Thursday 29 May 2014

Coral Reef

Coral Reef

Homelands sucked. Homelands really sucked. So, for two mana, you get: a card with four counters on it that has an incredibly expensive ability to remove a counter to give a tiny (albeit permanent) toughness buff. Here are example s of better cards that require creatures to tap: Arachnus Spider (despite requiring it to be a spider and only grabbing a specific card), Bramblesnap (despite only giving a +1/+1 bonus to itself), Nullmage Shepard (despite needing four creatures), and Unerring Sling (despite only allowing one creature to fight an attacking or blocking creature with flying for 3 mana once per turn). Oh wait, you can put counters back on it for the low, low price of sacrificing an Island? Yeah, how about no. In all fairness, the +0/+1 is permanent and it is rechargeable, but it's just been so outclassed almost immediately in subsequent sets.  What was with old blue Magic cards needing to sacrifice Islands?

Pros: Gives a toughness boost
Cons: Limited number of uses, requires mana and untapped blue creatures to activate, requires land sack to recharge
Rating: 0.5/5

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Leviathan

Leviathan

Rawr! I's a monster! A really bad, expensive, destructive monster. Stat-wise, this thing is pretty underpowered. Often, if something has a power than is greater than its CMC, it can be balanced out by increasing the colour cost. A good example of this is Leatherback Baloth: it costs 3 CMC for a 4/5, but it's three green mana, which is a balancing factor. This card doesn't warrant 4 blue mana symbols. Very few cards actually have 4 mana symbols because it's kind of hard to justify such an expensive colour commitment. A 10/10 trampler for 5UUUU is already bad enough, but the fact that you have to sack a ton of Islands in order to do anything with it makes it all that much worse. I can see a lot of this happening if you try and run it:

"I sack 2 Islands to untap it and 2 more to swing in to deal you..."
"Agonizing Demise. Kicked."
"What?!"
"I believe you lose now."
*rage-quit*

If this had Shroud or Hexproof, it'd be a lot better but still not worth it. I can't actually see a situation where I'd want this over, say, a Thing from the Deep. Okay, maybe if I had a Homarid Spawning Bed...

Pros: Big 'n' beefy
Cons: Quad blue, tons of land sack required
Rating: 0/5

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Diregraf Ghoul

Diregraf Ghoul

It's a bear! Kind of. Well, not really. I actually think this card is pretty cool. Yeah, it comes in tapped, but if you drop it turn 1, it doesn't really matter. It could block, but most things dropped on turn 1 won't be that threatening as to require an immediate block. All that really be said about it is that it's a 2/2 for 1 with a minor drawback. Can't really be happier with a one-drop, can you?

Pros: 2/2 for 1
Cons: Enters tapped
Rating: 4/5

Monday 26 May 2014

Schismotivate

Schismotivate

Whenever I look at this card, I get confused feelings about it. On the one hand, it's a card that combines red's tendency to have Instant-speed buffs with blue's penchant for Instant-speed debuffs. On the other hand, it also costs 3 (two of it being mixed colours) and it only affects power. However, in deconstructing this card, we can see its true value.. If we are to look at the buff side, we get Fists of the Anvil. On the debuff side, we get Downsize (despite not having actually existing when this card was first printed). In essence, this is two cards in one for the same price. You can't really complain about that honestly. It's a pair of average cards taped together to make a better-than-average combat trick. Very Izzet if you think about it...

Pros: Fists of the Anvil and Downsize in one
Cons: Double colour commitment, average effects
Rating: 3/5

Saturday 24 May 2014

Phyrexian Plaguelord

Phyrexian Plaguelord

This is what I was talking about in my Phyrexian Debaser review all that single hour ago. Instant-speed sack outlets are always awesome because they can be easily abused. Add "creature removal" on top of that and it becomes amazing. For five mana, this card rocks and is usually going to register fairly high on the "things that need to be dealt with" list when it hits the table. It does suck that it has to tap in order to sack itself for the -4/-4, but if you really need to get rid of it that badly, just sack it to its second ability. This is an all-star in the world of black Magic creatures and it is a well-deserved recognition.

Pros: Instant-speed sack outlet, -4/-4 until end of turn
Cons: Requires tap for -4/-4, requires sack for all abilities
Rating: 4.5/5

NOTE: If you're wondering why I didn't do all four Carriers in one article, it's because it's a vertical set, not a horizontal set. Call it personal neurosis, but I don't really like vertical sets as much as horizontal ones, so I tend not to lump them together. Don't really know why. Maybe it's because I have huge 3-inch binder full of horizontal sets...

Phyrexian Defiler

Phyrexian Defiler

This is a creature that borders on average. As I've said before, 3 is the magic number when it comes to direct damage removal and there's a reason behind that: a lot of creatures have 3 or less toughness (shocking, right?). Why does that matter? Well, to start winning, you usually have to remove obstacles such as your opponents creatures, and the quicker you can get those chump blockers out of the way, the better, and since most chump blockers are tiny, you only need to deal 3 or less damage. Now, why does this matter here? Well, -X/-X kind of starts to turn around at about the X = 3 mark. Why? Because it can allow your chump blockers to take down your opponent's big things. If you're able to bring your opponent's big guys down to the size of your own little guys, then you don't really have to worry about direct damage in order to deal with them.

"But Jay," I hear masses cry out, "Direct damage works in the same fashion as -X/-X for the purposes of how you described!". Yeah, dealing a Timber Protector 3 damage with a Barbed Lightning will allow a Crypt Angel to kill it just as easily as if you hit it with a Last Gasp, but look at it this way: which of those scenarios results in you having a creature on the board? Hit the Protector with 3 damage and it still deals 4 damage, but give it -3/-3 and suddenly it only deals 2 which allows your Crypt Angel to live. Even if you can't kill it outright, I'd still prefer shrinking something down to block it instead of putting damage on it. And on the note of "not killing it outright", -X/-X gets around that pesky Indestructible thing, so that's a point in it's favour.

Back to this card. Yeah, it still has to tap and die to give the -3/-3, but at least it does more that Phyrexian Debaser at the same CMC. And besides, as I've stated, -3/-3 is a pretty good debuff to hand out, even if it's only once.

Pros: -3/-3 until end of turn
Cons: Has to tap, has to sack
Rating: 2/5

Phyrexian Debaser

Phyrexian Debaser

A slight improvement to Phyrexian Denouncer in that this can flying and kills larger things. Still, not really a great cost for such a marginal effect. But, to its credit, it only has one card that it can be called inferior to in the same "costs exactly the same, isn't a permanent, and has a similar (or better) effect" category that I judged the Denouncer on: Gild. I guess it's good for 4-drop black removal then? Eh... No. It's still bad. Better than Denouncer, but still bad.

Pros: Flies, Crippling Fatigue on a stick, not Phyrexian Denouncer
Cons: Requires tap, requires sack, 2/2 for 4
Rating: 0.5/5

Phyrexian Denouncer

Phyrexian Denouncer

Talk about no bang for your buck. Having a Night on a stick can be quite useful even if it requires a sacrifice (look at Phyrexian Plaguelord for a good example of that), but this is just really sad. First, it has to tap in order to sack, so it has to stay around for a turn and not attack, which kind of lessens any combat trickability you might try and wring out of this. Second, it dies to give something -1/-1 until end of turn which isn't that great, especially for two mana. Here are better things you could spend your two mana on and get the same end result (or better): Chainer's EdictCruel EdictDiabolic EdictDry SpellLast GaspNauseaScent of NightshadeShrivel, and Steal Strength. I'm not saying that's every two-drop that's better than this; it's just every two-drop that costs 1B that isn't a creature that has no targeting restrictions or sack requirement. All in all, skip this card if you can.

Pros: Night on a stick
Cons: Requires sack, requires tap
Rating: 0/5

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Ramos

Eye of RamosHeart of Ramos
Horn of RamosSkull of Ramos
Tooth of Ramos

I really wish Ramos had an actual card. I think he would cost WWUUBBRRGG like Progenitus because that's what these produce (kind of like how the Attendants can be sacked for their respective dragons). As for these cards, they aren't bad at all. They are much more restrictive Manaliths, but they have the option to become a better Implements of Sacrifice if need be. They're pretty solid as far as mana rocks go, although they aren't as good as Sol Ring. Then again, not much is as good as Sol Ring.

Pros: Able to produce two mana if need be
Cons: Single colour, requires sack for 2nd mana
Rating: 3/5

As a closing point, I'd like to say that I like every piece of art for this set, except for the Heart. Apparently the greatest dragon engine in all of Mercadia was, in fact, a Care Bear.

Monday 19 May 2014

Opal "Statues"

Opal AcrolithOpal Archangel
Opal AvengerOpal Caryatid
Opal ChampionOpal Gargoyle
Opal GuardianOpal Titan

I really like this set of cards. They are basically cheap creatures that aren't exactly creatures until your opponent makes one (in fact, that's exactly what they are (save for one)). All of these would be amazing creatures if they were creatures 100% of the time (a 2/2 for 1, a flying bear, a 3/3 first striker for 3...) but their amazingness is balanced out by the fact that an opponent needs to play a creature spell (or you need to be dying).

Okay, I'm going to take a quick minute here to talk about Opal Avenger since it doesn't have the same trigger as the rest of these cards. It's still pretty good. It's a nice blocker against aggro and it doesn't die to most burn removal. Now that we're done with that, back to the rest of the set.

I can see these working nicely in a control deck since your opponent only has to cast the creature spell, not have the creature enter the battlefield. Are these going to win an Legacy or Vintage tournaments? I doubt it. Are they fun cards for casual? Most definitely. 

Pros: Amazing creatures for their cost
Cons: An opponent has to cast a creature or you have to be dying
Rating: 3/5

Note: Props to Opal Acrolith for being able to dodge most creature removal. 







Sunday 18 May 2014

Rukh Egg

Rukh Egg

Since my last review was about an okay egg, I figured I'd look at a better egg right after. Why is this better than Roc Egg? Well, let's take this opportunity to learn about how minor differences can make one card much better than another.

#1: 3/3 vs. 4/4
Roc Egg makes a 3/3 whereas this makes a 4/4. That one power/toughness difference can make a fair amount of difference, mainly when it comes to removal. "3" is generally the "magic number" when it comes to removal (see: Ajani VengeantClaws of WirewoodLady CaleriaSearing Spear, etc)/ I'm not saying there are no cards that deal more than 3 damage (Mizzium Mortars is a thing), but a good chunk of direct damage removal does 3 or less damage, so having 4 toughness makes a big difference. Having an extra point of power helps too.

#2: Immediately vs. End of Turn
This is kind of minor difference, but this can make a difference in certain situations, especially against boardwipes. If someone wants to make sure you don't get that 3/3 flyer, they may swing at you with something like Typhoid Rats and trick you into blocking with your egg just to boardwipe in their second main phase (I've seen it done a few times). If the token comes in at the end of turn, your opponent has no opportunity to boardwipe. Also, there's no real benefit (save one) to having the creature come into play immediately anyway. If the egg dies as a result of combat, there's no need for a creature on your opponent's second main phase. If it dies on your turn as a result as a sack on your turn, the creature can't attack anyway (without help of course). The only benefit to it coming in right away is that you can equip/enchant the token (if it's your turn).

#3: Defender vs. Without Defender
This is the dumbest, yet most poignant difference between Roc Egg and this. Yeah, it's stupid that you can roll an egg with a Sword of Fire and Ice and a Grappling Hook glued to it towards your opponent sounds dumb, but it's still a 2/5 double striker with a Sword of Fire and Ice on it! No matter how you try to write off an egg that can attack, at the end of the day, it's a creature that can attack, which can hugely change the course of a game later on. 

For those three reasons, this card is better than Roc Egg, even if it costs 1 more. Yes, it's still a 0/3 for 4, but it turns into a 4/4 flyer and it can attack. Not exactly Power 9, but still pretty decent.

Pros: Chump blocker that turns into a 4/4 flyer, can attack
Cons: 0/3 for 4, need death
Rating: 3.5/5

Saturday 17 May 2014

Roc Egg

Roc Egg

This is a chump blocker that makes your opponent reconsider attacking you. If they swing into this, you'll be able to swing back the next turn with a 3/3 flyer. It also works in a sack deck since it'll give you both the benefit of the sack outlet as well as a bigger creature. The downside to this card is that it costs 3. Honestly, I think would do a lot better as a double-white creature since it does need to die in order to get the most out of it, which either requires another card on your end or an opponent with a creature to attack you (always a dangerous situation due to combat tricks). It's alright, but not superb.

Pros: Chump blocker that turns into an attacker
Cons: 0/3 for 3, requires death, defender
Rating: 2.5/5

Friday 16 May 2014

Toxic Stench

Toxic Stench

I don't really like this card. Yeah, in the late game it is a better Dark Banishing, but in the early game it's a worse Lose Hope. I like Threshold as a mechanic, but this card is just too weak before it triggers. I'm just really underwhelmed by this card.

Pros: Late game removal
Cons: Really weak early game
Rating: 1.5/5

Tuesday 13 May 2014

Icatian Town

Icatian Town

It's a mini-Elspeth, Sun's Champion! Well, that's not really accurate. It's a "one-shot-sort-of-like-Elspeth-but-makes-one-more-creature". For a 6-cost spell, it's not that great. Recently, in the realm of tolen-maker spells, it's been outclassed by Goblin Rally, since it makes 4 creatures for 5 and they're a relevant creature type (these tokens are still "Citizen" type). In white, this is outclassed by Captain's Call (3 for 4), Conqueror's Pledge (6 for 5 or 12 for 11), Even the Odds (3 for 3 with limitations), Increasing Devotion (5 for 5 or 10 for 9), Nomad's Assembly (a lot for 6), Raise the Alarm (2 for 2), and Spectral Procession (3 for 3). It is a bad card? Not really. Is it the best token spell? Far from it. I can see this finding a home in a mono-white token EDH. Outside of that, there are better options for white tokens.

Pros: 4 creatures
Cons: Irrelevant creature type, 1.5 mana per creature
Rating: 2.5/5

Monday 12 May 2014

Guttural Response

Guttural Response

A counterspell for Counterspell? Nice. Despite being incredibly limited in scope, it's a pretty solid sideboard card. I don't really have much else to say about it. It's a pretty cool card to throw in your sideboard against control decks.

Pros: Counterspell for counterspell
Cons: Very limited in scope, sideboard only
Rating: 3.5/5

Sunday 11 May 2014

Sakiko, Mother of Summer

Sakiko, Mother of Summer

Happy Mother's Day (or as my family calls it, Forced Consumerism Day)! This is my personal favourite mother card. Once this thing hits the field, your opponents need to have a solution to it before the end of your combat step. If you have this card and her son (I think) Seshiro the Anointed, you'll easily be able to cast all those cards you just drew. Even though it costs 6, it's still a really nice creature for what it does. I actually don't have any issues with it outside of it only being a 3/3. I'd have like a 3/5 or a 4/4, but I won't complain too much. 

Pros: Gives tons of free mana
Cons: 3/3 for 6, requires creatures to deal combat damage to players
Rating: 4/5

Saturday 10 May 2014

Quickie Time!

Since I haven't been keeping the site up-to-date lately sorry about that, legal stuff going on IRL), I figure I'd put up a few quickie reviews today. 
 Guided Strike
Guided Strike

Not a bad combat trick, especially with the cantrip. Pretty good for its cost.

Pros: Decent combat trick, cantrip
Cons: Only gives +1/+0
Rating: 3.5/5

Withstand
Withstand

A bad combat trick, even with the cantrip. Pretty weak for its cost.

Pros: Cantrip, Dawnfluke
Cons: Costs 3
Rating: 0/5

Flight
Flight

Does what it says on the package. No bonuses, just flying.

Pros: Gives flying
Cons: Gives no other bonuses
Rating: 2/5

Guard Gomazoa
Guard Gomazoa

Pretty boss blocker. Dies too easily to removal, but is still a great chump.

Pros: Amazing blocker
Cons: Fairly removable
Rating: 3/5

Ogre Savant
Ogre Savant

A wee bit too expensive for a conditional Unsummon on a 3/2 in my opinion. Okay in Limited, but that's about it.

Pros: Unsummon of a dude
Cons: Unsummon is conditional, 3/2 for 5
Rating: 1.5/5

Black Lotus
Black Lotus

Pretty good. Bad top deck if you have no cards in hand.

Pros: 3 mana for 0
Cons: Kind of pricey, bad top deck
Rating: 5/5

Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore
Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore

We need more Eye creatures. Not that great since it's basically just unblockable, but locks your creatures out from attacking and it's only 3 damage. Fun to Donate.

Pros: Basically unblockable
Cons: Locks your own creatures, 3/6 for 5
Rating: 2/5

Tuesday 6 May 2014

Skill Borrower

Skill Borrower

If one card embodies the phrase "sometimes, WotC doesn't consider all of Magic when making cards", this is it. Here are just some of the ways this card can be broken:

Infinite Green Mana: Transmogrifying Licid (or any Licid) + Devoted Druid. Turn this card into a Licid, attach it to a creature, then turn it into Devoted Druid. Since it's an aura, not a creature, -1/-1 counters won't kill it.

Infinite Colourless Mana: Training Grounds + Basalt Monolith. I don't really need to say much aside from it'll tap for 3 and cost 1 to untap.

Infinite Turns: Sensei's Divining Top + Time Vault. Tap this for an extra turn, then put Time Vault second from the top. Draw a card during your next turn, repeat.

There are a ton of other ways to abuse this card, but I think I've made my point. The major issue with this card is that it needs other cards to support it. On its own, it's a fairly big gamble but if you can support it, it can be pretty great.

Pros: Big combo maker
Cons: Requires other cards
Rating: 3.5/5

Scuttling Death

Scuttling Death

Something called "scuttling" shouldn't cost 5! Nor should it be a 4/2. Something called "death" shouldn't be incapable of killing a Bear Cub. Soulshift is a cool mechanic, but it's sad that very few creatures that have it are worth playing. Night on a stick is alright, but not on a creature that costs 5. Outside of that, it's a 4/2 for 5, which is also substandard. Soulshift 4 is great, but it's not enough to save this guy from the standard title of "bad even for a Kamigawa card".

Pros: Soulshift 4, Night on a stick
Cons: 4/2 for 5, requires sacrifice
Rating: 1/5

Nightmare

Nightmare

Having recently received my copy of The Gathering: Reuniting Pioneering Artist of Magic, I read the history behind this card's art. Apparently, Melissa Benson was just told "draw a nightmare", so she decided to make it into a pun on the word "mare". Somehow, knowing that this card's art was probably not what Jesper Myfors (then art director) was looking for makes this card that much more cool.

As for the card itself, it's pretty decent. Black doesn't really hurt for nice flyers, but this is pretty good in mono-black decks. It's probably going to be a 6/6 flyer for 6 and it'll only get bigger with every land drop. The nice thing about cards like this is that they can be easily scaled down because their power and toughness will be at the same ratio for mono-colour decks. I kind of would like to see this at around 4 CMC, but 6 is fine for windmill slamming in Limited.

Pros: Scales with land drops, flying
Cons: Costs 6
Rating: 4/5

Saturday 3 May 2014

Journey Gods

Athreos, God of PassageIroas, God of Victory
Pharika, God of AfflictionKeranos, God of Storms
Kruphix, God of Horizons

Well, it's time to meet our new mythic overlords.

Athreos, God of Passage
This is my personal favourite of the new gods. He basically allows you to swing your little guys with complete disregard to your opponent's field because it gives your opponent the choice of taking the little guys to the face or taking a Lightning Bolt to the face unless you get a free Raise Dead for each creature that dies. Yeah, you'll have to replay each creature that comes back to your hand, but if you have things like Cathedral Sanctifier, you just get the ETB benefit multiple times. He's also a 5/4 for 3, which is nice.

Pros: Gives either free Lightning Bolts or Raise Deads
Cons: Opponent gets to choose
Rating: 4/5

Iroas, God of Victory
He's Dolmen Gate glued to Goblin War Drums. Honestly, this is the most underwhelming of all these gods (not the worst mind you). He's good, just kind of "meh" effect-wise. I don't really know how to explain it properly, but I was expecting something more flashy and cool instead of just recycling two older cards and melding them into one. The only real issue is that, while it combines two cards into one, it comes out a turn later than both of them would (Dolmen Gate costs 2 and Goblin War Drums costs 3). A good card, just not exciting for me.

Pros: Dolmen Gate and Goblin War Drums all in one
Cons: Costs 4
Rating: 4.5/5

Pharika, God of Affliction
This is sadly the worst on the new bunch. Black/green likes either reanimating its own creatures or eating your opponent's dead ones for an effect. That effect is not something positive for your opponent. I understand that Whip of Erebos is a problem that needs solving, but I can't help but think that maybe this isn't the best solution. I would have thought something along the lines of Creakwood Ghoul but with a better positive side would have been more appropriate. Giving your opponent a free Typhoid Rats is not a good answer to the Whip. I suppose you can use it on your own creatures, but why aren't you running Whip of Erebos or some other Golgari-flavoured deck instead?

Pros: Exiles creature cards in graveyards
Cons: Gives a free Typhoid Rats to that creature's owner
Rating: 2/5

Keranos, God of Storms
Free cards or Lightning Bolts? Yes please! Every turn, you're going to be getting an effect that will be beneficial to you in one way or another. However, it does come with a cost. First, it costs 5, which is a bit late in most games. Second, you have to reveal the first card you draw every turn, which gives your opponents a lot of information. If you're mana-screwed, revealing another Keranos isn't going to strike fear in your opponent's heart (although it will still hurt). A good card, just not a great card in my opinion.

Pros: Free Lightning Bolts or card draw
Cons: Only once per your turn, reveal your draw
Rating: 3.5/5

Kruphix, God of Horizons
This is a pretty cool dude and really works well with your Monstrous creatures. It's a sort-of-worse-sort-of-better Upwelling inside of a Reliquary Tower. I really like the idea of a one-sided Upwelling, but I'm not a fan of it being colourless mana since colourless mana is pretty much only useful for X spells and some artifacts. Still, it's a pretty cool card, despite costing 5 and being unable to kill a Nyx-Fleece Ram.

Pros: Sort-of-worse-sort-of-better Upwelling with a Reliquary Tower
Cons: Costs 5, can't kill a sheep
Rating: 4/5

Thursday 1 May 2014

Mind Stone

Mind Stone

This card should be an EDH staple. Why? Well, it's a mana rock that comes out fairly quickly for starters and those are pretty nice. The other reason is that it's instant-speed colourless card draw. There are other colourless cards out there that draw you cards at instant-speed (Chromatic Star and Brass Secretary are good examples), but most of them only have one use: breaking to draw a card. This little guy can be used as mana acceleration until you don't need it anymore. In short, this card is pretty awesome and I have no major complaints about it.

Pros: Taps for mana, sackable for a card, colourless
Cons: Requires a mana for card draw
Rating: 5/5

Note: The reason I picked this art? First, the Descartes quote makes this extremely classy. Second, it's a brain on a stick!