What do you think is the best block?
Me, its definitely Odyssey (henceforth referred to as OTJ). Here's why:
Block mechanics:
Probably the most flexible and universal block mechanics ever (that I have seen, for me, I started in Portal, but got hardcore around Odyssey). Flashback and threshold cards can be tossed into any deck and they will trigger, the same can not be said about affinity, tribal, spirit arcane...(does anyone else think that Blocks are getting too fucking narrow?)
Block Flavor:
The Cabal, the Pits, the Mirari, yeah that shit was rediculously interesting. I feel that the relationships between the colors were really hammered out and you could almost feel the hatred between the Cabal and the Order, plus it was the first time that black didn't seem to be crammed into the "evil" role.
Block Decks:
From what I've read, it was pretty diverse, but its not my specialty

For those of you who are going to say IPA:
Domain has to be built around, kicker does indeed PWN, multi-color theme is ok, but multi-colored cards should always be availible, not just when it fits a theme. The story was meh, I have no idea about the block decks, and please, get off IPA's nuts, it was good, but not the be all and end all of Magic.

I am unfamiliar with anything older than Masques, so if you want to nominate it, please explain why. Use what ever criteria you like :)

I dont know about the best, but my favorite is definetly OLS(onslaught).It has fetches and GOBLINS!And minds desire is one of my favorites.

Def. Masques block.

Why?

It is utter shit, and made Rebels a playable deck.

Wow.

I really liked Mirrodin. Pretty simple but good story--one I could easily pick up from flavor texts. I like that in a block. The cards were also very good and innovative on their own ((Mindslaver! <3 that card)). Affinity was broken, yes, but fun to play. Just a lot of good cards from the block.

I think you're the first person to say that...

Plus T: WTF? are you busting my balls or are you serious? My favorite part about Masques was the high number of Alternate Casting Cost cards, but in general, I found it lacking (although the flavor was kind of neat).

Mirrodin was great and a close second in my book, but I have to give my nod to Tempest Block.

Tempest, Stronghold, and Exodus contain probably the highest concentration of playable cards of any 3 sets I've ever seen. Every set has had bright spots, but the whole damn block shines. Read over the spoilers and you'll see what I mean. There have been Tier 1 playable decks built around at least 2 different cards in each set, and there are still a ton of amazing supporting cards that have been used in a huge number of decks, too.

I don't think there has been a block that has defined so many decks and formats without completely breaking the game (fuck you, Urza's Block), with the exception of possibly Mirrodin. Tempest Block FTW.

I agree. Another reason I like Mirrodin block so much was that I was starting to really get into magic as Mirrodin block was unfolding.

I'll definitely look into that block. Since I'm such a NOOB I have almost no experience with the older stuff (I have plenty of choice singles, but the "big picture" is lost on me).

Actually I didn't play during Tempest either, but every damn deck I go to build in Extended, Casual, or (now) 1.5 has a bunch of really good Tempest cards in it, or I discover a card I like was originally printed in Tempest. Here's a brief sampling of what each set contains:

Tempest:
Aluren
Auratog
Cursed Scroll
Death Pits of Rath
Eladamri's Vineyard
The Medallions
Humility
Intuition
Living Death
Mana Severance
Meditate
Root Maze
Sarcomancy
Scroll Rack
Verdant Force
Ancient Tomb
Apes of Rath (lol@the name)
Boil
Chill
Choke
Dauthi Mercenary
Jackal Pup
Reanimate
Stalking Stones
Warmth
Wasteland
Capsize
Dark Ritual (best DarkRit art, IMO)
Dauthi Horror
Diabolic Edict
Lotus Petal
Mogg Fanatic
Rampant Growth
Shadow Rift

Stronghold:
Dream Halls
Ensnaring Bridge
Intruder Alarm
Mox Diamond
Sacred Groud
Megrim
Fling
Mana Leak
Mogg Flunkies
Shock

Exodus:
City of Traitors
Hatred
Mind over Matter
Oath of Druids
Sphere of Resistance
Survival of the Fittest
Curiosity
Dauthi Cutthroat
Forbid
Price of Progress
Carnophage
Soul Warden

And those are really just the cards that jump out when lookin over the spoilers.

I honestly like Masques block. I like the flavor, spellshapers (which made for fun limited, WaterFront bouncer is the bestest card ever) the apc's and rebels.

I never liked port, though.

I agree with Fonzy. Although I can't choose my fav from Urza/Rath, Rath cycle was the best set, not to mention it was the set I got seriously into Magic.

Fonzy, you're dead right, I never really noticed how many cards I myself use from that block...

i would have to say urza, mainly because this was the block that was out when i was really getting into magic

the tempest block was also really good. lots of solid cards that are used in a lot of current decks.

@Fonz: RECURRING NIGHTMARE!!!!!!111

Ice Age (if you consider that a block). :shifty:

its an acceptable answer, but why do you like it?

EDIT: Pseudo-related but...do you guys think power creep is a bullshit concept? I understand that the game could spiral out of control if not cntrolled, but it looks like its used to cover WOTC's ass most of the time, same with the reserve list. Oh and standard...fuck standard lol.

Dark Ritual
Demonic Consultation
Necropotence
Force of Will
etc...

I'm looking at FoW right now...its from the one w/ the flag for a logo.

It's called Alliances. Man kids these days :P

For me, Mirage block is still my favorite. I started playing just as Mirage came out and I liked the flavor of the set, and thought the it was pretty balanced. I also think it was around that time that the artwork started to shift away from the older styles, and I still think most of the cards in the block look pretty damn good.

Plus phasing is teh hawtness :wub:

It has to be OLS for me. I know its not the best of blocks, but I just learned so much from those blocks. They were the most recent expansions when I started playing, and the cards helped me learn about mana curve, efficiency, and all that jazz. It's more of a sentimental value that OLS brings to me, but you cant deny it was also a good block. Piledriver, Exalted Angel, Fetches, Warchief's, Oversold Cemetary all those and more came from this wonderful block

Speaking of art...
Anyone else think the newer stuff is some of the best shit they've ever had?

I actually like masques too, and I'm not just sucking up to +t...I actually liked it back when I was (still sort of am, but meh) a nublet because of the flavor and spellshapers.

Spellshapers were a nice addition, I forgot about those guys. For some reason every time I think of masques block the only thing that comes to mind is alternate casting costs and fading...

oh ew. they new art all looks the same. older art had flavor too it, the artists were allowed to give their own renditions of things and it was more art. the new stuff is just so commercial/forced looking.

I hat eold art. Stuff like Phil Foglio art wasn't very magic-esque. New art like Zurs Weirding is kick ass.

I consider the block to be composed of Ice Age, Alliances and Homelands. ;)

I thought ice age was on dominaria and FE/AL was on that plane that baron sengir ran...OMFG TEH CONFUZORZ

Tough one; I would have to say Odyssey or Mirage Block but I would probably go with Odyssey as I didn't play with Mirage Block (Visions still is my favorite set of all time).

Great Flavor, I really liked most of the art (better than the crap in ONslaught and to a lesser extent Mirrodin although Mirrodin art dosn't downright hurt to look at).

The cards were just fun and all the mechanics were great.

Mirage, was, well, Mirage. Awesome awesome art, VERY cool cards and very very fun mechanics and decks (well, other than Prosp-Bloom and Draw-Go I hear).

Its like what they did in Masques Block and Mirage block; the last sets weren't set on the same plane (none of the sets in Masques block were on the same plane) but they all flowed together. I cant remember exactly what the tie in with Ice Age was to Homelands; I think Tevish-Szat chased Serra away into the Homelands or something like that... I dont know.

Masques didn't take place on the same plane or at the same time either. I think the "Ice Age Block" were just the three sets closest together.

I don't really have a favorite block. Maybe IPA, because that is when I really started learning how to be a good player, but I don't know if I'd call it my favorite.

I just have a favorite set, which is revised. I started at revised, and it holds a special place in my heart.

If only you had started alittle sooner you'd have moxen and shit to play with.

I can kind of see a concern about power creep after sets like Mirrodin, where there would be a real temptation as a designer to continually outdo yourself, or for different design teams to be competitive and try to make each successive set better than the last...

I think it's just an excuse when MaRo talks about it, though, because it's usually in the context of, "Why we make awful cards like OWN". There should be a conscious effort to try and keep the power level from exploding, but that still doesn't explain completely useless cards like *Fuck you Zerg* or Raging Goblin (ironically, also first printed in Tempest Block) or One With Nothing, because there's so much room between making mediocre cards that are borderline playable and unbelievably broken cards.

What do you guys think is better? Sets/Blocks with a few absolutely rediculous cards, or sets with no real jump at you and smack you cards, but are damn near ALL playable?

For example would you rather see a set with:
Mishra's shop, Drain, Lotus, the rest *Fuck you Zerg*s
or
Something like Tempest (good set choice fonzy) where there are lots of good cards, a few gems, but nothing that breaks type 1 open, if I miss a few cards, my bad, I'm not as familiar with the set as fonzy)

EDIT: Fonzy, I don't think Mirrodin was power creep. Magic over all did not become super mondo broken beyond repair, and it didn't push more than like 5 cards out of Vintage by obsoleting them. Yeah, it made type 2 miserable, but I mean I'll be honest, I do not like nor care about type 2...

I think that might be where power creep concerns come in. When they make cards that are incredibly strong, they break the current type 2 environment and then they have to be banned, and everybody gets pissed. When you look at Vintage however, not too many new cards get used alot, unless they create a totally new effect (like mind slaver, storm, etc) that is at least somewhat broken/abusable. We already have the BEST mana accel, card drawing, countering, tutoring, etc in print, so as time progresses and the pool of cards widens, those will still be the king of hill type cards that will be sought after, making them ever increase in price. We can't get reprints, cuz they'd bweak pwecious type 2(sarcasm aside, I hate type 2, take my comments with a grain of salt), and that damned reserve list (I feel bad because eventually they will HAVE to break down and reprint oldies, and somebody is going to feel real stupid after they spend 10,000 dollars on a lotus) stops them from being reprinted in a special non-type 2 set for the vintage/legacy fans...Back to my original point, Wizards seems to be so afraid to make old cards obsolete that they forget that those unrivaled non-obsolete cards are gaining value at an incredible rate, and continuously moving out of reach for some of us. Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, I'm not sure, I can't manage to put myself in the shoes of people who have either purchased the stuff, started when the game was new, or are pure collectors. I know that I felt like an asshole when Vedalken Orreries went from 6 ea to .50 ea, I can't begin to imagine what it would feel like for a lotus to drop to like 10-100 range.

I think that alot of players start w/ type 2 and then gradually move into the more open formats until they want to play 1, 1.5 and then see the bill and go :wha: . Type 2 is magic on a tricycle, extended is magic with training wheels, 1.5 is a mountain bike, and 1 is a kawasaki ninja with nitro-boost lol. Limited is something you do when you've just bought a box of boosters...lol

I would rather have a set like Tempest over anything. The only cards that really caused a problem in that block, AFAIK, were Cursed Scroll and Hatred, and their days in the sun have long since passed. The problem with trying to design a set like that though, is that you come up with Champions of Kamigawa sometimes, too, which, as a block, is boring the hell out of me. Sure it's good and balanced, and there are lot of cards that are playable in Type 2 and Block, and even a few that will find their way into Extended, 1.5, and T1, but man oh man, is the set boring.

With the power creep thing, I was thinking more along the lines of if I was designing the set following Mirrodin I'd be tempted to continue along the same lines or raise the power level, which is where the power would creep. Mirrodin itself I think was a standout block and did represent an increase in power level over most of the other sets. It didn't break the game in most cases, but I think we'll look back at Mirrodin in 5 years and see it in the same light as we see Urza's now. Ok, maybe not as bad, but the same general sentiment.

Also, shame on your T1 elitism. Each format has its strengths and weaknesses. I try and play in as many of them as I can as often as I can.

@Fonzy: Mirrodin did break a format. T1. It broke the "hell fucking ninja spirit ass of the unholy triad that is the intense motherfucker, oh hit me like there's no tomorrow!" Type 1, and with the current Restriction, it's just broken. T1 goodies in it are irreplacable.

Rath is great. It has given quite many good cards, and gems like Mana Leak are still staple in T2.

I love T1 the most without a doubt, but I also love T2, as it limits, where it can get funny. I also love T1,5, perhaps the only format I don't quite like is Ext. It's like the orphan child of the formats.

And it didn't cost me that hell of a much to enter Vintage. I was like, "I feel a little down on Force of Wills tonite", and I got some. That was, almost it.

Fonz: I don't mean to be elitist sounding, I just hate the small card pool in standard. I tip my hat to those who can devise devastating decks from only 2 blocks and a core set...but the lack of potential diversity bothers me, there are usually only like 3 decks that are even worth playing. So no, I'm not elitist, I just like having LOTS and lots of options, which is why I rank limited as even lower than type 2. I know all formats require different sets of skills, but I feel magic is more fun when there are more options.

I agree with alot of what Fonz says.
I think that different formats test players in different ways,
and that players can learn alot by playing in all the different formats.

I also agree that by the end of a block (like where Kami block is now, it gets really old, and everyone is playing the same shit)
But when a new set comes out T2 can be soooo much fun,
even better when it's an entirely new block.
It just levels the playing field between noob's and old school a little.
I will concede that skill is skill regardless of what cards you have, but it is fun to see an old school player get whumped on by a player that has only played for a
month or two in a new set draft. (maybe not quite as fun when your the oldschooler, but if you can swallow a little pride and accept that the noob saw something drafting that you didn't catch yet, it can really be some of the funnest magic there is to play.

Don't get me wrong, I am a T1 player at heart, but I tend to lose alot because I don't like playing the same decks over and over, (plus every time I get my hands on a good staple card, I end up selling it).
so every other day I mess around with a new idea, usually doesn't work but once in awhile I pull off some shit that blows my mind.

One of the biggest tragedies in Magic is when old schoolers alienate noobies because they are new.
I see soo many magic players attempt to make the shift from T2 to T1 or T1.5
and then drop Magic altogether because of the bad vibes they got from the first T1 tournament they entered, (usually it's because they came with some ricioulous soulshift deck with a Sol Ring in it or something),
But you have to crawl before you can walk. And I think losing is teacher enough without needing the snicker that usually follows from the oldschooler who finished him off.

OTJ. Mainly because of Torment and Judgement. Mutilate, Cabal Coffers, Compulsion, Burning Wish, Mirari's Wake and that somewhat broken Worldgorger Dragon.

Rath cycle by far. It was (still is) fun, fresh and has a ton of good cards. I really started to get into the game when Tempest was released, and all of my friends got into it as well (about 10). I'm the only one left that plays. :(

Good memories.

I know it isn't a block, but I really like Unlimited and Revised since they are the sets I started with.

I also like Ice Age a lot since it was the first expansion I bought a lot of. Fallen Empires as well, even though the cards suck. I really want to make some decks based on old expansions just to play against each other. Like a red Ice Age deck versus a Blue Ice Age deck. They'd suck against good decks, but would have cool flavor.

Tempest was cool. I like sets that add a lot of useable cards to the Magic card pool (as opposed to ones that add a lot of cards, but few useable ones).

I liked Mirrodin a lot. Not the affect it had on T2, but the many useable cards it added (most of which weren't even good in T2). I also liked the robots.

My favorite is still IPA. There were a lot of good cards in it, and it was the only block I ever enjoyed drafting.

And it had FoF and Meddling Mage.