Whirlpool Whelm

I think too many people underestimate this card. At the very least, it's an Unsummon with Scry 1. At most, it's a Repel for two less. Either way, it sets your opponent back a turn in regards to what they have on the field. However, I think the clash is also a very important part of this card. Knowing what your opponent is about to draw (or isn't, depending on what they choose) is important. Not great outside Limited though, there are much better options, so I'm not sure you'll see this outside of drafts and Sealed.

Pros: Potentially cheaper Repel

Cons: Only hits creatures, may only be Unsummon

Rating: 3/5

Fate Reforged Spoiler Tyme

(Images supplied by mythicspoiler.com)

So, the end of spoiler season has arrived and I guess it's time to talk about my favourite and least favourite new cards. Because I've got a lot of favourites and not favourites, I'm restricting myself to 1 of each rarity.

Favourite Common: Temur Battle Rage

Yeah. This card is amazing. Instant-speed double strike? That's really powerful. Instant-speed double strike AND trample? Sweet Baby Jace, that's just... wow. I think this might see Standard play in aggro decks as a finisher. I doubt it'll see play anywhere else, but man this is a good card.

Least Favourite Common: Smoldering Efreet

*sigh* Red will never get a good bear will they? At least this one doesn't have to attack every turn like a lot of the other ones.

Favourite Uncommon: Dark Deal

This is my favourite uncommon for one reason: I think it'll see Legacy play in 8-Rack (and possibly more decks). Wheeling an opponent's hand can really tilt an opponent, especially if they are about to go off next turn. Even as a topdeck, this card is great because you're not losing any cards. Even if you are losing cards, you can use this to get cards you might actually want.

Least Favourite Uncommon: Reality Shift

Blue didn't need a Path to Exile. People keep telling me that it's not that good since Pongify sees no play, but there are a couple of minor differences that make this better. First, it gives them a bear instead of a 3/3. Second, that bear might be a key spell that your opponent will no longer have access to. Imagine using this in response to someone trying to draw a card with Sensei's Diving Top. Either they'll have to tuck that card further down in response, or lose that card as a bear. Finally, it exiles instead of destroying. In environments like Standard where Whip of Erebos exists and Legacy where tons of reanimation exists (along with Delve on both sides), exiling a creature is really relevant. Control is going to get a lot stronger when this card gets out.

Favourite Rare: Supplant Form

I just love this card to death (and the Game Day art). Bounce and Clone token at Instant-speed is pretty powerful. I doubt it'll see non-EDH play, but it'll still be fun to see played.

Least Favourite Rare: Crucible of the Spirit Dragon

Anyone who has been following spoiler season this year knew this was coming. It card is just so disappointing. I wasn't expecting a new Cavern of Souls or anything, but not this. I really wish it had "X, Tap: Add X mana in any combination of colours to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast Dragon spells or activate abilities of Dragons." instead. With that text, you still get same basic effect, except it doesn't take a billion turns to charge up. 

Favourite Mythic: Soulfire Grand Master

Every part of this card is great. Lifelink bear? Great. Smaller Tamanoa effect? Great. Instant/sorcery recursion? Great. I see this being especially effective with Stoke the Flames since you can both tap creatures and pay its cost to recur the spell repeatedly. 

Least Favourite Mythic: Monastery Mentor

This card is great, but I think it's being overhyped and that's why it's my least favourite mythic. I don't think this will see as much play as people think. It costs 3, and that's a little too much for burn decks to play. Yes, Goblin Rabblemaster also costs 3 and it sees tons of play, but that card does something on the first turn it's out and without any other spells being needed. This card needs you to be able to cast another spell on the same turn for it to be more than just a Raging Bull, which effectively raises its CMC to 4 or 5. I also don't think it'll see that much play in Jeskai Ascendancy decks either, as 3 mana seems to be a lot to pay for a finisher, especially considering that that deck can win on turn 2. I think this will be a card that makes early adopters sad that they paid $20+ for this card on launch. I might be wrong, but that's what I really think.

DekTek: The Sacred Order of Mana (EDH)

Here's a new segment where I talk about some of my own decks and share the list with you. So here's the first deck: The Sacred Order of Mana, my Seton, Krosan Protector EDH.

Creature (36)

1x Arbor Elf
1x Argothian Elder
1x Chameleon Colossus
1x Citanul Woodreaders
1x Civic Wayfinder
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Dungrove Elder
1x Elvish Archdruid
1x Elvish Harbinger
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Eternal Witness
1x Farhaven Elf
1x Fyndhorn Elder
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
1x Greenweaver Druid
1x Juniper Order Druid
1x Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1x Karametra's Acolyte
1x Krosan Restorer
1x Ley Druid
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Nylea, God of the Hunt
1x Omnath, Locus of Mana
1x Ondu Giant
1x Regal Force
1x Seedguide Ash
1x Seeker of Skybreak
1x Siege Behemoth
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Somberwald Sage
1x Soul of the Harvest
1x Treefolk Harbinger
1x Voyaging Satyr
1x Wolfbriar Elemental
1x Yavimaya Elder

Sorcery (13)

1x Collective Unconscious
1x Creeping Renaissance
1x Cultivate
1x Genesis Wave
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Overwhelming Stampede
1x Praetor's Counsel
1x Reap and Sow
1x Regrowth
1x Skyshroud Claim
1x Sylvan Scrying
1x Tempt with Discovery

Artifact (7)

1x Akroma's Memorial
1x Emerald Medallion
1x Expedition Map
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Loreseeker's Stone
1x Staff of Domination
1x Thousand-Year Elixir

Planeswalker (3)

1x Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
1x Garruk, Caller of Beasts
1x Garruk, Primal Hunter

Land (34)

1x Cavern of Souls
1x Deserted Temple
1x Dryad Arbor
24x Forest
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Maze of Ith
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Petrified Field
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Wirewood Lodge
1x Yavimaya Hollow

Enchantment (6)

1x Aluren

1x Concordant Crossroads

1x Helix Pinnacle

1x Mana Reflection

1x Mirri's Guile

1x Rowen

So, what does this deck do? It's basically mono green Storm. Ever seen how Legacy Elves plays? It's basically like that except I don't need to wait for 2 other Elves for Heritage Druid. My commander, Seton, allows all my Druids (which are basically all my creatures) to become Llanowar Elves the turn they come in, so I get a lot of mana early on. Once that happens, I can easily start stomping on my opponent and force them into panic mode before they have set-up.

Superstars (that aren't obvious):

This guy is probably the primo removal target in my deck. At least, during the second and subsequent games. As I said before, my commander lets my Druids tap for mana the turn they hit the field which means they can be used to cast more Druids. This card makes sure that I have that next Druid in my hand. If I fail to draw enough Druids, I can always just remove a player from the game by stealing all their lands. 

This is a magic time machine that warps you from turn 4 to turn 6 (at least). That in itself doesn't make it very magical, but the fact that the Forests come in untapped, meaning I can follow this up with more ramp spells or more creatures (which are basically ramp spells in this deck).

Seeing as my commander only costs 3, playing him after a boardwipe is not that much of an issue (much easier if I have Aluren out). Even if I tap out in order to play both him and this, I can probably get most of my boardstate back in the following turn. If it happens again, this card has flashback and I can just recur my board a second time.

So yeah, this is one of my favourite EDH decks. It's not the cheapest to build due to cards like Gaea's Cradles and Regal Force (although I use a gold-bordered Cradle because no one here cares) but it is really fun and quite competitive. If you're looking for a mono-green competitive EDH deck, this one is a great place to start.

Top Black Commons for EDH

Here are some of my favourite black commons for use in EDH. These aren't broken or super-powerful, but these deserve a thought when you're building an EDH deck with black in it.

1. Barren Moor/Polluted Mire

The cycling lands are pretty awesome in the late game, especially in EDH. Once you've got all the mana you need, you can easily turn these into more useful cards. Both of these are pretty awesome inclusions in black decks.

2. Blood Seeker

Death by a thousand cuts is still death, right? This is a great addition to most decks. It slowly drains your opponents of life (or quickly if your opponent has tokens) and probably won't get removed for a while, and if it does, at least it's eating a removal spell instead of your general or another one of your important creatures.

3. Bog Initiate

Mono-black colour-fixing? What is this madness?! Seriously though, in a tri or five-colour deck, this card can allow you to run black-intensive spell without much worry of being short on black mana.

4. Choking Sands/Rancid Earth/Sinkhole

Ask anyone I play with and they'll tell you I love land destruction. Yes, it's dirty. Yes, it's unfair. However, despite being those two things, it is effective. Most decks don't have a way to recur their land cards from their yards so being able to blow and important one up at the right time can be crucial. Given that black can't really deal with noncreature permanents that well, these are great additions for dealing with problems.

5. Darkness

I think Fog is a largely underrated card in EDH, especially since more than a few games are won via alpha swings. Having a mono-black version in your deck will definitely catch opponents off-guard.

6. Diabolic Edict/Geth's Verdict

People often discount the early game, but many problem creatures are played on the first few turns. From dealing with cheap commanders like Rhys the Redeemed and Gaddock Teeg to quick-drop creatures such as Serra Ascendant and Weathered Wayfarer, these cards are pretty efficient at their job. Finally, it also kills traditionally solo protected creatures like Rafiq of the Many and Uril, the Miststalker.

7. Eyeblight's Ending/Victim of Night

These are basically unconditional removal cards. The number of times that you won't be able to cast either of these can probably be counted on that guy on the right's fingers.

8. Oubliette

It's mono-black Journey to Nowhere. Yeah, it lets the creature keep all the counters and Auras attached to it, but mono-black exile is hard to come by, so I'll take what I can get.

9. Psychotic Episode

This works really well when played after an opponent tutors for a card since it forces them to waste another card to get it back. I also really like it because graveyards are very easily accessed in EDH, so discard spells aren't as valuable as other formats. Finally, if their commander is in your opponent's hand, they probably aren't going to be seeing it for a while.

10. Sadistic Glee

I just like this because it will eventually demand an answer, even if you don't do anything. Since EDH is a multiplayer format, your opponents can easily do all the heavy lifting for this card to work.

11. Shade's Form

Remember False Demise? This is the black version, only better. I don't even really care for the first bit (although it's pretty great for your own creatures) but the second part is great. Put it on an opponent's creature that you want or put it on your own that you don't want to die.

12. Tortured Existence

Finally, we come to a card that most people have seen, but I thought I'd include anyway since it is a common. Being able to constantly cycle through your creatures is pretty powerful, especially in reanimator decks. While not a powerhouse in its own right, it can easily be a very strong card when used correctly.

New Year's Thingy

Happy New Year and whatnot. Just thought I'd let people know my plans for this blog in 2015:

- Fewer, longer updates: As I'm sure you've noticed, I've been a little slack with my updates as of late. I've recently started a very physical job that sometimes has me working 10 hours a day, so I'm often really tired when I get home. This means I'm not up for brain-thinking stuff when I get home during the week. So my plan is going to be this: 1-2 updates per week, but much more thought out and thus more reasoning behind it.

- More "help" posts: Looking at my blogger analytics, I'm seeing that my most popular posts are my EDH help posts. Therefore, I have be writing out a few new help posts and will be putting more of those up in the coming year.

- Better rating system: Basically, I'm going to be overhauling my star rating system so that it's easier for me to rate cards and easier for readers to determine what the ratings mean.

- Revisits: Yeah, I'll probably be lazy and revisit some of my old reviews again this year. Not really a big surprise.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me since the beginning (or even a month)! And to everyone else, here's to 2015!

Weave Fate

Hi there Inspiration! How's it going? Is it still worth it for a slightly more expensive yet faster Divination? Nope, not really. I think I speak for most players when I say I'd rather draw those two cards a turn earlier instead of on an opponent's turn. It is cool to see new art on this card though. I thought the art from Return to Ravnica sucked. 

Pros: Instant-speed card draw

Cons: Costs 4

Rating: 2/5

Cruel Fate

The best I can do for this card is to hold my head in my hands, making a dejected mewling noise, and mumble something about Second Sight being better.

Pros: Rearranges an opponent's cards, mills one

Cons: Sorcery, costs 5

Replacement: Second Sight in all cases

Rating: 0/5

Just Fate

Not the greatest removal spell out there. It's a really restrictive Rebuke (since you can only cast it on your turn before blockers) and that's not a good thing. At least it's not Sandstone Deadfall. I think that's the best thing I can say about it.

Pros: Removal spell, not Sandstone Deadfall

Cons: Restrictive Rebuke

Rating: 1.5/5

Rumbling Slum

You want to talk about a pressure card? For starters, this guy is a 5/5 for 4, which is already above-average since most creatures are are power = CMC. But the ability on this card is what makes this a real pressure card. Even though it's dealing you the damage as well, it can really put you ahead in the race. The only real problem I have with this card is that it's really colour-intensive. I know that making this 2RG would probably make it a bit too powerful for what it is, but it might be a challenge to cast sometimes. Otherwise, I like this card.

Pros: 5/5 for 4, constant damage

Cons: Colour-intensive

Rating: 3.5/5

Psychic Spear

It's like Thoughtseize, only not. In block, this was pretty devastating in Limited, but outside it's pretty useless. I like my discard cards, but even I wouldn't consider putting this into anything. It's way too specific and it doesn't target anything of relevance in Modern, Legacy, or Vintage. A decent idea, let down by the things it targets.

Pros: Chosen discard

Cons: Extremely narrow scope

Rating: 1/5