Guildpact
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Guildpact | ||
|---|---|---|
| Expansion symbol |  |
|
| Release date | February 3, 2006 | |
| Mechanics | Color alliances | |
| Keywords | Haunt, Bloodthirst, Replicate | |
| Size | 165 (55 rares, 55 uncommons, 55 commons) | |
| Expansion code | GPT | |
| Development codename | Alt | |
| Sets in Ravnica Block | ||
| Ravnica | Guildpact | Dissension |
| Magic: The Gathering Chronology |
||
| Ravnica | Guildpact | Dissension |
Guildpact is a Magic: The Gathering set, second in the Ravnica Block. Guildpact was released on February 3, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Guilds
Of the ten guilds that rule the city of Ravnica, three are the sole focus of this second set in the block. The previous expansion, Ravnica: City of Guilds, focused on four of these guilds. Dissension brought it to a close by introducing the last three guilds. Each guild corresponds to a different two-color combination.
The three guilds featured in Guildpact are:
- The Orzhov Syndicate (white/black): While masquerading as a religion, the Orzhov are actually Mafia-like business people. With no economic transaction that isn't directly or indirectly under their control, they are directed by the Ghost Council, composed entirely of the spirits of former Orzhov Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
- The Izzet League (blue/red): Like mad scientists, the Izzet are responsible for almost all of the beneficial technologies and magics that keep Ravnica running. Unfortunately, their impulsive and reckless research principles mean that just as many have failed experiments with explosive results. Their guild leader is an extremely intelligent but temperamental and egotistic dragon wizard named Niv Mizzet.
- The Gruul Clans (red/green): The Gruul Clans were originally the Guild of Savage Nature, appointed to speak for and protect the people who lived in the harsh natural environments of Ravnica. As the city expanded over nature, the other nine Guilds (specifically the other Green-oriented Guilds) began appointing themselves as nature's defenders. Eventually phased out entirely by the rest of the Guilds, The Gruul fractured into a myriad of different clans, all bent on destroying civilization. Some do it for revenge, others simply because they like to smash stuff. The biggest clan is ruled by the cyclops Borborygmos.
[edit] Mechanics
- Haunt (white/black): Creatures, instants and sorceries may have the Keyword 'Haunt'. When a creature or spell with Haunt is put into a graveyard, it is removed from the game Haunting a creature in play. Creature spells with the Haunt ability typically have "come into play" effects that are repeated when the Haunted creature dies.
- Bloodthirst (red/green): Creatures with Bloodthirst gain a boost to their power and toughness, if an opponent took damage before the creature came into play. For example, a 2/3 creature with Bloodthirst 3 would come into play as a 5/6, provided that one opponent was dealt damage that turn.
- Replicate (blue/red): Spells with Replicate allow a given cost to be paid any number of times, and the spell is copied that many times. Each copy can have a new target.
[edit] Design
- Main article: Ravnica: City of Guilds Design
Ravnica was conceived following the success of Invasion. Invasion, released in 2000, emphasized interactions between the colors, and it was one of Magic's most popular releases ever. Magic's lead designer, Mark Rosewater, wanted to expand on the multicolor theme in a new way. Therefore, the design of Ravnica is based around four guilds, meaning cards in which those pairs of colors work in concert. Guildpact continues this pattern with the three guilds listed above.
[edit] Notable Cards
- Borborygmos - This huge Gruul cyclops takes its name from the onomonopoeic term for stomach growling, borborygmus. This symbolizes the basic primal nature of the guild. [1]
- Burning-Tree Shaman - This centaur punishes players who use activated non-mana abilities. Although symmetrical (its ability punishes even its controller), it comes with a 3/4 body for 3 mana and was in the top two Top 8 decks of Pro Tour: Honolulu, including the winning deck.
- Rumbling Slum - This creature has a huge body and is relatively undercosted. It's "drawback" allows the controller to play a creature with Bloodthirst so the Bloodthirst ability will trigger.
- Niv-Mizzet, The Firemind - The guild leader of the Izzet and the undisputed smartest being in Ravnica. He deals damage every time his controller draws a card, and he can also speed up the draw process. Niv-Mizzet also has rather distinct flavor text, "(Z->)90° - (E-N²W)90°t=1" which, when decrypted, means Niv-Mizzet = 1, or Niv-Mizzet is #1. It might also mean that when you tap Niv-Mizzet (rotate 90°) you get 1.
- Stitch in Time - A twist on the Alpha card Time Walk, this sorcery requires its caster to flip a coin; if they win, they take an extra turn.
- Hypervolt Grasp- This Izzet card was misprinted with a Gruul watermark.
- Shattering Spree - Phenomenally efficient artifact destruction spell, that has seen limited use due to the possibility of intense use of red mana if one decides to replicate it, despite the spell itself costing a single red mana normally.
- Ghost Council of Orzhova - Considered the most playable Guild leader, the Ghost Council has a minor comes-into-play life-drain ability. This ability really shines when paired with his ability to sacrifice a creature and pay 1 in order to remove him from the game until end of turn (and at that time, he comes into play again, re-triggering his ability), making him incredibly hard to get rid of.
- Godless Shrine, Steam Vents, and Stomping Ground - As with the Ravnica dual lands, these cards have two basic land types corresponding to two colors of mana, allowing them to produce either (a property that, before Ravnica block, appeared only in Alpha, Beta, Unlimited and Revised). This property is functionally useful in the Standard format as well as in most older formats because it is possible to search for them based on these land types. This and the fact that their drawback is negligible on the first turn and removed there after make them competitive, highly sought-after, and expensive. Next to the original 10 'Dual Lands' last reprinted in Revised, which are the exact same cards but without drawbacks (Compare Volcanic Island to Steam Vents), these lands are generally considered to be the best multi-color lands ever printed.
- Quicken: for a single blue mana you can cast a sorcery as though it had flash, with the additional benefit of drawing another card.
The Leylines (of Lifeforce, of Lightning, of Singularity, of The Meek, of The Void) - A cycle of five enchantments that allow the player to begin the game with them in play if they are in that player's opening hand. These enchantments were designed based on the popularity of the online and paper Vanguard format, where players can choose certain characters before the game. These characters represent who the player is, and grant the player a certain ability through the game, as well as modifying their starting life total and hand size. For example, if a player chose to "be" the minotaur Tahngarth, all their creatures would have haste. The Leylines don't have particularly strong abilities for the most part to balance out their ability to be "played" for free, but a few of them have helpful effects, one of the most helpful being Leyline of the Void (its ability to remove opponents' cards from the game if they would be put into a graveyard hoses many cards, decks, and mechanics).
The Nephilim (Dune-Brood, Glint-Eye, Ink-Treader, Witch-Maw, Yore-Tiller) - Five creatures that share the unique quality of being the very first cards that have exactly four colours in their mana costs. Each Nephilim costs one of each of four colours of mana, have power and toughness between 1 and 3, and has a generally powerful ability. For example, Witch-Maw Nephilim gets two +1/+1 counters whenever its controller plays a spell, and when it attacks, gains trample if its power is 10 or more.
[edit] External links
- Guildpact cardlist
- Guildpact minisite
- Signing onto the Guildpact
- Life in the Big City (Guildpact version)
- Niv-Mizzet, the Fountainhead
- Creative Differences
- An In-depth Look At The Izze-Hey, Look At That!
- Aaaargh!!!
- Rage Against the Machine
- Playing by their own Rules
- Precious Gold
- [2] Official Wizards of the Coast factsheet
- The Top 8 Decks of Pro Tour: Honolulu
