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Today's First Impressions Shard is Esper, a world of knowledge, order, and ambition. Lacking Red and Green mana, the Shard of Esper embodies the spirits of Blue, White, and Black mana. In typical Blue mana fashion, the wizards of Esper, under the guidance of their Sphinx sovereigns, experimented with the materials available, in particular a unique metal known as Etherium. In the grand tradition of Black mana, they found that they could alter their normal forms to increase their power and knowledge by infusing and replacing portions of their bodies with Etherium. Finally, in classic White mana form, they either shared this gift with (or imposed their ideals on) the inhabitants of Esper, giving them all Etherium augmentations. The cards of Esper are different from the other Shards in that they do not have a keyword mechanic to tie them together. Rather, what makes Esper unique is an abundance of artifacts, including artifact creatures, which flavor-wise is tied into the Etherium augmentations. That does mean that every creature we review today is just a little more fragile, since they can be destroyed not only by creature destruction spells, but also by any artifact destruction spells. Opposing this disadvantage is the fact that many Esper cards reward you for playing with artifacts. Without further introduction, let's take a look at the cards:
Drathro: Why is it going to cost me a total of 2WW to destroy an artifact or enchantment? If the activation cost at least matched Disenchant (for a total of 1WW), I would feel better about this capsule. On the plus side, all of these artifact creatures running around will make this a little better in Standard. The truth is that Esper grants a big reward for playing as many artifacts as possible, so I expect this will see some play, despite being overcosted. Grade: C- hamsandwich: Ultimate fail in my book. With the number of artifacts available I don't see this as necessary, even in an Esper deck. Grade: F Maybe if I could sacrifice any artifact....
Grade: B Great casual feel, but weak in the new Standard. Drathro: I really like this card. There are a couple of Esper cards that take an established symmetrical effect and turn it into a one-sided effect, if you are willing to commit to running as many artifacts as possible. This is one of those cards. About how it will draw immediate removal, well... I promise my other reviews will be shorter, but allow me digress into a short illustration: In the Legacy format, Hypnotic Specter used to be pretty lame because it never survived long enough to hit the opponent. Hyppie drew so much removal that its other nickname was "Lightning Rod." When Chris Pikula included Hypnotic Specter in his "Deadguy Ale" deck, it was suddenly good! Why? Because Pikula also included a fragile two-mana 2/1 creature that also had a target painted on it - Dark Confidant! The opponent often had to use his only removal in hand on the first perceived threat, Dark Confidant, allowing the follow-up Specter to survive and connect in combat. In the same way, I fully expect Ethersworn Canonist to be toasted again and again by removal, but if you build your deck right, you should be following this up with something even nastier. Ethersworn Canonist's biggest drawback is actually that Aggro decks that curve out and Control decks with flash creatures aren't going to care that they can only play one card per turn. Aside from all that, it also has potential in an Erayo deck, which I'm guessing could be quite good. Grade: B
Drathro: As far as I can tell, this is just a virtual reprint of Braidwood Cup, but with a colored casting cost, making it harder to play. Life gain has to give me more than this. Grade: F hamsandwich: I'll have to bump this up. Not much, but in Limited it can help you out. Grade: D- At least you don't have to sacrifice it.
hamsandwich: Hailing back to Mirrodin and at my kitchen table I would have to say that most old school artifact decks are UB, so this card may not fit, but it also may give players a reason to splash White. In Constructed this card will come in handy for anyone running Esper, and at two toughness will avoid some common removal. Nothing too exciting, though. Grade: C+ Maybe I'm still stuck in colorless artifact mode. Drathro: For some reason, I want this guy to be good. It should be awesome if you can get it in a Limited Esper deck. For Constructed, I keep thinking of random applications, like protecting Razormane Masticore, surviving your own Culling Scales, or getting a second use out of Nevinyrral's Disk. The more I think about it, the better I think it might be. Still, there is really nothing special about it in and of itself.
Drathro: Sweet, but it's weird that they reprinted this in an expansion set while it is still in Standard. All I can really say is that it's nice having art with a different feel to it, and I'm amused by how they have the new flavor text mirroring the original flavor text. Grade: B hamsandwich: It's Oblivion Ring. With the new (and more powerful) planeswalkers this card is now a must in any Standard build. Grade: B
hamsandwich: Again with the White cost, but a 2/3 flier for 4 that salvages something from the graveyard is nothing to laugh at. Grade: B Could be helpful in Limited, but will surely see plenty of casual play. Drathro: As a 3W flying 2/3 this is already just slightly above the curve. Tack on that it usually nets you a card, and this seems really good - almost Constructed good. At the very least, it compares favorably to the oft-reprinted Gravedigger. Suddenly I have the urge to get myself a playset of Galepowder Mages.... Grade: C+
Drathro: Another usually symmetrical effect twisted by the Etherium into a total beating - if you can survive long enough to actually get a return on your investment. The big drawback here is that you can't play the effect whenever you feel like it, making it in some ways worse. Without doubt, this is a big risk, big reward card. Oh, and play this with artifacts. Grade: B- hamsandwich: I am very surprised they printed this one. Esper really shouldn't need this, but now that it's here you have to deal with it. Grade: B Not a fan of the art.
Grade: B Limited goodness, Constructed not so much, average for casual. Drathro: On curve or not, if I'm paying five mana, I want something that changes the game, and a nearly-vanilla 3/3 flier is not going to do that. Grade: D
Drathro: So overcosted. This is a Limited filler. Grade: D hamsandwich: Agreed, however I wouldn't even bother with this in Limited. It's way too costly for a so-so ability, maybe used as a one-of in a Retether deck, but even then there are better choices. Grade: F
hamsandwich: Four mana for two cards... I've seen worse. Of course, not many people are going to waste a Naturalize on something like this when the set is chock full of dangerous artifact creatures, so in Limited it could be useful. It also has the makings of a combo, what with the tapping and sacrificing and it being an artifact so it's definitely better than average. Grade: B Still not blown away. Drathro: I feel the same way - this is right on the edge of playable. It reminds me of Think Twice, which was a total of five mana for two cards, but the mana could be spread out over two turns. Courier's Capsule is four mana that can be distributed over two turns as well, but the initial investment of two mana leaves you down a card. Keep an eye on this one, it might surprise you. Grade: C+
Grade: C+ hamsandwich: Okay, i've never been a fan of Battlemages, but I must agree with Drathro. The White ability might help in Limited, but otherwise it's a waste of space in the text box. Grade: C More terrible art, but I guess you can't have the highs without the lows.
hamsandwich: Now this I can enjoy. It has flash which is what I wanted with Courier's Capsule, and though more expensive for less cards it does enable one to sacrifice an artifact other than itself. Its colors will blend in with any old school artifact deck, and its ability is more combolicious than the Capsule. Though it's simple, I like the art. Grade: A Casual goodness, combo ready. Drathro: I totally agree with ham about the art - this is a perfect example of the clean lines that I'm enjoying so much on most Esper cards. These Esper cards keep reminding me of updates to older cards. This time, it's a favorable Esper update to Phyrexian Vault. At the very worst, it cycles itself for 2UB. At best, it turns a doomed artifact into a card. Grade: B
Drathro: I love cost reducers. Even more, I love asymmetrical cost reducers. Note that this can make many non-Esper artifacts free to cast. Combo potential all over the place. This is another two-mana creature with a bulls-eye on its back. Grade: B+ hamsandwich: This guy is priceless for artifact lovers everywhere. Grade: A Because I like the art, too.
hamsandwich: Meh. Wizard tribal maybe, but it seems like the Standard pool is already full of untapping abilities, so I'm not so sure this one is necessary. Of course, untap abilities can always be useful for someone's combos. Grade: C Average grade. It makes me think of Vigean Graftmage, attractive but useless. Drathro: Filigree Sages is total Johnny fodder - you guys keep looking for that holy grail of combos! Grade: C
hamsandwich: Meh. A card I pulled at the pre-release and just couldn't get excited about. I guess if your opponent has a bunch of token creation triggering during their upkeep, but no... stealing a big finisher, there are plenty of cheaper ways to do that. Now if it said "permanent" instead of "creature" we'd be bff's. Grade: D Owls are pretty cool.
hamsandwich: Ouch. Cheap and dangerous. This is the kind of card I would hate to see across the table in any format. Almost too powerful for only three mana. Grade: A Like I said, "too powerful" with no real drawback. Would have liked more powerful art on this one as well. Drathro: Finally, I mention the elephant in the Esper room: Affinity. Control affinity is going to love this, both as another finisher and as an extra Blue card that will help support running Force of Will. Ouside of affinity, hamsandwich said it all. Really good card. Grade: A
Drathro: A run of the mill card. Get it? Run of the...? Never mind. Anyway, this card will definitely be popular with the casual crowd. At first I was ready to give this an average grade and move on. Then it occurred to me that this could be your big finisher in a classic Draw-Go Control deck, and three mana for a Control finisher is pretty cheap. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Memory Erosion might just be the best mill card I've seen in a long time. Grade: B hamsandwich: Love it. Could have had darker art, but for its ability alone I have to grade it high. Pair it with Forced Fruition. Grade: A
Grade: A No top honors yet, mainly because of the art. Drathro: I've been waiting for this card for a long time, but I was hoping for something with a little less color, if you know what I mean. Still, it combos nicely with Ghost Quarter and is a decent sideboard card for Eternal formats. Now if only they would give me an artifact that nullified those annoying Judgment wishes.... Grade: B+
Drathro: That is a lot of mana being spent, so whatever you reanimate had better be game-winning. This will support the heavy hitters of Esper well, but it's not for every Esper deck. Grade: C hamsandwich: Casual multiplayer goodness. The mana cost won't be an issue. Grade: B
hamsandwich: Another card I pulled at the prerelease. This baby is very playable as its cycling cost is very obtainable. I love returning things to people's hands, and though Time Spiral is cycling out, this one is very compatible with a Mystical Teachings engine. Get it when you need it. Grade: A Wonderful common for Limited, will have to take a wait and see approach for Standard, but will always be on my shortlist for Casual decks. Drathro: I agree that Resounding Wave is a perfectly playable card, even in some Constructed formats as a splashable Boomerang effect. The cycling ability will often be a non-issue, being so expensive that you would rarely get a chance to play it before the game was over. However, this being a Blue card, you might see a dedicated Control deck build up the mana to cycle this card effectively. Grade: C+
Drathro: A high cost for a 4/4 flier, but a powerful effect if you start connecting in combat. As the Spikes like to say, this is a "win more" kind of card. Grade: B+ hamsandwich: If you're dealing enough damage to get a lot of tokens then you probably don't need the tokens. I guess they would act as chump blockers because you'd be all tapped out? May see some Limited play. Grade: B
Grade: A+ The possibilities are endless. Drathro: I agree that Skill Borrower has some potential as
a fun combo card, and having a three toughness means it will be a little easier
to keep it in play. There are tons of utility creatures that could be fun with
this (Visara + Top), but I'd say the most important cards to use with the
Borrower are Enlightened Tutor, Worldly Tutor, Lim-Dul's Vault, and maybe Kiki-Jiki,
Mirror Breaker. As long as Skill Borrower survives a turn, tutoring for Kiki-Jiki
during the end of turn step means a huge attack phase the next turn, because the
Kiki-Jiki ability tokens won't be sacrificed until the next "end of turn."
Drathro: Dismal. If you are playing this just to cycle it, play something else. Still, it does have the vague potential to counter a spell every once in a while. Grade: D hamsandwich: I like most things that cycle. Grade: C
hamsandwich: This one smells familiar. It seems that every few years WOTC releases a cycle like this one to help you get that fattie out, but in reality whatever that fattie is can be summoned in much more productive ways. Might see some casual play, but using this card's ability just seems unimaginative to me. Grade: D Unneccesary uncommon. Unfortunate. Drathro: The math on this says that it typically requires a cumulative six mana and three cards to get your Sphinx Sovereign into play. While it is possible to do this as early as turn three, this kind of all-in play is a highly questionable course of action. At least in this case, the fatty you summon into play has evasion, so it's not all bad. The saving grace to the Herald is that it is a 1/1 Wizard for U, which is at least par for the course. Grade: C-
Drathro: Playing Esper, you are probably going to have another artifact, so the drawback will often be ignored. Still, there are better things to do with six mana. Grade: D+ hamsandwich: Agreed. Grade: D+
hamsandwich: Mythic for a reason. His big ability is a souped up March of the Machines and attainable rather quickly, though his converted mana cost will be his drawback. Definitely not weak, but in my opinion not the best planeswalker. Grade: C Terrible art. Drathro: Wow. I really disagree with ham on this one. Even if you ignore Tezzeret's powerful ultimate ability, his ability to tutor artifacts into play is pretty ridiculous. At worst, think of Tezzeret as a five-mana Diabolic Tutor that puts the card tutored for directly into play. In the right deck, his untap ability is analogous to Garruk's "untap two lands" ability, and that gets used all the time. Remember when I said that paying five mana had better have an effect on the game? Well, here it is. Grade: A+
Grade: F hamsandwich: I don't want to pay extra for deathtouch. I'd sooner hire someone who can do their job without extra resources. Grade: F
hamsandwich: Terror as an artifact. Will destroy artifact creatures.... Good in Limited, not much else. Cheap enough to be useful. I'm sure there's a combo for it in casual, but how many ways do we need to destroy creatures? Grade: C Not terrible. Drathro: Not terrible, indeed. Now this is a Capsule I understand. An overall cost of 1BB to destroy a creature is fairly average, and the cost can be parceled out over turns. Also, it can hit artifact creatures. On the flip side, you still can't target Black or protection from Black creatures, which means you are still cold to a resolved Chameleon Colossus. With the recursion we've seen so far from Esper, I'd say this is a keeper. Grade: C+
Drathro: If you have no power, and you are not a Birds of Paradise, you are probably a bad card. I see this has combo potential, but really, it's just sad. Grade: D+ hamsandwich: If you pull or draft enough of these they can win the game rather quickly. These little guys could be swinging for big flying damage over all sorts of Wooly Thoctars and Mosstodons. Don't count them out. Grade: B+ Gold in the right deck.
hamsandwich: Arguably my favorite card in this set based on its Johnny appeal. A Casual bomb like no other. Expensive, maybe, but it fits into any graveyard heavy strategy. If only it had better art. Grade: A Seriously though, what's with all the circles and squares? Did the artists just run out of gas? Drathro: I think the squares are part of a cube, actually. Anyway, this is pretty cute - just make sure you keep mana open for Etherium Astrolabe or Perilous Research, or you will find yourself in the awkward situation of having no graveyard and a triggered ability telling you that you just lost the game. Actually, it occurs to me that this is a great card for a mill strategy that uses symmetrical mill effects like Mesmeric Orb! Grade: B+
Grade: D hamsandwich: Miles ahead of the Chalice. Won't win you the game, but will definitely have an impact in a Limited format. Grade: C+
hamsandwich: What? So... yeah. Okay... um... what? Grade: D This must be a misprint. Not an F because I'm sure there's an infinite 0/1 Homunculus artifact creature token combo out there just waiting to hit the table. Drathro: Imperious Perfect, this ain't. Still, the ability to generate tokens always has potential, so I agree with ham, it's not the worst card in the bunch. Grade: D
Drathro: Done right, this might not be so bad, especially if you use artifacts which replace themselves. Hypothetical ridiculous opening sequence: Swamp, Dark Ritual, Chromatic Star, Terrarion, Terrarion, Salvage Titan's alternate casting cost, draw three cards off of self-replacing artifacts. Hey, it could happen. Even if you can't pay the alternate casting cost, six mana for a 6/4 artifact that can return from the graveyard to your hand for "free" is really quite good. Think Razormane Masticore.... Grade: B+ hamsandwich: Well thought out card. Methinks I've found my Phyrexian Soulgorger a friend. Grade: B+
Grade: C Interesting, useful, expensive sorcery. Drathro: If you survived long enough to cast this, then your deck is probably full of utility Control cards, so it is unlikely that playing this is going to win you the game. Your best bet to make this work is probably to couple this with the hideaway lands. Grade: D+
Drathro: Instant speed draw makes a comeback. Instant speed discard makes a rare appearance! Destroying an enchantment is almost irrelevant, compared to the other two modes, but let's call it the icing on the cake. The only thing I'm missing about this Charm is that you can't target another player to draw cards, so there's no helping an ally or decking an enemy with this card. The art is also pretty sweet, which is fully expected when it comes to Charms. Grade: B- hamsandwich: I like choices, but all these circles are angering me. Grade: C+ Hey WOTC, I can draw circles, can I have a job?
hamsandwich: I loved me my Mystic Snakes, but pulling off the four-mana counter can be difficult. I will definitely take this one for a spin, though. Grade: B+ Would be a C if not for the art. Drathro: The big problem here is that this is a four-mana counter. The last two four-mana counters I remember seeing much play are Cryptic Command, which can do a lot more than Punish Ignorance, and Rewind, which doesn't cost any mana in the long run. Grade: C
Drathro: Six mana for a 5/5 flier is already reasonable, but the extra ability gives this so much more oomph! This simple comes into play ability is perfect for the colors: Black reanimates and throws things into the graveyard, White reanimates and blinks, and Blue blinks, copies and tutors artifacts. This is going to be crazy good. Even limited to just Esper cards, things like playing a 5/5 flier and getting a free Scourglass, or reanimating a Sanctum Gargoyle to put another nasty artifact in hand for next turn will be the norm. Just imagine the kind of abuses you can perpetrate with a larger card pool.... The high casting cost may prove the downfall on this one, but I'm willing to take that chance. Grade: A hamsandwich: Happier with the art on this card, and anything that brings stuff from my graveyard to play is just peachy in my book. Grade: A I like me a 5/5 flier.
Grade: A+ Love it. Drathro: It's a 6/6 flyer, which is mighty good, but for eight mana (or almost half of your resources plus Sphinx's Herald), this just costs too much. Also, I know the answer to the riddle. Grade: B-
Drathro: Being able to see the opponent's hand can be very powerful, and I did like playing Blightspeaker as a non-combat source of life loss, but Blightspeaker had card advantage built in as well. This one is a toss up for me, but I'm leaning towards lame. Grade: C- hamsandwich: Limited goodness if you're running UB. This guy not only chipped away at my life, but revealed my whole strategy. Fortunately there was nothing they could do about it. Grade: B Solid in Limited format.
hamsandwich: Intersting casual card. I like taking stuff away. I don't like giving stuff back. Grade: C Why bother giving this an ability? Just let me see your hand. Drathro: This robotic Mesmeric Fiend will definitely see play in casual games. If mana fixing is as good as it seems, you might even see this in tournament play. Combos nicely with Etherium Astrolabe. Grade: B-
Drathro: I've played against a lot of Wren's Run Vanquishers, so I can say with confidence that a two-mana deathtouch creature is powerful. In addition, this is a 2/1 flier for only two mana. This bird is above the curve and very playable. I approve. Grade: B hamsandwich: Whenever I see flying and deathtouch I inevitably compare the card to the Stinkweed Imp. This card is an artifact, which will net you all the benefits that Esper has to offer, however deathtouch without recursion or first strike isn't all that great. Of course, with Esper you've got a few ways to get artifacts from your graveyard back to your hand, so.... Grade: B Solid card at a solid mana cost.
hamsandwich: Limited bomb. If you play Esper, play this. It is bigger than most other fliers and might just save your life. Grade: A Drathro: We've seen an increase in cards that can take down a four toughness creature lately, but even so, this is a strong card. Grade: B-
Drathro: The success of this will definitely depend on how easy it is to get the mana. Try pairing this with Chromatic Star, so you not only get color fixing to play it, but you also get an artifact in the graveyard and a replacement card in hand. Outside of Esper shenanigans, Black-White lifelinked fliers really like Edge of the Divinity. Grade: C+ hamsandwich: One card I left out of my deck at the prerelease. I like flying creatures, not ones that almost fly, but in retrospect I feel I may have underestimated this card. Lifelink with flying is an awesome combination. The added swing you get from gaining life can go a long way in a duel. My problem is that I'm so used to kitchen table free-for-alls where minimal lifegain just never cuts it that when I look at a card like this I think, "It's okay, but... it could be better." Grade: C Though I may have misjudged this one, I'd rather it says, "Sacrifice an srtifact: ~ gains flying until end of turn."
hamsandwich: Yay. How exciting. Its an Obelisk. Grade: No comment. Drathro: Like all the Obelisks, this will lose out to Darksteel Ingot in casual decks and will just barely compete with Scuttlemutt and Mind Stone in Standard.
Drathro: For decks which need less than four colors of mana, these are better than the Vivid lands. Heck, they are probably better even in five-color decks. Plus, floating fortresses are cool. Grade: B hamsandwich: I love this cycle. These lands will be used in all formats and grace kitchen table game for years to come. It is entirely worth it for this to come into play tapped. Great job, Wizards! Makes Coastal Tower look downright stupid. Grade: A- Unfortunately it carries what I feel is the worst art of the cycle.
hamsandwich: I can still run Terramorphic Expanse, so no thanks. Grade: D Drathro: You can get a colorless mana from it right away, but I don't like how you have to invest mana and a turn to get a colored mana out of these lands. Grade: C
It looks like both the sandwich and I really like the Esper cards as a whole, even though we approached the Shard from different points of view. The three we agree are most interesting are Skill Borrower; Sharuum, the Hegemon; and the much talked about Master of Etherium. On the flipside, we disagree on the common artifact creature Glaze Fiend, which I panned, but hamsandwich loved in draft, and we differ on the mythic planeswalker Tezzeret the Seeker, which ham found average at best, but I see great potential in it. The biggest disagreement we have is on the art. hamsandwich quickly grew tired of all the circles and squares, looking for more creativity from the artists. I found the art attractively clean and ordered, perfectly fitting the ideology of the Shard called Esper. Let us know in the forums if you agree or disagree with our judgments. What cards did we over-hype? What cards are better than we think they are? Just how lame is the Esper art? Thanks for reading! - hamsandwich and DW (Drathro)
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hamsandwich:
It's a Cleric. I don't like Clerics, but as they go I would say this is a casual
bomb. The kitchen table is going to see plenty of non-artifact spells, and its
cheap cost is going to be a boon to any tribal Cleric deck. Unfortunately, in
Constructed there are so many things that can deal with this card that I doubt
it will make a splash. I don't know think I would main deck this card in Limited
either, as it is extremely situational.
Grade:
C
hamsandwich:
Wow, when I look at this I am not all that impressed, however having attended a
prerelease I must say this card has potential in Limited formats. I found it
quite easy to afford his vigilance cost, and his mana cost makes him easily
splashable in any of the shards which support Blue. Also, with all the ways of
giving creatures +1/+1 this set has, I often found myself attacking with a 4/4. 
Drathro:
Okay, so I like Battlemages, and this one's Black ability is sweet!
Unfortunately, the White ability does nothing for me. Another card that borders
on the edge of playability.
Drathro:
This could be fun in multiplayer and it has interesting combo potential, but at
six mana it's going to be hard to take it seriously. Maybe teaming this up with
Living End could be fun? On a less frivolous note, I see this working in a
dedicated Control deck, where this curves out at just the right moment to steal
the opponent's big finisher.
hamsandwich:
I pulled this at the prerelease and thought it too situational for the format.
Fortunately, the Johnny in me will play with this. All I have to do is force my
opponent to not draw and only be allowed to get cards from their library by
searching... I will get a headache if I think on this one too long and this
being a First Impression I will just say, "Thank you, Wizards."
hamsandwich:
Now we're cooking with Pam! "Who's Pam?" Who cares, this card is awesome! I saw
it a couple times at the prerelease tournament and it didn't do much, but its
potential is just ridiculous. With all the artifacts and creatures available in
Standard this will most likely see some play in Control decks, however this card
will end up ruling the kitchen table for years. Get you some!
Drathro:
This is a bad Limited removal spell.
Drathro:
Well, it's a bit better than Marble Chalice, because this can potentially win
the game... eventually. Still, the only thing I can think to do with it is
irritate the opponent by adding it to the aforementioned Immortal Coil/Mesmeric
Orb combo.
hamsandwich:
This seems to be one of the weaker Ultimatums, but it's going to be beneficial
unless you're absolutely terrible at building decks, and if you're good you can
make this a gamebreaker. I don't like giving your opponent choices, though, as
it really only guarantees you half of what you want. Weak art.
hamsandwich:
Uh, where's the drawback? Oh, the mana cost? That's not a drawback....
Grade:
C
In
conlusion, sandwich likey most of the cards. Some bad, some good, some just
plain dumb. However, where this set is really standing out is with the art. I
absolutely love some of it, but the circle and cubes seem like a waste of my
time. WOTC you are on notice: If you can't draw something cool for it, just
don't print the card. It depresses me.