Locations
But is this really much of a departure from Reborn's predecessors? Consider both Conflux and Shards of Alara. Both certainly contain playable mono colored cards, but (particularly with Conflux) almost all of the real meat and excitement is in the multicolored cards. What is the substantial difference between a set whose deck worthy cards are 90% multicolored cards and a set with 100% deckworthy multicolored cards?
Love it or hate it, Alara Reborn brings the block together solidly. The Alara "thought" will be complete.
[caption id="attachment_1174" align="aligncenter" width="485" caption="While Shards and Conflux both had some great mono-colored spells, their core and flavor were completely dominated by multicolor offerings. "]
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Without the visual spoiler it is impossible to fairly judge a yet to be released expansion based on one parcel of information. But with this particular nugget, our knowledge of the preceding sets and a bit of good old fashioned speculation, we can extrapolate some of the impact the set will have on the game.
The fact that there will be 145 multicolored cards added to Standard has less impact then the fact that there will be exactly zero mono-colored cards added to Standard. Gold colors have always been the exception rather than the rule and the game itself has always focused heavily on the holy grail of the color pie. It will be interesting to see how WotC plays with the pie while hopefully still keeping it sacred. With the release of Magic 2010 and its focus on mono-colored spells, the long term impact of having an entirely Gold set is minimal. In the short term however, even the effective mono-colored or dual-colored decks are going to need to consider generating multiple colors of mana. Alara Reborn will certainly provide its own unique ways of generating that mana but hold on tight to your Mystic Gates and Reflecting Pools. Their stock is about to blast through the stratosphere.
[caption id="attachment_1167" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="Gold cards aren't so scary, casual players! Grab a girly martini and give 'em a try!"]
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On the heels of an official announcement about making MTG more accessible to the common fantasy fan, the introduction of an entirely multicolored might seem odd. Multicolored cards and strategies are one of the most advanced facets of the entire game. A deck with multiple colors of mana is simple to create of course but it is very difficult for casual players to do with any effectiveness. Beginners may become frustrated, wondering why it is taking them seven or eight turns to get their new gold decks off the ground when their old mono-green elf deck gets going on turn three. Unaware of the advanced mana generating methods expert players take for granted. This only reinforces the idea that Magic 2010 truly will be a "reboot" for the game as we know it. Hopefully Alara Reborn will contain some potent uncommon or even common mana generation methods, but that remains to be seen.
Fear not casual players and mono-colored magic aficionados! While I encourage you to give Alara Reborn a chance (c'mon.. you can generate two different types of mana, right?!) You can take comfort in this: it has been 4 years since the last multicolor-centric block and the Alara block will probably be the last for at least another 4. If you weren't able to say "its been done" pre-Alara, you'll most certainly be able to say it now with regards to an all multicolor focused set. Magic 2010 is coming this summer and bringing with it an entirely fresh beginning for the game.
Stay tuned for analysis and commentary on Alara Reborn visual spoilers as they are released.
