Avatar of Me

A 6/14 for 6 in blue? That's pretty damn good. Add on to that the fact that no creature has protection from hazel (except for Progenitus) and you've got yourself an amazing creature for combat! I mean, it doesn't even die to a full-powered Tragic Slip! I know for some people this card doesn't work out so well, but I can see a lot of potential that I can wring out of this card, despite the fact that it has no evasion. A definite inclusion in every blue deck (for me at least).

Pros: Big 'n' beefy, fairly cheap for its power

Cons: No evasion

Rating: 4/5

Decimate

Let me tell you a story. At a recent FNM, I was watching a couple of guys playing a Standard game. One guy (let's call him Jim) only had a Lotleth Troll with a Nighthowler on it and the other guy (he shall be known as Moe) had a Master of Cruelties. The troll was killed and Jim declared retribution and windmill-slammed a Shadowborn Demon only to realize that Moe's MoC was a demon and he had no choice but to destroy his own Nighthowler. Needless to say, he was very sad to lose his 20/20.

What does that story have to do with this card? Well, like Shadowborn Demon, this card requires destruction of each target. The ruling have changed, so you can target a non-Bestowed Hopeful Eidolon as both the enchantment and the creature target, but the fact still stands that you need to destroy an artifact and a land. If you're the only person who controls an artifact, you'll have to blow it up. Also, if there isn't an artifact, enchantment, land, and creature on the field, you can't even cast this. Still, if there is all 4 targets on the field, you can't get much more value in one card. I really wish this card was more like Hull Breach where you were given options, but then I guess this would be too good.

Pros: 4-in-1 card value

Cons: Mandatory destruction, requires all 4 targets

Rating: 2.5/5 

Ishi-Ishi, Akki Crackshot

Back in the day, this card was pretty good and it still has potential. There are only a couple really good Arcane spells, but there are a lot of Spirits out there, and because of that, I think this card is a bit underrated honestly. I wish this was a bear though since a 1/1 for 2 has to have a really good ability to be worth it, and considering this ability is situational, it becomes sideboard material at best. It's not a great card, but it's not the worst red card out there.

Pros: Punishes opponents for casting spells

Cons: Range of punish triggers is limited, 1/1 for 2

Rating: 2/5

P.S. I think I'm going to start using magiccards.info for pictures and links from now on. I really like the larger size of the card images as well as the option to show promo versions too.

Consult the Necrosages

I like cards with options, and this card is pretty great because of it. It's either a Divination or a Deception. This card is going to be card advantage either way, it just depends on whether you want to subtract from your opponent's hand or add to your own. It can also force draws, which is good if you have a draw punishment deck or your opponent is down to their last couple of cards. Really, I think this card is kind of underrated for being such a solid common. The only real drawback I can see is that it's not Instant-speed, but then it would be too powerful.

Pros: Either targeted draw or discard

Cons: Not instant-speed(?)

Rating: 4/5

P.S. Sorry about the change in links and card image. Gatherer is down right now and I didn't want to wait for it to come back (lest I forget to write a review tonight). Let me know you think of the new links though. I may start using magiccards.info instead in the future since I find that site to be superior in some regards (especially searching)/

Thriss, Nantuko Primus

"Meh" is about all I can muster for this card. A cheaper Explosive Growth is nice, but this card needs to tap to use it, so it can't be used the turn it comes out without some help. This card has a pretty beefy body, but it doesn't have any evasion or anything like that. It's a really "meh" card all in all. I think it would be much better if it had Trample or its ability gave Trample. 

Pros: Cheap Explosive Growth on a stick

Cons: No evasion, needs to tap

Rating: 2.5/5 

Tatterkite

I love cards with really specific protections. This card isn't just protected from -1/-1 and +1/+1 counters, but also gold counters, -2/-1 counters, rust counters, magnet counters, hourglass counters, and sleep counters. It really works well with Persist/Undying since is would return without a counter on it as well as a ton of combos that involve those things (I'm thinking about Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Ashnod's Altar for starters). I just wish it cost 2 instead of 3. Other than that, it's pretty good for what it is.

Pros: Comboable 

Cons: A bit too expensive

Rating: 3.5/5

Artist: DiTerlizzi

Tony DiTerlizzi is one of those Magic artists that you'll recognize. His style is very fantastical and unique. I'm actually a huge fan of his work outside of Magic (AD&D, Dragon Magazine) as well as his body of work within Magic,

Best Art: Terminate

I can't actually put my finger on why I like this art, but I know I do. It's just an amazing piece of art that really fits the card well. I much prefer this to the modern art (apologies to Wayne Reynolds).

Worst Art: Cloud Spirit

Giant cloud monkey? I don't know; I just think that this is an instance of DiTerlizzi's art tipping too much into the "kid-friendly" pool. To be fair though, the other art for this card isn't much better,

Most Ill-Fitting: Elephant Resurgence

Now, there's only one reason this is the most "ill-fitting" art: it's a sorcery. This art screams "instant"! Admit it, if you just look at the art, you hear a "sproing" as the elephant leaps out of the ground. I know that this isn't DiTerlizzi's fault since artists probably aren't given the full specs of the card (or necessarily knows how to play the game), so I blame WotC for this! Curse you WotC for not giving us more instant-speed elephants!

Check out DiTerlizzi's body of work here. You will not be disappointed! 

Helm of Chatzuk

If people knew how awesome banding was, there would be a lot more love for this card. I personally love this card because it's really cheap and can give anything banding for a really low cost. The only real issue I have with it is that it can only give 1 creature banding at a time, which means you'll be hard-pressed to make a "band" rather than a "duo".

Pros: Cheap banding

Cons: Requires tapping

Rating: 3/5

Spiritulaize

Instant-speed lifelink with a cantrip? Pretty good. The fact it costs 3? Pretty bad. Considering there are now cards like Mortal's Ardor and Moment of Heroism, this card has been pretty much outclassed. Still, it does replace itself, so it has that going for it. An okay card, but there are quicker versions of it out there.

Pros: Instant-speed lifelink, cantrip

Cons: Slow at 3 CMC

Rating: 2/5

Note: Sorry about the recent drought of reviews. Work has been nightmarish. Luckily, that will end this week :).

Swords to Plowshares

This card is pretty good I guess . I mean it's only... okay I'm not going to do the whole "this things isn't that good and I'm going to use stupid people's arguments to prove it" shtick again. This card is amazing and no one will be able to tell me otherwise. The lifegain is negligible but the exile is not. You will always gain the upper hand from using this, trust me. If you have the space and can run 4 copies of this, run 4 copies of this. Seriously. Fo' realz.

Pros: Exile for 1

Cons: Lifegain for the creature's controller

Rating: 5/5