Magic Deck Vortex: First Impressions: Lorwyn

What is the dark side of the midsummer plane known as Lorwyn? What do the Goblins, Elves, Faeries, and Shapeshifters do in the dead of night? What are the cards to fight over in the newest set from Wizards' twisted and evil mindset? Find out in my review of Lorwyn's Black cards!

Well, we have a nice bunch of writers for this set. I do have to commend Tynion, Death by Aggro, and Amadeus for each doing a fantastic job on their work, and I have to give it to Death_By_Beebles for the article you read already AND the article you'll have to read tomorrow. I've taken the dark side (if there is such thing in Lorwyn) and have the privilege of showing you my thoughts on this new set from Wizards. So on to the real meat of this article: the cards.

The regeneration costs too much, even for a 1/3. I mean I get it; it just costs too much. I'd rather see another 3/1 with regeneration for B than this.

Six mana for a 5/2 at best? And it can't block? Nope, sorry, this is only good as a draft card. I see a shoebox in your future.

How is this different from Raise Dead, again? Oh, it's a GOBLIN ONLY Raise Dead?

Grade: B+ Thankfully this applies to Tribal - Goblin cards as well as creatures, not to mention changelings.

I feel a cycle coming on. All in all, though, it’s not bad for a cycle card.

Grade: B- If only it were generic land destruction or generic creature destruction.

Lose a Goblin for a Goblin that helps your Goblins make more Goblins? I think I might enjoy that almost as much as I enjoyed typing that last sentence.

Grade: B+ or A I like it when they make bad cards good. Remember One With Nothing?

Cryptic Annelid. That's all I have to say about this card. The “Scry King” plus this card will be fun.

This card is an insurance policy, meaning in multiplayer and duels this guy's "threat value" is high enough to put actual fear into someone. Whenever a creature of yours hits me, it dies. Whenever you kill this guy, I get him back in my deck. Oh, and he's big at a good cost.

A 2/2 for two in Black with a drawback. Wait: "discard a card." MADNESS!! Ok, well, it might be worth it.

Grade: B Depending on how you use it, this guy is either a bomb or a dud. Add recursion and sacrifice engines to make much more madness.

Grade: C- This card says to me, "Dark Banishing was too powerful, so we did this."

Kill a Goblin for more power; interesting, with that Goblin Raise Dead, maybe….

Grade: B+ Good card all around. Sacrifice multiple token Goblins or recur sacrificed cards.

WHERE DID I PUT ALL THOSE BLACK INSTANTS?! Assassinate + Dreamspoiler Witches + Tauntings = two dead creatures and some pain for the opponent. EACH OPPONENT = multiplayer fun.

Grade: B+ "Would you like some pain with those two corpses?" "Yes, yes I would."

It’s a Black Fortify. Why? Oh wait; it has a tad bit of Mutilate. It could act as a mini Wrath of God if you do it right.

Fodder Cannon in sorcery form, and a bit stronger. Nice. I mean what else can I say; this is a nice card at uncommon and an even better version for four mana than the alternative.

Grade: A Because I like my Pull Under with your Lava Axe. It's like a “you got your chocolate in my peanut butter” thing.

Bone Harvest; is that you? Oh, you're Bone Harvest's Cousin? Oh, welcome, you will be used. Bone Harvest is a casual favorite of mine that can be well abused when done right, like, oh, say, with any decent Green creatures, or with Blue’s card drawing power to get the returned creatures back into my hand quickly.

Grade: A Bone Harvest with a cantrip and at the same cost. Yes, there will be blood.

Bad Shade, stay in one type and have a cheaper ability. GRR!!! Granted though, this is an Elf.

Advisor, Anemone, Angel, Anteater, Antelope, Ape, Archer, Archon, Artificer, Assassin, Assembly-Worker, Atog, Aurochs, Avatar, Badger, Barbarian, Basilisk, Bat, Bear, Beast, Beeble, Berserker, Bird, Blinkmoth, Boar, Bringer, Brushwagg, Camarid, Camel, Caribou, Carrier, Cat, Centaur, Cephalid, Chimera, Citizen, Cleric, Cockatrice, Construct, Coward, Crab, Crocodile, Cyclops, Dauthi, Demon, Deserter, Devil, Djinn, Dragon, Drake, Dreadnought, Drone, Druid, Dryad, Dwarf, Efreet, Egg, Elder, Elemental, Elephant, Elf, Elk, Eye, Faerie, Ferret, Fish, Flagbearer, Fox, Frog, Fungus, Gargoyle, Giant, Gnome, Goat, Goblin, Golem, Gorgon, Graveborn, Gremlin, Griffin, Hag, Harpy, Hellion, Hippo, Homarid, Homunculus, Horror, Horse, Hound, Human, Hydra, Illusion, Imp, Incarnation, Insect, Jellyfish, Juggernaut, Kavu, Kirin, Kithkin, Knight, Kobold, Kor, Kraken, Lammasu, Leech, Leviathan, Lhurgoyf, Licid, Lizard, Manticore, Masticore, Mercenary, Merfolk, Metathran, Minion, Minotaur, Monger, Mongoose, Monk, Moonfolk, Mutant, Myr, Mystic, Nautilus, Nephilim, Nightmare, Nightstalker, Ninja, Nomad, Octopus, Ogre,Ooze, Orb, Orc, Orgg, Ouphe, Ox, Oyster, Pegasus, Pentavite, Pest, Phelddagrif, Phoenix, Pincher, Pirate, Plant, Prism, Rabbit, Rat, Rebel, Reflection, Rhino, Rigger, Rogue, Salamander, Samurai, Sand, Saproling, Satyr, Scarecrow, Scorpion, Scout, Serf, Serpent, Shade, Shaman, Shapeshifter, Sheep, Skeleton, Slith, Sliver, Slug, Snake, Soldier, Soltari, Spawn, Specter, Spellshaper, Sphinx, Spider, Spike, Spirit, Splinter, Sponge, Squid, Squirrel, Starfish, Survivor, Tetravite, Thalakos, Thopter, Thrull, Treefolk, Triskelavite, Troll, Turtle, Unicorn, Vampire, Vedalken, Viashino, Volver, Wall, Warrior, Weird, Whale, Wizard, Wolf, Wolverine, Wombat, Worm, Wraith, Wurm, Yeti, Zombie, and a Zubera.

Grade: B+ But it's better than the original, even though it's twice the cost. Each time you win the clash, you get the whole effect again, including the clash, so it even has a possibility of killing you.

Why on earth would you make an opponent’s creature stronger!? Your opponent will most likely have a way of disabling this guy and end up keeping the free boost. But even if you get to kill the one creature, it costs 5BBB and two turns to do it.

Grade: C- You are the weakest link, goodbye. (Note to self: Have Luther say that into a mic' to play back every time I mention this card.)

Now this Goblin is worth its weight in gold. Sure the Goblin Champ is good, but this guy is cheap, effective, and has Sadistic Glee built in.

Grade: A It's like having a version of Soulless One for Goblins that isn't Reckless One.

Hopefully everyone already knows about the new planeswalker cards. This one is a Megrim enabler, a madness enabler, a reusable Worldly Tutor, and the greatest reanimation feat since the death of Yawgmoth. Oh, and on the side you can give it a potato and it'll make some of those McDonald's special double-greased fries.

It’s a perverted Timberwatch Elf. Discard an Elf, eh? Recollect and Raise Dead can help here.

Double your pleasure, double your fun; tapping to regenerate is different, but not too powerful on this one.

Grade: A- It's a good card, better than the Anthems in Goblin decks, but only slightly better.

I like it. How about I make a fake Akroma?! Sadly, it gains sulking, and that sucks.

Grade: B- If only there was a way to remove any type of counter from a creature...

Interesting. I almost wondered why not +2/+2, and then I remembered the Goblin Champ. All in all, there’s nothing to see that's too interesting here.

All right, time for a breakdown exercise:

3/3 creature: +2 mana
Black: +1 mana
CIP ability: +1 mana
Common: anywhere from +1 to +3 mana?

Alright so roughly in my mind that's how they came to the cost, give or take - sure you can add maybe +1 to the Come into play ability or even +2 to the fact it has Evoke instead of putting it all on the common slot, regardless this card feels over-costed and under-powered. (On a side note: if it was "Discard two cards at Random" then I would be fine)

Grade: C+ Mind Rot! Though its evoke costs a little more. Otherwise, it’s seven mana for a 3/3 and it doesn't even have very good abilities, especially for the late game.

So you can kill an opponent’s creature at instant speed, or give one of your guys a boost at the cost of three toughness – good for first strikers.

Grade: B+ I like the irony in this card; the creature becomes so strong it can hardly survive with all of its bulk, if at all. Last Gasp – eat your heart out.

A flying 1/1 Faerie that likes its own kind as well as Elves, and to show it, it grants lifelink.

For six mana it's constant land and creature destruction – GENERIC destruction. The only bad thing is the opponent gets to choose the next death in the family.

A 1/1 flying creature that can't block. White and Blue have it so much better. It’s the shoebox for you, too!

Grade: B- I sense a logical fallacy, but in the end it's a 1/1 Black flier for B. I can't believe they’re nailing rarity this hard, this feels like Mercadian Masques block all over again. For those who don't know Mercadian Masques was the set after the most broken set currently known Urza's Block and as such Mercadian Masques' cards were good, but constantly Over-costed and underpowered or just in many ways not good enough, this card would be in that "Not Good Enough" caregory in my head.

Grade: B It's like getting hit with tiny bits of hot metal. Yes, it hurts. It hurts like hell, but it's not deadly, normally.

I love these Commands; “Choose two” is a powerful set of words with great choices behind them, which with this means you have:

“Target player loses X life and return target creature card with cmc X or less to play.”
or
“Target player loses X life and target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn.”
or
“Target player loses X life and X target creatures gain fear until end of turn.”
or
“Return target creature with cmc X or less to play and target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn.”
or
“Return target creature with cmc X or less to play and X target creatures gain fear until end of turn.”
or
“Target creature gets -X/-X and up to X target creatures gain fear until end of turn.”

Whenever one of your nontoken Elves dies, you get a token Elf in its place. Two mana for this bit of coolness is nice. I won't be using it over Bloodbond March, but will be using it over Golgari Germination.

Four mana gets me a 3/2; that's a nice deal already. Oh, and it has a nice ability: Anytime a player plays a Kithkin spell, I can have a player lose one life. Meaning, anytime Johnny plays a Kithkin, I can have Timmy lose one life; anytime I play a Kithkin spell, I can have Timmy lose one life; and any time Timmy plays a Kithkin, I can have him lose one life. Don’t forget: Changelings apply.

Grade A- "But we had a deal!" "Ah, yes, but you see, I've made better arrangements."

Two mana gets a 1/1 that eats the dead for a boost in power. Add trample for a winning blow. This is a beautiful card for a post-Wrath setup.

Grade: B+ Dead Elves now have a use. (Note to self: Break out Lobotomy again.)

I like this card. Sure, the regenerate cost is higher than my preference, but that's ok.

Grade: C Average, but I don't see why you wouldn't want to use Dredge Skeletons outside a Tribal setting.

Only good with another friend in play, but it’s nice for a much-needed trump blow.

I call BS! Either show a Goblin, which is fine, or pay 4B for a 2/2 with fear?

Grade: D I just don't like it. Wait, what's that? This is a CYCLE?! Normally, this is where I would go into a rant that would make Tynion proud, but I just don't have it in me this time, and this card just isn't worth it.

Three mana for a 1/1 flying common; so far so good. "When Thieving Sprite comes into play, target player reveals X cards from his or her hand, where X is the number of Faeries you control. Choose one of those cards. That player discards that card." Not bad, and for the cost it’s really nice.

Grade: A For a possible Duress move. If only it read "When ~ deals combat damage." *sighs*

Black giving a Nameless Inversion (without the type loss) to anyone for playing a Treefolk spell... Streetz, you might want to see this guy.

Grade: B More than its fair share of playable. I know Streetz has been itching for Treefolk Tribal since Invasion Block.

Duress?! What did they do to you, oh my god; they made you not worthwhile! YOU BASTARDS!

Grade: OMGWTF – what did you do to my friend?! This is just like watching a child star grow up.

Five mana gets me a 3/3 with Raise Dead, and if I return a Goblin it gains haste. it's a rough evaluation I know, but heck this card just isn't that interesting... either that or I'm just tired, not sure yet.

Grade: A At common this guy does it right. The body is OK for the cost, and the added haste is nice (as long as you return a Goblin, and Tribal cards still work here as well).

It's a bit on the heavy side but it's worth the generic creature destruction + the possible life gain.

Grade: B+ It gives me a visual of the fight with this spell. I'm no storyteller, but... A mage goes and calls these life sucking vines to strike a creature; it makes it's mark. The opposition tries quickly to cut off the vines so the caster doesn't gain the full benefits of the spell.

All in all, not a bad set of cards. I do have to say the rare cards have something interesting going on, the uncommons are powered very strictly, and as for the commons – although Pauper players will enjoy them – I didn't see anything that screamed out to me. Black is a very cunning color and anything I did say here is far from the final word, but I recommend you to go out, get the cards, and play them. Play them hard.

You can discuss this article in the MDV forums here.
Find other articles by this author here.
Find other articles from this series here.