I believe this list is for standard come October, in which Gitaxias will be illegal. So, yes, no Gitaxias. Unless you were being sarcastic...idk
100th post YEEEEEEEESSS!!!
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Magic: The Gathering
- Thread starter Zystral
- Start date
100th post YEEEEEEEESSS!!!
Post october Gitaxias won't be standard playable, and Griselbrand is just fine(:
That being said, the new previews (discussed, but no pics).
Seems like a cool tutor for Frites as far as standard. Obvious EDH card is obvious.
Standard playable? It seems this set loves EDH.
Probably'll see play. BR Zombies and possibly Jund could play this.
Could see play... Lingering Souls likes.
Bellchime Sphinx 4UU
Flying
Discard two nonland cards with the same name, draw 4 cards.
5/6
I dunno... could see a bit of play, but I'm not sold.
Slime Shaping XG
Put an X/X green Ooze token onto the battlefield.
Eh... just one guy... pass.
At the beginning of your upkeep, detain target creature your opponent controls.
Could be okay for Control.
First Strike
When he deals damage to a player, put a 1/1 white soldier token onto the battlefield.
2/2
I dunno... he might see some play.
This set is awesome so far.
Considering that they're ALL terrible cards, it doesn't really make a difference.
I'm completely baffled at what Wizards could have been thinking when they decided that Unleash was anywhere near the power level of Scavenge or Overload. Populate and Detain aren't anywhere near overpowered, but even they overshadow it.
Detain does hit walkers. Walker abilities are activated abilities and thus are stopped by detain.
Overload is probably the best mechanic to me, because it means that the cards have far more reach than they did before. If you look at something like Cyclonic Rift, you see a bounce spell that can be used much like Into the Roil was in the early game. It's a nifty, if not thrilling, card that control decks can use. Lategame, however, for 6U you can really blow your opponent out if they've established a board presence, meaning that it is like a wincon. Mizzium Mortars is similar in how it transitions from a removal spell to a full-on board wipe of your opponent's creatures.
Populate depends too heavily on other cards, which is, historically, the mark of a mediocre mechanic. Replicating your 8/8 is fantastic, but if you only have a 1/1 or a 3/3, the value drops off steeply. God forbid you have an empty board though, in which case it's useless.
Detain is, IMO, deceptively strong. Archon of the Triumvirate is expensive but Arresting 2 permanents per swing is not something to be underestimated. Blanking your opponent's best creature or freezing their walker (Vraska vindicate?) while also swinging in for some damage is pretty great value. This is also my favorite mechanic from a flavor perspective.
Scavenge is useful, especially Slitherhead, but overall I doubt it'll see much use. Deadbridge Goliath, what seems to be the flagship Scavenge card for now, is, first of all, a vanilla 5/5 for 2GG. It's aggressively costed from a P/T perspective but vanilla creatures are almost always lackluster -- it doesn't even have evasion. Scavenging for 4GG? Yeah, giving +5/+5 is strong, but if you consider what else you could be casting for that kind of mana... it doesn't seem worth it.
Unleash is probably the weakest mechanic in how it's currently manifested. I think Unleash had (still has?) a lot of potential, but they need to push the "If this creature has a +1/+1 counter on it..." stuff, otherwise its a very blank keyword. Adding haste as well would've almost definitely made this broken, but it seems like the cards they've been showing from Rakdos have really been holding back.
Overload is probably the best mechanic to me, because it means that the cards have far more reach than they did before. If you look at something like Cyclonic Rift, you see a bounce spell that can be used much like Into the Roil was in the early game. It's a nifty, if not thrilling, card that control decks can use. Lategame, however, for 6U you can really blow your opponent out if they've established a board presence, meaning that it is like a wincon. Mizzium Mortars is similar in how it transitions from a removal spell to a full-on board wipe of your opponent's creatures.
Populate depends too heavily on other cards, which is, historically, the mark of a mediocre mechanic. Replicating your 8/8 is fantastic, but if you only have a 1/1 or a 3/3, the value drops off steeply. God forbid you have an empty board though, in which case it's useless.
Detain is, IMO, deceptively strong. Archon of the Triumvirate is expensive but Arresting 2 permanents per swing is not something to be underestimated. Blanking your opponent's best creature or freezing their walker (Vraska vindicate?) while also swinging in for some damage is pretty great value. This is also my favorite mechanic from a flavor perspective.
Scavenge is useful, especially Slitherhead, but overall I doubt it'll see much use. Deadbridge Goliath, what seems to be the flagship Scavenge card for now, is, first of all, a vanilla 5/5 for 2GG. It's aggressively costed from a P/T perspective but vanilla creatures are almost always lackluster -- it doesn't even have evasion. Scavenging for 4GG? Yeah, giving +5/+5 is strong, but if you consider what else you could be casting for that kind of mana... it doesn't seem worth it.
Unleash is probably the weakest mechanic in how it's currently manifested. I think Unleash had (still has?) a lot of potential, but they need to push the "If this creature has a +1/+1 counter on it..." stuff, otherwise its a very blank keyword. Adding haste as well would've almost definitely made this broken, but it seems like the cards they've been showing from Rakdos have really been holding back.
i would say that overload is easily the best mechanic. flexibility is a sign of a good mechanic, and overload has a lot of flexibility. i think detain is the best in limited and is probably second best overall, then maybe scavenge > populate > unleash. they just have not been pushing unleash at all, all of the cards with it are terrible (although fine in limited). slitherhead will probably see play as will dreg mangler (probably the best scavenger so far because even without scavenge it's a good card).
I think the overall utility of Scavenge in the sense that it allows you to make your dead creatures into flashback buffs makes it close to Overload in contention for best mechanic. Populate and Detain will need a lot of support to get to that level of consistency. Populate in the form of good tokens and Detain in the form of just more cards that can Detain more than once, as Detain seems like a weak effect if it only activates when a creature with it comes into the battlefield, etc.
This is all just my opinion, however.
This is all just my opinion, however.
well well have the archon which detains 2 permanents on attack, the enchantment which detains on upkeep, the 4 mana 2/2 that detains 2 guys on etb, the 3/1 flier for 3 that detains a dude on etb, and i think that's all? the etb ones seem kinda frustrating to play with since you want to detain something relevant but at the same time (especially in the case of the 3/1 flier) you just want to get bodies down because it's limited. if you're detaining some dork on t3 so you can get your bear through for 2 damage it seems so bad.
also the new last word with overload is interesting, though i imagine it won't see any play outside of standard because mindbreak trap exists.
also the new last word with overload is interesting, though i imagine it won't see any play outside of standard because mindbreak trap exists.
Rakdos is cool, and I think he'll find a home in standard. I wish more people would play extended, because some sort of Jund pod abusing this guy would be great. Also, Pithing Needle is back, so expect a lot of sideboards to be crammed with it.
Introducing New Watch Wolf! Like Watch Wolf, but on a stick! (and a little better, imo)
This+populate=:nerd::nerd::nerd::nerd::nerd:
And Rakdos with proper orientation:
This+populate=:nerd::nerd::nerd::nerd::nerd:
And Rakdos with proper orientation:
And of the the cards released, only two unleash cards look to have any potential: Hellhole Flailer and Bloodfray Giant.
EDIT: And maybe Thriil-kill assassin and Gore-House Chainwalker strictly in Limited?
EDIT2: My final impression of these cards is that Overload is insanely good, even more so than I'd thought before. +2/+0 to all your creatures for 1R? 1 damage to all opponents' creatures for 1R? :0
EDIT: And maybe Thriil-kill assassin and Gore-House Chainwalker strictly in Limited?
EDIT2: My final impression of these cards is that Overload is insanely good, even more so than I'd thought before. +2/+0 to all your creatures for 1R? 1 damage to all opponents' creatures for 1R? :0
there are several good unleash cards and i like how they've made them defensive if you want them to be, with first strike or high toughness or whatever. i think the r/b hybrid i will unleash every single time, and the deathtouch i will rarely unleash, but the rest are fair game. the 3/2 for 2 and 5/4 trampler for 4 are both very good looking though.
I went to the prerelease events last weekend, and as much as I hate to say it, Golgari Limited is awful. Just Don't Do It. Azorius/Slesnya G/W/U is by far the best Limited deck strategy, in my experiences. R/B/U is also a good one.