Expansion news!

Eldrazi hero with a "generic" name. Eldrazi scions what help out any Eldrazi hero... Now I'm hyped! Don't know if we will get more, but it is definitely set up for more. We do know that these cards are official right? But why did they make the group of Eldrazi Scions unique when they are the base spawn-able creature token in the card game? Maybe so they could have more types of base Eldrazi?

Don't know if anyone else has too much time on their hands, but I did! A few thoughts:
According to Amazon.com, you get:

Includes 2 Planeswalker figures, 3 hero figures, 11 squad figures, 15 spell cards, 9 army cards, Battle for Zendikar Board Game Expansion Pack Guide.

Judging from THIS image:

You get Ob Nixilis & Kiora as your Planeswalkers.
The HERO figures are probably the  Kor looking thing, the  Merman looking guy & the Eldrazi Ruiner.
That leaves 9 army cards with 11 "squad" figures:
1. 3x Eldrazi Scions
2. 3x Goblins
3. 2x Dirkwood Skirmishers(?) - They look like them,
4. 3x Vampires(?) (I was really hoping the first figure was a Zombie Hero...)
There's your 11 squad figures. Your other army cards will probably be:
5. Eldrazi Ruiner Hero
6. Ob Nixilis Planeswalker
7. Kiora Planeswalker
8. Kor Hero
9. Merman Hero

As for deckbuilding, based on the synopsis, you're "supposed to" have enough points to select any planeswalker and choose the Eldrazi Ruiner Hero and the Eldrazi Scions to use as your army, since it's .

As for the Ruiner itself:

I believe that the skirmish battle with the Ruiner and it's Scions use special stats on the skirmish scenario when running it. Probably to add beefiness to the Eldrazi, since no Planeswalker = no spells. If you use the Ruiner in your army, I think you'll use the card stats:


Unfortunately, by my math: 150 + 55 = 205, leaving you 295 points to select a Planeswalker... even if you only choose the Ruiner, you run into problems with the cost of the Planeswalkers:
(in no particular order)
Chandra = 365 points = NO WAY, JOSE.
Jace = 340 points = You + Eldrazi Ruiner & NO other squad = No Devour for Strength
Gideon = 350 points = same as Jace.
Nissa = 330 points = same as Jace.
Liliana = 325 points = same as Jace.
Ob = 385(?) points = same as Chandra
Kiora = 345 points = sames as Jace.

Looks like our only salvation is that they increase the army cost allotment OR they change the cost of the Eldrazi Ruiner & Eldrazi Scions. Either way, it still sucks if you wanted to use Chandra or Ob with the Ruiner. Thoughts?

I agree that the multicolored planeswalker and the eldrazi make things much more interesting.
So i'd like to see an artifakt expansion (favourite would be a myr expansion with some common myr squads, a loadstone myr as a unique squad and memnarch as hero) or a sliver expansion with slivers for all colors which influence each other.
Ooh there are soo many possibilities.

So the expasion is comming with 15 new spells cards. I think it'll be 3 for each color as the images show so far.
What happens if my group want to play with Kiora and Nissa/Jace? We can't because there wont be enough cards to build 2 decks? The same applies to Lili/Ob.

I'm having so much fun so far, but I want to invest in a game that I can get its full potential without buying more than 1 core set or wait for many others expansions.

Just some closeups of Kiora and Ob Nixilis cards, since they haven't been posted here yet.

I'm pretty sure the new scenarios provided will be more than 500 points (gonna take a shot in the dark it'll be 600 at least so you can run Ob Nixilis+Ruiner+Scions.)

Also, loving the new Eldrazi, very scary.


Edit: Also, in the spoiled contents picture, you can clearly see a new  spell card, which means each color will be getting 3 new spells.

Perhaps Hasbro ban make smaller, squad/hero expansions, in between the major expansions. (i.e. similar to X-wing or Attack Wing).

They can also potentially cross-sell to existing Magic TCG players by adding an uncommon card that corresponds to the featured squad unit/hero unit in the mini expansion, for use with the TCG.

The way that I may hoping to determine that date is by watching the CSI website. As long as they have Battle for Zendikar as pre-order, it is not yet available. Once it is generally available, it will go off pre-order there.

Well here's my quick review of the new expansion

Pro: There are a lot of great new abilities introduced such as first strike, death touch, and hero units, making each color more individual and unique. Now it's not just the choice of paint that sets creatures apart, but these new creatures have some special abilities that really make them shine in their color.

Con: The new cards do not add up to equal amounts ( at 85, at 55, at 65, stuff like that) so you will have to pay attention when setting things up. Likewise, the planeswalker is significantly mroe expensive than any other planeswalker to date, so again, something to keep in mind.

Pro: The Eldrazi being "" adds some ability to "mix things up". Sure, I'm playing as Jace, but I don't need my illusions this time, because I have my Eldrazi!

Con: *Minor* But, I find the eldrazi minis a little annoying. For one thing, the scions have a larger base than the other minis, and the Ruiner can be a little hard to place around terrain and other minis due to his arm sticking out. Again, it's a minor thing, but it is a thing.

Pro: We all knew multi-color planeswalkers were being introduced in this set, so it's not unexpected, but again it allows for some interesting army construction to change up the standard play a bit.

Con: has some cards that, for now, are almost useless. I'm thinking of skyreaping from the original set (deal 1 damage to flying units) and a card that came in the new set that boosts a hero unit. has zero hero units at the moment, so the card is only useful if you go /. For now, I've house-ruled that it can be used on squads as well.

Pro: 1 V 3 again adds something new and fresh. I've heard a lot of people say it's really hard to win as the Eldrazi, but I haven't tried it enough to say for certain yet. Either way, it at least gives more variety.

Con: Now I have to wait far too long for the NEXT expansion

In summary: this expansion adds a lot of new things that really change the game for the better. Most of my complaints are pretty minor (although I wish there had been more dice, ok, tiny rant is over now) and in general, I enjoy this expansion a lot. it's interesting having squads of only one or two units instead of the usual three and I think in general, this is a great first expansion. Can't wait to see what's coming next!