|
Home Decks Combos Articles Visual Spoilers Art Features Links Search Forum |
|
|
|
|
CS: Jund. The land of Goblins, Berserkers, and things that eat both. Jund's my favorite aggressive shard, thanks to its hasty creatures and removal effects. Looking at the cards Alara Reborn has introduced us to, I must say my love of the shard hasn't changed. So, what're we waiting for? Let's dive right in! HP: In general I don't like gold cards at all. As a result, I cried, "Fail!" probably louder than anyone else. I believe that my dislike of gold cards stems all the way back to The Dark and Legends, which is when the concept was introduced. My first impression of gold cards came from Jedit Ojanen and Scarwood Goblins, which were overcosted and hard to play even by the standards of the day.
I missed everything from Mercadian Masques through Planar Chaos and therefore have little to no familiarity with the multicolor blocks of Invasion and Ravnica, and the mana fixing that came with them. Despite liking a couple gold cards from this block, my skepticism was in full swing as I started reviewing the spoiled cards every day. I often found myself liking the new cards, their power level, and their flavor. I’d like to share my thoughts on the Jund, BG, and WU cards from Alara Reborn, many of which helped change my overall opinion of the set.
HP: This card is Jund through and through, and I like its
flavor. The problem is that you need a steady source of creatures AND a way to
sac them. It encourages you to overextend, and one good board sweeper means you
won’t be drawing anymore cards. Recycle and Null Profusion are both in color and
do the same job better.
CS: A very nice little Casual card here
that shines, of course, with the giant Devour dragons of the block. Of course,
you can use any Devour creature with this enchantment, it's just fun flavor wise
to use a Dragon. Sadly, this isn't costed accurately enough to consider or
tournament Standard, and given you're skipping your Draw Step, you'd need a very
stable hand to not get screwed over by that little clause.
CS: The whole cycle of these guys are great
for Limited, and the Jund version is no different. Any uncounterable burn effect
can make all the difference in that format, and adding card advantage on top of
it is a double plus. Of course, there are much better burn cards or tournament
Standard, but then again, that's not the format this was really meant for. A 3/2
for 3 isn't too bad either, and being a Viashino, he's got pretty nifty artwork. HP: This guy may have been intended for Limited, but I
doubt I would pick him very high in a pack. A 3/2 for three different colors
isn’t worth the effort. The bonus of being able to cycle it and do ONE damage to
something is pretty weak in this block. I would rather keep my three mana and
just draw a different card to begin with. This guy will never make the cut in
Constructed, thanks to Sprouting Thrinax.
CS: Karrthus is a very nice, big, hasty
dragon. Pretty fun Limited bomb to sit at the top of your curve, and if you can
somehow take advantage of either of his two abilities, then so much the better.
His lack of trample, though, is what keeps his shenanigans to a minimum, as he
won't be able to really punch through any creatures able to chump him.
CS: I've been on the fence about this card
ever since I saw it spoiled. I like it, and then I hate it. The mana cost is a
bit awkward, since you instantly see this as a mono-red card, but I think I can
kinda live with that since it’s virtually a one-sided Molten Disaster, which is
its best part. HP: I like the concept but find the cost too cumbersome to
actually use. It could be good in Limited if you are already playing the colors.
The only other place this might see play is at a casual MFFA (multiplayer free
for all) table.
HP: I’m not really sure why this guy is green, but this guy
is something that I’ve wanted for a while. I can’t tell you how many times I
would’ve won a game if only my Mycoloth or his tokens had haste. His casting
cost is one higher than I would like, but beggars can’t be choosers. Hasty green
beats FTW! CS: This guy I really like. Nice P/T (power
and toughness), and a great lord effect for your other dudes (as well as for
himself). Limited wise, he's a huge bomb and definitely warrants playing.
CS: Eh... very unimaginative name, but a
decent Limited guy. Four-power should kill at least something your opponent
controls, barring combat trick shenanigans. Constructed wise this is a no-no. HP: I disagree; I think this guy has a great name. I do
agree that he’ll be very useful in Limited and not played in Constructed, since
Flame Javelin will do the same thing for the same cost or cheaper.
CS: This guy is, I think, my third favorite
one of the cycle. A hasted 3/2 for two is definitely worth playing in Limited,
even more so given that you'll have him be a 3/2 more than half the time.
Constructed wise I'm really on the fence with him, as he's usually sub par
there.
CS: Well... I think this has two uses. One,
as a sorcery speed Nameless Inversion, and two, on a creature you intend to not
stay in play for very long, i.e. Blitz Hellion or Hell's Thunder. Other than
those, I don't see any real use for this. HP: I think you hit pretty close to the mark, but you could
also put it on an indestructible creature with enough toughness to live. This is
great for Limited, as you can always use more removal, and the option to make
your own guy bigger for the win is very useful. You can also combine it with
other tricks like Soul’s Fire and Fling. The more I look at it the more I like
it. I may actually find a home for this thing in my Jund deck. On second
thought, I probably won’t just because it’s not instant speed.
CS: A potentially VERY big dude. I so
wished this guy had some form of natural evasion, as he'd be the epitome of
"threat". There's a bunch of ways to make this guy have evasion in Limited,
though, so it’s just a matter of scooping up on of those ways.
CS: Undeniably the hottest card in the set.
Pulse could've been a mythic rare, as popular as it is right now. This is as
close to Vindicate as I think we're ever going to get in Standard. One could
even argue it’s just a little bit better than its cousin. This is going to be a
staple removal spell for these colors for some time. Three mana to get rid of
all of a specific token creature, multiple copies of troublesome things like
Figure of Destiny and Oblivion Ring, and even planeswalkers is a thing of
beauty. Despite being a sorcery, this is still a top notch card. HP: I concur. Making it Mythic would have gone against
WotCs policy of making Mythics flavorful and not the absolute best card in the
set. This is about as good as you can get without making a card straight up
broken.
HP: You can’t beat a Zombie Lizard. This guy is just what
my MFFA Jund deck needed. Lose gobo tokens, gain life, and get a huge creature.
This card has “Win” written all over it, especially when combined with a
Mycoloth and given haste thanks to Madrush Cyclops. CS: Well, this guy's not too bad for what
he does. Devour 1 would've made it just your average guy with a decent life gain
tacked onto it. Devour 2 makes him a bit of a threat, at least a 5/5 should you
only get to eat one other creature. Still primarily a Limited creature, mind
you, but should you wish to try out a Dragon's Appeasement deck for Casual, he
would also fit nicely into that.
HP: If you get lucky, you might be able to hit a Dragon
with six or seven toughness, but most of the time it will play out exactly how
you said. If this were an instant it might be playable. I may play it in Limited
occasionally as it’s always nice to have more creatures, but six mana is a
pretty high cost.
HP: Another very solid card that helped change my opinion
of this all gold set. The fact that his ability doesn’t cost mana is priceless.
You’re tapped out and your opponent has a Woolly Thoctar coming your way. Pay
two life and trade. In Black/Green Suicide this guy will win games. Another two
drop that can swing for four on the third turn is amazing, and it’s common! This
Leech won’t have a home in every deck, but in the right one he is beyond
amazing. CS: This guy's very solid across all
formats, a virtual 4/4 for two. Nothing to really complain about here.
HP: This is one of the best cards with cascade. In the
right deck it reads: “Exalted. Search your library for a Meddling Mage, Path to
Exile, and Akrasan Squire. Pick one at random and play that card for free!”
You’re probably right about its usefulness in Limited.
HP: I like it. The biggest downside is the fragile body.
This guy can make your tokens bigger or allow you to kill off all your opponents
giant beat sticks with help from a pinger like Prodigal Sorcerer. On top of all
that, he still has a very suitable casting cost. CS: I like this guy for Limited, where
cheap removal spells are a lot less frequent. Make all of your opponents' guys
small and fragile, or lift a lot of your own fragile guys into the air to swing
overhead. That being said though, he IS a 3/1, and just about anything can shut
off your plan before you can really kick it too far off the ground. A fun
creature, just fragile.
CS: To be honest, it’s hard to see this guy
making the cut for Constructed. I really wanted him to, since he just looks so
darned cool, but another guy in the same cmc (converted mana cost) slot beats
him out (i.e. Sigiled Paladin) Limited-wise he's a bit of a pain, as that 3
toughness can hold off a few of the early 1/1 and 2/1 weenies your opponent
might try to come at you with. Having exalted also enables YOUR early weenies to
come over the top of theirs. Pretty solid here. HP: You're right, he's not bad, but he does have some
competition. Like you said, Sigiled Paladin is a beast with first strike and
beats any incoming critter with two or less toughness, and Meddling Mage has the
exact same cmc and a bit more of a upside.
CS: Hmm... if there was a competitive Esper
aggro deck in Standard, this would fit right in nicely. But there isn't, so
while this guy's not bad at all, he has no home. An all-star though if you can
manage to build such a deck in Limited, however.
CS: Okay, a lot of people have mixed
feelings with the Borderpost cycle. Personally, I think they're worse than the
Obelisks, providing you with just a color fix, if anything. A last minute option
if you didn't manage to scoop any tri-lands or panoramas. HP: I’m pretty undecided about the Borderposts, but I’m
leaning more towards the almost useless side. They can be OK in the right
situation, but CIP (comes into play) tapped and having to pay one mana on top of
returning a basic land is pretty harsh. Without any one of those drawbacks, the
basic land being the biggest in my book, they could be useful. As it stands, I’m
not impressed.
HP: Some people had complaints about the colors on this
powerhouse with limited uses. I believe the Blue is warranted since most
artifact creatures are Blue thanks to the Tezzeret juice that turned them into
artifacts. Eight is an awful lot to pay, but with all the ways to cheat
artifacts into play, you will almost never actually hard cast this. The amount
of life gain possible is insane, especially when you start playing with artifact
lands and other Mirrodin block shenanigans. Could be OK in an MFFA deck. CS: I think if the life gain for this was
two or less, this wouldn't even be close to worth it. Three per artifact is a
decent enough swing in your favor to keep you out of death range. Then again, it
would be if this didn't cost eight freaking mana. The 4/4 body isn't worth it,
so you're just paying eight for the life gain part of her ability. If Master
Transmuter wasn't in the block, I probably would rarely consider this for
Casual.
HP: This guy would be absolutely fantastic at four cmc. He
still has some good uses, especially in Constructed. Esperzoa returns an
artifact land or zero cost artifact every turn, so that you can drop it again
and allow this guy to waltz over to your opponent unchecked and offer him a
respectable four points to the dome.
HP: A classic that has been wrecking games at all levels of
play for years. This art is better than the original but nowhere near as good as
the Judge Promo version. His... I mean HER, return is not something I am looking
forward to, as even more players will now have access to this almost broken and
truly meddling little mage.
CS: Probably the second most popular card
of the set. Now, I wasn't really playing a whole lot of MTG when Meddles was
ruining people's lives in its own Standard heyday, but I've already seen its
impact during some free play games with my test group, and he doesn't seem to
have lost any flair. It's costed cheaply, and has good stats and a potentially
game-altering effect. A wee bit harder to use in Limited given its randomness,
but great in the sideboard. A sideboard all-star for Constructed formats, too.
Vulnerable to Fallout/Pyroclasm, but that's the same for any X/2 creature.
CS: Well, I usually go by the mantra that
most counters in Limited are good counters, and this is no exception. I can't
see this in Constructed whatsoever until Cryptic Command rotates out. Most times
this is essentially a hard counter, since you'll be trying to catch your
opponent tapping out for a bomb or something, denying them that. Gaining four
life from that is also just a great bonus. Definitely worth it in Limited. HP: I subscribe to a different mantra in Limited. Threats
and versatile answers are better than counters. Gaining life is good though, and
this could be alright in Limited, but I’m not completely sold. On the
Constructed side of the house I’m not impressed in the least. I walk planes
where every walker is so powerful that any counterspell that isn’t free or costs
more than two cmc is laughed at.
HP: Six for a 3/6 defender, no thanks. This could see some
play in Limited simply because of its cycling ability. One upside to the cycling
is that you can search for a Watery Grave, Savannah, or any of the other
Island/X or Plains/X dual lands. CS: You play this for the cycling. That's
about it. If at ANY time you find yourself needing to hardcast this, I think you
should reevaluate your deck.
HP: Interesting. Definitely playable in Limited.
Unfortunately there are a plethora of other equipment I would use in Constructed
before this. On top of those that you named, Umezawa’s Jitte, Sword of Fire and
Ice, and Sword of Light and Shadow jump to mind.
HP: This guy has some potential especially in MFFA games.
Play this spirit, swing with your Rhox War Monk, and search your library for
Steel of the Godhead, and now the monk is a 6/7 unblockable with double
lifelink! Unfortunately, I think it’s a little too slow for any other format
besides Limited. CS: Well, this kinda dude could be fun in a
deck built strictly around him. You could even splash Red and toss in Uril, the
Miststalker for a buncha shenanigans. I won't talk about competitive Standard,
since I really doubt you're going to see him there. For Limited, it’s really
going to depend on how many auras you can pick up that are worth taking over
other picks.
CS: Not horrible for Limited, since you can
set up a nice little alpha strike with your guys or prevent some damage coming
overhead. Having cascade is what makes this a lot more playable (as is the case
for most of the cards with the ruddy mechanic), possibly giving you another
beater to come over in the air with. Constructed-wise I just feel there are much
better (and cheaper) cards that can lift your dudes into the air if you really
need that to happen. HP: I couldn’t have said it better myself. NEXT!
CS: Eh, what can I say? A vanilla flier
you'll probably only use if you need to fill a curve. Not horribly impressive.
CS: If it wasn't for the mana cost, I
really think this could be a big staple for Esper in Limited. As it stands now,
I don't know if you want to give up dropping a four cmc creature on turn four
versus dropping an artifact that only UNTAPS other permanents. If it tapped and
untapped, I could see this being worth it, since you could start fogging up some
damage. HP: Untapping things can be great, but tapping things is
usually better. Again, I find myself agreeing with your overall synopsis of this
card. Just a note: Icy Manipulator only taps things, but it’s still better.
HP: This is probably my favorite wall in a long long time.
In my playgroup Shroud is like gold. There are far too many Unmakes, Paths to
Exile, and Oblivion Rings running around for obstacles to stay around for long.
This has a big enough butt to take almost anything, and because it has shroud
you can’t finish it with a shock. It’s not too often you see something that can
stand up to Akroma, Angel of Wrath for three mana. On top of that, Bant likes
things that can guard the home front while one beater rides off to wage war on
your opponent. If only it had exalted. In Limited this thing is practically
unstoppable. CS: I really like this thing. I can't tell
you how hard it is to get rid of this thing in Constructed, even. Limited wise,
you're really not killing this, unless you can overpower it. A great replacement
for Plumeveil, once it rotates from Standard.
CS: Well, all in all, Jund received a few nice choices for both Limited and Constructed, as did WU. Some great fun should you choose to run either, and I know that both the Timmies and Spikes in all of us will find some great applications for these cards. Thanks for reading, everyone.
You can discuss this article in the MDV forums
here.
Articles
Spotlights from 2009:
|
|
HP:
Not being a fan of Dragons and never playing against anyone with Dragons, other
than the occasional Sarkhan Vol gang, this card's ability does nothing for me. A
7/7 flying hasty guy is nothing to sneeze at though. In the end, I’d rather pay
one more mana for Hellkite Overlord, but this guy isn’t horrible. 
HP:
This guy will be a beast in Limited formats and might have a home in a
Constructed deck or two. A 3/2 haste for two is always good, but the
requirements for him to be so on turn two are a little difficult to fulfill. 
HP:
WHAT WHAT WHAT?!? Power and toughness equal to the number of cards in ALL
graveyards for five and not Legendary? Yeah that’s what it says. I remember when
the original Lhurgoyf was going for $10 and this guy laughs at the ancient Goyf.
On second thought, this guy won’t be that good. I mean, black doesn’t have any
really good ways to put things in the graveyard, and Dredge decks won’t be able
to find a place for him. If only my Rock deck could support Hymn to Tourach and
other discard spells. Who am I kidding? This guy is just plain sick. 
CS:
Eh, this I'm really on the fence about. It all really depends on the graveyard
state by the time you're up to six mana. Most creatures in the set have an
average 3 or 4 toughness, so in that case, its 4BG to put four Saprolings into
play. Not God awful, but not the best either. Nice artwork, though. 
CS:
This is better suited for Constructed. I tried running this in Limited, and I
rarely hit anything I wanted to play with the cascade part of it (I think the
one time I played it, I hit a Terminate with nothing to target). Having exalted
is just a nice little bonus should you actually do it. In a weenie rush version
of Bant though, this would probably be a nice little star.
HP:
I love combat tricks, and in the right deck this is much better than Holy Day.
Flash this joker in to help gang block threats that would otherwise destroy you
or your artifact army, and when the dust settles, you come out on top. Just like
Putrid Leech this card only has a home in certain decks, but in those decks it
can save the day. 
CS:
This guy's not bad at all. Five mana for a 4/5 unblockable creature? Sure, I'll
take it. Makes Esper that much more worth drafting in Limited, and puts your
opponent on a clock to find a removal spell for it or force you to block with
him. Casual decks can go nuts with all sorts of shenanigans that include all
manners of 0, 1 and 2 cost artifacts to make Hulk very, VERY angry. 
CS:
This little number really isn't half bad. You could do some nice little Casual
shenanigans with High Ground, too. In Limited, if I could support the colors,
I'd absolutely consider tossing this in. Keeping a big blocker tapped for the
turn could always mean the difference between victory and defeat, and of course,
vigilance is always nice to give to a big dude of your own. Competitive wise,
most players will just use Behemoth Sledge or Warhammer over this number.
HP:
Not quite vanilla but still pretty average. One more power would have made me
happier, seeing as how Phantom Monster was a 3/3 for 3U. Not much else to say
about this one. 
HP:
As a whole, this set is much better than I expected, and that is in no small
part because of many of the cards in this article. I’m very excited to see if my
first impressions were accurate, as some of these cards make it into my existing
Jund, Rock, Esper, and Bant decks.