September 4, 2020
quesy – adjective : feeling nausea; feeling about to vomit
Full and fair disclosure: I came up with the article title before I knew the Trap mechanic wasn’t returning for Zendikar Rising. D’oh!
I missed the original Zendikar set when it was released in the fall of 2009. Much to my eventual chagrin, it turned out to be the first set to drop during my extended hiatus that started around the summer of 2009. I did buy at least a fat pack of it, because I have a Zendikar box floating around with all the other fat pack/bundle boxes I’ve accumulated over the years. And that fat pack netted me a Verdant Catacombs (one of the coveted fetchlands, and a $67 card as of this typing) since I own one and there’s no way in hell I bought it as a single.
Zendikar, like the original Innistrad, is an adored set that Wizards of the Coast “did dirty” upon returning to the plane some years later. I missed Battle for Zendikar as well, though in 2017 I happily snapped up a booster box of it when I saw it crazy cheap.
I learned later just why it was so cheap.
Hindsight being what it is, I wish I’d bought scads more OG Zendikar before taking my Magic hiatus, and bought heaps less Battle for Zendikar when I returned. Most of my BFZ packs are still unopened, so perhaps I’ll find some not-lame use for them in the far-flung future.
All of this brings to me Zendikar Rising – which will be my first real experience with the plane. About 2/3 of the set has been previewed as of now, and I’m…underwhelmed. Add to that the upcoming Standard rotation, and it’s going to be a rocky few months for my Magic fandom.
Starting with rotation: for the first time in my Magic life, I have a “pet deck” that I’ve grown to love and play extensively – Mardoom. Rotation is going to gut it. The deck, as it is currently fashioned, won’t function without these beauts:
While I may be able to continue using the deck in Arena’s Historic queue, I’ve seen no evidence that Historic is at all friendly to low-powered jank. And honestly – Historic is largely filled with dozens of cards I’d prefer not to see…well…ever again. Or cards like Thoughtseize that I’ve (happily) never encountered. People rail against Standard because it’s a rotating format, but I’m one of the people that sees it as a feature. I don’t want to play ever faster or increasingly-broken formats that degenerate as they grow.
As terrifying as it is to lose what I may someday think of as my “perfect deck”, I can’t adequately describe how much I’m looking forward to Standard rotation chucking out SO. MANY. CARDS. Obnoxious cards. Overpowered cards. Overplayed cards. Good riddance to the lot of them!
On to ZKR: since restarting my Magic journey three years ago, Zendikar Rising is the first new set release that hasn’t massively excited me as spoilers spill forth onto the internet. Truly there are cards that look fun or powerful, but none have struck me as both (based on my likely-limited sense of what makes Magic awesome, mind you.) I’ve yet to have a single new card grab me by the throat and demand to be tinkered with. Surely there are build-arounds in the set, but they have yet to spark my sense of curiosity. The closest anything has come to evoking adoration in my currently-stony heart are these:
The new Party mechanic looks like a potentially neat puzzle for limited, but I’m not yet convinced it’s something I want to engage with in constructed. No qualms about the flavor – it oozes it, especially with the D&D-themed set due next summer. I’m just not yet intrigued by what I’ve seen so far. It looks to be well supported, though, so I’ll try to remain emotionally open to trying it out.
Rotation is indubitably meant to be a huge change in the Magic landscape. At rotation time last year I was coming off a period of months that saw me pinballing through deck after deck, learning to find joy in the new and unknown.
This year I’ve kept a steady hand (except when the Arena shuffler nails me with a rabbit punch) and wallowed in consistency. With ZKR not flipping on any light switches in my soul, I’m anxious about what my Magic experience will look like in a month. That said, I have a box of the new set boosters on preorder, and I may, for the first time in perhaps 15 years, just crack a stack of packs for spits and wiggles.
Next time: Jump Start, perhaps? I asked the kid when he’d be up for breaking open the Jump Start booster box that finally came a few days ago (three months after preordering), and all I got was “…soon?”
Casual Magicking 