Thursday 30 October 2014

Kalonian Behemoth

Kalonian Behemoth

This thing is pretty awesome. Even if it were just a 9/9 without shroud, it'd be sweet since it'd still be a 9/9 for 7. With shroud, this becomes even better. Unfortunately, the shroud does prevent you from giving this any sort of evasion (save for mass evasion such as Fangren Pathcutter). However, this will force a creature sacrifice every turn even if it has no evasion. It's a pretty cool 7-drop.

Pros: 9/9 shroud for 7
Cons: No evasion
Rating: 4/5

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Tidal Wave

Tidal Wave

I like instant-speed Lava Axes for creatures, and that's basically what this is. Toss this in front of an unblocked creature and you'll probably end up trading with it. That said though, this does only produce a 5/5 wall for one turn, so unless you're being swung at, this won't be of much use to you.

Pros: Instant-speed blocker for 3
Cons: Only makes a wall, must sack at end of turn
Rating: 3/5

Saturday 25 October 2014

Scion of Glaciers

Scion of Glaciers

This is a good example of a decent, middle-of-the-road Limited uncommon. It doesn't do much when it hits the field, but it can be very versatile, depending on whether you're winning or losing. If you're losing, it can be a wall or be buffed to trade with one of your opponent's big things. If you're winning, it can swing in for a sizable amount of damage with a mana investment. It's also not bad if you're topdecking because it gives you a place to sink that unused mana every turn. However, this card is not that great if you've got cards in hand or if you're trying to win a race. It's a good card in certain situations, but a bad one in others.

Pros: Versatile
Cons: Requires mana for versatility
Rating: 2.5/5

Friday 24 October 2014

Progenitus

Progenitus

This card has protection for negative criticism, which is good because I don't really have much of that. On the flip side though, it also has protection from positive criticism, so I can't go into detail about why it's so good. Too bad, because I had some nice things to say about it, but protection from everything prevents me from saying anything targeted at this card.

Pros: Just look at it
Cons: "Everything" means everything
Rating: 5/5

Sunday 19 October 2014

Mind Spring

Mind Spring

Pretty good card. It's no Stroke of Genius, but it's still pretty good in its own right. It's one of those cards you're always going to be happy topdecking late in the game because it's going to refuel you and will probably let you push through to victory. It's just a solid card, despite being a sorcery.

Pros: Turns mana into cards
Cons: Sorcery
Rating: 4/5

Thursday 16 October 2014

Virtuous Charge

Virtuous Charge

A one-shot anthem? Not bad. The cost is alright and the effect is good. Shame that it's not an Instant though. That would make this a playable card. Unfortunately, it's a subpar card.

Pros: One-shot anthem
Cons: Sorcery
Rating: 2/5

Sunday 12 October 2014

Forked-Branch Garami

Forked-Branch Garami

Normally, I'd jump all over the chance to beat on Soulshift, as it tended to be a much-overcosted ability for what it did, but this is one of the few creatures that uses the keyword in a valuable way. Think of it like a restrictive double Raise Dead, which is pretty good. You can bring your Crypt Ghast and your Geist of Saint Traft to your hand at the same time, which can easily put you back on track to winning. The down side to that value is that you have to play a 4/4 for 5, which isn't that great for a creature. Also, a double Raise Dead might not be worth 5 mana to some people.

Pros: Double restrictive Raise Dead
Cons: Only on cheap Spirits, 4/4 for 5
Rating: 2.5/5

Thursday 9 October 2014

Fate Unraveler

Fate Unraveler

Really cool Underworld Dreams on legs. It's out of most direct damage range and it deals damage every turn. The effect is great, the cost is okay (only 1 more than Dreams, but much less colour-intensive), and the body is great. I kind of wish this cost only 2B, but then it might be too good I think. 3B places this squarely in the "great, but not amazing" category.

Pros: Pings opponents for drawing
Cons: Costs 4
Rating: 4/5

Sunday 5 October 2014

Kin-Tree Invocation

Kin-Tree Invocation

This thing is a surprise waiting to happen, mostly because of the decks it will be run in. I can easily see this being the win-con on some abhorrent Wall deck and it will be great. When people think of Walls, they normally think of things like Wall of Omens or Wall of Blossoms, you know, Walls that have some use outside of being a blocker. This card, however, enables other Walls to be as useful by allowing for the creation of big stompy things. Shield Sphere? Why yes, I'd like a 6/6 on turn 2. Wall of Junk? I guess a 7/7 on turn 3 is okay. Wall of Shards? More like "Wall of Better Phyrexian Soulgorger". Now, I know the creature created doesn't have evasion and can easily be killed, but aren't those the same complaints that can be made about Tarmogoyf? There are only two big issues with this card. First is that it is based around toughness instead of power, so if you're going to use it to its full effect, you'll need either early Walls to be able to hold out until you've got big creatures. But even if you don't have huge creatures or Walls, it can be used as a cheap mini-Cackling Counterpart for your biggest creature on your turn, which isn't all that bad on its own. The second issue is the timing. As a sorcery, you can't use this as a combat trick nor can you use it to give you creature pseudo-Haste by having it ETB on an opponent's end step. Despite both those issues, I really like this card. I expect to make a deck around it in the near future.

Pros: Mini-Cackling Counterpart on your toughest dude
Cons: Sorcery speed, based on toughness
Rating: 3.5/5 

Thursday 2 October 2014

Feast of Blood

Feast of Blood

It's a better Doom Blade although it's more restrictive. Yeah, you need two Vampires, but in a Vampire tribal deck, that's a pittance. I personally love this card since it's both creature removal and lifegain, so it helps you stabilize in two different ways. The flavour fits, the mechanics fit, the power level fits; it's just a great card.

Pros: Omni-kill spell, lifegain, cheap
Cons: Requires two Vampires
Rating: 4.5/5