With such a great response to the reprint reviews a few weeks back, I really wanted to talk about them immediately. Unfortunately, I went away before the second one had been live for very long.

I’m one of those strange folks who enjoys spending a week in the mountains, hiking and beyond contact with the interwebs. I was so out of touch that I turned in last week’s article a bit late. (Sorry, dear editor!)

That’s all behind us, however, and I’m back today to go over what you had to say about the reprints and touch on a few other Vorthos topics as well. Let’s go!

Hall of Fame, Magic World Cup, and Friends

That’s not all that happens in the summer, though; we have also been provided with great community events over the past few years. Hall of Fame voting has taken place in July and August, the Community Cup has traditionally been around the same time (though it’s been pushed back a bit this year), and national championships have wrapped up by the end of August.

Things are always changing, and this year is seeing some very large differences. We still have Hall of Fame voting and the now-later Community Cup, but instead of Nationals, we are being treated to what has replaced Worlds in August: the Magic World Cup and the Magic Players Championship.

What does this mean for future summers? Will the Community Cup continue to be run in the fall from now on?

Will anything replace Worlds as a final, large-scale event at the end of the year, or will it be all GPs? What will the Hall of Fame ceremony be like at Pro Tour: Return to Ravnica since it’s invite-only?

Return to Ravnica

The recently revealed plan for Return to Ravnica’s prerelease sounds like Vorthos heaven.

I understand WotC’s reasons for having foregone the use of mythics as promos, but I really hope they make the prerelease promos for Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash the guild leaders. There could be other cards that are just as exciting in each set, but this particular Vorthos would be extremely happy with guild leaders. Now to plan out a feasible five-prerelease schedule for the sets . . .

Reviewing Reprints

The two—Clock of Omens and Clone—from the first half were a bit surprising to me. While I had picked the older Clock of Omens, I thought the older piece’s association with Mirrodin and the fairly strong fantasy feel of the newer one would at least keep things close. Instead, Fifth Dawn’s Clock of Omens ran away with almost two thirds of the votes.

Clone surprised me for entirely different reasons. I thought the more refined art of Magic 2013’s would go a long way, but it seems the iconic Alpha work held strong. The fact that Onslaught’s version received over a quarter of the votes was unexpected, and it might have affected the outcome of the other two as well.

Other notable results from the first portion were: Fervor, for the separation of only thirty-seven votes between the two; the overwhelming domination of Magic 2013’s Mind Rot over the other two; and the roughly even spread of votes across all three Mutilates.

Onto the second half!

I was really happy to see the Tempest Phyrexian Hulk run away with almost sixty percent. The other two lack any sort of punch, and it showed in your votes.

Another last-place finish for Magic 2013 was on Ravenous Rats. It was not entirely surprising, but the big kicker was Invasion’s version receiving at least fifty more votes than the other two in a very close finish. Out of the three, it is definitely the most iconic, and I hope we see it or the Portal version again in the future.

Reader Alexandr described the new Stuffy Doll problems quite well: “It's not some Chucky thing that's gonna rip your face off; it's a wizard's torture device.” That and the callbacks to older cards are significant reasons for the Time Spiral art to see fifty percent more votes than the new card.

I found Tormod's Crypt to be a great example of what reader Adrienne is concerned about with the new art. She wrote, “I think that the modern desire to ‘look like it belongs in Magic’ leads to a homogeneity that is unappealing and makes it difficult to read learn and play the cards . . . ”

I’m sure some of you voted for it because of nostalgia, but I think it wins largely because we can associate the grave marker with the card. It’s a unique symbol. The newer art lacks anything to set it apart from buildings almost anywhere.

Wind Drake is the final card to see Magic 2013 miss the majority slot. In fact, Magic 2013’s Wind Drake received only four percent of all votes.

Reader Alexandr commented on Wind Drake as well, saying, “The old art has more spirit . . . [but] the gargoyle-face durdle thing just sitting on a table just feels right for it, nowadays.” I have to disagree with that last part. No Magic card should be so obscure that we end up calling it a “gargoyle-face durdle thing.” The other three Wind Drakes are fairly generic and unexciting, but the artwork gives each enough spirit to be enjoyed and remembered.

This would be an incomplete recap if I didn’t bring up Serra Angel. I have to admit, I’m a bit dumbfounded on this one. I’m not sure if it’s that my play history (I’ve played since Revised) makes me biased or I undervalue the effect newer art has on players, but I did not expect Magic 2013’s Serra Angel to receive almost two hundred more votes than Alpha’s.

The debate on Primal Clay was an interesting one. It brought up the question: “Which is more important, a visceral resonation or more correct depiction of how the multiverse works?” Both sides have worthwhile points, and I’m a bit sad we miss out on more cards like Alpha’s Primal Clay with WotC’s current position.

If you have the time, go back and read the comments on both of those articles. There are a lot of great thoughts on reprints in general as well as on specific cards.

If you look deep, enough there are some insightful trends among the cards that reveal different paths Wizards has taken over the years and where they’re currently headed. It’s been a blast doing these with you, and I look forward to the next opportunity we can do this again!