So, White cards, huh? New set, based on the last block? Okay, sure. I’m not going to do some giant introduction. That’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to see what I think of these cards. So, that said, let’s get down to business and see what’s going on here.

Apothecary Initiate - W
Creature - Kithkin Cleric (C)
Whenever a player plays a white spell, you may pay 1. if you do, you gain 1 life.
1/1

I’m not a huge fan of this card. It’s not really doing anything that Essence Warden or Soul Warden couldn’t do (and do much better, by the way). In Limited, it’s just another card you don’t want to play.

Grade: D

Armored Ascension 3W
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each Plains you control and has flying.

This Plains matter card is actually quite powerful in White Weenie, and I love what it can do. However, at four mana, its cost is kind of inhibitive. It’s also an Aura, which, unfortunately, is one of the worst types of cards in Magic. Despite its shortcomings, I think this will be quite powerful in Limited, and it may see play in some casual decks.

Grade: B+

Ballynock Cohort 2W
Creature - Kithkin Soldier (C)
First strike
Ballynock Cohort gets +1/+1 as long as you control another white creature.
A kithkin's worst enemy is solitude.
2/2

Quite possibly one of the best White commons I’ve seen in a while. For three mana, it’s a great card for both White Weenie type decks and any deck playing White in Shadowmoor Limited.

Grade: A

Barrenton Medic 4W
Creature - Kithkin Cleric (C)
T: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.
Put a -1/-1 counter on Barrenton Medic: Untap Barrenton Medic.
0/4

I’m your Medic! (Cue Team Fortress 2 music). This is actually pretty bad. Really bad. It costs five mana and it can’t even attack. Boo.

Grade: F

Boon Reflection 4W
Enchantment (R)
If you would gain life, you gain twice that much life instead.

It’s interesting, but I’m not sure what I think about it. There are quite a few good life gain cards in Shadowmoor. I’m sure it’ll see some play in a casual Test of Endurance deck, but to be honest, this is a terrible card in Limited.

Grade: C

Goldenglow Moth W
Creature - Insect (C)
Flying
Whenever Goldenglow Moth blocks, you may gain 4 life.
0/1

Ugh. Sacred Prey part two? I’ll pass, thanks.

Grade: F

Greater Auramancy 1W
Enchantment (R)
Other enchantments you control have shroud.
Enchanted creatures you control have shroud.

This is a great card in Enchantress/Auratog decks. Other than that, it kind of falls short. Good for protecting enchantment-based combos, but a real stinker in Limited.

Grade: B-

Inquisitor's Snare 1W
Instant (C)
Prevent all damage target attacking or blocking creature would deal this turn. If that creature is black or red, destroy it.

There are better cards in Constructed. This situational removal probably won’t get a second thought in most casual decks when cards like Condemn are out there to purchase. While this seems slightly under par in Limited, it will actually kill around 45% of all the creatures in Shadowmoor, which is nothing to scoff at. So, I guess I don’t like it for Constructed, but I like it for Limited. Go figure.

Grade: C+

Kithkin Rabble 3W
Creature - Kithkin (U)
Vigilance
Kithkin Rabble's power and toughness are each equal to the number of white permanents you control.
*/*

This one falls a bit short compared to the other cards in the cycle as a Constructed card. Vigilance is a good ability, don’t get me wrong. I just think the deck that would like to play this card will probably be trying to play cards that win them the game on turn four. It’s pretty good in Limited, though.

Grade: B-

Kithkin Shielddare 1W
Creature - Kithkin Soldier (C)
W, T: Target blocking creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
1/1

Now, I liked Kithkin Daggerdare in Lorwyn because it had an amazing effect on your attacking power. Unfortunately, Shielddare doesn’t have that same power. It is a 3/3 blocker for two mana, and it really complicates combat math, but I’d rather have my Daggerdare back, please.

Grade: C

Last Breath 1W
Instant (C)
Remove target creature with power 2 or less from the game. Its controller gains 4 life.

White removal is good, most of the time. Although this doesn’t deal with large creatures, it’s still very playable.

Grade: B+

Mass Calcify 5WW
Sorcery (R)
Destroy all nonwhite creatures.

Meh. It’s a Wrath variant. It’s that four word white spell that Mark Rosewater was talking about. Whoop-dee-doo. I’m not impressed. At seven mana, it’s just not worth playing. Limited doesn’t even really want it that much, to be honest.

Grade: D

Mine Excavation 1W
Sorcery (C)
Return target artifact or enchantment card in a graveyard to its owner's hand.
Conspire

I really like this card in the right Constructed deck. It has the ability to be very powerful, especially if you’re getting back cards like Hatching Plans (when you just sacrificed it to Auratog the turn before) or something like Memory Jar. In Limited, it’s pure trash.

Grade: B

Mistmeadow Skulk 1W
Creature - Kithkin Rogue (U)
Protection from converted mana cost 3 or greater
Lifelink (Whenever this creature deals damage, you gain that much life.)
1/1

Not much to complain about here. Protection from CMC 3 is a great ability. So is lifelink. Together, they’re a winning combo.

Grade: A

Niveous Wisps W
Instant (C)
Target creature becomes white until end of turn. Tap that creature.
Draw a card.

This is probably the best of the Wisps cards. Tapping someone else’s creatures gives you the chance to move through some extra combat damage, and it cantrips for only one White mana, so it’s very versatile in a lot of different decks.

Grade: B+

Order of Whiteclay 1WW
Creature - Kithkin Cleric (R)
1WW, Q: Return target creature card with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to play. (Q is the untap symbol)
Made from the clay of burial mounds, the face paint of the priests is a sign of their respect for those whose rest they interrupt.
1/4

Wow. I love this card. Enchant with something like Power of Fire for good times.

Grade: A

Pale Wayfarer 5WW
Creature - Spirit Giant (U)
2WW, Q: Target creature gains protection from the color of its controller's choice until end of turn.
4/4

Boo. It’s seven mana for a 4/4 that costs four mana to protect from blockers. Bad call, IMO.

Grade: D

Prison Term 1WW
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature can't attack or block, and its activated abilities can't be played.
Whenever a creature comes into play under an opponent's control, you may attach Prison Term to that creature.

This is great. Moving the Aura makes sure you’ve always got their best creature on lockdown. There isn’t much more I can ask for here.

Grade: A+

Resplendent Mentor 4W
Creature - Kithkin Cleric (U)
White creatures you control have "T: You gain 1 life."
2/2

Ugh. The stats are just bad. I’m sorry, but you can’t convince me to play this guy, even if he can give your creatures a decent ability. A 2/2 for five mana is not good in White. Especially in White.

Grade: F

Rune-Cervin Rider 3W
Creature - Elf Knight (C)
Flying
(G/W)(G/W): Rune-Cervin Rider gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
2/2

I’m not sure that this guy is worth the price in Constructed, but in Limited he’s a perfect beater. He pumps and does a lot of fun things, and generally makes the game a lot less fun for your opponent.

Grade: B

Runed Halo WW
Enchantment (R)
As Runed Halo comes into play, name a card.
You have protection from the chosen name. (You can't be targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything with that name.)

Runed Halo has me all confused. I’m pretty sure this is going to see Constructed play. It’s like the bastard child of Meddling Mage and Pacifism, but once the Mage rotates out of Extended, I think this card will show its ugly face in his place. In Limited, it’s pretty much a terrible card, although it can prevent combat beats.

Grade: C

Safehold Sentry 1W
Creature - Elf Warrior (C)
2W, Q: Safehold Sentry gets +0/+2 until end of turn.
2/2

Not a fan. Sure, it’s a 2/4 vigilant attacker if you can pay three mana, but honestly I’d rather have Safehold Elite as my White two-drop in Limited.

Grade: C

Spectral Procession (2/W)(2/W)(2/W)
Sorcery (U)
Put three 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying into play.

People have told me this is good, but I don’t believe them. I’m pretty sure it’s awful, especially if you look at all the other amazing effects you get from the rest of the two or color cycle. Three power of fliers is nothing to scoff at in Limited though, so I’m sure it will see some play.

Grade: C+

Strip Bare W
Instant (C)
Destroy all Auras and Equipment attached to target creature.

It seems bad, but with the hybrid color Auras in Shadowmoor, I might be taking this as a sideboard card in my drafts more often.

Grade: C

Twilight Shepherd 3WWW
Creature - Angel (R)
Flying, vigilance
When Twilight Shepherd comes into play, return to your hand all cards in your graveyard put there from play this turn.
Persist (When this creature is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no -1/-1 counters on it, return it to play under its owner's control and put a -1/-1 counter on it.)
5/5

Derp derp derp.

Grade: A

Windbrisk Raptor 5WW
Creature - Bird (R)
Flying
Attacking creatures you control have lifelink.
It awakened to gloom-fouled skies and responded with a righteous rage that shook the heavens.
5/7

I like that it has good stats, and helps your other creatures, but it still costs seven mana. It’ll see some play in Limited, but there are better choices in Constructed.

Grade: B-

Woeleecher 5W
Creature - Elemental (C)
W, T: Remove a -1/-1 counter from target creature. If you do, you gain 2 life.
3/5

The jury is still out on this creature. In Constructed, it’s almost completely worthless, but it may have some merit in Limited. It makes your persist creatures nigh unkillable, and that’s never a bad thing.

Grade: C

So all in all, my thoughts on Shadowmoor White? Well, to be honest, I’m not all that impressed. There are some good cards here, but White is definitely one of the weaker colors in the set. I expect to get drilled in the forums, but the problem with White here is that your better effects cost way too much mana. White needs to be lean in order to be effective, and when there are plenty of seven and six mana cards that you’re going to regularly see in a booster pack, I don’t know that White is going to do so well. In Shadowmoor, when White needs to be playing cards like Ballynock Cohort, too often it’ll be playing cards like Barrenton Medic. And that’s a place no one wants to be.

Until next time, this is Death_By_Beebles. Enjoy the rest of First Impressions Week!

~Death_By_Beebles

Alex Hoffman has been parading around with the pseudonym of Death_By_Beebles for three years now. He’s a writer for Magic Deck Vortex, and can often be found tinkering with his latest decks and studying for biochemistry. He is the author of Raiding the Dollar Bins and Going Blind series at MDV, and the recent startup series Pauper Chronicles. Alex likes kittens, reading, and generally enjoying life. He doesn’t like Brussels sprouts. You can send him deck ideas, combos and suggestions at deathbybeebles@yahoo.com.

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