Sunday 31 August 2014

Pyretic Ritual

Pyretic Ritual

This little gal lets you drop your turn three stuff on turn two and that makes it pretty great. The only major issue with this card is that it's completely dead as a topdeck or in the late game. Other than that, this card is pretty great.

Pros: Burst mana, instant
Cons: Dead in the late game
Rating: 4/5

Friday 29 August 2014

Knight of Meadowgrain

Knight of Meadowgrain

Awesome bear is awesome. A 2/2 for 2 is pretty good. A 2/2 first striker or a 2/2 lifelinker for 2 is great. A 2/2 first strike lifelinker for 2 is amazing. It's just great value for the cost you're paying. This card is very powerful and scary to be on the wrong end of. The first strike means you've got a good chance of getting through most on-curve blockers and the lifelink means you're getting a return on your investment no matter what. It's a great card.

Pros: Uber-bear
Cons: Double white
Rating: 5/5

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Magical Metamorphosis

Well, I might as well talk about the big news in Magic. Yesterday, Maro made these announcements. In short: no more Core Sets after 2015, blocks will only have 2 sets as of fall 2015, and Standard will only contain 3 blocks. These are some big changes of Magic. It basically shifts the entire way it's produced and consumed. And I like it.

For starters, I've never really been too huge of a fan of Core Sets after Tenth (don't ask me why since even I don't know). I get that they're there to bring new players into the game, but it just wasn't fun for everyone else. Maro has said that there will be a supplemental product made that's aimed at bringing new players in (here's hoping for a new Portal). The biggest problem for me with regards to Core Sets is the story. I'd rather see a proper block on Shandalar instead of just news breaks while the real stories get ready.

The two set block idea is fantastic. I understand that a three set block follows more the traditional three-act-structure of storytelling, but it just drags the story on a bit too much in my opinion. Since the stories will be shorter, it'll allow for Creative to run with stories that where once considered "too weak" to stretch across three sets.

Finally, we come to the biggest change: Standard rotation. In essence, it brings a card's lifespan in Standard down to 12-18 months. People are saying that players will leave in droves, but I don't see that. Sure, netdeckers will leave since it'll become too expensive to replace cards quicker (I'll come back to that in a moment), but a lot of jaded players who saw the meta solidify way too fast might be interested in coming back (I know I am). With regards to my earlier statement about prices, I don't think prices will change that much. Yes, there will be a spike in consumption early on so that players get the most out of their cards, but I also see the more limited lifespan of cards acting as a "gouge inhibitor". Players might not be so willing to hand over $40/card if that card is only going to be around for 12 months.

All in all, I look forward to the New New World Order of Magic.

Sunday 24 August 2014

Brainstorm

Brainstorm

I'm not a big fan of this card. Now, before you crucify me for such a heretical statement, I'm well aware of this card's power in combo decks. It lets you dig three cards for that last piece at instant-speed for a very low mana investment. However, the reason I don't really like this card is because of what happens when it whiffs. If you dig three and don't find what you want, you're basically losing your next two draws. It's a card that I've never liked topdecking, and because of that, I can't really say that I love this card as much as everyone else seems to. Sorry folks.

Pros: Draw 3 for 1 at instant-speed
Cons: Put two cards from hand to top of deck
Rating: 3.5/5

Saturday 23 August 2014

Wakedancer

Wakedancer

This here is a Limited all-star. Heck, I remember some Standard decks running these ladies back when Dark Ascension was still in that format. I really like it because it helps you gain tempo if you're playing it with the Morbid trigger and if you're ever in a situation where you can't trigger Morbid, you're either winning by a fair bit, losing by a fair bit, or playing against America control. It's a great little card if you can get the Morbid trigger.

Pros: Comes in with a buddy on Morbid
Cons: 2/2 for 3 without Morbid
Rating: 3.5/5

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Soldevi Steam Beast

Soldevi Steam Beast

So, this thing is basically a 2/2 for 5 with a regen of 2. Do I really need to go into more detail about why this thing is so bad? Alliances had some pretty powerful cards, but this is definitely not one of them. Even if you gave this vigilance somehow, it's still just a 4/2 for 5 with regen which, while better than its original form, is still far from "good" since its regen will still give an opponent life. It's not so much a "steam beast" as a "steam hindrance".
Pros: Colourless 4/2, regen
Cons: Gives an opponent life on tap
Rating: 0.5/5

Monday 18 August 2014

Ghastly Discovery

Ghastly Discovery

Not a bad bit of looting. It's worse than Catalog on its own since that is instant whereas this is sorcery-speed, but the conspire ability on this allows it to be copied for little extra cost. And casting Thoughtflare on turn 3 is pretty cool.

Pros: Thoughtflare for 2U and two creatures
Cons: Worse Catalog is you have no board
Rating: 3/5

Saturday 16 August 2014

Living Totem

Living Totem

If curved properly, this is a one-drop 2/3 that gives out a +1/+1 counter. On its own, it's a 3/4 for 4. Like most cards, the value of this card is highly dependent on what's on the field. It ranges from really above average (if you have a lot of creatures) to sub-par (on its own). As such, I'm going to call it "meh".

Pros: Can be cheap, gives out a +1/+1 counter
Cons: Not great on its own
Rating: 2.5/5

Thursday 14 August 2014

Quik Quickies Quickly

Vicious Kavu

It's a 4/2 for 3. That's not bad. If it had first strike, it'd be better.

Pros: 4/2 for 3 when swinging
Cons: Vanilla 4/2 for 3, only 4/2 when swinging
Rating: 2.5/5

Kumano's Pupils

A little underpowered cost:mana ratio-wise, but given its ability, I can forgive it. Kind of.

Pros: Exiles things it hits
Cons: 3/3 for 5
Rating: 2/5

Derelor

Bad. Just bad.

Pros: 4/4 for 4
Cons: Makes your stuff cost more, effectively a vanilla 4/4
Rating: 0.5/5

Will-o'-the-Wisp

Amazing blocker. Seriously, this thing is great.

Pros: Flying 1-drop that can regenerate
Cons: 0/1
Rating: 4/5

Graxiplon

A conditionally unblockable 3/4 for 6? Yeah... no.

Pros: Conditionally unblockable
Cons: 3/4 for 6
Rating: 0.5/5

Taste of Paradise

Complete waste of paper and ink.

Pros: Scalable lifegain
Cons: 4 for first 3 life, sorcery speed
Rating: 0/5


Tuesday 12 August 2014

Pawn of Ulamog

Pawn of Ulamog

Not bad if you've got a sac deck going. It basically reads "every creature you sacrifice triggers Grave Pact twice". On its own, it's not that great (all it does is replaces itself with a gribbly), but it can allow for nice combos/more devastating combos. I'm not going to complain about it saying "nontoken creature" since that would make this degenerate. In fact, the only thing I'm going to say is a downside is that it's a 2/2 for 3, which isn't great on its own.

Pros: Replaces your dead dudes
Cons: 2/2 for 3, replacements are gribblies
Rating: 4/5

Sunday 10 August 2014

Soulsurge Elemental

Soulsurge Elemental

Great card unless your opponent has pretty much any removal. Gut Shot deals with this. Night deals with this. Freakin' Hornet Sting deals with this. This also doesn't have haste, so having this guy sit around for a round leaves it fairly vulnerable. Giving it haste would skyrocket its value. Also, it doesn't have any evasion, so despite the fact that it will survive combat, it will still be stopped by a gribbly. I'm not at all impressed with the execution of this card.

Pros: Big first striker
Cons: No haste or evasion, 1 toughness
Rating:1.5/5

Friday 8 August 2014

400th Post: Reflection and Thank Yous

Hi everyone,

This is roughly my 400th post, so I'd thought I'd do some serious thanking to the people who frequent this blog. I know that I'm not the biggest name in Magic blogging, but that doesn't really matter to me. I'm doing this because I love the game, not because I want the fame. However, knowing that there are people out there who take a little time to read whatever ramblings I put up here makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.

I especially want to thank anyone who has stuck around since the beginning. Rereading some of my old posts has made me see how unrefined and vicious I was to cards that, if I had bothered to think for two minutes, I would have seen their usefulness (notable exception: Rishadan Port). I'm actually kind of embarrassed by some of those older posts to be honest. I'm not about to delete them or anything, but I'd like to think that I've matured as both a blogger and a Magic player enough to look at cards more critically since then.

Well, that about does it for my thank yous for now. Here's to 400 more posts!

Enrage

Enrage

Good combat trick. It's one shot of firebreathing to that creature that got through. This is really fun when you swing with firebreathers and non-firebreathers alike and your opponent, thinking that they are making smart plays, block all of your firebreathers just to get suckered by this card on one of the unblocked non-firebreathers. Of course, it's only a one-shot combat trick, so its value is kind of limited by that, but it's still at the top of the "one-shot combat trick" class. It's no Berserk, but that thing's the valedictorian of the class, so it's not really a fair comparison. This card is that one guy who always got straight As but never really stood out socially. Good at what it does, but you know that there's something better than it.

Pros: Good combat trick
Cons: Only a "good" combat trick
Rating: 3/5

Thursday 7 August 2014

Midnight Covenant

Midnight Covenant

Shade's are pretty cool, mainly because of their ability to turn one mana into better firebreathing (now hereby known as "shadebreathing"). This is a pretty cool aura because it gives shadebreathing, but it's an aura that just does that one thing. It'd be great in Limited, but it really lacks enough power to be great elsewhere. This is also a case where there's a similar card that does a much better job of doing what this wants to do, in this case it's Shade's Form. Shade's Form is just flat better in all situations, but I'll talk more about that card when it comes up for review.

Pros: Gives shadebreathing
Cons: Just gives shadebreathing
Rating: 2/5
Replacement: Shade's Form

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Mirror of Fate

Mirror of Fate

Umm... Comboable? Yeah, that describes this quite nicely. Use with Arc-Slogger to make sure all you have are combo pieces/power cards left in your library. Use with Laboratory Maniac to speed up your win process and leave only combo pieces/power cards left in your library. Manipulate Fate your Beacon of Tomorrows and take infinite turns while beating your opponents down with Keranos, God of Storms. It's a fun card, but somewhat flawed. Exiling your own cards is very risky and unless you have a way to reliably resolve this, it's a huge gamble. Also, since the exiled cards are face-up, your opponents will be able to see you machinations well in advance and may be better equipped to stop you, as opposed to if you just tutored for the combo. Fun, but a big gamble.

Pros: Allows for combo set-up
Cons: Requires combo pieces to be exiled
Rating: 2/5