Sphinxes, Demons, and Gorgons, Oh My! Part 2: Multicolored Cards and Artifacts

September 19, 2012 By 1 Comment

Now for the multi-colored cards.

So you know how Smother is a good card? Wizards looked at the card and thought, “we could do better”. The end result is a Smother that can kill almost anything and can’t be countered. This card rocks. I mean black decks are going to splash green just for this card and vice versa. One of the best kill spells ever printed and will probably see play all the way to Vintage and Classic. SOOO GOOD.

Armada Wurm

 2ggww
Creature – Wurm Mythic Rare
Trample
When Armada Wurm enters the battlefield put a 5/5 Wurm creature token with trample onto the battlefield.
5/5

 

This is going to both play and function very similarly to Broodmate Dragon and just like the dragons you can bet this card sees play. Like I have mentioned several times, the Type 2 environment is running low on usable six drops and this card fills that void perfectly. Broodmate Dragon was awesome because it was 8 power for six equally distributed across two bodies with flying. Armada Wurm rocks because you are getting 10 power for six equally distributed across two bodies with trample. I think that trade for more power and tramps for flying is a great trade and this card definitely going to be knocking some skulls.

Watchwolf is getting reprinted. Except this time it also functions with all token doubling effects including Parallel Lives, Doubling Season, Rhys, and of course populate. Cool card but still not completely sold on its superiority to the Wolf. Either way, good card that will see play.

Three drop counterspells while not as efficient as their two drop counterparts are absolutely just as powerful. Counterflux is an incredibly powerful spell for multiple reasons. First off it is uncounterable. An uncounterable counterspell for three fantastic. Now an uncounterable counterspell for three which for one mana more can also become an uncounterable counterspell for four which also counters every other spell on the stack is absolutely amazing. Say that ten times fast. Anyway, a card that is both powerful and versatile. It’s definitely going to be a big player in the inevitable American Control deck that’s bound to show up.

That same American Control deck will be benefitting from this bad boy. An O-Ring that can also deal with a field full of angel or spirit tokens is sweet. While definitely more powerful than Oblivion Ring I am sure that the more restrictive mana cost will lead to O-Ring still seeing play.

I gotta love my big blue spells. An instant that tutors up for pretty much any three instances of your choice is my kind of spell. If you build your deck right this should be able to provide you answers for almost every possible situation, especially now with overload spells that have small casting costs but big abilities. Such a sweet card that gets me to excited to see some new strategies from blue.

Speaking of tutors…

This card is absolutely perfect for any and all reanimator decks. Being able to grab a Huntmaster and at the same time being able to dump a Griselbrand in the yard is too much of a value to pass up with a reanimation spell in hand. That paired with scavenge and other graveyard effects lead to this card being a bomb. Another hit for Golgari.

I believe Frank Lepore is absolutely correct in predicting the future of Type 2 is turn one Pilgrim followed by a turn two Smiter. A 4/4 for three is pretty awesome but paired with being uncouterable is just too much. Awesome card and with the presence of both Azorius and Selesnya we are going to be seeing some powerful Bant builds.

This card is so awesome. This card does absolutely everything control decks wants to do. This card allows you to sit through your opponents turn and during their end step either snipe their biggest step or draw two cards. I know either way is fine with me. This card is like a UR Swiss army knife. Definitely going to see play

Now this is the card that is going to make Bruna a viable option. This card and Angelic Destiny and maybe a couple others are going to make for some awesome UW Bruna Mill Control Combo type shenanigans. The fact that it makes your creatures gargantuan as well as netting you cards is what really excites me about this card. I like it.

This uncounterable cycle is absolutely magnificent. This set is Christmas for the control players out there. Wizards must have thought that O-Ring and Wrath of God weren’t powerful enough for those UW control decks out there and that they needed the same exact card except significantly more powerful. At the moment they feel a little unnecessary but it is cool to see these powerful spells have a more restrictive casting cost, especially since they might replace the originals for a season or two

So Regrowth is being reprinted. I will admit the casting cost is more restrictive than Regrowth but it is also a whole lot cheaper than Recollect. I am pretty sure this will see some competitive play. It is a shame it gets exiled cutting off potential interactions such as with Snapcaster. Either way, it is a powerful card that will be played.

This is the card I am the most excited about in the entire set. First let’s see if this new planeswalker passes the test: can it defend itself? The answer is, of course yes. Not only can she shut down any creature threatening her but it can seriously deal with any non-land permanent threatening her. Not only does her -3 effectively protect her but her +1 does too. That’s the beautiful thing about Vraska, she goes into your opponents turn with 6 loyalty and deathtouch. If your opponent doesn’t want to stare down her ultimate in only three turns he or she is going to have to lose a couple creatures slowing her down.

And her ultimate…

When I ultimate a planeswalker I want it to mean game over for my opponent. For example I was a little underwhelmed with Jace’s ultimate due to the fact that it didn’t necessarily mean you won. That is not the case with Vraska. After only three short turns your opponent is going to have to have three answers for your little tokens or else face death. I am so stoked to actually see the words “loses the game” on a planeswalker. I came into this set assuming I would be playing something blue but after seeing Vraska I was positive I would be playing Golgari. This card is awesome. Perhaps not strong enough to be a hit in legacy but I wouldn’t be surprised seeing it show up in a couple modern builds. Such an awesome card.

Also Pithing Needle is getting reprinted which is pretty neat.

Wizards has done a fantastic job distributing power amongst all of the guilds and all of the colors. While going through the spoiler I committed myself to playing any number of different color combos countless times because every color has so many great cards. I am excited for so many cards in this set it is unbelievable.

Be sure to check out Sphinxes, Demons, and Gorgons, Oh My! Part 2: Monocolored Cards and Artifacts here! And you can check out the rest of the spoiler here, at MTGSalvation.com!

About these ads
Filed Under: Table top gaming Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sphinxes, Demons, and Gorgons, Oh My! Part 1: Monocolored Cards

September 18, 2012 By 1 Comment

So yesterday a couple dozen new cards were spoiled so of course I started a new spoiler review. When I awoke this morning I checked MTG Salvation for new spoilers and found myself staring at a list of 120 new cards. Due to the large amount of new cards announced I am going to split these articles into two batches of reviews.

Now, let’s talk about Return to Ravnica.

Now this is a card I can get behind. With the loss of the titans and Wurmcoil the Standard environment is running low on powerful six drops and I really think that all of the powerful seven drops lying around are going to fill this void. Enter Angel of Serenity. So I think the big thing about Angel of Serenity is that it isn’t just three Fiend Hunters in one card. First off once it leaves play the creatures aren’t returned to play but rather the player’s hand. Now while a triple Fiend Hunter is cool and all it really paints a big target right between this angel’s eyes and that is where this girl really shines. Angel of Serenity allows you to remove three cards from not only the battlefield but also graveyards. It enters the battlefield and you remove one of your opponent’s creature from the game and two creatures in your graveyard. Your opponent can kill your angel and get his creature back but at the same time he is going to be returning two creatures to your hand. This card is more or less a 5/6 flying body with any combination of Unsummons and Disentombs. Definitely a powerful card, especially with Restoration Angels and Cloudshifts floating around. Keep your eye out for this one.

At this point we have quite a bit of graveyard hate but Rest in Peace might be the best ones available in Standard. The fact that it cleans out all graveyards upon entry and then goes on to completely shut out everything else that would enter the yard is way too awesome. Definitely going to be a sideboard staple.

Precinct Captain 

wwCreature – Human SoldierRareFirst strike
Whenever Precinct Captain deals combat damage to a player, put a 1/1 white Soldier creature token onto the battlefield.Illus. Steve Prescott #17/2742/2

One thing is for certain: RTR definitely doesn’t mark the end of Humans. A 2/2 for two with first stike is pretty sweet but that last ability of the captain puts him over the top. If this human goes unchecked your opponent is going to quickly staring down a field of threats. Between the beaters like this guy and the white populate and detain cards coming out in the set, human decks or at least white weenie are getting quite a bit more fuel.

This card is awesome. Disperse was always sweet but it is also a rather limited card and isn’t spectacular late game. That is definitely not the case with Cyclonic Rift. Not only is it a Disperse but it also a potential finisher at the same time. It serves as great spot removal while simultaneously being a one sided board wipe in your favor all at instant speed. One effect is clearly more powerful than the other but the fact that it is both adds an amount of versatility to the card that almost guarantees that it will be seeing constructed play.

Dispel

This might not be the most exciting spoiler of all time but dispel is a very powerful card and is going to be a crucial cog in any control decks especially with the loss of Mana Leak in the format. My fingers are also crossed for some sexy new art.

If you thought that blue aggro decks were gone perhaps you should guess again. A flying 2/1 for one is pretty decent and the fact that it is blue is a little ridiculous. Sure the additional cost of bouncing a creature could be considered a negative but if you really think about it there really aren’t a ton of creatures in a UW Delver list I wouldn’t mind returning to my hand. The decks that get the most out of this guy are going to be returning Snapcaster Mages or Restoration Angels or in the worst case scenario a Delver which you will simply recast. 2/1s are usually decent cards but when it is paired with both flying and the most powerful color you know you it’s going to be worth paying attention to.

Sphinx of the Chimes 

4uuCreature – SphinxRareFlying
Discard two nonland cards with the same name: Draw four cards.Illus. Greg Staples #52/2745/6

Sphinx of Chimes could possibly be one of the go to win conditions for control decks. A 5/6 flyer for six is decent but that ability is just awesome. I could see this card ultimately missing but I can’t so easily overlook an ability that reads “draw four”. For control decks you spend most of the game controlling your opponent and shaping your hand. The decks that could benefit from using this Sphinx are the ones with large numbers of cards in hand and likely to have multiples. This card could definitely be a hit in standard but perhaps it will in Modern where it will really shine. By this I mean I really just want to see this dude in cahoots with Squad Hawk. Any who, this guy could be fantastic but at the same time I could see him flopping. I guess only time will tell.

I like this card quite a bit. This card feels a lot like Abyssal Persecutor and that card was incredibly powerful and saw quite a bit of play. Sure he doesn’t have trample but still a 6/6 flyer for four is the kind of power I want to be getting for four mana. Now your opponent does have the option to sacrifice a creature to tap him down which makes him a card you will probably side out against tokens but let’s look a little closer at that ability. So prior to declaring attackers your opponent can sacrifice a creature to take him out of the picture while at the same time making him a bigger threat. Now think about the scenario in which you would normally be attacking a 6/6 flyer. You attack and your opponent is either taking six or they are probably going to be chump blocking. His ability lets your opponent choose whether or not he is going to be chump blocking or taking damage prior to declaration of attackers which is significantly better than simply attacking and being chumped blocked. First off, if your opponent taps him he becomes bigger, something that is going to be incredibly relevant in a format dominated by finishers with five or six power. Second this all occurs before you actually attack. This means that you are going to be able to declare attackers with one less body on the other side of the field, fully aware that you are down one potential blocker ultimately letting you make a more informed move and play better. This is one of the cards I saw on the spoiler page and immediately knew I was going to be playing it. I cannot wait to start bashing with this demon.

As I just mentioned there aren’t a whole lot of creatures with six power floating around with the rotation of the Titans which is what makes this vampire worth paying attention to. Again, not only is it a bit bigger than the rest of the crowd it also has flying and one hell of an ability. If a 6/5 wasn’t good enough for you how about a 12/11? Attack with this vamp once and she is going to be able to pretty quickly go toe to toe with a Worldspine Wurm. Sure it doesn’t do anything immediately upon entering play but you can bet it is doing something the second you enter combat. Not only is it a notably strong body but it is going to turn all of your creatures –itself included—into absolute monsters. Necropolis Regent is definitely my favorite mono-colored mythic in the set.

Underworld Connections 

1bbEnchantment – AuraRareEnchant Land
Enchanted Land has “{T}, Pay 1 life: Draw a card”“If you need it, it’s available. The question is: how much are you willing to pay?”Illus. Yeong-Hau Han

This card is awesome mostly because it is so reminiscent of Phyrexian Arena. While being familiar it also different in several ways. First off the drawing is tied to a land. In some sense this is a negative in the sense that you are effectively losing one mana if you want to draw some cards. But with that being said it also allows for quite a few things. Being attached to a land also means you can do it at instant speed or in response to something, also allowing for potential Miracle triggers. Another big pro for this card is that you are in complete control for when you get to trade life for cards. Unlike Arena which will take that last life of yours regardless if you want it to or not, you can stop drawing cards whenever you like. If your life total is low this enchantment isn’t going to be grinding you that much closer to death. So again very reminiscent of the classic enchantment and like Phyrexian Arena you can bet it is going to be seeing constructed play. I know I want to abuse it.

When paired with a multicolored set this card might seem underpowered but there really are quite a few mono-colored creatures that are more than worth running a kill spell for. Depending on what archetypes become predominant after the release of the new set you can bet that people will be running atleast one these main board and maybe even a couple more in the side. Awesome kill spell that could trickle down to the other formats.

And those are just the mono-colored cards in this predominantly multicolored set. Be sure to check out Sphinxes, Demons, Gorgons, Oh My! Part 2: Multicolored Cards and Artifacts which comes out tomorrow! And you can check out the rest of the spoiler here, at MTGSalvation.com!

Filed Under: Table top gaming Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ravnica Spoiler Review

September 4, 2012 By 1 Comment

HOLY CRAP. Return to Ravnica looks ridiculous.

While spoilers for the upcoming set have been slowly leaking out for the past month or so it wasn’t until a few days ago when the first of the month as well as PAX rolled around the corner when the first big batch of cards showed up. Among them are a quite a few brand new and awesome cards but perhaps some of the most exciting cards revealed so far are reprints.

That’s right. The Shocklands are back and with new fancy art. Only the first 5 are showing up in Return to Ravnica while the other five will be paired with their respective guild in Gatecrash. At first it seems a little ridiculous including these powerful lands in a Standard environment but without Fetchlands they are a little less ridiculous. With that being said though I would still absolutely love for Fetchlands to get reprinted in the next block. Fingers are crossed.

The Shocklands aren’t the only exciting new lands in the set either.

Return to Ravnica is debuting a brand new type of land called Gates. Gates are more or less your normal dual color tapped land except it has an additional type. Now while these lands are a little underwhelming compared to the Shocklands they are still incredibly important for several reason, most importantly, because it is a common. By making dual colored common lands Wizards has made it so that in limited building multi-colored decks will be significantly easier due to the all the lands you will be easily picking up in each pack. Now continuing off that, it will also allow players who are building on a budget to still really get the most out of the set and still exploit the colorfulness of the set without having to fork out tons for top tier lands. Lastly, these lands are going to absolute all-stars in Pauper. I have been hoping for some sort of dual colored land in the format (other than bounce lands) ever since first trying the format out and now I finally have some.

Out of the Gates and Shock-lands as well as all of the other lands available in Standard multicolored deck building should come with relative ease.

So the percentage of the cards spoiled so far that I am excited about is significantly higher than usual so I am just going to start at the top of the spoiler and just start going down it.

Jace, Architect of Thought 

2uu

Planeswalker – JaceMythic Rare+1 : Until your next turn, whenever a creature an opponent controls attacks, it gets -1/-0 until end of turn.
-2 : Reveal the top three cards of your library. An opponent separates them into two piles. Put one pile into your hand and the other on the bottom of your library in any order.
-8 : For each player, search that player’s library for a nonland card and exile it, then that player shuffles his or her library. You may cast those cards without paying their mana costs.Illus. Jaime Jones #44/2744

New Jace! As disappointed as I was seeing that the new Jace was in fact not multicolored, my excitement about every other facet of the card outweighed that disappointment. First off we have to look at whether it passes the planeswalker test of being able to defend itself and here Jace gets an A for effort. While he cannot directly deal with any threats on the board he is able to shrink the attacks of any offenders with his plus 1 making him an ideal threat against decks with lots of smaller creatures. Now Wizards apparently realized exactly how much they love giving Jace an ability that is more or less a powerful draw spell from an eternal format. The Mind Sculptor had Brainstorm and the Architect of Thought has a mini Fact or Fiction. A -2 ability that is getting you at the most two cards is pretty dang good. Worst case scenario for Jace is throwing him out there when he isn’t really going to do anything and simply drawing 4 out of him over the next two turns. For 4 mana that is pretty awesome. Now his ultimate is one of my favorites seen on a planeswalker in quite some time. Being able to search your opponents’ decks in addition to your own for any spell to throw in your opponents face is too fantastic. I really want to see this new Jace paired with an Emrakul and used as a way to cheat that monster into play. While the Architect of Thought definitely is no Mind Sculptor he definitely brings a lot to the table and even though he can’t defend himself as well as others he is still a 4 drop planeswalker starting at 4 loyalty. Keep your eye on this bad boy for sure.

The next card isn’t nearly as exciting as Jace but is definitely one that could be a blast to play with.

Pack Rats paired with other fantastic and fun rats such as Ink-Eyes, Swarmyard, and Relentless Rats could make some incredibly awesome casual decks. I don’t really think this could be anything competitive but it would be a blast to play with. Rats for days.

Mizzium Mortars is pretty damn rad. This card shows off Izzet’s new mechanic and it is pretty awesome. Mortars un-supersized is a decent kill spell for 2 but once it is Overloaded it has the potential to completely wipe an opponent’s board. The versatility behind Mizzium Mortars is probably going to be enough to see it appearing in some Standard RDW builds.

Hey check it out Overgrown Battlement is being reprinted except it isn’t as awesome. Sweet.

Axebane Guardian might not be as effective as Overgrown Battlement it looks like there might be a couple of other exciting green defenders getting released in the new set so there is definitely going to be the potential of a green defender ramp strategy.

Joining the Guardian is Gatecreeper Vine which is able to fetch you some of those fancy new dual lands. Last time we saw these kinds of cards making it into constructed players were ramping into 15/15s and Eldrazi and what not. What can we ramp into this time?

Well we might not have any Eldrazi this guy sure is a worthy target. I mean you cast this monster and unless your opponent has an O-Ring in hand you pretty much win the game. 15 power on board for 11 is good but even after death he leaves you with 15 on board and that 15 is always attached to a trampling body. So for that 11 mana you are essentially getting 30 power with trampling. That’s alright I guess.

I kind of skipped over white due to a lack of anything too impressive yet but at this point it is definitely worth mentioning Selesnya’s mechanic, Populate. Populate lets you put a copy of any token you have on the field. When the mechanic was first dropped I immediately saw 1/1 spirit tokens and tiny humans and the idea of getting just another little dude wasn’t all that appealing.  But now we are seeing some big tokens. 5/5 tramplers and 8/8 vigilancers (it’s now a word) are definitely something I would be interested populating the field with. Populate is definitely going to be better than I originally predicted.

Now this card is definitely designed to fill the slot that Frost Titan had been holding onto for so long. Here is that control deck finisher that can single handedly shut down the field. Archon of the Triumvirate introduces us to the new Azorius mechanic, Detain and I am fan. While arguably less powerful than tapping down a permanent he is also able to shut down permanents with non-tapping activated abilities, *cough* guildmages and planeswalkers *cough*. This new Archon is able to shut down two at a time with double Detain and is attached to a flying body. This is a creature I can get excited about.

So we all know that charms are awesome. Instances with multiple abilities provide us with powerful and versatile spells. Sure some are less powerful than others but all are somewhat constructed worthy. Azorius Charm provides you with most importantly a removal spell that also can draw you a card or get you some life. If your field is set up well you could be looking at quite a bit of life gain for 2 mana. Not too shabby.

Carnival Hellsteed. Shows off the new Rakdos ability Unleash which is ok. It doesn’t blow us away but it could do some cool things. Regardless of whether or not you Unleash this bad boy you are still looking at a hasty first striking 5 or 6 power which is pretty good and pretty tough to deal with. Moving on.

Hey we got finally got the other half of Doubling Season after Innistrad’s Parallel Lives. Also it’s on a 4/4 body for 4 which is pretty neat. How neat is that?

Terminate is one of the best kill spells because for just two mana you can kill any creature. How do you top that? How about same mana cost except it also kills any planeswalker. While Dreadbore might not be at instant speed its versatility and power are going to make it an all-star in Modern, Standard and there is a very solid chance Legacy too. This card is probably not going to be less than 5 bucks at any point ever.

So a creature that makes all of your instances and sorceries cost one less is pretty damn good. That means that your Negates are one drops and your Searing Swords are Lightning Bolts. Now this ability on a 2/2 body for 2 is just too dang awesome to pass up. I love this card. Izzet is definitely shaping into one of the better guilds.

I doubt that Havoc Festival is going to be a hit in most competitive formats regardless of my love for it. With that being said I can see this card doing some work in an aggressive EDH or multiplayer build. Not a good card but a damn fun one.

Isperia shows off how much this set is apparently geared towards multiplayer. This sphinx is going to be so much fun to play with it. In multiplayer you are going to be more or less untouchable. In single player this card is going to more or less shut down aggro decks. Imagine having this dude on the field against Naya Aggro where you are looking at 2 or 3 attackers a turn or should I say 2 or 3 more cards per turn. This card feels like it is filling in the hole left by Consecrated Sphinx. Isperia is sweet.

Izzet Charm is awesome. It is definitely one of the more exciting cards in the set so far. It feels a lot like and functions very similarly to Fire//Ice. This one card is able to deal with small creatures, every other spell, and it can draw you cards in a pinch. Neither one of these cards is better than one another due to both being incredibly versatile and powerful but I will say that Izzet Charm is definitely at the same power level as the eternal staple. This card is going to do wonder’s in Standard, Modern, Legacy and perhaps even Vintage. It is an all around awesome card and just another reason to start worrying about UR Delver.

Lyev Skyknight is another example of the power of Detain. I can only imagine that this is going to help the outlook for UW Delver. This 3/1 flyer fits in way too well next to Delver and Restoration Angel. This card is powerful and works way too well in faster paced aggro/tempo decks. I like it a lot.

We were told Niv-Mizzet was going to be reprinted and we now we get to finally see the return of the brilliant dragon. So this new Mizzet is powerful and I love it but it really feels like Wizards took the original Niv and just kind of twisted things around just a little bit. The original read when you draw a card you deal damage and he had a draw ability but this new one reads when you damage someone you draw a card and he has a damage ability. Like I said it is an awesome card but it kind of feels like Wizards got lazy during the design process. With that being said this Niv is much more capable of machine gunning down an opponent’s army.  Unfortunately though you won’t draw cards for it. While his ability might be more powerful than the original he honestly feels a little underwhelming in comparison. Cool card but probably won’t make the biggest splash.

Blaze + Mind Twist = Rakdos’s Return. Cool card and likely to lead to a BR control build floating around. I feel like this shouldn’t be a mythic but then again I have yet to see it in play. Perhaps it will Shock us. Please forgive the pun.

Selesnya Charm like all of the other ones so far is going to rock socks. This one gets rid of a big threat, gives you a threat or makes one of your other dudes a threat. Versatile and incredibly fitting for the color combo. Good chance it will be seeing constructed play.

So apparently WOTC felt that green and white needed some sort of trump card against Delver and blue in general. Wizards also felt it was necessary to put this devastating ability on a one drop creature. They also felt it was necessary to make this one hell of a one drop by making the one mana casting cost even more flexible and by making it a 2/1. Green and White now have a powerful ability on a powerful creature for a dirt cheap price. Thank god it isn’t a human.

Also Cursecatcher is getting reprinted and is even easier to cast now. Hybrid mana rocks.

Darksteel Ingot and Coalition Relic should scoot over because there is a new 3-drop-mana-producing-rock in the house. And not only does this bad boy act as ramp but it also fixes the entirety of your mana base. Chromatic Lantern is more or less a Manalith with a Prismatic Omen mashed on top. I love that card so this new artifact is definitely one of my new favorites spoiled so far.

Even though only the first 70 cards of the set have been revealed so far I am pretty much sold on buying a box or two. Or five. Return to Ravnica is shaping into one of the most flavorful, exciting and all around kick ass sets to date for formats from Standard to Legacy to EDH.

For all of your RTR news be sure to tune into Power Cords! For a look at the entire Return to Ravnica spoiler head over to MTGSalvation or simply click the link here!

Filed Under: Other, Table top gaming Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The LOW-DOWN is back

July 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

So the Low-Down has returned after missing last week but in lieu of our missed episode and the large abundance of exciting news from the San Diego Comic Con we have gone ahead and made a longer than normal episode to make it up everything. So check it out below and be sure to like and subscribe if you dig what you see!

Filed Under: The Low Down, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Planechase 2012 Spoiler Review

May 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Planechase, the casual multiplayer mode for magic is finally seeing a much-needed expansion. The exciting news is that the expansion isn’t only seeing the release of new planes but also a small pool of brand new normal cards! While these cards will not be legal in Standard or Modern decks they do make up a part of the Vintage and Legacy card pool. At a quick glance at the cards spoiled so far though, none of them appear strong enough to find a place in either format but they all seem to be incredible additions to EDH/Commander due to the majority being exciting multicolored creatures, several being legendary.

As apparent in Thromok, we are seeing the rejuvenation of some older mechanics in Planechase 2012 such as cascade, ninjutsu and devour and clearly in new and exciting ways. I can see some pretty fun Thromok EDH decks showing up, something that spits out a crap tone of tiny dudes to provide fodder for this hellion. Devouring 5 creatures yields a 25/25, a creature big enough to kill any opponent in one blow or perhaps you eat a couple more and make a 47/47 which you than proceed to Fling in your opponents face for the win. While being an absolutely gargantuan commander that is sadly all he is once he has hit the field. I feel like this guy is missing some keyword because paying five mana and a bunch of your team for an undeniably big but nonetheless vanilla creature doesn’t seem worth it. You can swing away with this guy all you want and regardless of how gargantuan he is, if your opponent has a blocker he might as well be a 6/6. In addition to that, imagine paying absolutely everything for him to simply get Doom Bladed. That’s another problem, he dies to just about every kind of removal and this is not a guy you want killed with no problem. I feel like Wizards meant to give him trample but then just spaced on actually printing that part. With trample this guy would be an absolute beast but printed as is he is just a big ol’ vanilla creature who is not nearly good enough to make the cut.

Thromok isn’t the only new gentlemen with devour worth noting. Preyseizer Dragon serves as a situationally superior Inferno Titan. Sure it doesn’t shoot something upon entering the field and is unable to distribute the damage done but it trades that for flying and the potential be significantly bigger and deal significantly more damage. Sure if you were to eat only one creature it might be worth just running an Inferno Titan instead but when you are devouring two or three creatues this dragon gets mighty feisty. In the right deck Preyseizer Dragon could inevitably do some work.

Before moving completely away from red there is one more red card that I am perhaps the most excited about from the entire bunch: Maelstrom Wanderer.

Wow. This is my kind of general. While it is arguably a little spendy I feel like the pros definitely outweigh that con. RUG has always been one of my favorite tri-color combinations and this guy works absolutely perfectly with any faster paced RUG build. Right off the bat a 7/5 body isn’t too shabby and the fact that he gives every one of your creatures haste, including himself is pretty relevant especially in the often creature based/aggo decks that RUG tends to lean towards. And now on to my favorite part. Cascade, cascade. Cascade is an incredibly strong keyword ability and is perhaps my all-time favorite. So seeing a legendary creature with it is pretty fantastic, but here we see something twice as awesome. I read the fine print followed by the keyword explaining cascade and then just smiled at the last line: “then do it again“. While this card might be a little expensive every time you cast it, regardless of whether or not it is countered or immediately killed you are getting two other spells along with it. The eight mana you pay for it buys you three spells, not just one, and if he gets killed, within the next couple turns following you are probably going to be buying three more spells. And not just small spells, but just about every spell in your deck becomes something that is potentially going to get thrown onto the field for nothing. As long as you aren’t running too many counter spells this card is always going to yield ridiculous card advantage. This is also where his first ability really shines. You cast him and when you cascade into creatures they will be able to immediately head into the red-zone right next to the Wanderer. The more and more I think about this card the more and more I like him and want to make a new EDH deck with this guy up front. Hands down one of the most exciting cards for EDH in quite some time.

While it is kind of hard to follow Maelstrom Wanderer he isn’t the only incredible addition to the Commander format. Krond the Dawn-Clad is the first in a series of cards in the small block that revolves around auras and with Krond being a legendary creatures we are sure to be seeing some powerful GW aura builds showing up. This guy is just aching to hold a Shield of the Oversoul or something that gives him hexproof. While he might not have hexproof naturally like Uril or get bonus’ for each aura attached he sure as hell makes up for it with his attached ability. He trades hexproof for flying and vigilance and once he starts swinging there is going to be little your opponent can do to stop him. The GGGWWW casting cost might be a little tough but given the right suite of auras, Krond is unstoppable. Plus on top of it all he is an archon which is one of the coolest creature types ever.

Another creature that belongs right next to Krond is Elderwood Scion. Everyone knows Loxodon Warhammer is great and the same characteristics which make it great contribute to the awesomeness of this card. Heck a 4/4 with lifelink and trample for 5 aint to shabby but on top of that he works perfectly with the whole aura theme and the fact that targeting him cost more ultimately becomes a faux hexproof ability which provides him with enough evasion that he become a big problem quite quickly. My fingers are crossed that we see a Bant-aura type legendary creature either in this set or somewhere in the upcoming Ravnica block because these GW aura champs are just aching to work with Sovereigns of Lost Alara and Bruna, Light of Alabaster. These cards are going to lead to some awesome builds.

Vela the Night-Clad is at a first glance only a pretty card and not a lot more and her power as a general takes a little bit more time to really understand. Take note of her colors: blue and black. Dimir is a guild full of small creatures that when dealing unblocked damage yield incredible amounts of card advantage. While not very powerful by herself, she really shines when the field is full of Ophidians and Spectres drawing you new cards and eating away at your opponents hand. While maybe not as powerful as others she is definitely a fun card that’s just dying for some more Dimir. A card designed with Vela in mind is one I am excited about due to the fact that its the first demon ninja printed as well as bringing with it the return of ninjutsu.

This card is going to be ridiculously fun. The second he comes in for the sneak attack you get to steal something from your opponents hand similarly to Mind-Leech Mass. The Mass was an awesome and powerful card but he was a little spendy and didn’t affect the board upon entering the field. That’s where Silent-Blade Oni shines. Once he is ninjutsued into play there is little an opponent can do before you are stealing away things from his or her hand. If done correctly you could steal away there answer to the Oni and then just win the game from there.

All in all the cards revealed so far are definitely more on the casual side than competitive. All of the new creatures shown off so far are going to be great additions to EDH and the fact these great Commander cards are showing up in a Planechase expansion makes me happy to see wizards emphasizing the pairing of the two, which go fantastically well together. While I didn’t really mention it at all but some of the new planes revealed so far look like they are going to be a blast as well and they are also printing non-plane cards for your planar deck to mix things up a bit which looks pretty sweet too. With EDH being my all-time favorite MTG format I can definitely see myself picking up a deck or two once these hit the stores. My fingers are crossed we see some of these cards show up in the next block because they would be ridiculously fun to play in Type 2.

So what are some of your favorite cards revealed so far? Are you looking forward to this casual set or could you care less? Let us know in the comments below or email us at askpowercords@gmail.com. To check out the other cards spoiled so far head over to MTGsalvation!

Filed Under: Other, Table top gaming Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Return to Ravnica Speculations

May 16, 2012 By 10 Comments

While the dust might still be settling from the release events of Avacyn Restored as well as from the AVR Pro-Tour in Barcelona this past weekend but we can’t deny the exciting announcement of Return to Ravnica sitting on the horizon.

At this point in time little is known about RTR yet since it is still two sets away with the summer release of 2013 sitting between us and our return to the cityscape of Ravnica but we have plenty to speculate about at this point. First off we have been teased with an image of two of your favorite characters in the Magic universe who are going to be making an appearance in the block.

Jace Beleren and Niv-Mizzet

Jace and Niv-Mizzet, blue should be excited.

Lets start with talking about the Izzet dragon. So last time we saw him he was a legendary creature so I doubt we will see him return as such. There has never been a remade legend with different text that is more or less the same dude (we see remakes of characters after something has changed, ex. Glissa Sunseeker vs Glissa, the Traitor or Sygg, River Guide vs Sygg River Cutthroat)  and I strongly doubt we would be looking at a straight up reprint of Niv which leads us to one logical conclusion: planeswalker. There is a chance I am terribly wrong and we are just going to looking at some cool new legendary creature but I know I am not alone in hoping for a Niv planeswalker. While not being a planeswalker he has seemed to have vanished from the plane of Ravnica pointing to planeswalking as the only explanation. This wouldn’t be the first time we see a legendary creature make the jump to planeswalker. Look at Venser, Karn, or Nicol Bolas, the latter being a perfect example of why Niv-Mizzet might be becoming a planeswalker. The main argument against that is that he doesn’t have the ability to planeswalk but I feel that the arguments for him being a planeswalker are much stronger. Niv being incredibly intelligent perhaps discovered a way to artificially planeswalk and this discovery is the big crisis plaguing the set. Or perhaps this is where his relationship with Jace takes place. Maybe Jace has found a way to planeswalk with others, bring Niv with him.

So what exactly is Jace’s role on Ravnica? Is he here because of Niv-Mizzet or does he have some other motivation for being here? So if Jace is showing up it would be a safe assumption that he would show up as a planeswalker. If so this would be the fourth variant of Jace we would be getting which feels a little boring for R&D to be making so perhaps we will be looking at something like a duo planeswalker thing going on between Jace and Niv? One way or another I get the feeling R&D is going to doing something new and spicy for the return to the plane.

Since the release of the Ravnica block two major things have happened to Magic: the release of mythic rares and the release of planeswalkers.  Many people are hoping that with RTR we will be seeing a cycle of dual-colored planeswalkers, one for each guild but chances are this won’t happen regardless of how badly we all want it to. Wizards really wants to keep planeswalkers special and exciting and to do this they have to keep them rare. Since the release of planeswalkers, a given block sees about 5 or 6 planeswalkers. If they were to go ahead with the cycle we would be looking at a jump to 10 planeswalkers spread out over a block with 3 or 4 per set. Maybe this number is low enough to preserve the special-ness of planeswalkers but there is a good chance R&D will deem it too high. Than again there are always first times for everything and this might be the perfect environment to try it out and would an amazing way to show off the flavor of each guild. With the planeswalkers that have been shown off in Duels of the Planeswalkers one can only hope that we will be seeing not only their debut on real cards but accompanied by one for every guild. One way or another I am sure we are going to be looking at some pretty epic mythics representing each guild as well as some gnarly legendary creatures to accompany them.

Speaking of dual colored cycles, the Ravnica blocks most famous cycle was its dual colored lands. The Ravnica shock lands are perhaps some of the best lands ever printed so it leaves its return a large responsibility to uphold. I doubt we will be seeing a straight up reprint of the dual lands because powerful cards such as these don’t usually get reprinted and if they were, their only real effect would be on such a small scale. I feel like R&D will take this opportunity to come up with some kind of crazy new land but what exactly I am not sure. Mark Rosewater, MTG’s head designer has mentioned that we should look to the Innistrad’s cycle of enemy colored lands for insight into the next blocks mana-base but I don’t know what to make of that. That hint suggests we will be seeing the allied colored M10 lands being reprinted here which I feel is very unlikely due to them having become a core-set staple and being pretty boring for an opportunity to something so exciting. Additionally, Ravnica’s basic lands are widely regarded as some of coolest and best looking basic lands made to date. Wizards of the Coast is quite aware of this fact so fingers are crossed they do homage to the original beauties by perhaps going as far as making new full-art lands similarly to Zenidkar’s? I realize this is very doubtful but it can’t hurt to hope!

All of the basic lands depicted beautifully the city covered plane

So lastly, the block needs an instigator or a antagonist. With the return to the Mirrodin we saw things get mixed up a bit with the return of the Phyrexians and their invasion of the plane. With Return to Ravnica to keep things exciting we need something new going on on the plane. With Guildpact we were given the Nephilim as the bad guy wreaking havoc on the plane and would love to see them return to Ravnica as well. But I feel like they aren’t necessarily new enough to be the main threat. Something to consider which is admittedly highly unlikely is something Eldrazi related. This seems incredibly unlikely since it has been such a short time since we last saw them but there a couple things that suggest it is a possibility. The last time we saw Jace outside of a core-set was in the Zendikar block doing battle with the Eldrazi and now we see him again. On top of that I have always found several connections between the Eldrazi and Nephilim. Both are powerful creatures that are awoken and start destroying their respective plane. Their behavior as well as appearances’ seem somewhat reminiscent of the Eldrazi. On top of that both have special relationships with the color pie, the Eldrazi being completely void of it and the Nephilim being all over it. To be completely honest I really doubt we will be seeing them show up in the block but theres no harm in speculating.

So all in all Return to Ravnica is a set that I am really looking forward to. I absolutely loved the Ravnica block, gameplay and flavor-wise and cant wait to see what happens. Ravnica is all about color combinations and multi-colored cards and god knows I love me my multi-colored cards. You can be sure to expect some multicolored goodness coming up here as well as some game changing cards and some rule breaking on R&D’s behalf.

So what do you think is going to happen with RTR? Are we going to be seeing a new Jace? How about a cycle of planeswalkers? Will Niv be a planeswalker or will Ral Zarek fill the Izzet planeswalker slot? Maybe Jace will be part of the multicolored planeswalker cycle and if so what color combo would he be? What do you think the lands will look like? What do you think is going to be going on on the plane and is there going to be some new bad guy out there? Leave all of your thoughts and speculations in the comments below or let us know at askpowercords@gmail.com!

So this might be a little over-powered but imagine how awesome a planeswalker like this would be! Now imagine 9 more!

Filed Under: Other, Table top gaming Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 852 other followers