Return to Ravnica Spoilers and Review: Tech

Ok this is the second and final part of my review, covering the rest of potential bombs and tech RTR has to offer. Wizards did a pretty good job overall in my opinion, enough to ensure that RTR is definitely an EDH worthy set. So here we go:

Tech:

Most of the time this is just going to target three cards in my graveyard so its not a complete waste when it dies, it can also be used to help abuse ETB effects. Although this should rarely be used as removal, its nice to have that option for desperate times.

Could be broken if you find something to repeatedly blink this card in and out of play. Deadeye Nav... Nevermind nothing to see here! xD

Good card all in all, should definitely see some play

8/10

They knocked the ball outta the park with this one. 10/10. I'm impressed. This is probably the best permanent card that hoses graveyards to date, much better than Leyline of the Void or Grafdigger's Cage though the Cage is useful in other ways.

Needless to say, this should be part of a package rather than standalone GY hate as there is such a thing as removal. =)

Already a staple, and should see tons of play.

Not as widely playable as the former two cards but definitely useful in the decks that can make use of it the most.

I'm going to try to find a slot for this in my Bruna list. It should be right at home there.

Not taking into account its playability, this card is a 7/10. Since even in the decks that can use it, it would be a tad difficult to really make it worthwhile and this makes you want to play all of your enchantments, possibly overextending into a Fracturing Gust or Austere Command. If your general is Bruna and/or you have a Replenish/Faith's Reward handy, it should be ok though.

One-sided board wipe at instant speed? I'd happily pay 7CMC for that. Shut up and take my money wizards!

Doesn't permanently get rid of pesky permanents, but its good enough. 9/10















Interesting tech, I can see that Ghave has been getting a lot of love since Innistrad's release. Playing this will instantly make you the target of the table though since no sensible opponent is going to sit there while you gradually suck up all the creatures on the board.

Nice card, 8/10 for Ghave. 7/10 for everything else.

Fleshbag Marauder had a brother?

This is a must run for Ghave decks. 9/10.


















Basically a Time Stop reprint, though it gets the job done in a different way and is slightly more efficient. 10/10



















Nice tech for any deck using the new Rakdos, however I can see that it can potentially backfire. I can't rate this one until I've played a few games with it but if all goes well it should be really broken.

Staple. Nothing to see here.

Another card I plan on using in Rakdos. Probably should have a nice home in Rafiq as well.

















Thats it for my RTR spoilers and review, next up should be either a Momir Vig or Rakdos, Lord of Riots deck. Whichever I feel more inspired to do. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing and if you have any input or differing points of view then please leave a comment!

Thanks for reading, 'till next time.

Return to Ravnica Spoilers and Review: Legends

Alright, so here I am after a brief sabbatical to deliver some more MtG goodness. Today we're looking at RTR and what it has to offer, and all in all I think a lot of decks got some interesting new tech as well as some decent new generals entering the fray. So lets get started.

Legends:

Isperia is the name, political control is her game. She probably isn't as good as Edric at politics but she can get the job done while filling the role of a decent beater. I'd definitely play a deck with her at the helm. She could have done with a bit more toughness though since with her current PT total she is a target for Flametongue Kavu and the like.

6/10.

Hello! I'm lovin' Niv-Mizzle's new look. Same CMC for basically the same effect (arguably better since now he doesn't have to tap and its repeatable) and a slightly larger PT total. Would you like more awesomesauce with your winburger sir?

Sadly, this Niv doesn't combo with Ophidian Eye or Curiosity but I'm going to go ahead and count that as a plus as well.

10/10.

Just in case Animar thought he had the monopoly on creature cost reduction, Rakdos is here to prove him wrong. One could say that Animar is more reliable but Rakdos definitely has the potential to be more... well... explosive than his RUG cousin.

Cards that come to mind with Rakdos at the helm are: Pyrohemia,  Mana Barbs, Shivan Gorge and even Bloodgift Demon can play his part! Curse of Bloodletting would also be a great addition and would ensure that cards like Ulamog or Blightsteel Colossus get to come out and play as well. If thats your cup of tea, that is. =)

Considering the kind of deck Rakdos would pilot, his drawback isn't that bad at all.  

9/10.

Great synergy with cards like Mitotic Slime, Wurmcoil Engine and the new Worldspine Wurm. Not sure what else to say about him except I feel like there is something really great about this card that I'm missing. I'm not enjoying the fact that I have to sac lands so if I ever do play with Jarad I'll have to use Life from the Loam to try to compensate.

He has the potential to get really big but with no evasion he won't be getting very far. Also, he encourages you to fill up the yard but doesn't assist with reanimation. I'm not sure what to make of him.

5/10.

I feel tempted to run a similar list to my Treva deck with Trostani except with more tokens, obviously. Though there isn't much more to say, he/she/it/them makes for a very good general for a gain life themed deck. Perhaps even better than Treva but that is debatable.

7/10.

New Toys

Fungal Sprouting meet Thromok; Thromok, Fungal Sprouting. Nuff' Said. xD

Thanks for reading, 'till next time. ;-)

M13 Spoilers and Review

I know I haven't posted in a while, and in my defense the interwebs was holding out on the proper pictures for some of the cards for me to do this review. So anyway, here's some of what's in store in

the upcoming M13 core set.

Legends:

Odric is definitely a worthwhile legend in my book, and while he may not be the most stellar commander ever his ability is extremely useful in the right decks. I can see him commanding a deck of his own or as a one-of in Ghave or Rith for example and he pairs really well with Vault of the Archangel.

Talrand is a very "build around me" kind of card. He has great synergy with flashback spells and spells with rebound and the tokens coming with built in evasion is a plus, though I have to say that he doesn't interest me that much. I'm interested to see if he sees any play either in standard or in EDH. As it stands I'm not sure that he packs enough of a punch for either format unless he turns out to be a combo piece or something and even that seems unlikely to me.

Supposedly the replacement for Grave Titan in standard, though as a friend of mine would say, my reaction to this card initially was angry confusion since I was pretty sure that Exalted was a mechanic for Bant yet here we see Nefarox with it. He will probably see some play in standard but I don't expect him to make any big splashes in the EDH scene. He might have a place in a Thaximundar deck though.
















Very reminiscent of Chancellor of the Forge except with a more narrow application in that it requires Goblins rather than just creatures like the chancellor. It should see some play in goblin tribal I suppose but I'm not terribly excited; though I guess I should say that I've not been much of a fan of the goblin tribe anyway.

Fun tidbit: Krenko is apparently from Ravnica.













Another inhabitant of Ravnica, Yeva is pretty useful in my book though you might have to build around her if you use her in a multicolored deck. She's no powerhouse like Zur but she interests me enough to build a deck at least. Flash >>> No Flash. ;-)

I suppose some people might prefer to just use Alchemists Refuge should they be in the right colors to do so. Though what Yeva has over Alchemist's Refuge and Winding Canyons is that her ability is static and free once she's on the board.

Other Stuff:

Pretty much a staple for my Rafiq deck and I think this should see tons of play in any deck that looks to abuse the Exalted mechanic.

Another great card that is definitely finding a slot in Rafiq. Sakura-Tribe Elder now has Exalted too? Yes please! xD

Featured here because I felt like I had to say that this is most likely going to be banned in EDH. Its reminiscent of Sway of the Stars which is also banned so...

Interesting card which could be best friends with Swiftfoot Boots and Darksteel Plate for example. I think its a great addition to any of the fortress decks out there.

That's it for today, and I think that M13 is turning out to be one of the best core sets in the history of core sets though time will tell I guess. Hope you guys and gals out there are enjoying this spoiler season.

Thank you for reading, 'till next time.

M13 Spoilers!....Kinda

I've been browsing through some of the latest cards spoiled and it seems that we are indeed getting some commanders in the upcoming M13 set in July. Sadly, there aren't any acceptable pictures of these cards at this point so I'm not going to do a review on them just yet. What I am going to do though is introduce you to a new artist as he makes his first foray into the world of MtG artwork.

Now, I'm no art critic but this guy has caught my attention and I'm talking about Noah Bradley.

This picture has a certain serenity to it and the glow coming from behind the tree (the sunrise perhaps?) adds just the right ambiance. Just might be my favorite forest yet.
















Not much I can say about this one except: Beautiful. Its not as impressive as the Forest in my opinion but its good.

This one is very unique in that it captures a bird's eye view of the plains, I could be wrong but I don't think that that has been done before. Nice use of color for the land below and the clouds obscuring some of the view is a nice touch. I'm still more impressed by the Forest but I like this one a lot.














This is not a Noah Bradley piece but I had to feature the legend here. John Avon is notorious for his landscapes and looking at this piece here, its no wonder why.

This piece is right up there with Adarkar Wastes as one of my favorite land pieces ever.














Sorry for the lack of actual spoilers but the cards that I actually want to review have some terrible pictures as I said, so I'll wait until we get some better pictures before I start reviewing them.

Thank you for reading, 'till next time.

Planechase Commanders!: Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my planechase spoilers review. I decided to only review the legendary creatures as I'm mainly interested in their use as commanders and not so much the rest of the planechase product. I mean, I do play planechase with my friends on occasion, even with some custom planes we found on the internet and some I made myself. So it should be said that I will probably end up including the new planes and phenomena into our planar stack when they are all spoiled but I'm not terribly excited about it.

Anyway, what appears to be the last of the new legends offered in Planechase 2012 is Thromok the Insatiable.


5 CMC for what is potentially the biggest commander out there, Thromok is (potentially) a force to be reckoned with. I suppose Wizards caught wind that aggro decks don't fare so well in EDH and decided to up the ante a bit. Now, if only he weren't so vanilla.

He makes me think of cards like Berserk, and Fatal Frenzy, where, if combined with them for much needed evasion, you are almost guaranteed a one shot kill (and I'm talking in terms of reducing a player to 0 not just dealing sufficient general damage.). You can also use cards like Fling and Grab the Reins if you're lacking in cards that grant evasion.

Obviously, you need to be running a token strategy for him to really shine and luckily, R/G is a great color combination to do it. (Yadda yadda... Doubling Season... yadda yadda)

Also, Thromok just might be the first commander that is able to deal 21 or more general damage in one shot without help. Well, now that I think about it, Kresh can too, though not as easily/quickly.


That's it for the legends of planechase from what I understand, though if any other legends pop up then I suppose that a part 3 would be in order and you know where to find me! =)

The next set where we might have some goodies is M13 in July, maybe not any commanders but perhaps some useable spells at least.

Thank you for reading, 'till next time.

Planechase Commanders!: Part 1

 Well, spoiler season for Planechase 2012 has begun and I'm kinda late to the party as far as posting spoilers goes but as the old adage says, better late than never. Now, I'll just say that I'm pretty excited for it overall, though, its mainly for the prospect of some potentially good commanders rather than the Planechase product itself. So far we've had some pretty acceptable commanders, I mean, just give me something better than Boris Devilboon and I'll play with it. Anyway though, on to the spoilers!



Well, this one isn't anything especially new as its been spoiled for awhile and we all should be aware of the Avenger of Zendikar/Prime Time sillyness that it is capable of. Though it should be said that this card has a lot more potential for shenanigans than just Avenger/Prime Time. It should make for a decent commander or maybe even as a one of in the right decks. I'm thinking that he fits right in with Animar and Riku. Cascade two free spells and copy each one? Yes please!












Supposedly difficult to cast but with green being a popular color in a lot of multicolor EDH decks these days, and color fixing getting easier, its really not out of the realm of possibility to run this guy outside of just G/W. At least, in my opinion. Anyway, I'm a sad panda that this guy isn't part blue since I would've loved to do some shenanigans with Sovereigns of Lost Alara. (Though I feel I should point out that if you have an unenchanted Krond and a Sovereigns on the field and you attack with Krond then the enchantment from Sovereigns doesn't hit the field in time for Krond's ability to trigger. So maybe its just as well that he isn't blue.) Having said that, I'm still interested to see how a deck with this guy at the helm would do. He's a StP on a stick (even better actually...), which is pretty good, though he dies to pretty much any removal, but thats where the enchantments come in I suppose. He is also a pretty hilarious target for Take Possession and the like.






Neat synergy with pretty much any blink tech out there. I can see a kind of token strategy going for her and I would definitely play her with Portcullis, Deadeye Navigator, and maybe even Pentavus, and abuse the shit out of her LtB ability. Speaking of Portcullis, combine with Bloodline Keeper and Intruder Alarm while Vela is on the field and hilarity ensues!

Oh, and Intimidate gravy is gravy. ;-)











That's all the spoilers for now, there are a couple other creatures spoiled but the images are horrible so I'm going to wait until better images surface before I get to reviewing them.

Hope all you guys are enjoying this spoiler season! Stay tuned for Part 2!

Thank you for reading, 'till next time.

Heaven-sent

I know I said that my next post would either be a Bruna or Gisela deck list, but I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw today's spoilers. As you probably know by now, Avacyn Restored is all about good triumphing over evil and many cards have an angelic or holy theme. One card that doesn't really have such a flavor but strikes me as a heaven-send is Cavern of Souls (rough translation).


The rough translation for this card is:

Land

As ~ enters the battlefield, choose a creature type.

{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool

{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Use this mana only to cast creatures of the chosen type. If mana is spent this way, that spell can't be countered by spells or abilities.


Needless to say, this card is already an EDH staple. The obvious use is to play it, name a creature type that your commander has and go to town. Gone are the days where people lived in fear of Hinder and Spell Crumple and gone are the days where people played Declaration of Naught and named your commander while you sit powerless to do anything.

Of course, in certain decks this card will be a needle in a haystack, certain colors without land tutoring abilities will have to mostly rely on luck. Though, if getting this land into play means that much to you then there is always Planar Portal and Expedition Map*.

Having said all that, I'd appreciate finding a meta where tuck effects, counterspells and LD weren't so rampant (they are everywhere on Cockatrice). So, ideally, I would never have to use this card in the first place. However, at least I can defend myself in the meantime. Thank you Wizards!

One last thing I'll say, is that if Wizards keeps designing cards like this maybe all the talk of banning islands will cease.

Oh, and tribal decks just got a lot better too!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

As promised, my next review of the AVR legends is on Bruna, Light of Alabaster.

I have previously said that a dependency on enchantments is a bad thing but this is not the case with Bruna. She takes the card advantage problem of creature enchantments and throws it right out the window. With her, not only do you get to suck up all auras on the field and play all auras from your hand for free; but you also get to recur any lost auras repeatedly? I can hear the Uril, the Miststalker players grinding their teeth in jealousy, since, if you haven't noticed yet, much like her Herons cousin Sigarda, not only does she outclass Uril, she hoses him should both of them happen to be on the battlefield.

Much like Gisela, she just screams "Timmy", and right off the bat there are some cards that you would recognize to be auto-includes in any deck with Bruna at the helm.  (Blah blah blah... Eldrazi Conscription ... blah blah blah) 

One such card, that might not appear so obvious though is Crab Umbra. At first glance this card seems to do nothing for Bruna, I mean, unless you happen to be staring down a Frost Titan or some such thing; but what we're really looking at here is the ability at the very bottom. Totem Armor turns Bruna into even more of a beast than she already is. Should she happen to eat any removal during your turn or your opponent's, Crab Umbra eats it instead then you simply attack or block to get it back (Or any other white or blue Umbra card for that matter.).  

And lets not get into if you have more than one Umbra attached to her or if you happen to have a Fool's Demise. Your opponents will be very hard pressed to deal with her. Speaking of Fool's Demise, don't forget that you can also use it to gain control of your opponents creatures too. Your opponents will think twice about sweeping the board if they know your going to get their best creature afterwards and insurance against wrath effects is always good.

Oh, and Bruna has vigilance too. Did I already say that?

This concludes my review of AVR's cycle of legendary angels. Though I will say that I was really hoping to see a WB angel. Sadly though Herons, Goldnight and Alabaster are the only three flights of angels from what I understand of the Planeswalker's Guide to Avacyn Restored

Next up should be some EDH/Commander deck lists. Each one with one of these angels at the helm. I think I'll start with Sigarda. 

TIMMY!

As some of you would have noticed in the recent AVR spoilers, Wizards seems to be printing a cycle of dual colored legendary angels; all of which (spoiled so far) just seem to scream "TIMMY!" at the top of their lungs.

But by far the Timmy-est card spoiled so far is Gisela, Blade of Goldnight.

This card alone, I must admit, has awakened my inner Timmy, and much like Sigarda, Host of Herons, I find myself compelled to make a deck with her.

Lets start to break down some of the stupid things you could do with Gisela, shall we? For one thing, your going to want to make the most of abuse her double damage ability as much as possible. This would include spells or creatures that deal direct damage, creatures that have double strike, cards that grant double strike, as well as cards that grant an extra attacking phase. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Savage Beating.)

Talking about a savage beating, Gisela with her abilities basically reads as a flying 10/10 with first strike, so much like the old ball game, three strikes and your out; and thats without help from the aforementioned Savage Beating or cards like Inquisitor's Flail. Ouch!

Of course, no card is perfect and sadly Gisela's one drawback is her mana cost and without access to green for the mana ramp, we must use less reliable methods to get the 7cc required to cast her. Though, this doesn't mean its impossible to cast her early since with cards like Sol Ring and Thran Dynamo you can cast Gisela as early as your third turn. Who needs green now, right?

So, I hope all you Timmys out there are excited about AVR. I know I am.

Next up is Bruna, Light of Alabaster.  =)

Faith and Sacrifice

Usually faith and devotion require sacrifice, but not with this pretty gal.


For 5cc you get a 5/5 with evasion and protection. Formidable, no? But thats not all, the very next thing you'd look to to remove her with is also covered. That is to say, neither Sigarda nor any of your other permanents can be sacrificed as long as she is on the field, and with her covering so many bases its likely that once she hits the board she'll be around for a while. Don't get me wrong, she's not invincible, since wrath effects can remove her (and the rest of your creatures, duh.), but we'll get to that in a minute.

I personally consider Sigarda, Host of Herons to be almost strictly better than Uril, the Miststalker as a commander. Why? Lets list the reasons.

1 - Built in evasion
2 - No dependency on enchantments
3 - Protects herself and your other permanents from Martyr's Bond effects


Lets touch upon point number two briefly. Why is a dependency on enchantments a bad thing? Well for starters, unless you are using Angelic Destiny or Spirit Loop then you are going to have a problem with something we call card advantage (CA). Secondly, even with the aforementioned creature enchantments and others like them to minimize losing CA, you are still going to have to pay the mana cost over and over should Uril be destroyed, while equipments maintain steady board presence and a usually lower equip cost.

Now, back to the issue of wrath effects. As you can tell this is one of Sigarda's few weaknessses but we can fix that with cards like Spearbreaker Behemoth, Darksteel Plate, and similar cards to supplement her.

Spot removal? Check. Mass Removal? Check. Grave Pact? Pfft.

It seems like only counterspells can stop her but even then there are options available to us in these colors.

I shall definitely be looking to build an aggressive Sigarda deck soon.

Until next time.

Welcome to The Tolarian Academy.