Duels of the Planeswalkers (2009): Eyes of Shadow Review (Part 2 of 2)
Move over Chandra, now it’s Liliana’s turn to cut loose! I’m taking Eyes of Shadow for a spin today, but it looks like Sam is keen to throw a wet blanket over the party. She’s setting up behind Sarkhan Vol’s deck, Scales of Fury. Will mono-Black impose its will on the game, or will Liliana be taught the value of diversity?
Duels of the Planeswalkers (2009): Eyes of Shadow Review (Part 1 of 2)
In a broad sense, the word trope is used to describe a theme or concept that recurs across a type of creative work. It’s a relatively modern concept, but what it describes are spread across human culture and history. We touched upon this concept in examining Champions of Kamigawa, when Wizards was looking at using medieval Japan as a setting for a Magic set. In order to identify the concepts that would mot resonate with the intended audience- Magic players- members of Wizards polled themselves internally to see what ideas kept cropping up when considering the genre. The challenge of Kamigawa was that after the obvious choices- samurai and ninja- the obvious options rapidly diminished. Perhaps not coincidentally, outside of a dedicated Vorthos following the set was considered overall to be a creative disappointment.
Duels of the Planeswalkers (2009): Hands of Flame Review (Part 2 of 2)
Chandra and Jace. Garruk and Liliana. Thanks to the stories and the repestive Duel Deck releases, these opposite pairs feel like natural foils for one another, and today we’ll be opening the next chapter in that saga. As it happens, Sam has selected Jace Beleren’s Thoughts of the Wind to serve as opposition. Can he lock down the battlefield, or will Chandra’s fire prove unquenchable after all?
Duels of the Planeswalkers (2009): Hands of Flame Review (Part 1 of 2)
During our recent coverage of Portal Second Age, we traced some of the history of the game where it attempted to offer aspiring players an easy on-ramp to the world of Magic. Magic was- and continues to be- a game of increasing complexity, as hundreds of new cards are added every year. Wizards was naturally concerned that the game over time could become too imposing, too intimidating to appeal to the mass market, vital for growing the game and replacing those players who leave it. What they felt was needed was some sort of introductory product, and that came in set form in 1998 in the form of Portal.
Ertai's Lament 