And here I am again, writing! Boy, it feels like AGES since I last inflicted upon you a piece of work that is long and time-consuming, but here it comes, have another one!
PS: As usual, I will be commenting on MY point of view about the new cards, meaning, I'll only discuss the ones I think might be good or deceitful, and why, and while I AM open to discussion on ANY cards of the new set, I won't edit the article to include any, so as to see what I might have missed after some time flies by!
WHITE CARDSAdmonition Angel: Any 6/6 flyer is a bomb in Limited, so this is no exception. He also comes with built in Oblivion Rings, as long as you can keep the lands flowing, so he makes a nice combo with Ruin Ghost (you won't be making a lot of land drops after the sixth without either "cheating" or flooding), but to be honest, if you have a 6/6 dude that flies, chances are you're winning anyway, perhaps you might need to activate him ONCE to clear a blocker, and that's it. For Constructed, he costs too much for being na easy target and his ability is too irrelevant at that point.
Apex Hawks: A 2/2 flyer for 3 is pretty standard issue, and pretty decent in Limited. This guy escalates with your mana, making him worthy of a high pick in Drafts if you're in white (or planning to go white), but it's just too slow for Constructed.
Hada Freeblade: Playable even as your only ally, might pack quite a punch in the right deck. Might be Constructed worthy, although I think Boros Bushwacker is simply faster without the Ally package.
Join the Ranks: Nuts in Limited, MIGHT make it into Constructed (if allies become playable, this will SURELY make the cut at least as a 1-of or 2-of).
Kitesail Apprentice: This guy is MEAN. I'd most likely consider playing him in any white weenie deck that packed equipments, following him with Bonesplitter, is NUTS, you're swinging for 4 over the air on turn 2!
Kor Firewalker: Hoses red pretty good, but that's it. Might make the cut in Constructed, due to Jund and Boros Bushwacker being widely played, as well as monored in Extended.
Loam Lion: Kird Ape. Yes, playable. Duh. However, keep in mind Kird Ape means you're playing red, giving you acess to burn, while this guy means you're either playing Zoo (meaning Wild Nacatl is better and most likely so is Steppe Lynx), or you're playing
aggro, with no burn whatsoever, which tends to be a recipe for running out of gas and dropping dead, when playing beatdown. I'd like to see a "Kird Ape" combining
for a change, you'd be giving a SOLID one-drop for the best aggro combination.
Marshal's Anthem: Game-winner in Limited. For Constructed, I'm torn. It SEEMS playable, but I'm not sure I want to pack a 6-mana reanimation spell into a white deck instead of simply packing Baneslayer Angel. He is a REALLY expensive reanimation spell for more than 1 creature, and at the lowest cost of getting a creature back, the other half is only relevant in aggro decks, which will have less relevant dorks to bring back.
Perimeter Captain: Lifegaining doesn't make you win (usually, of course), it just makes it take longer for you to lose. Period.
Refraction Trap: Harm's Way is infinitely better. Seriously.
Ruin Ghost: Cute in Limited, but that's it (and supposing you have RELEVANT landfall spells, not Rest for the
Weary), just not worth the deck space and tempo loss to try to abuse in Constructed, simply pack Fetchlands and win the game faster.
Stoneforge Mystic: Seems cute, and all, but if you find a REALLY MEAN equipment, chances are he's biting it before he can have his ability played. Otherwise, if you'll use him to find you Umezawa's Jitte, just play more copies of it!
Talus Paladin: Ok, this is another auto-playable Ally in limited. MIGHT make it into Constructed if allies hit it off, but I sincerely doubt it, he seems too slow, even with the perk of lifelink.
Terra Eternal: Amazing card if land destruction is hot in your meta. Otherwise, might be good with manlands, but I wouldn't waste the deckspace.
Veteran's Reflexes: Nice trick, but even cuter as a way of abusing
abilities, gaining extra mileage off them. To bad combat damage doesn't use the stack anymore, would make this a VERY good trick. Limited only, of course.
BLUE CARDSAether Tradewinds: Would be amazing if combat damage still used the stack. Still nice, though, but costs too much for Constructed.
Calcite Snapper: Solid for Limited play. You won't play "walls" in Constructed, unless they're REALLY amazing or act like hosers/removal, but a 4/1 dork in BLUE, for 3 mana? Which turns into a Wall if you DON'T hit a Land Drop? And COMMON? Yes, please!
Dispel: I see a lot of people calling this "too narrow", saying Envelop does not see play for the same reason. Pish-posh. This spell is amazing, Instants are WAY more versatile and more widely played, meaning this will almost always have juicy targets. Granted, might be relegated to a few slots, or even a sideboard role, but I'd pack this any day to play a blue-based aggro deck, since most forms of removal aimed at my guys will be instants.
Enclave Elite: Slightly less good than Apex Hawks, but everything else applies.
Halimar Excavator: Drafting a bunch of these guys and some white allies make for a viable strategy, since decks are smaller. That being said, drafting a bunch of them and not getting other good enough allies make for a pretty hard fall.
Horizon Drake: Ok, even though he dodges Desert (and manlands, of course), no way this guy is going to see Constructed play where you could usually have Vendillion Clique. That being said, he's SOLID for Limited.
Jace, Mind Sculptor: The other Jace is better. WAY better, I might add. His Ultimate might be considered weaker, but while you're getting there, he's doing way much more for you. Sorcery-speed Brainstorm is not that appealing to me, since you don't get to actually abuse it a lot, but considering fetchlands and the absence of Brainstorm in both Extended and Standard, this guy might end up actually being playable, since he makes for a different breed of the "classical" control decks. I'd still play Jace Beleren over him anyday, though.
Mysteries of the Deep: How good is instant-speed card-drawing? Pretty good. Good enough to pay 5 mana for it? I'm not sure. Of course, you crack a fetchland at their eot, and it's 3 cards for 5 mana, isntant-speed, no questions asked. But really, how many fetchlands will you be playing in a deck packing this? I'm not sure this makes the cut. If I were to play only 1-2 of these, I'd play Tidings.
Sejiri Merfolk: This guy will DEFINITELY see play, he packs quite a punch. And not only in Merfolk decks, but any aggro deck that can play him (and most of those will have Plains out), should. I wouldn't stretch a manabase to fit him, like turning Zoo into Domain Zoo again, but otherwise, he'd make it.
Selective Memory: This card has "combo" written all over it. However, I can't quite see the combo it could spawn, aside from clearing your deck of anything you won't need in the late game but lands, and play Treasure Hunt to draw all those lands AND find your bomb. However, this seems like Limited tech more than Constructed, and it DOES cost a lot for setting up a combo (rather than starting it), so it might end up sitting in the bench until something juicy comes along to play with it.
Spell Contortion: Cute, but I wouldn't play it in a control deck for the situational card draw, I'd much rather play Repulse, and even Repulse does not see play anymore.
Thada Adel, Acquisitor: Seems legit for Legacy and Vintage play, what with all those mana artifacts and Sensei's Divining Tops. I think it's seriously worth a try in any CounterTop build, and I just wouldn't recommend it for Extended due to the amazing amount of removal available in the Top Tier decks, but if Faeries start to dominate the scene again, this guy might rob them of Jitte and/or Engineered Explosives, which might end up being good enough to warrant sideboard space, at least.
Treasure Hunt: 43-Land.dec might consider playing this, but I'm not sure it's worth the deckspace, unless they change the list to pack the Gushbond combo as well. However, this might actually end up lowering the deck's power, which is why I don't quite see this card making it. I'd still try it as a 1 or 2-of, at least. Also, THIS card might make Jace, Mind Sculptor better, since you can "unflood" yourself by placing lands on top of your library and drawing them AND a card. However, I'd much rather simply pop a fetchland, or play a REAL Jace.
Voyager Drake: Great for Limited, slow and irrelevant for Constructed.
Wind Zendikon: Amazing card, really. However, having a lot of Zendikons might tie up your mana development, although I'd actually consider playing 4 of these, I mean, even if one dies, you still get to drop a land, and landfall based aggro decks ARE running rampant, between Steppe Lynx, Sejiri Merfolk and some of these, you COULD have a legit blue-based aggro running rampant again, specially with white having access to decent spot removal.
BLACK CARDSAbyssal Persecutor: Ok, this guy. He's good. He's DEFINITELY good. However, he turns into a liability really quick. I see people saying that Grinning Demon is better and does not see play, but that is not necessarily true, this guy has TWO forms of evasion, while Grinning has none. However, I'd compare him with Tombstalker, in which case he'd outright lose. In Standard, if monobalck Vampires want to play him, they might, since they have a built-in sacrifice outlet with a 2/2 body attached (and a Vampire that sacrifices nonvampire creatures), but I still think its depending too much on chance to warrant the deck space, it's an aggro deck for crying out loud! Also, Baneslayer just laughs at his face, and you will end up having quite some trouble getting rid of him. The only deck that could be "safe" playing him, in my head, is Jund, due to it having access to oth Terminate and Maelstrom Pulse, but Jund does not quite need him anyway. Still, if Vampires want to play him, they can, I'd just advise against it. Even decks with access to Cabal Therapy might end up having trouble getting rid of him, although monoblack aggro in Legacy might pull it off since most of their removal CAN get rid of it in a pinch (one just might wonder why not simply playing Tombstalker, though).
Anowon, the Ruin Sage: Can make Abyssal Persecutor playable, and can be quite a pain for opposing aggro decks, however, Bloodwitch does a better job at stopping Walletslayer Angel, which is quite a pain for the deck.
Bojuka Brigand: Ok, this guy is another Ally that MIGHT make it. Seems pretty good with Hada Freeblade. Who knows, allies might just make Tier 2.
Corrupted Zendikon: Another useful Zendikon, however, I'd not play a full set of these. Perhaps 2, 3 at most (and that would be pushing it).
Death's Shadow: Another card that screams "COMBO". Of course, the most obvious one is Dead Reckoning, but that is fairly narrow, and creature-oriented only. Of course, if you're at 10 life, he's a respectable 3/3 for 1 mana, but by the time this happens, I'm sure you could be playing something betterm not to mention BEFORE this he's just subpar, so you wouldn't even be able to play a full set.
Kalastria Highborn: Another solid Vampire. I'd play him in monoblack vampires (and on a sidenote, watch out for the archetype from now on), hands down, 4-of.
Mire's Toll: Really, just play Duress, Thoughtseize, heck, Mind Sludge! Not worth it.
Nemesis Trap: THIS card, on the other hand, screams BANESLAYER ANGEL! You get to nuke a Baneslayer AND swing with one the next turn! Otherwise, you get to nuke whatever is troubling you AND swign with it, as well. Seriously, this card might make it as a 1 or 2-of in black decks, to a full 4-of in the 75 depending on how the meta behaves itself from now on.
Pulse Tracker: Not the best one-drop, BUT a one-drop nonetheless. As I said, watch out for Vampires. Also, as na added note, EXTENDED monoblack Vampires might be a nice rogue deck, since they being, well, ROGUES, give you access to Noggin' Whack and Oona's Blackguard in full power.
Quag Vampires: Although solid for Limited, I'd stay clear of him in constructed, whatever mana cost you put him at (REASONABLE mana cost, that is), you could be doing better.
Quest for the Nihil Stone: Extended The Rack would love this... if it was a playable archetype. Not sure THIS would enable the archetype.
Ruthless Cullblade: Good for any aggro deck, specially great for Vampires, although I think not a 4-of, since he's just big (and not THAT big due to being 4/2 at best) and dumb, meaning he'll usually trade, at best, with a bear.
Urge to Feed: I see a lot of hype about this card being AWESOME for Vampires. Of course it's for Vampires, I mean, it asks for heavy black mana AND MENTIONS them. However, how many UNTAPPED Vampires do you have at any given time? Of course, as a Sorcery, it's a legit trick if you can take the beating for having no blockers, and skipping one turn of beating is good enough for you. I still think it can be good, but I'm torn between using this or Smother, since Doom Blade nees to be in anyway. I think it's worth the inclusion and letting Smother sit out (even if you only get to pump ONE Vampire, the one you just cast and is still summoning-sick, it's still a nice perk), but I might be wrong.
RED CARDSAkoun Battlesinger: THIS ally I do not like very much. I'd much rather simply play Goblin Bushwacker, even in na Ally deck, but I might be wrong on this one. However, since 5-color allies does not seem to be a very brilliant deck choice, I think BW Allies might be the most we get to see.
Chain Reaction: This card is VERY good. If you want to play CONTROL, this is a red Day of Judgment against most decks it will need to be that (mainly, heavy aggro).
Claws of Valakut: You probably all know my feelings towards playing with auras, and this one is no exception of greatness. However, if you were able to draft monored (or heavy red), this is insane for Limited.
Comet Storm: Ok, this card is insane. Really. I think this might see play even in Eternal formats, I mean, it's pretty huge for its cost. However, since it's a finisher, it'll be mostly a 1 or 2-of, since for 5 mana, you'd still be doing better with a Lighnint Bolt. For 6 mana, Burst Lightning is still better. I think CONTROL might benefit from it more than aggro.
Crusher Zendikon: Another playable Zendikon, but as a 2-of at most.
Dragonmaster Outcast: Yes, he seems insane. Yes, he wins games. In Limited. In constructed, if he gets down and is able to trigger, that means they have NO WAY WHATSOEVER to deal with him and you have 6 lands out, which means you'd be better paying any
fatty, heck, Flameblast Dragon (Furnaceblast Dragon?) would've dealt more damage already!
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs: Really, I think we may be witnessing a shift in colorpie, with red becoming a Control color. Most great red cards are control-oriented in this set, which I find actually eerie, but who am I to argue against solid control elements? Watch out for red-based control in Block.
Mordant Dragon: This is not very good for Constructed, but just to illustrate my point, THIS is a better drop than Dragonmaster Outcast, since by the time the first dragon it spews would be swinging for 5, this guy would've already swung for 16 and nuked 2 X/8 creatures.
Quest for the Goblin Lord: I'm not sure if this is good enough to make Goblins more attractive in Extended or Standard, but otherwise, Piledriver is better by a landslide, and this is nowhere close. Right out.
Searing Blaze: Another card that looks amazing on theory, but how great is it, really? "It's better than Lash Out which saw some play"is what I hear the most, but really, is it? Lash Out costs a single red mana, meaning its splashable. It's also non-situational removal, since it's always hit for 3 at instant speed AND you get to clash-out an uneeded card from the top. This card is only better in heavy red decks, and at sorcery speed (barring fetchland shenanigans). I think it'll sit out in Constructed, perhaps aside from BLOCK constructed.
Slavering Nulls: Wizards has been trying to push RB Goblins ever since Lorwyn came out, and to no avail. The deck was tier 2 at its prime, and I don't think what they're doing now will be enough, but that being said, this IS a nice little piece of disruption on a stick, I WOULD play it if I played RB Goblins (or RB aggro, for that matter).
Stone Idol Trap: Nice. This is NICE. And yet again, another control-oriented card. Like I said, red-based control might be really neat. I mean, even if you DON'T block anything, playing this eot AND unleashing Chain Reaction (which WON'T kill THIS guy) might be enough to clear a board AND swing in.
GREEN CARDSAvenger of Zendikar: Waaaaaay too slow. Really. Steer clear.
Bestial Menace: White has Cloudgoat Ranger, red has Siege-Gang Commander, now green has this. Cost-effective and allows for rebuilding a board really quickly. Also, assuming you play Garruk, sets up his ultimate and the opponent Wraths. Now next turn you can tap out and get 3 creatures, untap 2 lands to get one more, unleash Garruk's ultimate again (and probably win with it, barring another mass removal) AND Garruk still lives. This one will most definitely see play.
Explore: This card struck me as meh. But then, I got to think about it thanks to a fellow forumer, and well, at first, I thought "Yeah, it cycles. Ok." However, it does MORE than that. It cycles SPEDDING YOU UP early game (so Big Mana decks can, and will benefit from it), and later on, even if you rip a land off the top, you can cycle this, AND if you so happen to strike ANOTHER land, you get to play it. I think it might be a good card after all, IF you can muster the deck space, but I wouldn't necessarily CUT anything for it.
Gnarlid Pack: See Apex Hawks. Drop the evasion. This is it. Pretty meh, but good enough. For the lategame.
Joraga Warcaller: As a lord, this is as good as it gets. Escalates AND escalates your other elves with it. IF elves become a playable archetype again, this one will no doubt find a place. However, for anything outside of Standard, I think I'd stick with Imperious Perfect, since it spews out elves on its own.
Leatherback Baloth: Good for monogreen, but monogreen isn't that good na archetype on its own, I think I'd rather play Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers of Kitchen Finks for the "same" cost.
Nature's Claim: This is a really powerful effect with too small a disadvantage to not see play, specially if your mana is tight. I think this might see quite some play in a lot of formats, even Eternal, although Krosan Grip might still prove better-suited.
Omnath, Locus of Mana: He not only let's you shore up mana, he gets bigger in the process. That being said, ANY roadblock stops him dead, and you can't really USE your mana, lest he shrinks. I think he's cute, but no cigar.
Strength of the Tajuru: Great with Persist creatures, and a pretty decent effect costwise, but I'm not sure it makes the cut for Constructed. Has some synergy with Joraga Warcaller, though, so, who knows?
Wolfbriar Elemental: Pretty decent costwise, its ability is just amazing considering what it does and how little it costs. A little bit on the heavier side of green, though, so only monogreen aggro REALLY benefits from it, I think it might end up not making tier 1, as monogreen USUALLY is tier 2 at most.
MULTICOLORED CARDSNovablast Wurm: Eats any form of good creature removal, and costs too much to make a difference in Constructed (I mean, you're in aggro colors, you shouldn't NEED a big dork like this to clear your way, since you either got control or you were outaggroed and Novablast will be too late. In Limited, he OWNS. I'd go as far as to say it's the best Limited card in the set.
Wrexial, the Risen Deep: Now THIS guy here is legit. He has TWO decent landwalking abilityes, a reasonable cost (for a VERY large behind, meaning direct damage "probably" won't get him, and in one of the best control color combinations. His ability just makes him that more nasty. Against control, you get to clear their graveyard of utility spells (and even get some mileage out of them, like card-drawing spells and such), and against aggro, you get to replay their removal spells on their own creatures, essentially 2-for-0'ing them, which, as math might show, is good.
![[X]](https://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/Smileys/classic/x.png "X")
COLORLESS CARDSAmulet of Vigor: I've seen a lot of hype about this. Seriously, if you plan on untapping Tribal Lands, go build a monocolored deck. This just won't cut it, not worth the deck space, if you're playing a deck that stretches over colors, chances are your card selection is already tight. On Eternal formats, though, this HAS some juicy targets, like Time Vault. Voltaic Key might be better, but this is CHEAPER. It can be played in AGGRO decks as a sort of finisher (since another turn in aggro WILL most likely kill them).
Basilisk Collar: Equipment has to do something ELSE for you aside from giving shiny little keywords to your guys, and it better do that CHEAP (unless, of course, the shiny little keyword is indestructible or double-strike...).
Everflowing Chalice: Aside from the obvious uses 0-mana artifacts have in combo, this one can actually have a GOOD use if you can spare some mana for 1 turn other than bumping up storm by 1, which is why I think we'll see this one being played in combo storm decks all over the friggin' place.
Hammer of Ruin: ALMOST good enough, but Bonesplitter outshines it by a mile.
Lodestone Golem: This guy is solid. Even for Eternal, he comes down early, cheap and is a force to be reckoned with. Not sure how Affinity might be able to cope with his cost, but I think Eternal format Affinity might pack quite a punch with this (Affinity for Artifacts will STILL knock down the cost of their nonartifact spells anyway...).
Pilgrim's Eye: Not sure how multi-colored decks will play out in Standard, but for block this guy seems playable if you want to stretch through colors.
Walking Atlas: Makes for a nice 1-2 combo with Pilgrim's Eye, but not cute enough to warrant playability. Worth of notice is the fact this guy actually puts lands onto the battlefield DURING YOUR OPPONENT'S TURN!
LANDSCreeping Tar Pits: The best manland so far, legit finisher for control decks. I expect this one will see HEAVY play, specially in UB Faeries in Extended. Not a 4-of, probably, but at least 2.
Khalni Garden: I quote this one, because of the utility on-color lands, this one is the only one that TRULY sucks, all the others are fine enough additions in small dosis (and some are GREAT aditions).
Raging Ravine: Second-best manland. ALSO will see quite some play, I'm sure.
So, this is it. I hope you enjoyed the read, and I'm open to discussion as... of... NOW!
Topic: ARTICLE: Analyzing Worldwake (Read 4493 times)