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Now that 9th Edition is in the rear-view mirror, we can safely look forward to getting off at the next exit… Exit 267 – Towards Ravnica. This new block is supposed to make a release on October 7, 2005. Another 2 months away from where we currently stand. “Control-Alt-Delete”, as the block was codenamed, has now become known as “Ravnica: City of Guilds-Guildpact-Dissension.” In this block, we now travel to another new territory in the Magic world; A city-covered plane, where lofty spires and huge guildhouses dominate the scenery [see the below image as originally seen on www.magicthegathering.com].
But enough about the entire block, we want to know more about the newest set, Ravnica: City of Guilds. Here’s one of the few pieces of evidence that we have about the set from www.magicthegathering.com...
It seems to me that this will be another interesting set. It’s going back to the basics and fundamentals of the early Magic game. Instead of taking on a setting in a Japanese-themed environment, we are going back to 'Medieval Europe'. [Editor's note: This set is not taking place in a Medievel Europe.. but instead has the feel of it - supposedly.] And instead of samurai and spirits, it looks like, from the art at magicthegathering.com (click here), this set will go back to soldiers, knights, and “Rocs” (at least that's kind of what they resemble). The Basics of Ravnica and some art Ravnica will be a 306-card set. There will be 110 commons, 88 uncommons, 88 rares, and 20 basic lands. Gold cards will make a triumphant return to the game, for those of you who like multi-color decks. Birds of Paradise and Bob Maher’s Invitational Card, Dark Confidant, are both confirmed to be in the set.
Four land arts have already been shown on Magic Arcana.
Also, released from magicthegathering.com was the logo for Ravnica, along with it’s expansion symbol.
The Ravnica logo shows 10 symbols, which are thought to be the guild symbols. And the expansion symbol can clearly be identified as a spire of some-sort. The Design Team for the Ravnica set consists of: Mark Rosewater (Lead), Mike Elliot, Richard Garfield, Tyler Bielman, and Aaron Forsythe. The Development Team for the set is made up of: Brian Schneider (Lead), Randy Buehler, Henry Stern, Matt Place, and Mark Gottlieb. Aaron Forsythe takes up the position of “Design Representative,” in this project. For those of you interested more on the storyline, rather than the card game, the Ravnica book’s author is Cory Herndon. And its release date is September 1, 2005. So remember to get your copy once the new month starts. It is the average-sized novel weighing in at 320 pages. And Amazon seems to have the best picture of the novel (click here). Moving along... Now, on to the trickier part of the article… to bring the readers in on the main speculations and rumors about the set. And, god, are there a lot of them. So, let’s get started with the very-known ones first. 1.) There will be ten guilds, which will consist of the color combinations in Magic: R/W, R/B, R/U, R/G, W/B, W/U, W/G, B/U, B/G, and U/G. With the recent additions of painlands in 9th Edition, you can be guaranteed to play most of these guilds without too much trouble. But beware of the evil Blood Moon, which lurks in the shadows. 2.) This will most likely be the booster box for Ravnica:
MTGSalvation received this from the good people over at CoolStuffInc.com. The site manager of CoolStuffInc said that he received the image from Wizards of the Coast to display on the site for the promotion of Ravnica. And see the main woman on the front of the box? She’s assumed to be a Gorgon! 3.) This will most likely be the Release Tournament Poster at the shops:
Thanks again to collegevillecards.com and Rancored_Elf for blowing this picture up a little. Although hard to read, the release tournaments dates are October 7, October 8, and October 9 according to the Elf. The pre-release tournament dates are still up in the air though. Since Wizards of the Coast has posted nothing about the pre-release dates, there are supposedly going to be no Pre-Release tournaments for Ravnica, except for the one that Starcitygames.com is holding in Richmond, Virginia. (Click Here.) The creature to the left on the tournament poster is speculated to be an Orc or a Troll. 4.) This was from the same people who brought MTGSalvation the booster box image:
It’s not really all that special, except for the fact that it tells about the now 64-card pre-constructed decks. And that it says that fat packs will keep the same composition as they did in 9th Edition. Except now they’ll come with a novel. And finally, that there will be a random pro-player card coming in Ravnica’s tournament packs. 5.) This is the current line-up for some of Ravnica’s spoiler. Since Rancored_Elf is right on with most of his sources and proposed cards, I’ll just give you the link, instead of writing out every single one of them. [EDITOR'S EDIT: Nope.. where going to show all of the cards as they are currently presented on www.mtgsalvation.com.. so you won't have to click to see the list!]
6.) The creature types of Saproling and Loxodon are confirmed to make a re-appearance in the new set. I know that a lot of the veteran players simply love Saprolings, and Loxodons weren’t that bad in the Mirrodin Block. Well, maybe some of them. 7.) The Blue and Black Guild Name seems to be Dimir, pronounced (Deh-Meer.) It was confirmed by a source that recently gave Rancored_Elf the card named Dimir Cutpurse. 8.) There will be Bleed Spells in which the spell is one color, but if you pay another color of mana in that spell’s colorless casting cost, you get another effect. For example…
9.) Each guild will supposedly have its own mechanic and keyword for that mechanic. Very little are known about these mechanics, except that each guild will probably have one. The G/W guild is assumed to have an ability that will allow the caster of their spells to tap their creatures, and reduce the cost of those spells. But that is the only semi-known ability that R_E has gotten news of. 10.) This will probably be the life counter for Ravnica.
It seems to be another Gorgon or Dark Elvish character. Takara is the company’s name, not to be confused with the character’s name, which is unknown. Well, I hope this has given you a good introduction on the newest set and block. October seems to have big plans in store for the game of Magic: The Gathering. And hopefully, I’ll be able to keep you readers informed on what rumors and speculations there are on the new set. Join me next time, as I give a little more information and speculation on the new block, while seeking for a little more information on the next two sets, Guildpact and Dissension. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for the latest rumors on the new block. And don’t forget to visit some of the best MTG sites around for updates, rumors, and the latest news… ( www.magicdeckvortex.com, www.starcitygames.com, www.magicthegathering.com, www.rancoredelf.com, and www.mtgsalvation.com.) ~Fire Reign 2~
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