Coldsnap!

[TrainedChicken]

Editor Hijacking for more info: [by: John Stephens]

The Frozen Age of Magic is back folks.

In 1996 Wizards of the Coast introduced Ice Age, the first stand-alone set for Magic the Gathering. It was the first time we heard the word "block," and it was the first time we saw them reprinting many cards that were considered staples of any healthy set.

Ice Age was quickly followed by Alliances, which added to the mythology of this magnificient world shrouded in ice, and was the hottest selling Magic set ever at that time. I can remember sitting in the local store destroying pack after pack of Alliances searching for Balduvian Hordes.

The Ice Age Block was left incomplete though. People have erroneously attributed Homelands to the Ice Age block for years, but it never really fit in with the mythology of the place that made me a Magic player. Ice Age was where I learned to love tapping my lands, and now it finally will be a complete block.

From the frozen vaults deep below Wizards of the Coast, Coldsnap, the legendary Lost Third Set of the Ice Age Block is coming out at last. It's not part of Ravnica Block, it's not part of the block after that. But -- get this -- it will be tournament-legal!

Intrigued? Tune back in on Wednesday, when Randy Buehler will explain all!

Slated for a July 2006 release, 10 years and 1 month after Alliances, Coldsnap will finally complete what is, without a doubt, my favorite Magic block of all time. Stay tuned Wednesday for Randy Buehler's announcement!



http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/arcana/933

[Galvatron]

heh interestig BTW the onion you need to find a better news site

[HeavyMetalKing]

Definitly interesting Im wondering though, will it be released and legal in paper Magic?

Right now I'm thinking its going to be a MODO only set. WIzards is trying to get more people into MODO.

[dark_knight_307]

^^That would suck. Personally, I think it would rock if it were in standard, but that isn't going to happen. Is Coldsnap a codename?

[DaveOath]

Ravnica was already expensive enough, no need to make type 2 more expensive by adding a new expension...

[HeavyMetalKing]

Im still thinking its going to be a MODO only set it wouldnt really make sense to all of a sudden have another set come out of no where. Just wondering maybe we could see the return of snow-covered lands.

[East of Jaden]

Thats really surprising news. I wonder if Coldsnap will use the old card faces? Anyways, I see this set as being tourney legal in Ice age block constructed, and in non standard events. And hopefully there'll be a new card ability that interacts with snow-covered lands. Magic Online probably won't get it, unless they release Ice Age and Alliances there too. It's coming out in July of 06 after the next too Ravnica sets. Can't wait for more info!

[Snake Pliskan]

If I was Trained Chicken I would be pissed that an admin came and put words in my mouth to make me sound like a dork and a corporate tool.

[KerdApeKillur]

wow I remember being a newbie cracking open one pack of alliances getting a arcane denial, force of will, and baulduvian horde hahaha, I wasn't paying attention back then and was just on the skirting years of early teen hood, but from the quotes on the cards they wanted fallen empires to lead into ice age, makes me wonder but having seen a reprint of the mighty scaled wurm makes the prospect of any reprinting slim?! but wizards does as wizards do

[TrainedChicken]

If I was Trained Chicken I would be pissed that an admin came and put words in my mouth to make me sound like a dork and a corporate tool.

Better to have someone put words in your mouth and be thought a dork, than to speak yourself and remove all doubt. I think the CEO of those Ben Franklin stores said that.

Anyway, here's the poop: I called my phone psychic, and we're going to get the following:

1) Coldsnap is a codename. The real name will have something to do with "Thawing" or "Spring".

2) Templating will be modern; as will card faces.

3) Mark Rosewater pulled in the old gang who did Mirage (the Pittsburg playtest team) to put the whole thing together- none of this design vs development stuff. He said the reason was either "to unify the vision" or "to unicycle television", so we're cloudy on that one. Mark Gottlieb is still going to do a thorough rules-edit though to make sure it "feels old, but acts new", whatever that means.

4) Color Pie relevance in this set: She said Gooseberry, whatever that means.

5) Legality: This will be an interesting set, since it will coincide with the release of Ice Age and Alliances in MODO. It will be released two weeks earlier in MODO format than in paper format. Although my phone psychic didn't say anything about it, I imagine this will be a way to get mroe people to play MODO.

6) The Onion is America's Finest News Source, besides my phone psychic.

[Golgari_Spy]

You can afford a phone psychic?

And wasn't #6 obvious? (To note, there was an AP question regarding an article it had, so now it is apparently "scholarly" reading.)

Released two weeks earlier for MODO? I assume they are trying to get away from paper Magic eventually?

[HazaredTheOmega]

lol I want to see more force of will kinds of stuff in Coldsnap lol *wishes*

[HeavyMetalKing]

You can afford a phone psychic?

And wasn't #6 obvious? (To note, there was an AP question regarding an article it had, so now it is apparently "scholarly" reading.)

Released two weeks earlier for MODO? I assume they are trying to get away from paper Magic eventually?

Hmm thats a good point after all they released mirage for MODO i am wondering wehen the will release Alpha and Beta (wishing)/. But they will never move away from paper MTG after all paper MTG is a goo social event, you always meet new people and make new friends MODO could never compare to that.

[Snake Pliskan]

But they will never move away from paper MTG after all paper MTG is a goo social event, you always meet new people and make new friends MODO could never compare to that.
It could and does. You can meet people and make friends anywhere. There is a long list of reasons why MODO has replaced cardboard magic for some of us.

[HeavyMetalKing]

It could and does. You can meet people and make friends anywhere. There is a long list of reasons why MODO has replaced cardboard magic for some of us.

Still but paper Magic has so much more the MODO for alot of people, MODO isnt the same as playing in real life, in real life you can read your opponet. Also I know alot of people (myself included) dont wanna put money into digital objects, what happens if Wizards computer loses your information and now your out a ton of money. Another downside of MODO is its not too portable, paper Magic you can take in the car, go to stores and stuff like that.

MODO doesnt really replace the tight friendships you get from playing the real thing, after all you and your buddies meet up weekly and just play for hours. MODO could never replace that.

[Snake Pliskan]

Still but paper Magic has so much more the MODO for alot of people, MODO isnt the same as playing in real life, in real life you can read your opponet.That was the reason for my initial skepticism about the product. It turned out to be minor in comparison to all the ways MODO trumps cardboard for convenience and accesibility.

Also I know alot of people (myself included) dont wanna put money into digital objects, what happens if Wizards computer loses your information and now your out a ton of money.The same thing that happens if you lose your cards, get them stolen, get them wet, have a fire, etc, etc. Only the odds of WOTC somehow losing your digital information are probably far smaller. We are talking about a corporation in business to make money. It seems unlikely they would not go to great lengths to protect their investment by having backup data storage and other safeguards. In other words I trust Wizards to keep digital information safe far more than I trust most of you yokels to keep your cards out of harm's way.

Another downside of MODO is its not too portable, paper Magic you can take in the car, go to stores and stuff like that. Ever hear of laptops? Besides, you can choose to play a sanctioned event with prize support in a variety of formats without even having to get in the car and go anywhere.

MODO doesnt really replace the tight friendships you get from playing the real thing, after all you and your buddies meet up weekly and just play for hours. MODO could never replace that.MODO has already replaced that for some people, myself included. If I wanted to play for hours I could just as easily do that on my computer. Or better yet, I can call up my friends and they can come hang out while we indulge our various personal habits (alcohol, etc) and collectively smash on people in a draft.

As for developing friendships, there are countless ways to do that outside playing Magic.

I'm not trying to convince anyone they should stop playing paper magic, but many people don't seem to be aware of all the positive aspects of playing online.

[HeavyMetalKing]

True, maybe I will get into MODO after all. I just hope they lower the price. Do they accept paper product for digital?

[TrainedChicken]

Garbage-a** Randy bulling us over on the corporate site:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/feature/291

[HeavyMetalKing]

So Chicken are you thinking that the Coldsnap announcement is complete bull in itself or just Randy's article?

[TrainedChicken]

Oh, they're going to publish Coldsnap, for the summer season of 2006 (a year distant from 9th and 10th in different directions). But it'll contain modern cards which they will try to pass off as old ideas. It'll be perfectly balanced for draft, contain 5-8 chase rares, and be exactly on the power level of Rav block and Snap.

The article, however, is worth less than the time it took to read it. I'd almost rather have had it in print edition, so I could at least line my birdcage with it.

[Galvatron]

whatever what i want to know is how the heck you managed to start some rumor mill threads without raising a red flag to the mods and chedy.

[TrainedChicken]

Buehler Admits He's a Big Fat Liarhead (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/askwizards/1105)

[Galvatron]

O-K and this is important because...

[Bagel_Man]

I'm going to hate coldsnap. I really don't want to collect another set just to play standard...

[Galvatron]

Agreed unless there is somthing that tes the format it's not worth it
only 2 cards i liked out of that set other than the obvious stuff wer the minnion of tevishszat and the minnion of leshrac

[HeavyMetalKing]

Everyone is so pumped up about this, sadly I have a really good feeling the set will suck, kinda like Betrayers, itll have that one good card and the rest of the set is awful

[TrainedChicken]

I'm really hoping the whole set is horrible, so I don't have to go buy three or four boxes of it to play competitively.

[Galvatron]

what are you talking about ihave yet to buy a box of ravnica or 9th

[TwistedHumour]

Q: "Dear Wizards,
"In Duelist #8, published just after Homelands hit shelves, it says:
"'The next expansion for Magic: The Gathering is well underway. The final names of the cards are being chosen, replacing the series of whimsical 'monkey names' left over from the designer's initial card list (Any bets on what 'Great Grape Ape Strength' will turn out to be called? Or 'Monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey -- hey stop that!'?) Created by the designers of Ice Age, this expansion is specifically designed to complement that set but is, of course, fully compatible with other card sets. At press time, no official release date for the expansion had been set.'
"But in his Coldsnap announcement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/feature/291), Randy Buehler claimed, 'Homelands was forced upon R&D to be included in the block. This forced R&D to shelve the third set of the block as there wasn't going to be room for it before Mirage was released.' That doesn't make sense, does it? I mean, if Alliances wasn't even finished before Homelands came out, how could there have been a whole third set that got shelved?
"Plus, if Ice Age and Alliances were designed by the same people, didn't Skaff Elias say (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/feature/223) that the team was Dave Pettey, Jim Lin, and himself? Why would it even have been in Richard Garfield's office in the first place? And surely it wouldn't be codenamed 'Rock & Roll' -- not just because that name implies a three-set mentality that didn't exist at the time (and, based on the timing of Alliances, just wouldn't work anyway), but because Mark Rosewater told us (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr174) that 'Sex/Drugs/Rock&Roll' couldn't be used as a block's codename because of the 'HR Test'. For that matter, Mark told us (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr33) that the code name for Alliances was 'Quack'. 'Sex, Quack, and Rock & Roll' doesn't even make sense!
"In fact, Randy says that 'According to the legend, the design was filed away never to be seen again. And rumor had it, it was the best set of the block.' But I've never heard this so-called 'legend', and I know all the stories: I know about Summer Magic and the Blue Hurricane (javascript:autoCardWindow('Hurricane')). I know about the 1996 World Champion and Splendid Genesis. I even know the truth about Throat Wolf. But I've never heard any hint that there was some 'legendary Lost Third Set'.
"So here's my question: This Coldsnap thing isn't really 'from the vaults' at all, is it? Isn't this just because R&D wanted to make cards for an interesting Magic world from the past, and thought it would be more fun to justify the use of things like snow-covered lands (javascript:autoCardWindow('Snow-Covered_Mountain')) by telling us a cute, imaginary tale?"
-- Fabian Rockwell
San Diego, CA
A: From Randy Buehler, Director of Magic R&D:
"Dear Fabian,
"You make some very interesting points in your letter. Let me put it this way: would you prefer it if this were 'just another cardset'? Or do you think you'd like to see more stuff 'from the vaults of R&D', like mismatched Richard Garfield socks or Alpha playtest cards or something? Because if 'the vaults' don't exist, we can't very well come up with cool stuff from them, can we?
"Thanks for writing!"

SO there is no vault huh? then how do you explain Time Machine? AHA!
wow sum1 really had too much time on their hands.


any way im really excited about this set will be interesting cuz of snowy lands and also Possible synergy with RAV/KAM.

[TrainedChicken]

whatever what i want to know is how the heck you managed to start some rumor mill threads without raising a red flag to the mods and chedy.

Dude, I referenced getting my facts from a phone psychic. It was clear it was speculation.

[Galvatron]

snowiy lans hmm last time i checked they wern't reprinting snow coverd lands or any card that uses them

[TrainedChicken]

'Snap is a sequel to Alliances, and both Ice Age and Alliances used them, so I imagine they will be reprinting them and add cards which utilize that mechanic. I definitely think snow-covered foils will be FNM prizes.

[Galvatron]

wow that was along time ago
Yeha ther is nao vault thats jus ling to hype it up
Amature marketeting