One note on Foil: it's downshift from uncommon to common in Ultimate Masters lead to UB Delver decks in Pauper to be absolutely insanely dominant, directly leading to the banning of Gush, Daze and Gitaxian Probe in the so called Blue Monday. You could make up the card disadvantage of Foil's free mode and also have the required Islands to discard by using Gush's free mode. Foil did a pretty good impression of Force of Will in that format.
You know, I can't say I'm surprised that a Masques block set was atrociously awful. But not a *single* card has any Vintage points? I knew the set was bad, but Christ when even the #1 card has only 17 points, I think it is safe to say that this set actually *is* worse than Homelands, which at least had Magicians Scroll for Vintage points. Speaking of Vintage, if you don't want the next set released to be as bad as Prophecy, I would highly advise you to do "Top 10 Vintage Cards (Minus Power 9)", my contacts at Wizards of the Coast are vast.
8:40 Here's a fun fact for all your hearthstone players out there: The super grow deck was also called "miracle gro", because it could grow a quirion dryad to massive size, and that is why the Rogue combo decks in that game that aim to win by casting a ton of spells are called "miracle rogue"
My first deck was a MM / Prophecy / Nemesis block W Rebels deck. I though I was so clever, combining certain cards from the other sets with the main body of the MM Rebels. Then I found out everybody was playing the same deck.
Wasn't Rebel Informer also used to protect Lin Sivvi? Suppose OP tries to snuff out Lin Sivvi, you could activate Lin Sivvi, hold priority, activate Informer and ta-dah, Lin Sivvi fetches herself. (I believe the Legends rule back then did not allow Lin Sivvi to simply fetch another copy of herself as that would mean two of them would simultaneously be on the battlefield.)
I started getting into MTG much more seriously around 1998. Prophecy brings back so many memories for me... something about those days that I sort of miss is that the games I played with my circle were much slower and felt more like an epic battle. There were still insanely fast decks back then, of course, but overall the game was slower for the more casual player. As I have gotten older, however, my wife and I have shifted from competitive play to just having fun with theme decks, tribal decks, and downright goofy decks. We mostly just enjoy and comment on the art of MTG when we play anyway, since we are both artists and MTG has an incredible pool of artists creating works for the cards. Great video, I never would miss one of your uploads.
I know commander staples aren't always as good in 60 card formats, but it surprised me that rhystic study didn't make the list. I guess it's not as good when you only have one opponent.
@@lamronjr8785 Except for Rhystic Study, the mack daddy of all common cards in EDH. Also, Avatar of Woe is pretty good in EDH reanimator decks. Mageta the Lion has some practical application in EDH if you pair it with card draw colors like blue, black, and/or green. It's especially good with black in the aforementioned reanimator decks. I can see him being good in something like Karador. Latulla and Greel could be good in a B/R madness/hellbent deck, like maybe Chainer, Asmora, or Anje Falkenrath.
@@golgariguy I remember a very nasty Buried Alive / Balthor the Defiled deck that focused on Faceless Butchers, Laquatus Champion, Nantuko Shade and zombify. With Avatar of Woe as like a Main win con. Those games were always horrible to deal with just the amount of power they had versus other colors at the time.
Yep, Godamn power creep meant to force us oldies into buying new cards just to sit at the table again. Prison decks/control are some of the least evolved deck types where you can still remain relevant with older cards from what I've gathered. Yeah, i'm definitely salty over commander leading the charge on endlessly overpowered legendary creatures/Planeswalkers that skew the eternal formats. 😅
@@shibbidydoowop I can not even play casual... my deck building is too strong for casual.. and not expensive enough to be competitive in Modern/Legacy and with Commander.. I have been trying to build, but its running into the same issue because so many "INVESTORS" are dropping massive amounts of money, buying up older sets creating scaricty to push must have commander cards into the the same realm of Modern and Legacy. If you can not drop $5k on decks, you will never compete, but if you just want to be casual... you better bring at least $500 if you want to be relevant. The power creep would not be so bad.. if the costs for cards were not skyrocketing.
Something about Chimeric Idol you forgot to mention - back then there was mana burn, or where you take 1 damage for each unspent mana. Cards that could tap your lands without extra damage were huge
I had such a grin when I saw Chimeric Idol show up on the list! I wasn’t playing when it was in standard but I somehow ended up with a copy and put it in my cube as a joke card but now I’ve just grown too attached to it and can never get rid of it
I really like that you look at how cards would have affected the meta at the time of release. If you building decks using older cards or something like that then its really helpful to think of older mechanics. Love these!
I love Mageta in the novels. He's such a great general. He leads his men against the Keldons and has to be dragged away from the fighting. He's such a bad ass.
It seems like Prophecy might have been an interesting draft format, with so many cards that encourage you to tap out while other cards (like the Rhystics) that let you defend yourself by having mana left over. It could create an interesting dynamic in a self-contained environment. But I don't even know if that kind of drafting existed back then!
Thank you! I LOVE Prophecy and i remember at the time, at my casual level, after the horrible year of Mercadia Masque into Nemesis, this was a breath of fresh air. And you know what, i'm sure that if at the time Commander had been as big as it is today, the reputation of this set would be way different, because between the avatar cycle, the wind cycle and the Spellshaper cycle (and Rhystic Study), this set is awesome for commander, especially for its time. Also: Spore. Frog. :)
Ah yes, prophecy, this was the set where I was balls deep in the game, joining limited tournaments left and right... matches were lost, lessons were learned... but that was the most fun i had during my run of Magic While the set was relatively weak, it had its fair share of good or interesting cards: and some of them are: 1) Rhystic Study: either slows down your opponent since they have to pay 1 extra mana for all their spells or you draw a card. This becomes stupid if you have 2 or more in play XD 2) Rhystic Scrying: if timed correctly, its 3 cards for 4 mana and no drawbacks. In some decks, even the "discard 3" drawback can be taken advantage of 3) Outbreak: from the same cycle as Foil, B3 that gives all creature of a chosen type -1/-1 until end of turn. It became more relevant when Tribal became a huge thing in the game! 4) Noxious Field: slow, yes, but an infinite source of 1 damage across the field means x/1s are not going to pull their weight 5) Hollow Warrior / Keldon Battlewagon: Crude ancestors of the vehicle mechanic... Warrior is kinda ok for its time as a 4/4 for 4 with crew 1. Keldon Battlewagon isnt worth talking about 6) Jolrael, Empress of Beasts: turn your lands in to 3/3 creatures... has the potential to win the match for you 7) Avatar of Will, Fury and Might: Their conditions for the -6 cost wasnt too hard back then. Fury and Might can be sided to help deal with rebels, and Will can be used in a black blue hand destruction control. Hope is the only one not worth it bec once you meet the condition, you're one burn spell away from dying
Excellent video as always. There aren’t many channels that I instantly watch a video from when I see the notification pop up but this one most def is:) keep up the great channel and the new history of decks themed videos as well. They rock!!!👍👌
Prophecy came out right as I started seriously learning Magic (I'd first played in Ice Age but only bought one booster and didn't really get into it). Chimeric Idol was one of my favorite cards for a long time.
I believe almost everything from Masques block had to be watered down and nerfed because the Urza's block was too OP. I started playing around the Masques block too. :-(
@@HellScream107 Yeah, that was very much the case. I don't remember hearing or reading or guessing that at the time, but have heard this in the years since. Urza Block was *awesome*
I remember pulling an avatar of woe and the store owner offered to buy it from me. I was so stoked back then and ended up keeping it and trading it later for a wrath of god lol
I thought about running Chimeric Idol, but I preferred the harder hitting Phyrexian Totem. 5/5 Trample is hard to ignore for long. The free cost is nice, especially in a deck that acts mostly at sorcery speed like Pox.
Chimeric Idol's context as a top 10 card was that there was the risk of mana burn back in the day, but surprisingly wasn't mentioned anywhere in the vid. Nowadays you can tap your lands for mana at will.
I seem to recall some old legacy decks that tutored up a bunch of Searing Winds by using Dream Halls and Grozoth. No idea if it was ever that competitive, but it sure was funny
I posted a short the other day that allows additional use and abuse of Avatar of Woe’s terror ability, all you need is to equip it with Thornbite staff. A creature dies, you can untap Woe…WHOAH!
Nothing gives me the same feeling of power that I get when countering one of my friends' Force of Will with Foil in EDH. Fear the power of the sub-1$ budget option!
I too joined around this time and have a soft spot for the set as a whole. Prophecy is actually my favorite of the masque block because I thought the the whole idea of resource denial as a set mechanic was really interesting. It's too bad they couldn't have made it stronger.
I had been playing Magic since Revised/Legends/Dark. I bought a lot of cards all through Urza's Saga so, of course, I went all in on Mercadian Masques. And, as we all know, MM was extremely underwhelming compared to Urza's Saga. So I bought very little from Nemesis through Invasion block. I didn't really pick up Magic again until Onslaught.
I'm very surprised to see rhystic study not to out. It may be due to a ban in several formats, but that card has no business being a common whatsoever. Still, as someone who started a tad earlier (Urza block, but could still buy mirage and even some ice age boosters) I would say fair enough. Avatar of fury is still very dear to me, especially since back then 7 lands were not that much game ending as modern magic might lead players to believe.
I'm genuinely amazed that rhystic study apparently only has had success in commander. When you brought up rhystic lightning, I was absolutely certain that study was going to be #1. Instead, it's not even on the list.
I've started during ice age and Chronicles released.. And through stronghold I think that's the last set I've physically played.. URZA block is still the best and personal favorite of mine.. I've been wanting to get back into magic the gathering playing.. Still haven't figured out how because old the times changed.. And magic the gathering isn't what I remember.. I have been playing around with MAGIC 2015. And that game isn't that bad for brushing me up for recent rules.. And when I decide to get a new phone I'm going to do magic the gathering arena.. And my phone now just missed the my phone is compatible part by a year maybe.. Damn it so close.. But one day I'll be back playing magic the gathering..
Haven't watched it yet but I'm gonna predict rhystic study, mageta the lion, foil, rhystic tutor.. I was in my MTG heyday when this set came out so I've got a soft spot for it.. You thought avatar of woe was the shit because let's face it, it was lol. That art is so awesome too
I don''t think it's that bad 1v1. I think it's bad as a product of the meta back then. If the meta is all rebels that rely on activated abilities then yeah, Rystic Study does almost nothing. Suppression Field on the other hand would be an absolute house.
I'm curious to know if the mtg content creator I follow on RU-vid and Twitch knows each other: do you per change l chance happen to know Covert go blue or crokeyz?
Guys, I see a lot of channels advertising for Card Kingdom. I live in Germany and use Carkmarket. Comparing those two the prices of Card Kingdom are much higher. I am not sure if both are available in every country but if so wouldn't it be like selling your soul promoting the extremely expensive Card Kingdom? Or is it just that prices in US are generally higher?
The prices in US are generally higher, this much is true, but it's not just that. They are also much more volatile. Basically, there is a lot of market manipulation going on in the USA: resellers, scalpers, "investors", and other people like that have a huge sway there. Then, there is insider trading too: people with connections to Wizards know about future releases and bans, and use it to buy out cards that are likely to jump up in price. You are lucky that Cardmarket doesn't ship cards outside of Europe, this protects local prices to at least some degree. On another note, Card Kingdom is on the expensive side even in the US. You can get stuff at TCGplayer for a lower price, usually.
Nemesis had more impactful cards, even at the time. Lin-Sivvi dominated block & standard (after Urza's rotated); Blastoderm and Saproling Burst were huge in the popular Fires of Yavimaya deck; Seal of Fire and Seal of Cleansing still see some niche play in eternal formats; and of course, Daze is a multi-format all-star.
I read somewhere.... can’t remember where..... that because the creators made urzas block insanely powerful their jobs were basically threatened if they didn’t stop going overboard..... which is why masques block is weak af. They were scared to make anything powerful
Masque block is really bizarre for a “powered down” block. Like Mercadian Masque has some of the dumbest designed cards ever made like the Rebels and parallax cards (really just the 2/4 or 5?but still). Nemesis just exists and prophecy is just..... just wow the trash in there. Idk who was able to get enjoyment when stuff like the Rhystic spells existed. Yes folks, there was actually multiple cards like rhystic study except they’re all terrible and that one got away with being good just because and even then, it’s not exactly a fun card for anyone else to go against. Prophecy reminds me of a Yugioh set, the infamous Cyberdark impact where the majority of the cards were either unplayable even for their early time or the cards that were competitive were cancerous to play against. Basically stun and burn cards. Prophecy is exactly like that, none of the “good cards” are fun cards to play against or with, its just pain
cyberdark impact _did_ have snipe hunter, black horn of heaven, and instant fusion tho, plus while vanity's fiend is one of those stun cards, it is _significantly_ less obnoxious to play against compared to barrier statues. for as much as cards like **A B A K I** and the eponymous cyberdarks make for completely underwhelming pulls, i think the set's reputation is less about its actual quality ( because let's be real, there are definitely later sets that were even bigger duds ) and moreso just because it's filled with a bunch of gimmicks, yet the only good card that's part of one of those gimmicks is the one that ... unleashed chain burn on the world but it did also result in that time when people were paying top dollar for _senet fuckin' switch_ because of links, so i can't hold it against it
@@NizzahonMagic Guess you didn't haven't seen all the promotional and fan made material featuring the Avatars and other Prophecy art then. *shrug* Might not be a limited player's thing.
@@mdover2948 Well, if you mean the art is iconic, I can agree to some extent. But the set is pretty devoid of iconic cards, with Rhystic Study probably the only exception
I'm going out on a limb here and say something mildly controversial. I don't particularly care for the human intro. I liked the cards/voice only format.
Prophecy for me holds a special place since it was the set i came back to the game. After all these years though. Its def a shit set compared to a lot of other ones.
oh my god - I was playing since revised and took a break after the urza's set - I drafted and got to keep these cards from this set way later. None of them match up to set earlier nor later, and the mechanics were terrible. Keep up mana or discount at rare cases - none of these cards even made my kitchen-table-decks. And then commander came along and made a common the most valuable card. This set has to be worse than anything I have seen so far - and I was cracking Homelands and Fallen Empires
I really liked this set but Foil fuking ruined it. Seriously...why did Maro think free counterspells were ever a good idea? I know he wasn't the lead but you know he designed this card.
