Zendikar vs. Eldrazi Rework (5/13/19)

Brigby
Brigby ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 7,757 Site Admin
in MtGPQ Events
Hi Everyone,

When we launched Duel Decks, many players were excited about its concept, however we also heard a lot of feedback about how it could be improved. As a result, our team decided to temporarily remove the Zendikar vs. Eldrazi from the event schedule back in January, so that we could make some adjustments to it based on player feedback. 

With 3.4 arriving next week, we are excited to announce that we have finished those adjustments, and Zendikar vs. Eldrazi will be returning to the event schedule starting this Friday, 5/17!

Check out the full details of these adjustments below:

Charges and Duration

  • The maximum PvP Battle Charges are changed from 6 to 12.
  • The Recharge Time has been changed from 5h 30m to 2h.
  • The Challenge Phase duration has been changed from 18h to 12h.
  • The Duel Phase duration has been changed from 18h to 12h.
  • The Final Duel Phase duration has been changed from 12h to 24h.

Planeswalker Color and Decks

  • The Eldrazi Desolation now has its color restricted to no longer be able to use Green nor White.
  • The Eldrazi Desolation's deck has the following cards changed:
    • Spatial Contortion changed to Adverse Conditions
    • Scour from Existence changed to Grip of Desolation
    • Eye of Ugin changed to Eldrazi Temple
    • Eldrazi Monument changed to Molten Nursery
    • Ruins of Oran-Rief changed to Cryptic Cruiser
    • Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger changed to Bane of Bala Ged
    • Spawnsire of Ulamog changed to Wasteland Strangler
  • Nissa, Worldwaker's deck has the following cards changed:
    • Mana Confluence changed to Embodiment of Insight
    • Grove Rumbler changed to Undergrowth Champion
    • Reclaiming Vines changed to Sword of the Animist
    • Momentous Fall changed to Nissa's Pilgrimage

Card Sets and Objectives

  • Card Sets allowed changed from Legacy to only Origins, Zendikar vs. Eldrazi, Battle for Zendikar, and Oath of the Gatewatch.
  • Zendikar Objective Changes:
    • [PvE] Call to Arms changed to "Create 12 or more Creature Tokens during a fight"
    • [PvE] Bounty Hunter changed to Striker, "Deal 20 or more damage during a turn"
    • [PvP] Miser changed to Zendikari, "Cast 5 or more Creatures with any of these subtypes: Elemental, Elf"
    • [PvP] Pauper changed to Hardened, "Cast 4 or more creatures with toughness 4 or more."
  • Eldrazi Objective Changes
    • [PvE] Call to Arms changed to "Create 12 or more Creature Tokens during a fight"
    • [PvE] Mightstone changed to Striker, "Deal 20 or more damage during a turn."
    • [PvP] Prodigal changed to Progeny, "Cast 5 or more Creatures with any of these subtypes: Eldrazi, Vampire"
    • [PvP] Pauper changed to Mightstone, "Cast 4 or more creatures with power 4 or more."

Support Card Changes

  • Eldrazi Desolation
    • Can't be destroyed. Can't be exiled. Whenever a player casts a Colorless card, Ingest 2.
  • Voice of Zendikar
    • Can't be destroyed. Can't be exiled. Landfall: The first creature you control gains +1/+1 and you gain 2 life. Whenever a player casts a card with Awaken, create 2 Forest Tokens under that player's control.

Card Rebalances

The Spell card Warping Wail has been rebalanced
  • [New] Ingest 2 and create an Eldrazi Scion. If there are 6 or more Void gems, exile the first opposing creature with toughness 6 or less. If there are less than 6 Void gems, drain all mana from your opponent's first spell instead.

Rewards

  • PvE Card Experience changed from 30 to 20 experience.
  • Mana Runes per loss increased to 100
  • No changes to Mana Jewels and ZvE Rare Booster star rewards.
  • PvP Card Experience changed from 30 to 20 experience.
  • Secondary objectives now also grant 10 Mana Jewels.
  • No changes to Mana Crystals and Mana Jewels rank rewards.

Planeswalker Artwork

New visual update for The Eldrazi Desolation's Planeswalker artwork

Comments

  • Mburn7
    Mburn7 Posts: 3,427 Chairperson of the Boards
    This looks like it'll be really great!  Too bad the VIP changes mean I probably won't be around to play it much.
  • Azerack
    Azerack Posts: 501 Critical Contributor
    Somehow I don't think the updated handicap on TED will be enough to make people want to play Zen.. There's still a lot of wiggle room for what's left...
  • Machine
    Machine Posts: 871 Critical Contributor
    edited May 2019
    Too bad the event is scheduled together with a time consuming coalition event AND has it's phases shortened. I probably won't be able to play it.
  • Mburn7
    Mburn7 Posts: 3,427 Chairperson of the Boards
    starfall said:
    For all the changes you made to this one event you could have made a bunch of new ones.
    I think these changes are going to make this event much more fun (note:  we won't know until we play it).  I agree new events would be nice but this is a good start.
  • ElfNeedsFood
    ElfNeedsFood Posts: 944 Critical Contributor
    starfall said:
    For all the changes you made to this one event you could have made a bunch of new ones.
    Once they get the format right, there are literally dozens of Duel Decks options they could build by creating a couple of planeswalkers, a few new cards, and reskin the event. 
  • Tremayne
    Tremayne Posts: 1,693 Chairperson of the Boards
    @ElfNeedsFood - totally agree that they can easily add new factions to face off against each other, but the deck lists (and possibly new cards are a different issue).

    However, hopefully they have hit the right balance with these changes. I am looking forward to see how the changes plays out.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2019
    This content has been removed.
  • Laeuftbeidir
    Laeuftbeidir Posts: 1,841 Chairperson of the Boards
    At least the changes in this very thread are ones I like and somehow look forward to!
  • TheDude1
    TheDude1 Posts: 194 Tile Toppler
    We asked and asked and asked for set-restricted events in general and for competitive rebalancing with this event in particular, specifically with less-grindy secondary objectives and restricting color access for TED.  They are delivering with this as a first run.  There's more that can be done, and TBD if these changes have the desired effect, but let's not have perfect be the enemy of good here.
  • BATMAN1
    BATMAN1 Posts: 146 Tile Toppler
    Real question, does anyone even care about duel decks? 
  • ZW2007-
    ZW2007- Posts: 812 Critical Contributor
    While I'm disappointed in the announcements for 3.4, this is probably the most positive aspect (besides the bug fixes). I still don't think this event will be great but hopefully it is improved from its previous iteration. I'm curious though, if it flops again, will they start to take player feedback seriously? We really aren't just a bunch of morons throwing out random ideas.
  • wereotter
    wereotter Posts: 2,070 Chairperson of the Boards
    Gotta say.... I understand why this was changed, but I'm disappointed that I can't really play the event anymore...

    There hasn't been a reason to open BFZ packs for years, and you can't craft cards targeting those sets specifically. Add to it that I joined the game well after those sets launched, and now I'm in a situation where I'm a high-level player in platinum with pretty much no cards from that set, meaning now I can't really play the event. Basically Origins only while many other players will have access to so many more options for play.
  • GrizzoMtGPQ
    GrizzoMtGPQ Posts: 776 Critical Contributor
    BFZ has some of the best cards in the game - Prism Array, Part the Waterveil, Bring to Light, Exert Influence, Transgress the Mind, Grip of Desolation, Scour From Existence. I’d chase all of them if I didn’t have them. 
  • Gideon
    Gideon Posts: 356 Mover and Shaker
    I’m glad they are possibly improving an event I really don’t like. They should also release a new duel deck instead of this tired old one. I wonder why Wizards doesn’t keep selling the same duel deck over and over again? Maybe because it doesn’t make any sense. People want new things. Imagine if for every birthday you had your family secretly took your old toys and rewrapped them every year. Then on your Birthday day you were so excited to open your gifts only to get what you already have. This is the gut punch of this game. Get a new think tank please. I’ve had just about enough of this nonsense. I only have so much energy in a day. It’s probably time to stop using it on this game.
  • wereotter
    wereotter Posts: 2,070 Chairperson of the Boards
    GrizzoMtGPQ said:
    BFZ has some of the best cards in the game - Prism Array, Part the Waterveil, Bring to Light, Exert Influence, Transgress the Mind, Grip of Desolation, Scour From Existence. I’d chase all of them if I didn’t have them. 
    I won't argue that there are some good cards in that set... but for me, I don't play the vast majority of legacy events, excepting the duel deck event and the PvE legacy events. As such, since I can play with everything I owned, I never had a reason to go after the Zendikar block cards specifically. And now I can't target Zendikar specifically when crafting to try to get those cards for the event.

    Maybe this is just a me problem... but I can see this being an issue for any player who joined when or after I did.
  • Aeroplane
    Aeroplane Posts: 314 Mover and Shaker
    Wow, pretty boring slog of an event....
  • Azerack
    Azerack Posts: 501 Critical Contributor
    This is the first time, since first Beta, that Zen actually won... pretty surreal. Glad I decided to join them, this time, since I was curious to see the rework in action.

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