad that they ruin everything else.

Yeah, whenever you have any kind of visual design thing like this, if there's a problem a lot more people will recognize that something is wrong than will be able to speak accurately to exactly what it is. The collective response winds up being "everything about these is awful" when actually it's very specific usability problems that are at issue here. A lot of the incidental design stuff (the window ornamentation, the Bolas horns, etc.) is actually pretty good and would probably be appreciated more without the text/color fuckups.

All I'm saying is wouldn't be surprised if this set was focussed on one side of the colour wheel, and then next set focussed on the other.

This is on the "we tried it and absolutely everyone hated it" list so it's one I feel confident their claims of "we won't do this again" are actually true. It's just not a very good gimmick in practice.

Their market research will conclude everyone but a vocal minority loved them.

Multiple WotC staffers have already been like "yeah we are getting your negative opinion loud and clear on this" so I don't think they're gonna be trying to spin the reception here, lol.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The problem is that they had an idea that could go somewhere, but they didn't stop to think about what it looked like from the outside long enough.

The border should be black, the gold running along the bottom should be on the top and the bottom and a thin bit on the sides plus another strip for color (gold cards would have one on each side). The text should be scrawly but readable and without stupid symbols that don't mean anything next to them.

The text box should be as small as possible to emphasize the art.

The art should not have been in the style of "regular magic art," because it clashes horribly - they absolutely should have left them as Egyptian-mural style interpretations of those spells.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Multiple WotC staffers have already been like "yeah we are getting your negative opinion loud and clear on this" so I don't think they're gonna be trying to spin the reception here, lol.

I think MaRo already made a backhand it's the internet comment though.

 

[ultron87]

I'd be much happier if they had colored mana symbols and the name and type lines were left aligned instead of floating in the middle of the box.

 

[Firemind]

I hope they kill off Chandra, Gideon and Nissa. Liliana can live since she can be fun and Jace, eh, there are no alternatives.

 

[Simply Sarah]

I like the idea of Egyptian style framing, but there has to be a better way to indicate color and have more room for art. I liked some of the mockups posted here earlier actually, they would have been awesome.

Just overall they seems to suffer from being a good bit harder to quickly ID than usual. New art that's also smaller than usual, no colours for mana symbols, harder to read (and even harder to judge the length of) card names. These are all the tells normally used to work out what a card is. The idea that, after all these years, I'd need to stare closely at a copy of Counterspell or Force of Will to figure out what it is disturbs me a bit.

The whole thing where Chandra talks like she's on the internet all the time is not as charming as WOTC probably thinks.

Today especially seemed to have a lot of trying too hard. On the other hand, at least they had her do something vaguely clever instead of just burning things so that's something?

 

[Wulfric]

*Begins to foil out legacy DnT deck*

Dat title: !? C O N T A R N M E R T P R I E S T !?

I'll hold out for the inevitable Judge promo

 

[Daedardus]

Oh man, I've been away for a full day, can't wait to see the new Masterpie.....

That WoG art is soo good though, can't believe they fucked it up this badly. I suppose there will be a Damnation in the next set?

 

[Bandini]

When I first saw the new lottery cards, I thought I was looking at foreign language spoilers. Man, the text is so bad.

 

[Infinite Stars]

*Begins to foil out legacy DnT deck*

Dat title: !? C O N T A R N M E R T P R I E S T !?

I'll hold out for the inevitable Judge promo

Please tell me you're going to use Foil Dark Ascension Thalia's and not "ANIME" Thalia

 

[Santiako]

Invocations aside (I'll never open one so whatever), I'm really excited for this set. I'm supremely curious about the gods and how different they'll be from Theros gods.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I'm being overly hopeful to think they might just print Containment Priest in Standard.