I love my wife, my truck, overpowered cards, shiny cards, and cards with good alternate art. Therefore I get very excited when you combine any of those elements, let alone three of them. I thought From the Vault: Dragons was cool because it had shiny cards with cool alternate art, but most of the cards themselves didn’t entice me enough to actually acquire a set. The same cannot be said of From the Vault: Exiled.

Here’s what they’ve pulled out of the Vault for those lucky enough to get their hands on the box set.

Things to note: Blue and artifact cards make up the large majority of the banned and restricted lists as well as more than half of this set. It’s odd that black makes up the next largest section and only has one card here. Another oddity is that only two sets feature multiple cards on this list. Alpha is represented by four cards, which is not unexpected, but I was surprised to see that Champions of Kamigawa, regarded as one of the weakest blocks ever, is represented by two cards. This is even more shocking when you see that the entire Urza block, the block responsible for mass bannings and hysteria, has the number of members on the panel.

All cards are foil and have the Mythic rarity symbol. Eight of the fifteen have new art. The MSRP for this amazing set is $34.95, but it’s no surprise that they’re pre-selling on EBay for $100 and certain web stores are buying them for that price. This set is in extremely limited supply and only brick and mortar stores that run MTG events will receive any. That’s enough babbling about how rare and expensive these will be, let’s talk about the cards themselves.

Editor's Note: Even some of the brick and mortar stores weren't privvy enough to receive these...

Balance: If you look up oxymoron in the dictionary you’ll see a picture of Balance. If you’ve ever been on the wrong side of a well played Balance then you know this card tips the scales of a game way in favor of whoever played it, often almost to the point of not being able to recover from it. I think of this as Cruel Ultimatum’s daddy. I’m disappointed that they didn’t use the art from the Judge version, but you can’t always get what you want and the rest of the cards make up for it. Plus it did get new art that doesn’t suck, so that’s a plus.

Berserk: I remember someone in the forums saying that Berserk would be awesome in this set. I totally dismissed the notion because hard played versions from Unlimited are have been sitting at $70 for a long time and figured Wizards would never reprint it, much less in a way that you were guaranteed to get one for just buying one product. There was a time when I didn’t care for Berserk, back in my pre-Spike days, I think that time passed when I was about 12. In fact I almost refused to trade an Uthden Troll for my very first Berserk.

I mean who would want to trade a creature that regenerates for a card that makes you sacrifice your creature? Long story short: Berserk is amazing and WotC is being great to their brick and mortar stores as well as customers by reprinting this card. Way to go Wizards! I have to admit that I’m a little torn about the art though. It’s not bad but I’m rather fond of the skinny dude with a bastard sword going… well, berserk. Maybe it’s just my nostalgia. Either way I’m not complaining.

Channel: This is probably the most readily accessible card of the lot, selling for under a dollar, but the one that I haven’t really seen played much. It was exiled for a reason but I believe that time has passed. On top of that, I hate playing combo decks, which is the only place that this card shines (other than in the light due to its new foily goodness). The new art is very nice and beats the Alpha art hands down. The fact that this is the only time it’s been printed in foil is cool for those who will use it, but it’s just not for me.

Gifts Ungiven: This is the first card that has been previously available as a foil with the same artwork. However, it still deserves a spot on this list of elitists because unlike Channel this combo card still has teeth and sees a lot of play. I would put it on par with Intuition as one of the best combo enablers of all time. This gal was the first of many recent restrictions in an attempt to hamper Tendrils in Vintage. Other cards that fell under the hammer are Ponder, Brainstorm, Merchant Scroll and Mystical Tutor. Gifts Ungiven also spawned a holiday love child in 2007 by the name of Gifts Given.

Goblin Lackey: The Lackey may be past his prime with the rise of Merfolk and Zoo in Legacy, but this art is so awesome it doesn’t matter. I remember trading all six Lackeys I pulled out of my box of Urza’s Saga because I didn’t like the picture. In my defense that was before Goblins was a dominant deck. A thought that just occurred to me is that this Gobbo doesn’t really look like a 1/1 but he certainly does look mean, which is exactly what he is. I think they should’ve had him letting a Siege-Gang Commander of Goblin Piledriver out of a jail cell. Again, I’m not complaining and I really do like the art. Reprinting him in this set also makes building an all foil Goblins deck pretty close to possible now. Another good call from the guys at Wizards in charge of making products that will sell.

Lotus Petal: We have another winner! Anything with the word “Lotus” in it is awesome and a great gift.

This is one of the best mana producing artifacts ever printed and often makes its way into my decks before Diamond and Chrome Moxen. You really can’t go wrong with this card if you’re looking for fast mana, which is why this common has been selling around two dollars for years. I was going to preorder a couple but was shocked to see that they’re selling for $25 and are one of the biggest sellers from this set! Cards that look this good in foil are why I started to like foils in the first place.

Mystical Tutor: This is probably my least favorite of the Mirage tutors simply because I want to be able to play that instant of sorcery as soon as I search for it. Don’t be fooled though, this gal is no slouch. She was restricted in part because of Tendrils but she can also bring an Ancestral Recall to the top of your library at the end of your opponent’s turn or find a Force of Will and Brainstorm/SD Top into the counter. Good card and it’s nice to finally see it in foil but I think they could have done some better art.

Necropotence: There was a time when Inquest magazine rated this black enchantment at one of five stars. Then the Black Summer happened and everyone realized that the power level of this card is absurd. This card is the embodiment of everything that is black, especially in regard to card draw. It paved the way for attempts at less broken black card draw in the form of Yawgmoth’s Bargain (also banned and restricted), Phyrexian Arena, and Dark Confidant. The latter has become the standard for today because of its awesome power and ability to swing for two, unfortunately it will kill you on occasion. The original art for Necropotence was great, especially for the time, and they should have stuck with it or commissioned something that doesn’t suck. If you want a shiny version with the old art you can always acquire a Deckmasters version of the Potence.

Kird Ape: I’m not real sure when or why Kird Ape was thrown into exile in the first place, but he managed to beat his way in and become one of three creatures featured. You can’t really beat a 2/3 for one red and he’s seen a lot of play in Legacy Zoo and in Standard Zoo a couple years ago. Our growing Ape friend looks much nastier than the original but was already available in foil thanks to its printing in 9th edition. It may be nostalgia again but I was hoping for the original art.

Sensei’s Divining Top: WOOT! The Top was banned in Extended mostly due to the time it took up in games, but it still lives on in Legacy and Vintage as one of the most useful and often played artifacts. This thing makes your Dark Confidant much less dangerous to you, enable the Counterbalance Top lock and is just plain handy for increasing the effectiveness of your draws. I once read a thread where a guy asked why every Legacy deck doesn’t run Top. The answer was some decks just can’t afford to spend the mana every turn just to filter their draws, but many people agreed that it did fit in most decks. These little toys are pre-selling for $15, which is still cheaper than the original foil, so I’m just excited to have a shot at getting a couple.

Serendib Efreet: This is the last creature to make the cut, but probably my favorite. Much like Berserk, there was a time when I didn’t realize how powerful this guy is and traded mine away. The thought process was pretty similar in those days, “Seriously? Who wants a creature that does damage to you every turn?” Fortunately I never had a Juzam Djinn to give away. The green version printed in an old core set always made me laugh. Like Kird Ape, it’s hard to beat a 3/4 flier for three even it does deal damage to you. I know one of you will say that Serra Avenger is better because she only costs two, has vigilance, and doesn’t do you damage, but I promise that this Efreet is much better. He’s blue and doesn’t have a double colored cost, he can, and will, be played on the first any of your first three turns. You’ll usually see him in a deck that runs City of Traitors and Ancient Tomb along with Trinisphere.

Skull Clamp: This is probably the best artifact card draw ever printed and helped to make Affinity one of the most hated decks of all time. Affinity has been able to survive without it, but it lacks the power it once had. New non-Matrix art would’ve been nice. There really isn’t anything else to say about Skull Clamp.

Strip Mine: I love Strip Mine. It’s my favorite land that I never play with. The temptation to play Crucible of Worlds or Life from the Loam with it is too great, and that’s just no fun for the other person in the game. I was hoping for one of the arts from Antiquities and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it has new art that is better than any of the old ones. Plus the flavor text is a great reference to my favorite pair of characters and sticks with the Antiquities theme. It’s good to see this in foil after so many years.

Authors note: My favorite land is Mishra’s Factory and the Judge foil version is what sparked my interest in foils to begin with. Trust me; it’s even prettier in person.

Tinker: Another broken card from Urza block that’s arguably as powerful as Yawgmoth’s Will. Tinker was banned AND restricted because of its ability to break games open on the first turn. It was responsible for the first Standard deck, The Clock, that was able to win consistently by the third turn. It just gets worse in Eternal formats where you can Tinker into a Darksteel Colossus, or the now preferred Inkwell Leviathon, on the first turn or two. It’s nice to get new art and I’ve always liked Tezz, but they could've done better. Anyway you slice it, this card deserves to be here.

Trinisphere: Lately I’ve had a slight love affair with Trinisphere, despite not owning any, so the chance to obtain foil versions for cheaper is very appealing. I’m not sure why this was put on the bad list, but it’s a vital component for Eternal Stax decks. A turn one sphere will wreck the vast majority of decks and give you time to really get going. I’ve never cared for the art and am disappointed that WotC didn’t take this opportunity to remedy it, but you can’t win all the time.

Speaking of winning all the time, I hope the following list will. I haven’t had a chance to really test it due to my current situational circumstances, but I welcome any thoughts in the forum. The main idea is to land a Trinishpere and keep them off land through recurring Wastelands and Armageddon while I beat face with creatures. If there’s enough interest I might write an article about the deck and why I made some of the more curious choices. Keep in mind this is designed as a Legacy deck that I intend to take to tournaments.

Overall this is a great box set and well worth the money if you can find it for retail price. My only complaint is that there are more red cards than black cards. I really expected to see Yawgmoth’s Will or Vampiric Tutor included. I figured Demonic Tutor wouldn’t make the cut due to the amount of love it’s received lately with a Judge version and the Divine vs Demonic Duel deck. Tolarian Academy would’ve been another nice land addition, but this set is already underpriced. My recommendation is to pick up as many of this set as you can because there will always be a market for most of these cards.

Until next time; Play with your overpowered cards, just don’t recur Strip Mines.  

~Swords to Factories, formerly known as Hooah_Pepper

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