Monday 21 May 2012

Force of Nature

Force of Nature
On it's own. this card isn't very good. Sure it's an 8/8 trampler for 6, but it has a huge drawback that doesn't really make it worth playing on it's own. The 4 green mana symbols make it extremely difficult to put into a dual colour like (like a red-green so you can run Fires of Yavimaya to give it haste). However, there is one combo that I would love to run if I had a couple copies if this card. Force of Nature + Stuffy Doll + Pariah's Shield + ramp. 8 damage a turn for free? Yes please! Other than that, this card's not worth the risk.

Pros: 8/8 trampler for 6, works well with a Pariah's Shield & Stuffy Doll
Cons: Doesn't work well outside of certain conditions, double-edged sword
Rating: 1.5/5 

Thursday 10 May 2012

Summer 2012

This summer I'm going to be moving to BC for work. As such, I won't be posting on here as often as I'd like (maybe once a week or so). So, I apologize in advance, but what must be done must be done. I'll be back in regular time in September.

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Su-Chi

Su-Chi
This is a good card that hardly anyone knows about anymore. Everyone knows this card's younger, weaker cousin Cathodion, but this guy never sees play anymore. It could be because of its $8 price tag (given that it's an Antiquities card though...) but I still don't think this card is appreciated enough. This card works great if you've a sack outlet that produces mana (like Krark-Clan Ironworks or Priest of Yawgmoth) because it'll produce a lot more mana than it would normally. Also, it's a 4/4 for 4, so it's fairly decent as a creature too. Finally, if it dies in combat, you suddenly have the mana you need to play that Miraculous Recovery in order to bring him back! But, if you don't have that instant or sack outlet, this card might not be the best choice.

Pros: 4/4 for 4, adds mana in death
Cons: Basically a vanilla, might not be able to use the mana made
Rating: 3.5/5

Monday 7 May 2012

Quiet Purity

Quiet Purity
This is a better Demystify, plain and simple. "But why?" I can hear people cry out from atop the highest mountains, "It does the exact same thing for the exact same price!" Sometimes children, it's not the present that matters, it's the box it comes in. The major difference in between Demystify and this card that elevates this card to a higher stature is the word Arcane. Back in the days of Kamigawa block, "Arcane" usually meant overcosted and underpowered (for example Cut the Earthly Bond or First Volley) but it gave a few benefits. Splice allowed you to combine your spells into one so that you only lost one card, but it could only be done with Arcane spells. There were also a lot of creatures and artifacts that worked with Arcane spells. Two of the scariest cards were Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse and Oyobi, Who Split the Heavens. The only downfall to this card is the same downfall that Demystify has: it only targets enchantments. But, what else can you expect for 1 mana?

Pros: Instant speed enchantment destruction, cheap Arcane spell
Cons: Only targets enchantments
Rating: 4.5/5

Friday 4 May 2012

Firefly

Firefly
This is one massively over-costed creature right here.The firebreathing effect on it is nice, but it's not worth paying 4 mana for a 1/1 flying bug. What other 1/1 fliers exist out there for cheaper and are better? Aven Squire has exalted for 2 mana, Beacon Hawk has defensive firebreathing for 2 mana, Defiant Falcon looks for better rebels for 2 mana, and finally Erayo, Soratami Ascendant is just awesome and also for 2 mana. So, unless you have something to make creature spells cheaper (like Planar Gate, Cloud Key, or Urza's Incubator), this just isn't worth it.

Pros: Firebreathing's always nice
Cons: Overcosted for its abilities
Replacements: Almost any flier for 2 mana
Rating: 0.5/5

Thursday 3 May 2012

Flying Carpet

Flying Carpet
This card isn't really that bad. Giving something flying for 2 mana is pretty good, but it does go down for 4, so it does require a steep investment fairly late in the game. Also, it does have to tap to give something flying so it only works on one creature (Power Matrix also taps, but it gives a multitude of effects). If it didn't tap, it would be much better (similar to Predator, Flagship).

Now, on to the other reason I chose to review this card today: its errata. Above is the Fifth Edition version of the card and below is the Sixth Edition.
Flying Carpet
Now, the removal of the sack trigger did make the card better, but why did they do that? Flavour-wise it makes no sense: if a guy dies on his flying carpet, his carpet will probably get destroyed too. Such a radical shift in card wording is odd to see outside of single-printings of cards.

Pros: Gives a creature flying for cheap, wording change got rid of sack trigger
Cons: Initial cost of 6 to get going, only affects one creature
Replacement: Power Matrix
Rating: 2/5

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Black Sun's Zenith

Black Sun's Zenith
Best boardwipe? Best boardwipe. Why? Let's compare it to other popular boardwipes to see why. Damnation is a good example of the vast majority of boardwipes and their inherent problem: destroy. With predominance of indestructible creatures (especially with Avacyn, Angel of Hope), destroy effects are easily defeated. Well, what about Final Judgement? Exiling all creatures is nice, but for the same mana, you could give everything 4 -1/-1 counters and that will kill a lot of problems or at the very least weaken them to the point of not being problems for much longer. Also, you have to have 6 mana for Final Judgement to work whereas you could have as little as 3 mana for this card to work. Finally, there are the pseudo-boardwipes like Inferno. Now, the 6 damage to players is very nice, I'm not about to dispute that, but again you have to have a lot of mana for this to work (7). And finally, the thing that this has that no other boardwipe has, is that it goes back into your library. What's better than a boardwipe that keeps coming back to kill more? 

Pros: Variable mana cost can be adjusted for the appropriate situation, weakens what it doesn't kill
Cons: Countered by Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Tatterkite
Rating: 5/5

Flensermite

Flensermite
I'm just going to get this out of the way right now: infect is easily the worst mechanic WoTC has ever made for Magic. Why? Only one card in the entire game actually removes poison counters and that's Leeches (no, Melira, Sylvok Outcast doesn't count because she only prevents you from getting them). Infect basically halves the game time and is incurable so you lose in 2-3 turns no matter what. Even Gisela, Blade of Goldnight has problems dealing with infect because it only takes 10 damage to kill a player. It's just a stupid and not a fun mechanic to play against. From now on, I'm just going to treat cards with infect as only having wither, like it should have been.

Flensermite is actually a pretty good card, but not when compared to other 2 drops of the same nature. Ichorclaw Myr has mini-rampage 2, Juvenile Gloomwidow has reach and is tougher, Rustrazor Butcher has first strike, and Stigma Lasher prevents your opponents from gaining life (which is what infect pretty much already does, but I explained myself already...). At most, it's going to gain you 1 life and weaken something else on its own. Toss a Dark Favor or Unholy Strength on it and it can do a bit more damage, but it's not really worth it. Save for the lifelink, Ichorclaw Myr is a better choice for a black deck to run than this.

Pros: Wither, lifelink
Cons: Weak, dies in almost any combat
Replacements: Ichorclaw Myr
Rating: 2/5