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GatheringMagic.com was even lucky enough to be among the seven other folks to personally recover one of the pieces! Just this weekend the entire card was assembled and effectively spoiled. This latest avatar of Jace has been called everything from "The third coming of Urza" to "Trade binder candy." Either way, the new card breaks ground with a previously unheard of four abilities as well as a zero loyalty cost ability, JMS has excited the community as much as any single card spoiled in recent memory. When he isn't sculpting minds or countering spells you can find Jace prominently featured in the best seller "Agents of Artifice." I spoke to the master of illusion this weekend for comment on his latest incarnation.
"First, I must tell you- it is truly an honor to speak with you Mr. Beleren."
"And you as well, Reinhart. I've followed your work for quite some time and I have to say- great stuff."
"Really?! You don't know how much that means to me to hear you say that, sir."
"Well, you deserve it bro. I mean, you're compelling, you're thoughtful, you're unmistakably good looking... "
*Reinhart stirs uncomfortably in his chair* "Jace, please... let's... let's just get to business at hand. You're on a new Worldwake card and you've evolved quite a bit since we last spoke with you. In what ways have you changed since your Lorwyn debut?"
"The most obvious change is to my mana cost. I was quite proud of being the only planeswalker with a CMC of less than four. For many, the difference between a card that costs three and one that costs four is night and day. So this transition has been rough for me but I have to say, I think the extra one mana is worth the upgrade. Almost all of my abilities are just... better than before. I can still see my original card being used for a quicker mill option but the card advantage and hand quality control that I now offer is so worth the extra mana."
"How's life on Zendikar treating you?"
"It's hell, really. It's dirty, explorers move from camp to disgusting camp looking for "treasures" they'll never find. And Vampires? I [expletive removed]ing hate vampires. I think I'm starting to lose it. I just want to find Liliana and get the heck out of here! You know me, I enjoy the finer things in life. A well furnished apartment, a finely woven robe, gorgeous women... I miss Ravnica. Remember Ravnica, Reinhart? We had some great times, didn't we? It's clean, it's civilized.. and the women.. I mean.. wow.
"Indeed.. A lot of tweeters have doubts about your new card's ability to affect the current standard. You'll forgive me if I play devil's advocate for a moment. *Jace nods* Sure, your new card has four abilities, but does it really matter when at least one of them won't be effective under most circumstances? Which creature are you going to bounce in Jund exactly? Will you really Brainstorm at sorcery speed more than once before you die? And how is a zero cost ability a positive thing? Couldn't that ability have been +1? Sure it's an all around great 4-drop but so is Guardian Seraph. Will the new Jace really see competitive play? Your new art is stunning by the way.."
"Thank you.. I think. Where to begin? The power of any planeswalker is our ability to threaten coupled with our ability to play "free" spells every turn. If you force your opponent to deal with me, while drawing extra cards or bouncing creatures and fatesealing libraries then I've done my job. Of course my abilities are at sorcery speed, and believe me, I do understand the difference between playing Brainstorm at the end of my opponent's turn and playing it during my own main phase. I agree, having one extra ability and one "free" ability isn't anything mind shattering. But in the game of Magic, and particularly on planeswalker cards, options are key. While you might not need to bounce a creature every turn or even Brainstorm, you have the option do do one of three different things right off the bat. Surely one of them will fit nicely into your game plan. If nothing else I can be an upgrade for Jace Beleren in almost every circumstance.. And yes, my new art is breathtaking."
"Have the reports of Blue's death been greatly exaggerated?"
"Now and again I'll read an article about this or that color being on top or bottom and frankly, I try to avoid that line of thinking whenever possible. Of course, I tend to be a tad biased when it comes to the colorpie, of course. I do, however, see a bright future for Blue post-Zendikar. With my new card, blue based control decks are just one or two cards away from really singing. One little Mana Leak, Exhaustion or Remand away, Wizards. And it's about time. Mono-blue and blue-led control will not remain silent forever.
"Fae wasn't so long ago, my friend.."
*Jace shrugs and smiles...*
"Are there any killer combos you can foresee using in conjunction with Jace, the Mind Sculptor?"
"I'm no fortune teller, Reinhart... *Jace pauses for comedic effect; Reinhart is laughing hysterically, almost insincerely* Right... I'm no fortune teller but I've been keeping a few pet Lorescale Coatls around recently. Though I normally can't stand green, they work very well with Sages of the Anima and my new abilities. Archmage Ascension is also looking better every day, though is still a rough go at six turns to complete. I'm sure there will be more interesting combos out there but I'm more concerned about the possibility of Jund dropping a Kederekt Parasite or Underworld Dreams on me."
"Speaking of Jund- that particular shard has been dropping the meta's proverbial panties for a few months now. What do you bring to the table that can help stem this tide?"
"Not a lot, I'm afraid." Though I can certainly supplement a W/U control deck with my toolbox of control options, I won't directly be able to fend off Jund for you. I can improve the quality of your hand, which is always helpful but I can barely keep up with Jund's amazing card advantage. And which creature should I return to their hand? Bloodbraid Elf? *Jace makes a negative buzzer sound* Putrid Leech? Waste. Sprouting Thrinax? *Jace fakes a yawn* And if you can mill Jund with my -12 ability, I'd like to see the video tape afterward."
"Yeah, your -12 ability looks even less likely to go off than your original -10 ability."
"Oh, god yes. If you get decked by my new final ability you seriously need to rethink your life as a Magic player. I mean, five turns without me getting hit, bounced or using any of my other great abilities? Probably isn't going to happen. It's more of a cheap marketing trick to get Timmy to try a mono-blue planeswalker..
"You sound bitter..."
"A little bit, yeah. My last card was basically a blue, Howling Mine +1. The final ability was only used in milling decks and even then it rarely went off. I guess I was just hoping for a usable mega bomb on this new card. If you're going to devote your entire deck to trying to pull off my final, minus twelve, ability you should at least be able to truly "Exile target library" without the hand shuffle."
"Weak final ability or not... you do have four of them to choose from..."
"It's true, most planeswalkers are lucky enough to have one or two playable abilities. My top two abilities are all very useful. But my personal favorite is the creature lockdown. You know me, I'm not a huge fan of creatures anyway. But the ability to creature-lock someone late game is priceless. Turn 7, we're both looking for bombs... you draw Baneslayer Angel and I play.. myself. I can hold that puppy at bay for at least three turns while they pay for it over and over. If you manage to get me up to five or more loyalty you'll surely be able to annoy your opponent with your 5X, free Unsummons. So, yeah, you're right in the sense that I do have more viable options than the next planeswalker."
"Last question: When will we see you next? M11? Lights?"
"I have a feeling you'll be seeing me as well as some of the other mono-colored planeswalkers in the next core set. We've already seen another incarnation of Chandra this block. Both Garruk and Liliana are on Zendikar right now so we'll probably see both of them reprinted soon. As for Ajani.. hes a little shaken up by what happened on Alara. I think Elspeth will probably have to represent white in M11. Though I wouldn't mind being caught in the same booster pack with her, if you know what I mean. *Reinhart and Jace exchange knowing laughs and exploding fist bumps* Beyond that, I really couldn't say. Liliana's new book should shed some more light on our futures."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Beleren, it's been a pleasure. Be sure to check out Jace in Worldwake early next year as well as in "Curse of the Chain Veil" coming to a bookstore near you this February."
