Archenemy: Nicol Bolas preview
- Thread starter Oversoul
- Start date
T
Terentius
Guest
No new Nicol Bolas card? 
I hope we get one for the Amonkhet block at least.
I hope we get one for the Amonkhet block at least.
T
Terentius
Guest
Oh man! Move over Ugin!
Oversoul
The Tentacled One
I mean, realistically, we could have been pretty much certain that there was going to be a Bolas planeswalker in Hour of Devastation since there was not one in Amonkhet and Dark Intimations referred to it in Aether Revolt. While WotC is going to try new things that seems strange, not putting a Bolas planeswalker in the same Standard environment as Dark Intimations would have been way out of character for them. It was like when Renowned Weaponsmith was released in Fate Reforged we knew there must be a card named "Vial of Dragonfire" coming up. Granted, they could have just reprinted the original Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker in Hour of Devastation, but given their proclivity for introducing new variations on planeswalkers that correspond to their role in the story, I thought reusing the old one was unlikely.
In contrast, this Archenemy box is a non-Standard product, and they have a history of using more reprints in these special sets. All of the cards in the old Archenemy decks were reprints (the schemes were new, but the decks were reprints). So this does make sense.
In contrast, this Archenemy box is a non-Standard product, and they have a history of using more reprints in these special sets. All of the cards in the old Archenemy decks were reprints (the schemes were new, but the decks were reprints). So this does make sense.
T
Terentius
Guest
Yeah I don't think I'll be picking up this Archenemy product.
I've only played it once, and got bad feedback as it can be hard to gauge the strength of the decks on both sides in this format.
I've only played it once, and got bad feedback as it can be hard to gauge the strength of the decks on both sides in this format.
Oversoul
The Tentacled One
Notably, Ugin is of useful in decks that quickly ramp up to large amounts of mana quickly because it has no colored mana requirements and can be used to gamebreaking effect if not dealt with very quickly. In tournament play, this has mostly been Modern Urzatron and Legacy 12Post decks, but for casual decks, there's a broader range of viable options (regular old green mana ramp comes to mind). For such purposes, I prefer Karn Liberated. But Ugin, the Spirit Dragon isn't bad. Nicol Bolas has an intense colored mana requirement, and so is unsuitable for that role. I think it's fair to adjust the power of those planeswalker abilities up a bit with that in mind. If I'm paying 4UBR to cast a planeswalker, or if I'm jumping through the hoops to cheat a planewalker out (much harder than cheating the mana cost on a creature), then I expect something big.Oh man! Move over Ugin!
At about $50, it's certainly not for everyone anyway. But I think that what you just mentioned is one of the most appealing parts of this release. The old Archenemy decks had the problem of "Well, what do your opponents play?" You got a precon meant to fit the theme of your scheme deck, but matching the power level of the decks for the team of heroes looking to take down the archenemy is tricky. Most casual players aren't going to want to spend the time to devise decks that are specifically tuned to be strong enough to challenge the archenemy, but not so strong that they easily overwhelm the archenemy. So this time around the box comes with themed decks for the heroes to play, which are (allegedly) balanced so that neither side is overwhelmingly advantaged. If the same people who balance the "Duel Decks" product line tested this one, then it should work pretty well. I'm hopeful.
Oversoul
The Tentacled One
On a somewhat related note, I have this item on preorder and thought, once it comes out, we might try getting four people together to try it out on the Games Run board. We tried Archenemy once before but it got abandoned. This time the decks are set up for us, so no one would need to find a deck to use...