![]() |
Cactuar card art |
Time for Card Talk! Reminder how this works:
- I go to Scryfall and select 'Random Card'
- I present and blog about the card. I could discuss any aspect: the art, abilities, cost, set, impact on the game, and so on. Stream of consciousness.
Card Talk is a fun, uncurated way to look at Magic's cards, mechanics, history, art, sets, and so on. And of course it exposes some of my own preferences, biases, and memories of the game.
Today's card is . . .
Today's card is . . .
Galadhrim Guide—a common creature from Tales of Middle Earth.
Tales of Middle Earth, released in 2023, is a Universes Beyond set, crossing Magic's gameplay with other Intellectual Properties (here, the Lord of the Rings universe). I've previously posted on the pros and cons of this concept. It seems Wizards is increasingly heading in this direction, with Final Fantasy being the latest offering. We'll see how this affects the health of the game in the long run.Galadhrim Guide's enter the battlefield ability is scrying. This is a deck sculpting ability that increases your chances of drawing a needed card at the right time. It is a powerful mechanic.
The card frame is called scroll showcase; the entire regular set was printed with this variant frame in addition to the regular one. I think these were available only on collector booster packs. It looks cool, and is part of the ever-expanding frame variants Wizards has been doing over the years. In this set alone, it is one of six frame types: regular, ring showcase, borderless art, extended art, scene cards, and scroll showcase. This overwhelms me (and is a nightmare for 'completist' collectors). I wish they would stick with one variant frame per release.
Until next time . . . keep exploring.