Wyrmhero

Actually rather fond of it so far. In the process of making an Eldrazi deck. And yeah, there are no White Eldrazi, which is a bit of a shame as they're relatively easy to justify - Moreso than Blue ones, in my opinion. In other news, I now have a Crucible of Worlds

Generation 4: The Inquisition Turn 1 The Lord Prelan leafed slowly through the letters stacked on his desk, each sealed away with a wax mark of a Great House. One by one, the seal was broken, the tally marked down, and the letter burned. He did this while the court was in session, and seemed to be somewhat pleased by the stares following his hands as they meticulously and deliberately went through each in turn. No-one spoke; even to a Tineye, all that could be heard was the unfolding of paper. The dropping of his pen on the desk was louder than his gavel could ever be. A sense of finality rang through the room as every eye followed its movement. Benedict took a moment to study the tally, then looked at them all. "This trial has been a disappointing chapter in our history," he stated. "No matter which side is truthful, or at the very least is the most truthful, the fact of the matter is that there were plots raised against the very foundations of our Empire. I could only be more disappointed if it was decided that no wrongs had occurred. Thankfully, that situation has been avoided." "This trial was primarily to decide the guilt of the parties involved, but on a wider scale, it was decided that this should examine the capability for the nobility of the Final Empire to hold themselves accountable for failures and treasonous activities. I am disappointed to say that, for the most part, it seems people did not care about the strength of The Lord Ruler's domain. So many unable to make up their minds, or even to muster up the strength to care, it seems." "A verdict could not be reached for House Farrsolin. Though personally, I agree with one of you that they are guilty of stupidity and arrogance, to be drawn into such a plot and believe it could be carried out without consequence. Still, we must follow the proceedings of the court. As such, I cannot punish them for this, though what the world outside of this room - especially those not within this room - do about this is another matter. At the very least, I hope it does not involve an assault on their keep by an army." "The same is true for Zerrung, though to a lesser degree and in the other direction. However, as with House Orielle, a verdict could not be reached. I shall therefore treat them as I have treated Farrsolin, in the interests of fairness. Once again, others may make their own conclusions outside of this room. At the very least, I doubt any of these people will find many friends in the near future." "For Houses Erikell and Vinid, however, we have a more solid conclusion. But even then, when guilt is in effect unanimous... Still some could not make up their minds. I am disappointed by this, when the case is apparently so easy for others to decide on. A full quarter of those assembled simply did not care." "Still, they have been found guilty," Benedict continued. "Considering they did not particularly see an interest in their own trial, this is not too surprising. They will be dragged from their keeps and brought out to face execution. It goes without saying that Vinid shall no longer be allowed to command the armies of The Final Empire." He waited for the crowd to quieten down again, for the verdict had caused quiet discussion to spring up again. He tapped on the desk with his gavel again when he grew tired of waiting. "As Lord Quiver will no doubt be able to attest, we often see lesser nobles overcome by lust or greed, enough to break the laws that have been set before them to protect The Empire. But these trials, alongside the trial of Lady Tormander a century ago, show that crimes are committed against The Lord Ruler's reign by even the Great Houses. Asking their peers to bring them to justice has also been shown to be questionable, considering some attempted to pervert the cause of this justice for personal gain." "The investigation and punishment of crimes this serious shall be turned over to the Steel Ministry," Benedict said. "The Lord Ruler desires the creation of a Canton of Inquisition for this purpose, filled with the strongest and most faithful of Allomancers. They shall root out the seeds of corruption before they develop into concerns and threats against us. I trust you will aid them in these endeavours." Generation 4, Turn 1 has begun! It will end on October the 10th, at 6PM BST. It's that moment you've been waiting for - The Canton of Inquisition has been founded. Still in its infancy, the Inquisition is not yet the terrifying, almost mythical beast we know of by the time of Vin and friends. Their purview is over crimes that cut right to the heart of the Empire - Treasonous plots and siring children with skaa. If you wish to donate to such a good cause, then you must donate to the Steel Ministry as a whole. If they like what you're offering, they may take it instead. House Vinid is no longer in command of TLR's armies! Want to arrange a marriage - Why not ask House Wilson for help? Improved efficiencies in the Empire now means that the first two Properties, in addition to your Keep, now no longer cost Upkeep. In the interests of increasing sales, The Canton of Resource has lowered the price of atium to 5 Wealth per bead. Generation 4 Player List PMs will be sent out shortly.

And that's the interlude over. Tomorrow, the verdict shall be read, and we shall see just what the fates of the accused are...

To be precise, I wasn't annoyed with you talking to people before joining in (that part I have no real issue with), but that you talked to people about other players' plans. Feel free to chat to the other players, but just don't act as an information broker or anything. It's dishonest towards players who think you are not yet playing and thus may be more free with information than if you were in this Generation. Plus, there's no real way to enforce retribution on you if you do divulge their plans, which isn't really fair.

For those wishing to join the game, it will restart on the 4th of October, so let me know before then.

I will be calling an end to this interlude on Saturday the 3rd. Generation 4 shall begin on Sunday the 4th.

I think it basically has to cater to 3+ colours because of the sheer number of dual lands in the set. Plus, allies have always been a five-colour thing, and they seem to be what is being pushed here. Eldrazi are four colours too, so someone will try that (I really wish some where White...). I don't know if it's their intention so close to Tarkir, but we'll see I guess. All depends on how strong going 3+ colours is. It's 8 CMC combined. So that'd be a 8, 4+4, 5+3, 4+3+1 etc. Protean Hulk is another card with a similar effect.

An effect which triggers on cast occurs before the spell actually resolves (such as these Eldrazi effects, or Cascade). As it is an ability, it is entirely unattached to the spell when it goes on the stack, same as if you killed a creature that used an ability while that ability was on the stack. The only way to stop that ability occurring would be to use something like Stifle to counter the ability itself. Whenever you cast a spell from anywhere, it gets put onto the stack, and then upon resolution it goes to the battlefield (if it's a permanent) or it goes to the graveyard (instant/sorcery, unless something says otherwise). You can't just keep casting it. Because it leaves exile, it is no longer the same card, and so even if it reentered exile, it would lose the ability to cast it from exile unless it had it written on it - And I think that's only on Misthollow Griffon and Torrent Elemental.

The problem there is that you're thinking of ways to break it by cheating it into play/making it uninterruptible. And if you're going to do that, you might as well just do it with something like Avacyn, or similar effects. Void Winnower's effect is nice, but it doesn't stop it being hit by Swords/Path or Murder etc. And you're then dedicating additional pieces to protect it. I don't think it's a good card to build around. Converge will be dependant on the cards revealed - so far, they've actually been pretty strong. I'd rather have had more Domain cards than 'fixed' Sunburst, though.

Must admit to loving the colourless spoilers so far. I have no idea how often I can play where I am (if at all) without an hour and a half travel, but aside from that the pre-release should be fun. Thinking of just building a four-colour Eldrazi deck (I am sad there aren't any in blue), even though I don't like the idea of four colours . To Shallan: There are a lot of changes that Magic: Duels does to make the game work, but the majority of the game is the same. As has been said, most nerdy game stores (aside from Games Workshop, a direct competitor to Wizards of the Coast in many ways) will carry cards to sell. A lot of them also have 30-card starter decks of a single colour to give out to new players. They aren't great or tournament-legal, but they're a decent way to start and they're free, so you might as well. Aside from that, it just depends on what you want to play: There is a pre-release event for the newest set Battle for Zendikar in two weeks time, which is usually a fun way to play. That gives you cards (you pay around 7 boosters and get 6 with a promo card and a chance of prizes - usually another booster at the end for playing too) to play with, so the size of your collection doesn't matter. Most tournaments will be in the 'Standard' format. In three weeks time, that will be the Khans of Tarkir block (with three sets within it), Magic: Origins, and Battle for Zendikar. Origins contains the sort of generally useful cards, whereas the other two blocks are a bit more complicated and focused. Other cards not present in these blocks cannot be played in standard tournaments. Modern is higher power and expensive. I would not advise going for it at the start of playing Magic. The other event most commonly on is a draft event. You get given three boosters, pick a card from the first booster and pass it around. Then after the first booster's done, you do the same for the second and third. It's difficult, but one of the better ways to build your collection as you make semi-coherent decks out of it (ideally). As for getting new cards, there are various avenues available to you: Pre-constructed theme decks tend to be poor-to-middling in quality, but they're not a terrible place to start if you just want lands and some cards to play with. The best ones to go for are the Event decks, which tend to be more pricey but have better cards in them. Dual decks consist of two decks, but they tend to have a lot of non-standard-legal cards in them. They are very good for casual play. The most recent two are Elspeth vs. Kiora (which is an older one now and contains more non-standard-legal cards) and Zendikar vs. Eldrazi (which has some cards from the newer set). Deckbuilder's Toolkits are very good for new players - They consist of a few boosters (some, I warn you, may become non-standard legal in the very near future), and some semi-randomised packs of cards with some synergy between them. They also contain a lot of lands, which is handy. In the very near future, there will be some more Commander decks released. They're for a special format of 100 cards with all cards singleton except basic lands, so it's not good for making a consistent 60-card deck with them, but they do tend to contain the best quality of cards within them. The best way though is always to purchase specific cards online, unless they happen to be within another source cheaper. If you want to do this, my suggestion would be to pick a format (or casual), and then to either look around and see what there is for it or come back to us and ask what sort of thing we'd advise.

Players make their own arrangements between themselves, remember? >> Also, just to clarify - People cannot vote in their own trial

Benedict banged his steel gavel, calling for a brief moment of quiet. "To suggest that I am compromised in some way due to the circumstances of my birth is offensive, Lord Farrsolin, and does not endear me to you," the High Prelan stated from his chair. "It seems to me that you are not concerned with factual evidence, but more who thinks highly of you." "When I joined to serve the Sliver, as when any go into his service, I was asked to forsake my House, to put duty before all else." He paused to take a glass of water, his throat starting to sound a little raspy at this point. He did not speak loudly either, but relied on the quiet and those burning Tin for himself to be heard. "Everyone else in this room has had constant dealings with the Houses called to here today. I alone am incapable of thinking about this in terms of allies, enemies and profits for my House," he added, a small sneer flitting across his face briefly. "The new allegations levied at Houses Erikell and Vinid are more concerning than this though," Benedict continued. "I must admit to being shocked by the idea that anyone would ever consider waging open warfare on one of the Sliver's appointed and trusted governors. However, hearing that they may have been asked to do so by his own General is even worse. I will therefore be calling an extension to the trial, to contain as well as Houses Orielle, Farrsolin and Zerrung, the Houses Vinid and Erikell." "Again, I will ask you all to vote on the matter of each of these Houses. If two-thirds of those who vote believe they are guilty, swift punishment will be incurred. If two-thirds call for not guilty, they will be left off lightly - Though all will still question their innocence for years to come, considering the nature of this case. If a verdict cannot be reached, either due to split votes or enough people abstaining, then they will be sanctioned against as a precautionary measure and to show what happens to those who attempt to circumvent the laws of The Final Empire in something akin to a treasonous manner." So... lots happened over the week that I wasn't here. I'm glad to see a lot more RPing in the thread, which is good. To clarify how voting works: Each player may send in one vote per accused player - This vote may be for guilty, not guilty, or to abstain. A 2/3rds majority in either direction is required for a verdict. If that cannot be reached, the players will essentially be considering to be shifty and not entirely blameless, and a lesser punishment will be enacted.

A minor point I'd like to add here - While I am fine with you bringing your correspondence to court (that is, submitting your PMs between each other as evidence), I'd like to request that this is the only way such things are shared. I do not want players 'proving' such things by taking a screenshot though. Letters can be falsified, and a screenshot doesn't represent anything in game terms. Also, to answer Mailliw's comment earlier - The punishment may include execution. We shall see. And now, carry on with your regularly scheduled slaughter. I am going pretty much dark (or tablet-only) until Friday. See you on the other side of the week.

You may not be. I am still irritated you jumped the gun and started discussing game-related information between players. If the majority vote for guilt for any player, I will be applying penalties to Allomantic Strength, Infamy and Reputations for the next Generation.

Interlude "Sir?" Rowan Oriell gave a small groan as he was woken early. He sat up on his four-poster bed, looking to the side to see one of his guardsmen at attention. "What do you want? Can't it wait?" "...Sir, we have a fairly large army camped outside our Keep, sir." "An army?" Rowan jumped out of bed and threw open the curtains to look down over the balcony, ignoring the protests of his wife behind him. He burnt Tin, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark red light of the morning sun. "House Vinid? Hmm... No, not just them. Some wear the uniform of The Lord Ruler's own soldiers..." He took a key from beside the door and opened up the balcony, stepping onto it. "What is the meaning of this?!" He shouted down. "Leave my property at once!" "Not until you come down to answer the charges brought before you! Either come down to be taken to trial, or we will force you to!" Lord Orielle looked at his wife, who was just as confused as he was. "Trial?" He muttered. "What have I done that they could accuse me of?" He turned back to the troops outside. "Ask them what charges these are. And upon whose authority they dare to act," he muttered to his guardsman. Sometime later, the guard returned, looking rather worse for wear from the climb back upstairs. "The charge of treason is brought to you by Lord Vinid, General of The Lord Ruler's forces, and upon his authority." "Treason?" Lord Orielle raised an eyebrow at this. "Interesting. Tell them that I will be with them after I have dressed and eaten, and not a moment before. If they wish to force me to come along with them, they will have to lay siege to this Keep. I doubt they will want to do that if they can avoid it." Lord Queade sighed as he sat on the bench in his own courtroom. He grimaced as he looked over at the man sitting in his usual seat before the courtroom. High Prelan Benedict was old now, true, but he still commanded a considerable amount of respect and had a well-honed withering stare. Lord Queade didn't exactly dislike the man, but it did feel odd to be displaced like this. Particularly when he had just had the building refurbished and a new - and until now unused - chair put there. The High Prelan subjected the entire room to his gaze, before finally settling on the accused: Lord Farrsolin, Lord Zerrung, and Lord Orielle. Aside from a minor scuffle in the first instance, and a large number of barbed words shared on all sides, they had been brought here more-or-less willingly. "Subjects of The Final Empire," Benedict began, "you have been summoned here, in one capacity or another, to judge these three men and their ambitions. They have been accused by Lord Vinid of conspiring to evict one of The Lord Ruler's appointed representatives from his rightful place. We shall hear from both sides, I hope, before making that decision." "Hopefully this trial shall be brought to a conclusion soon enough. Regardless of the outcome, The Lord Ruler and the Steel Ministry shall consider the matter settled after this. As their peers I ask you to judge them, and to do so correctly, so they may be punished for any crimes committed, or pardoned if such a thing has not occurred. " Generation 3 has ended. Generation 4 will begin in one month's time, on the 3rd of October. I won't be sending out information for now, as it's meant to be down-time rather than strategising time. In the meantime, we have three players accused of treason and dragged to court, so why not let the players decide whether they are guilty? Until 6 PM on the 3rd of October, you may discuss, attack and defend each other verbally (preferably via RP). At the end of this Interlude, (or rather, just before), you may PM in a vote to me for each player, stating whether you think they are guilty or not on the charge of treason. I will be mostly hands-free for this month, though I will be checking in whenever I have the time to make sure that things are proceeding in a pleasant manner. Have fun! Generation 3 Player List PMs will be sent out in a month. Edit: I also feel it's worth pointing out that you aren't really voting to lynch people, the Cycle lasts 1 month instead of 2 days, and anyone who shouts 'Objection!' will be keelhauled.

You should probably contact WotC to let them know. They'll replace it for you, and sometimes they'll add a little something for your troubles. Might not be worth it if you're happier with the mistake, but the option's there So, BfZ discussion time! ...Yeah, Wizards is printing money. There is a *small* chance for booster packs to contain a foil, full art Shockland, Fetchland or one of the new Slowlands. This chance is a bit bigger than the change to get a foil Mythic. So don't go out and buy box after box expecting to get one. They're also (except the Slowlands) not playable in Standard, but they are in Limited. I am absolutely loving what they've done with the Eldrazi. They feel alien, they feel powerful, and they look absolutely incredible. The borders are beautiful, and probably even more beautiful in foil. I'm not sure what I want to build with them, but I definitely want to build some kind of Eldrazi deck. And these Slowlands are pretty cool too. Not as good as you might hope for actual dual-typed lands, but their drawback is fairly alright. For slow decks, they're excellent. Fast decks won't want them because they're just a bit too slow, but they are at least fetchable. Not a bad cycle, in my opinion, and hopefully not good enough to become high-priced aside from for EDH.

Time! The Generation is over. I shall probably post the write-up tomorrow, as well as the stats for your Houses, but Stewardship people will have to wait a bit to find out about that aspect.

The Turn and Generation will be ending in four and a half hours.

Yup, correct. I was hoping someone would pick me up on the USSR bit

It's been two days, and no responses. I'll give another clue then: It has three different endings.

Worldfire's pretty hilarious, yeah. Works well with a Suspended Rift Bolt . Chandra's Ignition and Spellheart Chimera isn't really an especially useful combo, unless your graveyard is absolutely full of spells, of course. At that point though, it will be very late-game. You're far better off doing it on a creature with Deathtouch or Lifelink, as the creature is the thing that deals the damage. The first case wipes your opponent's board, and the second just gains you a chunk of life.

I certainly agree with Wilson that I don't want to hard-force any specific types of play. If players want to be isolationist, they can be. The nature of the game is that doing so is viable, if not what I'd do personally. I would like to know any ideas you have with regards to this; ideas that encourage interaction but don't force it. Also with regards to this, the fact that player interaction/contracts do not have enough room to be rewarding. I have toyed with vastly changing the way Wealth works, but I don't especially want to do that. What do you guys things? ...Also, remember that any changes are ones I have to implement. No point suggesting something that'd make me take days to check for the rollover .

Oh Storms, it's 50 Shades of Grey. I am depressed that I know that. Well, my turn. 'A body is found to have been murdered, and so a colorful cast of characters must figure out who was responsible. Though their attempts, they cast a spotlight on the seedy underworld of Washington, discover corruption in the army, as well finding a connection to the Cold War'. Edit: Well, since no-one has responded yet, might as well just edit this. If you would like a clue, it's a film.

Ah, I see it. Exile your own creature with an Oblivion Ring-style effect, then use Gideon's ability to bring it back. Then you have several turns to whack at your opponents before they get the mana up to have a defence. Using It That Betrays lets you steal Lands to both help you cast more stuff and stop your opponents stopping stuff. Gideon's also not difficult to tick up in multiplayer, he just has to survive a turn. You could do it in monowhite with Oblivion Ring or Banishing Light or the like. There's stuff like Barren Glory as well, which could be very handy for this when exiled with O-Ring. They banned Worldfire in EDH for exactly these sort of combos.

I'm not sure what the combo there is meant to be? I think all you want to do for ETB/LTG effects is to take cues from Birthing Pod decks which used to run in Modern. Stuff like Kitchen Finks, Eternal Witness, Reclamation Sage (rather handy for Naturalise effects), Murderous Redcap (in black), maybe Siege Rhino if you go three colours, combined with Melira to reuse Persist triggers.