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[Premodern] There’s more to Green than just Elves & Fatties!
Since I wrote our articles on White and Black, the Premodern scene has exploded. The Swedish Premodern Nationals took place on June 17, 2018. Coverage of the event in English was generously done by Martin Berlin of premodernmagic.com. Top 8 coverage can be found at twitch.tv/wakwakmtg and his written analysis can be found here! There is also now a Premodern subreddit at /r/premodernMTG. I can’t wait for similarly sized events to start popping up in the States!
In the meantime, let’s take a look at Green. As always, I try my best to hit cards that are obvious, drop some nostalgia and anecdotal evidence from my heyday about other cards, wildly speculate on even more cards, offer some budget alternatives, and a little bit of humor. So let’s channel our inner “Timmy,” become eco-friendly, and get ready to Go Green!
25 Enchanted Forest Adventure Seeds
Today is a good day, because there’s more Adventure Seeds for us to enjoy! This week takes us into, around, and through an Enchanted Forest!
I really enjoyed writing this set of seeds, but I did notice something upon completion; even though I wrote these with an enchanted forest in mind, they could easily work as odd or uncharacteristic happenings in any normal forest, jungle, or wooded area with little to no tweaking. Alternatively, place the Wood Elf City in the Enchanted Forest and you have 50 adventures just waiting to be ran!
Not so many assumptions this time around, other than:
- The forest has some innate magic flowing through it,
- Different magical creatureslive in the forest, mostly in harmony,
- And there is some form of civilization not too far from the forest that occasionally interacts with the inhabitants of the forest.
A Handful of Magic Items 8
We’re back with our 8th installment of magic items, and we’re dressed to impress with new boots, a new cloak, and a new belt! Whether its blazing a trail, reflecting a spell, or charging an enemy, we’ve got something for everyone!
Boots of Flamestride (requires attunement)
The wearer of these boots has the ability to walk on lava and magma as though they were solid surfaces and can also walk through fire, magical and non-magical, without injury.
If the wearer is attuned, they can activate the boots as an action, which causes them to leave a trail of fire in their wake wherever they move during this turn, up to 60 feet in length. This functions identically to the spell wall of fire cast at 4th level in that the wearer chooses a side for the fire to affect, except that it lasts for a full minute and the wearer is not required to make concentration checks. This ability cannot be used again until the wearer takes a long rest.
Persuasion Check: Unearthed Arcana – Giant Soul Sorcerer
June is looking to be BIG thanks to the new Giant Soul Sorcerer subclass in this month’s Unearthed Arcana! A quick glance got me excited since I firmly believe that the Sorcerer has some of the best potential for a wide array of subclasses.
As I keep stating, I always love seeing new player options from our friends at Wizards of the Coast. For one, it gives us a chance to see some of the more outlandish or cool ideas they have brewing in their heads. And secondly, it makes it easier for me to evaluate and provide options outside of the currently published materials for my players, rather than scrounging up ideas on the wild, wild, web. But enough about why I love Unearthed Arcana in general, let’s take a dive into the Giant Soul subclass! Read More
[Premodern] Staples: White
In our last Premodern article, we discussed my picks for what Black cards will impact the up-and-coming format. This time, we take a look at Black’s enemy color, White, and see how White plans to stand toe-to-toe with the best Black cards printed between 1995-2003.
25 Lawless City Adventure Seeds
A twist on a previous set, today’s Adventure Seeds take place in a Lawless City! Gone are the guards and the only law is don’t get caught!
As usual, I had a blast challenging myself with another setting. In many ways the seeds I came up with felt familiar; city settings give you a sense of comfort, after all. All adventures within do not need to involve combat so much as roleplay and mysteries. However, that changes a bit when you throw out the laws. They can and will involve combat and subterfuge where diplomacy and lending aid once were.
Plenty of assumptions this time, so buckle up:
- The city is “ruled” by a Bandit King/Queen, who are simply the most powerful figure in the city that can keep their detractors at bay,
- The only law is don’t get caught; if you do you’re at the mercy of those who also have no laws to follow,
- Children are, more or less, a bit free of being victims. That’s not to say they’re not stolen from, but they are generally spared any grimmer crimes,
- There are guards, most of which serve the Bandit King, but some who directly serve other lesser people of power,
- And no one is turned away at the gate; all coin is welcome here.
[Premodern] Staples: Black (and a brief history of Premodern)
With the rising popularity of Pauper and Old School 93/94, it appears as though we have hit an age where Magic players are no longer willing to settle for the DCI-sanctioned Standard, Modern, or Eternal (Vintage & Legacy) formats. Players such as myself are eager to use cards they have never seen before, remember fondly from their childhoods, or just take a break from competition. With that being said, the new Premodern format looks promising. However, I noticed that not a lot of decks are packing Black. Therefore, today I take a look at the mono black cards that I think could impact the format.
Persuasion Check: Unearthed Arcana – Centaurs and Minotaurs
We’re back with May’s Unearthed Arcana taking a look at playable races for Centaurs and Minotaurs! Minotaurs previously appeared in 2015, but they’re back and revised alongside their fellow ‘taur.
Even as a DM, I love seeing new player options, especially races, come out. I was relieved initially when the Monster Manual did not have any statistics for using monsters as races, meaning I had good reason to keep my players to the options in the Player’s Handbook. But it has been a few years and I’m ready for some monstrous characters, so bring on ‘taurs! Read More
Evaluating the Competitive Viability of Creatures
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have either heard about or directly experienced the cost-efficiency of The Scarab God. I mean, this guy does everything. At just five mana, this beatstick provides indirect damage, deck manipulation, a durable 5/5 body, and an activated ability that can quickly turn the tide of the game. However, not every new creature released is as much of a no-brainer as The Scarab God. In this article, I describe how I personally render my initial judgment on new creatures when considering whether they will make an impact on Standard or any other format.
25 Seafaring Adventure Seeds
By popular demand, we have some great Seafaring Adventure Seeds today! We set sail across the oceans and seas into a world of nautical novelty!
I had a lot of fun coming up with these, but some are more closely aligned to adventure or encounter ideas that simple seeds. Sometimes the ideas I had needed to be a bit more developed to break the normal mold since there is so many basic types of encounters that start, and potentially end, in the ocean.
I have no assumptions this time around other than what is stated in the individual seeds themselves, but I do urge you to frame them however you want! For instance, if a seed mentions witnessing a ship do something or hearing a rumor, by all means make the ship that something happened to your players’ ship and catch them off guard! Vice versa for things you want to be rumors that say they happened to the players’ ship!
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