TCGplayer.com
1/8/2007

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By now we all know the big theme of the Time Spiral block: temporal chaos. Time and space are both unraveling, Dominaria lies in ruins and flickers of the past are blinking in and out of existence. This theme was pervasive in Time Spiral, and continues throughout the block. The Time Spiral block travels through the past, present and future as Teferi tries to determine what is happening to the multiverse, and to time itself.

So what does this mean to you, the pensive card slinger? Well, things have gotten a bit crazy in the realm of card design. In fact, Rei Nakazawa said the following:

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Seriously, R&D has really gone crazy on the Time Spiral block, both mechanically and creatively. I've been working with Magic creative for six years now, and during this memorable tenure, my jaw has dropped many times, but never like it has during these past few months. In the next three sets, Magic will do the unexpected: surprising old stuff will return in new forms, new things you thought couldn't be done will be done, and design rules will be broken all over the place in the wildest ways anyone could come up with. Fasten your seat belts, everyone; you're in for one heck of a ride!

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For the first set of the block, Magic R&D turned to the vast reservoir of cards from the past. The Time Spiral set not only reflected themes and mechanics of prior sets, it also re-introduced 121 "timeshifted" cards directly from Magic's history. These nostalgic reprints reflected the nature of Time Spiral development, and piqued the interest of the Magic public. Cards like Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Call of the Herd and Psionic Blast have not only become deckbuilding favorites, but have also brought the past back to life.

So what's in store for Planar Chaos, the set focused on the present? How can Planar Chaos show the effect of temporal chaos on today? What can players expect from the set?

In Monday's preview articles, both Mark Rosewater and Rei Nakazawa discussed how Planar Chaos dealt with the problem of representing the present in a turbulent timeline, which is by delving into alternate realities. With time in flux and the past shifting across the plane, the present is fractured into multiple possibilities. What kinds of cards would arise if events in Magic's past had gone slightly (or perhaps even drastically) different? These 'what ifs' result in things like Damnation, or Groundbreaker. But not all of these representations of alternate realities are near-direct reprints; some are retoolings of cards of yore.

In order to transition from the ideas of the Time Spiral block and the Planar Chaos 'alternate realities' theme to today's preview card, here's a small tale.

There once was a boy named Chris. As much as any other Magic player around, he loved to say no. So upon winning the 2000 Magic Invitational in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wizards had his personalized card submission to contemplate:

The Meddler
1UU
Creature - Wizards of the Coast
2/3
As The Meddler comes into play, name a card.
Sacrifice The Meddler: Counter named card.

Interestingly enough not only did Wizards R&D embrace the idea, the version that was eventually printed in Planeshift was far stronger than Chris Pikula's original card.

Store QTY Price   CoolStuffInc 7 $5.49 ChannelFireball 4 $7.98 MTGChicago 2 $7.99 GamingETC 3 $7.99 Matchplay 2 $8.09 CCGHouse 8 $8.38 ShuffleandCut 9 $10.85 adventuresON 27 $14.99 >> View all Prices for Meddling Mage << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Meddling Mage immediately become a players' favorite, and was at the time a very unique take on how one player could control another player's options. Enter Planar Chaos, a little bit of temporal distortion and a 'what if', and you end up with a whole new take on The Meddler. Today's preview card is a pumped-up version of Chris' original idea.




Voidstone Gargoyle doesn't just say no, it's more like a frustrated parent who has reached the boiling point with a child who isn't listening. This gargoyle says, "When I say no, I mean NO!!!" Really, there's no way getting around it once this gargoyle lays down the law. You can't play the card, you can't use its abilities, you can't cycle, suspend, or even flashback. Now go to your room.

There are several distinct differences between Voidstone Gargoyle and Pikula's Mage, though. While you could race out a Meddling Mage to prevent a certain card, at 3WW the gargoyle certainly isn't going to see the early game. On the other hand, there are a good number of card effects that it can stop that the mage never could, and many of these cards are the perfect target for a mid-game game card like Voidstone. (Think recurring threats like Eternal Dragon or Hakkon, Stromgald Scourge.)

Also, the mage reflected the colors present in its casting cost, white to symbolize its rigid rules and blue to show its control over others. Today's gargoyle understands that white has enough control to define what can and cannot come into play.

The exact impact that this angry castle decoration will have is a bit hard to determine without knowing what the rest of the set has in store, but one thing is for certain. When you absolutely, positively want to make sure that you're not going to have to deal with that one certain card,Voidstone Gargoyle is the guy you want on your side of the board.