Magic: The Gathering
Magical Thinking: Morningtide
Welcome back to Magical Thinking, a look back at the cards and art of Magic: the Gathering, set by set, from the beginning. All through the eyes of a casual fan. This week we’re looking at the second and final set of the Lorwyn block, February of 2008’s Morningtide.
Morningtide continues the story of Rhys, an elf who is disgraced and blamed for an accident that killed many of his own kind, and also cause he broke his horns, making him an uggo in the eyes of his fellow elves (remember, Lorwyn elves are super racist jerks). As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Aurora is coming….
But more on that later. For now let’s see what goes on in this set.
Reinforce is one of the new mechanics in this set. It was considered a design failure, easy to see why since it’s not terribly exciting. In any case I’m gonna cut these guys a bit more slack than I gave the Mirrodin hoverguards. Mainly because I think it’s less absurd to be in a balloon than to wear a weird balloon suit.
I love the flavor of this card. Basically you just put your creature on the wheel of pain for a few turns in order to make them super swole. Welcome to Magic: the Gathering boot camp, maggot!
This card was recently reprinted in Theros Beyond Death, so I had the opportunity to play with it a bit. And considering Theros is an “enchantments matter” setting, it’s way more useful in that set than it is here.
Just chilling with the crew. Also, I love that one of them has a giant sword made of wood. Also apparently giants in Lorwyn will just fall asleep for a long time and wake up with a new name and purpose in life which…okay. Wish I could do that.
I always love abilities that grant pseudo-flying abilities. It’s not flying, it’s jumping good.
Once again, I love Lorwyn’s weird looking elementals (Which are, again, reminiscent of Kamigawa spirits). I mean, look at this thing! It’s a giant egg-filled bush with wings. That is an interesting design no matter how you cut it. Although I’m confused why its evoke cost is more expensive than its actual cost.
Kinship is another new mechanic from Morningtide which was considered a failure. I don’t see why. Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for tribal decks, but this seems like an alright mechanic for a tribal deck. You’re always gonna have a good chance to reveal a giant from your deck if you are running a giant deck. I don’t know, maybe it’s me.
Declaration of Naught, when you are absolutely tired of playing against the same cards over and over and you just want it to stop. I kind of wish we had that in standard right now, then we wouldn’t have had to ban Uro.
Man, Blue is just all about those combo killer cards in this set, isn’t it? Also, I hope those grimoires are water proof, otherwise this merfolk has a very poorly thought out career.
And here we have the final new mechanic of Morningtide, prowl. Prowl is largely connected to rogues, so it’s only in Blue and Black. It’s about bringing in a creature cheaper/with additional effects if you attack with your rogues first. It’s another mechanic that was considered a dud, although it did come back for the Zendikar Rising commander decks.
Negate is one of those spells that has become so emblematic of its color that its probably going to be reprinted forever. There are a lot of reprints of Negate and it’s even standard legal right now. It’s like Pacifism or Shock.
I’d be careful dude, there might be a hungry anglerfish at the end of that lure. Also, clash is still a thing. Remember clash? Yeah, me neither.
Yep, still got islandwalkers. Take a good look because they wont be here much longer.
I’m pretty sure I saw something like this on a religious pamphlet once. That said, not only do you have to pay seven Mana for this big boy, you also have to have it champion another elemental. Still, it is a 10/10 flyer.
See, this is why I call Lorwyn the Jim Henson Magic set. These guys look like they just came off the set of Labyrinth. I honestly just really dig the art style.
Oh, that is a whole chunk of nasty. I think I’ve had to clean stuff like that up on my job from time to time. Also, this seems like a card that benefits from having ways to put +1/+1 counters on things.
Well I guess we know what that snitch was telling Auntie about in the earlier card.
Now this is a neat creature. Not only do I like the weird design, but also the trail of sky colored slime that follows it. It gives the implication this thing is literally eating reality around it as it moves along. Again, I wish this card was in standard right now.
Oof, yeah Lorwyn dentistry leaves a lot to be desired. And that’s what it looks like if you have insurance, don’t even get me started on what the cheaper stuff looks like.
Man, Muddy Mudskipper let himself go after Ren and Stimpy ended.
Muddy Mudskipper? Ren and Stimpy? Anyone remember those? Just me then.
So the implication here seems to be that Lorwyn goblins behave like starfish or worms or something. That is interesting and horrifying.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Heavyweight champions of the Lorwyn wrestling league tag team division are here, and they put out a challenge to anyone in the arena. BUT WHAT’S THIS? IT’S POLAR KRAKEN COMING OUT OF THE STANDS WITH A STEEL CHAIR! THEY’RE CASHING IN THEIR MONEY IN THE BANK! OH MY GAWD!
Heh, that was a journey. Also, once again shout out to Pathfinder artist Wayne Reynolds. His art is always a treat.
Enchant lands always feel inefficient to me. Maybe it’s why I don’t generally use them. In particular this one. I get using effects that keep creatures from blocking (I love Clamor Shaman from Ravnica) but this one just isn’t my cup of tea.
The lunk stands alone I guess. Also, I love that clearly this is meant to be a young giant. Look at the oversized sling shot. This is the Dennis the Menace of giants.
I one day aspire to be in a position where I can say “RELEASE THE ANTS”, and have it make sense. Like that is my dream going forward.
This is pretty much me when I’m looking for new MTG spoilers.
This guy reminds me of Typhon, that Final Fantasy monster who knocks you out of a fight by sneezing at you.
Haven’t covered too many shapeshifters from this set, but I like this one. It has an ability that makes sure it wont take any bull from your opponent.
Oh hey, we’re in Green, so we need to deal with those racist elves again. Great. That treefolk guy looks like how I feel about the subject.
Apparently the Kithkin take a strong stance against GMOs in their food.
I’ve played with Fertilid before because it comes back in Ikoria. I had one in my Vorinclex brawl deck. It’s an okay card.
Ah yes. The heritage-not-hate druids. What’s the Lorwyn equivalent of a Confederate flag? (No I will never get tired of making fun of racists).
That treefolk is looking at his hands like he accidentally licked the wrong thallid.
Oh hey, it’s the only elf in this set whose not complete shit, and only because his own people turned on him because they’re shallow racist cretins.
(I mean, there might be other elves who are not racist shits in Lorwyn, but if there are I don’t think we ever see them. To be clear I’m not making fun of Lorwyn elves for being elves. I’m doing so because they are depicted as racists all the way down).
Wasn’t this guy in Fantasia? He’s super pretty either way.
One of my favorite aesthetics in any fantasy is the magical door that shouldn’t lead anywhere but leads somewhere. In this case, the door leads to your goblins becoming freaking huge as you play more and more of them.
Well. That’s creepy.
And that brings us to the end of Morningtide and Lorwyn block, a magical and idyllic setting with no horrible secrets or dark side or….hey what are those lights in the sky? Oh no. The Aurora is coming! Find out exactly what that means next time when we start the Shadowmoor block and we visit the dark side of Lorwyn. But until then, stay Magical.
