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Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 01 Nov 2015, 20:30
by Tacos_yay

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 01 Nov 2015, 21:15
by Asthanius
Wizards has said that when returning to a plane, they make a list of things that players will expect, and try to include as many of those things as they can without going overboard.

With that said, double-faced cards will be back. That's pretty much a given.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 04:44
by theycallmejokke
My money is on Flashback, people (or at least those people I talk to) seems to really like that mechanic.
I do think it would be fun if they tryed a little something more with it, maybe have a few of the card flashback with a different effect, or something.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 05:08
by SixFootTurkey
--- Keep in mind ISD was a top down set, wheras the other returns have all been bottom up. Returning to a world with a creative core may very well force some decisions that one wouldn't see when dealing with a world based around a mechanical core. ---

They've also said there's a difference between meeting expectations and giving players what they want. That said, they seem to be happy with how DFCs have fared, so I would be more surprised by their absence than their presence. Here's a list thrown together:

Definite: Gothic Horror
Very likely: DFCs, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, Humans, Angels, Flashback, Avacyn
Moderately Likely: Spirits, Sorin
Honorable mentions: Incomplete cycles, Curses

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 09:28
by Lurkon
SixFootTurkey wrote:--- Keep in mind ISD was a top down set, wheras the other returns have all been bottom up. Returning to a world with a creative core may very well force some decisions that one wouldn't see when dealing with a world based around a mechanical core. ---

They've also said there's a difference between meeting expectations and giving players what they want. That said, they seem to be happy with how DFCs have fared, so I would be more surprised by their absence than their presence. Here's a list thrown together:

Definite: Gothic Horror
Very likely: DFCs, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, Humans, Angels, Flashback, Avacyn
Moderately Likely: Spirits, Sorin
Honorable mentions: Incomplete cycles, Curses

I don't know how many werewolves we can expect, but we can definitely expect some wolfir, and I'm excited about that. There was something about the cursemute not affecting EVERY werewolf, I think?

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 11:43
by RadioshackRaider
Honestly, I really want to see more Wolfir. We only got two in Avacyn Restored and Werewolves deserve more. I also really want to see a legendary Werewolf. We didn't get one last time and I want Commander deck out of them

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 14:18
by Randus2003
Personally I think Avacyn will be killed of screen (maybe by Lili or Guruk) and/or corrupted as a way to set up a need to go back there with the origins 5. This could also help tie up the lose ends of the chain veil story and the magic 2015 storyline.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 14:57
by Lycodrake
GW Wolfir tribal would be absolutely glorious, though I think RG deserves a Werewolf legend.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 15:04
by Kapol
My (ranty) thoughts on it:

Click to Expand
I'm not a huge fan of having another return set so soon. Part of what I find interesting in Magic is exploring new and interesting worlds. I also don't care much of the world of Innistrad. It also felt like Innistrad's story had ended fairly definitively. Avacyn freed, Griselbrand dead, 'good' werewolves redeemed. Not entirely at peace, but not in complete darkness.

That, and the fact that it's a relatively recent plane (it's the third newest), makes this kind of feel unnecessary to me. It feels more like 'hey, this was a popular plane, so let's go back to it ASAP to reap that love for profit' than anything. But that's likely just the cynic in me honestly.

All of that said, I'm not totally against a return there. It's just not super exciting for me. Here's some thoughts on stuff I want, and stuff I don't:

+Werewolves AND wolfirs, potentially with the two interacting. It seems like it could be an interesting dynamic. The 'light' wolves trying to negotiate with the 'dark' ones. Plus, it felt like Wolfir got underrepresented in the one set they were in (Silverheart still might be my favorite card though). I'd like to see a legendary werewolf and a legendary wolfir. Maybe even the same creature for both. Or maybe even a planeswalker version of either (as in an actually werewolf or wolfir planeswalker, not just a flip walker). That'd be neat.
+The powerpuff girls and (hopefully) Avacyn. This is mostly due to Nostalgia. I loved the two-color angels from that set, and built my first deck around them. I'd love to see them come back.
+More world-building. It felt like Innistrad as a whole was fairly light on story-telling. But it also felt like it was a world filled with interesting characters, both human and monsters. It'd be nice to see more of it.
+Double-faced cards. I really like them when they make sense, and it feels like they belong on Innistrad.
+Flashback. I really like the mechanic as a whole, and would like to see more design space used. Also, it's REALLY interesting to see what happens with processors and flashback in the same set.
+Tibalt. A good one, preferably. But I also wouldn't mind just a reprint of the original to troll players.

-Eldrazi. I've been reading people who think there will be Eldrazi on Innistrad. I really hope not. I don't mind Eldrazi that much (I like them as antagonists more than phyrexians). But I don't like the idea of them becoming reoccurring creatures. They're interesting in style and design. They just also seem best used sparingly. It's not that I mind Eldrazi being on Innistrad. I just don't like them coming up right after BFZ.
-Jace being the 'main character' of the world. The Wizard's site reveal of the set had this image. Honestly, Jace has improved quite a bit lately as a character. But I worry that he's going to be overused as the 'popular posterboy' of Magic that's slotted into any story and adjusted to fit it's needs. Plus, Jace had no real ties to the plane, so it seems odd that it seems like he'll be a focal point. We'll see though. This is only the second block of the new structure.

Honestly, beyond those two though, I think it'll be fine though. Wizards just needs to tread carefully. A good number of people seem disappointed by BFZ. If that happens again with SoI, then I feel like it'll be a bigger blow, given how beloved original Innistrad was.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 15:04
by Kapol
Lycodrake wrote:GW Wolfir tribal would be absolutely glorious


This would make me very happy.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 02 Nov 2015, 15:10
by Lycodrake
I also would like to see the "Powerpuff" Angels, especially Sigarda.
Why yes I am in favor of GW things how could you all tell? =P
And oh man, interactions between Werewolves and Wolfir would be great - good idea, Kapol.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 03 Nov 2015, 11:47
by MowDownJoe
I think I should point out the similarity in title to "Shadow Over Innsmouth". It'll definitely be horror-themed, but we might be expecting a different kind of horror.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 03 Nov 2015, 14:05
by Kapol
MowDownJoe wrote:I think I should point out the similarity in title to "Shadow Over Innsmouth". It'll definitely be horror-themed, but we might be expecting a different kind of horror.


That fact is the main reason I'm worried we'll be seeing Eldrazi.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 03 Nov 2015, 14:30
by The Martini
Kapol wrote:That fact is the main reason I'm worried we'll be seeing Eldrazi.


From a lore perspective, I think the Eldrazi will be a background element - the reason Jace is going there is because Ugin asked him to track down Sorin and Nahiri. Also, Liliana is there trying to figure out her undead mind-troll problem and what the heck is up with that raven guy. I doubt they'll be directly involved.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 03 Nov 2015, 16:40
by SixFootTurkey
I don't see the Eldrazi showing up, other than maybe in passing. They learned from Dragons of Tarkir, that having two 'dragon' sets next to each other causes one of them to lose impact. This is the same for Eldrazi blocks.

On what I expected, I expect the mentioned themes/characters to be present in at least one of story or mechanics; Avacyn may not get a card, but she'll be in the story. Werewolves may not be a primary focus this time around, but they'll be an archetype available for drafting.

The reason I have spirits as the only one out of the monster tribes as lower, is that they've mentioned the ghost -> spirit transition wasn't the cleanest, so I could see them trying something else here.

Regarding new worlds; their goal is to hit ~50% new worlds vs returned, which is what they've been doing for the past six years. With two blocks a year, we'll actually be getting _more_ new worlds now, not fewer.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 03 Nov 2015, 19:24
by AdmiralMemo
And... Once a new world has been featured, it'll be eligible for a "return" later... So gradually we'll end up with a whole lot longer between "return" cycles. I expect the world after SOI will be new, and then maybe in a couple years, a return to that world will happen.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 03 Nov 2015, 19:56
by phlip
Lycodrake wrote:though I think RG deserves a Werewolf legend.

I think that's pretty much guaranteed... Maro has said that it was one of the failings of Innistrad block that it didn't have a legendary werewolf in there. IIRC the cycle of gold mythics in DKA were at one point legendary (Drogskol Reaver, Havengul Lich, Falkenrath Aristocrat, Huntmaster of the Fells), and they only reason they didn't do it is that legendary double-faced cards are a little bit... weird (in that you can have two of them on opposite sides without triggering the legend rule, but once one flips then it happens).

But then they printed the planeswalkers in Origins and everyone seemed to be fine with the oddities there, so I can't imagine that this won't happen.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 05 Nov 2015, 11:15
by JackSlack
I just want two things:

1. A legendary Werewolf.
2. A resolution on the Garruk/Liliana plot
3. Boilerplate Fblthp request. ;)

And I don't want:

1. Jace, my least favourite MTG character.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 05 Nov 2015, 11:24
by Kapol
Sadly, Jace is more or less confirmed at this point. :( But I'm not sure if we'll see a conclusion to the Garruk/Liianna plot honestly. Unless that conclusion ends up being Garruk becomes one of MtG's villains... which would be interesting. I feel like a serial killer planeswalker could be an interesting, somewhat always present, threat.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 05 Nov 2015, 16:47
by JackSlack
I question 'villain'. Monster, yes. But at this point he seems to have so little personal volition that he's basically a force of nature, and I see him as a full on bad guy these days.

I would not count out the idea of them killing Garruk, either. He seems to me a character they're no longer much interested in pursuing and he's being set up to do something monstrous, a prelude to the close out of his plot.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 05 Nov 2015, 18:19
by Kapol
Oh, I agree. I wouldn't be surprised if they killed him off. Which would be too bad.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 06 Nov 2015, 02:12
by JackSlack
If he kills someone close to Liliana and she destroys him for it, I'll count that as an excellent resolution. It ties it up nicely.

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 06 Nov 2015, 03:29
by theycallmejokke
I don't think it will ever happen in a million years sadly, but I for one would really like to see Garruk purified/redeemed back to his old mono-green, maybe like some of the were-wolf where (Wolfir Garruk!).
Nissa, and Freyalise are okay mono-green walkers, but I always liked Garruk and his big dumb stumpy creatures. Without him Kiora will be the "likes huge beast" walker and while I like her character, blue even if it is blue/green, shouldn't have that over green... In my narrow minded opinion ofcause. :D

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 18 Nov 2015, 11:28
by Aaron9797
i hope they change modern with shadows making new sets not in modern until it rotates out of standard

Re: Shadow over Innistrad Announced for April 2016

Posted: 18 Nov 2015, 23:16
by Jenelmo
That would be terrible, people have a hard enough time with the fact that not all new border cards are modern legal